Summer transfer rumours, speculation and out-and-out b*ll*cks.

[eastie]

I think the system GED wants to use he will be looking for defenders who are comfortable in possession and who can pass well , Clark fits the bill but I'm not sure cuellar, dunne and Collins are able to distribute the ball as comfortably, and are prone to hoofing it- I'd expect at least one centre half in and one of those to leave, along with 2 new full backs and a keeper as priority.

Midfield and forward line are looking much stronger and maybe one or two in and out in that area will suffice- if Bradley finds the form he showed he clearly posesses in the world cup then he may well be a useful signing- far too soon to write him off yet.

[UsualSuspect]

Bradley hasn't looked up to much so far, but we can't really judge him till the end of the season.

He aint worth £4.8m !! more like 250k max.
He looks worse than Sidwell !!

Give him a chance FFS.  Why do ppl continue to criticise our own players on here?

Remember the flak Walker got when he signed on loan.  Its ridiculous.

perhaps people critisize because our club is in a relegation dogfight.

I watched Bradley against man City and he was fucking rubbish so then I'll say he was rubbish.

What do you expect people to say about our multi millionaire vastly under performing players?

He was poor but making a final judgement on him after one game is a bit hasty.

I agree

I just think it is strange that Bradley has started 1 game.
When in reality he could have started 4/5

[UsualSuspect]

watched Bradley against man City and he was fucking rubbish so then I'll say he was rubbish.

If you think that Bradley and petrov in the middle of that midfield against City was anything better than fucking rubbish then I don't think it's my opinion you need to be concerned about.

My opinion is that he was shit and why has he hardly figured in the four or so other games he could have played in.

He wasn't though. He had a reasonable first half for me but faded as the game went on, not really a surprise on his first start. The fact that all you want to do is rant that he was "fucking rubbish" shows that you're not interested in discussing it sensibly you just want to force your own limited opinions on others.

[Risso]

I think the system GED wants to use he will be looking for defenders who are comfortable in possession and who can pass well , Clark fits the bill but I'm not sure cuellar, dunne and Collins are able to distribute the ball as comfortably, and are prone to hoofing it- I'd expect at least one centre half in and one of those to leave, along with 2 new full backs and a keeper as priority.

Midfield and forward line are looking much stronger and maybe one or two in and out in that area will suffice- if Bradley finds the form he showed he clearly posesses in the world cup then he may well be a useful signing- far too soon to write him off yet.

Collins was at West Ham under Zola, and Dunne played for Erikkson, both of whom liked their teams to play a passing game.  Collins especially is well capable of playing the ball out from the back.  Our problems this year under Houllier run a bit deeper than that.

[Clampy]

I thought Bradley was crap against Man City as well, but he played well for the Yanks in the World Cup so there's definatley something there.

[eastie]

I'd hardly say either dunne or Collins are comfortable in possession and they are prone to banging it long, whilst I agree a defenders main job is to defend I think houllier will be looking to upgrade on Collins and dunne - maybe one will survive as back up , but Clark looks a far more comfortable player on the ball than either of them.

I don't think Eriksson had city playing that quality football at city and both he and Zola inherited dunne and Collins , they are more mon type no nonsense defenders , and while both having good qualities have not been up to required standards this year.

[fredm]

Sorry Chris, it was in the first half that he made 3 point blank passes to the opposition.
He looked totally unsure of his role in midfield and at times was too close to his team mates.

The nicest description I can use to describe his performance was that it was Sidwell-esque.

The sad thing about that match was he was playing alongside Petrov, who couldn't be bothered to get involved, and Bannan, who I think we all agree, is still making his way in the game.  Add in the fact that he had probably never played with either of them before as a midfield three, even in training, plus in front of him he had Gabby and Heskey who were as much use that night as a chocolate fireguard together with the quality of the opposition, and I think it a mite unfair to draw any conclusion about his ability and possible benefit to us in the long term.

[Concrete John]

Agreed.

One game is harsh regardless, but the next time Bradley plays I'd like to see him do so in our first team.  It must be very hard to make your debut in a team that must have known the manager expected them to lose!

[Chris Smith]

Sorry Chris, it was in the first half that he made 3 point blank passes to the opposition.
He looked totally unsure of his role in midfield and at times was too close to his team mates.

The nicest description I can use to describe his performance was that it was Sidwell-esque.

I thought it looked like a typical PL debutant for a player coming from a foreign league. He did some Ok stuff and some pretyy crap stuff but it would be very short sighted to judge him on that alone.

[hartman_1982]

I think the system GED wants to use he will be looking for defenders who are comfortable in possession and who can pass well , Clark fits the bill but I'm not sure cuellar, dunne and Collins are able to distribute the ball as comfortably, and are prone to hoofing it- I'd expect at least one centre half in and one of those to leave, along with 2 new full backs and a keeper as priority.

