January 2016 - Transfer Rumours, Speculation & Suggestions

[paul_e]

With Newcastle and their 'intent' the problem for me is that what they've actually done is sign 2 players who are marginal upgrades on what they have for £25m, it might keep them up this year but I don't think either are enough to avoid them being in the same position next January, especially not if, as i suspect, this money is being taken out of the summer 'pot'.

This is the sort of short termism we need to avoid as someone said on the last page (Brian I think) we need players who are good signings now and good signings for next season (whichever league we're in), on top of that they need to have the right attitude to serve as examples of what Garde expects from the squad. As appealing as it might be to spend £12.5m on someone like Shelvey or Townsend both have shown this season that they've got questionable attitudes to training/work ethic so they wouldn't have been right for us.

I'd have quite liked Afobe though, we really should have gone for him in the summer instead of Gestede.

[MattW]

A little surprised people are lamenting the lack of transfers before the window shuts. Garde intimated right at the start that the action, if any, would happen at the end. We have little purchasing power and we are rightly not willing to pay overs or panic into a buy, having done so in recent years and been stuck with an expensive, unhelpful player. I think there is intent and some money, but also caution and care. That's a good thing. Let's see how it ends up.

You can't be that surprised, surely?

Not with everyone, but the pessimism of some posters has surprised me. The five million we're willing to pay for Kalinic suggests the money is there. But he seems to havd been discovered through hard work - there'd be few for whom we're likely to be close to the best option. Perhaps we may have a slight advantage with people whom Garde knows.

[ROBBO]

No doubt that if we had been better positioned the money would have been there but what's the point of getting players that are not good enough to get into Spurs team? I would rather look overseas for new talent.

[kippaxvilla2]

You can't be serious with that comment surely? Spurs are now eons better than they were when we were challenging them so their rejects are quite good enough for us.

[paul_e]

You can't be serious with that comment surely? Spurs are now eons better than they were when we were challenging them so their rejects are quite good enough for us.

So are Man City and yet their rejects (Richards and Sinclair) that we picked up in the summer have both been largely disappointing whilst the players we picked up abroad have generally done well.  The players who can't get games for the top sides having previously been in the team or having been bought in after good form elsewhere are generally ones that don't have enough quality to impose themselves on games in this league.  Ones that have done well but have been replaced by better in that window or who were regulars but are getting older are ok but players like Townsend (his reputation is built around 2-3 good goals cutting in into his left foot but ignores the whole load of 'Tonevs' into row z) and Sinclair (can finish but has literally no other strengths to his game) who have just fallen out of favour have done it because they're just not that good.  For £12.5m I want a winger with more than a 1 in 12 record for both goals and assists, I honestly believe that we let a far better right winger leave for free 18months ago.

[supertom]

Like many clubs in the bottom half (ourselves included) what Newcastle are more in desperate need of, is a goalscorer. They've not got that. 25 mill on Shelvey and Townsend doesn't impress me that much. It's ludicrous in fact. I'd have been more concerned if they'd bought Austin.
That said, I think they'll scrape over the line now. We're down. Sunderland are going down and then it'll be Norwich or Bournemouth in 18th.

As for our summer dealings, we're past the point where doing what Newcastle have just done, is in any way sensible. We're dead and buried. We need to make signings for next season. Someone like Rhodes for example might be an astute signing. Give him 5 months in the Prem to see how he copes at this level. Next season he'll bang them in, as will Rudy. We can sign 2-3 (if we're lucky) who are willing and able to make us ready for the championship but still good enough to have an impact at Prem level.

There's no way in hell we'll be able to sign enough players of the required quality to keep us up. It's damn near impossible. The sort of striker who will come in and guarantee us 8-10 goals in the last 15 games is going to cost more than we can/will/should spend. The sort of creatively gifted midfielder we need will cost a shit load. In our position I think only players who are close to being world class could actually drag us out, and even then they'd have a hell of a task on their hands. Even in the best of circumstances they wouldn't come to Aston Villa. In the worst? No chance. There's also no point making desperate signings like Adebeyor for example, who I'm amazed Palace have taken a punt on. But they're in the sort of comfort zone where a gamble like that is something and nothing.

