Silly Season January 2014

[Whitty]

I mentioned this on here a while back he's yet to buy a top forward. Lets see how he does for us?

and a striker is the most important position in the team. He needs to get this right

 

[Jayhow15]

and a striker is the most important position in the team. He needs to get this right

If thats the case lets sell Howard, Jagz, Bainesy and Seamus, replace them with youngsters and with the funds by a boss striker. See where we end up then.

Agree that scoring goals wins you games, but our second top scorer is our right back this year and our current team scores from all over !

 

[Ambient]

I guess it means that we are getting Mata on free by allowing Lukaku to go back to Chelsea.

Or else I guess I have to get up every morning reading this site waiting for the big news

 

[evilwebby]

To be fair to Riera, scoring 7 goals for that Osasuna side with those players behind him is pretty remarkable. Someone mentioned he scored twice at Real Madrid, I'd like to add that he also scored away to Atletico, who for me have the best defence in Europe.

To those mentioning his goal record, Alan Shearer had scored 23 goals in 118 games for Southampton before he joined Blackburn. The rest is history. Thierry Henry had scored 23 goals in 121 games for Monaco and Juventus before he joined Arsenal. The rest is history. I'm not saying he would join the likes of those in terms of goal scoring if he joins, I'm just highlighting that goal records at previous clubs does not always tell the full story on a player. If he has been scouted, he would of been watched through an Everton perspective and whether or not he would fit into our style of play.

To those mentioning his age, he's younger than Barry who currently has an active thread lauding his performance v Norwich. He is younger than Distin and Jagielka who have been at the heart of a defence that has kept 9 clean sheets in a fact paced league. As fans of this football club we're really not in the position to be ageist...

Great post, that.
McGeady's going to be here for what should be peak years.
He'll also have seen that Spartak was probably not the best move for him in hindsight. It's only when you're a bit older that you appreciate when you're in a good situation and put everything you have into it. Hopefully it'll spur him to produce his best for us.

 

[Tommy Grav]

If Jelevic goes and the belgian lad comes in, that's still leaving our oldest striker as a 22 year old in Vellios. Martinez is just purely trying to balance the side. Younger players look up to the more mature player. Seems as though he is trying to balance the forward line in terms of skill. Normally Spanish players tend to be good finishers of the ball and pretty skilful, whereas the Belgian we are being linked too and Lukaku are pretty quick and strong and Vellios being a very good header of the ball. Martinez looks as though he is trying to get these players in so we have an A, B and C option when it comes to attacking options.

 

[Whitty]

If thats the case lets sell Howard, Jagz, Bainesy and Seamus, replace them with youngsters and with the funds by a boss striker. See where we end up then.

Agree that scoring goals wins you games, but our second top scorer is our right back this year and our current team scores from all over !

Yes, that's clearly what i was saying!

If we're going to challenge on a regular basis it's clear we need a top striker. As examples Van Persie pretty much won the title for Man Utd last season and Suarez is the only reason Liverpool are up there.

Say what you want but a striker is the most important role in a team and can be the difference between a crap team being an average team or in our case, a really good team being a great team

Edit / out of interest where do you think we'd be without Lukaku this season?

 

[evertony]

Or a Kevin De Bruyne loan....just maybe The Special One sees us as the perfect developmental club for his rich pickings that can't be currently squeezed into his match day squad. We are great to watch, and play a very enterprising game that a lot of neutrals are latching on to. With Barkley in the limelight TSO knows KDB will be very visible to a wide audience, and so his value should only increase. I'd think TSO doesn't beleive we are a serious challenge to Chelsea (yet) but that we are clearly able to take points off all of their rivals over the season.

 

[TyphooToffee]

I know we don't know much about DAVIDMOYES personality wise, I just hope his idea of a good week isnt two average signings in McGeady and that Riera lad we apparently after. Of course two signings is good but would be a bit of a let down IMO!

So, remind me, what other average signings has Bob made? Discount Kone as he hasn't been fit since he arrived.

 

[Whitty]

Or a Kevin De Bruyne loan....just maybe The Special One sees us as the perfect developmental club for his rich pickings that can't be currently squeezed into his match day squad. We are great to watch, and play a very enterprising game that a lot of neutrals are latching on to. With Barkley in the limelight TSO knows KDB will be very visible to a wide audience, and so his value should only increase. I'd think TSO doesn't beleive we are a serious challenge to Chelsea (yet) but that we are clearly able to take points off all of their rivals over the season.

We can't loan any more premiership players. We already have our maximum of 2

 

[bourneblue]

Here we go again,the same posters doubting Roberto's judgement in the transfer market.
Read the exact same arguments when he signed McCarthy,Alcaraz, Kone, Barry on loan( but will become a permanent),Lakaku and Del on loan.
So there's uproar when we're linked to Reira a 27 year old spanish striker, too old at 27,, how old was Kevin Campbell when we signed him ?
Agenda driven nonsense.

 

[Zodiak2]

Di Santo was brilliant for wigan, for how they played. Not all strikers are there to be goal scorers you know.

What a strange thing to say. Of course they are! At the end of the day, EVERY striker is judged on his goals tally.

Di Santo was absolute garbage.

 

[Steve Wigan]

why because im sceptical of signing a near 28 year old who has only just come up from the Spanish version of the championship?
like I said David Nugent is around that age and is playing the same level this guy was playing until this season would you be happy with him? people have a right to question signings just because everyone isn't nodding heads and wanking each other off doesn't mean we arnt backing the manager/new signings.

I'd be happy with Nugent if he scored 18+ goals in a season because Martinez system allowed him to do that. We MAY have to spend a large chunk of money on a striker, but no one should be allowing themselves to think that this is the only way to get a good one. Transfer fee is not always a good guide to future success. It all depends on who Martinez thinks would fit in best, and score most goals.I hope that if he does spend just a few million on an unknown(to us), people will not prejudge. But of course many people will.

 

[evertony]

We can't loan any more premiership players. We already have our maximum of 2

Spoilsport.....tbh thought you could have 3. Maybe the Big News is that Barry or Lukaku are jioining permanently...thereby making my highly fabricated theory about KDB possible......

Conspiarceeeee

 

[TheFinnFan]

It might be barkleys or baines contract news too?

 

[Zodiak2]

Here we go again,the same posters doubting Roberto's judgement in the transfer market.
Read the exact same arguments when he signed McCarthy,Alcaraz, Kone Barry on loan, but will become a permanent,Lakaku and Del on loan.
So there's uproar when we're linked to Reira a 27 year old spanish striker, too old at 27,, how old was Kevin Campbell when we signed him ?
Agenda driven nonsense.

Don't be ridiculous. There isn't a single fan on here, or anywhere come to that who isn't over the moon with Martinez for what he's done at the club so far so quit the agenda nonsense.

If we're selling one of our only two first team strikers for anything up to 7.5 million, I think it's fair to say some, or even most would be disappointed to see his replacement being a near 28 year old with zero pedigree who is only now going through a bit of a purple patch.

He may, IF he signs, turn out to be superb and then the doubters would have no choice but to hold their hands up and admit their fears were misplaced.

But you can't blame people for hoping for a little better as it stands.

It would also be a concern that next season we would have two first team strikers, one being 28 years old and the other nearly 31 who has missed a year with a serious knee injury and whose biggest asset is/was his pace.

Whether it's now or in the summer, we'll still need to buy a top quality striker who's best years are still to come.