Transfer goss and rumours, Summer 2016.

This one's firmly in the rumour camp but we're reportedly interested in David Accam - striker / winger.
http://www.skysports.com/football/n...ides-chasing-helsingborgs-forward-david-accam

 

17/9/2014 mate

 

That's the one! I think they do now have a seated area next door, so that would work out perfectly!

 

Yes...Yes...YES.......

http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/footbal...pritchard-to-have-norwich-medical_278114.html

 

I know it was stupid money for McCormack, but if we were heading into the season with a player who scored 21 goals last season for a terrible team, and someone with the delivery of Pritchard. I'd be pretty hyped. Would just need to pull out a class CB signing, keep hold of Brady and Olsson, and we would be well away!

Do you recon Jordan Rhodes would be given a chance in the Prem for Boro? Or will be be surplus? They are making good signings this summer.

I'm not mad keen on N'Doye. He could Do a job as a sub/back up striker. I wouldn't want him as our main striker. Good to see the rumors of Britt have revived.

 

I thought his name rung a bell.

 

Sorry to be an early morning pedant, DH, but criteria is plural, criterion is singular

 

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We do like an attacking midfielder don't we? Wonder who will cover for Tettey when his first suspension kicks in probably on match seven?

Pritchard could be an inspired move as we definitely need someone who can use a dead ball effectively and make killer passes. I know Wes is in top form but he will tire and without him we are somewhat bereft of inspiration.

Happy we did not pay over the odds for an older player who by all accounts isn't the best person to have in the dressing room but like many on here I am concerned at our lack of firepower heading into the season. Last time in this league we had three strikers all capable of a goal every two or three games and now we only have one and he is coming off the back of a nightmare season.

 

Strange thing is KIO, that at the end of last season ( and at the end of every less than successful season actually) you were clamouring for the very same thing - have a complete clearout, from Delia down, get rid of all the old playing wood (Martin, Whittaker, Bassong, Naismith etc. etc) and build again.We were several then, who told you that that would never be the way to bounce straight back up again, which is what you and some others are so desperate for. The only possible way for a quick return, is to keep the bulk of the squad together. I´m not in anywhere near as much of a hurry to get back up again as you are, and considering we´ve been trying now for at least 10 years, to establish ourselves as a PL Club, and failing at every attempt, why not try another route. One of the best ways we can make major inward Investment, is to continue developing the Academy at Colney, but if we´re always going to bypass the youngsters, we may as well bring the bulldozers in. I´m not suggesting we stick a handful of 16 years olds into the team, but I do think the Murphy´s, Toffolo, this Maddison, Louis Thompson (?) and probably others, could become the backbone of a City squad for the future.

You say ´as long as Delia clings to power´........ the fact that we continually go up and down, and for every step up, we take one and half steps back, has nothing to do with Delia. The Club has for many years now been just a little bit too good to continually languish in the Championship, but never quite good enough to maintain a position in the Premier League, you´ve been following us long enough, surely you can see that for yourself. And that is, irrespective of who the manager is, irrespective of who the players are, and irrespective of how much or how little is spent in the transfer wndows. We´ve tried to scrape through by not spending much, we´ve also tried splashing out - neither yet, has had the desired effect. So why this time should be any different, going down the same route, I don´t know.

If we ever are going to try a different tack, then when we are down in the Championship, is the time to do it, and it will take time. Unfortunately no-one these days, is prepared to offer the time that´s necessary.

 

Totally agree with your post RBF - especially the last sentence. I'd like to see us use this season to rebuild using youngsters where appropriate. I think Maddison has the potential to become an excellent player given his performance against how old club.

 

If we sign N'Doye on loan I just wont understand it. Jerome takes one in 5 good chances to score based on last season do we need a one in 10 striker on the bench? I just don't see the benefit of bringing someone in who has proved themselves as next to useless.

