Raylor

New 2 year contract extension.

Ryan Taylor Over The Wall

 

Coolio. Doesn't set the world alight but able cover for full back for me.

 

Good for him. He's done a decent job.

 

Deserved it, always does his best and very useful to have around for his genuine versatility. This is good, let's keep laying the groundwork.

 

I,ll take that , seems the contract band wagon rolls on .........

 

OH MY GOD!

Just seen this on Sky Sports News.....they showed pictures of Steven Taylor.

What a f*cking amateaur organisation. What a joke they are.

 

This.

He's a good team man and alway's gives his best. Pleased to have him aboard.

 

Typical of them really, just goes to show how much interest they have in what they do.

 

I find the fact that they dedicate a 24 hour news channel dedicated to sport, which they like to pride themselves on in being the best, in which they charge the public at least £40 for the 'privilege' an utter disgrace.

At least get the player right. My God.

 

Good news if he's seen as a squad/backup player and is happy to be so, very worrying if seen as key player going forward.

 

I think it's recognition of how often you find yourself in need of plugging a gap. At the moment, the only position at which he is arguably our first choice is right wing, and I'm sure Pardew would prefer he wasn't. On the other hand, knowing he's available, that he will offer adequate defensive cover and a handy attacking threat every time he's called upon, and that he won't throw a prima donna wobbly, makes him a veery valuable player.

If you need to drive a screw, ideally you'd like ot have a screw driver. If you don't have a screw driver, a swiss army knife can come in very handy

 

To be fair if we didn't have such shocking squad depth we wouldn't need to plugging gaps all the time.

Some players are genuinely versatile while others seem to make a career out of 'getting by' in a number of different positions. Taylor is a good professional and if his Twitter account is anything to go by a very nice bloke too, but he's a pretty rubbish footballer. He can't defend, dribble, is uncomfortable in possession, is constantly caught out of position, slow etc. His set pieces and ball striking abilities aside he offers nothing and is actually a hindrance to general play. Thankfully the former has probably outweighed the latter this season in terms of benefiting the team, but ultimately no side with ambitions would have him in their squad never mind starting XI.

If Pardew really does think he's one of our best players (as he mentions in the press conference) and sees him as first choice going forward it's a pretty embarrassing state of affairs. Could you imagine Spurs or Arsenal playing a player like him? I know they're ahead of us but ultimately that's the level we should be aiming at.

 

I agree we should be aiming to have a squad that has no place in it for journeymen. Raylor will be retired before it happens though. At the moment, we're looking for a good starting 11 (only RW still needed, and HBA could potentially solve that ) and unexciting cover for each postion.

We have unexciting cover for central mid field. Aside from Raylor, we have no full backcover. Even assuming HBA can make RW his own, the covere is a choice of Obertan, Sammy or Raylor.

Maybe no respectable tradesman has a swiis army knife in his toolbox, but I think we will for a while

 

What would you rather Pardew say? "Well, we know he's not fantastic but we also know we're not getting anyone much better as backup, so hey, dirts better than **** right?"

 

Checking when contracts run out, their is only Guthrie who's deal needs to be sorted before the end of the season. Get him signed up. I dont think Kadar is going to get one so he's gone I reckon. Also Lovehandles is defo going.

Is Football Manager accurate when you are able to offer a player with less than 6 months left on his deal a contract without having to pay a fee? If so, surely somebody must have looked at Guthrie. Any of the bottom half teams could do with him on a free. I'd snap him up straight away.

 

Other clubs can speak to players in the last 6 months without needing the permission of the player's club. No contract can be signed until the existing contract expires but the deal can be done in principle. Nothing is payable to the existing club unless the player is under 24.

 

You always need this type of player in my book. Man U had John O'Shea for years. You'd have never have classed him as Man U quality, but he was dependable. He could plug any gap in the defence. We had Aaron Hughes who was similarly versatile. These guys need to have a sound temperament and be willing to except some bench time. I think Raylor has had a cracking season. He's been much maligned on these boards (same with Simpson) at various times, but the bottom line is they have both played a massive part in what is our best season for some time.

 

Looks like we've seen the last of Lover, he's probably out for the rest of the season with a thigh problem.

 

Yep. Good free signing (twice for some reason). Did well in Champ season.

Adios Lover

 

Always gave his best, can't fault him for not being a trier.