Struggling in Turkey. Shows you how **** Slimani actually is. We aren't signing anyone. Same ****, different year. It will be the same next year when we have Simon Grays on as manager.
From the first time Martins was flagged up as of interest to NUFC, it was also clearly reported that it would be hard to make this proposed loan happen, because the player wasn’t keen on the move. As soon as an alternative presented itself, he chose them over us. Let’s face it, Monaco or Newcastle, bet it took him all of two seconds.
Before Mike Ashley a player likes Martins would probably have been genuinely interested. He's turned us in to a tinpot club.
We seem to spend all our time trying to replicate what Graham Carr did - try to find players with weird clauses, cheaper-than-expected fees then go for them. Seems to have fck all to do with actually scouting and finding decent players. Gelson has a weird situation where he's potentially a £50m footballers, Atletico paid nothing, he's not good enough for them so they're letting him go because his salary is probably huge. We're only loaning him because of the salary, it was a way of getting a probably-good footballer in on a steal. Sadly, Monaco will simply offer him a massive salary. And warm weather. I don't think we need or want players like that, and I again must question the scouting/player selection process of NUFC. Rafa says it's all his, so again I'm wondering why a name like Gelson has come up? It's shopping around for obvious bargains, rather than seeming to scout and find gems. Leicester, Watford, Everton, Southampton, Burnley, Bournemouth. In fact, EVERY PL club seems to have this ability to find decent players and bring them in without a fuss. Players from lower leagues, Ireland, France, Belgium, Holland seem to appear, improve and be stars or then be sold for huge profits which is surely worth replicating? Honestly, I know Ashley's to blame, but some of it is a real head scratcher. Surely when you have knowingly small player budgets, you'd spend a relatively large amount of money getting around Europe? I look at players like Mbabu and Abeid, who have improved and improved. Yet I look at NUFC and we've been playing Manquillo or Hayden. I just don't get what Benitez is looking at and to a very, very, minutely small degree agree with Ashley that simply letting Rafa overspend is not a guarantee of much success, if history is anything to go by. I think you can build a decent group of players constantly bringing in guys at £5-£15m. Will Hughes, for example. Look at the extreme examples - Coutinho, VVD, Josh King, Richarlison, Lewis Cook, Harry Maguire, Jamie Vardy. A lot of clubs are getting this right, yet we're throwing our toys out the pram because we refuse to break a transfer record. It's like Almiron. Seems ok, but we're bidding for him AFTER he's won the MVP award for MLS, on the back of his best season - why aren't we there before that season? Our scouting and player selection is absolutely ****ing abysmal. I have no idea what Steve Nickson does, why he's in that position, but I'd have Graham Carr back in a ****ing heartbeat - at least with him we were bringing in occasional gems. The steals with Ben Arfa, Tiote, Cabaye, Cisse, Ba, etc., are long gone. Now we're staring at Gayle - whom we all knew wouldn't be a PL striker. Ritchie, a Championship winger. Murphy, a league one winger. Atsu, Manquillo, Joselu. I get there's budgets, but if we're honest that's not the true picture and a lot of money has been spent poorly. We've brought in three ****ing wingers since Rafa arrived and made an offer for Gelson....a winger. At what point would YOU, as owner, say "something's not quite working here".
Thing is we were never leading the chase on this. Monaco had pretty much secured this the day before we entered so his mind was most likely made up. Also, if we are going to continue with the 3 CBs what is the point of aiming for out and out wingers?
Rafa's transfer record has always included some duds and some gems... Like most managers. Certainly not his greatest strength, but neither a resounding weakness. Like you say is mostly down to MA again. Unfortunately if Benitez is handing a list of targets to Charnley and the top 100 choices for each position get ignored every time as he goes straight to number 101 before attempting a transfer... Well, that's obviously going to further scew things against in terms of successful aquisitions. No argument with some of our sales - can only be described as disappointing to see us sell some of our more promising youngsters like Mbabu and Abeid. They were still limited, but must have been better options than the likes of Hayden and Manquill, and would have been money saved too. To cheer you up a bit, a BT Sport pundit who covers French football has stated that the Monaco left back we are supposed to be after has been performing worse than Manquillo did when he played in France. Sounds like another gem.
I disagree. Its a resounding weakness for me looking at his career. His strike rate is alarming if you are the owner of a club. Just run through his Liverpool transfer work. Mind it does tell you how good he is at coaching, and how good his tactical acumen must be that he can have such a ****ty transfer record, yet still win the CL. A lot of his Napoli work was decent but otherwise he is very miss miss hit. You need deep pockets if you have him as manager and are going to give him the backing he requests. Personally, and I know he would probably not accept it, but I think he is tailor made for a Director of Football. Someone who can control the scouting and signing of players, while syncing it with his requirements.
That was more or less Carr's job, whose termination was more or less in Rafa's contract. Rafa's the ultimate juxtaposition for manager of NUFC. Begs for, then moans about, budgets when we're the lowest net spenders by some distance. However coaches the subsequent sub-par players to an incredible level, producing survival when he probably shouldn't. His squad is about 30% of the level of McLaren's! I don't get the Gelson link at all. Rafa has control, so this should be his choice. As DPP says, we've constantly looked best with 3 at the back, we're getting some kind of momentum with that tactic, why then try to sign yet another winger? Our weakest position is LWB, which Ritchie isn't, closely followed by attacking support for Rondon. My concern is that his top targets appear to be out and out winger, then a number 10. Why concern? Because if we signed Almiron and Gelson we'd immediately revert to 4-2-3-1. In addition, we'd still regularly see Joselu as he's the only sub that suits the formation. I'm no doubt in the wrong and Rafa is right, but you can't shake the feeling that maybe our fat overlord has similar doubts. It is his money, after all..... <joke>
Think a lot of these links are to do with the recent article saying agent's know we are looking and throwing players at us left right and centre. Pretty sure some of them are using us as a means to bump their fee's with other clubs where these players are off to already. The only links i believe are N'Soki (LB) from PSG atm and possibly the Moise Kean (CF) from Juve as N'soki we've been after for a while and Kean is due to go out on loan. Almiron possibly but doubt it to expensive and why sign him if we are playing 5-4-1 atm with no AM or would him coming in see a switch in tactics back to 4-5-1? Think a LB will be coming in in the next 3/4 days but could see that being our only bit of business.
Well Terry Henry has been suspended by Monaco now so if martins was going there to play for him he may well be thinking again. Subsequently the new gaffer may not want him there so this may not be completely dead in the water. I would fully expect charnley to re-enter negotiations and offer everyone half of what they were previously asking for!