The money for McCormack was always a difficult one for me. I want us to strengthen but it felt too much for someone of that age. What worries me is that we've had the best part of 15 months to create a shortlist of strikers that would improve on Jerome and I believe that if we have £12m to spend we should have been able to find one. Recruitment and our transfer dealings do cause me some concern!

Saying that, we do still have a strong squad for the championship and I think we will still be in the playoffs at minimum. Hopefully the current squad who have done it for us before are still up for it and want to get us back to the Premier League.

 

If the youth are good enough they will get game time. They currently are bench options at best for a side with aspirations of promotion. By the end of the season I hope Josh, maddison and others have florished enough to become starters, but I won't hold my breath. And say we fail to go up this season but Josh has a stormer, scores 14 goals, 10 assists and stars most weeks. Will we then build on that or lose him to a PL club who can quadruple his money and offer PL football? then where are we building again, with another youngster who might or might not succeed as we spend season after season having our best cherry picked by PL clubs. When the parachute money runs out, if we are still in the Champioship, then we will likely have to start relying on the youth a bit more. but until that happens, the best players playing is the only policy, arguably the same applies if we languish in the championship beyond the parachute payments, we will just have lost all our higher quality players, so the younguns will have a better chance.
The thing with the academy is that the current crop of fringe youngsters are not any that have benefited from the cat 1 improved status. The Murphy's and Toffolo were in the system and out of it like the rest of the youth cup winners before we got cat1. But mainly our promising youngsters have been bought in, why these additions have so far not cut the mustard is anyones guess, but if none of them start featuring soon you would again have to start questioning our scouting and recruitment teams judgment. If Maddison, Godfrey, Thompson etc can't make an impact this year then why did we bother?
I think the best change of tack would be to realise weaknesses in the team, identify targets, buy them early in transfer windows, integrate them into the team in preseason, not panick buy as the window closes. Last season could have been so different if we had been halfway competent in the transfer market. We then may still have been a PL club, we may then have been buying the PL quality players that we all wished for last season and we could have established ourselves.
Between better recruitment which we had funds for and actually buying players for their best position and then playing them there I think we could establish ourselves in the PL. To KIO's point, that probably means the end of the board as we know it, unless Moxey can bring some much needed nouse to the board in how to complete transfer dealings, quickly and efficiently.

Bah!

 

Wow. Aston Villa got that deal done within days! Made us look like a complete shambles. Villa are a joke at the moment, and they still made our negotiators look like muppets.

 

I reckon the paycut they all will have taken with relegation and any promotion bonuses that will get paid will keep the motivated even if some hunger has gone.
To be honest I am utterly shocked at the shambles that has been our striker recruitment so far this summer. I can't believe that we have basically not seemingly got any other activity gone on during the protracted McCormack saga. Surely as we increased the McCormack bids we should also have been pushing for Assombalonga or A.N.Other. Going into Saturdays game with only Jerome as a realistic striking option is nothing short of negligent by our recruitment team.
The reason I'm shocked is that we once again have shown a complete failure to learn from past mistakes. OK last time out we played in the playoffs and didn't know where we would be playing til later, a flimsy excuse granted as targets should have been set for both eventualities. But no such excuse exists this time around and currently our whole hopes of reinforcements for the weekend lie with the pannicked loan of the always proific Dame!
You couldn't make it up!

Bah!

 

This was our negotiating team leaving Craven Cottage earlier this week

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Bah!

 

McCormack money was pretty extreme, but he is garenteed goals. If he stays fit he will be one of the top scorers. Gutting to see him go to one of our main rivals after we have wasted so much time chasing him with our eyes shut!

 

No, that was them entering Craven Cottage .......................

 

After some of AN comments post relegation where he has suggested that the less than brilliant recruitment efforts hampered our chances of staying in the PL, I think his eyes must be roling a bit with this latest development. If we don't support him, might we lose him? It's supposed to be a long term project with him and the team evolving, but if he feels the board ain't backing him to achieve those goals, he wouldn't be the first manager to up and quit. I doubt he will, I don't think he has the CV to walk into another job as big as City yet.

Bah!