Not Hooper no way! Snodgrass, Fer, Ruddy possibly but the other player I would love to have is Hoolahoops!
Id take RVW but only for our new half time competition. Basically what happens is we place the ball 6 yards out, RVW takes a shot and whoever it hits in the stand win £50.
I think RVW would probably be sold. Hope not, but I can't see him sticking around in the Championship, even though he would owe it to us.
What's the top row of seats at Portaloo Road? There're about six rows aren't there? Shotgun a seat at the back. Could do with £50.
Is he a PL level player though?, can't see anyone in the PL taking him on, could go abroad I suppose, definitely owes it to us, he's been dire all season.
I can see him going cut-price to mainland Europe again. If he does, I think the club will do everything they can to keep hold of Hooper.
I would take Fer, ruddy and snodgrass and newcastle for sure... I think fer is extremely under rated.
Sign of the times: After breaking Jorge Costa's nose in November 1996, despite a six match ban, George Weah was still awarded the 1996 FIFA Fair Play award
Fer would probably fit in quite well at Newcastle. He strikes me as quite loyal but his talent would admittedly be wasted in the Championship.
Ambitious. I think a spine of Ruddy - Turner/Martin - Olsson - Howson - Snodgrass - Hooper should see us compete quite comfortably. Can't see us keeping Ruddy, Snodgrass or, incidentally, Fer though.
Unless they have escape clauses the club don`t need to sell them, we are on a stable financial footing.
Last summer, I think QPR and ourselves were the only ones to have expressed a serious interest in Hooper. He's hardly done enough to warrant a serious increase in interest from Premier League teams. RvW was thought to be a steal, but with an even worse scoring record, I can't see too many UK clubs wanting him. I also can't see too many foreign clubs with the money to pay for him, actually wanting to. He's still going to command £5m+, and his wages must be upwards of £35k. That's a lot for a goal a season. I certainly can't see us letting them both go, especially as Elmander is off and Becchio unhappy. Of the rest of the squad, I could see Ruddy being sold sacrificially to free up funds to improve the squad elsewhere. A top-end championship 'keeper is much cheaper than a creative midfielder or striker, and in Rudd and Bunn we may well already have sufficient options. Hoolahan staying will probably be dependent on how much of his gripes were with Hughton, or with the senior management. And whether Lambert is still at Villa. Martin could be another to fancy linking up with Lambert again. Snodgrass might well go, and as Warky points out I'd expect a shrewd club to bid for Howson and/or Olsson. Tettey is currently struggling to start for a team facing relegation. Whilst I think a lot of us rate him, it hardly puts him in the shop window. He's also likely to get better wages with us than at the middle/bottom of Ligue 1 or similar. Pilks may be too much of a luxury to keep. He can't play a string of games on the trot, and if he wants Prem wages, getting rid may be an easy way to trim the wage bill. I can't see Bassong staying. Fox did well in the championship for us before, is no doubt cheap and will have few suitors. May be a squad option, particularly as we might be more able to carry his deficiencies.
Well put. In terms of striking options, am I the only one who can see Becchio scoring 20 odd goals next season and propelling us back into the Premier League? I can't see us getting anyone better if we go down.
In much the same way when Reading and Wigan went down, were this to happen to us, I feel many of our players wouldn't attract sufficient interest tobe moved on especially seeing as we don't need the money. The one I think would be certain to leave is our best player, Snodgrass. He needs to play in the Premier League. If we went down and he left he would leave with my blessing because he has been excellent for us.
