I have complete trust in Nicola Cortese and Nigel Adkins to go after the players that they feel will enhance an already very good squad. The interview with the new head of our European scouting system was the most revealing, he was quoted as saying that he will be "looking for players that could not only do a job in the Championship, but also in the Premier League". Personally, I think that we will be strengthening all parts of the first team, but it's still early days.
if we are going to be spending that sort of money it will be on people who are premier league standard.
does no-one think martin has a future then? with all the comments that we desperately need a new CB for the future, even after the £500k bid from west ham in jan? a guy i used to work with at the cherries said we tabled a bid for pearce in Jan, maybe we will be back in for him seeing as everyone seems to be circling there at the mo? back on topic tho i dont think £4m is too much for maynard - he is seen as one of the best outside the PL and consider that £4m in the PL is peanuts these days it doesnt seem that bad, pacey and a good goalscorer is a well sought after commodity and i definitely think our frontline needs pace
£4 million might be peanuts in the premier league, but remember were not in the premier league, and haven't been for a good long time. We need to be careful with money, and spunking out that much on one guy is a huge risk (especially as he missed most of lasts season with a knee injury). And I do have faith in Martin and think he should be around the first team next season. However, I have almost zero confidence in Seabourne, and i'm worried about Jaidi's ability to play more than a bit part in the championship. So really the only defender I have absolute confidence is Fonte. When you consider that CB is arguably the most important position in the team, I don't think that situation is good enough.
Nicola Cortese is no fool, he knows that to get to where he wants us to be he will have to 'speculate to accumulate' to a certain degree. He may be waiting to see how well season ticket sales go before making any real moves, but there is a delicate balance, because a few exciting signings may add a couple of thousand on the gates for next season. I honestly think we will be making a few calculated signings as we did when we were in League One.
Going for Cork makes a lot of sense if we plan to play with 3 in the middle, especially with Gobern on his way out. Seaborne is a tricky one. His mistakes have been memorable, but its easy to forget his good games also - he was Exeter captain for a good reason after all.
Sometimes go to watch the Spitfires at home with my father (die-hard Eastleigh FC fan) and so watched Martin play alongside Tom Jordan (son of Joe) for a season and he looked very composed at that level. Honestly thought he had a chance when Saints took him on; my father was (and is) still miffed we bought him - more so that he does not get a game. By now however, I would have thought he would have gotten more games - must be approaching 23 now - cannot help but feel that last season should have been his breakthrough year; and wasn't. Need someone of the same calibre as Fonte at the back and used Big J, Seabourne and Martin to step in when needed. Glad to see so many posters agree that a CD is more benefical than another striker.
I'm a believer that you HAVE to score lots of goals to succeed in any division. Yes we need a CB, but 1 more fairly proven striker too. Birmingham had a "build from the back" philosophy but got relegated because they didn't score enough goals. Blackpool ...... Oh, there goes that theory
RLG, Yeah, apparently, PFC have a 50% sell on fee inserted into JP's contract. I couldn't believe it myself, they say that Peter Storrie was out of the office that day! http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13854976.stm
fonte is obviously number 1 CB and jaidi is still useful. but i think this is probably his last year playing football, at least with us. i think both seaborne and martin are capable of playing in the championship, will be interesting to see who gets the nod when jaidi isnt playing if both of them are fit.
JP says he was unaware that he had a 50% sell on clause. In that case, his agent is at fault. If he didn't have an agent, he could have got the PFA to vet the contract. There were rumours that NC wanted a 40% clause in AOC's contract. These are far too high. As JP has found, it can stop a move.
I would rather see us invest in younger players, than free transfer ex prem players on high wages and at the end of their careers. We might pay more in transfer fees, but the overall cost over 3 - 4 years is much lower.
I do feel this too, but I just have a little niggle that I'd like to see one very experienced/established player in the mix. We have Fonte, but another one to pull the youngsters through the difficult periods will be good.
