hakka

Bang on. The average age of our squad has always been pretty low in recent years. Experience and proven footballers at EPL level is what is needed, not expensive young flops that never come close to the rep they came with. Bring in expensive youth slowly... not in one big go... it's easier to get 1 young lad adapting and easing in to the team than several. We can't afford to keep them upset sitting on the bench and we can't afford to have more than a few on the pitch as they may not deliver.

Just don't think we're going to spend £50m on top of sales mate. I could be wrong. Seems like anybody who questions the budget or the way it's spent is accused of wanting trophy signings immediately. Makes it easier to put down people's suggestions I suppose. I just wish they said nothing about possible budgets and just let the signings made come end of transfer window do the talking. Hype and bull shit to appease the ones who live off it. Do really need to spend £50 million? - No. We dont. There are players in the world that don't cost £10 million each that can improve our squad, find them and buy them and spend big when its the right time... i.e when we can actually attract £10million players ahead of the clubs actually in Europe. Some people just love the thought us connected to the big players who will never come to us becasue we can't offer European football. Why fool yourself, we trying to re-build, not break in to top 4. 7th to 5th should be our realistic aim, 6th is what I'm praying for. We have the players (midfield and attack) and manager, just need the defence.

No I disagree. Is 5th really worth having if it costs £50 million? sorry I think we have the players already (midfield and attack) to get 6th with simply spending a fraction of that £50million on defence. If we get Geremi and Rozenhal I believe we already have better defenders than we previously had and it cost us hardly anything. End of the day, we haven't got that bad players... we've had shite managers who used poor tactics, man management and regimes which led to players not deliverying their best form for some time. Sam has taken a Championship club to Europe without £50 million to spend in one season. Why blow £50 million to get one more league position spot that we can already acheive spending much less? surely we have a better squad than Bolton? yet they've done us for final league positions of late. Think about it. With a shite defence, Roeder steered us in to 7th. With a manager that's proved to have an approach to managing a club and players that gets results out of players that on paper shouldn't, we should do much better than Souness and Roeder with Big Sam. Given that the shite defence apppears to be disappearing and a new one of possibly of Rozenhal, Geremi, Taylor (so far) I'm very optimistic that we can get 6th without spending £50million. I know we've seen some poor performances over the years, but we did make 7th with a silmiar squad, if not better now. Getting in to Europe is what we need to do, but what's the point in blowing £50 million to do it. If we blow £50million and don't make 6th/5th, were fucked and back to square one. Too expensive risk, as spending £50million is no guarantee, Souness proved that. Having money means nothing if you can't attract the right players. The proper top players that can get us in to the top 4 will only join clubs that have European football, unless your mad enough to spend £17million on talent like Darren Bent. And even then its an expensive gamble as to whether Bent would fire us to anywhere near 4th. Spend wisely... that is the answer... have we not learnt from past mistakes? all does everyone just go mad for the idea of us blowing more money when we don't need to. So far Sam spent wisely, I hope it continues.

Great free transfer if we get him. He's an experienced and versatile player at an age where we can still get quite a few years out of him. Very pleased that we haven't spent silly, we've spent wisely... a good sign that the club is finally doing something right in the transfer market.

£50 million to spend eh? big talk, but that's all it is... talk! - and its not even from Ashley, it's from a supposed "source" close to Ashley. I'm not going to expect a transfer budget as high as that as it's likely I will be disappointed. I don't even think we need to spend £50million during the summer. Let's face it, spending £50million isn't going to get us in to the top 4. All we need right now is a brand new defence and possibly a replacement for Owen/Oba if either (or both) leave during the summer. We have players that can get us in to 6th with Big Sam at the helm. Spend £25 million on a new defence and save the rest for when we need to spend it in Jan or this time next year.

I'm praying that Luque will come good. He has the ability... it's not impossible that Sam may be able to turn things around for him at SJP. I'm going to hope that Luque sorts him self out and starts to repay some of the large transfer fee we paid.

Can't see him going to City. Surely a downwards step!

Hope we get Smith. He'd make a great addition to our forward line. Viduka, Owen, Martins, Smith, Luque, Ameobi. A lot there!

Barcelona have signed the best striker in Europe. Scary how good they are going forward....

Wow... wasn't expecting this sort of action, but given Ashley is a proven successful business man, I'm confident this means he's seen that the board aren't up to the job and its time to get the right people in. Hope it all works out if that's the case.

Agree with you that he has a lot to learn, but believe that now is best time to bid as he will most likely get better and more expensive to buy as time goes on, plus risk is that a bigger club will jump the queue with a good offer. More of an expensive gamble option, but with possible good return in a season or two.

Charlton are just doing everything they can to keep Bent. They don't want to sell, and Bent isn't worth £17million, but they are saying that he can go if £17million is on the table. With all the money that Charlton will lose from not being in the top flight, I can see why they are demanding as much as they think they can blag from any potential buyers. Let's face it, £17million is worth paying for a player you know will score you 20+ goals in the EPL, and I bet Spurs will come up with an offer for him. Even if Bent doesn't go by transfer window, at least they have him til January to bang in a silly amount of goals in their bid to return to the top division.

Good shout. Thought the same when I read the article. Right now I'd rather we commited all resources to solving our defence, assuming Micky & Oba stay to partner Viduka next season.

If he was something special everyone would of heard of him. At hiss age he's done his learning, he's not one for the future, and the PSG fans dont even know what his best position is, at 26, that's very Aaron Hughes of him. Did Aaron Hughes ever get player of the year then?... The negativity surounding this transfer is becoming tiresome. People keep claiming this guy must be average because he's not well known and keep bringing up this supposed info from PSG fans saying they don't know what his best position is. But the overiding fact is these same fans voted him player of the season and the french as a whole chose him as one of the best two central defenders in the league.. Say whatever you want about the French league but its not that poor.. Fair comment. Can't believe people are so short sighted that they will moan about Rozenhal before he's even kicked a ball for us. Judge him once he's played in a back and white shirt!

I'm not certain you realise just how many lemons Allardyce has bought in the past. People learn from their mistakes, tbf...

you can never have enough midgets, tbf...

no pace whatsoever Keown and Adams had no pace, but they were a good defensive pairing.

I'd take Hyypia if the fee is £1million or less. He obviously isn't like he used to be, but he still has a lot to offer in the EPL and we really need someone with experience at the back. £1million is worth having him, even if for one season as cover or squad rotation.

true, can't see City letting him leave either unless money was silly. Would be strong pairing Dunne and Taylor though.

No doubt agents communicating the Dortmund deal was nearly done story to hasten Newcastle's bid for the player. I don't know much about this defender, just hoping Sam's done his home work and he does well in the EPL.

anyway... back on topic... I find it funny that it seems the money isn't there for Liverpool to spend. Shuts up the pool fans in work who keep telling me that they are going to get Torres and win the league next season.

Would anyone take Richard Dunne to partner Taylor? Scary amount of cards may get clocked up between them though.

A deal has been agreed with club and player; he's having a medical and being unveiled this week. Well hope this happens. Keen to see the defence being re-built quickly so that they get to work together during pre-season more and will be ready as a unit for the Bolton game.

I'd take SWP at £10million, but only cause Ashley is here now and its a good chance to capture a quality winger. If we weren't being taken over by a billionaire I wouldn't buy him, I'd spend more cautiously.

wonder what's happening with Rozenhal. Are we bidding for him or ? With us missing out on Haim, and a lot of press coverage suggesting were after Rozenhal, I wonder when the bidding will take place? if it does at all for him...