I’d be loathe to let him leave. Centre backs are hard to come by and we have a poor track record with them. It’s an area we need to strengthen. But so be it if we have to let him go.
Don’t think we can have too many complaints about the youths - we’ve been buying in youths now for a while so it’s inevitable. And the success rate is so low anyway, the chances of these guys making it is very low.
OK guys season over.
Firstly exits.
Bauer - not done enough to impress, certain to depart after his loan
Arzani - injuries have meant he’s not been able to impress so again he’ll be off
Hayes - good depth player he might have been but we have Taylor and Bolingoli at left back and he’s not got enough about him as a winger so I’d part ways. A great lad though
Eboue - say his days are numbered here and will be offloaded in the summer
Klimala/Bayo - I think a loan move is needed for one of these guys, preferably Bayo to get some rhythm and games. I really don’t understand why we wouldn’t loan someone like that to a Hibs or Aberdeen and see if they can rip the league up as a main man for that team.
Shved - again I’d look at it from a similar situation as above - farm him out to another SPL club and see how he gets on with trust and security
Maybe exits
Forster - we should look to get him signed up if the finances are right but I think Southampton will play funny buggers here. It will utlimately depend on how much Forster wants to force the move
Ajer - Very much overrated for me and if we can get £20m or thereabouts for him we should certainly be able to get at least two better centre halves than him in for that.
Simunovic - he’s had his time now, the Copenhagen game was the final straw - simply not good enough
Elyonoussi - hit and miss for me. I think anything over £6m is too much and we’re overpaying in the market value and probably better options out there for that.
In
Goalkeeper - probably Forster but I’d like a more agile keeper who is comfortable with the ball at his feet and better on crosses. Forster is a wonderful shot stopper, really knows how to use all his size but I think he has his limitations. About £5m to be spent there
RB - I think we are well covered here, Frimpong has done very well, Elhamed is solid and O’Connor could also feature
CB - I’m happy enough with Bitton and Jullien. Ajer is ok if he stays but I think we need a minimum of two in here regardless, one of them to be Jullien’s main partner. I think we should be spending up to £10-15m on getting two players in there.
LB - Taylor and Bolingoli haven’t really set the world alight but probably each deserve next season to show what they’re about so I’m reasonably content there
CM - We’re reasonably well stocked here. Soro can show what he’s about next season and then we have good players in Brown, McGregor, Christie, Rogic and Ntcham along with a few other promising youth prospects. I would like another midfielder in though with a bit more bite and dynamism about him. I’d say put aside up to £6m for there.
Wingers - Probably the area that needs most addressing. If Elyonoussi, Arzani and Shved go it leaves us with Johnston and Forrest, one very injury prone and the other very much out of sorts. I’d be looking for substantial investment heare, maybe around £15m on 2 players, one for the right an one for the left. Hopefully Dembele can see more action next season. I’d really like to see Roberts back if we can get him for about £5m.
Striker - Again we should be well enough equipped here. Loan out one of Bayo or Klimala and we are left with Edouard, Griffiths and one of the above. I’d like to see us go for a more proven no 9 here and think we shold spend about £7m here.
So I think we should be looking at
GK x1 £5m
CB x2/3 (if Ajer goes) £15-20m
CM x1 - £6m
Winger x2 - £15m
Striker x1 - £7m
So overall an outlay of around £50m next season. If we get around £20m for Ajer it would mean a net spend of £30m odd which we should be more than able to spend but you can expect Liewell will be looking to turn in a profit.
Yeah I think they will go. No point in keeping Bauer. Even if O’Connor isn’t considered good enough the likes of Stephen O’Donnell is out of contract at Kilmarnock. He’d be nothing other than Hayes type cover if we felt it was needed but would be cheaper than Bauer. Nothing against Bauer - he was harmless but we don’t need him. Might have been viable if he never had EPL wages but it won’t suit him to take a wage drop to sit on the bench, nor should it.
Arzani might be extended by another year is the rumour. He didn’t return to City and there is some speculation that was because he was going to be loaned to Celtic for another year.
Reports in the Belgian media the other day that Eboue is going to move permanently to Genk for €2m or something.
Agreed on loans for Shved and one of the strikers - hopefully to decent SPL teams.
