It depends on what the squad is like when all the wheeling and dealing is over. My fear is, as things stand, a large part of the creative heart of the squad is being lost. Maybe Pozuelo, Canas and Pablo weren't first on the team sheet and Michu wasn't with us much, but they did well (less so in Canas' case) when called and, of course, their presence in training would have raised the standard of those ahead of them and those aspiring to make the first team. It does't take much to see that Chico won't hang around if we lose Amat or if fans get on his back. (Strong calls for him to have been given a start for Spain ahead of the World Cup which is likely to grow when the new season begins.) We will be without Bony for the African Nations Cup and Gomis while good he is untried in the Prem and hasn't got the sort of scoring record Wilf and Michu had before coming to us. He is also on a huge wage. Fabianski and Vorm will cause problems and I can't see Vorm settling for second place because Fabianski won't have transferred as second fiddle with Arsenal to being second fiddle with Swansea. I don't see Fabianski as offering any more than Vorm and has had injury problems; he wasn't known at Arsenal as Flapianski for nothing. The Scottish youngsters are a bigger gamble. Emnes - we know what we will get, quite a skilful player who will act as a foil to Wilf and or Gomis. Then there are our other dealings - extensions to contracts shows loyally but we also need to be aware of their age and performances last year. It appears we are moving away from a continental style to more of an English style (worked well in the Work Cup!) but we don't have the personnel nor the background to make that work in the Premier League. deGuzman may stay but will again eat into our finances and won't add anything (as he's already been here two seasons) the return of Ki, who wants to stay in Sunderland where the fans liked his mediocrity, will also add nothing but a high profile bench warmer. I am also concerned that he and Huw have a problem with strong minded players and you can be assured Fabianski and Gomis will be no shrinking violets. I think Monk's season will be decided by the end of September if we are mid-table he will be fully backed by fans, board and players. Less and it will be interesting to see how long the board will back him? If we keep the players we have I'd expect us to be in much the same position as this season but safer, longer.
Each player that leaves , the less confidence I have in the team and the ability to bring in top players bob Look what Jenkins hadt to do with Gomis to put on the appearence that players want to come to the club. We are a long way from picking up players like Michu , Vorm , Poz and Chico for a total price of 5 million or so
I'm nit picking, Bob but: "Fabianski wasn't known at Arsenal as Flapianski for nothing." I checked out the Arsenal forums after the transfer and their fans didn't want to lose him actually. A much improved player apparently. "The Scottish youngsters are a bigger gamble." Most signings are a gamble. Will any make the first team? "deGuzman may stay but will again eat into our finances and won't add anything (as he's already been here two seasons)" During which he's been second top scorer, provided the most assists and remains our only dead ball specialist. "the return of Ki, who wants to stay in Sunderland where the fans liked his mediocrity, will also add nothing but a high profile bench warmer." Not sure about this. Was Korea's best player by a mile at the World Cup and was repeatedly played out of position here and at Sunderland imo. Scored some crackers north of the border that would be unstoppable in any league. Mediocre? No. "shrinking violets" Most players at this level have egos and want to play. You'd be worried if they were happy to warm the bench. It's the Manager's job to deal with that.
Been thinking this myself....a few of our targets this window were targets in previous windows....wasn't it Norway who first stated there were club signings and Laudrup signings, a likely source of tension re:control
Just a bit of perspective. Everton 1-2 Chelsea 0-1 Aston Villa 1-1 Man City 2-3 Man Utd 0-2 Tottenham 1-3 Fulham 2 - 0 West Ham 0-2 Yeah, 6 losses in those last 8. Just so happened to be playing 5 of the final top 7 lol. Talk about stringing the guy out to dry without the common sense to mention who he had to play lol. It is like me saying Monk only won 1 of his first 7 games, which included some gutless performances. Cardiff 3 - 0 Stoke 1-1 Liverpool 3-4 Crystal Palace 1-1 Albion 1-2 Everton 2-3 Arsenal 2-2 Monks results, were worse IMO, when comparing the opposition yet people stuck by him, shame they couldn't have done the same with the previous manager aye. Heck including the cups, he won 1 in his first 10 lol. Including cups, ML had won 3 of his final 10 As I said, perspective is needed by some Also as I pointed out at the time, our run in, was the easiest run in on paper when comparing opposition that all teams needed to play based on their position at the time. So 2 points away from relegation, whilst playing many more games, and having the harder fixtures up to that point (again based on opposition positions)
There is no comparison between useless and monk whatsoever. It took a legend to show useless how to play the game with guts and thank god he did otherwise we would be looking at the championship fixtures today instead of getting ready to play Man utd in our first match..
Let's just see how Monk does with 'his' team. He is busy kicking out most of ML's signings and is hardly setting the world alight with who is coming in, apart from Gomis maybe, although I'm not convinced. Anyway, given our opening fixture list, I'd give Monk until October. If we haven't picked up enough points against the so called lesser teams I think his tenure could be short. It's not what I want to happen but I think he's going to be under considerable pressure to get early points on the board before we hit a run of very tough games.
Another foolish,incomprehensible post. His obsession with Michael Laudrup has long since reached the embarrassing stage.
Gomis was a player that Laudrup wanted,so Monk can take no credit for bringing him here. It's clear to me that the spectre of Laudrup hangs large over Monk's head,hence his urgency to jettison any player associated with him. Inferiority complex?
There are many on here who have strung Laudrup out to dry,Swanselona. Shame on them for that,since he deserves far better treatment. No surprise though,since this Forum has previous when it comes to stringing out former Manager's. The ones who are currently knifing Laudrup in the back will soon turn on Monk were the team not to perform.
Come on, that's a massive exaggeration. I can only think of one, maybe two posters that could apply to. Feel free to list them all
Looking at the squad as it currently stands today, I think anywhere between 10th and 15th. I reserve the right to change this prediction once we know what the final squad will be. In fact I reserve the right to change my mind at anytime during the season right up until May
Dont be so bloody stupid Monk is the manager and laudrup dont have any say in the matter , he is History and not part of the club anymore (there is a god) so how can he recruit players
Dai, I just hope you will be as confident as this when you see our finished squad. In the past couple of seasons we have picked up some gems who have kept us in this league. With the loss of them then we will need to find some more and what i have seen signed up till now doesnt inspire me to think we will come near to replacing (like for like) with what we are going to lose. I hope GM gets it right, but the signings to date do not inspire me to think he will. As it stands we could lose our 2 top goal getters in Bony (possibly Liverpool) and JDG if we cant afford him or he doesnt want to sign. We look like losing another 20 goals fom the season before in Michu. You cant keep finding these stars. Just ask the likes of Cardiff, WBA, Newcastle,Fulham. They would have dreamed of having these types of players. Without Bony;s goals this season and Michu's the season before we would have been right on the cusp of relegation if not right in it. GM has big boots to fill in the transfer market and I am not convinced at this moment. I just hope when I see our finished squad it looks strong enough to keep us in this league. I just wonder if we will be able to score enough goals to do that.
