Thread: Summer transfer thread

  1. #1391
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Posts
    24,832
    Werner would definitely have been ideal, but I think going for him immediately after the PR disaster over furlough would have been "....eeeeehhhh...." and I'm not sure where we would have been in terms of wage structure / justifying said wage structure. He'll certainly be a good signing for Chelsea, though they should really look at their defence first - and Werner is a £50m hole in that defence budget as far as I'm concerned. An Oil Club though, so hard to judge - they'll likely "find" the money somewhere.

    As for us and the front three, true, though I don't think it's necessarily terribly pressing - the League's top goalscorer this season is 33-years old. Firmino's game is also probably the least reliant upon pace of our front three players so it will be a case of replacing Mane or Salah eventually, which I don't think we are in a rush to do necessarily, though think we would accept a huge offer for one of them in a couple of seasons and re-invest that money intelligently.
    Your hobbies are rollerblading and you're also a bit of a rat-hound? Steel Wool
    Sid knows he's crazy and he likes it. Balinkay

  2. #1392
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Crime City
    Posts
    31,964
    Quote Originally Posted by Balinkay View Post
    Evidently it's really detrimental even if you are an oil rich country's PR strategy - just look at City. But you'd want that not to be the case. We can't be too reliant on individual players and competition within a squad is healthy. Gomez could use some for instance. City have recognised the error of their ways and have just spent 41m on a CB who might not be first choice.

    Like I said - I broadly agree with you, especially on this particular transfer - don't see any reason whatsoever we should be spending much more on backup. Especially when said backup isn't likely to have to transition to a starter as Robbo's got a good five years left in him. The next left back we sign ought to be of a higher calibre, not this one.

    Though I would like another top attacking option to come in. Werner would have been ideal, especially as at least one of the three amigos will have to be fazed out at some point in the not too distant future.
    So you agree with us quibbling over a few million on a LB (where we're not exactly stacked), but you would have had no problem with us spending a huge wedge (plus massive wages) on a forward who wouldn't have been coming in as a starter, and could feasibly have been in the same position a couple of years down the line?

    In regards to the guy we are interested in, he seems to be in a similar mould to Robbo and TAA, and looks to have a good delivery on him. I'm personally more worried about what is going to happen when we need/should be splashing the cash, especially when Klopp decides to leave.

  3. #1393
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    City of Self Doubt
    Posts
    16,839
    Quote Originally Posted by RedNoodle View Post
    Multiple fronts = every competition we are in e.g. not having to bin off the domestic cups every year.

    We have been very fortunate in terms of injuries to our key players, yet on a few occasions where we have lost just one such player for a very brief period it has proved fatal e.g. Henderson in 2014, Salah in the 2018 CL final, and Alisson this year against Atletico Madrid.

    I want us to have a squad capable of challenging on all fronts, every year, as well as one that can cope with one or two of our key players being absent for any length of time. Those things come about by having a deep squad full of quality, not one where you are one key injury away from disaster, or one where the drop off from the first XI to the players on the bench is quite large.

    I can probably close my eyes and cross the road outside without being hit. Would it be wise to keep doing that and to expect not to come unstuck at some point? Of course not. Yes we've done well, but to expect everything to keep going smoothly ad infinitum is asking for trouble.
    With all due respect Noods, what exactly would you have them do if Alisson gets injured? Have Neuer or Buffon as backup? Ok, actually thinking about that it does sound awesome, but it's not realistic and the expected number of points such a huge outlay would win us each season is minuscule. Adrian is one of the best reserve goalies in the league - it's laughable to suggest we should have someone even better warming the bench every week. You should also bear in mind that outlays don't only come from player fees. As posted in an earlier thread, our wage bill for the last year iirc was on par with United and City's. That's the price of success, of course, but it's worth noting that it's among the highest in the game. And apparently wages are a far better predictor of on field success than transfer fees.

    I also strongly disagree Salah's injury lost us the game in Kiev. It was Karius's brain farts that did that. Real were clearly the better, more experienced team. Sure we weren't as good without him, but any team would be worse for losing one of their best players. And Real were still the better and more experienced team with him on the pitch. However, I do completely agree we should have strengthened up top with Werner to make that with/without Mo gap a bit smaller. Apparently we'd agreed terms with him and he was keen to come, but we didn't want to spend 50m before assessing the financial situation (note that this does not mean "this summer" but rather "this early in the summer"). From what I read RBL told him he needed to go "now" and so he left.

