Read in the Western Mail that Michael Laudrup regards his permanent signature in January as a priority. Bearing in mind that his last transfer fee was 8 million euro, what do you guys consider we should pay for him? My take on JdG so far, is that he has obvious class but he is very in and out at the moment. I'm mindful of the fact that he didn't get much game time last season so he is still playing catch up in a team, a league and a style of football all of which are new to him. Not easy and it will take time. Do we have it? Bearing that in mind and, with the likelihood that he will get a lot better as he adjusts to life in the PL, I don't want to judge him too harshly. But right now I don't feel inclined to bid more than £2 million or so for him, particularly when you look at what Chico and especially Michu cost us. For me, I would still like a Bodde type player in midfield as we have got a good play-maker in Ki - and Leon can pass it. Two play-makers give us a soft centre and I would like to see more steel there.
Id go to £4m tops , he has quality and will only get better, hasnt had the same impact as michu but he does seem to be growing every game(southampton apart) the longer he plays in our team the better he will get, same for Ki, they have come in adn in fairness havent looked out of place,it takes time to build up an understanding between players so i expect him to be a more fluid player in time does Laudrup set up his teams with a ball winner in midfield? does anybody know the answer to this ? It could be a La Liga thing, maybe a ball winner is needed more in prem football perhaps, im not sure but just putting it out there
Ivor, read the same thing in The Sun. While I do think he will be a good addition to our permanent staff, I wouldn't go more than 3m max. 2m sounds about right but do feel that will will need to go more than that.
I think the club will go to around £4m if we're lucky a cheeky loan bid for siggy as well .. Do you think he regrets that move to spurs or do you think he is glad he didnt go to Liverpool ??
Norway, I would rather put in the cheeky bid for Caulker! He's scoring more goals than Siggy as well!!
Norway - re ball-winner - it seems that with the likes of Alonso and Busquets, they do favour a ball-playing ball-winner in the middle I would opt for Kemy in that role - albeit not as dynamic as Bodde unfortunately (who was a one-off imo) As for JDG - he's not that player and neither is he a Xavi-type. I find it difficult to place him hence valuation not so high
The way I feel about JdG right now is that either a match fit Orlandi or Steven Dobbie could be doing a more useful job for us. Orlandi wasn't a ball winner either but his passing was better and he got more involved in the game than JdG. Given a similar run of games I think he would have contributed more and he seems to be proving that at Brighton earning a number of plaudits for his play. Dobbie's work rate wasn't great but neither does JdG flog himself to death. Where Dobbie edges it for me is his far greater goal threat and he is well capable of slipping in that cute pass to create a scoring opportunity for someone. Like Cam_Jack I find it difficult to define JdG's role. He's not a play maker, he's not a ball winner, not great defensively, he doesn't threaten the goal much, he's just....... there...... All I can think of is that ML must have seen some pretty good performances from JdG back in the day, given his statement that he wants to make him his first signing in January. I've seen very little evidence to warrant his enthusiasm about the player thus far. BUT, trusting Michael Laudrup as I do, I can only assume that there are great things to come from JdG. I hope I'm right.
Agreed, Aswan. Dobbie also got assists, took a very decent free kick and is a penalty taker. He was also a goal scorerer which JdG is not.... so far. Just to add a little weight to my argument, I will concede that Orlandi and Dobbie did, and now play, in the NPC but I think that most will agree there is not a huge difference between the teams at the top of that league and those in the bottom 6/8 of the Premier League. Personally, I think both, given sufficient and regular game time, could still do a job for us at this level but particularly Orlandi whose style is well suited to the more "thoughtful" and intricate play of the PL. Certainly I believe that either could have contributed at least as much as JdG has so far, What the latter has in his locker and can produce for us has yet to be seen......
Fair comments but how about using some of our larger than ever pot of money to buy someone who`s better than all of them and can do it right now not wait till settled in to prem or other excuses ? who could we tempt from further up the food chain from here or abroad ??
Agree with all this, good points there Ivor, you all know my view on Orlandi and Dobbie, but it's all academic now! Not sure what to make of De Guzman, and don't agree with what Laudrup is saying of him, he's put in two very good performances out of 10 or 11 games, no way would I buy him in January, we should wait till the end of the season. How much would I pay for him, Max 2 Million, disappears in games, gives ball away too much, but is improving..........
Agree with most of the above comments, JDG is OK but nothing special. I would be tempted to spend the cash elsewhere buying someone better than our current options. Given Liverpools recent record in the transfer market (Carrol, Keane etc) we could probably get Joey Allen back for £20 in 6 months time...
We need an enforcer in midfield who can perform on a regular basis. A fit Kemy Augustien was showing he could do the business last year - but he has to stay fit JDG reminds me a bit of Paul Ince - bit of a big time Charlie. He needs to put his head down and graft to stay in our midfield.