[tomd2103]

With Newcastle and their 'intent' the problem for me is that what they've actually done is sign 2 players who are marginal upgrades on what they have for £25m, it might keep them up this year but I don't think either are enough to avoid them being in the same position next January, especially not if, as i suspect, this money is being taken out of the summer 'pot'.

This is the sort of short termism we need to avoid as someone said on the last page (Brian I think) we need players who are good signings now and good signings for next season (whichever league we're in), on top of that they need to have the right attitude to serve as examples of what Garde expects from the squad. As appealing as it might be to spend £12.5m on someone like Shelvey or Townsend both have shown this season that they've got questionable attitudes to training/work ethic so they wouldn't have been right for us.

I'd have quite liked Afobe though, we really should have gone for him in the summer instead of Gestede.

I think your point about short-termism is correct Paul.  What we've had over the past five years is constant change and we've not had a decent spine of players that have been in place for a number of years.  Our longest serving players are arguably our poorest ones at the moment and that shouldn't really be the case.  The kind of players I'm talking about are the likes of Petrov, not world beaters but good top flight players that you can build a side around.

[supertom]

You can't be serious with that comment surely? Spurs are now eons better than they were when we were challenging them so their rejects are quite good enough for us.

So are Man City and yet their rejects (Richards and Sinclair) that we picked up in the summer have both been largely disappointing whilst the players we picked up abroad have generally done well.  The players who can't get games for the top sides having previously been in the team or having been bought in after good form elsewhere are generally ones that don't have enough quality to impose themselves on games in this league.  Ones that have done well but have been replaced by better in that window or who were regulars but are getting older are ok but players like Townsend (his reputation is built around 2-3 good goals cutting in into his left foot but ignores the whole load of 'Tonevs' into row z) and Sinclair (can finish but has literally no other strengths to his game) who have just fallen out of favour have done it because they're just not that good.  For £12.5m I want a winger with more than a 1 in 12 record for both goals and assists, I honestly believe that we let a far better right winger leave for free 18months ago.

True. I'd much rather have Albrighton than Townsend.

[cdbearsfan]

A little surprised people are lamenting the lack of transfers before the window shuts. Garde intimated right at the start that the action, if any, would happen at the end. We have little purchasing power and we are rightly not willing to pay overs or panic into a buy, having done so in recent years and been stuck with an expensive, unhelpful player. I think there is intent and some money, but also caution and care. That's a good thing. Let's see how it ends up.

We've already drawn games we could have won with an extra striker. Attendances are plummeting and there is a desperate need to bring in somebody to lift spirits.

Saving it until the last minute just means that you lose any advantage in the transfer market as selling clubs, players and agents know that you are desperate.

It also leaves you left vulnerable if a player fails a medical or fails to agree terms, or if another club hijacks the deal as it leaves you bugger all time to pursue a plan B. Witness the pathetic scramble to bid for Gayle at the end of the last window.

Virtually every club struggling at the bottom of the table has already made at least one signing.

There is no benefit to trying to sign players at the end of the transfer window. It was a stupid idea when O'Neill was in charge and it's still a stupid idea now.

Not as stupid as not signing anyone though, which is what I suspect we'll do. 

[Villa in Denmark]

You can't be serious with that comment surely? Spurs are now eons better than they were when we were challenging them so their rejects are quite good enough for us.

So are Man City and yet their rejects (Richards and Sinclair) that we picked up in the summer have both been largely disappointing whilst the players we picked up abroad have generally done well.  The players who can't get games for the top sides having previously been in the team or having been bought in after good form elsewhere are generally ones that don't have enough quality to impose themselves on games in this league.  Ones that have done well but have been replaced by better in that window or who were regulars but are getting older are ok but players like Townsend (his reputation is built around 2-3 good goals cutting in into his left foot but ignores the whole load of 'Tonevs' into row z) and Sinclair (can finish but has literally no other strengths to his game) who have just fallen out of favour have done it because they're just not that good.  For £12.5m I want a winger with more than a 1 in 12 record for both goals and assists, I honestly believe that we let a far better right winger leave for free 18months ago.

