January 2016 - Transfer Rumours, Speculation & Suggestions

[peter w]

Plus its not an appeal as the rank and file would understand it but an Administrative Review conducted by those that make the original decision and not a Tribunal in a law sense. An appeal can be heard under different grounds depending on the refusal. But the PBS is pretty much black and white. You either meet the requirements or you don't. If you haven't got the required level of English, for example, then there's no point 'appealing' until you do.

[Louzie0]

Cher M.Garde
Prenez un Striker, s'il vous plait.

Maintenant!

Merci.

[ozzjim]

It is pretty concerning that other clubs in the relegation mix all seem to be buying players whereas we seem to be doing nothing.

And our deficiencies are not so hugely difficult to improve on. A loan of a competitive strong midfielder to cover Sanchez and Gueye in holding, a couple of forwards one that has a vague idea of shooting and one with a bit of pace to supplement the attack and a keeper would pretty much have made us compete with the bottom half quite well as long as Okore stays fit.

[paul_e]

I'm not sure a midfielder is urgent, in my opinion we've held our own in midfield in most games since Garde came in and actually organised them, the defence has improved to the point of being competitive as well, we just need to score goals.  There are 2 possible explanations to the lack of goals, 1 is bad service and the other is poor strikers.  I don't think we're great in either aspect but I do believe that we create 3-4 decent chances a game but most of them amount to nothing because the strikers aren't mobile enough to get into the right positions or are so low on confidence that they're hiding (In Gestede's case it's both in my opinion).  Another keeper (because Guzan is mentally shot) and a striker without the lack of confidence could be enough, a right back so Hutton gets nowhere near the team is the cherry on top.

[tomd2103]

I'm not sure a midfielder is urgent, in my opinion we've held our own in midfield in most games since Garde came in and actually organised them, the defence has improved to the point of being competitive as well, we just need to score goals.  There are 2 possible explanations to the lack of goals, 1 is bad service and the other is poor strikers.  I don't think we're great in either aspect but I do believe that we create 3-4 decent chances a game but most of them amount to nothing because the strikers aren't mobile enough to get into the right positions or are so low on confidence that they're hiding (In Gestede's case it's both in my opinion).  Another keeper (because Guzan is mentally shot) and a striker without the lack of confidence could be enough, a right back so Hutton gets nowhere near the team is the cherry on top.

Agree somewhat Paul and I think pretty much everyone on here would agree about the need for a striker.  Since we've settled in the diamond formation though, it has become clear that we need some more drive from midfield.  Gana and Veretout have been OK, it's playing Westwood in a more advanced role on the left of the diamond that is the problem.  He's not been terrible there, but he just doesn't offer much in terms of going forward.  I don't want to keep harking back to the past, but I just can't help but think the difference Benteke and Delph would have made, as they play the two positions we are short in.

[paul_e]

I'm not sure a midfielder is urgent, in my opinion we've held our own in midfield in most games since Garde came in and actually organised them, the defence has improved to the point of being competitive as well, we just need to score goals.  There are 2 possible explanations to the lack of goals, 1 is bad service and the other is poor strikers.  I don't think we're great in either aspect but I do believe that we create 3-4 decent chances a game but most of them amount to nothing because the strikers aren't mobile enough to get into the right positions or are so low on confidence that they're hiding (In Gestede's case it's both in my opinion).  Another keeper (because Guzan is mentally shot) and a striker without the lack of confidence could be enough, a right back so Hutton gets nowhere near the team is the cherry on top.

Agree somewhat Paul and I think pretty much everyone on here would agree about the need for a striker.  Since we've settled in the diamond formation though, it has become clear that we need some more drive from midfield.  Gana and Veretout have been OK, it's playing Westwood in a more advanced role on the left of the diamond that is the problem.  He's not been terrible there, but he just doesn't offer much in terms of going forward.  I don't want to keep harking back to the past, but I just can't help but think the difference Benteke and Delph would have made, as they play the two positions we are short in.

