Summer transfer mission

[Bus-Conductor]

Again far to many people are blaming the midfield ie Bentaleb and Mason refusing to acknowledge our weak CB's....you could have the ultimate midfielder in a two man midfield and with our current CB pairing they'd look Sh1t.

Have a look around at the quality of CB's at the moment. Dier and Vertonghen are two of the best and a really good pairing in terms of balance of skills.

I know both make the odd mistake, but if you look around you'll see every CB out there making mistakes (Kompany, Mertesacker, all of ManU's, Cahill etc)

I'd be over the moon if we could get Vertonghen signed to a new deal and went forward with those two. If Pochettino could get us defending as a team from the front, meaning the CM's could do a more structured job, and we brought in a RB with a brain, the CB pairing would be one of the best inn the EPL.

 

[TEESSIDE1]

Mina would be a player for the future.. at the moment he isn't a first choice at Celta.. he's only started 11 lg games or so this season, scoring 5 & as you say 4 of them were in one match, a game Nolito provided 3 assists in, Nolito is there star man by a long shot, choosing Mina over Nolito at this moment in time when we need players for the starting XI makes no sense Mina is nowhere nere ready to be a starter in the Pl.. a third or fourth choice that you can develop over time fine.. I'd be all for it. Calling Nolito Barca cast off is football snobbery.. is Fabergas a cast off how about Thiago is he a cast off, Look at who was ahead of him at Barcelona.. Iniesta was playing wide left at the time as well as having Pedro & others to compete with.. no shame in not been in the team with that amount of competition for places & it doesn't make him a bad player.. besides Barca wanted to keep him & offered him a new contract which he turned down, so he left for Benfica . For a cast off he has done well to get called up to the Spain squad this season & he got there by hard work & desire to improve his game.. but what would Del Bosque know. He ticks the boxes for me.. a player with fire in his belly who scores & assists who suits the system plus with Ade & Soldado on there way out it saves having to buy 2 strikers + a lw. I'd choose a player like Nolito ahead of Thauvin any day of the week he's another Nasri has all the talent but doesn't apply himself.

Since we often can't compete when players become established, it makes sense to snap them up whilst they're still raw.

Nolito is nearly 29 and has only started to perform consistently towards the end of his career. His age is an instant no no as far the club are concerned if their reportedly transfer policy is anything to go by.

It's certainly not snobbery, Fabregas was a highly rated youngster and was snapped up by Arsenal because he was too young to get a professional contract in Spain. Whereas Tiago Alacantra had featured a fair few times for the 1st team and moved to arguably the best team in Europe for over £15m. Nolito on the other hand wasn't a Barca product, they signed him in his early 20s from a lower league side and he spent most of his time playing for Barca B as he was nowhere the standard required. They offered him a professional contract at 25, yet he only featured for the B team... he was never going to feature for the 1st team.

Thauvin may have an attitude but he's highly talented and is still very young. Nasri is an exceptional player.

 

[Hazelton]

As much as I love a big name signing, I'm getting such a kick out of the fact that next season we'll have so many young English and homegrown players in the squad. We've always had a selection in past squads, but it seems like this current lot have the potential to go on and have a real impact at the club.

It's obviously still early days, but I look at the likes of Kane, Bentaleb, Mason, Dier and Rose, all proven and looking to build on solid seasons, and then I look at Alli, Pritchard and Carroll, who've played an important role at their respective loan teams, and I can't help but be excited about the future. That's without even mentioning some of the lads in the academy, like Onomah. I can't wait to see them in action at the Lane next season.

 

[Blake Griffin]

Not going to have the top 4 clubs quaking with fear though is it.

neither will any player that we're able to buy.

 

[Hoddle&Waddle]

neither will any player that we're able to buy.

I nearly gave you a D'oh rating because you completely missed the point. Yes, any individual signing we make isnt going to scare the big boys, but a much improved midfield as a whole might. The idea that we shouldnt look to improve the midfield in the transfer market because "we have Ali and Velkovic" is utterly ridiculous.

 

[Blake Griffin]

I nearly gave you a D'oh rating because you completely missed the point. Yes, any individual signing we make isnt going to scare the big boys, but a much improved midfield as a whole might. The idea that we shouldnt look to improve the midfield in the transfer market because "we have Ali and Velkovic" is utterly ridiculous.

how do you know that alli and veljkovic aren't better than any prospective signing? no signing(s) we make will "scare" the big boys, they can buy twice as many and twice as good.

