Summer Transfer Thread: Speculation, Lies, Absolute Cr*p and Bosman Rumours

[Jockey Randall]

Carroll is a bundling donkey crossed with a headless chicken who can only contribute to a game when the balls hoofed up to him. Even if he was on a free a big no from me.

I would take him on a free but he's definitely still got it all to prove for me. His career in the top flight is based solely on half a season when he was good. The rest he has failed to deliver. I get the feeling people overrate the guy because of the transfer fee and hype that has surrounded him in the last couple of years rather than what he has actually produced.

[Quiet Lion]

Leaving aside the fact that Carroll is a mentalist, has a pony tail and beats his girlfriend. If he were to sign that would condemn us to watching turgid hoofball every time he is in the team.

It doesnt matter how good a player is on the deck (crouch or carew) if they are tall enough we will always try and hit them with a long ball.

I am not against having a physical presence up front, but Carroll is a 1970s style forward that would mean us playing 1970s style football.

[Concrete John]

When you have a big man up top there is always that easy out ball for the man in possession, but then it's down to the manager to coach that out of them and ignore the fact he's 6'3" or whatever. 

[peter w]

Albrighton will be fine. he was just suffering from the second-season syndrome. Difficult for a young player to deal with the pressure of such a good first season and then struggled with confidence. Another years growing physically and mentally and he'll be eager to start again. The pressure will knot be the same as it is now a mental pressure from himself to prove to himslef that he's a footballer which is a lot easier to deal with than the pressure from 40k+ on matchday, media, and people wherever he goes expecting him to be brilliant. The 4th season will see him getting those 2nd season pressure again but opf course he'll be older and wiser by then.

I have no doubts that Albrighton will get his mojo and form back. Whether it will ultimately be good enough for where we want to get back to is another topic altogether.

[Phil from the upper holte]

Hutton to Stoke would be great

[villastikz]

Hutton to Stoke would be great

My misses drives back n forth from Brum to Stoke a few times a day with work so if he needs a lift...

[Mazrim]

Carroll is not a donkey. When in form (and yes, thats the key) he is actually quite useful on the deck. He's not just about an aerial threat.
Dont get me wrong, I'd sooner have a striker who can create things and is exciting. A number 10 if you will and if he also had some sort of physical presence that would be great. But Carroll offers something else we dont have and I doubt many would complain too often if we scored some goals from crosses or by bullying defenders.

There's nothing wrong with having a pony tail either. 
Giving the Mrs a pair of Irish sunglasses is a no no though. Down with that sort of thing.

[peter w]

Maz is right. there is nothing wrong with a pony tail. In the 17th century. or if you're a girl etc etc etc

[JUAN PABLO]

Alan Hutton off to Stoke?

perfect marriage

[willywombat]

careful now

[Malandro]

We've seen how good our current England XI is, maybe we should be signing players from the Spanish 2nd division.

[john e]

there is a big difference in the ball being hoofed up the field from the centre backs and hoping the big centre forward can get his head on the end of it,
and working a ball down the sides and a quick skillfull winger puts dangerous cross in for a big centre forward to head in, a bit like Withe, Gray,Macinaly, Dublin etc

the cross and header has been part of the game for decades, if you have a big fella up front he will have more of a chance than a short arse, its not the only way of playing the game ie Spain/Barcalona but its still a tried and trusted formula.

 i'm certainly not advocating the long ball game, i hate that, but there is a place for a big centre forward to get plenty of goals from dangerous balls being played into the box

[peter w]

Its funny seeinmg Liverpool having the troubles that they have been having but i don't think we're in a position just yet to scoff at any of their players and thinking that they wouldn't be good enough for us. I can't think of any of their players, apart from the obvious, who I wouldn't take at Villa.

[KevinGage]

I wouldn't be against the idea of us having at least one forward who is useful in the air. 

But as an option, rather than someone to build the side around.  As others have highlighted, the temptation would be there just to relentlessly boot it up to the big man. 

The way Lambert used Holt and Norwich would be something I'd look at, in the sense that he wasn't a regular starter.   But you can prob only do that with a young player, someone coming from the lower divisions or a player in the twilight of his career.

A big fat 'No!'   to the Divvy Ponytail though.  He can be someone else's problem. 

Maybe Rhodes at Huddersfield, if they get realistic with the price. That's the direction I'd prefer to see us take, players who see us as a step up rather than potentially a step down.

[Concrete John]

Yeah, Carroll wouldn't come to us, or just about anyone outside the CL clubs, unelss he was sure to be seen as an almost guaranteed starter.  With already having Bent and the limitations 4-4-2 can bring, that wouldn't be the case and I doubt we could afford a player with his or Bent's wages to be sat on the bench.