Mark Bunn and Andy Webster (again)! Concerning to us linked to a player like Webster again after a shocking defensive shambles on saturday. Not a player who will do any improvement to the squad let alone starting XI. Mark Bunn as stated the other day makes sense with Rudd going out on loan... BUT we have bigger problems and neither of these will do anything to improve our starting line up, something that needs addressing starting with a bl***y decent holding mifielder
Webster? I haven't heard anything about him. There was a few more murmurs for Davies today, which would be a big plus.
i'd be very unhappy if we end up with andy webster. he is not the sort of player we should be signing. mark bunn is fine, no problem with that. he's probably better than rudd and steer (as it stands) and it gives them a chance to gain experience elsewhere. i don't think we are desperate for a centre half but i do know what we are desperate for, and its not jordan bloody rhodes...
We appear to be back at the same old NCFC problem even at Premiership level - lack of investement. It was very apparent to all that the present team will find it hard to survive after the pathetic Fulham result. So what have we spent so far................Snodgrass £3.0M?, Butterfield? guess £0.5M, Turner £1.5M, Whittaker free? and left back Spanish lad on loan. Say £5.0M so far? When one of the Directors states that the manager has the best transfer budget EVER then what are led to believe is the amount available? Ok, so you don't necessarily spend big and buy a superstar but surely we have at least another £5 - £10m available? Of our strikers, only Holt has proved that he can cut it in the Prem - it could be argued theat Morison with 9 goals is just about capable but the others are certainly not. Defence-wise we seem to be going for cheap 2nd XI players or loans or frees. We may have got away with it last season, but my main worry is that we won't get away with it this season.
I know we don't want a repeat of getting into a bad mess financially and we've only just about steadied the ship, but that's quite a fair point about this supposedly being the best transfer budget ever I was expecting something around £10-15 million obviously with the January window in contention.
sometimes i despair of some of our fans... why was it 'so apparent' that the current team would struggle so much? i don't get this at all. we finished in a very well deserved 12th place last season. WE DO NOT REQUIRE MAJOR SURGERY! we require careful additions who won't upset the applecart but who are able to improve us. for some people its always about the money. 'we aren't spending enough', 'we only buy cheap players'... well best get used to it cos we simply don't have the funds or capability of spending more than we currently do. our board are stretched as it is to pay off debt yet still keep a club with next-to-no-money in one of the most difficult leagues in the world, competing with massive riches. we were a league one club on the verge of meltdown three years ago. now we are a premier league club on a sound financial footing who are about to be debt-free for quite possibly the first time in our history. time for one or two to accept that we are not cash-rich and we are shopping in the bargain bins.
The way i look at it. Hughton is obviousley insisting on playing a 4-4-1-1 or a 4-5-1 and at this current time i think we are 3 players short of the required quality to making this formation work. A top CB, A holding midfielder and a striker. Hes obviously wanting a GK aswell so were looking at 3-4 more players in my eyes and many more i would expect.
Super, Some people do seem to think that we´re owned by some wealthy arab with millions to chuck about, we´re not, thank god, and we´re shopping in the only way we can, and I agree with you, we don´t need an overhaul, we just a need a bit of tinkering, and we need to find last season´s belief and spirit. If we do that, I think we´ll be fine.
We have to shop within our means - it's not just about the transfer fee, there's wages and other ancillary costs that eat up the available funds. We simply don't have the mony to spend and don't have many saleable assets (a la Swansea and Joe Allen) to use to provide funds for other players. We could, and should, offload Chrissy, Korey and Tom - that could net us a £2.0 - £2.5m which could be invested in a DM or part fund another striker. Apart from these three who else can we sell - Hoolahoops ? - they'd be a public outcry (we've already seen it on here) - Fox (it's a wonder Lambert hasn't been sniffing already) - Morison (some would say yes but I think he's valuable to the squad and should be the starter if Hughton does play one up top which seems extremely likely) - there aren't many others are there so, as hard as it is to accept sometimes, we have to recognise where we are and be thankful to the Board for the fact that we have any club at all to support. I am sure there will be new recruits but don't expect us to be paying top dollar.
Difficult to tell based on one game and series of friendlies but I think we're missing a certain spark, obviously a change of regime will effect players too because they'll be working under a totally different system, which takes a while to adapt to and I don't think that happened in the friendlies. Time will obviously tell and I hope I'm proved wrong but we look flat and a tad nervous
spark is a good word to use northants. there was a spark missing but it'll come. that's not saying these players have suddenly become useless or the new signings are a waste of space. new regime = new ideas. not everyone will like it but we all have to understand that chris hughton is our manager now, not lambert, and he'll have a different way of doing things. lets see how we are taking shape 6 games in and then we can see if we should worry or not. people seem to forget this, but had we won 5-0 at fulham we would be no clearer on knowing which division we will play our football in 2013-14 season. its one game down and 37 to go. i think each and every one of our new signings brings something to the table, and i'm sure we will have another couple before too long. for gods sake have some patience!
Im not suggesting breaking the bank but with parachute payments and a 70% increase in tv revenue next year, surely there is some scope for taking a small financial risk. just a thought!
I agree we don't have money to burn so we shouldn't burn it, but I much preferred our old policy of taking a punt on promising hungry young players rather than what seems to be our new policy of going for 'experienced' mediocre ones. Despite Hughton's disparaging comments after the game, the players we have were good enough to finish mid-table last season and our squad has been strengthened since (plus Howson and Bennett came late). But if they are squeezed into a system that doesn't suit them, they won't perform. It's about making the system fit the players, not the opposite.
Sebastien Bassong is being spoken of as a City signing by several different people on twitter. Yet to find anything semi-concrete, though. Usual
Think it's a bit early knocking Hughton's signing baring in mind only two of them has played in a competitive game. Also think Butterfield and Snodgrass are them promising young players. The only one I am doubting is Whittaker but not knocking Hughton for it until he has actually had a chance and I've seen him play in the prem.
No! No! No! That's what Leeds fans said - just a small financial risk and we can do well in Europe - we will earn it next year. Portsmouth fans - just a small financial risk and we will earn it next year. Just 1 simple question - if you start spending money you won't get until next year how do you manage next year when the bills arrive? You have already spent your income!! It's like you buying a car this year with money you haven't got because your Grandad has only been given 12 months to live and is leaving you £20k in his will - how do you pay if he doesn't die or changes his will? I have been going to Carrow Road since 1950 and in that time they have been days from financial meltdown at least 4 times - if they ever started to go down that route again I would walk away from the Club for good.
I guess all I'm saying is that it depends on the level of risk, and I'm not necesarily advocating spending a little more, just speculating on possibilities. Personally, I wouldn't break the structure, as it can lead to disaster. What level of risk is possible without damaging the club, there is always scope, just trying to get some different views.
i really don't think we can speculate to accumulate if i'm being honest. it would put in jeopardy all the hard work and, lets be honest, luck we've had. we took risks down in league one and had they not paid off we'd be in the do-do, probably fighting with plymouth at the foot of league two. lets not look at the possibility of relegation as the death of the club in some way - the board have got the club to a position where, should the worst happen, its not an issue financially. we should do all we can to stay up but not at any cost - we have to be realistic and our expectations should align with those of where the club currently sits in the footballing world. we can't gamble on one season of staying up in the hope of more. that may sound extremely negative but if you think about it, you can view it far more positively. my idea of 'taking a risk' would be come january, say we were struggling, spending £5m+ on a striker - that would be a gamble but at least it would be calculated.