I get what you're saying, but I'd like to see how Gil and Veretout look as creative options with a proper striker in front of them first.  I think Kozak has been a step up from Gestede in many ways but he's still not getting into good positions or turning 50/50 balls into good ones which the best strikers will do.

[kippaxvilla2]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/aston-villa/12126540/.html

Another appeal.

[cdbearsfan]

I'm more intrigued as to why anyone would think a non eu player with only two caps wouldn't have work permit issues but maybe I'm being harsh.

Who's that then?

He's talking about Kalinic, but given the number of non-EU players who don't meet the 75% of games in 2 years requirement but get through on appeal (look at our squad list, this applies to literally the first player on the list) it's a bit of a pointless comment.  Someone with a growing reputation who has been part of a squad ranked 18th in the world should get through the appeal pretty easily so there's something odd about the whole story, especially now we've gone back in for a 2nd appeal, I think there's a bit of the story that's not surfaced yet.

Some of the ones who don't meet the international criteria have EU passports. I'm aware Croatia is in the EU but there are different rules for them.

The first player on our squad list is Brad Guzan. He has dual US and Polish nationalities or we wouldn't have been able to sign him.

Gestede and Ayew have French citizenship.
 
Gueye and Sanchez are our only squad members without EU citizenship and they qualified to play for us via the number of international caps they'd gained.

[pauliewalnuts]

Some of the ones who don't meet the international criteria have EU passports. I'm aware Croatia is in the EU but there are different rules for them.

I think Croatia is one of those EU countries which supplies immigrants we are supposed to frown at.

Unlike, say, France, where we just chuckle about them loving their food, or Germany, where we joke about their efficiency and then when we get to know them, start making sarcy WW2 comments.

[cdbearsfan]

I believe in equality and find the hypocrisy appaling. We should make sarcy World War Two references to Croatians too. The Nazi table-cloth wearing weirdos.

[tomd2103]

Some of the ones who don't meet the international criteria have EU passports. I'm aware Croatia is in the EU but there are different rules for them.

I think Croatia is one of those EU countries which supplies immigrants we are supposed to frown at.

Unlike, say, France, where we just chuckle about them loving their food, or Germany, where we joke about their efficiency and then when we get to know them, start making sarcy WW2 comments.

Isn't Bosnich Croatian or of Croatian descent?

[cdbearsfan]

Yes. I remember stories that he argued with Milosevic in the dressing room during the Balkan War.

He was another work permit refusee, Man U got turned down for one. We were able to sign him shortly afterwards.

[cdbearsfan]

Milosevic was actually Bosnian, just to add to the confusion.

[paul_e]

I'm more intrigued as to why anyone would think a non eu player with only two caps wouldn't have work permit issues but maybe I'm being harsh.

Who's that then?

He's talking about Kalinic, but given the number of non-EU players who don't meet the 75% of games in 2 years requirement but get through on appeal (look at our squad list, this applies to literally the first player on the list) it's a bit of a pointless comment.  Someone with a growing reputation who has been part of a squad ranked 18th in the world should get through the appeal pretty easily so there's something odd about the whole story, especially now we've gone back in for a 2nd appeal, I think there's a bit of the story that's not surfaced yet.

Some of the ones who don't meet the international criteria have EU passports. I'm aware Croatia is in the EU but there are different rules for them.

The first player on our squad list is Brad Guzan. He has dual US and Polish nationalities or we wouldn't have been able to sign him.

Gestede and Ayew have French citizenship.
 
Gueye and Sanchez are our only squad members without EU citizenship and they qualified to play for us via the number of international caps they'd gained.

I'm pretty sure Guzan had to get a permit when he first joined, I seem to remember it being one of the reasons we didn't get him in the January before and then he was involved in a few US games and the permit went through on appeal the second time.

[Tuscans]

And Sunderland sign that defender we were after from France.

It wasn't him, it was another one with the same first name.

Yeo realised that after. Ours was called Seine wasn't he?!

Ludovic Sané