Deal or no deal? - Summer 2022 Transfer gossip!

[BWFC_Insane]

I don’t particularly like talking clubs down because of perceived style. It’s bollocks. Like the sort of thing we had when we finished top 8 of the premiership four seasons in a row and people used to just complain about how we played. ‘Who would want to go there and play like that’.

I don’t really see Fossey as being too constricted by style. But he’s not coming here and I don’t really care after that.

If anyone genuinely chose Derby over Rotherham they want their bumps feeling. If someone is waiting for Derby now rather than coming here then again it’s up to them but I wouldn’t understand that. Who knows what happens there?

Can’t stand Rooney and I make no apologies for it. Blokes thick as mince. Not some experienced manager.

Aren't you the bloke who doesn't want us to play like Man City, but like Liverpool? Only a fool would argue that clubs don't have different styles. One person who was subject to Rotherham's style, who now plays for us, hated playing as a wingback there. It's not very often you get players so openly derogatory of a playing style, so that's intriguing. And that is a player who played in that style and indeed position, not some shitposter clamouring for attention. I know we had those claims under Allardyce, and I see the parallel you're trying to make, but I see a clear difference between Youri Djorkaeff and Michael Smith.

Doesn't surprise me that you don't see Fossey as being restricted by style as you genuinely seem to have built him up into just about the best player outside the Premier League. He's not. I would like him to play for us, and I think he will be difficult to replace; but I honestly can't see him fitting the bill for many teams as a right-back, his supposed position. Right-winger, maybe. But Rotherham play wingbacks, and they had a much more rigid structure than us in League One; I can't imagine they'll suddenly turn into Holland 74 when they're playing in a division where the average annual wage bill is £32m.

Choosing Derby over Rotherham isn't what I asked – I was just wondering whether you would castigate Fossey by the same yardstick you were using to beat Barky – but I can imagine someone taking it a a medium-term gamble; if the takeover succeeds, they're arguably more likely to be in the Champ in two years than Rotherham. But it's a gamble.

As for Rooney... I dunno, I just think that every time a working class footballer with an accent makes it big, everybody rehashes the old jokes that used to be used for Irish labourers. Happened to Beckham before Rooney. I doubt either is a Mensa candidate but equally I doubt Stephen Fry could have led a decimated Derby team to win 55 points from 46 games last season. IMO that was a far greater achievement than them getting 74pts (one fewer than the previous season under Gary Rowett) while smashing FFP and calling in all sorts of loanee favours under Frank Lampard, the private-school boy who got an A* in his Latin GCSE.

There is a significant difference in looking at what suits us best compared to being snobbish about styles of football.

I’d absolutely love us to be effective playing like Man City they are a superb watch. But we are a few ingredients short of that.

But Rotherham won promotion last season. They are in the championship. They might not have suited Sadlier but that’s life. Fossey may well find it easier with his pace and punch. He doesn’t need to necessarily play in a side built around a certain type of build up. Maybe he will hate it. But really that’s not my concern now.

If Rotherham can afford to match Fulham’s price and can offer Fossey championship football and wages then I’d say it’s fair do’s. They earned that right by being better than us last season.

I’d be much more miffed If he went to Derby. I’d feel he’s been a bit poorly advised in that case as no way Derby would be matching anything we had offered currently. But as far as I know the problem we had is two championship clubs made offers for Fossey to Fulham that we couldn’t match and therefore it’s up to him which one he entertains.

As for Rooney it’s someone I’ve never liked, never enjoyed watching, and I still remember the punch. I don’t think in the long run he will be anything other than a bang average manager. He has done well at Derby but I’ve seen others do that in extremis but struggle when the decision making comes. I wouldn’t go near him as a manager yet. Nor would I employ Lampard either. We have a manager who I think is better than either.

[nicholaldo]

It's probably not worth devoting much time to a player who won't play for us again, but would Fossey get in their team ahead of Ogbene?

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

There is a significant difference in looking at what suits us best compared to being snobbish about styles of football.

So when you express an opinion it's a diagnosis, but if anyone else does it's snobbish? Aye alright, if that's tonight's hill to die on.

[LeverEnd]

I suspect that Fossey might do okay at Rotherham, as Ogbene has.

Might improve his defensive side and make him into a more complete wingback. I'm no expert on football or its tactics but they looked very organised and disciplined at ours last season. Ameobi benefitted from playing under the far from expansive Parky, for example.
Just as likely he's on the bench or the treatment table for most of a season in which they swap places with us at the end however.

[The_Gun]

Rotherham are the clear favourites to be relegated from the Championship, but at the same time they’re likely to be able to offer Fossey significantly better wages, and also give him a more prominent platform on which to try and impress the US selectors ahead of the WC.

[BWFC_Insane]

There is a significant difference in looking at what suits us best compared to being snobbish about styles of football.

So when you express an opinion it's a diagnosis, but if anyone else does it's snobbish? Aye alright, if that's tonight's hill to die on.

Well my opinion was we don’t have the players to try and emulate Man City but we do possibly to emulate more how Liverpool setup.

That wasn’t criticising either of those sides or whatever. It was just looking at how we might setup.

The ‘oh why would you go to Rotherham with their pragmatic boring football’ is not exactly different to how say Newcastle or Everton fans talked about us in the big Sam days. I hated it then and I hate it now.

Rotherham are a league above us having done better than us this season. How they play football is up to them. I certainly wouldn’t be castigating a player for ending up a league higher on the back of it.