 

[LexingtonSpurs]

how do you know that alli and veljkovic aren't better than any prospective signing? no signing(s) we make will "scare" the big boys, they can buy twice as many and twice as good.

They don't have the experience. We need steel, not promise (or potential).

 

[Japhet]

how do you know that alli and veljkovic aren't better than any prospective signing? no signing(s) we make will "scare" the big boys, they can buy twice as many and twice as good.

They already have top quality players. To compete we need proven players. Do you really, seriously think we should line up against Chelsea, Man City etc next season with Alli and Veljkovic. I'm all for a bit of adventure but that's taking it to ridiculous levels.

 

[Blake Griffin]

They don't have the experience. We need steel, not promise (or potential).

bentaleb and kane didn't have much experience(zero @Japhet in bentaleb's case) now they're two of our best players and have beaten out 100m worth of signings to get there.

 

[Blake Griffin]

They already have top quality players. To compete we need proven players. Do you really, seriously think we should line up against Chelsea, Man City etc next season with Alli and Veljkovic. I'm all for a bit of adventure but that's taking it to ridiculous levels.

yes, they have top players and will buy more top players. we can't buy at the same quality or quanitity so how do you expect to compete with them exactly? you can dismiss alli and veljkovic but there's no way of knowing how good they are without actually giving them a chance first.

 

[RButch]

Would anyone think about resigning Sandro? Very touch decision in my opinion. I love him but don't think he can cut it at the top.

 

[millsey]

Any hope in us getting Benteke? And if so will we always play one striker? Kane is the no 1 so can we buy another top striker to sit on the bench? Difficult one

 

[LexingtonSpurs]

bentaleb and kane didn't have much experience(zero @Japhet in bentaleb's case) now they're two of our best players and have beaten out 100m worth of signings to get there.

Ok.

Let me re-phrase. We need to add quality experience to our midfield. Going into the season expecting Alli or Veljkovic to turn into Kane/Bentaleb would be foolish. They should get the same opportunity that Kane had this year - prove themselves in Europa/Cup games and force their way into the line-up.

No matter what else, we need more experienced leaders on the team. Someone to mentor the younger talents. Teach them how to play hard, and how to win matches.

 

[The Scarecrow]

Would anyone think about resigning Sandro? Very touch decision in my opinion. I love him but don't think he can cut it at the top.

No way. I still love him, but he's done as a top level footballer, I'm afraid. Levy did very well to get £10m for him.

 

[Japhet]

yes, they have top players and will buy more top players. we can't buy at the same quality or quanitity so how do you expect to compete with them exactly? you can dismiss alli and veljkovic but there's no way of knowing how good they are without actually giving them a chance first.

It's all about what happens on the day, and in those scenarios there is no substitute for experience. As good as bentaleb is, he doesn't yet have the ability to organise those around him. However, an experienced head next to him would, IMO, bring him on in leaps and bounds and truly unlock his potential. The same goes for the other youngsters. There needs to be a blend of experience, leadership and youthful potential. Advocating going solely with youngsters is as sensible as advocating going with a midfield with an average age of 36.

 

[DaSpurs]

I like that @Blake Griffin wants more focus on the youngsters in general, including buying more English youth, but Bentaleb can hardly be pointed to an example. His is an extremely rare case in the modern EPL. In fact, if he were English I suspect the media would be giving him far more attention as a result of just how rare it is. I think the attention was also occluded by the "controversy" over Sherwood which the media deliberately fueled and ate up.

 

[prawnsandwich]

Any hope in us getting Benteke? And if so will we always play one striker? Kane is the no 1 so can we buy another top striker to sit on the bench? Difficult one

This is the big question.
Harry is number 1. We play with one striker every fecking game.

 

[Hoddle&Waddle]

how do you know that alli and veljkovic aren't better than any prospective signing? no signing(s) we make will "scare" the big boys, they can buy twice as many and twice as good.

Veljkovic has made 3 starts for Middlesborough so we can pretty much rule him out making any sort of impact for us next season. Ali is 18 and its going to be a big step up, and if he going to be in and around the first team I'd think it will be a case of bringing him on gently. So we still have the issue of improving our midfield. Of course we could go out and spend money on a complete flop but then so could the big boys. The fact that they have more money than us should not stop us trying to improve our own team as quickly as possible. History has shown us that money or not the big boys can have an off season and let someone into the top 4, I'd like us to at least try and be that team that can capitalize if that did happen.

