[Archived] Sam's January Targets

[den]

Lets not forget this is Spurs. He rarely gets a game. Chimbo wasn't all that great for them either. Neither was Robbo at times.

So all Spuds poor performers are good enough for us?

He's very very talented, if we could get him for a good price we should - a season or two of playing consistently for us would improve him as a player and then we'd sell him on for a big profit.

But he can't defend. You didn't say whether you saw the dreadful defending from him last Sunday. Probably the reason why he's made so few starts for Spurs.

[T4E]

So all Spuds poor performers are good enough for us?

Bit of a leap from what I said isn't it Den? Spurs have a track record of buying talent and wasting it, only to see it regain said talent elsewhere. Their cast offs are exactly the sort of players we should be looking at, as Chimbo and Robbo have proven. We don't have to sign them all, but we should be looking for sure.

[Silencio]

So all Spuds poor performers are good enough for us?

But he can't defend. You didn't say whether you saw the dreadful defending from him last Sunday. Probably the reason why he's made so few starts for Spurs.

He would be good as a replacement for MGP IMO, not as a left back...

[den]

Bit of a leap from what I said isn't it Den? Spurs have a track record of buying talent and wasting it, only to see it regain said talent elsewhere. Their cast offs are exactly the sort of players we should be looking at, as Chimbo and Robbo have proven. We don't have to sign them all, but we should be looking for sure.

You're accepting that Bale is poor at Spurs, but still think he's good enough for us. Can't accept that T4E. He's not in the Spuds side regularly because after seeing his strengths and buying him, they have now seen his weakness.

[T4E]

But he can't defend. You didn't say whether you saw the dreadful defending from him last Sunday. Probably the reason why he's made so few starts for Spurs.

Sorry - yes I did watch the game (thoroughly enjoyed it too, see what happens when they keep the "Big 4" off the telly?). Bale did not play well, I agree. But it doesnt prove that he can't defend, it just proves he had a bad game. I'm sure he's had others too. But he is a good player, young, plenty of talent and with the right coaching and more importantly game time in the Premier League, he has the potential to be excellent. Unfortunately, considering we have about as much money as a tooth fairy from Burnley, thats all we can really aim for. After that we have to hope for the best.

[den]

He would be good as a replacement for MGP IMO, not as a left back...

OK, glad that you too can see he's not good enough to play full back. So if we need a left winger, why not buy a left winger?

Leave Bale alone, he's too slow.

[Amo]

You're accepting that Bale is poor at Spurs, but still think he's good enough for us. Can't accept that T4E. He's not in the Spuds side regularly because after seeing his strengths and buying him, they have now seen his weakness.

Eh? His points are valid. Both Chimbonda & Bentley have flubbed at Tottenham, but we both know they've worked wonders for us. Nothing that says the same doesn't count for Bale.

[joey_big_nose]

He would do a great job on the left for us. Supposed to be available at 3 million. Would be an excellent signing...

If he is really available for 3m I would go for that if we could shift MGP for 1mill, with Bale taking he same sort of wages MGP was on. Still a longshot.

I know its not ideal, but Bale has a lot of quality and has been unfavoured in a very unstable team and frankly we do not have money to buy established players. It could be a good move for us. We would stick him on left wing, with Nzonzi, Grella, Emerton providing the midfileld workrate, and Givet behind giving him the security. His remit would be to get forward and supply the striker. I think he would be very good at it.

However the medical would have to be incredibly thorough and any sign of long term injusry issues we should walk away.

[den]

Eh? His points are valid. Both Chimbonda & Bentley have flubbed at Tottenham, but we both know they've worked wonders for us. Nothing that says the same doesn't count for Bale.

Nothing says it does either.

Rather we went for players left backs that can defend.

[Amo]

Nothing says it does either.

Every signing's a gamble, are they not?

Rather we went for players left backs that can defend.

Like I said, I'd preferably sign him as a winger.

[T4E]

You're accepting that Bale is poor at Spurs, but still think he's good enough for us. Can't accept that T4E. He's not in the Spuds side regularly because after seeing his strengths and buying him, they have now seen his weakness.

Having been enjoying your posts for many years now Den, there wasn't any part of me that expected you to accept it

[joey_big_nose]

OK, glad that you too can see he's not good enough to play full back. So if we need a left winger, why not buy a left winger?

Leave Bale alone, he's too slow.

Den I understand what you are saying, but if you took this approach these are all the players we would have missed out on over the years:-

Friedal - Not good enough for Liverpool

Tugay - Not good enough for Rangers

Bentley - Not good enough for Arsenal or Norwich(!)

Warnock - Not good enough for Liverpool

Robinson - Not good enough for Spurs

Chimbonda - Not good enough for Spurs

Quite a lot of very good players there all of whom left their previous clubs under the cloud of poor performances. Not absolutely sure that was the case with Tugay, but they sold him for 1.3m which indicates they did not rate his talent in Glasgow.

Rovers simply would not be able to be competiive in the league if we did not take these sort of gambles. We can't afford the fees for players who have not got serious weaknesses which we have to work on.

[den]

Den I understand what you are saying, but if you took this approach these are all the players we would have missed out on over the years:-

Friedal - Not good enough for Liverpool

Tugay - Not good enough for Rangers

Bentley - Not good enough for Arsenal or Norwich(!)

Warnock - Not good enough for Liverpool

Robinson - Not good enough for Spurs

Chimbonda - Not good enough for Spurs

Quite a lot of very good players there all of whom left their previous clubs under the cloud of poor performances. Not absolutely sure that was the case with Tugay, but they sold him for 1.3m which indicates they did not rate his talent in Glasgow.

