If Dr Carlos can kick him into action then we have a very good player else, we got a lazy player who'll only ever give 70%. As for Andy King? I see him as a belated replacement for Jack Cork. He's solid, reliable, doesn't give the ball away which our midfield is prone to do and scores the odd goal too. Welcome Andy King
Cork did nothing for us. King is more of a Carroll backup imo. Another last minute panic to claim we brought in more than one very expensive player. Have yet again ignored full back cover and got rid of the one player (other than Leon if he can still play) who could break up attacks as play quick passes.
King is the steady experienced mid fielder we need for a relegation battle and is more attacked minded than Cork. Mesa had skills but was prone to mistakes as well and I thought he never really got to grips with the pace of the PL. I think we needed a LB and not a RB as we have no cover. except perhaps Naughton. for Olssen.. I have a feeling we may have seen the last, sadly, of Leon
I totally agree with you regarding King 100% panic and brings very little to the squad. we should be looking to compete with Leicester not take their dregs. NS says he is experienced and steady. we have more than enough of those already and brings absolutely nothing we haven't got. surely in January we should be trying to bring in better than what we have and with King we simply haven't, this line from a Leicester fan sums up thios signing for me. He wont let you down but wont pull up any trees either Bob to be fair I think we have ignored the Full back spot as we aren't going to play with full backs for the rest of the season and will play with 3 at the back and I think he sees some of our wide players being the cover and doing that job, just a thought. I do agree however we should have brought one in. I don't think we are any stronger at the end of the window than we were at the start of it and for a little more investment we could have pushed on with what Carvahal has been doing. but I knew that as soon as he got a few results they would think there is no need to strengthen . so all in all another piss poor window. To me it shows up that we have no scouting in place and it just looks like HJ throws darts at pictures on a wall to see who we will chase. But then is anyone surprised how poor again we have been in another transfer window.
In Messa and Fulton we had similar defensive minded central midfielders with no attack at all. They linked defense to midfield. Ahead of them there's Fer and Ki, both central midfielders, not link players. Ki has a little more attack than Fer but Fer does pop up to score occasionally but neither are creative. Carroll plays predominantly LM but roams. He is not a creative AM but a link and support player. For him to be at his best he like the others, need a creative player to play off. So we swap out a non creative defensive midfielder who's best position is on the bench and another who cant even get into the squad for a creative AM who has goals in him, and who will probably start from here on in and a creative midfielder who can play AM/CM/LM/RM and who also has a goal in him. Why I personally think we are far more streamlined and balanced than before the window and why I say we are definitely stronger.
I think on balance, Stumpy, I would tend to agree with you. I've met Mesa and had a long chat with him - in both Spanish & English. He felt that Clement didn't rate him. He basically shrugged his shoulders when he said that sometimes a Coach doesn't like a player. Seems that Carlos must have felt the same. Whilst I liked Fulton, he was a squad player with limited PL experience. Now we have Ayew Snr who we know has goals in him, whilst King is an experienced PL player, albeit not 'top notch'.
The Yanks speaking in the Guardian: “We’re evaluating how we improve our process and that may be bringing in additional people in roles that could help,” Levien says. “The key for us is how do we learn from the mistakes that we’ve made and get better. So adding additional resources to that is something we’re looking closely at.” Jenkins, who is heavily involved in transfers, has said he will consider his position at the end of the season. The chairman has come in for heavy criticism from a section of the supporters, yet Kaplan and Levien take an alternative view. “Huw works his tail off, he’s dedicated to the club, he’s loyal to everything going on in the organisation, so we want him with us,” adds Levien. “That being said, we want to continue to improve the [recruitment] process.” In all the doom and gloom, Carvalhal’s arrival has provided some light. Swansea go into Saturday’s home game against Burnley unbeaten in eight matches, out of the relegation zone and with a renewed sense of hope. “The thing that’s really come through to me since Carlos has been with us is that his passion for football surpasses virtually anyone I’ve been around,” Kaplan says. “He loves the game and that affects the entire club.” Link: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/feb/09/swansea-owners-interview-made-some-mistakes
