We dont miss Jones at all IMO. He's useless. Ask a Stoke fan? What we do miss is a big figure at the back to organise (a Tony Adams sort) and a midfield that are bigger and tougher but concede much less dead ball situations to the opposition. We are still guilty of giving away silly free kicks around the box IMO. Samba would be perfect commanding our defence next season. We should look for a strong muscular striker but not neccesaarily another big plank to hump high balls to. The game has moved on from that. Doyle, Pavleychenko, Demba Ba and Crouch have again been mentioned and I am comfortable with all 4.
Not Crouch for me, but the other 3 i'd welcome with open arms. Crouch doesn't influence games so much, i think he's winding down.
I think he is one of the most underated footballers in the EPl mate and has been for 4 or 5 years. Very technically gifted and good in the air in a Quinny way not just a battering ram. Much under used at Spurs for some reason, I'd love him to be alongside Gyan come August and have Welbeck and Doyle on the bench?
Demba Ba was available and for a short term loan deal as well. Wouldnt this have been a good signing?
I think he was mate, certainly, but this season he's really struggled when i've seen him play. A year or 2 ago i'd have been buzzing if we signed him, and while i wouldn't be upset if we did go for him now, i'd be far from inspired. I do like Pav mind. There's Pav's Russian strike partner Pavel Pogrebnyak as well, he's a big lad strong in the air, and he's probably available, the big advantage ti him over Pav (similar in style, build everything), is that he's left footed (and 2 years younger!) Could be good for balance, and we have been very fleetingly linked in the past. I really like the Demba Ba idea mind, think he fits, him and Doyle.
i just think he isnt getting enough footy. He has still scored some very important goals for them when he has played. There are some good exciting options out there for sure and I only hope we can be involved in the mix for them.
Absolutely. We'll find out just how deep Ellis is prepared to dip his hand in his pocket this summer, there's a shortage of deadwood to flog on to cover the outlay this time around. (credit Bruce for that mind, apart from the 1 or 2 that should have been kept for cover)
Lets look at demba ba at the time. A: could not pass a medical at stoke, did we really need a player who could break down any minute, especially with our injury woes (and from last seson not just this) B: we already had 5-6 Loan players, surely we didnt need (well maybe want) a another one. In a way i think the kilgallon deal had a lot to do with this. last year, defenders injured, bought kilgallon as a stop gap, but had to give him a long contract, player just wasnt good enough, defenders came back, stuck with him so had to send him out on loan = waste of 3 million or whever it was. that scenario probably stopped us getting bit part player who could fill a gap, you cant just say a contract for 6 months, and the player will accept it. and cest has been saying a replacement for bent, carew/gudhonsen/ba are not replacements for bent, they would have been stop gaps till the end of season at best, and we would have been stuck with them for another 2-3 years, and the 1st 2 are getting on, so getting anything back on them would have been impossible. yes better than 0 strikers at all, but thats hindsight like almost everything is.
Does anyone think Bruce would WANT or agree to sell Bent.(how many are as consistent as he is and would have signed for Sunderland) As Syd said, this is another Bruce out article, I firmly believe Bruce did not want to sell Bent in the mid season, "every player has his price" is an oft used phrase - Short & Quinn decided to take the money and Bruce would have had to accept the decision, our Owner will have set the Bent price. Once Bent started the season he should have completed the season regardless of his price being met, Bent in poor form still scored goals and he was certainly better than the replacement they bought in(or didn't as the case maybe) after he was sold. Note: I have had to edit this post, fraped is when somebody jumps onto your pc when logged into facebook and puts out a dodgy post, well my 16 year old grandson has just 606raped me, embellished on of my posts that was under construction and posted it. Now bearing in mind I pay for his season ticket I think he has taken the hit and miss don't you.
Unfortunatley for your argument you have only told half the story mate. He failed a medical at Stoke as you say but passed one at W Ham with flying colours, played in 12 of their games and scored 7 goals? And that was for a team haunted with relegation all season? I could be happy'stuck' with a players with a goals ratio of that calibre kidda? Plus, Killgallon cost us closer to 1.5m than the 3m you alluded to.
Not sure of Bolton already had Sturridge, but we should of just paid ã10million and bought him. Easy said when he has been playing well but surely after buying Torres you would have thought they would sell. Still noises from Sturridge that he wont be happy to warm the bench at Chelski but Bolton might have first pick on him.
pretty sure he failed the medical at west ham as well mind but they still took the option on him (nothing to loose really, but not 100% sure on that) it was just good fortune that he never broke down for 6 months (with us he would have been crocked just by signing the contract) just seen he passed it, ah well, whatever, we didnt really need another player on loan though, and we still might get him with west ham going down.
Great post from Cestria and a great thread. I don't blame Bruce for the Bent situation. There was probably not a lot he could have done to change things. Bent wanted to go, and that was that. Where his failings were for me came earllier in the season. Using up the loan quota before a ball was kicked. This left him with no room for manoevre if there was an unforseen situation such as the Bent departure and/or injuries etc, which we have had a lot of. Had he not been so depenedent on the loan system which prevents you from building a team anyway he could have brought someone in. Stoke couldn't have moved the goalposts on Fuller etc and we wouldn't have been held to ransom. He could have brought a loan striker in. Maybe he should have bought someone to seize the opportunity that Cest refers to in his original post. He didn't and maybe that was down to increasing financial constraints which coincided with Quinn's rant about attendances. My interpretation of that was that pressure was being applied to Quinn by Short on this. I have no doubt that Mr Short will have told the pair of them that this current situation is not good enough. Quinn has stood by Bruce and has laid his own future on the line. Remember; Short owns the club and Quinn is an employee, the same as Bruce. I think that this fact is some times forgotten.
Good points all, Bald. Getting back to Cest's thread title "Have we missed the boat?" Absolutely. Primarily because of LFC / Villa / Everton being so crap before Christmas, we could have had 6th spot easily sewn up by the time they recovered. OK, we may have had a battle on our hands to retain it from April onwards but wouldn't it have been highly satisfying to have been battling it out with the likes of them for a change. Let's not reopen the possible reasons why SB might be held responsible. I think all viewpoints have been well aired on this thread and numerous others. It's just a crying shame that it all went tits up. Despite that and all the long term injuries, there is no doubting that some changes for the good have come about. Like Colback's emergence as a potential gem. What a brilliant user of the ball. He might well become Man U's target in a year or two ahead of Hendo. Mig appeared to go downhill a bit towards the end of the season but that long run of PL games can only have done him good. At worst, he has been in the shop window and his value has definitely risen. Sess looks like being the signing of the season. Maybe ahead even of Asamoah in terms of potential. Bardo learned how to keep his raspers below 35,000 feet and more or less on target these days. Three more Academy lads in the near background: R Noble, Laing, Lynch. Nobody knows whether or not they will make the grade but heartening to see three of them as being possibilities. Proper, good technical football being played at last. Even if they still cannot achieve the + side of GD. At least one abiding glowing memory - Stamford Bridge. Apart from the performance and Ned's goal, I had backed the win @ 13/1. Laid some off at HT but my best footy win of the season. Just wanted my last comment on Cest's thread to be something a bit positive for next season.
Quinn has said along along that a full vibrant stadium is what he needs to help promote the club on the global stage. Global..............
Prior to Bill Shankly, Liverpool were nothing more than a second division club looking to aspire to bigger and better things. Someone dared to dream and the club was altered for ever. Only an ignorant twat from the darkside would post something as pitiful as this. No surprises there then.
well we get to see all the matches live, and i see lots of people in safc tops, so you don't get much more global tham that.
