https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/...sfers-14784536
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I enjoyed the article however I do think that our owner and chairman get too fixated on one strategy which can end up being a hindrance.
We all remember when Trollope took over the obsession was with following the Welsh way etc and now it sounds like we wouldn't touch a foreign player with a barge pole.
I hope as a club we're open enough to realise that humble and hungry players do not always have to come from Britain!
For me, the key to our survival is what we add in midfield.
I reckon we'll have at least one new player from the non domestic market by the time the window closes, but I take your point. As for the midfield, I was pleased to see some recent comments from Neil Warnock that reinforcing that area was a priority.Quote:
Originally Posted by thehumblegringo
"We wouldn't touch a foreign player with a bargepole"
come on, be fair. Mendex-Laing, Etheridge, Hoilett, Peltier, Damour to name but a few!! Even Morrison is foreign for fecks sake!!!! :hehe:
You'd think the lad Jordan Hugill would be a perfect fit for us at the moment. I can't see him getting much game time under Pellegrino and West Ham will have to cut their losses.
Another player I'd be amazed if Warnock hasn't at least had a look at is Ollie Watkins. Fast, mobile and knows where the net is. Apparently Brentford want 8 million.
I'd love the rumour regarding the Besiktas lad to be true.
A very big plus from his interview is that the Club kept to FFP rules.
Excellent news. The pot of gold in the premiership is a large one. Unfortunately the costs can also be large.
I hope we invest in the club , training ground , youth etc. Spend sensibly.
I think the general mood of the fans echoes what Choo is saying - let's make the club sustainable and see where we go from there. Any successes will be all the sweeter as a result and the losses easier to bear. If we can manage a few seasons in the Prem then hopefully we can gradually increase our ability to compete.
A good article.Quote:
Originally Posted by the other bob wilson
There is no doubt that having a good owner, CEO and Manager all working together is a good formula. Looking at what is happening elsewhere, we are very lucky to have them.
There are a few who contribute to the blog who really rate Hugill - I've been quite impressed, but not to the extent they are. I agree that West Ham might be tempted to sell at a pretty reasonable price and he does seem to be a Warnock type player.Quote:
Originally Posted by thehumblegringo
Watkins is one who I reckon could be effective in the Premier League, I'd like to see us try and sign him.
Burnley have a lot to answer for. Now it's anything but spend money to stay in the Premiership you've been busting a gut to get into, rather let's be sensible, develop youth, a new training ground, avoid 'prima donnas', keep within budgets.
Burnley may have bounced back though I doubt it was intentional. Nobody, and I mean nobody, can plan to bounce back to the Premiership, yet that seems to be on the minds of the club and many supporters. Huddersfield, a smaller club, less financial clout, smaller crowds, they spent, and wisely, to stay in the Premiership. I'm sure they reckon they'll have little chance of getting back for a long time if they were relegated.
I'm not advocating throwing tens of millions in the direction of over-hyped players, but the truth is, you more often than not get what you paid for. I do hope our next 4/5 signings are of proven quality at the top flight..
I agree entirely with you there.Quote:
Originally Posted by A Quiet Monkfish
As for four or five signings of proven quality in the top flight, I see no alternative to paying very big money if that's we're after, unless the intention is to raise the average age of the team by six or seven years.
So how much do you think we should spend on transfers and wages out of our ~£100M? Burnley's total salary costs alone last year were £61M and they were amongst the lowest spenders in the division. Even if we match that and spend ~£40M on transfers we'll only just have matched the bottom spenders in the division so can't claim we'll be buying better quality.Quote:
Originally Posted by A Quiet Monkfish
We need something that the other teams can't buy - in our case it's likely to be team spirit and Warnock. If we spent every penny we've got I think we'd be no better off than going the route we seem to be going.
I honestly couldn't disagree with your viewpoint more. We seen what happened when we splashed the cash last time we were there. If it wasn't for Warnock we'd probably be in League one now as a result of our gambling last time.Quote:
Originally Posted by A Quiet Monkfish
Another thing I don't get is the term "proven quality at the top flight". Do you want players who have proven that they can compete with Man City or players who can compete with Huddersfield?
