I heard this a fortnight back - just not the club involved. http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/cardiff-city-agree-deal-sell-8333301
Don't you just hate people who say I told you so......... Is this any great loss, or just a confirmation of the way Slade is going to take this club?
Strange decision, i wonder who made that slade or tan, I cant see slade making such a decision without asking tan first. I put my money on tans instructions to recoup some money...what for is interesting...
I would expect Slade has been told to free up whatever wages he needs to bring in first and generate transfer fees by selling. Therefore £2m for a player he never played wouldn't seem so strange. Ending Morrison's loan, releasing Eikrem and Cala all look like tidying up ready for his business. I am honestly terrified by what he might do in the transfer market but the bar has been set pretty low with regards to success rate by both previous managers. Can he do any worse?
he wasn't really doing anything constructive for the team though was he, in the end he had no end product
The way we used him no loss what so ever, he'll show over the next couple of seasons whether we've let a quality player slip away. I agree with Whoops that one day someone might well pay a lot of money for the little man, not sure if he's totally suited to the physicality of the English game in all honesty though.
Agree fully with ccfc and Steve. Certainly has skill and ability but lacks physicality, strength and pace. I hope he develops and does well. £2m is a good price and frees up funds to improve the squad. Not sure about joining the Germans' bottom club though. Might get a negative track record if they don't Improve.
He could hardly do anything constructive for the team - he wasn't playing. To have an end product you need to contribute and he wasn't given the chance. I do agree with Stevo's comment though - the way he was used means he certainly won't be missed. Getting rid of him avoids Slade the problem of justifying his non inclusion. I also accept his lack of physicality and pace over the ground - there's no question he is very lightweight for this division. However, Ole's comparison of him with David Silva may not be that wide of the mark and a little more faith in the lad could have brought him on to the benefit of this club, rather than probably another one in the future. There's no doubt he needed to play and he wasn't going to get the chance here under Slade, so to that extent it could be the best for him. The main worry for me is that his departure firmly points this club in the direction of Jurassic Park with Dinosaur Slade as the warden.
If Slade had tried his diamond formation (which he kind of fell into due to the desperation of being 3-0 down HT at home) Daehli could have had a huge impact on our season. I'm almost certain if you asked him, Kim and Ravel where they'd like to play, first choice would be at the tip of a midfield diamond with 2 mobile strikers in front. Slade tries the formation having released one PL class player from that position and whilst selling the best suited member of the squad to the role. It comes back to the main complaint on here about him, management (not just football) is about best using the resources at your disposal. Slade should have been asking how to get Morrison or Daehli into the side effectively. Not just sticking Daehli on a wing and Ravel up front then declaring them failures (in sub cameo's). He's doing the same with Kimbo, Guerra has been written off. Other than bring Harris into proceedings Slade has taken a lot of quality footballing options out of the equation already. Get ready for an invasion of league 1 players in January, lets hope they're up to the job.
Swivelling the midfield 4 around into a diamond is still a better option to suit even what we have at the club - would have been even better with Ravel and Daehli available. There's nothing wrong with a conventional 4-4-2 if you have the players to fill the roles, but playing two of the middle 4 out wide and then expecting Whitts and Gunnar to control the midfield is a bloody disaster. The possession stats tell the whole story of Slade's very poor judgement, we just get overrun through the middle. The lack of any control of this area loses us the ability to influence the game. The opposition knows it before they get on the pitch - Slade has dug a hole that he seems reluctant (until now) to climb out of. Like Hilts and Stevo have said, I fear for the standard of players we're going to see come to the club in January if those departing are indicative of Slade's policy. There is certainly deadwood to get rid of - the other two Norwegians for a start - but he could be throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
I've said previously Spark, I personally think he's no better or worse than we already have, though I think under the right manager the kid has time to develop and bulk up a bit. What worries me is I believe the decision to sell was taken out of Slade's hands. I would opt for an experienced Premiership/Championship enforcer to replace Daehli. What I think we'll get is a lower league clogger or no replacement.
Eikrem's already had his contract terminated and followed Cala through the revolving door. Should have sent Berget with him as a bogof. Hopefully he won't be around for long. I don't see comparisons with Daehli and Silva. Silva has one thing that if Daehli doesn't have now he never will - pace. Daehli is an easy on the eye, skillful player with a trick or two but his lack of pace and stature means it is unlikely he will succeed at the top level. Also if he was that good wouldn't he be joining a club with more promise than Frieberg? He could find himself relegated 2 seasons in a row. Morrison has skill and pace but seems reluctant to apply either. I agree he didn't get much of chance with us. However, he is renowned for his poor attitude and perhaps that became evident in his time with us. I didn't see the Wednesday game but in his other, albeit cameo, appearances with his he showed he was good at running across the park with the ball but provided little end product. Possibly limited by lack of movement around him but that hasn't stopped Kadeem Harris comparatively out performing him in his game and a half. Personally, and this is all about opinions, I have no problem in either of them going. Daehli will release £2m towards new players (assuming Tan doesn't get his mits on the money to reduce his loans) and we are seeing a steadily reducing wage bill which can only be good under FFP. Now Steve's comment about Div. 1 players coming in. Likely I agree as those are who Slade knows well (although we thought OGS knew his Norwegian players ). If you look at Bournemouth and Brentford, aren't their squads made up mostly of players who came through the divisions with them? Hasn't held them back this season has it? Pritchard at Brentford being the one exception. But on that basis, if Slade gets the right players who fit with the style he wants to play, is that necessarily a bad thing?
Whether that's the case or not, it's an obvious line for any anti Tan supporter to take, do you really think Slade would have fought to keep him? I would expect Slade is glad to see the back of a player he obviously didn't fancy but was rated by many of the supporters.
Bob - I've already said on here that for all our problems up front not scoring and at the back letting them in like a sieve, the REAL problem is midfield - getting that right is the solution for both ends of the pitch. We desperately need another Medel type of player playing in front of the back 4 (Gunnar could probably do the job in the right set up) and an energetic all action general - and here I go again - like Bryson or Hoolihan. The trouble is that would probably force Slade away from his beloved 4-4-2 into a more fluid sort of 4-1-3-1-1. If we are going to spend the Daehli dosh, then how about a cheeky bid for Charlie Adam from Stoke - he'd bring some grunt and presence if not finesse to the party.
I agree with that Blue. The gap between the bottom of PL and the top of the L1 is not as large as sometimes suggested. Pilks was a L1 player and the promoted teams normally threaten the top of the Championship rather than the relegation places. Saints and Norwich both managed back to back promotions. Bournemouth/Brentford are obviously threatening to do the same. The right players bought from L1 could work out well. Hungry ambitious players who appreciate a chance to prove themselves. If he buys L1 journey men who he can 'depend' on then we'll be in the ****. What is evident from the teams mentioned is to take the step up a division you have a better chance if you play possession based attacking football. It's why Saints and Swansea are comfortable in the PL and Brentford/Bournemouth are thriving in the Championship. If we are to ever be a PL club and stay there for any period of time we have to develop a side in that style. That process should start in January.
Here I go again...... Gunnar was excellent in that holding role 2nd half Adam seems to play plenty for Stoke at the moment, I really doubt he'd drop to mid table Championship.
