Summer 2010 Transfer Thread: B*llsh*t, Rumours & Wishes

[Concrete John]

I've never seen a problem with the two wingers.  

If you think back to Man U's treble winning side they had Giggs, Keane, Scholes abd Beckham, so they had plenty of central invention with Scholes despite two wingers.  The key was they all worked hard and Keane knitting it all together.  And it's that sort of player we're missing that makes us a little unbalanced.  A muscular and high energy holding player who can boss a game and also play a bit.

I know it may sound a bit daft comparing us to such a good side, but as a template it's how I'd like to see us structure the midfield.

[old man villa fan]

If we must buy an old striker with premier league experience would much prefer Santa Cruz to Keane.

I truely believe Santa Cruz is a one season wonder:-
2009/2010 - 20 apperances and 4 goals
2008/2009 - 19 apperances and 3 goals
2007/2008 - 31 apperances and 19 goals

Didn't do anything of any mote before that either.

Agreed. Big no no from me.

Same for me.

I think he is similar to Carew now, in that he struggles for fitness and at 29 is not going to improve this, I suspect.

However, it did show that in the season he steered clear of injuries he did well.

[eastie]

Maybe john, but Stewart downing is not good or consistent enough to allow us to play 2 wingers, he has been a luxury and we have looked overrun too often in the middle.

Giggs or beckham he sadly is not- and we are too predictable.

[Merv]

Yes but as I've said before, he wouldn't be limited to the role Petrov plays because he doesnt have to. I suppose its putting a box to box midfielder behind a playmaker rather than specialist attacking and defensive midfielders.

Must admit, I get wound up by the obsession with 'holding' midfielders... not so long ago, it was acceptable to have two all-rounders in the middle of midfield. Then Claude Makelele rocked up and the sit in front of the back four defensive midfielder was in vogue. He was suited to it but everyone is. Can't help thinking this 'Lampard-Gerrard' England problem wouldn't have existed if people banished the notion of a holding player and just allowed them to play in tandem, both disciplined enough to make tackles, cover ground and get forward.

I wouldn't use Milner in a deeper midfield role but as a box-to-box player partnered by a similarly dynamic player, it might work.

Mind you, I'd also still consider him at RM, tucked inside (more like a Beckham RM, definitely not a winger) with two CMs and just one winger (Young, obviously).

[pedro25]

Beckham is never a winger, he's a right sided midfield player.

[Concrete John]

Maybe john, but Stewart downing is not good or consistent enough to allow us to play 2 wingers, he has been a luxury and we have looked overrun too often in the middle.

Giggs or beckham he sadly is not- and we are too predictable.

I'm not trying to compare them ability wise, just addressing how we can get better balance in the midfield yet still play with two wingers.

[Dante Lavelli]

I've never seen a problem with the two wingers.  

If you think back to Man U's treble winning side they had Giggs, Keane, Scholes abd Beckham, so they had plenty of central invention with Scholes despite two wingers.  The key was they all worked hard and Keane knitting it all together.  And it's that sort of player we're missing that makes us a little unbalanced.  A muscular and high energy holding player who can boss a game and also play a bit.

I know it may sound a bit daft comparing us to such a good side, but as a template it's how I'd like to see us structure the midfield.

I agree, it is a good template but I'd hardly call Beckham a winger and Keane was a freak.  Correct me if I'm wrong but weren't they also complemented by Cantona who could also drop deep.

We have Young and Milner who could cover Giggs and Scholes.  Just need to discover/buy the Keane (NRC?) and Beckham (Bentley?).  We'd also need a more intelligent striker (Gudjohnssen or could the Fonz do it in the future?).

[LeeB]

Beckham is never a winger, he's a right sided midfield player.

I'd agree with this, and also believe that was the key to the balance of that side.

Beckham crossing from deeper, with Neville overlapping to create the space and Giggs getting further forward, crossing from the byline.

I also think David Bentley with his head screwed on could give us the same balance.

