mightymoyes
Player Valuation: £70m
Walsh has gone mate!
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Walsh has gone mate!
I'm pretty confident he'll be here next season.
Relatively speaking, his wage isn't that big - it's circa 80k iirc.
He's still one of our better players and we don't have cover in that role to begin with.
Instead of selling our one, proven player in that role, who is in no rush at all to leave, we should have him as the insurance option, bringing in a younger left-back as first choice. This should have happened two years ago.
Then, if by Jan or next summer he isn't getting the game time and wants to move on, so be it.
It's logic. It's not sentimentality.
Relatively speaking, his wage isn't that big - it's circa 80k iirc.
He's still one of our better players and we don't have cover in that role to begin with.
Instead of selling our one, proven player in that role, who is in no rush at all to leave, we should have him as the insurance option, bringing in a younger left-back as first choice. This should have happened two years ago.
Then, if by Jan or next summer he isn't getting the game time and wants to move on, so be it.
It's logic. It's not sentimentality.
Hope he stays as I feel he has another season in his legs, but we desperately need to be actively looking for a regular replacement.
I don't think anybody in their right mind would think other wise, and nobody advocating Baines staying is saying we don't need to replace him.
But selling him and bringing in a brand new left-back leaves us in as bad if not worse position - potentially - than we are now in that role.
We ultimately aren't going to be able to get an Alaba or Alex Sandro etc. We're going to have to take a bit of a risk on somebody - even though they will be good players I'm sure, they will present the risk of not settling, or struggling to adapt to our team/Premier League football if from abroad.
So, as an insurance option, you'd then need a back-up - and you need that anyway for injuries and general rotation. That role would be perfect for Baines. He's guaranteed games in the cups and we'd definitely ensure that he'd have playing time in the league while allowing the new signing to fit in.
There are of course ways to move around the 'settling in' period and still getting a 'second tier' quality player.
I'll use @davek 's shout from the other day - Ryan Bertrand.
He's an excellent player and one that would improve us. In that situation, I think you could move Baines on and as long as we then brought in a younger prospect, we'd have the cover there. But, Bertrand is 29, would cost £20m and would - in 2-3 years - leave us in exactly the same position as we are now.
Instead, we could simply keep Baines for this season, and get the more 'risky' but potentially better signing who could be our left-back for the next 5+ years (Fabra, Tierney, Max etc) and know we had the insurance of Baines in the meantime.
Death
I'll take down dat coal powered MG, I tel u Hwat
That sentence was like heroin.
And took 49m of that 50m with him stuffed in a brief case
if he stays he must be told he will only be the backup
we need to buy a new left back and it can't be a 2 mil spend, finding a flying wing back like coleman for a pittance is rare
we need to buy a young quality left back
we need to buy a new left back and it can't be a 2 mil spend, finding a flying wing back like coleman for a pittance is rare
we need to buy a young quality left back
Leighton Baines
B
Big Fat Sam
Guest
Backup this season, gone at the end of it.
But we all know he'll be first choice for next two years.
But we all know he'll be first choice for next two years.
havrey0123
Player Valuation: £25m
Didn't he turn down Bayern Munich because he was too shy. I will be amazed if he leaves. Can't see him doing interviews with quirky one liners and sitting front row at basketball games.
Toffeelover
Player Valuation: £80m
Exactly Baines should be a bench warmer if he stays. Look at his games now, he has really slowed down just does not have the pace now.
chazzle_dazzle
Player Valuation: £35m
He was still very good when he came back into the side at the end of last season.
Nobody is suggesting we don't need a new left-back. We evidently do and have done for going on 2 years.
But... that doesn't mean we have to get rid of Leighton. He can be used smartly to act as an insurance policy for this season.
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