According to sky sports we have made a bid for Cameron Jerome from Birmingham. Cannot really decide how I feel about this. He is a big lad, great strength but lacks goals. That being said he was playing for Birmingham who were rubbish at scoring goals full stop last year. Cameron Jerome - 37 goals in 180 appearances.
He scored well in the season they finished 9th - 11 goals in 32 games. Last season was his poorest goalscoring one for Birmingham in his five seasons there. If this is a signing to add depth to the squad, I could live with it. £4million might be a bit steep though. To be honest, I'm just going on stats - he's one of those players that hasn't caught my eye either positively or negatively, and who you (well, I) don't take enough interest in until there's a reason to. It would be a wait and see signing for me.
I don't know much about the guy but I agree with Captain that if this is a signing to add depth to the squad then its not a bad thing - Jerome can't be worse than Eddie Johnson or David Elm can he (I hope!). Having said that £4m does sound like a lot for a reserve striker. As for his record, as others have said Birmingham last season wasn't the best place for showcasing anyone's skills and in front of a mid field like ours he might look a lot better.
Was going to type something along the same lines. But as a reserve striker is too much. We can invest the money to a couple of young strikers hoping one will make it.
According to the Guardian's excellent Rumour Mill column (excellently entertaining that is, I've only recently discovered it so can't speak for its accuracy yet) the fee is being various reported as £4mil, £5mil and - more like it - £1.5mil. If it's nearer the low end of that range, I'd be happy.
Brum were awful last season. Never scored a goal. Thus not all being down to Jerome in my book. As long as this is a back up i'm ok but I still feel there is more to come. Dembele / Zamora....
According to the guardian, brum rejected our initial £2m offer and we are currently considering an improved offer. I'm not sure any more than £2.5/3m is worth it really, and on the assumption that all our current strikers are staying then striking reinforcements don't seem necessary to me. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/aug/02/fulham-bid-birmingham-cameron-jerome
I think a Zamora type player is required. If Zamora gets hurt and is out for a sustained period we struggle. We have to play Dempsey in the holding role which he does well but is much more effective playing out wide and cutting in. So Jerome backs up Zamora and Johnson backs up Dembele. Makes sense to me. You need 4 out and out strikers at the very least.
Agreed CC, Jerome may not be the fantastic but if we can get him for £3m or less then that'll be good business and it'll be good for the squad. Although I would rather we spent the money on Hutton - assuming we haven't got much dosh left...
Hutton is very good going forwards but lacks defensively to me. I wonder if it would leave us too exposed down the flank with Dempsey who drifts quite a bit. Baird while solid does get exposed against the quick tricky better wingers. Kelly for me is not the answer but is versitile and that's why I feel he's still around + we need a bit of a squad. He must be in his last year of his contract too.
I think Hutton is the best of who would be available to us. The only other RB I can think of would be Stephen Warnock, but we're trying to get away from older players.
I thought Warnock was a left back. Agreed though that at 29 he doesn't make a major dent in our aging squad profile.
So he is. Well in that case I can't think of anyone else! And I thought he was that age when he went to Villa. You're showing me up again, Captain!
Apparently, following our bid being rejected by Birmingham, we won't be bidding any more. I think this is sensible, not just because its hard to see Jerome being worth any more but also because it sends a message to other clubs that we won't be forced into making silly bids for players.
