No disagreement about being flexible but when you do business as we do and deliberately leave transfers to the last minute, you either get lucky with VDV, or end up with Pav and Frazier Campbell. If we wanted to start the season with a balanced squad and cover for Kane, we could have signed Austin (if he was identified as a target) ..but regardless, surely one premier league club will take a punt, unless what the west ham chairman said is shared by other chairman? http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34011370
His stats certainly haven't indicated a problem of that magnitude: he's averaged 35 appearances for the past 4 years. I'd say it's more of a case of that tw*t Sullivan mouthing off because QPR rejected their bid for him. I mean, you're not exactly in a position to preach about injury prone players when you spent £17m on Andy Carroll
I'm with you on not rating him as highly as others but I think the reason he hasn't been signed is because he's on a free next season. If United, City or Chelsea wanted him then maybe he'd have gone because if they need a player they get them, £15mill is nothing to them. The kind of sides that might be in for him though are lower down the table and prepared to wait. If needs be he might be snapped up in January at a discount but otherwise I think every interested club would rather not pay £15mill just to sign him a season earlier. QPR are way overvaluing him but I doubt they care, they need to get out of the Championship and if they lose £10mill that they could've got selling Austin then I'm sure they'll be happy to take the hit if he scores them 20+ goals this season.
I guess the days of the great players wanting to stay with their local clubs has long gone. So you can count the Carricks etc as just out and out pot hunters!
Chadli certainly fits the mold of the Berbatovesque player right now: he doesn't press or track back like Kane and Eriksen do (which is both an observation, plus there's stats to back it up) - but he still pops up with a goal or an assist regardless. Based on that, there would be a place in the team for Berbatov (in theory)
If Chadli is currently our Berbatovesque player we're really in trouble! He's sort of the example I think of when I see how the team has changed - a winger who is a big lad and can come up with a few goals but who hasn't the skill or speed to go past people and is fairly lacking in technique, passing range etc. Sort of a big-man centre-forward from the old days. Which sort of makes him more like a CB than a skillful winger who can make things happen. (I'm not really saying he should play CB, by the way! Just that you could imagine him being more of a thud and blunder CF/CB than a silky winger a la Waddle, Bale or even Lennon or Kranjkar).
Don't nobody be knocking Pav... Austin wouldn't be a panic buy per se....but IMO he is clearly being considered as a backup if we don't get Berahino. Is that a panic buy or just good transfer strategy? Hard to say, but a backup plan with his scoring record can't be too bad can it surely?
Just like Dempsey was a couple of seasons back, while Chadli may have a considerable goal threat from midfield that doesn't make him an effective forward - as we saw against Stoke he has no idea how to retain the ball, making him a liability.
Exclusive: West Brom line up Charlie Austin to replace Tottenham target Saido Berahino Tottenham turn to Charlie Austin as they give up on Saido Berahino - Thursday's top transfer stories
I take it that the reason why we are prepared to offer so much for this Berahino is because of his form playing alongside Kane, for the England U21 side? Unless our midfield bucks its ****ing ideas up that'll be two promising young English strikers who won't be getting any assists this season.
Yourself and Huddlefro will have to get all romantic over what could have been, with the signing of Charlie Austin being ruled out.
Err...Okay. Assuming this is a tactic what does it do? Make WBA know that, rationally, we have other choices once we get past this current infatuation? Or is Poch trying to edge the board towards being less focused on this one player? Or is it the opposite - him letting them know that Saido's the only one he wants which plays into WBA's hands?! Bit odd.
I'm sure Saido is lying on an expensive pillow somewhere in the Midlands right now, crying himself to sleep with Celine Dion in the background. I mean ffs and and thrice .
The next time we identify a target, we need to ask ourselves one simple question: Does his name end in an "o"? Berahino, Soldado, Paulinho, Moutinho, Fazio, Damiao, Pavyluchenko, Khumalo...
This is the first time since his appointment that I've had a full cringe at something he's said to the press. Let's hope his true meaning was lost in poor translation, and that he is being advised against such looseness of lips in future.