 

[whitelanefever]

Since we often can't compete when players become established, it makes sense to snap them up whilst they're still raw.

Nolito is nearly 29 and has only started to perform consistently towards the end of his career. His age is an instant no no as far the club are concerned if their reportedly transfer policy is anything to go by.

It's certainly not snobbery, Fabregas was a highly rated youngster and was snapped up by Arsenal because he was too young to get a professional contract in Spain. Whereas Tiago Alacantra had featured a fair few times for the 1st team and moved to arguably the best team in Europe for over £15m. Nolito on the other hand wasn't a Barca product, they signed him in his early 20s from a lower league side and he spent most of his time playing for Barca B as he was nowhere the standard required. They offered him a professional contract at 25, yet he only featured for the B team... he was never going to feature for the 1st team.

Thauvin may have an attitude but he's highly talented and is still very young. Nasri is an exceptional player.

I agree with you to an extent.. it does make sense to sign young players to develop, however you also have to look at what's in your own academy to develop & we have Oduwa coming through, if we sign players in there early 20's there just going to be blocking a path to the first team for him because realistically the plan for him must be a season or two on loan & then be involved in the first team squad & Pochettino has said he wants players who want to improve & learn regardless of age, Nolito has shown that & instead of been ridiculed as a cast off should be applauded.

I also disagree about been nowhere the standard required because regardless of wether he was mainly a Barca B player Barcelona don't sign players with poor technique, your also incorrect in saying he did not feature for the first team.. he did in his last season albeit very rarely but he was involved with the first team squad & might only have a handful of first team starts but he was on the bench a fair few times & they wanted to keep him. He was very good his first season at Benfica & then through injury & proceeding a lack of form decided to leave. You are right about him hitting form the last few years & he's 28 just hitting his peak years which again shows you the value of having a work ethic & desire to imrove.

I'd never question Thauvin's ability but he's a bit of a pissy footballer & don't see any cajhones about him & hits me as another moaning fenchman who thinks he's made it & we've had enough of them already imo especially if there going to be blocking the path of oduwa.. what message does that send out to academy players.. we need to strike a balance of signing youth & experience as there's no point in signing a player at the expense of a highly regarded academy player.

I find it interesting you think Nasri is a Exceptional player.. seems to me he's a bit of a flake & there's a big big difference in having exceptional ability & been a exceptional player.. I really can't remember the last match he was exceptional in, I can't recall him been outstanding in any game this season & he was always like that even at Arsenal he would play well for 3 months & then put his feet up for the rest of the season.. Top players are consistently good not just when they feel like it.. great ability but he is certainly not a great player

 

[ilikeost]

I agree with you to an extent.. it does make sense to sign young players to develop, however you also have to look at what's in your own academy to develop & we have Oduwa coming through, if we sign players in there early 20's there just going to be blocking a path to the first team for him because realistically the plan for him must be a season or two on loan & then be involved in the first team squad & Pochettino has said he wants players who want to improve & learn regardless of age, Nolito has shown that & instead of been ridiculed as a cast off should be applauded, I also disagree about been nowhere the standard required because regardless of wether he was mainly a Barca B player Barcelona don't sign players with poor technique, your also incorrect in saying he did not feature for the first team.. he did in his last season albeit very rarely but he was involved with the first team squad & might only have a handful of first team starts but he was on the bench a fair few times & they wanted to keep him. He was very good his first season at Benfica & then through injury & proceeding a lack of form decided to leave. You are right about him hitting form the last few years & he's 28 just hitting his peak years which again shows you the value of having a work ethic & desire to imrove.
I'd never question Thauvin's ability but he's a bit of a pissy footballer & don't see any cajhones about him & hits me as another moaning fenchman who thinks he's made it & we've had enough of them already imo especially if there going to be blocking the path of oduwa.. what message does that send out to academy players.. we need to strike a balance of signing youth & experience as there's no point in signing a player at the expense of a highly regarded academy player. I find it interesting you think Nasri is a fantastic player.. seems to me he's a bit of a flake & there's a big big difference in having fantastic ability & been a fantastic player.. I really can't remember the last match he was fantastic in, I can't recall him been outstanding in any game this season & he was always like that even at Arsenal he would play well for 3 months & then put his feet up for the rest of the season.. Top players are consistently good not just when they feel like it.. great ability but he is certainly not a great player

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