Wouldn't want Klopp. Had a dismal season at Dortmund when they had a far superior side to anyone else in the league aside from Bayern.
Clough's final season at Forest was a disaster but he was still a great manager. I think Klopp would be a great fit- the anti-Mourinho if you like if that's what's required. Would be exciting if nothing else.
Far too early to be talking about who's next but for the sake of debate, Klopp would be one of the top choices realistically gettable in my view, maybe even the top choice. Simeone would just bring the same type of football and controversies that Jose is being criticised for so don't see him as a realistic option. Pep a maybe as I can see him wanting a new challenge pretty soon and we have courted him before. Pep would certainly bring some decent style of football. City will probably win the league this year so he wont be going to City any time soon. But Klopp ticks a lot of boxes for me. Young enough to stay a while, likes to build a team, promotes youth, gets the best out of players, good style of football. Seems a really likeable guy too. If Jose went in the next year or so, I'd be very happy with Klopp. Very short sighted to look at one bad season when he achieved so much with Dortmund and slowly had the rug pulled from underneath him with players leaving.
So to assess the summer, now that I am back from travelling and can post again: In short, a gash transfer window.... We lost Petr Cech, a world class goalie, to one of our rivals (can't blame him for leaving but its a ****ter that he went to Arsenal). We signed Pedro, who had a very good debut so he will be one to watch. We signed Baba, meh We signed Papa didgeridoo and some guy from Reading............. please log in to view this image I originally wanted Hummels, Pogba and Khedira and laid out a post where they could all be got with a net spend of £35m (Khedira would have been free). Hummels signed a new contract early on, and I was happy with Stones instead, younger and also English, and should have been cheaper. The only slight silver lining so far from this window has been Pedro....and thats just based on his debut. Very disappointed in this summer. We had the opportunity to strengthen the areas that needed strengthening, relatively cheaply too. We also didn't get rid of Mikel or Ramires!! After last summer, in which we identified the positions we were lacking in, went after our targets, and got them sorted even before the world cup started, this summer has been a wet fart. And it is the reason why I had a sense of dread going in to this season (which turns out to have been well founded given our start). I am not usually someone who moans a lot either. Its more frustrating that I saw this coming, yet somehow Jose couldn't. Never had I gone into a season with such low levels of excitement, even before the window closed, and I could just feel it....it was weird. And I appear, so far at least, to be vindicated for my feeling.
The Hector signing is utterly bizarre. Not a bad player at all and it's nice to see the top sides going for English players, albeit one who plays for Jamaica, but he'll be 24 by the time his loan ends and he doesn't look like he'll ever be on the level you need. Happy to be proven wrong though.
So the inevitable Costa rumours have started up. Could well be another striker merry go round in the summer for us. Bamford has not done anything on loan so looking less and less likely to figure in our plans for next season. We need to get him out of Palace and on to someone who is going to play him. If Remy does not want to continue as bit part and with Falcao invariably not going to stay beyond the summer, we could be in the hunt for up to 3 strikers. Any ideas? Saw a rumour re RVP loan which I don't think would be the worst signing in the world in the mold of Drogba last year. Obviously if Costa goes though we will need a new starting number 9 who will get 20 goals plus. Seen the Vardy rumours but he's not going to fit Jose's style. Ditto Greizman. Maybe Jose will go back in for Rooney? Now there's a player that needs a change IMO.
How is he getting on this year? Obviously he had a very good season last year. He'd be ideal for someone like Newcastle / Villa I think but I wouldn't say no if he was free and we still had Costa and/or another 'world class' forward as well.
Apart from some time out injured he's been great. Some people accused him of not putting effort in but I put it down more to Ramsey's crap tactics. Don't know how many goals he has but it's a decent number for the time he's been available. I think he'd fit in perfectly at Palace. He's adamant he wants to stay living where he is now (Berks I think) which rules out most clubs. I think he's better than a team scrapping for 17th. Not a top four team but a West Ham/Palace/Everton.
I'd take Austin if he was free for sure. But he wouldn't get as many games with us than he would with a team like Everton or West Brom or someone of that ilk. Villa and Newcastle are going down this season, so moving to them would be a sideways move for Austin rather than a step up.
The thing with Palace is that they already have too many strikers but that aside, yeah I'm sure it would be a good fit. Still a little amazed no one paid up for him in the summer.
Well he did just come out and say that Mourinho is his favourite manager ever, but he also said in the same interview that he doesn't want to play in the PL now as he feels he is too old. (He also said he was once VERY close to becoming an Arsenal player).
Yeah more of a left field one as a I think he is entering that last pay day phase and that's perhaps not that suitable for a P.L player. He'll probably go somewhere like Qatar and get paid a gazillion dollars a day.
Well if the reported Bullshit about Man City offering Messi £800k per week is true, then maybe it is. But its not true, so you are right.
Massive lack of activity from us so far this window. Are we going to try and sign anyone? Looking unlikely and maybe we are waiting to see what the next manager wants in the summer.
