For Those who Said last season we needed defenders

[gray]

michael owen or darren bent?

 

[Guest alex]

There is no doubt that Beye and Rozenhal are good players and have improved the defence

 

but

 

are we any better ? We STILL need more pace and creativity up front and in midfield, if we are going to do much better than last year.

 

Because without it, we are going nowhere, and by the time January comes, the season is half over.

 

Man City have bought EXACTLY the type of players that we needed, the type of players who would have made the biggest difference.

 

 

 

Still reckon Taylor is a future England captain btw?

[Mick]

what liverpool bid means little,the only price that matters is that at which madrid would be willing to sell. £17mill was probably high but not by the £9mill you say (if indeed it's true that liverpool bid £8mill or  bid at all). why we bid that much was to stop madrid accepting offers that came nowhere near this.

 

the argument about wether it could have been better spent is very much a one of hindsight.

 

The £8 million Liverpool bid was reported at the time, I have no idea if it was a true bid or not but the only 2 clubs innterested in him were Liverpool and Newcastle.  Liverpool were reported to be not interested in paying more for him than they got when he went to Madrid.

 

As for the hindsight, it was predicted that he would be injured far too often and that was based on his injury record, I predicted it and I know Wullie did the same, others predicted he would miss far too many games, only the type of injuries are hindsight.

[ChezGiven]

Apparently we bid for Elano but the takeover meant we lost out for whatever reason, according to the guardian.

 

Just thought i'd mention that.

[Mick]

Apparently we bid for Elano but the takeover meant we lost out for whatever reason, according to the guardian.

 

Just thought i'd mention that.

 

Ashley owned the club long before Elano went to Man City, the guardian need to check some facts.  Ashley owned the club in June, Shepherd was sacked in July, the others had gone at the end of June and Elano moved to Man City in August.

[johnnypd]

according to the Journal it's more like this "Allardyce claimed afterwards his embarrassment of riches up front stopped him competing for Elano’s £8m signing this summer.". doesn't mention takeover and implies that we never made a bid.

[Howaythelads]

 

So you would rather we had bought Stead than Owen ?

 

 

 

No I wouldn't rather have Stead you brought him into it, I just showed how Owen hasn't proven to have been any better for us than Stead was for Blackburn and how much they've cost per goal.

 

I said at the time we bought Owen that we could have spent the money better instead of putting £17 million into an injury prone player.  I also said at the time that we were crazy to bid £9 milion more than our nearest and only rivals to his signature, Liverpool who bid £8 million.

what liverpool bid means little,the only price that matters is that at which madrid would be willing to sell. £17mill was probably high but not by the £9mill you say (if indeed it's true that liverpool bid £8mill or  bid at all). why we bid that much was to stop madrid accepting offers that came nowhere near this.

 

the argument about wether it could have been better spent is very much a one of hindsight.

 

Not a surprise though.....

 

He's not a waste of money in terms of being a poor footballer, unlike players such as Luque, Boumsong, Parker and more than a few others. He hasn't justified the fee due to injuries, which is tough bad luck and is a part of football.

[Baggio]

 

So you would rather we had bought Stead than Owen ?

 

 

 

No I wouldn't rather have Stead you brought him into it, I just showed how Owen hasn't proven to have been any better for us than Stead was for Blackburn and how much they've cost per goal.

 

I said at the time we bought Owen that we could have spent the money better instead of putting £17 million into an injury prone player.  I also said at the time that we were crazy to bid £9 milion more than our nearest and only rivals to his signature, Liverpool who bid £8 million.

what liverpool bid means little,the only price that matters is that at which madrid would be willing to sell. £17mill was probably high but not by the £9mill you say (if indeed it's true that liverpool bid £8mill or  bid at all). why we bid that much was to stop madrid accepting offers that came nowhere near this.

 

the argument about wether it could have been better spent is very much a one of hindsight.

 

Not a surprise though.....

 

He's not a waste of money in terms of being a poor footballer, unlike players such as Luque, Boumsong, Parker and more than a few others. He hasn't justified the fee due to injuries, which is tough bad luck and is a part of football.

 

I presume you're using hindsight in saying Luque and Boumsong were a waste of money?

[NE5]

There is no doubt that Beye and Rozenhal are good players and have improved the defence

 

but

 

are we any better ? We STILL need more pace and creativity up front and in midfield, if we are going to do much better than last year.

 

Because without it, we are going nowhere, and by the time January comes, the season is half over.

 

Man City have bought EXACTLY the type of players that we needed, the type of players who would have made the biggest difference.

 

Still reckon Taylor is a future England captain btw?

 

as he's been in the England squad already, not a bad shout to call on an 18 year old, wouldn't you agree ?

 

I hope you aren't one of those who were in raptures claiming Boumsong would be a worthy replacement for Woodgate and Luque would be a superstar

 

mackems.gif

[Howaythelads]

 

So you would rather we had bought Stead than Owen ?

 

 

 

No I wouldn't rather have Stead you brought him into it, I just showed how Owen hasn't proven to have been any better for us than Stead was for Blackburn and how much they've cost per goal.

 

I said at the time we bought Owen that we could have spent the money better instead of putting £17 million into an injury prone player.  I also said at the time that we were crazy to bid £9 milion more than our nearest and only rivals to his signature, Liverpool who bid £8 million.

what liverpool bid means little,the only price that matters is that at which madrid would be willing to sell. £17mill was probably high but not by the £9mill you say (if indeed it's true that liverpool bid £8mill or  bid at all). why we bid that much was to stop madrid accepting offers that came nowhere near this.

