And as for sporting Lisbon, they had every right to change the price and goal post as much as they wanted - after all the player is contracted to them. The choice was the daves whether to pay the price. This was an instance where a top player actually wanted to join us (which is hard for us to achieve), and we decided not to take the plunge. Shame. Seems to me that daves are on the one hand backing the manager by not sacking him, but then falling short in terms of player acquisitions in certain positions. Shades of sam's final season
It was like Lacazette in the fact they went in just under the transfer value. Obviously don't know that for sure but I tend to believe ex on Twitter more than most.
Tbf ham, I think we could have offered £50m last year to Lyon and one way or another the player would not have come. In the case of carvalho if reports are to be believed we were about £5m short with no other roadblock to getting the player
I personally think this is down to the fact that they may eventually decide not to stick with slav and if so they don't want to pay the extra amount for someone who is his choice.
Think the window is going to be seen as bad/underwhelming because of the form of the team not the actual moves that have made
My takeaways: • We have bought quality and the 4 main buys can go straight into the first XI.
• Hernandez could be one of the best buys the club has ever made
• Players in > those out : Chicarito> Calleri, Arnie > Feghouli, Zabaleta > Arbeloa, Hart > Randolph
• We have let go of a lot of deadwood and freed up a lot of wages with Feghouli, Snodgrass, Valencia, Randolph, Nordtveit, Calleri, Fletcher, Tore and Arbeloa
• We shouldve pushed more aggressively for a real DM and not put all of our eggs in the Carvalho basket
• We look short in the wing positions, really short
• Didn't buy anyone who can cover for Lanzini who is our most important attacking player
• After clearing out so much the club just didn't invest enough, only spending net £10mil after last year is a joke
All things considered we could've use dwith pushing carvalho over the line but nice feel that the PsG lad WBA bought would've been a great buy and perfect for us
If they did get rid of Slav in the next couple of weeks what sort of squad has the new man got to work with? Injured strikers etc with no replacements.
Anyway we have what we have and we have to support them no matter what we feel about what has happened.
It makes discussions between fans more interesting as everyone has a view and they are all valid as that is what they believe.
Yes, we brought in a striker, a right back and a left winger, which were three necessities, but what frustrates me is that that was the minimum requirement.
IMO, we haven't pushed on. We don't have the necessary competition to make every player give everything in every game. Carroll and Sakho are never fit enough for long enough to be a genuine alternative to Hernandez. Arnautovic and Antonio don't have anyone challenging their positions.
We've also not reacted to our start to the season. It's evident, to me at least, that we need a DM. If Bilic is playing an 18 year old centre back in midfield it suggests to me that we lack a senior pro that could do that job.
The manager identified an international DM with a big reputation who seemingly wanted to come to us. He had a value, which given his pedigree, his age and the current market (Drinkwater went for only £5m less) was, IMO, fair, but the board wouldn't go that extra few yards to seal the deal. The talk was that Sporting were difficult to negotiate with; well four PL clubs bought players from them this window so I find that hard to believe.
I just feel very flat about it. A very positive start but we have simply not done enough, particularly when you look at what other teams have done. I know a lot of people don't buy into the ITK community on Twitter, but Ex has been accurate enough in recent years for me to believe that he has some genuine contacts in and around the club. He has said this morning that we have spent much less than our budget allowed, which really does make me wonder why we didn't make the Carvalho deal happen.
The frustration for me isn't that we wouldn't spend £40m on Carvalho. It's that we were willing to spend £35m on him, but ended up spending £0 and still need a defensive midfielder.
If we were willing to spend £35m on a defensive midfielder why didn't we have another option as backup? If it was clear to everyone involved that Carvalho was vital because of the position he plays, then surely we could have been looking at alternatives that fell into our price range.
Only 6 clubs seem to have a net spend less than us. I really thought that by now we would be in a position to start spending bigger, or at least as much as the likes of Watford.
And to rub salt into the wounds, the club have this morning launched the 3rd kit, trying to get another £55 from the punters for a kit the players will probably only ever wear once.