I sometimes wonder if there's an element of arse in hands going on as well. To make it at that level you need a certain level of ego and self belief.  If you're essentially canned by one of the teams at the top, that's got to hit you. How you react is either sulk a bit because you can't be where you want to be or be a professional and knuckle down.

We appear to have made a bad habit of picking up the first type instead of the second (Barry at Everton for example).

[supertom]

A little surprised people are lamenting the lack of transfers before the window shuts. Garde intimated right at the start that the action, if any, would happen at the end. We have little purchasing power and we are rightly not willing to pay overs or panic into a buy, having done so in recent years and been stuck with an expensive, unhelpful player. I think there is intent and some money, but also caution and care. That's a good thing. Let's see how it ends up.

We've already drawn games we could have won with an extra striker. Attendances are plummeting and there is a desperate need to bring in somebody to lift spirits.

Saving it until the last minute just means that you lose any advantage in the transfer market as selling clubs, players and agents know that you are desperate. .

It also leaves you left with vulnerable if a player fails a medical or fails to agree terms, or if another club hijacks the deal as it leaves you bugger all time to pursue a plan B. Witness the pathetic scramble to bid for Gayle at the end of the last window.

Virtually every club struggling at the bottom of the table has already made at least one signing.

There is no benefit to trying to sign players at the end of the transfer window. It was a stupid idea when O'Neill was in charge and it's still a stupid idea now.

Not as stupid as not signing anyone though, which is what I suspect we'll do. 

I don't think it's a gameplan this time, or for the want of trying. We've had the permit issues with the keeper, and we've been made to wait for Debuchy. I also suspect we've enquired about a lot of players and been told in no uncertain terms that there's not a hope in hell they'd come here. We were openly courting Remy but lets face it, that's not a goer at all.

[exiled on the wirral!]

I'd rather us try and get a couple of loan signings in this window and save the transfer budget for the summer. I don't think it's impossible to attract a quality striker on loan despite our position if we could offer a generous bonus package if we do the impossible.

[paul_e]

You can't be serious with that comment surely? Spurs are now eons better than they were when we were challenging them so their rejects are quite good enough for us.

So are Man City and yet their rejects (Richards and Sinclair) that we picked up in the summer have both been largely disappointing whilst the players we picked up abroad have generally done well.  The players who can't get games for the top sides having previously been in the team or having been bought in after good form elsewhere are generally ones that don't have enough quality to impose themselves on games in this league.  Ones that have done well but have been replaced by better in that window or who were regulars but are getting older are ok but players like Townsend (his reputation is built around 2-3 good goals cutting in into his left foot but ignores the whole load of 'Tonevs' into row z) and Sinclair (can finish but has literally no other strengths to his game) who have just fallen out of favour have done it because they're just not that good.  For £12.5m I want a winger with more than a 1 in 12 record for both goals and assists, I honestly believe that we let a far better right winger leave for free 18months ago.

I sometimes wonder if there's an element of arse in hands going on as well. To make it at that level you need a certain level of ego and self belief.  If you're essentially canned by one of the teams at the top, that's got to hit you. How you react is either sulk a bit because you can't be where you want to be or be a professional and knuckle down.

We appear to have made a bad habit of picking up the first type instead of the second (Barry at Everton for example).

That's the point really, Barry was still part of the Man City squad and getting games but he was just getting too old to be worth giving a new deal to.  It's not like he was sidelined without a game for months on end.  Townsend, Sinclair and going back Sidwell are players that have shown they offer almost no value to those clubs and they've just been stuck in the stands not playing. All to often players who've been through that struggle at their next club and if they do come back strong it tends to be 2-3 clubs down the line when the mental scars are all healed.

[kippaxvilla2]

Did Albrighton leave on a free because of wages or was it genuinely Lambert showing him the door?  I found that whole episode completely and utterly ridiculous.

[supertom]

Did Albrighton leave on a free because of wages or was it genuinely Lambert showing him the door?  I found that whole episode completely and utterly ridiculous.

I felt it was probably a combination of both. According to Marc we never offered him a new deal. That said we wouldn't have offered him the terms he's apparently getting at Leicester.