Lennon was interviewed the other day and said we would try and keep Forster and Elyounoussi. I’d say we will try and get them on loans again. Forster is probably more likely to accept a cut to move but it does come down to him driving it alright.
Agreed on Simunovic.
I’d be inclined to keep Ajer but if we got that sort of money and had realistic alternatives in that sort of €10m bracket lined up then happy to take that chance.
I was indifferent about Forster returning. Even when he left I was happy enough with the money because of his limitations on crosses, his distribution and the fact he doesn’t come off his line when balls are played over the top. He seems to have sorted the last problem, at least partially, and his kicking is better than it was. I thought he was superb for the season and would love him to stay. He was brilliant in the Europa League and the league cup final.
Yeah happy enough with the rest. There are rumours about off field issues with Bolingoli. He was a bit patchy for form but he disappeared completely from the squad for some other reason. I guess we’ll find out soon enough if his days are numbered.
I’m less concerned about replacing Brown than I was in recent seasons. I think McGregor is the most obvious replacement there and is used to playing deeper all the time now. We could do with other deep lying options but hopefully Soro is one and Ntcham can play there too.
The attacking midfield position is also well catered for with Christie, Rogic and Ntcham and hopefully we can add Robertson and Connell to those midfield options.
I’ll ignore the Forrest comment because I don’t agree with it at all. But we definitely need cover there. Johnston might have benefited from the break and hopefully he has put on a bit of weight. Dembele should be more of an option and we can even consider Edouard there occasionally in the Samaras role on the left if Griffiths continues his form.
I’m not sure we need another striker - we also have Okoflex and Alofabi to compete with Bayo/Klimala. I’d prefer we spent more on a winger than trying for a striker too. Be nice to get a loanee in though to have a look at for the longer term - the next Edouard in the production line.
I’d be taking £10m off that anyway. But it’s as much about the wages as the transfer fees anyway. And we don’t know the market at all - if we have no matchday revenue then our budget is fucked altogether.
Well with regard to wages. We probably have a fair whack on our wage bill with the loanees anyway. I think the club should be in a position go put an outlay of £30m or so ignoring what we take in. The money is there and I think we need 3 or 4 players of real quality in to help us kick on to the next level.
OK well I don’t think it’s very realistic to think that we should spend regardless of revenue. That would be obviously reckless.
Regardless of revenue.
We have cash in the bank, the board have shown a complete unwillingness to invest the income they generate into the playing side of the things.
Interested in 18 year old Reading midfielder Michael Olise as well as Aaron Hickey of Hearts according to Stephen McGowan
Hickey is a prospect certainly. I think Celtic have a sell on clause with him do could conceivably get him at a good price. I think he’d better served spending next season on loan somewhere though where he gets regular football. If Hearts were still in the top flight that would be ideal.
Don’t know much about Olise but he certainly seems to have a good future pedigree.
Celtic Celtic Celtic
Nicky Hammond must be familiar with Olise.
Hickey is good alright. He had a great game in the 2019 cup final against us. Didn’t know he was at Celtic previously.
I haven’t been impressed with Hickey in general but he seems to be very highly rated. (Dembele seemed to have a field day against him at the end of 2018/19 on his debut).
Some debate about whether Olise is a central midfielder or a winger. He’s a big lad anyway.
Is Hickey a right footer who has played at left back or is he a natural left back. His versatility is certainly a bonus.
Any chance we’ll return for Turnbull? The lad has potential but I think we have a few players in his role at the minute. I wouldn’t mind us stockpiling on the likes of him. Sign him, give him another year at Motherwell and he could be a ready-made replacement if someone moves on the following season.
I think he’s completely two footed. I seem to remember he’s naturally right footed but I’m not sure on that. He seems to have no preference now anyway.
Yeah wouldn’t be surprised to see us going back for Turnbull.
Sounds and looks like a donkey, no thanks for me.
He might go well at Wimbledon
Who is the tallest world class soccer player outside of goalkeepers?
Erling Haaland is 6’4".
He looked like a donkey the other night.
Footballers 6ft4 or more should generally stick to grass court tennis.
He is a young lad. His goalscoring record is very impressive for his age.