As a 4th striker definitely, but still think his agent would still be able to get him a decent contract that worries me. I'd still say get Ebanks-Blake if time is running out. A 1 year deal or appearance based would protect us sufficiently.
You say they were in the pooer and it doesn't matter how they got there, which is nonsense. It does matter. They got there by the OWNER and MANAGER overspending to a frightening degree. If they didn't overspend alarmingly perhaps they wouldn't have had to lay off as many staff as they did. Ben Haim deserved the money he was paid because it was in his contract, the contract given to him by the Owner and Harry Spiv Redknapp. You cannot place all the woes of Portsmouth at Ben Haim's door. If I was your employer All Hell and I gave you a whacking big salary and two years down the line I came to you and said the Company is in trouble I want you to give up the rest of your contract, what would you say. I would say I am sorry but if you aren't willing to pay me off I will sit to the end of my contract because I have a family and wife to support. Perhaps that makes me mercenary and you a better person.
He wasn't entitled to the money when he wasn't prepared to do his job IMO. In any ordinary job you can be sacked for not pulling your weight and under performing, sadly this will never happen in football due to the commodities having worth to the clubs in the way of financial worth. He had opportunities to leave Pompey but wasn't prepared as other clubs wouldn't pay him the same. I remember being at a wedding with Matthew Taylor before his move to Bolton, and he was openly discussing the fact they were only(!!) willing to offer him 20k. Everyone around him thought he was a cock. These guys don't know what lives they have.
It doesn't matter how they got there Dick... the Administrator was running the Club NOT the former owner or Manager... anybody could see that the club was being run badly and couldn't afford the wages it was paying (including Tal Bin Haim) and things could easily go tits up but, a number of players had their noses in the trough but when the hit did hit the fan they did the decent thing and found new employers... TBH had offers but decided to keep his head firmly in the swill. I did in fact work for an organisation that was downsizing and my boss came to me and said that I had to lose two people from my team... I discussed it with my mate who worked for me and we decided that as the two of us had the best possibility of getting new jobs, it was our names I put forward for redundancy. Was this an act of stupidity... possibly... but we both got new jobs within months and now I am a Company Finance Director, my mate died four years later of a brain tumour but he was doing a job he loved. Why do I hate TBH.... I guess it was the way I was brought up, my dad was never a great film lover but he always quoted the line "Nobility is not a birthright. It's defined by one's actions" We know exactly how noble TBH is.
Vol has four positions to be filled on his shopping list, AllHell has five. Although our squad is indeed thin, that realistically is not going to happen. While it would be nice to sign more players to compete and as back-up, I would rather see whatever money we have available spent to buy two (only) decent players to improve the two weakest positions we have, rather than a slew of mediocre players similar standard to what we have. If we are then hit by injuries we would have to rely on loans, but that is what the loan system is there for, not to allow mercenaries like Buyens to bypass his temper tantrums with his real employers. So, a support striker, Kermit style, who can hold the ball up front, lay it off to Vetokele,and chip in with double figures himself. Cost 1.5 million (or cheaper if 30 or over). And a left-midfielder who can do what Wilson can do on the right, defend well and attack well. Cost 750,000 (or cheaper if 30 or over).Jamie O'Hara is the right type, but as no-one wants him (except Blackpool) I suspect he is hopelessly damaged goods. Don't see a pressing need for another creative midfielder. What would we do with Moussa or Gudmundsson? And we already have Cousins, Buyens and Jackson to fit in at CM. I agree that M & G still need to prove they are fit enough to play frequently and last a match out, but the club should have sorted that out before signing them. FHB calls for three strikers as first priority. He is not wrong as we only have one striker worth the name. But strikers are expensive, and I cannot see RD forking out. We could sign a second new striker in place of the LM, though, if the club thinks Moussa will eventually become fit enough to fill the LM spot. Sign those two decent players and we should avoid a relegation struggle. Without them I fear it will be a repeat of last year. Not convinced our foreign mercenaries are up for a battle once injuries hit and we start getting a few refereeing decisions going against us. The flap (which might have contributed to the goal) about a trivial one in the Cup was not a good omen. 'Udders got a fighting point against us with 10 men for half of the match. They started with 11 British players and only one foreigner on the bench (very unusual for the top two tiers these days). Not sure if our lot would have battled that hard.
Just noticed Vetokele is travelling to Angola for two matches. I doubt if he will be fighting fit for at least a fortnight after his return. The matches, the travel, and climate change really takes it out of sub-saharan players when they go away. Makes signing at least one good striker even more urgent. Church is called up too, so we may be seeing something of Pigott after the international break.
just a note on west ham and their transfer activity... they're about to sign alex song. pushing poyet even further down the pecking order. has that young man made the biggest mistake of his career already or what?!
AHLL/ Super, Read the new excellent biography on Redknapp "Harry's Game". A few facts... 1. Demanded a £100,000 from Bournemouth for a transfer when manager there, having told their fans he wouldn't take it. Left Club on brink of bankruptcy as a result. 2. Demanded a £300,000 "finders fee" from West Ham when Rio Ferdinand sold to Leeds, despite this not being in his contract. 3. Stabbed West Ham manager Billy Bonds in the back, took his job, never spoken to him since. 4. Feud with Sir Trevor Brooking resulting from the above. 5. Wreaked havoc as Portsmouth manager, as discussed. 6. Said he would "never join that lot down the road at Southampton" when Pompey manager. 7. Joined "that lot down the road" 8. Multiple relegations, left carnage at Pompey, Saints and now QPR. Has Fleet St and his tart of a son in his corner...so some how gets away with it still. Good old Harry !
'Onest 'Arry, the lovable rogue. It may be that the worst is still to come. QPR escaped meltdown by the skin of their teeth with that lucky win against Derby in the play-offs- they would have been slaughtered under FFP otherwise. In "Macavity's" defense it is true that no-one ever had to give in to his "demands", and at Portsmouth he recommended players to the chairman, who did not have to sign them any more than Richard Murray had to sign Dowie's targets. In fact for a while he was a hero at Pompey- took them up, took Southampton down. And if a chairman turns round and says "No, we can't afford any more players" it doesn't exactly endear him to the manager or fans, who prefer to call it "investment". Remember Peter Ridsdale? Everyone loved him when he was "investing" in the Leeds squad.
Nick, I'm not saying that Harry didn't play a large part in Portsmouth's problems... what I am saying is that once the sh1t hit the fan (and Harry was gone) then TBH was the only player who refused to work with the Administrator and refused to take a very highly paid job with West Ham to sit on his arse and watch working class people lose their jobs. There is no debate on who caused Portsmouth's financial troubles (the owner and Harry) what I am saying is that Bin Haim was the only player who refused to work with the administrator.