The frustration for me isn't that we wouldn't spend £40m on Carvalho. It's that we were willing to spend £35m on him, but ended up spending £0 and still need a defensive midfielder.
If we were willing to spend £35m on a defensive midfielder why didn't we have another option as backup? If we it was clear to everyone involved that Carvalho was vital because of the position he plays, then surely we could have been looking at alternatives that fell into our price range.
We will have to wait and see what they say now if in fact they say anything. Last year it was "we agreed the fee but the player wouldn't come". This year "the player wanted to come but we wouldn't pay the fee".
I think the window was average we got rid of the all extra players we bought for a European campaign that did n't happen and bought in some quality players. I think the squad is capable of an 8-12 finish depending on injuries. I think Carvahlo we decided how much we were prepared to go and Sporting tried to get more money I am undecided if was a good thing or not £40 mill for a player who has no prem experience and all the big boys have passed on would have been a massive gamble imo. Its rumoured Bilic was give a list of alternatives and he did n;t want them which would explain the lack of movement yesterday. ;hmm A couple of wins and things will look different
I don't get how you go to the next level if you aren't willing to push the final boat out. We look set for another poor season with no progression. The extra OS money seems to have evaporated or is not being used and being saved. In January we were saying "instead of spending, save the money and use it for the Summer" but it didn't get used at all.
Hoping the Charlton guy looking at the Tax Payers money going towards the stadium pushes the agenda further, the finances at the club don't seem right maybe with fuller details we can get some light shed on the matter.
In the mental social media world this kind of thing doesn't help either.
Fans find or are handed this information, yes I know it can be over the top reaction but most are not going to go looking for the correct data, these two weapons don't help at all, the "4m net spend over two seasons" by Gale has now been trumped by that mega muppet Merson
I think the window was average we got rid of the all extra players we bought for a European campaign that did n't happen and bought in some quality players. I think the squad is capable of an 8-12 finish depending on injuries. I think Carvahlo we decided how much we were prepared to go and Sporting tried to get more money I am undecided if was a good thing or not £40 mill for a player who has no prem experience and all the big boys have passed on would have been a massive gamble imo. Its rumoured Bilic was give a list of alternatives and he did n;t want them which would explain the lack of movement yesterday. ;hmm A couple of wins and things will look different
That's where the problem lie's. To win, you need to score goals, and we havn't got a decent fit striker, capable to do that on a regular basis.
Just because they played football doesn't necessarily mean they know what they are talking about. TV talking heads - ex pros - are often wrong about some of the very basic rules of the game and nearly always let their bias show.
I ain't no mug for buying a season ticket! What I am is a long term supporter who puts her hard earned were her mouth is.
I'll turn up and support my football club as I have done for the last 40 years regardless of what goes on during a transfer window, who the manager is and weather or not Diafra Sakho is a spoilt little child who needs a reality check.
And to rub salt into the wounds, the club have this morning launched the 3rd kit, trying to get another £55 from the punters for a kit the players will probably only ever wear once.
Right, I'm going to buy one and then not wear it. That'll teach 'em. ;biggrin
Sean W is usually more accurate than most I must say.
What did grind my gears though was the four away games where no assistance was offered to fans in terms of travel. At the very least the club could have put on free coaches to the games that should have been played at home.
Whilst those fans will gain later when those games are played at home, it was the fact it was four on the trott.
Comments
Not like lacazette - that's what was frustrating. Last year Lyon did not want to sell and lacazette seemingly did not want to come.
But as things stand our record transfer sits at £24m which has twice been eclipsed by Palace
Back him or sack him. Taking the middle ground is embarrassing.
I did think that myself. Maybe holding the money back for January so Benitez can bring his own players in.
Think the window is going to be seen as bad/underwhelming because of the form of the team not the actual moves that have made
My takeaways:
• We have bought quality and the 4 main buys can go straight into the first XI.
