Lennon on Sky Sports has just said that heās not sure if he will get any of the money to spend as we need to service the debt. We donāt have that much debt to service (though it has possibly gone up). Hopefully heās just not letting everyone know we have money to spend.
Lawwell needs to be strangled. If we donāt have any money to spend then why were we bidding for Rudnevs earlier on in the summer? As soon as the hunās judgement came out, Lawwell padlocked our transfer kitty.
Yuki Otsu, a 22 year old attacking midfielder at Borussia Moenchengladbach is linked with us in a loan move tonight.
Not sure why to be honest. He only signed for them last season and barely played yet.
Is he a #10 type player? I think we need one of those to give us that added spark or creativity in central areas. Markus Henriksen of Rosenborg has been linked on and off all summer and I think heās a similar type of player.
Also linked with:
- Efe Ambrose - young Nigerian international centre back currently playing in the Israeli league.
- Connor Wickham - loan deal rumoured for young striker Sunderland signed from Ipswich for Ā£8m last summer.
I think we are in need of natural width more than a no.10 style player, we have Ibrahim, McCourt and Commons who can play that role but unfortunately Lennon doesnāt utilise this position in his tactics. He plays with wide midfielders a lot but the problem is he uses players who are not really suited to his, IMO. Commons frustrates me out wide and I feel he is more effective in a more central role where he can link up with Hooper and get shots off.
I will be absolutely furious if we donāt spend Ā£5-6m in the next week. The team has looked stale and complacent already this season and needs freshening up, a few players look to be resting on their laurels and we have many areas that need addressing - centre of defence, wide midfielders and a striker who can lead the line and attack crosses. We need 3-4 players in next week but I really doubt we will have the ambition to go for that.
When you look at the figures there should be no reason why we shouldnāt be bringing in these players. Iād hazard we have taken roughly 100k per week off the wage bill with all the departures this summer, we have also sold Ki and look likely to be securing another jackpot with the CL. The fact that we recorded a profit last season operating without out these improvements should allow us a bigger budget this season. Hopefully we can also get Murphy and Bangura out the door in the next week. Unfortunately, improving the playing squad seems to be secondary to reimbursing the shareholders.
[quote=āIl Bomber Destro, post: 671005ā]I think we are in need of natural width more than a no.10 style player, we have Ibrahim, McCourt and Commons who can play that role but unfortunately Lennon doesnāt utilise this position in his tactics. He plays with wide midfielders a lot but the problem is he uses players who are not really suited to his, IMO. Commons frustrates me out wide and I feel he is more effective in a more central role where he can link up with Hooper and get shots off.
I will be absolutely furious if we donāt spend Ā£5-6m in the next week. The team has looked stale and complacent already this season and needs freshening up, a few players look to be resting on their laurels and we have many areas that need addressing - centre of defence, wide midfielders and a striker who can lead the line and attack crosses. We need 3-4 players in next week but I really doubt we will have the ambition to go for that.
When you look at the figures there should be no reason why we shouldnāt be bringing in these players. Iād hazard we have taken roughly 100k per week off the wage bill with all the departures this summer, we have also sold Ki and look likely to be securing another jackpot with the CL. The fact that we recorded a profit last season operating without out these improvements should allow us a bigger budget this season. Hopefully we can also get Murphy and Bangura out the door in the next week. Unfortunately, improving the playing squad seems to be secondary to reimbursing the shareholders.[/quote]
Just on the financial side of things we are losing a fair amount of matchday revenue from the huns going extinct so that has to be considered.
Linked with another Japanese lad today - a centre back called Maya Joshida. He plays in Holland so Bandage will have all the details.
I will be very prejudiced and say there is no way a Japanese centre half could hack it in Scotland. As for the matchday revenue, I think itās very likely we will be down, but at the moment that is projected rather than confirmed and I donāt really envisage it being a massive loss. I actually see the huns demise strengthening our case - we should be guaranteed CL football for the next 3/4 seasons now whereas we wouldnāt if the huns were around. Also, this is a chance for us to consolidate our standing in Europe and for the club to improve both itās reputation and playing squad. The strategy that seems to be in action is one of downsizing - one I believe will jeopardise the opportunity we have at the minute.
James Keatings has joined Hamilton on a season long loan.
I think Commons is better when drifting inside from a nominal wide starting role. It allows him to get space between the lines to shoot and it worked very well for us in the second half of the 2010/11 season.
Heās also had good games on occasion when playing in a central role behind the striker(s); e.g. against the now defunct Rangers at the end of last season.
But I think heās generally marked tighter when starting there - most SPL teams have an extra man sitting deep in midfield against us. He finds it harder to get on the ball and influence things with space so limited.
I think heās quite clever in drifting inside from wider and heās more effective playing that role.
