Is Ged getting fed up?

[pablopicasso_10]

yep...

[JUAN PABLO]

Houlier doesnt like players who are going to be a bad influence on young players....  Goodbye to Ireland then and Carew... 

[Irreverent ad]

He needs time, and the state of play and the number of injurie is heaping pressure on him.
Let's see where the January window takes us (with Sidwell and Ireland almost certainly out - even if on loan) and the return of the injured during the next month and then take a view.

Although I agree with that, we do also need results for two reasons:-
1.  To stay the the PL.
2.  The lower we are/finish the harder it will become to attract players.

He's changing the playing style, but maybe ne needs to arrest that slightly to get some points on the board and then revisit it once he's got some of his own players in?

I don't think it matters to a potential player if you finish 5th or 15th. Champions League, History, Manager are what attracts players.....oh and money of course.  We have 2 out of 3. We can attract good players just not the very good ones who want CL.

[Concrete John]

I don't think it matters to a potential player if you finish 5th or 15th. Champions League, History, Manager are what attracts players.....oh and money of course.  We have 2 out of 3. We can attract good players just not the very good ones who want CL.

You're right in that money will overule any other consideration for a player, but if we're trying to get a better handle on the wages is now the right time to be pushing the boat out?  If we finish say 12th and offer the same terms as whoever finishes 5th, we might struggle to get the player.

I think we have an image problem in attracting top players anyway, but a bottom half finish isn't goinf to help that. 

[Woofles The Wonder Dog]

Champions League, History, Manager are what attracts players.....oh and money of course.  We have 2 out of 3.

Our four main weapons are Champions League, History, Manager and money. Cardinal, The Rack!

[Irreverent ad]

I don't think it matters to a potential player if you finish 5th or 15th. Champions League, History, Manager are what attracts players.....oh and money of course.  We have 2 out of 3. We can attract good players just not the very good ones who want CL.

You're right in that money will overule any other consideration for a player, but if we're trying to get a better handle on the wages is now the right time to be pushing the boat out?  If we finish say 12th and offer the same terms as whoever finishes 5th, we might struggle to get the player.

I think we have an image problem in attracting top players anyway, but a bottom half finish isn't goinf to help that. 

I agree top players are out of our reach but if we went for good players with a large potential to improve and high intangibles then I would think we can afford more and appeal more to a player than Everton, Stoke, Bolton, Sunderland etc. I honestly think as long as we are not below 14th or 15th then it will not matter. Would a player really choose Bolton ahead of us because they finished 8th this year (as a one off) and we were 14th?

[Irreverent ad]

Champions League, History, Manager are what attracts players.....oh and money of course.  We have 2 out of 3.

Our four main weapons are Champions League, History, Manager and money. Cardinal, The Rack!

Haha. I meant to say that outside of Champions League calibre players we can go toe to toe with anyone for a player maybe with the exception of Liverpool & Man City and the top 4.

[dave.woodhall]

If we're honest we've never signed a top-line player, even if we could afford them. I think the club's philosophy now is Stars of Tomorrow. It may not be glamorous, but it's a lot more realistic than demanding big names.

[Irreverent ad]

If we're honest we've never signed a top-line player, even if we could afford them. I think the club's philosophy now is Stars of Tomorrow. It may not be glamorous, but it's a lot more realistic than demanding big names.

I agree. Anyway top players always seem to disappoint IMO. Also which clubs do sign top players outside of United, Chelsea & Real Madrid?

[villasjf]

we have tweeked our scouting system so should be able to find some nuggets abroad (and not those from the Blackburn owners) buying british is good but their wages are very high for mediocra players. look at some of the players Albion have signed and others like Palacios and Valencia who were bought cheaply and sold on for a profit. No that doesnt mean we are a selling club, even Manu sell players.

[Concrete John]

If we're honest we've never signed a top-line player, even if we could afford them. I think the club's philosophy now is Stars of Tomorrow. It may not be glamorous, but it's a lot more realistic than demanding big names.

It's a good philosophy.

But if you take James Milner as an example, we signed him after finishing 6th - would he have come if we had finished 14th?

[Irreverent ad]

If we're honest we've never signed a top-line player, even if we could afford them. I think the club's philosophy now is Stars of Tomorrow. It may not be glamorous, but it's a lot more realistic than demanding big names.

It's a good philosophy.

But if you take James Milner as an example, we signed him after finishing 6th - would he have come if we had finished 14th?

Yes. He was getting fed up at Newcastle. They had already cancelled the deal once. He wanted to play for the manager and the club.

Also was it O'Neills first season when the deal was cancelled. We were 16th that season before that summer were we not?

[Merv]

Hmmm. I can think of several examples of Villa signing what I'd consider to be a 'top' player and then said player disappointing me tremendously. If I'm honest, Curcic, Collymore and Ireland all really excited me and all three turned out fairly disastrously. Even JPA, to a lesser extent; decent for a couple of seasons but costing almost £10m ten years ago....

So I'm perfectly happy if we give 'big names' a wide berth and go looking for younger, hungrier, footballers that we can retain and develop for the next 5-6 years.

[Concrete John]

If we're honest we've never signed a top-line player, even if we could afford them. I think the club's philosophy now is Stars of Tomorrow. It may not be glamorous, but it's a lot more realistic than demanding big names.

It's a good philosophy.

But if you take James Milner as an example, we signed him after finishing 6th - would he have come if we had finished 14th?

Yes. He was getting fed up at Newcastle. They had already cancelled the deal once. He wanted to play for the manager and the club.

Also was it O'Neills first season when the deal was cancelled. We were 16th that season before that summer were we not?

Yes, that did happen, but I think the James Milner of summer 2006 was a lot different to the one of summer 2008 when we eventually got him.  In 2006 he'd just spent the season on loan with us and the deal was (I think) for £4m.  Two years later he's a first team regular at Newcastle and they're looking for £12m for him.

I'm not saying it makes a big difference, but I do think it has some bearing if two clubs make comparable offers and one has finished significantly higher in the league.

[pablopicasso_10]

If we're honest we've never signed a top-line player, even if we could afford them. I think the club's philosophy now is Stars of Tomorrow. It may not be glamorous, but it's a lot more realistic than demanding big names.

and for me, that is the best way to go...

man citys best players, apart from tevez, are de jong and kompany (that is the opinion of a long standing man city fan whos opinion i trust), and those signings were questions compared to robinho, etc...

so for us to do something similar, i will be happy with... even if they leave, we still get lots of money for them when they leave to spend on the next batch... its not like we can keep hold of our current "stars"...