Rovers simply would not be able to be competiive in the league if we did not take these sort of gambles. We can't afford the fees for players who have not got serious weaknesses which we have to work on.

Well you're point would stick if I had actually said we should never sign anyone from another club, who wasn't currently in their first team, but I didn't.

Incidentally,I was one of the few who welcomed Friedel and Tugay. The argument against Friedel was that we didn't need another keeper. My argument was that if he was better than what we had [and he was] then it's a good move.

I was happy to take Warnock, happy to take Bentley [but a little surprised that we offered him a permanent deal, after he didn't impress that much during his loan].

[T4E]

Not absolutely sure that was the case with Tugay, but they sold him for 1.3m which indicates they did not rate his talent in Glasgow.

You can put that one down to the poor judgement of Dick Advocaat. Which raises another good point - maybe Harry doesn't fancy Bale? Same way he doesnt seem to Bentley, or Pavlyuchenko. I'd take all 3 of them at Rovers.

No managers are perfect, some discard players that end up doing well elsewhere. Thats where we have to pounce.

[bellamy11]

It's very harsh to criticise Bale for not being able to defend at his age anyway. How old is he? 20? The guy is extremely talented, will give us a big threat from set pieces and can only get better. I think he'd thrive at a stable club like ours. If we can get him for a few million they we should definitely go for it.

[Hughesy]

Left back is the least of our worries right now anyway...

Centre midfielder & Left Winger please...

[Ricky]

Because we've got so many left backs haven't we.... A grand total of 0.

[Hughesy]

Because we've got so many left backs haven't we.... A grand total of 0.

No but we have Chimbonda, Gvet or Olsson who can all do a decent job there.

However our centre midfielders of Reid & Andrews both need to go. And our only left winger is crap and also will leave soon.

We have just kept 3 clean sheets in 4 - id hardly say left back was priority at the moment

[T4E]

No but we have Chimbonda, Gvet or Olsson who can all do a decent job there.

However our centre midfielders of Reid & Andrews both need to go. And our only left winger is crap and also will leave soon.

We have just kept 3 clean sheets in 4 - id hardly say left back was priority at the moment

Fair points - but Bale could provide solution to a couple of positions, including one you mention above.

[RibbleValleyRover]

Considering our limited budget I think the priority areas if we have any money are:

Left Wing.

Strikers.

I can't see Pedersen getting a new contract so the options are to sell him for anything we can get in January, or let him go on a free in the summer. Not sure Diouf is the answer nor are some of our youngsters, if Sam feels the same then he is going to have to bring someone in. If we can find someone who can put a decent ball into the box like Bentley used to do then we would be far more dangerous as a team.

By the looks of it Benni could be on his way, so could Roberts. Then there is Di Santo who could end up going back to Chelsea in January. Hoilett could sign a pre-contract with one of the German teams that are showing some interest. If all those permutations happen then we would be only left with Kalinic.

Don't get me wrong i still feel the central midfield is a priority area, if we can find some cheap players (Merium?) we could bring in for that position then i would be happy.

But with a limited budget sometimes you have to prioritise on what areas to spend on, and at the same time keep an eye out for opportunities to arise in the future where you can strengthen other areas.

[joey_big_nose]

Well you're point would stick if I had actually said we should never sign anyone from another club, who wasn't currently in their first team, but I didn't.

Incidentally,I was one of the few who welcomed Friedel and Tugay. The argument against Friedel was that we didn't need another keeper. My argument was that if he was better than what we had [and he was] then it's a good move.

I was happy to take Warnock, happy to take Bentley [but a little surprised that we offered him a permanent deal, after he didn't impress that much during his loan].

Can I surmise from this that you would not have taken Chimbonda or Robinson? Both of whom offer good value and quality despite poor records at Spurs?

All I am saying is that the criteria is not "is he playing well for them" but "can he play well for us". I would say in a different environment here he can. But it is all hypothetical.

[broadsword]

Left back isn't a pivotal position, we can get away with Givet/ Chimbonda for now.

If you're gonna sign a left winger, you should sign an actual winger, not a dodgy left back who can fill in on the wing cos he's not good enough at left back.

I would've thought we'd go in for that Camel Merriam again, plus a striker. It depends who gets moved out I guess.

It doesn't sound like Fulham will be in for Andrews again as they need to trim their wage bill apparently.

[T4E]

Agreed that we can get away with those two for now, but its the opportunity. Bale, if signed at a decent price, would be a good player for us and could potentially be sold for a huge profit down the line, giving us an entire transfer windows worth of budget from losing just one player (from a non-pivotal position you rightly point out). We have to be thinking long term and for signings that make viable business sense.

[Commondore]

Left back isn't a pivotal position, we can get away with Givet/ Chimbonda for now.

If you're gonna sign a left winger, you should sign an actual winger, not a dodgy left back who can fill in on the wing cos he's not good enough at left back.

I would've thought we'd go in for that Camel Merriam again, plus a striker. It depends who gets moved out I guess.

It doesn't sound like Fulham will be in for Andrews again as they need to trim their wage bill apparently.

Buying a whole heap of unknown players, giving them no time on the pitch whatsoever and paying them quite handsomely? Classic Roy Hodgson.

[Hughesy]

Left back isn't a pivotal position, we can get away with Givet/ Chimbonda for now.

If you're gonna sign a left winger, you should sign an actual winger, not a dodgy left back who can fill in on the wing cos he's not good enough at left back.

EXACTLY - how I see it.

We should try our hardest to allocate MGP's wages to a proper left winger - id go for Adam Johnson from Boro - im sure if we offered him anywhere near to what we pay Gamst then we she be able to attract him easily. Boro will probably sell him for a small knock-down fee in January, maybe even a swap deal with someone like Jason Roberts?!