Earning a position

[messymascot]

and also because if Lukaku goes down we are relegated maybe?

Yeah we would definitely struggle if Kone was our only striker available. Lukaku will hopefully benefit from having the summer off and comeback on fire but he needs help.

 

[kithnou]

Yeah we would definitely struggle if Kone was our only striker available. Lukaku will hopefully benefit from having the summer off and comeback on fire but he needs help.

Well I will go out on a limb here and say that 1 goal in 2 seasons may back that theory...

 

[messymascot]

Well I will go out on a limb here and say that 1 goal in 2 seasons may back that theory...

I feel sorry for Kone he tries hard but unfortunately thats not enough. In hindsight we shouldn't have signed him but managers invariably always like to bring players in that they know.

 

[kithnou]

I feel sorry for Kone he tries hard but unfortunately thats not enough. In hindsight we shouldn't have signed him but managers invariably always like to bring players in that they know.

I feel sorry for us supporters more..

 

[Zatara]

Indeed, he needs to bring in a keeper and centre back this summer;

Karius from Mainz and Gomez from Charlton I'd like to see. They may not be top class from.year one but add to the nucleus of the side long term.

Then he needs at least two class attackers.

I think that is about right.
We need real quality players to fill in those positions listed as ???
And if any of the others leave, or form warrants replacing, once again real quality is needed in replacing them.
So that is 5 real quality players required that will take probably a minimum 2 Summers to locate.
And no, I don't mean squad type (or in Cleverley's case dross).
Roberto needs to go out into the international market and find players that are comfortable on the ball to play his system, or he will be gone.

 

[daz4matty]

Baines is a wrongun. he has to go.

He cant even get a penalty to take anymore...ripped off him from Mirallas and now Lukaku.

I'm sure he travels to away games now sulking and listening to his Nick Drake collection who he describes to his team mates as 'a dead boss singer-song writer from the 70s lad, who's dead sensitive and stuff...like what I am".

The ****ing blert.

Can't believe you are dissing bainsey now.
Apart from hinting at a few things that might look negative on your beloved Roberto why on earth turn on him.
Baines is our best left back and if Martinez didn't leave him an coleman exposed they both would have had better seasons.

 

[CC11]

I feel sorry for Kone he tries hard but unfortunately thats not enough. In hindsight we shouldn't have signed him but managers invariably always like to bring players in that they know.

It may be part of the deal to bring Martinez here. Kone isn't worth 6m. Look at the players he brought with him from Wigan:

McCarthy - great
Joel - average but looking better with more appearances
Kone - not good enough
Alcaraz - absolute crap

 

[messymascot]

It may be part of the deal to bring Martinez here. Kone isn't worth 6m. Look at the players he brought with him from Wigan:

McCarthy - great
Joel - average but looking better with more appearances
Kone - not good enough
Alcaraz - absolute crap

We paid £6 million for him and sold Anichebe for the same price and he was 5 years younger, very strange business in my opinion. I'm not saying Anichebe was great but he would've at least had a few more years in him.

 

[penev10]

It may be part of the deal to bring Martinez here. Kone isn't worth 6m.

In fairness the Kone who got 13 goals in the 2012/13 season was worth 6m.

 

[davids]

Mate we need a playmaker.

I can remember the calls to sign Gheorge Hagi at any price like it was yesterday.

 

[mkrudden]

Baines is a wrongun. he has to go.

He cant even get a penalty to take anymore...ripped off him from Mirallas and now Lukaku.

I'm sure he travels to away games now sulking and listening to his Nick Drake collection who he describes to his team mates as 'a dead boss singer-song writer from the 70s lad, who's dead sensitive and stuff...like what I am".

The ****ing blert.

Good grief.

@Dithering Dougie, you wanna take this one?

 

[Dithering Dougie]

Good grief.

@Dithering Dougie, you wanna take this one?

 

[Tree13]

I can understand why we didn't pursue it back then, but if Garbutt is off and Baines and Oviedo are the two competing for that place it makes more sense now.

If Garbutt does leave, use the cash getting Robertson in...although I'm sure he'd have other suitors by now.

The glaring problem with that plan is that Garbutt's contract is expiring this summer. If he leaves, he's going for nothing.

Despite your inexplicable dismissal of Baines (where on EARTH has that come from?!), the correct course of action for us regarding the LB slot is to get Garbutt signed up to a new contract ASAP, and loan him out to a prem club where he will get 15 starts minimum between August and Christmas 2015. In the same period, Baines and Oviedo share the LB spot, with one or other of them leaving in summer 2016 providing Garbutt is ready.

As has been mentioned by others before, Oviedo might in theory be useful at RB. I would like to see Bobby try him there, because Hibbert is on the verge of retirment and Coleman has no other cover at all: if Coleman's form has dropped off for any specific reason, it's likely to be the fact that we've run him into the ground. Equally Oviedo also has a use on the LW, where he is a better option than McGeady.

The ones to leave are:

Howard - someone in MLS will pay money for him
Alcaraz - never in a million years good enough, even as 4th choice. However, he is still just about young enough that we *might* get a fee for him.
Barry - back to Villa for cash? Maybe to MLS for cash?
Pienaar - Sell him to Moyes for £1m or £2m, he could still do a job in a less physically demanding league.
McGeady - To a newly-promoted club at the end of this season for £3m? To a Scottish club in part-ex for Van Dijk?
Kone - Cut our losses for the love of God - take £3m from a newly-promoted club. Naismith moves to backup striker, with Henen, Long, Duffus and Byrne all looking to step up.

I would keep Distin, provided he is happy to be 4th choice behind Jags, Stones and whoever we bring in (Van Dijk? Alderweireld?). He is still better than Alcaraz and no-one saying otherwise should be allowed on the internet unsupervised. Galloway and Browning go out on loan to Championship clubs please.

I would move heaven and earth to keep Mirallas. Atsu is leaving, and if we can bring in £4m for the pair I would be rid of Pienaar and McGeady too. That leaves almost no wide men: If Spurs want £6m for Lennon, I would rather put that £6m towards a signing-on fee for Konoplyanka and a contract extension for Mirallas, or put £6m towards Deulofeu, or Yarmolenko or Perisic. NB if Lennon continues to play to his current standard for the remaining eight games, I would reconsider this point,

I would keep Osman - he has demonstrated that he still has a role to play, provided he is not relied upon to start games regularly.

 

[Tree13]

TBH, I haven't stopped any criticism of Jagielka. Primarily the criticism there was because he's a tailor's dummy of a captain. He should have that taken off him. But let's focus on the performances: he was a liability for the first half of the season. He has those patches in all recent seasons too. I'd retain him though, but only as one of four CBs we can call into the side and not as a guaranteed starter.

Correct re Jags.

Wrong re Baines.

Signs of improvement from you mate, well done.

 

[Allezfan]

Baines has been pretty poor this year. And he's not getting younger. We should have learned about hanging onto players too long at this club.

I don't think promoting Garbutt to first choice and shifting Leighton is an entirely foolish plan. It's brave cos Baines might be back in top form next year but if it's the way of keeping garbutt and Martinez has confidence in him then I would understand it if it happens.