Apparently SSN is now using Football Manager to rate players, so YouTube isn't really a bad way to go. If this continues, I'll have a shot at managing Hull City with my Football Manager CV!
I read it on BBC website a day or two ago. It was by an agent or ex player talking about a deal that actually happened. I can't find it now as they have a lot more news. You would think there's enough players in England and even overseas who you could actually watch over a period of time without relying on youtube.
We are going to have until the next window by far and away the best midfield. No other midfield in the Championship comes close Huddlestone/Meyler/Snodgrass/ Elmo/Clucas/Livermore (maybe) /Maloney/Aluko/Hayden That is a truly great midfield for this division. Plus the defence Odubajo/Dawson/Davies/Bruce/Taylor and Robertson. The forward line up is unproven but there's definitely quality there.
Not at all. I agree with you that Prossie had a somewhat weak record at putting away chances (from open play). I also agree that Bruce maybe shouldn't have allowed him to take the PK given the pressure situation in that game ( I was in the crowd at the time), even though the previous penalty he had taken ( I think in a League Cup match) he put away with aplomb. All I was suggesting was that taking a penalty is not a good example to present to confirm/deny a players ability to take chances. It is not a situation where instictive or clinical decision-making happens. Plus, penalty taking a la Le Tissier is not commonplace. Thought the videos I posted might highlight that.
I wasn't trying to make out that is how he should be judged. Somebody said the problem had been he hadn't been offered enough game time but when he had a chance to score he always took it. I think the penalty is a good example to show he didn't. Le Tissier, Lambert, Rooney and Gerrard usually took good penalties. Other players should watch them. You get the impression that many penalty takers hardly ever practice penalties. How could Steve Bruce have thought that letting Aluko take a penalty would be a good idea?
I guess the Andre Gray transfer saga makes more sense now. Had we shifted Jelavic earlier for the same price, it would seem he would still have been out or price range. (We've paid £1.7M for his replacement, and a goalkeeper deal has collapsed because we weren't prepared to spend more than £1.8M) The key to the deal must have been the sale (not loan) of Hernandez. Once it became clear that Torino weren't prepared to buy, that's when Gray moved on. I still believe Hernandez will score more than Gray in this division.
Spot on this. Hopefully we will be right up there come the January window so even if we lose Diame then we will be an attractive proposition for a replacement
I know it's not about City but the sky transfer program had the "experts" saying that Hector was signed by Chelsea with a view to playing in the first team or at least pushing the first team players. Later on I saw that he was being loaned back to Reading!
Can we safely say that the As have reduced their loan a fair chunk then this window? Sensible if they have imho. Would have been nice to get another keeper, but other than that not bad business I don't think
I suspect a lot of the income may have gone towards paying off outstanding transfer debts, although I could be entirely wrong, they do seem to like to do it `their way`
It's Huddlestone's mode of operation & Bruce's decision to play him. Bruce telling him anything before or during the game is unlikely to have an impact as that style seems to be Huddlestone's natural, in-grained game. What I clearly meant was, as I observed on watching the whole game on TigerPlayer, was a more positive, attacking oriented performance without Hudds controlling the play. It means, will Bruce recognise that fact and act accordingly - i.e. keep Huddlestone out of the starting 11, or arrange for Huddlestone to have some form of shock treatment to modify his style of play. The latter seems unlikely.
We seem to have paid down our debts and still ended up with a strong Championship squad. Plus we still have a couple of loan spots available and I think SB will bring in a keeper and remain on the lookout for another striker. All in all as good a transfer window as we could have hoped for.
Whether they have or not, Bruce can have no complaints that he hasn't got a competitive squad at his disposal. He also has no more excuses (until Jan at least) of uncertainty in the squad. If we are not comfortably in the top 2 by Christmas time, then he needs to go.
The overall club debt has reduced, the overall salary bill has reduced, the squad is- by a long way - far better than the one that got promoted last time, we are 2nd in the (admittedly early) league and I'm still optimistic a few weeks into the season! Bloody hell - I need to go for a lie down!
I think SB finally ran out of patience with Huddlestone after the Charlton game. I expect Thudd to start against Swansea, and maybe feature in some league games from the bench, but at the moment Meyler, Diame, Hayden and even Clucas are ahead of him in those centre midfield spots.
I noticed quite a few players have had their contracts cancelled. Is that so they can find a new club over the next few days and weeks rather than have a mad panic today?
Shock treatment= diet, Ramos at Spurs forced him into that and he looked loads better, I remember it at the time. Trouble is he was replaced by good old 'arry Rednapp who is not as ruthless. The same would happen to Huddlestone if he went abroad, in Serie A they'd have him lean and mean in no time