A good player is a good player in my opinion. If we were to sign David Brooks and Ryan Sessengon then I can't say I'd be disappointed and neither of these have proven quality in the top flight.
Whilst I have expressed my concern above I commend the club for being very careful not to destroy the team spirit which was fundamental to last year's success.
If there's one thing that sets the Premiership apart, it's just how much effort and energy teams put in each and every match. Team spirit and 'togetherness' won't be enough to dig a side out of a hole - ability and application will..Quote:
Originally Posted by Penarth Blues
The last time we 'splashed the cash' it might as well as been thrown out a train window. Medel and Cornelius were more to do with our manager's relationship with their agents, and Caulker was thought better than the man who helped get us there - Mark Hudson. Anyway, what happened 4/5 seasons ago shouldn't have anything to do with what we are doing next season. Everyone's talking as if they've got shares in Cardiff City AFC - to hell with Premiership football, let's balance the books...Quote:
Originally Posted by thehumblegringo
Quote:
Originally Posted by A Quiet Monkfish
Your last sentence is nothing to do with having shares, it's to do with coming back down then having years of austerity with Russell Slade in charge!
Gunnarsson, Manga, Bamba, Zohore, Fred.Quote:
Originally Posted by xsnaggle
Don't disagree. How much many do you think we need to spend to achieve the required level of ability and application, as you appear to think we can't achieve the same end without spending huge amounts of money?Quote:
Originally Posted by A Quiet Monkfish
In part I thinks It's a good PR exercise ,we really don't want greedy agents and players hovering do we .
I'm in ""no Moody"" to be a victim again .
It seems that there's a consensus point of view that says if you spend a lot of money your'e wasting it on a bunch of primadonnas, and if you keep your spending low, you are shrewd, thinking of the future, and going to get players who are loyal, hard working, and will contribute to the team spirit ethos. Neither of which are exclusively true.Quote:
Originally Posted by Penarth Blues
Personally ? I'd spend a fair chunk of £50-£60 million. Some on fees, some on season-long loans. It's often a gamble, true, but what we have in Warnock is a manager who can [genuinely] get the best out of players and get them to work together as a unit. We may bring in players who haven't shown that in abundance before, but Warnock can squeeze every last drop of talent from them..
Players who have performed the best under Warnock? Those little have been spent on.Quote:
Originally Posted by A Quiet Monkfish
Biggest failures have been Tomlin and Madine ( although Madine has suffered from lack of service ).
We're doing the right thing in hedging our bets.
Gunnarsson and Bamba we signed from within the English game, the players post ogs that we have signed from abroad are Saadi, zohore, fred, damour, immers, and thats about it? I reckon most of those came through the belgian clubQuote:
Originally Posted by Wales-Bales
A smart business man announces to the world that he’s only got a small and very limited amount of disposable income
The same businessman gets the items he wants/needs at a reasonable price because the agents think that’s all they’re likely to get......that is of course unless the agents think that you’ll be happy to spend a lot more for their particular boy
In which case you’ll be fkd over and your pocket emptied or you end up not getting the quality of players you want
Come on Ken !
In Ken we trust !!
Cost of players means relatively nothing as we'll stay up/go down on how well our new signings (and youth players) strengthen the positions we would be targeted on currently, as well as providing a threat going forward to score the goals needed, and this could be players without a club or players signed for 10-12 million.
My main criticism of Slade was that he seemingly refused to tap into what should have been one of his biggest strengths - his knowledge of the lower leagues - so can't criticise Warnock for building around his strength of knowledge of UK based footballers and team building. But Darmour was involved in possibly our best performance(s) of the season and therefore lots of good can be found outside of the UK too.
However, Warnock has lead the club in downplaying our capabilities for a year and a half now while meeting and by far exceeding realistic ambitions. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if this is just another version of that.