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

[Concrete John]

Parker is a very good player and exactly what we need.  £7m seems a bit steep given his age at first glance, but think about it a second.  We paid £3.5m for Brad, who we got 2 years out of, knowing there would be no re-sale value.  We paid £5m for Dunne with a similar mindset (hopefully last season will prove to be just a blip).  Sometimes we need to bite the bullet and pay the money.

[Percy McCarthy]

I can't believe that people are moaning about us wanting to sign Parker??? It's absolutely mental - have people forgotten he was Player of the year LAST SEASON?!? He's 30 and he's got 4 years in him for sure, I would imagine he's he kind of player who looks after himself well and he is exactly the kind of player we should be hoping to sign to bring on Delph, Barry and Gary. I think it would send a hugely positive message to the fans and media if we beat Spurs to his signature.

Waste of money at his age? Don't make me laugh.

Regarding player of the season. He was player of the season in a piss poor West Ham team that got relegated. Also, I seem to remember Habib Beye being Newcastle player of the season the year they went down. You cant really base your arguement on that.

I think he is decent, thats about it really.

He won Football Writers' Footballer of the Year, not just West Ham footballer of the year.

[JUAN PABLO]

Press reports today that downing will hand in a transfer request as villa close on on given, nzogbia and Parker.

happy with that ....   

[Concrete John]

So, with all these recent links how are we looking for the first game?

Given

Hutton
Collins
Dunne
Warnock(?)

Albrighton
Makoun
Parker
Delph/Ireland
N'Zogbia

Bent

Maybe a 4-4-2 with gabby upfront and one of Makoun or Delph/Ireland sitting out.  Still four players in that we need to actually sign, but it looks decent to me!

[CJ]

Parker would be a great signing even at £7m. His value as an inspirational leader in the dressing room as well as on the pitch is worth a decent slice of that fee. We've got a few whingers at the minute and someone who could galvanise the team as well as provide a role model for the kids coming through would be invaluable.

[frankmosswasmyuncle]

Press reports today that downing will hand in a transfer request as villa close on on given, nzogbia and Parker.

happy with that ....   

Same here!
Downing leaving would put an immediate halt to about 50% of my negative rantings and ravings from my seat. The blokes in front of me will think they've gone deaf!
Other 50% reserved for refs! and I will have restored the gift of hearing!

[ktvillan]

All good players that would improve the squad but all come with an element of risk.  I've always rated Given but he's had quite a few shoulder problems the last few years, and some say is a good shot stopper but not much else.  A bit like Friedel then,but younger.  Parker is a great player and his age is probably the only reason a few other clubs haven't been after him. Worth the risk in my view. Not sure about Hutton since I heard the rumours about his "lifestyle choices" and N'Zogbia seems a bit flaky.  Not a bad bunch but I was far more excited by the players we were being linked to under GH.

[JUAN PABLO]

Two legit concerns re Parker, as much as I think he would be a great addition to our team...
1.his age
2.sort of related to 1, his tendency to get injured and miss crucial chunks of season...risk bound to increase as he gets older

Id prefer a scot Parker , who might miss a few games down to injury , who sweats, bleeds , leads , works  and cares about his team than a f**king no mark who comes for the money and cant be bothered to put the effort in at all.

[frankmosswasmyuncle]

Two legit concerns re Parker, as much as I think he would be a great addition to our team...
1.his age
2.sort of related to 1, his tendency to get injured and miss crucial chunks of season...risk bound to increase as he gets older

Id prefer a scot Parker , who might miss a few games down to injury , who sweats, bleeds , leads , works  and cares about his team than a f**king no mark who comes for the money and cant be bothered to put the effort in at all.

That description fits my version of Mr S Downing almost perfectly, having left out "and f***s off when the going gets tough and a "big" club expresses any kind of interest"

[Percy McCarthy]

All good players that would improve the squad but all come with an element of risk.  I've always rated Given but he's had quite a few shoulder problems the last few years, and some say is a good shot stopper but not much else.  A bit like Friedel then,but younger.  Parker is a great player and his age is probably the only reason a few other clubs haven't been after him. Worth the risk in my view. Not sure about Hutton since I heard the rumours about his "lifestyle choices" and N'Zogbia seems a bit flaky.  Not a bad bunch but I was far more excited by the players we were being linked to under GH.

I'd steer clear of Given because of the risk factor, but take a chance on the others.

[Dante Lavelli]

With NRC gone and the likes of Bannan, Gardner and Delph on the edge of the first team it would not be the end of the world having Parker at the club however I think they'd be nuts making these sorts of signings the norm rather than the exception. In fact it'd be like the Gregory squad that DOL inherited.

[Mazrim]

Parker would be absolutely spot on. Just what we need.

Right, I'm off to Sonisphere. Later.

[JUAN PABLO]

Two legit concerns re Parker, as much as I think he would be a great addition to our team...
1.his age
2.sort of related to 1, his tendency to get injured and miss crucial chunks of season...risk bound to increase as he gets older

Id prefer a scot Parker , who might miss a few games down to injury , who sweats, bleeds , leads , works  and cares about his team than a f**king no mark who comes for the money and cant be bothered to put the effort in at all.

That description fits my version of Mr S Downing almost perfectly, having left out "and f***s off when the going gets tough and a "big" club expresses any kind of interest"

I like it , I was kind of pointing at the Beyes , Ireland etc but get your point and thats why Parker does get injured he gets stuck in , not sure how often Downing got injured after his foot got tread on by tinklebell..

[Villanation]

I think Parker would be a good shout and purely for tactical reasons should be our first signing, and right now.

[Dante Lavelli]

What is the basis of this link with Parker?
Good old fashioned hope or are there any quotes?