    A similar argument can be made about the game vs Chelsea in 2014. Chelsea had barely crossed the halfway line before Gerrard's slip. Need I remind you a draw would have still left the league in our hands? We were completely fine even without Hendo - all was well, then Gerrard slipped and it went south from there. Does Hendo being on the pitch magically give Stevie's boots more traction?

    I do agree we should add more depth, but how many points per year do you think Lewis would win us that Tzatziki wouldn't? Jamal's a good player but I see no reason why the Greek should be any worse. And he's cheaper. Surely we don't want to be spending 20m on Downing or 35 on Carroll just because they're British again, no? Sid makes a good point that being prudent on the market lets you invest when sorely needed - like say with VVD and Alisson.



    Edit: I do agree the cups are cool... but we all know they don't really matter financially.
    Last edited by Balinkay; 10th August 2020 at 11:30 AM.
    Etiam si omnes, ego non

  4. #1394
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    City of Self Doubt
    Posts
    16,839
    Quote Originally Posted by RedNoodle View Post
    So you agree with us quibbling over a few million on a LB (where we're not exactly stacked), but you would have had no problem with us spending a huge wedge (plus massive wages) on a forward who wouldn't have been coming in as a starter, and could feasibly have been in the same position a couple of years down the line?
    Yes, exactly. If we could have got Timo Werner for 50m or his twin ... Biermo Werner who's identical in every meaningful way, but 0.04 kmh slower in a straight line for 40m, I'd have gone for Biermo.

    And yes, he'd not be a starter right away, but he'd get more minutes as he could play anywhere up top and would be likely to directly add goals. We've had reserve forwards come on and do very little - he'd be a direct upgrade on that. He'd directly get us more points.

    Lewis can play one position and that's it. A position where Robbo's been ever present over the past two years basically.
    Furthermore, Werner is a far better commercial package and he'd likely allow us to part with one of the front three, should one of them decide to leave. Who exactly do you think would try to buy Robbo?

    Also why exactly do you think Lewis is better than Sirtaki? Why is it such a worry for you that we missed out on some dude from relegated Norwich with one PL season under his belt. And I don't remember this much of a fuss being kicked up when we failed to land Götze but got some unknown from Saints for a huge fee. Having multiple targets is prudent. Whichever one offers the best value for money (more complicated formula, of course), you get that one. When you have one, you pay over the odds, as we did with VVD.

    Quote Originally Posted by RedNoodle View Post
    In regards to the guy we are interested in, he seems to be in a similar mould to Robbo and TAA, and looks to have a good delivery on him. I'm personally more worried about what is going to happen when we need/should be splashing the cash, especially when Klopp decides to leave.
    Me too, but I'd guess we'd have to wait and see out the financial crisis. Impossible to tell if we're just not willing to spend or we're being cautious at the moment.
    Etiam si omnes, ego non

  5. #1395
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    City of Self Doubt
    Posts
    16,839
    To put it more concisely - if we get roughly the same backup LB for 5m less, I'm not bothered. If we get a much worse future starter up top for 5m less, I'd be pissed.
    Etiam si omnes, ego non

  6. #1396
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Muineachán
    Posts
    10,809
    Offender Of The Offended...!!

    It`s Better To Reign In Hell, Than Serve In Heaven!

  7. #1397
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    City of Self Doubt
    Posts
    16,839
    Meh... a bit of arse kissing going on there.
    Etiam si omnes, ego non

  8. #1398
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Posts
    23,303
    Lol that reads to me "we're master at ripping teams off for players" but if you don't accept our average small bid, we'll move on....

    Erm.... ????

    Pretty sure most teams would hold out unless desperate for money/player isn't that needed.

    Worked well with Werner

  9. #1399
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    City of Self Doubt
    Posts
    16,839
    I mean I guess the idea is that we chase players of whom teams want to rid themselves for cash or because they've kicked up a fuss.
    Etiam si omnes, ego non

  10. #1400
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Posts
    23,303
    Quote Originally Posted by Balinkay View Post
    I mean I guess the idea is that we chase players of whom teams want to rid themselves for cash or because they've kicked up a fuss.
    Yeah makes sense, but that put's other clubs on alert too, soon as the agent starts speaking.

Similar Threads

  1. January transfer window/End of summer
    By Kev0909 in forum Football Forum
    Replies: 988
    Last Post: 17th October 2021, 08:23 AM

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •