It's understandable that Bournemouth are holding out for a bit more than £150000. Left-backs are always expensive and there are a few clubs after him. The main thing is he wants to join us.
looks to me like we're up to £300,000 Toby, if the other clubs have bid that...or did i read that wrong?
I'm the one that read it wrong It doesn't quote our 3rd bid. Charlton made the £300000 one. I skim-read it and didn't see the bit saying we made another bid. Not sure what it is then?
We really can't afford to waste time putting in offers that are obviously below Bournemouth's estimation of the player, we need to put in a serious offer now if we want him. It's no secret that we are desperate for a natural left back and it is essential we get one in ASAP so they can settle into training ready for pre-season as they will most certainly be a starting XI player come the beginning of the season. I say get a bid in between £400-500K and if they reject again then lets look else where and not waste any more time. Personally I believe a bid of £400K (plus the usual add-ons) would be accepted. Just don't want to see us wasting time sniffing around one target only to be unsuccessful after weeks of chasing, then having to look else where with time running out!
I am surprised they are being so greedy about the price, in this day and age surely it would be best to accept a reasonable offer and move on. I think 400k is a lot for somone like him when you consider he is untested and unproven. It could end up being a disaster, but then again it might work wonders
I suppose £400K is a lot for a club like ours, and if he was a midfielder then I would be concerned as we have quite a few already but he is a natural left back and they are quite rare these days! I'm surprised good LB's don't go for more than forwards! Also this guy is highly rated by the Bournemouth supporters. I don't think we would be chasing him if we didn't think he could do the job for our first team.
He is good and he is a proper footballer, not one of these long ball donkey merchants.. Him and Pugh for the first half of the season more immense as a double act....
Yes I saw the extended BBC highlights of the 3-3 draw with Charlton in the March international break, so its interesting to see Charlton are bidding for him. From memory it was a chaotic game played at 100 mph - 2 promotion chasing sides slugging it out. Rhoys is listed as 5 foot 6, but really he is taller (call it 5 foot 10) so he's a good size with good pace, but had the tendency to be caught forward - hence the 3-3 draw I guess. He is definitely left sided with some good passes and crosses, others less so. Looking at his history, at 23 he has started only 66 games after being with Palace and Norwich (with a few injuries I think I remember hearing about). He signed for Bournemouth in Jan 2010 on loan from Norwich and ended the 10/11 season with a permanent switch on a free (I presume with add ons). Bearing in mind he is on a 2 year contract and there is a lot of interest, Bournemouth are going to cash in on him this summer, they are just trying to push the fee up. We all know why Watford are interested, and decent left backs are as rare as "rocking horse droppings", so we have to decide on the cost of a structured deal (probably like Deeney's £500k) and say "take it or leave it". IMHO
Sounds like an interesting prospect. Not sure if an attacking left-back would be good for our defence, but it's good to know that he can get forward if needed. 500k should be the top-end of our bidding though, there must be other left-backs out there in the lower leagues that aren't attracting as much interest. Good resume Elixir
I don't know, I remember a certain Andrew Taylor attacking the left wing with some positive results (including that wonder goal!), also LD likes to attack on the right hand side a lot so I believe his style will fit in quite well here.
Obviously this system can only work when you have a defensive midfielder to drop back and support the centre backs, as we have with Eustace/Jenkins.
