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Reply | Charlie Taylor Burnley
at 20:59 1 Jul 2024
Nathan Wood also supposed to be virtually done. Dunno what to think about that. Martin knows him, but swansea fans don't seem upset to lose him. |
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Reply | The Calm Before The Storm The Transfer Scrum Begins On Monday
at 09:12 28 Jun 2024
Yes the media will go into overdrive to fill their pages. Hopefully England will stay in the Euros long enough to distract everyone. Transfer windows are pointlessly long. There is so much cat and mouse it might as well be a week at the end of July and that's it.
As for who we get, I know we will get some older players, but for me older and more experienced would be 30 ish not 36/37.
I would also like to see some decent 25 year olds who are first team ready, but I understand that we can't spend huge amounts as we could get relegated then we'd be in financial trouble.
One thing that always irks me is buying the youngsters with potential. We pay anything from 5 to 15 mill for these lads but we agree to a sell on clause. So annoying because when we sell we don't get the full value. I know it's often needed in order to make the deal but it's still annoying. tino, Lavia etc etc.
Anyway for me priorities are a decent goalkeeper. I don't have great faith in Bazunu or McCarthy. Bazunu would benefit from having more time to mature and learn rather than being in the spotlight the whole time and frankly McCarthy is too old and should be a coach.
And a striker. Goals are going to be hard to come by for us so we need a finisher. Adams will be off. Armstrong, I'm not convinced he is PL quality. And Stewart, who knows. |
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Reply | Foden
at 08:31 27 Jun 2024
I'm sure that most people would leave their job to attend the birth of a child, if they have the chance to do it.
Armed forces etc don't have that opportunity. But a pro footballer does have , so why wouldn't he. It's not ideal I suppose, but most would agree that some things are more important than your job. |
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Reply | What have learned from the Euros so far?
at 10:48 25 Jun 2024
Adams really isn't good enough and if we rely on him in any way then like our relegation season we won't score enough goals. I'm also yet to be convinced that Armstrong is goig to step up again this year.
The Scottish fans were slating Adams and much preferred Shankland who had far bigger impacts when he came on.
Very few teams look great. Even the Germans and Spanish have looked vulnerable at times.
I actually don't think that so far there have been very many great games. Hopefully the knock out stages will produce more excitement. |
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Reply | Adams Or Ings
at 11:41 21 Jun 2024
Well we know about Adams. We know what he does and does not offer and I agree, his wastefulness in front of goal was a factor in our demise. A few extra goals in key matches could have saved us.
Ings was good but what is he now? He's never played regularly since he left us. Will he come back and play 30 plus games a season? I doubt it.
I'd just like a decent striker capable of finishing, that can get a run in the team. Some like a James Beattie.
Primarily I'd like us to buy someone who is FIT. Gambling on strikers with a history of injuries can backfire spectacularly |
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Reply | Initial Transfer Action Doesn't Augur Well
at 13:39 17 Jun 2024
It's a huge job and we can't afford to make any errors like we have in the past. Spending big on a player that doesn't perform is going to cost us this time. We got lucky last season when we got Stewart and he never played. Fortunately we went up anyway.
When we went down we lost players and had to build a squad for the championship. Here we are 12 months later, now trying to upgrade the squad again for the premier league. Not an easy job. |
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Reply | England V Serbia
at 09:49 17 Jun 2024
The issue seemed to be we didn't have a plan second half when Serbia decided to come out and play. They got on the front foot and pressed us winning most second balls. Instead of taking a step forward and pressing them and competing, we took a step back allowing them territory and time on the ball.
That passivity is a worry. Someone said Southgate is a man that changes to battery saver mode when his phone goes to 99%. |
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Reply | England V Serbia
at 09:11 17 Jun 2024
Not a bad result. In tournaments it's just about winning and we did. If we progress no one will remember these early games. Might even be a good thing that expectations are tempered by our own fans and media and by the other teams.
Of course we need to play better against better sides, but each game and opposition will be different. The Serbs were awkward but we got the points. There'd be even more of a meltdown had we lost ! |
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Reply | Shankland Or Adams
at 13:28 14 Jun 2024
I think we know Adams is not the guy to rely on if you need goals. He has a decent all round game, but finishing is really not his strong point. |
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Reply | How many winning league games next season for SFC ?
at 13:29 13 Jun 2024
I mean going back to the original questions and forgetting all the squabbling, it's a fair question.
How many games will we win next season? It's hard to say, particularly as we don't know what the team is going to look like.
Hand on heart if the same team is kept from last season I'd say we will go back down. We aren't strong enough at either end of the pitch.
With a few key additions I still think we will be bottom 6 or 7 but there are teams that we can finish above.
