January Transfer Speculation (or lack of) Thread

[Rigadon]

Cripes, if someone is seriously willing to pay £6-8m for Collins then we should bite their hands off shouldn't we? Get Cuellar in his place plus we have Clark/Baker to call on and then use that money to improve the team elsewhere.

Wouldn't be sad to see Collins go.  But still not utterly convinced by Cuellar (after 4 seasons) either.  A ball playing centre half would be great - maybe that'll be Clarke. 

[Rigadon]

Craig Gardner?  Really?  After all the badge kissing down the road?

[James]

Craig Gardner?  Really?  After all the badge kissing down the road?

Exactly, BUT, would be a good replacement for Petrov???

[PaulWinch again]

Gardner would not be a good replacement for Petrov at all.

[James]

Gardner would not be a good replacement for Petrov at all.

Okay, fair enough, I was trying to gauge opinion. I think he has a lot going for him as a player. Care to share why you think what you do?

[Nastylee]

I also think Petrov is streets ahead of Gardner who only has a shot in his locker.

[Rigadon]

If McLeish re-signs Craig Gardner it'll be suicide.  He's already on very, very thin ice with a lot of Villa fans and resigning a player who publicly did the whole 'life-long bluenose' stuff would be mental.

I don't think he's a bad player mind you.  Just not a great one.

[Percy McCarthy]

Gardner's a ten goals a-season midfielder who can't play football.

A bit like Bent, who's a 20 goals a season striker who can't play football.

[john e]

why dont we take them all back, Gardner, Ridgwell and Davis, they can all arrive in a DeLorean

[ozzjim]

I disagree, Gardner is a good player, battles well and scores goals. Him, Clark and Gary in there together would work well IMO, and he battles enough to allow a Bannan to play a bit.

[Dave]

I disagree, Gardner is a good player, battles well and scores goals. Him, Clark and Gary in there together would work well IMO, and he battles enough to allow a Bannan to play a bit.

Which is all well and good, but means that one of the only good points of our season so far (Petrov), who is pretty much the glue holding everything together at the moment isn't in the team.

[saunders_heroes]

I disagree, Gardner is a good player, battles well and scores goals. Him, Clark and Gary in there together would work well IMO, and he battles enough to allow a Bannan to play a bit.

We'd be relegated with that midfield.

[KevinGage]

Just read a skysports journo tweet that QPR and Sunderland are battling it out for James Collins.  I think something between £6-£8m is about right?

I'll be happily stunned if it is more than £5 mil

£8 million?    @.@

What, besides Collins, do they want for that?

The Doug Ellis Stand?   A night with Stephen Ireland?

I think if MON persuades the Sunderland board to pony up that amount, his popularity levels around here will almost be back to the August 2006 high watermark.

[saunders_heroes]

As long as we bought a good replacement it wouldn't bother me if Collins left. I'm sick of seeing him hoof the ball up the pitch.

[Dave]

In this ridiculous market, I don't think it's that stupid.

We took him from West Ham's treatment room for £5m. I'd say that his occasionally great and frequently hopeless performances put him comfortably above the likes of Anton Ferdinand who was £6m or so. I'd say his stock has risen rather than fallen over his time with us.

QPR and Sunderland both have money to spend, might as well make it worth our while.