Midfield and forward line are looking much stronger and maybe one or two in and out in that area will suffice- if Bradley finds the form he showed he clearly posesses in the world cup then he may well be a useful signing- far too soon to write him off yet.

I completly agree with the first paragraph.

[Rip Van We Go Again]

Sorry Chris, it was in the first half that he made 3 point blank passes to the opposition.
He looked totally unsure of his role in midfield and at times was too close to his team mates.

The nicest description I can use to describe his performance was that it was Sidwell-esque.

I thought it looked like a typical PL debutant for a player coming from a foreign league. He did some Ok stuff and some pretyy crap stuff but it would be very short sighted to judge him on that alone.

Don't get me wrong, he's still got time to prove himself and I hope he does.
I just thought it was a shocking debut.

[hartman_1982]

I think the system GED wants to use he will be looking for defenders who are comfortable in possession and who can pass well , Clark fits the bill but I'm not sure cuellar, dunne and Collins are able to distribute the ball as comfortably, and are prone to hoofing it- I'd expect at least one centre half in and one of those to leave, along with 2 new full backs and a keeper as priority.

Midfield and forward line are looking much stronger and maybe one or two in and out in that area will suffice- if Bradley finds the form he showed he clearly posesses in the world cup then he may well be a useful signing- far too soon to write him off yet.

Collins was at West Ham under Zola, and Dunne played for Erikkson, both of whom liked their teams to play a passing game.  Collins especially is well capable of playing the ball out from the back.  Our problems this year under Houllier run a bit deeper than that.

I am sorry Risso but you are watching a different pair of centre halves if you believe Dunne and Collins are comfortable on the ball. Collins seems to believe he has the ability to hit 50 yard balls to feet, and doesnt, and Dunne looks as though he is never exactly sure what he is going to do with it. One ball playing centre half will be bought in this summer to play along side Clark IMO.

[Risso]

I think the system GED wants to use he will be looking for defenders who are comfortable in possession and who can pass well , Clark fits the bill but I'm not sure cuellar, dunne and Collins are able to distribute the ball as comfortably, and are prone to hoofing it- I'd expect at least one centre half in and one of those to leave, along with 2 new full backs and a keeper as priority.

Collins was at West Ham under Zola, and Dunne played for Erikkson, both of whom liked their teams to play a passing game.  Collins especially is well capable of playing the ball out from the back.  Our problems this year under Houllier run a bit deeper than that.

I am sorry Risso but you are watching a different pair of centre halves if you believe Dunne and Collins are comfortable on the ball. Collins seems to believe he has the ability to hit 50 yard balls to feet, and doesnt, and Dunne looks as though he is never exactly sure what he is going to do with it. One ball playing centre half will be bought in this summer to play along side Clark IMO.

I didn't say that's what they had been doing, just they were capable of it, Collins especially.  There was a spell of games last season when everybody on here was raving about Collins's distribution, and that was under O'Neill.

[hartman_1982]

RE Bradley: I thought he had an Ok game but struggled with the pace of it. As I understand it he prides himself on being a "box to box" type midfielder and perhaps it will take him longer to get the required fitness to play that role in the Premier League. From everything I have read about him though he seems a very determined character and I wouldn't put it past him to bounce back. To be fair to him, he was also playing alongside Petrov that night who seemed determined to win the "worst performance of the season award" and it would of been very difficult for anyone to look good next to him. The jury is definately still out, but I think he has the ability and determination to be a very good Premier League midfielder.

[hartman_1982]

I think the system GED wants to use he will be looking for defenders who are comfortable in possession and who can pass well , Clark fits the bill but I'm not sure cuellar, dunne and Collins are able to distribute the ball as comfortably, and are prone to hoofing it- I'd expect at least one centre half in and one of those to leave, along with 2 new full backs and a keeper as priority.

Collins was at West Ham under Zola, and Dunne played for Erikkson, both of whom liked their teams to play a passing game.  Collins especially is well capable of playing the ball out from the back.  Our problems this year under Houllier run a bit deeper than that.

I am sorry Risso but you are watching a different pair of centre halves if you believe Dunne and Collins are comfortable on the ball. Collins seems to believe he has the ability to hit 50 yard balls to feet, and doesnt, and Dunne looks as though he is never exactly sure what he is going to do with it. One ball playing centre half will be bought in this summer to play along side Clark IMO.

I didn't say that's what they had been doing, just they were capable of it, Collins especially.  There was a spell of games last season when everybody on here was raving about Collins's distribution, and that was under O'Neill.

Well as a manager then, if you ask a player to go out and distribute the ball to feet and he doesn't do that, would you not look upon him as somebody who you wouldn't want at your club?