Ashley Williams

[Zatara]

spot on Zat, we'd want what, £13-15mil (in the current climate)?

no difference at all.

Williams would improve us and help the youngsters we have improve as well. No brainer for me.

If the choice is martins indi or him then im all in. £10mil is ok for a CB but most importantly a leader...we have none.

Bit disappointing we arent able it seems to attract top notch players who can lead.

Neves at Porto is only 19 but been captain for 1.5 seasons i think....witsel another leader...

Zero leadership on the pitch which is why hes worth it imo.

 

[bitter-no-better]

give them a couple more mill and sort it.

 

[bluestevon]

Personally would rather us spend £10m- £14m on Williams than £40m on that Koulibaly who could well be another Sakho/Mangala/Otamendi- over priced one in four centre halves.

Williams will improve our defence and better our results, the 2-3 years we get out of him could help us get to that next bracket in terms of league position and stature.

Clever signing if we get him in my opinion.

Ideally both

Koulibaly is a very good cb, but nothigns a guarantee when mmoving to a different league and its a hella lot of money to spend.

One thing for certain though if say a Koulibaly arrived then for him to have the best chance of settling right in then a partner at the back like Williams would aid it massively, same for any new cb to this league really.

 

[TheFinnFan]

Would've been a good signing but if it is true that they have turned down £10m, then we must swiftly move on.

Plenty of other CB's out there!

We definitely havent offered £10m from straight hand

 

[chazzle_dazzle]

Ideally both

Koulibaly is a very good cb, but nothigns a guarantee when mmoving to a different league and its a hella lot of money to spend.

One thing for certain though if say a Koulibaly arrived then for him to have the best chance of settling right in then a partner at the back like Williams would aid it massively, same for any new cb to this league really.

My view aswell mate - I think Williams is a smart signing if we are going after someone like Koulibaly, he could need 6 months to adapt, if we only signed him he might flop massively with the stress and not being upto speed. Having Williams aswell helps.

 

[Bud McBlokeski]

Williams will improve our defence and better our results, the 2-3 years we get out of him could help us get to that next bracket in terms of league position and stature.

This is key for me. We can't get players at the moment due to them not wanting to play for a team that has finished poorly in the last two seasons.

 

[bizzaro]

If a bid came in for 31 year old Baines, how much would it need to be at a minimum for you to be comfortable with him leaving?

I wouldn't sell him. We don't need to.

 

[bluestevon]

My view aswell mate - I think Williams is a smart signing if we are going after someone like Koulibaly, he could need 6 months to adapt, if we only signed him he might flop massively with the stress and not being upto speed. Having Williams aswell helps.

aye - can also see Williams being the type to bollock out Mori and stop him fannying about and making mistakes as well

 

[BlueToff]

Ideally both

Koulibaly is a very good cb, but nothigns a guarantee when mmoving to a different league and its a hella lot of money to spend.

One thing for certain though if say a Koulibaly arrived then for him to have the best chance of settling right in then a partner at the back like Williams would aid it massively, same for any new cb to this league really.

exactly

 

[Zatara]

He's 32 very soon, he's not as athletic as Distin. He isn't what I was expecting under the new era, he's 32, not a very exciting signing, not even sure he's an upgrade on what we have got.

If he was 28 I still wouldn't want him, even though he's a good solid pro, he ain't going to elevate us to the next level. Which is where we were hoping to go.

I think were mainly after him as ge is a leader and we dont have any.

Even top notch foreign future captains may take a year to adjust....stopgap captain

 

[bluestevon]

I think were mainly after him as ge is a leader and we dont have any.

Even top notch foreign future captains may take a year to adjust....stopgap captain

It's why since day one i have wanted Strootman mate, fact he really went at Manolas in training for messing about shows exactly the mentaility he has, natural leader

 

[BlueToff]

I think were mainly after him as ge is a leader and we dont have any.

Even top notch foreign future captains may take a year to adjust....stopgap captain

Jags is fine as skipper but WIlliams is much more of a presence IMO.

I love Jags. Great last-ditch defender but has never been brilliant at organising a defence. Will still be key to us going forward this season but his injuries are becoming more frequent so there's zero harm in having a more than capable alternative.

 

[micknick]

Ideally both

Koulibaly is a very good cb, but nothigns a guarantee when mmoving to a different league and its a hella lot of money to spend.

One thing for certain though if say a Koulibaly arrived then for him to have the best chance of settling right in then a partner at the back like Williams would aid it massively, same for any new cb to this league really.

The premier league is a very different league to play in than any other. We have seen defenders that have excelled in other leagues fail miserably in the Premier League. I would rather invest in a tried and tested centre half rather than risk what could potentially be over half our transfer budget on a risk from another league.

The aim for our club has to be to improve our standing now so that each season we can be a better prospect for potential players. If that means buying a few older players to do that then bigger picture of us as a club rather than resale value has to be taken into account.

 

[Blue Cheese]

So what? He's a very good player. He is physically as fit as he ever was and is injury free. His positioning is sound whereas Distin relied on pace to get him out of trouble a lot the time due to his poor positioning.

We could go and spend £40mil on Koulibaly (which we still may depending on Stones) and he could be a flop and suddenly we're left with a load of youngsters, a player struggling to adapt, an injury prone Jags and, as sound as he is, an error-prone Funes.

This move makes sense in every way and is certainly an upgrade on the defenders we have, bar probably Jagielka (who as I said is 34 in two weeks and the injuries are becoming more frequent).

He's a leader at the back and this is what the team needs after 3 years of Martinez. I don't know how you can't see that?

I think Williams is being way way way over rated on here by some, shows how badly mis-managed our defence was last season, a defence which by and large had been solid for years before martinez.

Williams is absolutely no step up in class than what we have got. I'm sorry but he seems to have turned into Maldidni over night. What a crock of poo.

 

[anton66]

Personally would rather us spend £10m- £14m on Williams than £40m on that Koulibaly who could well be another Sakho/Mangala/Otamendi- over priced one in four centre halves.

Williams will improve our defence and better our results, the 2-3 years we get out of him could help us get to that next bracket in terms of league position and stature.

Clever signing if we get him in my opinion.

I think £14m is far too much. I hope Everton say we're not going any higher, same for City re Stones and Chelsea/Lukaku. Let's just keep them