The Scotland lesson ..... to follow-up on my gleefully glib response to Dai .... is a clear and unmistakable lesson on what not to do if you can possibly avoid it, and the repercussions when a top performer leaves .... for whatever reason. Now I know there was not much holding Scotland back - he was offered a chance in the Prem and Martinez had just left and dangled to the opportunity in front of his face. The Club were somewhat handcuffed .... we received something around 1 million (correct my memory please) .... but we didn't find anybody remotely close to being of the same quality until we had Borini on loan and then Graham .... and then finally Michu (out of position) and now Bony. Bony is the true Scotland replacement - different level etc I know, but somebody that knows where the net is and finds it for fun.
But can Rangel play at the same level for 30-38 games? I'm not sure he can anymore. We need a fullback, preferably someone better at right back, and a first 11 centreback before the season starts.
I'd still like another DM too. Someone who can learn and take over from Leon because we still haven't replaced Joe from a few years ago yet.
The club has already said RB is a priority before season start, we have to wait and see what they can do in the market. Shelvey did a better job than Joe for all intents and purposes, his passing is not as good as Allen's (something like 7% difference?) but his tackling stats were better, he setup more goals and scored more himself as well. Saying that Jon Williams will have to wait until next year, my source went quiet quickly Canas wasn't as good as some here made out. Shelvey and Leon were far superior and Ki performed much better while at Sunderland, effectively Canas is our fourth choice CM/DM. I'd like to see him sold so we can concentrate on defence recruitment. We can easily cope with our main three.
