Sliz - Of course, any of the outcomes could be the truth, we don't know, but the fact I couldn't find it on any 'official' places either for the club or him personally suggests to me that someone has made it up to stir and spread in the twittersphere. Mainly because I still presume and hope we will try to get this deal over the line in Jan, and if one of them directly lied against the other it would be hard for them to deal with each other. (And thanks for the response! ;ok )
Regarding the medical, it does seem a bit odd. What is the official deal with the apres deadline signings? You had to send a form pre 11pm but could conclude the details of the deal after. Yet did sending the initial form guarantee one had to make the signing? As in it's just for finalising the minutae of the contract, however if a medical was needed and he failed we'd still have to make the signing because of the prior confirmation form? I do not know the rules, can anybody help me here??
I'm not sure I believe Sanches and the other guy were 'offered' to Bilic. Suggested maybe but I don't think they were done deals in the way he implies. By all accounts Sanches and Bayern were apparently keen on Swansea.
Why on earth does Sully feel the need to publicly (on the club website) name two players who he says were offered to him before they went elsewhere. What does he think it will achieve?
I think the two players were touted to us along with several other clubs otherwise why bother name them. If bilic turned them down then the squad is down to him. The chairman should have not released the statement it does nothing but antagonise people.
It is a statement purely to say 'don't be angry at us, the Carvahlo deal was Sporting's fault and the fact we signed no alternative, well that was the managers fault.'
Mrs G he didn't have to have the medical before 11 pm but merely sign a form saying he's agreeable to joining West Ham. The medical could take place after that as long as it was complete and all the paperwork done before 1am. Chelsea and Leicester were doing this last night.
I know. I'm saying that what Sullivan claims is, imo, a plausible scenario.
(that wasn't possible within the available time between Sporting acceded and the ultimate deadline to arrange and conduct a thorough medical on the player)
(I'm not saying that it's true because I don't know the facts. )
As for Chelsea and Leicester, they started on those 'late deals' rather earlier, and the players weren't away on international duty, so it isn't really comparable.
Just don't see 4-2-3-1, which looks like the likely selection, working with the current midfield options. For me we either have to go with all of Nobes, Kouyate and Obiang in the middle or we compensate for our midfield with a back 3/5.
We aren't good enough centrally to go with a 3 of Antonio, Lanzini and Arnautovic behind Chicharito IMO. But I suspect that's what Bilic wants.
Antonio, Michail Gregory* Arnautovic, Marko Ayew, Andre Morgan Rami Byram, Samuel Mark* Carroll, Andrew Thomas* Collins, James Michael* Cresswell, Aaron* Fonte, Jose Miguel Hart, Charles Joseph John* Henry, Doneil Jor-Dee Ashley Hernandez Balcazar, Javier Kouyate, Cheikhou Lanzini, Manuel Makasi, Kusu Moses* Masuaku Kawela, Fuka-Arthur Noble, Mark James* Obiang Avomo, Pedro Mba Ogbonna, Obinze Angelo Reid, Winston Wiremu Sakho, Diafra San Miguel Del Castillo, Adrian Zabaleta Girod, Pablo Javier
= 22, 20 if you remove the two who will never get games.
I think the midfield and attacking midfielders look the lightest in terms of numbers
This does however open up the opportunity for youth
Rice has been given a chance, Fernandes has been used a lot also year, the club seem to rate Martinez as highly as we do and Nathan Holland shone during preseason and has kept this form up for the u23s
I'm not thrilled about it but this crop of youth is as good as it's been for a good while and you want to think they can do a decent job
Koeman and Pochettino get a lot of credit for utilising their youth players so hopefully Bilic can do the same (although after last year I have reservations about Bilic playing youth)
Oh yeah, forgot Fernandes. He's under the age. So 21 then. Plus Makasi, Henry, Rice and Martinez. None of whom are gonna be involved too much.
Martinez and Rice aren't senior pros though. Don't expect them to muster 10 games between them. Rice was used to highlight to the board we needed a new CM, IMO.
But the point I was making is we had an additional 5 places available to fill, and didn't. So included Makasi and Henry just to boost it a bit.
Lukerz tbf i think everyone knows the squad is thin
Think that's why everyone is upset with BOTH the board and the manager
The thing is given Bilic has a history of turning down moves (see iheanacho, hogan) it wouldn't shock me if he turned down the psg guy and Sanchez, 2 players that would easily enhance this side.
But if he has a number one target, Carvalho, and then the board don't get it done for whatever reason, and they say 'what about these two instead', he has every right to say, 'no, I wanted Carvalho, if we can't sign him then don't bother'.
He'd obviously rather not sign inferior alternatives and prefer to stick to what he knows.
I guess that's true but at the same time if he thought that the position was so needed he was willing to spend £35mil on then he must've thought of the idea of a stop gap like a loan deal
He also must know that his job is under threat so should take what he can get
Also for a comparison, this is City's squad who many think have the strongest squad and are favorites for the title
Aguero Del Castillo, Sergio Bravo Munoz, Claudio Andres Da Silva, Danilo Luiz De Bruyne, Kevin Delph, Fabian* Gundogan, Ilkay Jimenez Silva, David Josue Kompany, Vincent Luiz Roza, Fernando Mangala, Eliaquim Mendy, Benjamin Mota Veiga de Carvalho E Silva, Bernardo Otamendi, Nicolas Santana de Moraes, Ederson Sterling, Raheem Shaquille* Stones, John* Toure, Gnegneri Yaya Walker, Kyle Andrew*
I count that at 18 with various youth prospects I know there quality is way beyond ours but think you can use smaller squads and still succeed
Comments
Our chairman has just publicly hung our manager out to dry.
