Transfer snippets
seriously underwhelmed.. (apart from Fabio)
17 June, 2012 - 12:42
..a 35 year-old defender, a probably past-it and surplus-to-requirements at foolham striker and a semi-dodgy keeper. Huh. Is that it? I want to be excited, inspired, exuberant with optimism for our new signings, carried away on a tide of euphoria... oh, yeah, that's what I am doing, getting carried away... but seriously, surely we can afford someone world-class?? Someone to get the pulse racing. Surely? Come on Mittal, get yer fucking fat wad out.
Point well made Hud, but you're forgetting one slight detail
17 June, 2012 - 19:29
How do you attract world class talent to a team that escaped the drop on the last day by the slimmest of margins? Sure, the money helps but the same holds true for prostitution and I'd hate to see the club standing on a street corner in Shoreditch with it's stocking tops showing. We are and always should be better than that. The sticking points for Johnson and Nelsen are cost and age, the perception being that they are tail-end charlies. A good performance each and we'll all be screaming bargain, but you're right. For the moment it doesn't exactly smack of ambition
I think our transfer dealings this season will, by necessity, be a two stage process. Up to January its about steadying the ship and getting off to a decent start. Should we (tasty dollop of optimism coming up) find ourselves challenging for Europe by Xmas then I suspect there'll be plenty of quality players coming forward to say how they've always loved the club since before they'd been ejaculated and that it's not about the £80-100k a week they'll be looking for, given how much Joseph 'Mangler' Barton is apparently on. Then we'll see how good Sparky really is at picking out the Ghurkas from the mercenaries. Would you take Walcott at £100K a week knowing his only connection to the club is contractual or would you have Mackie on much less, knowing he'll bleed blue and white and give everything. Olly saved this club with the latter and a fat bank balance doesn't necessarily render that approach wrong.
That said, I'll make an exception for Messi if he decides he fancies us.
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"They mostly come out at night, mostly."
I'm not forgetting it Chris...
18 June, 2012 - 12:45
..of course everything you say makes sense, but I want to be excited and inspired by our transfers, not underwhelmed. It's not necessarily a practical or even a realistic sentiment, but it's how I feel!
Also, re-reading what you've posted, I don't think we're nearly such a shabby outfit as your post implies... sure we only just beat the drop, but we have a) a talented manager b) we're located in one of the world's great cities, c) we have absolutely loaded owners and our chairman is a real football aficianado who states he has great ambition for us.... it's not exactly an unattractive proposition, is it?
I wouldn't like Walcott (or his ilk) because I think he's far too patchy a prospect, and of course the likes of Messi are way, way out of reach (for now), but there are plenty of excellent young prospects here and abroad who wouldn't cost the earth (relatively) and would be far more exciting than the lot mentioned at the start of this thread. Thomas Ince for example. Then again, maybe Johnson will flourish under Hughes and Green prove formidable and the Kiwi geezer will serve up an excellent hotdog.. who knows!
Shabby, never!!!
18 June, 2012 - 19:14
What probably didn't come across is that I do feel the same way as you. What I was getting at is that we need to build gradually rather than go potty with the lolly and do a Leeds. Take a look at the squad we have now compared to ten years ago and, with respect to them, the current crop, overall, is head and shoulders better. Look at us from the viewpoint of a prospective marquee signing however and the obvious question that would go through their minds is "am I joining a team that will struggle again". For the record, I don't think for a second that we will as there won't be any of the upheaval that preceded last term but you can't blame a player for thinking that and if he has a choice between us and, say, the Arses (Giroud if you believe the press) then for the moment, at least, we will appear to be the less attractive option. It's often only when they arrive (Taiwo) that they realise what a special place the Bush really is. Think of it this way, despite the struggles, how many of the new boys have said they want out?
I'd love to see us signing the very best players out there and fighting for the big prizes as much as the next man but we have to re-establish ourselves as those upstarts who keep sticking it to the big boys first and I'll be the first to agree we made some excellent progress under Hughes in that respect in the last few home games. A few more months of it and "marquee" players will start to take notice. I just don't want us buying mercenaries when a couple of Ghurkas can be far more effective. We as a group of fans are among the most passionate out there and we've always loved those players who share that passion which is why I don't have a problem with anyone signing on, as long as they share the desire to do well for us.
I agree with you on the face of it that the signings look, initially, underwhelming, and also that Hughes's has shown that his judgement is trustworthy so I guess we have to assume that, if he keeps buying these players over and over again, he must feel they have something to offer us. Whatever we think, we'll only know once we start seeing them on the pitch and I'm sure we'd all love to see them pissing magnificence on our behalf.
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"They mostly come out at night, mostly."
Ryan Nelsen (free) is now a Ranger and Andy Johnson (sorry Andrew, as he's a grown up now) has allegedly undergone a medical at the Bush. Green's signature is apparently imminent and it seems we also have Fabio Da Silva from Utd.
I can see Nelsen and Johnson as decent cover for injuries but Fab could prove to be a very useful addition. At this rate we'll have as many nationalities as squad numbers next term. Terry won't know who to (allegedly) abuse first.
"They mostly come out at night, mostly."