Reading various gossip columns,(and agreed most are nothing more than gossip,) there still remains a certain amount of fact attributed to these stories,our club being no exception.Dembele being the current touted Jan exit. we obviously,dont know who Jol has in mind if anybody,( a couple of defenders "def"), but i cant help thinking we could be in for a mini clear out. Not my choices, but I have listed below who could be on the exit bus. Dembele. Only for a very good fee 10 / 12/ mil Johnson. Yes because he will be on a free 6mts later 1 / 2/ mil Zamora. Mixed feelings But if, for 8 / 10 mil Dempsey. No way Hangaland No way And of course 3 prem! clubs are reputed to be sniffing around for Briggs. FFC fans, your thoughts, with a rational .
Pretty much agree with you Val, although I'd rather get AJ to sign a new contract (that suits both parties) than leave.
I agree with you Valjing on most of what you said, but I always look first to see if we have a ready made replacement. It could also depend if we are still in Europe, that shrinking the squad is fatal if we get injuries. Have to watch out for the African Nations cup when looking at players. Dembele. At the moment his lack of consistent good games is his downfall, some games the team has to carry him. We do have a number of players for the same position he plays so a fee of 10 million with a loan player would do me. Johnson. because he will be on a free 6mts later if we get 1 / 2/ mil Again yes sell him, he hasn't signed a new contract, and has dragged it out. There are young players who can step up to take his place or may be a loan striker. Zamora. If a club wants to pay 8-10 million, I'd sell but would have to make sure to replace with a player who has played Premier football and done well. Can't afford to lose both experienced strikers without adequate cover. Dempsey. Not the time to sell him, he has Premier experience, he produces the unexpected, and makes defenders very uncomfortable, like the way he just ghosts in to score. Hangeland. Mid-season is not the time to sell the rock of the defense. Now Grygera is injured priority goes to right-back.
I could also see Roy Hodgson coming in with a bid for Etuhu, and Jol accepting it. Dickson is far less central to our plans than he was two years ago, and it's only really been under Roy that he has consistently played his best football. That could well be a move that was to the advantage of both clubs and the player. It would be sad to see him go, but it increasingly looks like he's an uncomfortable fit with Jol's vision for how we play. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see us go back for Gignac (hey Bidley, I remembered it this time!), in which case Jol may be happy to let one or more of the strikers go. £10m for Dembele is excellent money if he continues to be inconsistent, but if he develops into the player he might become we could rue the day we let him go. If you'd asked me in the summer, I'd have said take it. Now I'm not so sure. By contrast, with Bobby we know precisely what we would be letting go, and we'd miss him if nobody else joins to replace him. On the other hand, he's only going to decline in value, fitness and performance from here on it, the question is how quickly all that will happen. I don't want Dempsey to go either, but if he doesn't sign a new contract, January or the summer will be the last chances to get a decent fee for him (I think his expires in the summer of 2013 - does anyone know that for sure?) As others have said, we have a lot of highly promising youngsters who can fill his position, so his loss need not be as disastrous as Bobby's could be. Hangeland has often said how he isn't interested in a move. I suspect that if it was going to happen with him it would have been a couple of years ago. Of all the names mentioned, he's the one I'm most confident will still be at Fulham this time next year.
Dembele finally had a good game for us ... he and Zamora both. Dempsey was complete disinterested in anything except shooting - every disappointing. And Ruiz showed some of the class we paid for. At this point, I'd be willing to let Dembele go. One good game does not a career make, but if he continues playing like he did Sunday, I'd lean toward keeping him. Jol has shown unusual patience in putting Dembele on the field, and his patience is beginning to pay dividends. The team is just starting to gel, I think, just in time for yet another ghastly international break.
Dembele's had more than one good game this season, it's just for every good game he has he has a bad one. He's the dictionary definition of inconsistent. He's been better for us than he was last season, when he had two games where he looked like a world-beater, then was average for the rest of the season. Still, he's not pivotal to our side - yet. I agree with the Captain on all points. We'd do well to get Gignac in on loan in January irrespective of if we lose a striker.
Agree with Super Brian - a right sided defender is required. Angel from Villareal would be a good choice. They're hard up and may be willing to sell - only downside is that he is not long back from an anterior cruciate ligament injury. He can run all day and has been first choice at Villareal for a couple of years prior to his injury.
