Remember when we were in league one, what did we do to try to get out? We bought the league one best striker. First SRL then Lee Barnard. Even in the Championship we bought Billy Sharp in January. Goals win games and you need the best for that division to get anywhere.
It makes so much sense to bring in Piroe if we can get him. Coming off the back of a good season in this league and used to the manager. I just don't see Armstrong having a season where he scores that many because he just doesn't seem a good enough footballer and his one good goalscoring season was off an obscenely high amount of shots which doesn't suggest he's likely to replicate it, especially off the back of a couple of poor seasons. I can see Che and Tall Paul leaving, Che for the PL and Tall Paul as we try and recoup some of the money we paid for him as I don't think he fits in with Martins style of play, and if the rumours are true Mara hasn't settled here either.
Signing any player can be a risk though. Just because they were great at one club doesn't necessarily mean they will be great at another Torres is a classic example 65 goals in 102 appearances for Liverpool and 20 goals in 110 appearances for Chelsea.
Do you suppose we have a bid in for Akpom then? Or maybe Ross Stewart who has the league's best goals per minute for last year? I also like his nickname - The Loch Ness Drogba. A look at the list of top scorers in the Championship doesn't really get anyone jumping out at me.
They may not jump out now, but back then who had honestly heard of Rickie Lambert? Who had honestly heard of Lee Barnard (except that he is tough and very hard and better than Frank Lampard)? Someone on another thread (maybe this one) was underwhelmed by who we were linked with. We are now a Championship team and after 11 years of 'living the dream' we will be underwhelmed. I know I am normally labelled with 'happy clapper' on here, but I honestly think we'll have a good season - we may not go up automatically, but we will be there or thereabouts. That is all we can ask for.
Yeah me too, and I only realised it was him when he signed. That is how 'irrelevant' he was back then.
Quicy Promes sentenced to 18 months by a Dutch court. He didn't attend and was also charged for his alleged involvement in drugs trafficking. Good miss that one.
Hmmm, I'm not so sure. We were already down there I suppose so maybe that's why both Lambert and Barnard feel like they were considerably more familiar to me than any of the names on that list but I remember being really fired up by paying a record fee for League One when we got SRL and then again when we poached Barnard to partner him later on. Admittedly it never crossed my mind that SRL would earn his S by growing with the club up through the divisions all the way onto the International scene, but I was certainly confident of him doing the business where we needed it at the time and that's what seems missing from that list of Championship top scorers for last year. Maybe there just hasn't been another Billy Sharp for a while.
Looking at our starting line up against Liverpool, the only players who haven’t been strongly linked with moves away are McCarthy and Bree
Nah I'd stay. I can think of a few fans who I wish would **** off and support another team though ...
Also, if we can’t sell on some of those that want to go how motivated will they be to play next season?
I would rather have him than Djenpo. I remember Ralph saying that he was the most talented player in the squad
