Sky just put the news out. I'd have been happier if we'd have gotten Wes Brown and John O'Shea, frankly, but we've solve the left back problem for now. He's 31.
I'd have him over brown and o shea though at 31 hes not quite as old as I thought. Certainly not my first choice but surely superior to salcido so lets get behind him and hope he proves to be a shrewd signing. Now just to find a right back as well.
Well theres a start, not perfect,but a season or so stop gap. and definitely better than what we have got
Go with all the points, especially geting behind him. Maybe change the chant to "Whose a Fulham boy"?
Agree with the above. For me this is an intelligent signing. Quality player who will never give up, great cross and a bullet shot. Most significantly though, we have 2 very promising left backs in Alex Smith and Mathew Briggs. Briggs may well become a centre back, but it is important that they feel they have a chance of breaking into the first team. If we had bought a mid twenties full back then their chances of progressing would be limited.
Liverpool fan in peace. You've got yourself a good player. He's got a crackin left foot and is a solid defender. He is highly regarded among Liverpool fans and i'm sure he'll do a good job for you. I believe you've got his brother as well? That should help him settle. Good luck for next season.
Cheers CWoods and Bow, I see you boys have got Charlie Adam. Could be a great player for you, how do you think he will fit in with the rest of your midfield ?
Let's be honest here; we need an experienced left-back and a young full-back as cover. Where we need to get younger is on the wings and up front. That's my honest assessment. Riise fits that bill perfectly, as he is an experienced Premiership player with a lot of European experience as well. We can ship Salcido off now, and look at finding some right back cover. It's a good start at addressing our biggest area of need. And its not a goalkeeper!
Is this definite? There's nothing on the club site as yet. If it's true, I think he'll do a good job for us, but I don't think he's the player he was or that he's the right signing. The problem with age isn't a position-specific one. The danger of having so many 30 somethings in the first team is that it's possible for them all to suddenly get too old at around the same time. The ideal is to avoid having to completely dismantle the side all at once. When Liverpool were at their best, they would happily replace a player a year or so before he absolutely needed to be replaced, in order to avoid having to replace 4 or 5 at the same time. There is a theory (and I'm not trying to wind up our visitors on this thread from the Liverpool board) that a big part of why Souness failed at Liverpool was that he inherited an aging team that Dalglish had failed to do this with. Another part of why Souness failed was, surely, that he was Graeme Souness and wasn't half the manager that Dalglish, Paisley, Shankley, etc. were, but that's beside the point. My point is, we've got an old team. Replacing a 30 year old left back with a 31 year old left back doesn't help, even if the player coming in is an improvement on the player he's replacing.
Captain i must disagree with you on this point,ok there may be an age problem, but with 4 or so more weeks to go to the start of the season,we have replaced a player with a track record,for someone who possibly was the worst fullback in the premiership. Nobody is saying that Riise is a long term prospect,but needs must.
Firstly, I want to clear up a misunderstanding here. Riise is 30, Salcido is 31. Anyways, while I certainly see the logic in what you are saying, Captain, I am not sure that should prohibit the signing of older players. We as a club have to evaluate each player on their merits: there is no point buying young just for the sake of buying young. We do need to get younger as a squad, I know that. But we are not a financially profligate team and have to be careful who we buy. I have no issue with the club upgrading a position with a similar aged player, as long as it is coupled with the development of a younger player (e.g. Briggs, Marquez-Sanchez, Smith). Riise is hardly the untested gamble Salcido was. EDIT: Worst fullback in the Premiership? This is really turning into a game of Chinese whispers. I understand people don't like him, but how is the slating getting worse when he's not even playing?
Fair points, Surly. Time is ticking on and I think we all agree that we do need someone in at left back, possibly right back as well. The problem is partly that I think we're all remembering the Riise who made such an impact at Liverpool, and he had ceased to be that player before they sold him to Roma. I think he'll be solid, but I'm not expecting him to shine. I would have liked somone shiny! Also, whichever way round the 30 and 31 year olds are, it's a problem deferred for a very short time, rather than one solved.
I stand by what i said , Re Salcido he is a squad player with a team in the "prem". the majoriy of fans who go week in week out,have some judgement of his ability as have the coaching staff.
Gents I think we need to be careful here. What left FB player in the top of his career will join Fulham? Not many. Look at Sunderland they got O' Shea. The money thrown to youg players by the "big" clubs are enormous in addition to the expectations of winning titles, fame etc. Riise is good. He was playing well with Roma when we played against them. Agree not top class player as once he was at Liverpool but will provide some experience and competition to Briggs. Let's face it Salcido in certain games was the example of how lessons learnt for FB. Ideally Jol will give Briggs opportunities to develop and shine. He has the potential and at the same time you building up to cover the gap once Riise leaves.
I saw the announcement on Sky last night ... I was a little surprised, but I've always liked Riise. I thought he was older than 30 or 31 (whatever he is), but as long as he's fit and fast enough, I'm OK with the signing. Somehow he seems older, probably because he's been a fixture at Anfield for so long. I wouldn't be surprise if Danny Murphy had a hand in this, being an ex-Liverpooler. O'Shea and Brown ... I've never been a fan of Wes Brown, but I'm surprised Sunderland were able to get those two for just 6 million.
I've just checked and the BBC and The Independent websites both have Jol confirming that Riise is coming for a medical. It sounds as if the deal is done subject to unexpected problems. That wasn't there earlier this morning. Looks like things are moving ahead.
