I think it was Viera and Seri, but we've gone for the cheap, clueless Huw option. I thought that Clement might have used his connections to bring in a promising gem or two.
As a direct replacement for Siggy I agree Phil, he's a downgrade but if he's part a package of players including a new striker and RB then bringing him in is not so bad imo. Siggy value was over inflated, his worth being around £30m mark. In this market though Everton had to pay well over the odds, a further £15m over the odds imo, to get their man. This market is so ridiculous that there is no value in any deals from premier league or top European teams imo. So we have to start looking elsewhere to get value, starting with experienced players i the championship. Clucas is experienced and he helped beat us, with Siggy, three times last season. Coincidentally we've just agreed a deal of £15m plus further £1.5m in potential add-ons for Clucas. If that's true we've still got £30m left from the Siggy bounty. Bony is up for grabs at £13m, we have to make a bid for him, leaving us with a whopping £17m for a quality RB. Its got to be this way imo, if we are going to make the sale of Siggy worthwhile for the team. Watching with interest Phil
We'll be paying top whack now, because that's what happens when you shop in "The Last Chance Saloon"!
I do agree, my biggest concern is the lack of creativity in the side and who is going to set up chances. what we look like signing strengthens the side and makes us harder to beat. But we need someone who is going to help us win games and not only help us not get beat. I would love a tribky skilful winger or a creative 10 as for me that is exactly what we need, that with a new RB would be enough for me, don't think we need Bony IF llorente stays.
TBF he didn't suit any style we were likely to play in the EPL Pretty sure we went for him because Spurs had been strongly linked and I believe Huw has a soft spot for them and believes any associated players will be class. A couple have been, most haven't. I was quite excited when I heard he was coming but we bought a player who was injured, injured himself in training, was unfit as he'd missed pre-seaon and was always going to take some time to adjust to EPL. He never really caught up. A look at player rating in Spain showed him to be stuck in the mid 6s. As Clement had him fit for more than four months and wasn't even giving him a bench spot I strongly suspect there was more to it than a Guidolin / Bradley problem. When he did play he didn't stand out but we'll see how he gets on this season, he may do a Bafe. Gomis, with us, could do little right yet scored 21 goals in 34 appearances for a top European side & has netted 3 in 2 games for Galatasaray this seasons. We don't seem able to bring striker talent to the fore - a good few players have failed to develop with us and others, like Borja, who should have been ready to play haven't shown up. I'd be on the phone to Bayram!
Weekend I'd have agreed with you Valley but I'm thinking now that Clucas is not a cheap option but an affordable one. Premier league players and average European players are pricing themselves out of reach in this years ridiculous transfer market. Last year we thought £15m was expensive for us this year though to get bog standard average players from other prem league clubs we're talking of a £20-25m starting price. Look at what we ended up getting for Siggy. Looking to Europe is not the answer either because of the demands of players, agents and clubs, all of who are out to take the piss. Viera priced out at £30m wants huge wage, over £100kpw, he would be a poor replacement for Siggy, a good player but no engine, so he is not the answer to our prayers and certainly no saviour. We'll just be robbing Peter to pay Paul imo if we got Viera, he's far too expensive to contemplate buying and would suck up our entire transfer budget on his own. Don't know much about Seri other than he's over rated, so I'm happy to give him a very wide birth. If we splash out on players like that we'll get no real value from the Siggy sale so we have to use our brains, I hope they are, and look for quality, and lots of it, else where. Clucas singularly compared to Siggy is a downgrade but he and a few other players combined could be an upgrade to our squad as a whole. Like I said, don't directly compare him to Siggy but look to see what he brings, then add that to the other players we hopefully will bring in and it could al work out for us.
And that's the worry. Imo, doing 'ok' just won't be good enough. I'd desperately take Chadli at this rate
Looking at that, he needs a runner up top to feed balls through too etc. Llorente isn't a runner, unless he's going to play on the wing. Looks more suited to Bony than Llorente tbh.
If the Yanks want to flip the Company sooner than later, then they know they must spend to secure/safeguard PL status.
http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2017/08/2...bid-for-wilfried-bony-rejected-by-manchester/ Stop ****ing about you big nosed ****er.
The difference is we know he can play in the Pl and wont be out of his depth and he is used to the pace of the game, we could have gone to Spain spent big and thrown money down the drain again. Viera was an exciting thought, but we just don't know if it would have worked and that would of been a pricey mistake if wrong, if it worked then would obviously been worth the money, but still a 50/50 call imo. To be fair I don't think that any of those players were actually on our radar. we were never going to pay 30m fr a player. We have to hope that what they do now works. I think Clucas, brings us something better than what we have now. which is what is needed as the squad is mega thin. Guys lets not condemn this guy before you have even seen what he can do, I bet most have us have seen him lay at the Liberty and no other time, maybe MOTD. give him a chance to prove himself.
Valley - saw this last week. Anyway, despite what you may think, I understand it's not Huw's fault......
