With Malanda, I was under the impression he was "combative centre mid", not The Answer To All Our Problems? In any case, we all want to see a creative midfielder sign, probably no more so than Jol. I suspect we went cold on Malanda due to the Lens-transfer-embargo debacle. He may be good but is it worth stirring up another ****storm? From that perspective it makes a bit more sense. The links with Gargano and Malanda et al do show the effort is being made. The whole ownership change has probably muddied the waters still. There's plenty of mitigating circumstances, and I'll level with you, it doesn't make it any less frustrating, but there's no need to attack the club we're supposed to be supporting! COYW!
I know there was a vague mention early in the thread but this must be the most ludicrous rumour post-Khan: "Fulham in transfer talks with Sunderland's Lee Cattermole over bargain move Midfielder and ex-skipper who cost Black Cats £6m is not part of Paolo Di Canio's plans and could go for around £2.5m" Source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/fulham-transfers-lee-cattermole-sunderland-2110348 Bargain? Yeah, right .....apart from the red card syndrome and the serious injury issues. A midfield of....no, I'm not going there!!
I actually rated Cattermole a while ago, when he was at Boro/Wigan, but since he developed into a red card magnet and a crock he's not been worth a damn!
Charlie Austin has gone to QPR - this article says 'undiclosed fee' but it was for £4m. "The 24-year-old former bricklayer almost joined Barclays Premier League new boys Hull last month but, after failing a medical there, instead arrives at Loftus Road for an undisclosed fee."[/B] Source: http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/article/2/8850259/charlie-austin-joins-qpr
Hello, y'all. I hope the summer's treating you well. Here's the Guardian's latest. http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/aug/01/darren-bent-fulham-newcastle-remy
If we sign Bent, it wouldn't be a disaster. I think he would fit well with our style and he'll get goals. I'm still not massively keen though. Here's a thought, wouldn't it be a lot better if we tried to beat Newcastle for Loic Remy? He's got pace, and can play through the middle or out wide. We'd have the option of him and Berba up front with Bryan wide right or - maybe - central midfield, or we could play Bryan behind Berba with Remy and, say, Kaca on the wings. If either Berba or Bryan was out injured for any length of time, Remy could combine through the middle with the other one and make a pretty decent partnership. Bent would be okay, Remy would be better. Either way, this needs to be as well as a playmaker, not instead of.
Good to get a more balanced local view of the situation about Cattermole rather than the one portrayed by the headline grabbing national tabloids. The inference in this article is that, if anything, all Fulham did was enquire about the status of a player out of favour at his club. “Cattermole has resumed full training at the Academy of Light this week after knee ligament damage restricted him to just an hour of first-team football in 2013. As the Gazette reported last week, Paolo Di Canio has refused to confirm whether Cattermole has a future at the club and the player is braced for the exit door. Sunderland realise that the problem with offloading Cattermole is his wages after he only penned a new three year contract at the Stadium of Light in October. Given his injury record during his four year stay on Wearside too, Sunderland face an uphill task to sell a player who is yet to feature under Di Canio. Fulham are a viable proposition, yet any talks are still at a preliminary stage, with Cattermole not thought to be on the verge of leaving the club.” Source: http://www.shieldsgazette.com/sport/football/sunderland-afc/no-quick-exit-for-cattermole-despite-fulham-talk-1-5914242
Agree with the scenarios you pose for Remy, Captain. Newcastle are apparently trying to get on loan, having missed out on him in January but QPR are said to be holding out for a straight sale - he’s got a release clause of £7m. A big sticking point for us will be his wages, reputedly anything between £75k and £110k per week depending on what you read - and there is of course the outstanding court case. While on Newcastle’s transfer attempts. They have withdrawn from negotiations with Lyon for striker Bafetimbi Gomis (according to Sky) having had an increased their offer of £6.9m for the 27-year-old turned down by Lyon. Why don’t we go in with £8m? A bit more than the £5-£6m we are supposedly prepared to pay for Darren Bent but Gomis has a potential re-sale value, which Bent won’t have and he’d be much less in wages.
I am amazed that we are still in persuit of Catermole and Bent . If signed i hope i am proved wrong but at the moment these 2 do not inspire me with the clubs ambition to move onward and upward. A backward step me thinks so.
I can't see why some people are being so negative about DB. He is proven in the PL and at 29 still has 2-3 possibly more years left in him. He will have minimal resale value but neither do 90% of the players we sign. We badly need a striker to help Dim Berb. Trotta is unproven at this level, he played well at W Wanders in div 1 but was **** at Watford in the champ so I personally don't hold out much hope for him in the PL. Hugo is useless and when it comes to scoring goals Ruiz has been a massive let down. Personally I really hope we get Bent as with the exception of DB he is a dam site better than any other options we have.
I agree. My Villa supporting mate is gutted that Bent is going. I can't see anything wrong with a guy who's goal-scoring record is about 1 in every 2 games. That's a damn site better than most of the strikers we've signed over the last 10 years.
I agree that Bent isn't the nightmare signing that some seem to think, and that he could do well in Jol's set up. But I still think Ruiz (creating) behind Berbatov (scoring) is our best forward combination, as long as the midfield is good enough to give them a platform to work on. If Bent played, Berba would move out of the main striker role where, throughout his career, he has done his best work and Ruiz would move out of the position where he has looked most effective (IMO) in his time with us. What we need is to sign a striker who can compete for a place but who won't throw his toys out of the pram if he's asked to spend time on the bench. My biggest problem with Bent is that throughout his career, the ground around his pram isn't that pristine. A Hooper or Austin would have been perfect, but sadly now they've gone.
