What makes you think that dosh will be handed back to Ole for that purpose? I don't see the money being an issue before their sale - more a question of clearing the decks of their wage commitments prior to adding any more to the budget. Hudson has done it before for us and he is a true captain/leader on the pitch which is a major tick in the box for selecting him. With him, Turner, Cala and Connelly at the club, there's a decent argument that we should have a go with what we've got for the first half of the season - a loan player like Keane will help spice it up. I must admit though, I'd like to see someone like Fonte (or even Curtis Davies who we've been tenuously linked with) brought in as a committed contracted player rather than a loanee.
Wasn't Curtis Davis pretty much Hulls player of the season? Even less chance than Fonte. Our current 4 cb's are the exact reason not to sign Keane IMO. Either spend and add a player definitely better than those 4 (unlikely in the Championship) or go for it and look for an emergency loan if we get major injury issues. If we can't sign better than we've got then that suggests we've got the quality required at championship level.
I was surprised to see Curtis Davies put in the frame as a target for us as well. Hull fans thought he was better than Caulker last season and deserved a shot at an England spot. Maybe just another made up story by a football transfer site blogger like our apparent interest in that Korean winger at Bolton. Not seen anything in the "real" press about Davies, but they can be just as bad on times. Like I said, l don't like loanees on principle other than in an emergency, so a youthful Keane would just be a means to an end, not actually the end. We may have enough Championship quality CBs at the club already. If KTC stays, he can also fill in there as well as at FB.
It's all very quiet on both ins and outs although OGS has said he would be looking for a cb only once Caulker gone. Silence is not necessarily a bad thing as it is better to capture your man and then announce it. Also, I suppose they only got back from Austria yesterday. The Dikagcoi situation is a little more worrying. Has the exact reason for his absence been made public (I've been away for 2 weeks so a little out of the loop)? He has played no pre-season games so is likely to be rusty as the first game approached. As for the outs - OGS has seen what most can do while in Austria so can we expect some departures soon?
Bluey - it was reported that they couldn't get a visa for him to go to Austria in time with the squad. Before that, he was unable to play because of "incomplete paperwork".... I believe he did play in a Dev squad game at Haverfordwest a couple of days back. Haven't seen a report on it but read somewhere we won it 2-0.
Cheers Sparks. I can see him being a main man for us this season in anchoring the midfield thus allowing the more inventive players freedon further forward. Mind you having seen the 3 minute clip of the game against the Russians in Austria there is still loads of work to be done with the back 4. Brilliant chip for their first goal.
Yep - that Russian side was a very decent outfit, though we played very well second half after going 3-0 down in the first. The most worrying thing for me was that we won the first two games playing in red, then we switched to blue for that one........ Must be unlucky........
Father in Law and his mate are both Palace fans, they reckon he's not disciplined enough to be a holding mid. He was more of a box to box player with jedinak the destroyer. I'm sure he's been signed as Medel's replacement though so we'll see how he does. Him and Mutch will certainly be able to cover plenty of ground in the centre, I wonder what the plan is for Witts?
We were told Noone would probably be back in a few weeks - I wonder if it's a bit more serious than that? http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/fo...iff-battling-for-1-5m-Watford-ace-Ikechi-Anya
I'm not surprised, groins are funny things (no pun intended) with the whole body weight pressing through that area - not that Noonie has much weight to press. However, if not healed properly within a few weeks and then the injury recurs then surgery is the only option and that can mean several months out. I thought Ole would be looking for cover although if Prem clubs are also after this guy then we can guess who he is likely to chose. Money and time on bench or lower money and regular games? In today's climate a bit of a no brainer as most will take the money. I remember Anya causing us problems in the home game 2 years ago. Very quick and helped set up chances for the blond haired Czech? striker (name escapes me but didn't he move on to West Brom?).
That Watford loanee striker was Vydra. Impressive stats for that year, but haven't heard much about him since. I think our lack of depth in pacey wing men is a real worry and will force us to use the likes of Fabio to fill in. We've cried out for true pace for ages now, and this Anya guy is a fair candidate.
Cheers Sparks. Wiki says, "Vydra was on loan at West brom last season scoring 3 in 18 games. He is now back at Watford on loan with a view to a permanent move." I agree about Anya. He's been around the block playing in lower leagues, Spain for 3 years with 4 different clubs, Watford sine 2012 (3 year deal signed last summer) and is a Scottish international with 6 caps and 1 goal. Like Noonie, a short ar$e, but very quick and could do a good job for us. Watford fans just picked up on this. Initial reactions not happy. Likely to be less so if he comes to us after previous delaings between us.
How about Chris Burke, looks likely to leave Brum. Wouldn't mind him back, did a decent job us for in the Championship.
Chris Burke has already left Brum and is a free agent. I mentioned him earlier in the thread - could do a lot worse. He used to scare the s**t out of defenders running at them for us in the Dave Jones days before he left at the end of his contract under a bit of a cloud saying he wanted to be nearer is family in Scotland - then he signed for Brum. Along with Zigic, he's refused new terms with them and now left on a Bosnan.
It was actually the night before last............ I like both Healy and Johnson - they are both opportunist strikers who will always get on the end of things - looking good for the future.
In Eggo today - snatched a quick peek in Smiths without buying so didn't notice match date and assumed last night. Trust the Eggo to be a day behind.
Campbell gone to Palarse - at last. £900k now rising to £1m on performance criteria. Hope VT's not trousering the proceeds of him and Caulker and maybe Medel where a Turkish club have offered £10m. Plus a shedload off the wage bill.