• Hernandez could be one of the best buys the club has ever made
• Players in > those out : Chicarito> Calleri, Arnie > Feghouli, Zabaleta > Arbeloa, Hart > Randolph
• We have let go of a lot of deadwood and freed up a lot of wages with Feghouli, Snodgrass, Valencia, Randolph, Nordtveit, Calleri, Fletcher, Tore and Arbeloa
• We shouldve pushed more aggressively for a real DM and not put all of our eggs in the Carvalho basket
• We look short in the wing positions, really short
• Didn't buy anyone who can cover for Lanzini who is our most important attacking player
• After clearing out so much the club just didn't invest enough, only spending net £10mil after last year is a joke
All things considered we could've use dwith pushing carvalho over the line but nice feel that the PsG lad WBA bought would've been a great buy and perfect for us
Will give the window a B-
Injured strikers etc with no replacements.
Anyway we have what we have and we have to support them no matter what we feel about what has happened.
It makes discussions between fans more interesting as everyone has a view and they are all valid as that is what they believe.
Yes, we brought in a striker, a right back and a left winger, which were three necessities, but what frustrates me is that that was the minimum requirement.
IMO, we haven't pushed on. We don't have the necessary competition to make every player give everything in every game. Carroll and Sakho are never fit enough for long enough to be a genuine alternative to Hernandez. Arnautovic and Antonio don't have anyone challenging their positions.
We've also not reacted to our start to the season. It's evident, to me at least, that we need a DM. If Bilic is playing an 18 year old centre back in midfield it suggests to me that we lack a senior pro that could do that job.
The manager identified an international DM with a big reputation who seemingly wanted to come to us. He had a value, which given his pedigree, his age and the current market (Drinkwater went for only £5m less) was, IMO, fair, but the board wouldn't go that extra few yards to seal the deal. The talk was that Sporting were difficult to negotiate with; well four PL clubs bought players from them this window so I find that hard to believe.
I just feel very flat about it. A very positive start but we have simply not done enough, particularly when you look at what other teams have done. I know a lot of people don't buy into the ITK community on Twitter, but Ex has been accurate enough in recent years for me to believe that he has some genuine contacts in and around the club. He has said this morning that we have spent much less than our budget allowed, which really does make me wonder why we didn't make the Carvalho deal happen.
If we were willing to spend £35m on a defensive midfielder why didn't we have another option as backup? If it was clear to everyone involved that Carvalho was vital because of the position he plays, then surely we could have been looking at alternatives that fell into our price range.
Only 6 clubs seem to have a net spend less than us. I really thought that by now we would be in a position to start spending bigger, or at least as much as the likes of Watford.
And to rub salt into the wounds, the club have this morning launched the 3rd kit, trying to get another £55 from the punters for a kit the players will probably only ever wear once.
Not sure I get the logic there.
Hoping the Charlton guy looking at the Tax Payers money going towards the stadium pushes the agenda further, the finances at the club don't seem right maybe with fuller details we can get some light shed on the matter.
Fans find or are handed this information, yes I know it can be over the top reaction but most are not going to go looking for the correct data, these two weapons don't help at all, the "4m net spend over two seasons" by Gale has now been trumped by that mega muppet Merson
got a decent fit striker, capable to do that on a regular basis.
Just because they played football doesn't necessarily mean they know what they are talking about. TV talking heads - ex pros - are often wrong about some of the very basic rules of the game and nearly always let their bias show.
I ain't no mug for buying a season ticket! What I am is a long term supporter who puts her hard earned were her mouth is.
I'll turn up and support my football club as I have done for the last 40 years regardless of what goes on during a transfer window, who the manager is and weather or not Diafra Sakho is a spoilt little child who needs a reality check.
WHTID ;scarf
Interesting article by Sean W on the finances which is probably more realistic
If the boss keeps saying I'm happy with what I've got then the board arent going to keep signing players are they?
He's got a real job on his hands now
What did grind my gears though was the four away games where no assistance was offered to fans in terms of travel. At the very least the club could have put on free coaches to the games that should have been played at home.
Whilst those fans will gain later when those games are played at home, it was the fact it was four on the trott.