Livermore or Spend

[SteveH]

this has been fun.......have we gone into receivership yet?

 

[guiltyparty]

The point is he has played less than a season as a defensive midfielder and that is not someone I'd want substituting for Sandro or Parker.

He played in that position because Raul wanted to play in his number 10 position. It would be asking for trouble and a waste of his creative talents to play him there, when we are so desperate for creativity up front.

As soon as Schalke could move him back to his better position they did. We need specialists covering the position rather than bits and pieces players. It's too important to Levy's minimum requirement, a top 4 finish.

That's like saying 'Rose only played at left back because Bale wanted to play left wing' tho. The majority of the time while at Schalke, not the smaller teams he was loaned out to with inferior squads, he has played as a deeper midfielder. It's only this season he's been pushed forward

I'm not disagreeing in your point, per se, I'd rather have Sandro there, just the statement that he is not a defensive midfielder. He has played there, regularly, to a high standard, at a top team, for a prolonged period of time. This was not bits and pieces

And in a squad where we already have Sandro, Parker, Dembele, Livermore, Huddlestone and Jenas on the books, I suggest our limited resources need to be spent elsewhere (no striker cover, no real wing cover), and getting in Holtby early isn't the worst idea to offset having to buy any more central midfielders

Unless, of course, we manage to offload two of those for sizeable fees, which looks unlikely

 

[Spurs1960]

That's like saying 'Rose only played at left back because Bale wanted to play left wing' tho. The majority of the time while at Schalke, not the smaller teams he was loaned out to with inferior squads, he has played as a deeper midfielder. It's only this season he's been pushed forward

I'm not disagreeing in your point, per se, I'd rather have Sandro there, just the statement that he is not a defensive midfielder. He has played there, regularly, to a high standard, at a top team, for a prolonged period of time. This was not bits and pieces

And in a squad where we already have Sandro, Parker, Dembele, Livermore, Huddlestone and Jenas on the books, I suggest our limited resources need to be spent elsewhere (no striker cover, no real wing cover), and getting in Holtby early isn't the worst idea to offset having to buy any more central midfielders

Unless, of course, we manage to offload two of those for sizeable fees, which looks unlikely

Sorry, but that's not my view, that's the view of the Schalke coach.

By bits and pieces I mean it's not his best position, it's compromising on his ability to fit someone else into his position.

When you loan a player out you don't ask that they play him out of position because they are lesser clubs. We send our players on loan, do they all play out of position? He has never played defensive midfield until a period of last season and only because they had Raul. That doesn't suddenly make him a defensive midfield player. Sigurdsson plays wide when he comes on but he is not a winger all of a sudden, he's doing a job out of position, same as Holtby did.

He has simply been moved back to the further forward positions he normally plays in, it's not something new that he has suddenly excelled at this season. Were the German U21 team he captains playing him as a defensive midfielder last season, no.

I stand by my statement he isn't a defensive midfield player, he too slight to perform it over here anyway. He is a creative midfield player, more in the Modric mold than Parker.

 

[guiltyparty]

Sorry, but that's not my view, that's the view of the Schalke coach.

By bits and pieces I mean it's not his best position, it's compromising on his ability to fit someone else into his position.

When you loan a player out you don't ask that they play him out of position because they are lesser clubs. We send our players on loan, do they all play out of position? He has never played defensive midfield until a period of last season and only because they had Raul. That doesn't suddenly make him a defensive midfield player. Sigurdsson plays wide when he comes on but he is not a winger all of a sudden, he's doing a job out of position, same as Holtby did.

He has simply been moved back to the further forward positions he normally plays in, it's not something new that he has suddenly excelled at this season. Were the German U21 team he captains playing him as a defensive midfielder last season, no.

I stand by my statement he isn't a defensive midfield player, he too slight to perform it over here anyway. He is a creative midfield player, more in the Modric mold than Parker.

I agree but we can't have four defensive midfielder on our books, surely? What happens to someone we sign when Sandro comes back? And what does it do to the budget in other areas?

Having Holtby early gives us options, and someone else who can play that position at a decent level. I'm not suggesting he plays there long term.

 

[Spurs1960]

I agree but we can't have four defensive midfielder on our books, surely? What happens to someone we sign when Sandro comes back? And what does it do to the budget in other areas?

Having Holtby early gives us options, and someone else who can play that position at a decent level. I'm not suggesting he plays there long term.

We agree. He may play there for a game or two but that's not why we are buying him or where he pays..

 

[Kendall]

I don't really understand what he offers. He is too much of a substantial drop in quality defensively to Sandro and Parker and is too great a drop in quality to replace Dembele.

At least Huddlestone and Carroll off something a bit different aside from their limitations. Livermore just doesn't cut it.

 

[bugsdad]

The truth of the matter is we are regally screwed if either or god forbid both Parker and Dembele are injured. Livermore , Hud and Carrol' are just not good enough to replace either of them and if they are injured we can wave goodbye to our CL place.
It is imperative IMHO to bring in not only Holtby straight away but also another option like M'villa or Diame to safeguard us.
By the same token we are in trouble if Defoe or Dempsey are injured, although Ade should be back within a month, not that he is playing great. So ideally two midfielders and a striker,we can live in hope, but I fear for the worse.

 

[guiltyparty]

We agree. He may play there for a game or two but that's not why we are buying him or where he pays..

And I never, ever said it was. What made you think I did?

 

[leffe186]

The truth of the matter is we are regally screwed if either or god forbid both Parker and Dembele are injured. Livermore , Hud and Carrol' are just not good enough to replace either of them and if they are injured we can wave goodbye to our CL place.
It is imperative IMHO to bring in not only Holtby straight away but also another option like M'villa or Diame to safeguard us.
By the same token we are in trouble if Defoe or Dempsey are injured, although Ade should be back within a month, not that he is playing great. So ideally two midfielders and a striker,we can live in hope, but I fear for the worse.

I think that bringing in a forward is massively more imperative, and that we are at a point where we have excess players, but not excess cash. There is not a huge amount of room for manoeuvre. I think Livermore, Hudd and Carroll can be adequate against most teams as cover for Parker. We just cannot keep playing Defoe.

That said, there is definitely an argument for bringing in somebody like Diame as long as we can get a good deal. If the last couple of days' rumours come to fruition, Newcastle will be finally building a decent squad for peanuts based on Ligue 1 players. We have got to move in on this before we miss the boat, with players like Belhanda, Sissoko and Mbiwa looking like moving for modest fees. I'd be happy to pick up a cheap French midfielder, but a cheap French forward/winger is becoming essential if we cannot get a top forward. We just need to shift Bentley, Jenas and the Hudd. Again.