It may have gone under the radar (well mine anyway), but AJ is not the only one eligible for a free transfer in the summer. The others are - Schwarzer, Murphy, Kelly, Somogyi and Grygera. I don't know where Somogyi is in the sheme of things (he's not even appearing for the reserves) and Grygera is regretably probably out of the scheme of things. So no comment. The other 3 though currently integral to the main squad will be replaced (soon) but wouldn't it be criminal if we let them, especially Schwartzer, go for nothing. The strong rumour is that 7 players will leave in January. Halliche, Riise the younger (returned early from his unsuccessful loan) I would expect to be 2 of those. But who else and who from the Bosman lot ?
I'm not sure we would be able to get much for Schwarzer to be honest. He's the second oldest player in the premiership - I found out on Sunday - so his resale value would be quite low I would imagine - mind you, even if it were £50 it would still be a profit on what we got him for.
I think Danny's finding it physically very tough, I'm not sure he could play another full season (ie each week) after this one - I'd like to see him stay as a coach and I'm sure he wants to go into management somewhere eventually. How old is Kelly - I'd like to see him stay if he's under 30. I think Skippy should probably step aside for Stockdale - whether gradually or all at once. Somogyi was only ever signed as insurance while Stocky is on loan. Grygera, sadly, looks like he is finished at this level.
I think at this point it's not a case of getting a fee for him, it's if we should phase him out and Stockdale in. Would he sign another contract knowing he'll be phased out of the team? Unlikely.
I don't think it would be at all criminal to let Schwarzer go for free. As others have pointed out, we signed him on a free and have had three and a half excellent years service from him (so far). He's been well worth his wages. Most of us seem agreed that, good as he is (and Mrs Captain was remarking on how good a keeper he is during the Krakow game the other week) we don't need him anymore with Stockdale looking ready to step in. While the player we are most likely to miss from the potential free transfer list is Murphy, I don't think any of them would be disastrous to lose for nothing. I'd be sorry to see Kelly go. He's done well this season and I've never understood why so many people are so down on him. I also suspect that he, rather than Baird, is the person most likely to step into Grygera's injury-hit shoes in the next few weeks.
This could be a difficult call. ie. If we are in a fairly safe position when the window opens,Jol may hope to retain more of those mentioned above Dire straights,? he may decide then, to start his own team building.
My mind on AJ is changing looking at his performances recently, and should he was available, I think we could have had a better chance against Spurs. But I will go with the club. We have a pipeline of young players coming on that can do the job of AJ if given the time. A RB will be required, although Kelly is playing surprisingly well so I would give him a chance and keep Baird as a CB next to Hangeland. He can only get better... Wouldn't sell Hangeland or Dempsey and I would not like Bobby or Dembele to go half way into the season. AJ if he is not committing to a contract would get 1-2m and off to West Brom!!
I could be wrong, but I think if AJ's West Brom move was going to happen, it would have happened in the last window. Since then they have signed Shane Long, and he's likely to be back from his injury before the January window opens. If AJ does move, I don't think he'll be rejoining Roy. Then again, every prediction I've made this season for our starting eleven has been wrong, so what do I know? I agree about Baird keeping his place at centre back though. He's always said it was his best position, and now he's demonstrating that.
Yes, Bairdy is looking better and better i n the middle, what about Aaron ? Is it really worth flogging AJ for 1 or 2 mill if he's playing in this form?
I think that we are to be very careful about getting rid of players in January. The last few performances have shown that we are starting to get used to Jol's tactics. There are some obvious players that will go: Bjorn Helge Riise Rafik Halliche Carlos Salcido ( i think he is still on our books ) Dickson Etuhu possibly Philippe Senderos. We have to keep AJ, his contribution to the team this year warrants that. He is thriving under an attacking style, his running the channels is exactly what we need and seeing Ruiz slot a few passes through this weekend shows that AJ may well carry on scoring. Dembele is a seriously talented player, we have to try a keep him. BZ is playing well at the moment as well. With the likes of Dan Burn,Briggs, Kasami, Gecov, Frei, Kacaniklic and Trotta all looking at getting first team football buying in too many new players could unsettle them. One or two astute signings I reckon for January and reassess come the summer. COYW