[GhostoftheBok]

The Sun is reporting that a number of Championship clubs have put in bids in excess of £1m for Rudoni. We had interest before, but obviously he's off the menu. It'll be interesting to see what value they place on Assal in light of the Rudoni valuation. That's a massive fee for a (now) League Two club.

[TANGODANCER]

The Sun is reporting that a number of Championship clubs have put in bids in excess of £1m for Rudoni. We had interest before, but obviously he's off the menu. It'll be interesting to see what value they place on Assal in light of the Rudoni valuation. That's a massive fee for a (now) League Two club.

Old hat rant I know, but w.t.f.? Utterly crazy. I know little of the so-called big picture, and I have no shame in admitting to not know either of these two beyond names. Sport has gone mad. How many of them are actually worth anywhere near these crackpot valuations? The noble game is noble no longer; run by a bunch of greedy charlatans whose only interest is monetary and whose bible is the Financial Times. Players have become smug, self-satisfied egotists owned by agents and whose best friend is in a mirror, and enough is never enough, but it's outside influences that allow them to be as they are because they don't make the rules. Chancers and gamblers do that

Loyalty, what's that? At least we've managed to get a few players tied down, but the vultures are ever circling and the season is still some way off. Our potential targets "seem" to have been blown out of the water and our hopes with them unless we can at least compete in the money market. Even one of Insaney's controversial questions about spending too much on x,y,z teams has to be considered.

I know the lads are having fun in the sun right now, but "Quo Vadis" never was more a reality than right now. Silence is not always golden Mr Evatt.

[GhostoftheBok]

He's that price because he ticks every box. He's young, but has played a lot of games. He's tall, athletic and has no fitness issues. He fits into basically every system. His goal contributions are way above what you'd expect from a player of his age.

The fact the Wombles have rejected those bids shows that they feel they can get closer to £2m (with add-ons), due to the stuff listed.

They feel a tribunal would award them around 500k for him if they get promoted, so they're not gambling much rejecting the current offers.

I agree that a League Two player in the last year of his contract going for that kind of money is crazy, but here we are.

Like I say, if they want close to £2m for Rudoni with a year on his deal it's hard to see us getting anywhere near Assal, who has two years left. He's not close to as valuable, but he'll still likely be out of our reach - with Wimbledon willing to sit on their asset for 12 months and see if he's then viewed in a similar light to Rudoni.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Silence is not always golden Mr Evatt.

Oh, I think I'd prefer a bit more of it from him. Not to the extent of dullness, but considering every prediction or promise is wielded as a weapon when circumstance falls us short, he could do with a touch more shush, IMO.

[Prufrock]

Less on the transfer fee, but the idea that footballers are greedy and/or overpaid.

There's lots of money in football. Whether that's a good thing generally is open to debate, but we far as it's a fact I have no problem with as much of it as possible going to players. They're the value creators, and it allows hundreds of working class lads to become millionaires. Fine by me.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Less on the transfer fee, but the idea that footballers are greedy and/or overpaid.

There's lots of money in football. Whether that's a good thing generally is open to debate, but we far as it's a fact I have no problem with as much of it as possible going to players. They're the value creators, and it allows hundreds of working class lads to become millionaires. Fine by me.

I would broadly back this – better it goes to players than agents – but my enthusiasm is somewhat tempered by football's widespread startling lack of financial acumen. Lots of money coming in, but lots going out too. Clubs spending far more than they earn. Inflation, yer old brick on elastic, is going to really hit home in the next couple of years.

Is Rudoni worth more than £1m? I couldn't pick the bloke out of a crowd but if Wombles can get that for him, good for them. A fan-owned club selling a youth product they've trained for a decade to a "bigger" club – yeah, more power to their elbow.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Yan Dhanda, mentioned in this thread and its predecessor as potential No.10, seems to be off to Scotland.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... r-24271070

[Bruce Rioja]

I see that Eoghan O'Connell's out of contract at Rochdale as of Wednesday. I still really wouldn't mind one bit if he pitches up at our place.

[GhostoftheBok]

The BWFC media and some of the local journos flew out to Portugal today. If players we don't know about are with the squad we may find that out soonish.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

The BWFC media and some of the local journos flew out to Portugal today. If players we don't know about are with the squad we may find that out soonish.

Commence the poring-over of photos!

Not me. I often can't even recognise the lads we've had for yonks. I'd clean forgotten, for instance, what Sheehan looked like.

[Bruce Rioja]

Not me. I often can't even recognise the lads we've had for yonks. I'd clean forgotten, for instance, what Sheehan looked like.

Morley, Charles and John all look absolutely identical to me.

[BWFC_Insane]

The BWFC media and some of the local journos flew out to Portugal today. If players we don't know about are with the squad we may find that out soonish.

I don’t think Marc Iles was trying to hint anything with the 23 number. Couple of younger ones there so I’m told. So if it’s 21 we expected (not sure which ones got longer rest) then I suspect there aren’t any new additions there as of yet.

[brommers95]

I see that Eoghan O'Connell's out of contract at Rochdale as of Wednesday. I still really wouldn't mind one bit if he pitches up at our place.

Looks like he’s off to Charlton.

Disappointed we missed out on Tucker but intrigued to see who we get in as an alternative.

[Bruce Rioja]

Disappointed we missed out on Tucker but intrigued to see who we get in as an alternative.

Me too. I thought he'd have been a fairly ideal replacement target. Still, feck him. Let him go and experience Woolwich Ferry strikes at first hand.