Iām writing off Ibrahim straight to the Income Statement and McCourt isnāt reliable fitness wise. Thatās why I think we need some creativity centrally. It doesnāt necessarily have to be an advanced player. Henriksen is an all round midfield player with good vision and a pass and shot on him apparently. He would add something different to the Brown, Kayal, Ledley, Wanyama mix.
Thatās the problem with Commons in a wide position - he doesnāt keep the width, he always comes inside and it gets really congested where our play becomes telegraphed and stagnant which allows teams to pack men behind the ball and frustrate us. It works even worse when you have the likes of Forrest or Samaras playing on the opposite wing as the team then becomes really imbalanced. You know there will be width on one wing and not on the other and unless the opposition manager is a simpleton he will recognise this and make the neccessary amendments.
Some interesting points Bandage. Iād like to respond but Iāll be using bullet points if thatās ok with everyone.
[list]
[]The days of a number 10 finding space in the pitch because nobody knows who to pick up in āthe holeā are a distant memory.
[]Finding space now is not simply a matter of playing between midfield and defence.
[]This is partly because of the abundance of defensive screening midfielders now.
[]And partly because the space for a #10 was more prevalent in Britain where tactical variation was slower but an influx of continental managers and players has brought about more varied styles and a basic switch to playing someone in the āTeddy Sheringhamā role doesnāt catch people out.
[]The objective for creative players is still to find space. There are a number of ways of doing this.
[]The false 9 is an obvious new way of doing it. Instead of the creative player just sitting in the hole from the start he will position himself as an attacker so he is picked up by centre backs and then drift off them.
[]Itās this change in position away from markers that makes a false 9 difficult to mark.
[]Similarly a wide player drifting infield causes problems because full-backs wonāt want to follow him inside.
[]So finding space in attacking areas is often about finding a marker and moving him out of his comfort zone.
[]The other area that thereās plenty of space is deeper in midifeld because most teams like to get men behind the ball and concentrate on being compact in defence rather than a high pressing game.
[]So I would have no problem with us purchasing a #10 or a creator from deep because I think there is space for the latter and if we have a genuine talent who is used to playing at #10 then theyāll still find room and can drift out wider if required.
[]I would share the view that Commons is more comfortable when he is playing wide and moving inside than when he is deployed in a central attacking area from the start.
[*]If Celtic are utterly dominant behind him then he can certainly be effective as an orthodox #10 but as a game-changer in his own right he is more effective playing as an inverted winger IMO.
[/list]
Bandage and/or Rocko, please pin the thread Puke started about the Italian Fantasy Football League and also join up. Iād be very disappointed if I donāt see your names on the leagueās list by kick-off in Florence tomorrow I will be very disappointed.
Lewis Toshney joined Dundee on a season long loan yesterday.
Bangura has joined AIK on loan until Christmas. Makes sense for everyone.
Hopefully that means a couple of strikers will be arriving before Friday. We would need to have these deals well advanced anyway as none will be completed until Wednesday and then that odious cunt Lawwell will want to take in the glamour of the CL draw which I assume will happen on Friday. I loathe that rat. Two strikers, a winger and a centre back will hopefully be brought in. Iād imagine weāll bring one or two in at the most however.
Lennon has confirmed our interest in Henriksen and also in young Auxerre defender Wily Boly. If we got those two and a striker it would be good progress.
I canāt believe we are looking at another central midfielder, in a team that is flooded with central options (and a few suitable alternatives in an injury crisis - McCourt, Commons, Mulgrew) but struggle for natural width - it is absurd. Donāt know much about that Boly lad. I read we were after Russell and some Croat no-mark with a dreadful career path so far. Russell would be a good option for us and would keep the likes of Stokes and Hooper on their toes. We also need a strong striker who can lead the line and attack crosses - Rhodes fits the bill perfectly and really wants to come here so we should make a serious effort for him.
Lads, Iāve been doing a bit of lurking over on Kerrydale Street to get a recap on who has been linked with us in last few days.
Some really uninspiring links - some defender from Southend, some lad from St. Mirren and that Lakic donkey from Wolfsburg.
A few links which I believe wouldnāt really serve any purpose - Otsu and Henriksen.
And the odd more promising links - that Boly lad seems to have some potential about him and Russell and Rhodes are still being mentioned.
I think Commons and McCourt are both primarily considered wide players. So add them to Forrest, Samaras and McGeouch (with Slane as an emergency) and Brown and Ledley (and maybe even Mulgrew) who could play out wide in defensive formations and we have plenty of wing cover. We saw at Helsingborgs that weāve already had to make emergency decisions regarding midfield.
Would doubt weāll be getting in more than 1 striker.
I think only Forrest and Samaras are natural wide players as they are the only ones who keep the width. Commons doesnāt have the tactical discipline to play wide and I believe McCourt is much more influential in a central position.