Summer 2013 Transfer Rumour Thread

Got your fishing rod out have we?

 

I completely agree about Lambert. He's been fantastic for us for a long time and is unquestionably good enough for the Premier League but I don't necessarily think he suits Pochettino's style of play, at least not as the spearhead of the attack. Rickie got 10 goals in 18 league games under Adkins but has only scored in 4 in 14 under Pochettino, with 2 of those coming from free kicks. I actually think he might be more suited to playing in the middle of the 3 in a 4-2-3-1, with the 1 being a striker with more pace.

 

I recall we did this earlier in the season a couple of times, Rodriguez up front and Lambert in the hole. Worked pretty well if I remember correctly. Lambert's probably the best passer in the team, played some great through balls for Jay Rod to chase.

 

Lukaku

 

If we sold Ramirez in the summer, then he'll end up going to a top Italian side and play amazing, knowing our luck! One more season and he'll be sold, either through outgrowing the team or being surplus to requirements. Either way, we should get a profit on him.

 

Yes, perhaps. Although I think we'd need at least one other striker if we moved Rickie back, as well as a couple of wingers with an eye for goal.

I suspect Lukaku will be playing for Chelsea next year.

 

That's him. Impressed me in Spurs game

 

No

Because of this.

 

Your last sentence epitomises the issue here.

 

Does anyone know of the highest profile, Potential free agents?

 

David Beckham

 

Keisuke Honda CSKA

 

http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/spieler/vertragsende/basics_gesamt_2013.html

Doesn't take into account future transfers or anything though.

Hubocan might be handy.

 

Interesting point raised by fatletiss....how would we view Ramirez if he cost a couple of mill. Probably as a promising young player...and fans would be calling for him to be given more of a chance. I think the time to judge him is next season after a full preseason with Mauricio.

 

Two words spring to mind: Robert Pires.

He was shocking in his first season, yet tunred out to be an intergral part of Les Invincibles

 

Great player.

 

Please Cortese, please

 

He's Japanese, so even if he was crap we'd sign him, Asia conspiracy etc.

However, I do like him a lot - and Hiroshi Kiyotake if we're going that route.

 

Yeah, this. It's only fitting, after all...Yoshida went from Nagoya to VVV to Southampton, and while Honda lost his way slightly, he could right a wrong and complete the trilogy with a move here.

 

The problem is that he's simultaneously our only consistent finisher and creator, we rely on him to do so much, so there's one game where he may focus on one of those aspects but that leaves us completely devoid of the other. Games where he is always dropping deep to feed other players we lack a clinical edge on the end of our play, and games where he sticks up top we have no final ball and he is isolated. This is typified by the fact that he is seemingly our only player capable of whipping in a good cross from a set-piece, but also our best header of the ball. He's had the second least shots of any player in the top 20 of goals scored in the league this season after Le Fondre, and he's one of the only free-kick takers in that list too, which probably accounts for 20% of his shots. He's had the second most key passes (a pass to a teammate that lead to a shot) and completed throughballs of any striker in the league after Suarez. And all this from a player with a team 14th in the table.

I think next year we need to refine his role, we need to get him some help so that someone else can ease the workload on one of those aspects, basically we either need a couple of finishers (This could easily be JRod, Ramirez or Lallana if they just got more clinical and composed in front of goal) or we need to service Lambert better so he can not have to worry about dropping to supply others and just fire his way to 20+ goals! As it is he is stuck in between the two and it is too much to ask for him to consistently provide both, and it often ends up with neither!