[eastie]

I take your point john but I think to play with 2 wingers they both have to perform regularly and track back, downing is scared of his own shadow and lacks the balls to tackle in my  
 view and is a luxury we can't afford.

Utd with kanchelskis and giggs were brilliant , but our wingers aren't in that class, at least I'd like to see a variation in tactics , maybe 2 wingers at times but mon seems stuck in this one style of play only and we cAn't seem to change tactics at times.

Downing with a pre season behind him may improve but I have been very disappointed by him in recent
months

[eastie]

Just watching England game live on sky sports news ans heskeys missed 2 sitters- god knows what darren bent must be thinking!

[Des Little]

Just watching England game live on sky sports news ans heskeys missed 2 sitters- god knows what darren bent must be thinking!

Probably the same as a great many of us...that he's bobbins

[Concrete John]

I've never seen a problem with the two wingers.  

If you think back to Man U's treble winning side they had Giggs, Keane, Scholes abd Beckham, so they had plenty of central invention with Scholes despite two wingers.  The key was they all worked hard and Keane knitting it all together.  And it's that sort of player we're missing that makes us a little unbalanced.  A muscular and high energy holding player who can boss a game and also play a bit.

I know it may sound a bit daft comparing us to such a good side, but as a template it's how I'd like to see us structure the midfield.

I agree, it is a good template but I'd hardly call Beckham a winger and Keane was a freak.  Correct me if I'm wrong but weren't they also complemented by Cantona who could also drop deep.

We have Young and Milner who could cover Giggs and Scholes.  Just need to discover/buy the Keane (NRC?) and Beckham (Bentley?).  We'd also need a more intelligent striker (Gudjohnssen or could the Fonz do it in the future?).

I think Beckham played quite wide in that side, but a flying winger a la Giggs he wasn't.  And I was thinking of when they had Yorke and Cole upfront, but Cantona did play with a similar set up behind him.

Will we get players as good?  No, but if we can get similar typs the balance is right.  Wide I think we have it as Young works very hard, although the jury is still out on Downing.  Milner may not be as good as Scholes, but would provide a similar function if played with the right midfielder behind him.  And that's where we start to fall down - we don't have a Keane!

[eastie]

Quite clearly mr o neill and mr capello don't use specsavers!Heskey even looked crap against a part time team.

[barrysleftfoot]

Is this the Capello who has won everything everywhere, an attribute you hold so dear?

  He picks Heskey to do a certain job, and he does that job better than Crouch,Defoe or Bent.The fact he is 1st choice says it all, although i would have tried Gabby in that role.

  MON does'nt have him as his 1st choice, so to keep throwing Heskey as a MON disaster is unfair.How much did Berbatov, Santa Cruz cost?


  Personally i think Doyle, now, is exactly the kind of player we need.I went to the Wolves game not being a fan, but come away mighty impressed.Holds the ball up well, good positioning, good touch, good awareness, not that slow either.Out of all the other fowards we have been linked with i think for around £10m he will be the best out of all of them.

  You have to remember that Fonz is a year older next year, and MON is obviously a big fan.He looks good in front of goal, so maybe we have a goal poacher already at the club.

  How many goals would Gabby have had last year if he had took the penalties.Not far off 20 goals i would guess.

  We keep going on about the fowards not scoring enough, how many goals do we get from midfield?......not enough.

[lessealey]

If we must buy an old striker with premier league experience would much prefer Santa Cruz to Keane.

I truely believe Santa Cruz is a one season wonder:-
2009/2010 - 20 apperances and 4 goals
2008/2009 - 19 apperances and 3 goals
2007/2008 - 31 apperances and 19 goals

Didn't do anything of any mote before that either.

Agreed. Big no no from me.

Same for me.

I think he is similar to Carew now, in that he struggles for fitness and at 29 is not going to improve this, I suspect.

However, it did show that in the season he steered clear of injuries he did well.

He is a strong boy so can play as a target man but has enough skill to drop deeper and link up play. I don't want us to buy him but imo he is the best out of a bad bunch (Keane, Doyle, Cole etc)