Transfer thread for 2016-17 season

For me, Arnautovic is the quintessential 'MOTD star'. He produces moments of sheer brilliance semi-regularly that make him look world class on a 3 minute highlight reel, but in reality his main problem is that he simply doesn't apply himself enough. Like many players with more than a sprinkling of flare, he has an exceptionally poor work rate - not to mention a fiery temper. In fact, work rate was probably Stoke's biggest shortcoming last season. Hughes has assembled a squad of highly talented but at the same time bloody lazy players. Marko, Shaqiri, Joselu. Afellay, Bojan. On paper, that lot should be pushing for the European places, not mid-table, but Hughes hasn't instilled in them the importance of working your socks off. I think Stoke covered less ground than anyone in the top half last season, so it makes you wonder just how good they could be if they pulled their fingers out!

By way of comparison: Stoke and Spurs both beat City last season about a month apart (2-0 and 2-1 respectively). Arnautovic and Eriksen earned MOTM performances. If you'd watched both games on MOTD, you'd come away thinking that Eriksen did nothing until he popped up for his 83rd minute winner, whereas Marko scored 2 great goals and bossed the game. Distance covered?

Marko Arnautovic: 5.4km
Christian Eriksen: 12.2km

Our only player against City who covered less ground than Arno was Lloris

In other words, he's basically another version of Chadli with a significantly worse temper. Avoid like the plague, please.

 

Interesting CK...looks like I got suckered by MOTD.

Well let's dump the Arnautovic idea.


We need an experienced player in and around the first team. I reckon Poch should go for Evar Banega. I've wanted him even before he ran himself over.
Think he would provide good experience in the middle, won't take the piss money wise and is an Argie...could work like Cambiasso worked for Leicester. Or maybe even Cambiasso..he was superb.

 

100% would love another Gallas type signing but it ain't happening mate. Poch is too dogmatic about youngsters. So much so that an Arsenal supporting colleague of mine has taken to calling him Mauricio Savile

 

A bit rich given Wenger's habit of grooming 11-year olds from Luton Town's academy...

 

Brought to you from the supporter of a club whose managers' overall signing regime could be summarised as
'African kids for a million quid' .

 

Yeah CK - you need to fight back a bit

 

Higuain signs for Juventus for £££££££'s, which means no doubt that Pogba to United is imminent.

It's a long shot but I'm completely fixated on bringing in one player who has been there, done it and got every t-shirt to come in and pass on that expertise to our high-flying creche members, most of whom have never played CL football before let alone won a major trophy.

He's well past his best but still managed 28 appearances last season, and could add a bit of back-up to a position that we appear set to become understaffed in imminently.

A return to the Lane for Michael Carrick anyone?

 

Only if it's to make him flip burgers.
He pissed off when we were clearly on the up and set us back a few seasons imo so it's a no from me.

 

I wouldn't be against Carrick, it's someone like him that we need.

Did anyone see much of the game this morning? Just had a look on Twitter and it seems that some of the youngsters really impressed. However, apparently Son, Chadli and Mason were awful... Again.

 

I don't know if anyone noticed but we had our best league performance for about 50 years last season. So why do we 'need' some over the hill veteran keeping one of our young prospects away from the team?

 

You misunderstood me PS. The real value of a Gallas, Davids or Naybet type signing to the club as we are positioned now is their sheer presence on the training ground and dressing room. They don't need to kick a competitive ball all season as far as I'm concerned, other than the odd cup game against irrelevant opposition. Surely someone with Carrick's level of experience would be useful for players like Alli, Dier, Carroll etc. to consult and learn from; someone to help calm the nerves when the pressure is on. The latter was a major, major problem towards the business end of last season. We simply buckled under the pressure and lost our heads. And whilst I know you have a tremendous amount of faith in Poch, I would question his ability as a notoriously intense and demanding manager to deal with that issue to a satisfactory level.

 

That's one way of looking at it. Another way is:

His departure was hardly noticed due to the emergence of Huddlestone and Jenas as seriously talented midfielders, his sale funded the purchases of Berbatov and Zokora, two players who arguably improved us. We finished 5th with Carrick, and finished 5th again without Carrick. I would say that the appallingly mishandled decision a year after Carrick's departure to replace BMJ with a certain clown called Juande was what set us back a few seasons.

 

It would also allow someone like Ball or Winks to go out on loan and get a full season, rather than making up the numbers.
There are pros and cons to both approaches, but we do have a very, very young and inexperienced squad.

 

Is it wrong to think Schweinsteiger? I'm sure it is. I feel slightly uneasy just voicing it.

 

The team lost their composure doing the last 4 games of the season, when the pressure was on.
There was no old hand around to exert the "been there, done that" on-pitch control and leadership
necessary in such situations.

 

He is the calibre of class/experience that people are thinking about when you
say 'MF old-hand' .

 

I'd rather have someone who 'gets' the unique pressures of the PL. That was the beauty of Gallas; he brought vast domestic and european experience to the table at the same time. Hence my suggestion of Carrick.

But this is all hypothetical there is no chance of it actually happening. It's the one stubborn streak about Poch that annoys me.

 

Charlie Adam?

No, no, hear me out. He can't injure our players if he plays for us and we get him to train in Levy's swimming pool, like Ledley did. If we tire of him, Levy can release the sharks.

He'd also make Big Kev look slimmer. It's an all round winner!

 

GET OUT. NOW.

 

Clearly we needed such an old head in the Chelsea game and what followed, who though is another question. They will hopefully have all benefited from the experience of last season and Lamella's appearance in today's game suggested that he, for one, had. He is still young himself but he had an immediate calming effect when he came on and looked the senior player. I can see the benefit of the old head as long as it's the right old head, not sure about Carrick the only one that I can think of is Pirlo, but does he speak English? Another might be Defoe.