what that shows is that with a couple of astute signings in the right areas, we look to have a very competitive side for next season. we don't need a major overhaul (well, except up front) - just a few tweaks elsewhere really.
I am seeing Scott Parker will probably move on this summer. Would you take him at Norwich? Personally I would, this isn't really a rumour by the way, just a suggestion. I noticed someone said Hughton is looking at potential targets at Spurs, I seem to remember anyway.
I do wouldn't like Naismith. Sort of agree KIO about the wages to be honest. If he was available on similar wages as are other players I would probably say yes. I think he can still do a job and would suit a system pretty well.
Any day of the week, when he is fit, he is one of the top DM's in the PL. IMO, stick him in front of our back 4 and we can play with attacking freedom, he is that good. He would be perfect as a mentor to Bradley and Tettey! Would be a stunning signing, but I doubt it will ever happen...
I must be the odd one out! I rate Naismith. Very good attacking winger with a good conversion rate from shots on target. But hey I also really rate Hooper and a lot don't.
Agree with this, he'd be ideal if fit and perfect for what we need. He is one of the few England players I have rated over the years, keeps it simple and didn't pretend like the likes of Gerrard and Carrick he can make long defence splitting passes everytime he gets the ball. I'd love him here as long as he's fully fit.
You could be right there wages probably are out of reach of our structure, I've just read Sunderland are after him. I do think he is the sort of midfielder we should be looking for though.
Google reckons he's on £70k pw, he'd have to half that to come here, at least! He's also got 2 years to run on his contract, so presumably there'd be a fee involved. A few rumours about that Spurs might sign Gareth Barry (and possibly James McCarthy), and potential suitors for Parker also include Sunderland and Fiorentina. If we'd have to make him our top earner, and pay say £5m as a transfer fee, then although I agree with the points above, I'd rather we spent that money on someone younger and upcoming from Europe, than on someone with a suspect achilles (he's missed games for 3 seasons running because of it - and it ain't gonna heal any quicker as he ages!) with little resale value. Having said that, if no player materialises from Europe, and he could just-about fit our wage structure (Spurs help out like they do with Bassong?) then I'd be happy with him.
Yeah, I think he is out of our range and too old to really break our structure but I do think he is the sort of player to fit our system perfectly. Someone in a similar mould who has youth on their side would be ideal. Do Spurs contribute to Bassong's wages than DH?
I believe Supers mentioned this a few days (weeks?) ago. I think Bassong is something like our top earner, with Spurs topping up his salary to a figure closer to his original salary. How that agreement evolves into next season, I don't know, but presumably it's more expensive for us.
OH right, I didn't know that, doesn't surprise me though. I was surprised we could afford his wages when he signed.
Hmm, slightly O/T but ref RVW I wonder if there's a buy out clause in his contract and if so what it is. For instance, if he proves to be a success as IMO I think he will, would he be allowed to talk to certain clubs if they came in for him ? Did McNally have to agree a buy out fee i.e. £15M ? I only ask as I'm still stunned that we managed to secure his signature. Ref Hooper, the more I think about it, I really can't see us paying £6M ish to get him. That would mean we would have spent £14.5M on just two players notwithstanding the undoubtedly high wages. Then again, perhaps it's because I remember when we had Robert Chase and then The Doomcaster !
