Emi Martinez

[LukeJames]

our last 6 transfers have been Olsen, Augustinnson, Dendoncker, Bednarek, Moreno and Duran. Those are not signings to push us to the Top 10, let alone the top 6.

Why didn't you make it the last 8  or 9 signings and include Kamara and Carlos? Could have been a little more transparent.

Kamara and Carlos were good signings but then when we needed a good middle and end to the Summer window we signed four squad fillers, and as you already said yourself a few posts back "whats the point in just buying anybody"?

[Clampy]

Bednerak came in just because Carlos was injured, possibly same with Augustinsson after we only had Digne and enough said about Olsen the better. Dendoncker was a strange one and let's not write off Moreno and Duran just yet eh?

[SamTheMouse]

Martinez wants Champions League football asap, and we're not going to get there without signing better players. The longer we take to do that, the more likely it is that he will want to leave.

And if he goes, it will influence the thinking of other players. If we really are ambitious, we have to show our current players and potential signings.

Recruiting Emery was a good first step, but we needed to take the second step in this window, because the clubs between us and the European spots are there for the taking right now, and next season they most likely won't be.

[Beard82]

Since Joe left we have signed
Bailey - verdict still out on
Ings - sold
Phil - good initially but struggled after first 8 games
Digne - appears to have been replaced
Young - 37 but has been excellent
Olsen - knocked us out of 2 cups
Kamara - amazing
Carlos - only played 2 games so can’t judge other than on reputation he seems a good signing
Bednerk - making up numbers
Dednocker - seems ok - but making up the numbers mainly apparently on high wages
Auggessessstonnnn - awful
Duran - one for the future
Manaro - looks ok too early to say

The only thing worse than that list is my spelling.   If we’re going to improve we really need to get better in the transfer market.  I don’t know who has a say in signing these players - but it has been a really poor showing

[RamboandBruno]

Someone just posted me the whole few paragraphs, im too much of a technophobe to be able to post it from whats, but it does sound like he’s off in the summer.

[pauliewalnuts]

Re the January window, making it sound like people are saying he’s decided he’s off because we signed almost nobody is misleading.

It comes down to him being ambitious and our ability to persuade him to stay is going to be easier the higher up the table we finish.

If we wind up 12th or thereabouts that’s not going to convince the fans we’re ambitious, let alone players we’d be asking to stake their careers on it.

That is why the meek attitude this January is important.

[pauliewalnuts]

Since Joe left we have signed
Bailey - verdict still out on
Ings - sold
Phil - good initially but struggled after first 8 games
Digne - appears to have been replaced
Young - 37 but has been excellent
Olsen - knocked us out of 2 cups
Kamara - amazing
Carlos - only played 2 games so can’t judge other than on reputation he seems a good signing
Bednerk - making up numbers
Dednocker - seems ok - but making up the numbers mainly apparently on high wages
Auggessessstonnnn - awful
Duran - one for the future
Manaro - looks ok too early to say

The only thing worse than that list is my spelling.   If we’re going to improve we really need to get better in the transfer market.  I don’t know who has a say in signing these players - but it has been a really poor showing

We need to spend more money on better players.

Our net spend each of the last three years has been around 40m.

Newcastle haven’t even needed to spend much of their owners insane wealth and they’ve shot past us while we’re convincing ourselves we’re ‘not ready’ or that the players we want are going to be magically available and much cheaper and easier to get in the summer.

[Clampy]

Let's take Guendouzi for example. If you believe what you read, it seems we tried to get him in and for whatever reason, it didn't happen. Maybe in the summer there might be a shift and it happens. That's what I'm trying to get at, using him as an example.

[pauliewalnuts]

What I read was that we didn't make an offer for him.

[Beard82]

Let's take Guendouzi for example. If you believe what you read, it seems we tried to get him in and for whatever reason, it didn't happen. Maybe in the summer there might be a shift and it happens. That's what I'm trying to get at, using him as an example.

I think we understand the logic - and it not that it’s wrong pre say just 2 years without progress would do little to show Emi this is where he should be.  A more aggressive window might have secured help us snatch a European place which might have convinced him. 

[Risso]

Let's take Guendouzi for example. If you believe what you read, it seems we tried to get him in and for whatever reason, it didn't happen. Maybe in the summer there might be a shift and it happens. That's what I'm trying to get at, using him as an example.

No. We didn't even make an offer, and that's straight from his chairman's own mouth. We didn't even try, that's the whole point. If that's your example, you've just proved the exact opposite of it.

[Clampy]

Let's take Guendouzi for example. If you believe what you read, it seems we tried to get him in and for whatever reason, it didn't happen. Maybe in the summer there might be a shift and it happens. That's what I'm trying to get at, using him as an example.

No. We didn't even make an offer, and that's straight from his chairman's own mouth. We didn't even try, that's the whole point. If that's your example, you've just proved the exact opposite of it.

Like I said 'if you believe what you read'. I wasn't aware what their chairman said on the matter to be honest.

[Mister E]

Let's take Guendouzi for example. If you believe what you read, it seems we tried to get him in and for whatever reason, it didn't happen. Maybe in the summer there might be a shift and it happens. That's what I'm trying to get at, using him as an example.

No. We didn't even make an offer, and that's straight from his chairman's own mouth. We didn't even try, that's the whole point. If that's your example, you've just proved the exact opposite of it.

I suspect we did try but our informal approaches were given a resounding "back off (till Summer)", so no formal offer was made.

[Risso]

Let's take Guendouzi for example. If you believe what you read, it seems we tried to get him in and for whatever reason, it didn't happen. Maybe in the summer there might be a shift and it happens. That's what I'm trying to get at, using him as an example.

No. We didn't even make an offer, and that's straight from his chairman's own mouth. We didn't even try, that's the whole point. If that's your example, you've just proved the exact opposite of it.

I suspect we did try but our informal approaches were given a resounding "back off (till Summer)", so no formal offer was made.

That's not trying. Trying would be here "here's £60m of your foreign Euros". At least they'd have a decision to make then. We didn't bid for him this January, and I confidently predict we won't in the summer.

[Mister E]

In all of this debate about progress over the last 2 years, the single biggest constraint on progress was the appointment of the scouse fraud.