'We fully back our manager, but he didn't want him, him or him and is happy with everything at the moment'.
'But we fully back him'.
Regarding the medical, it does seem a bit odd. What is the official deal with the apres deadline signings? You had to send a form pre 11pm but could conclude the details of the deal after. Yet did sending the initial form guarantee one had to make the signing? As in it's just for finalising the minutae of the contract, however if a medical was needed and he failed we'd still have to make the signing because of the prior confirmation form? I do not know the rules, can anybody help me here??
Someone is telling porkies and I don't know the SL owner or the twitter geezer
But I do know the 3rd part of this puzzle
;lol
;doh
(that wasn't possible within the available time between Sporting acceded and the ultimate deadline to arrange and conduct a thorough medical on the player)
(I'm not saying that it's true because I don't know the facts. )
As for Chelsea and Leicester, they started on those 'late deals' rather earlier, and the players weren't away on international duty, so it isn't really comparable.
Hart
Zabaleta - Reid - Ogbonna
Byram - Obiang - Kouyate - Masuaku
Antonio - Lanzini
Chicharito
Adrian, Collins, Cresswell, Noble, Arnautovic, Ayew, Sakho
Just don't see 4-2-3-1, which looks like the likely selection, working with the current midfield options. For me we either have to go with all of Nobes, Kouyate and Obiang in the middle or we compensate for our midfield with a back 3/5.
We aren't good enough centrally to go with a 3 of Antonio, Lanzini and Arnautovic behind Chicharito IMO. But I suspect that's what Bilic wants.
So a squad of 20 senior pros. Which is at 18 for the minute due to Carroll's fitness and Arnie's ban.
Bare bones.
I can imagine Sully's dream scenario being Slav and Rafa simultaneously resigning...
Arnautovic, Marko
Ayew, Andre Morgan Rami
Byram, Samuel Mark*
Carroll, Andrew Thomas*
Collins, James Michael*
Cresswell, Aaron*
Fonte, Jose Miguel
Hart, Charles Joseph John*
Henry, Doneil Jor-Dee Ashley
Hernandez Balcazar, Javier
Kouyate, Cheikhou
Lanzini, Manuel
Makasi, Kusu Moses*
Masuaku Kawela, Fuka-Arthur
Noble, Mark James*
Obiang Avomo, Pedro Mba
Ogbonna, Obinze Angelo
Reid, Winston Wiremu
Sakho, Diafra
San Miguel Del Castillo, Adrian
Zabaleta Girod, Pablo Javier
= 22, 20 if you remove the two who will never get games.
Adrian
Zabaleta
Byram (HG)
Reid
Ogbonna
Fonte
Collins (HG)
Henry
Cresswell (HG)
Masuaka
Noble (HG)
Kouyate
Obiang
Makasi (HG)
Antonio (HG)
Ayew
Lanzini
Arnautovic
Hernandez
Carroll (HG)
Sakho
8 HG players
14 Foreign players
22 overall not including Fernandes, Rice, Martinez etc who are u21
I think the midfield and attacking midfielders look the lightest in terms of numbers
This does however open up the opportunity for youth
Rice has been given a chance, Fernandes has been used a lot also year, the club seem to rate Martinez as highly as we do and Nathan Holland shone during preseason and has kept this form up for the u23s
I'm not thrilled about it but this crop of youth is as good as it's been for a good while and you want to think they can do a decent job
Koeman and Pochettino get a lot of credit for utilising their youth players so hopefully Bilic can do the same (although after last year I have reservations about Bilic playing youth)
Martinez and Rice aren't senior pros though. Don't expect them to muster 10 games between them. Rice was used to highlight to the board we needed a new CM, IMO.
But the point I was making is we had an additional 5 places available to fill, and didn't. So included Makasi and Henry just to boost it a bit.
The squad is thin.
Think that's why everyone is upset with BOTH the board and the manager
The thing is given Bilic has a history of turning down moves (see iheanacho, hogan) it wouldn't shock me if he turned down the psg guy and Sanchez, 2 players that would easily enhance this side.
But if he has a number one target, Carvalho, and then the board don't get it done for whatever reason, and they say 'what about these two instead', he has every right to say, 'no, I wanted Carvalho, if we can't sign him then don't bother'.
He'd obviously rather not sign inferior alternatives and prefer to stick to what he knows.
He also must know that his job is under threat so should take what he can get
Also for a comparison, this is City's squad who many think have the strongest squad and are favorites for the title
Aguero Del Castillo, Sergio
Bravo Munoz, Claudio Andres
Da Silva, Danilo Luiz
De Bruyne, Kevin
Delph, Fabian*
Gundogan, Ilkay
Jimenez Silva, David Josue
Kompany, Vincent
Luiz Roza, Fernando
Mangala, Eliaquim
Mendy, Benjamin
Mota Veiga de Carvalho E Silva, Bernardo
Otamendi, Nicolas
Santana de Moraes, Ederson
Sterling, Raheem Shaquille*
Stones, John*
Toure, Gnegneri Yaya
Walker, Kyle Andrew*
I count that at 18 with various youth prospects
I know there quality is way beyond ours but think you can use smaller squads and still succeed
Haksabanovic and Rice are in the squad.