Surely Bournemouth can't be that good again if they lose Solanke. Brentford? Everton who knows. Forest ? Fulham? Brighton?
We know better than most that it doesn't matter how you did last season, in the PL if you are not top 8 or 9 then you can have a bad season and disappear. |
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Reply | Aribo off?
at 08:21 11 Jun 2024
I saw that he's supposed to be in talks with Besiktas or some Turkish team. Seems odd if he has the chance to play in the premier league unless he's been told he can go. |
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Thread | Aribo off?
at 22:17 10 Jun 2024
Wasn't expecting that. Maybe its all rumours |
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Reply | Transfer Rumour Thread
at 08:49 10 Jun 2024
In the cold light of day after the promotion euphoria, I'd have to say we look light for the PL right now.
We have to assume that we won't have anywhere near the level of possession we had in the championship which is what martin's tactics have been based on. So what will he do?
If you have less of the ball then you need to keep more clean sheets and capitalise on the chances we do get. Currently my biggest concern is goals.
Armstrong only got a handful in the relegation season, Adams the same and looks like he's off anyway. Stewart, who knows? Onuachu cost a lot but we never even saw him play.
We are going to need a Beattie or a Lambert so we have a chance in games and as we know strikers are very expensive.
Lack of goals will put huge pressure on the defence and I can't say I have faith we can keep them out with our current players.
So for me there is a lot of work to do. but who knows we might unearth some diamonds and there certainly is no need to panic as I imagine the squad is going to look quite different by the time the summer transfer window shuts. |
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Reply | Chris Nicholl V Lallana
at 08:42 10 Jun 2024
I wouldn't take anyone back.
Fonte engineered a move and was disruptive behind the scenes. I think he was one that pretty much refused to play hence being on the bench at the end.
VVD was similar and I'm pretty sure Mane was the same. He went ton strike to get out of Salzburg was it to come to Saints so that's no surprise.
There are some players you just expect better from. Lallana had been here since a youth and yet there he was taking photos with a Liverpool shirt. MLt had a recent interview with Blackmore where he said that he advised Lallana saying that it's ok to go just do it in the right way, and then he said "he obviously ignored my advice".
So it's never that they leave, it's how they do it. It's eminently possible to move but to treat the club with a degree of respect. It's not actually that hard.
As for using Lallana's experience, well is it that big a deal? I guess the effect of that will never really be quantified. We already have a manager, senior pros and coaching staff.
But anyway in a nutshell, we expected better of Lallana. |
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Reply | England
at 08:25 7 Jun 2024
I don't understand the negativity toward England.
Southgate gets endless stick. Half of it is because he's seen as negative in situations where we should really attack. And half because he's seen as being "woke" which is frankly stupid.
I actually think he's picked a pretty good squad this time. It's not his fault we are not blessed with fantastic defensive options and you could argue with a few selections but broadly he's ditched the old guard and picked on form which everyone was crying out for.
I'm not his greatest fan but under him we have got to a final and a WC semi which didn't look likely for years and years before that. I'm baffled by some fans who "don't care about England" or the scousers that think they are some separate country.
Some of my best football moments have been the summers of Euros or WC where the whole country gets behind the team and we've won some great games.
We seem to have a lot of talent now and there's no reason we can't do really well. Who wouldn't love getting to another final and dare I say it, even win it.
For years I never thought we'd ever win anything so I'm glad I'm not on of those people who almost want England to fail. I'll be out drinking and celebrating, it would be epic! |
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Reply | Man City Launch Legal Battle
at 09:02 6 Jun 2024
It's odd that City can launch this action and it's discussed with the other teams in a week. Yet their charges are still being debated after years. |
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Reply | Stu Armstrong
at 08:57 5 Jun 2024
Well I like him. Can be direct and creative and one of those players that you feel could actually score from around the box and we don't have many. That said he never really had the impact he should have had. For many years he never cemented a place in the side and rarely played 5 games in a row (or at least that was my impression).
I wish him well but I'll always have a slight sense of frustration that we never got to see more of him. |
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Reply | Man City Launch Legal Battle
at 08:47 5 Jun 2024
I saw a great tweet last night from a City fan saying it's all a conspiracy from the established big clubs in the PL cartel to keep City down. In fact he said the PL "elite".
I pointed out that having won the league for the last 7 years or whatever, they ARE an established big club, they are the PL "elite" and very much part of the PL cartel. They definitely aren't the plucky little City of years ago where they used to boast about getting big crowds whilst in league 2. The delusion is incredible. |
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Reply | Stuart Armstrong Weighing Up Options
at 15:58 3 Jun 2024
I'd let him go. Bit of a luxury player at the best of times. I used to think he's a goal threat which we don't really have from midfield but his numbers don't bear that out. |
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