I'm not so sure Tettey will go but I do think it's a straight slug out between QPR & Saints for Fer. Shame really I think he & Rvw would have been handy this season.
Whoever it is bidding, they will still have to reach a price that is acceptable to City. So far QPR are said to have offered less than £5m, so they have a long way to go, IMO. Just because someone is bidding doesn't mean that the bid will be accepted.
Absolutely RER. We are in the enviable position of not needing to sell anyone, but at the same time I'd prefer we don't hold onto a player who would rather ply his trade elsewhere.
RvW linked with loan to French club St Etienne - good move all round if you ask me and could well give him the opportunity to discover his scoring touch - http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/norwic...fswinkel_is_touted_with_french_exit_1_3708457
Yeah, RVW one is interesting. For the reasons people have given a loan seems best for everyone involved. I'm a little more happy to let him leave on loan after seeing Grabban play. I'd only ever seen him on televised matches before, but it looks like he's a top player who really puts a shift in. Any news on Bassong or Becchio? We'll still be paying their (curiously high) wages and I can't imagine we'll get much for them, so surely offloading them should be a priority if they're not going play under Adams?
If the board have any ambition they'll hold on to them. I'm not a big fan of drafting in replacements who haven't played in the pre-season to fill the roles for key players, squad players are a different story. We need to fight to keep hold of everyone and throw everything we've got at getting promoted first time round, I dread to think what another season of Championship football would do to our club, it would be like going back to square one.
By no means would another Championship season after this one be great. Not at all. However, we really can't have a fan melt down about this because I would put our odds at less than 1/3 for promotion. A lot of things can go wrong. Even the best Championship teams need luck. I also fully appreciate what you mean when you say "like going back to square one" - I imagine it really will feel like that. HOWEVER, the reality is that it actually won't be going to square one. Aside from perhaps the beginning of last season (i.e. Hughton's second season) we are probably the most stable and best placed to progress as a side right now as any time since 1994. The team we have remains very strong. Finances remain stable. The only real concern is the manager. How many times have we been able to say that in recent years? Things definitely could go wrong. Badly. But equally, we have a good chance of them going right. And sometimes you need to take one step backwards to make two forwards - West Brom have specialised in this.
Excellent post CR and brings it all into perspective. IMO, I will consider promotion an excellent result, but I would also feel that if we don't finish in the top 10, then I'd consider it a disappointing season.
So, sounds like RvW is off for the season on loan. Shane and slightly annoyed but hey ho... Just hope we keep hold of Hooper. I wonder if the move for RvW is driven more by getting his wages off the bill or Adams just doesn't want him anymore.
the link to st etienne has been around for a couple of weeks now so suspect there's truth in it. i feel this is a move designed to remove him from our wage structure more than anything. don't get me wrong, i'm sure he's probably quite pleased to be going to a top flight team and can try and get away from his disastrous spell here but i've never got the feeling adams wanted him here so if he goes, hopefully he'll fire in a few goals and regain his confidence. but i doubt we'll ever see him play for us again. i'd certainly much rather he stayed as i know he has a lot to offer but unfortunately its not my decision. i do think we will end up regretting his time here - in the right environment he'd have made us a real force but we blew it. disappointing.
Also, sounds like Adams wants Lafferty and Grabban as first choice... If that's the case then I can't see Hooper being here come September. Personally, he would be one of the first names on the team sheet. I'm slightly concerned of us going into Southampton mode tbh.
not so sure that's nailed on. i think he still wants hooper to be a part of his plans. if he goes though i will really start to worry...
I hoped RvW would stay, but all the signs said that he didn't want to play Championship football, and in our hearts I think we knew that was probably the case, like with Remy at QPR last year. His positive tweets kept good relations, but I think he said he wanted to leave from the beginning if an offer came in that the Club were willing to accept. The number change suggested this, as did trying to sign Callum Wilson. In a way, I'm glad it's resolved and we can move on.
It will be a good move for all parties - RVW gets what he wants (playing in a higher league of football) and we get a massive drain on wages off the books for a year. Can't see owt wrong with that personally. Hope we can keep Hooper though .............
I think you're right that it is a shame, but I'm not really annoyed. I think RvW could have done well for us (I'm speaking as if this is a done deal, because I think it probably is), but I really believe this suits all parties very well. RvW takes a slight step down in league level without ahving to say he's played in the second division, it allows him to recover form and prestige. More importantly for us, though, this is a massive opportunity for us to get him fully off the wage bill (by all accounts), let another team take the risk of his form this season, and in the event that his form recovers we get to recoup the benefit by either selling him for less of a loss or taking him back next season. The worst that can happen is that he doesn't have a great season and we sell him next year for an equivalent amount as we would have got this, but he's cost us little in the meantime. No lose situation IMO
That has to be a great deal for everyone - he was on £35k a week wasn't he? Just need to shift Bassong and Becchio now and we'll be saving ourselves £100k a week - or £5m a year
Perfect I thought it was around that, but everyone had a relegation clause (according to McNally) so it might be as much as 20% lower It's scary when you put three players wages in terms of the yearly cost! £5m!! Even with a big relegation clause the three of them would still be costing at least £4m
