In general no. The TV money may go some way towards transfers, but we certainly wouldn't have all £63m to spend on transfers! McNally has said our winnings will be added to the transfer budget, but I wouldn't expect to be spending over £30m in this window, just based on how much clubs usually spend. RvW was a part of last season's budget I believe, but I would probably put our spending budget for the window ahead around the £20-25m mark.
big hairy, i wasn't suggesting we'd spend all of that on transfers (!), what i was saying that the playing staff budget, including transfers, will include an uplift in it due to the increase in tv money, which for us will be a min of £17m (£63m less £46m). those not privy to the clubs accounts like us won't really know what is spent of what, apart from total spend on staff costs (wages, transfer fees, bonuses etc)
Personally I'd be amazed if we spent another £20m - £25m over the summer. I reckon we'll get one more marque player in the midfield and if CH chooses to let Holty go a striker to replace him but that may be all. Looking at our squad we won't be rushing to buy a keeper, we need a squad player to cover LB if Garrido supported by Whittaker is not deemed sufficient. I would question if we need an expensive CB as we have Bassong and Turner and I would like to see Bennett given the opportunity to develop and challenge those two. We have Rusty who can cover this position plus either Barney or Ayala as 4th/5th choice. Centre midfield is where I think we'll strengthen and I think we have a fair bit of strength and cover on the wings as we have Snod/Pilks/E Bennett and Whittaker. I agree with the argument that there is no point buying players no better than the ones we currently have so I reckon we'll go: Centre mid - expensive Forward - expensive (but in all probability only if GH leaves) LB - squad player Given how much CH focused on the defensive personnel last season I can see him leaving well alone and concentrating on getting a top notch midfielder or two plus a quality forward depending on who else leaves but I just can't see us throwing tens of millions into transfers. I suspect that the squad will be develop incrementally rather than in one fell swoop.
Though he was a decent player for Fulham, maybe he flourishes in a smaller club set-up! Anyway, its a load of old twoddle
I think we could perhaps afford his wages at a push, but wouldn't want us to do it for a 30 year old who will probably have 3 years max playing at a good standard.
Never quite sure on who Rodgers will sign, he seems to be a fan of young British players saying that experience speaks out loads, never know he might try and nick Vorm from his previous club. Another goalkeeper who's been highly rated this season is Brad Guzan, despite the amount of goals his conceded, the standard of his defence in front of him has been shocking and at times his saved them points. For me at the moment the area of utter importance is a Defensive Midfielder with a superb passing range and vision. We have players in that area who'll run around for 90 minutes and have a great work rate, but I don't think they spot things or see the bigger picture sometimes. I know it's an area where you don't have much time to think about where to pass to in some games so we need someone who is decisive and calm.
I think terms of budget I would be surprised if we spent more than £15-17M during the summer and £5-8m in January. If we were to spend more I wouldnt mind the fees as long as we can comfortably afford the running costs of signing more expesive players. The £15-17m for the summer should allow us to sign 3 players around £5m or just over which I think if spent wisely could drastically improve the side. Obviously bringing in a LB for say £3m would leave more money to be spent across the other signings. The January budget of £5-8m would also allow us to strengthen the team as necessary with one good signing if needed. I really believe that there plenty of players abroad who our scouts will have on their radar that will be within out budget and improve our first team.
I know this isnt a rumour but I saw somewhere over the last few days that Liverpool might be interested in Diego Capel for around £4m - does anyone think we might be looking at him following the research we will have done scouting RVW? or any other members of the Lisbon team that people think might fit in our squad well? I think we should be using our transfer budget to target the good players in europa league teams who may be struggling financially.
clint dempsey diego capel is one i saw mentioned on twitter the other day too. imo he is a £10m player. whether the RvW connection would give us any sway is hard to say but he is the sort of player who would make a huge, instant impact on our team. i can't see us being anywhere close to signing him but then i thought that about RvW... as for funds its difficult to say. the board have no further debt repayments this summer but will surely put a similar amount aside for future ground developments (maybe around £7m). i think we'll have around £20m to spend on transfers and the wage budget will probably move closer to the £30k a week mark. it should give us the finance to compete for some decent european talent in nations like portugal and the netherlands.
