Seems to me the only "absolute must" that needs addressing is what is already being addressed -- converting more chances created into actual goals. Yes, it would be quite possible to add quality in every area of the field if the right player could be got at the right price for the club. But I think the idea that it would be suicide if we didn't bring in some special talent for one particular position (e.g. deep-lying playmaker) is wide of the mark. I believe CH when he says he feels he has a strong squad to which he will add as and when he can. That doesn't sound to me like someone who thinks there is a particular substantial weakness in the midfield which "absolutely must" be addressed.
There's two sides to making goals though, creating chances and putting them away. Arguably we've already sorted the second aspect of that, but we've had games this season where the strikers haven't even had a chance, which to me suggests we still need to work on the first part of that equation.
I thought it was ok as lon as it was cleared with the premier league? Im sure I read somewhere that the fee we paid was not the whole fee due to this issue.
Na, the fee is for the full amount. I believe sporting actually made nothing out of the deal! They got there £3+mil to pay wages etc and thats it. The rest of the fee goes to the owners which were Peter Kenyon and someone else! Wasn't the whole Tevez debacle about 3rd party ownership? With the massive fine etc...
Thats it, i remember Kenyon being involved. I got the wrong end of the stick then. He was third party owned at some stage then? Im confused.
I think I started th Hutchinson can play left back view a week or so ago. This is based on an article on Fancast which states; Now 29-years-old however, Hutchinson wants a move to the Premier League before his best years are behind him when his contract expires at the end of the season. Stoke City, Everton and Fulham have all been linked with signing the versatile Canadian international, who can play anywhere across the midfield, defence or as a supporting striker Don't know how accurate that is tho!
At its AGM in June 2008 the English Premier League drafted new rules L34 and L35 to outlaw any type of third party ownership of players from the beginning of the 2008-9 season
Oh right, for some reason I thought that we had to pay more for him later on? Not quite sure why! My bad.
Yeah, RVW was 3rd party owned at Sporting which isn't frowned upon in Foreign countries which we know. Had he been completely owned by Sporting then i think it would have been quicker and cheaper to have signed him... But hey-ho, we still got him at a bargain price
We do have the normal add-ons to pay. I think his price could eventually rise to £10mil depending on goals/apps etc
Agreed to some extent, but I still think that the lack of movement up front in many games contributed to lack of chances makes 2 good runs, take one of the chances and bingo
My understanding is that we paid some of the fee up front (Before we actually get hold of him) so Porto could pay player's wages. Probably this that you are thinking of.
If RvW makes the appearances and scores the goals, then he'll be worth the add-ons. I go back to my previous post that CH has a lot of options available. City definitely need a LB, and after that I would say a striker to replace Jackson and an ACM to replace Fox, who has hardly featured this year and is unlikely to next year. IMO, the additional LW and CB options are dependent on how much budget is still available, as Surman and Barnett/Ayala currently provide cover at those positions.
Since most of our chances are made from set pieces it's further proof our midfield fundamentally lacks creativity. I'd like to see Hughton purchase central midfielders who retain possession and who can move the ball around, all we need is players in that area who are not afraid to be in possession of the ball have the awareness to spot people around them, then distribute the ball neatly and efficiently. Hoolahan & Snodgrass have the creativity to supply the forwards, I feel Pilkington can get involved in games when he needs to, but all three of those players at times this season have lacked service from the defensive midfielders, at times we barely struggle to thread a couple of passes together, we need to have players who can hold it together in the middle.
we still don't know what Butterworth can offer. he came with rave reviews, but also with a bad injury. if he has fully recovered it will be interesting to see him in pre-season games. i don't live that far from Barnsley and know a couple of supporters. their view is that we stole him at the price we payed so i am eager to see the fully fit article.
His one piece of the jigsaw though, he should be given a chance though I don't have much knowledge on Butterfield so I'm not going pretend to be an expert or anything. We do however need to continuously improve an upgrade on Fox would work a treat for us, my biggest worry this transfer window is that our central midfield options will just consist of a selection of box to box and holding midfielders.
Dave or DH can you please delete some of my posts? For some reason it's being a complete twat not showing my posts etc. Cheers.
Well, the more chances we can create the better, we can all agree about that. But my impression is that CH has more confidence in his midfield players than a lot of us seem to have currently. I say "currently" because at this time last year people were posting things like "Oh god, we don't need ANOTHER midfielder ......"; midfield was the one area a lot of people DIDN'T think needed strengthening! It depends on what you (and CH) think was the main problem with our midfield play during, in particular, the second half of the season. My guess is he thinks it was primarily down to the players not getting the balance right between defense and attack. I suspect he's confident that, with the experience of last season behind them, that will not be a major problem this time round. Don't forget that, as well as Butterfield, there is also Surman. My guess is CH thinks pretty highly of Surman, because he has exactly the sort of game CH is looking for from his left side midfield player. The hope is that his operation will have sorted out the injury issue and he'll be able to play a full part in the coming campaign.