Given the value of the players bought last summer and RvW, I'd be surprised if the budget this year wasn't at least £20-25m. IMO, the first priority should be an ACM like Van Ginkel or similar. Howson's form improved dramatically at the end of the season and that is encouraging, but a replacement for Fox is still needed for competition there. In spite of some issues with the passing of BJ and Tettey, I don't see another DM as a priority as we have two good players there already. City should be beyond buying 'squad players' now, IMO, so I would go for a quality LB as a priority to compete with, rather than just cover Garrido (Danny Rose on loan or Martin Olsson perhaps?). I would like to see Ayala given a chance as the 4th CB in pre-season, but if CH doesn't rate him or because of his injury record, then Davies or another similar. Leaving a contingency fund for the January window, the remaining money could be spent on another striker if CH doesn't rate Vaughan and/or another LW like Capel (who is used to supplying RvW) or another similar.
rick, i'd disagree strongly about the holding midfield role! i agree that attacking midfielder is the most important position we need to fill this summer but DM would be second most important. we are in desperate need of a guy who can put his foot on the ball in our own half of the field and use it well (a bit like fox) but someone who can also break up the play and get stuck in. a player who can do both these things on his own will automatically transform our team as it will allow more freedom to the forward thinking players. this is crucial if we want to improve our away form next season. johnson had a great season but his distribution is still poor whilst i'm not 100% convinced of tettey's best role. a better player technical player than both those two is required and i'd spend a large chunk of our budget (£5m+) on fulfilling that role. who that player is i do not know!
i agree totally with you Supers. an all-round DM will allow us to play with just 1 DM, at least in home matches, and some away games as well. this in turn frees up a place for a more attack minded player to help create chances for RvW< and also enables us to play with two strikers if it is needed. it is pointless having bought RvW to continue with our defensive mindset and leave him alone at the front.
I'd honestly be happy if we spent £10m on getting the right DM, I really think it's important. I can't see us spending frivolously, but if a player came up who'd be perfect, then if £10m was a fair price I'd be more than happy to spend it.
i must confess i've only seen brief glimpses of van ginkel, and i understand this link has been dismissed in the past, but he is exactly the sort of forward thinking midfielder we should be targeting this summer. i also agree with calls for a new left back and martin olsson would be a good choice. i think curtis davies is a bit of a no-brainer - despite the ever improving form of ryan bennett we will still require a fourth centre back who is capable of playing regularly and from what i hear about ayala, it won't be him – too injury and error prone. another striker will come in once a fee is agreed for vaughan to move on. i expect this to be gary hooper but hughton may have a surprise up his sleeve. i doubt it though - we were very aggressive in our pursuit of him in january - we wouldn't do that if we weren't adamant he was the striker we want. i think we need a left-sided winger too so i make that required: LB, CD, DM, AM, LW, ST. so six new players, maybe £20m/£25m to spend. i don't see us being able to get all six positions we need filled with that sort of budget so there may be one or two stop gaps somewhere, possibly at left back but i'd be frustrated if we don't fill all the above positions.
It lloks like Biglia has already agreed a deal with Lazio, which is a shame, because he could be the man to play a lone DM role freeing up Howson (or A N Other) to get forward in support more. http://www.marca.com/2013/05/21/futbol/futbol_internacional/argentina/1369138041.html
I think that list of 6 positions Supers is pretty much what everyone has agreed on, although whether 7 signings in a summer is too much, we will see. I'd rather if anything the CB and Striker were the positions that were lower priority, as a LB would give us 3 full-backs, 3 CB's and Rusty who can do both. As for strikers, RvW will hopefully be a success, but if not then Holt should still do a job with better service, and Becchio is an unknown in the PL still really. I guess it depends if 1 striker is going to be the norm or we'll play 2 more frequently. If we're playing 2 then a 4th is definitely needed.