 

the argument about wether it could have been better spent is very much a one of hindsight.

 

Not a surprise though.....

 

He's not a waste of money in terms of being a poor footballer, unlike players such as Luque, Boumsong, Parker and more than a few others. He hasn't justified the fee due to injuries, which is tough bad luck and is a part of football.

 

I presume you're using hindsight in saying Luque and Boumsong were a waste of money?

 

I presume this daft comment from you means you don't understand context.

[Baggio]

 

So you would rather we had bought Stead than Owen ?

 

 

 

No I wouldn't rather have Stead you brought him into it, I just showed how Owen hasn't proven to have been any better for us than Stead was for Blackburn and how much they've cost per goal.

 

I said at the time we bought Owen that we could have spent the money better instead of putting £17 million into an injury prone player.  I also said at the time that we were crazy to bid £9 milion more than our nearest and only rivals to his signature, Liverpool who bid £8 million.

what liverpool bid means little,the only price that matters is that at which madrid would be willing to sell. £17mill was probably high but not by the £9mill you say (if indeed it's true that liverpool bid £8mill or  bid at all). why we bid that much was to stop madrid accepting offers that came nowhere near this.

 

the argument about wether it could have been better spent is very much a one of hindsight.

 

Not a surprise though.....

 

He's not a waste of money in terms of being a poor footballer, unlike players such as Luque, Boumsong, Parker and more than a few others. He hasn't justified the fee due to injuries, which is tough bad luck and is a part of football.

 

I presume you're using hindsight in saying Luque and Boumsong were a waste of money?

 

I presume this daft comment from you means you don't understand context.

 

The answer you were looking for was yes, not a surprise though...

[Howaythelads]

 

So you would rather we had bought Stead than Owen ?

 

 

 

No I wouldn't rather have Stead you brought him into it, I just showed how Owen hasn't proven to have been any better for us than Stead was for Blackburn and how much they've cost per goal.

 

I said at the time we bought Owen that we could have spent the money better instead of putting £17 million into an injury prone player.  I also said at the time that we were crazy to bid £9 milion more than our nearest and only rivals to his signature, Liverpool who bid £8 million.

what liverpool bid means little,the only price that matters is that at which madrid would be willing to sell. £17mill was probably high but not by the £9mill you say (if indeed it's true that liverpool bid £8mill or  bid at all). why we bid that much was to stop madrid accepting offers that came nowhere near this.

 

the argument about wether it could have been better spent is very much a one of hindsight.

 

Not a surprise though.....

 

He's not a waste of money in terms of being a poor footballer, unlike players such as Luque, Boumsong, Parker and more than a few others. He hasn't justified the fee due to injuries, which is tough bad luck and is a part of football.

 

I presume you're using hindsight in saying Luque and Boumsong were a waste of money?

 

I presume this daft comment from you means you don't understand context.

 

The answer you were looking for was yes, not a surprise though...

 

Wrong again. Which is not a surprise...

[Baggio]

 

So you would rather we had bought Stead than Owen ?

 

 

 

No I wouldn't rather have Stead you brought him into it, I just showed how Owen hasn't proven to have been any better for us than Stead was for Blackburn and how much they've cost per goal.

 

I said at the time we bought Owen that we could have spent the money better instead of putting £17 million into an injury prone player.  I also said at the time that we were crazy to bid £9 milion more than our nearest and only rivals to his signature, Liverpool who bid £8 million.

what liverpool bid means little,the only price that matters is that at which madrid would be willing to sell. £17mill was probably high but not by the £9mill you say (if indeed it's true that liverpool bid £8mill or  bid at all). why we bid that much was to stop madrid accepting offers that came nowhere near this.

 

the argument about wether it could have been better spent is very much a one of hindsight.

 

Not a surprise though.....

 

He's not a waste of money in terms of being a poor footballer, unlike players such as Luque, Boumsong, Parker and more than a few others. He hasn't justified the fee due to injuries, which is tough bad luck and is a part of football.

 

I presume you're using hindsight in saying Luque and Boumsong were a waste of money?

 

I presume this daft comment from you means you don't understand context.

 

The answer you were looking for was yes, not a surprise though...

 

Wrong again. Which is not a surprise...

 

So you didn't use hindsight when you said Luque and Boumsong were a waste of money?

 

I didn't know you were such a big follower of La Liga, HTL. What didn't impress you about Luque playing for Deportivo and why didn't you voice these concerns at the time?

[NE5]

 

So you would rather we had bought Stead than Owen ?

 

 

 

No I wouldn't rather have Stead you brought him into it, I just showed how Owen hasn't proven to have been any better for us than Stead was for Blackburn and how much they've cost per goal.

 

I said at the time we bought Owen that we could have spent the money better instead of putting £17 million into an injury prone player.  I also said at the time that we were crazy to bid £9 milion more than our nearest and only rivals to his signature, Liverpool who bid £8 million.

what liverpool bid means little,the only price that matters is that at which madrid would be willing to sell. £17mill was probably high but not by the £9mill you say (if indeed it's true that liverpool bid £8mill or  bid at all). why we bid that much was to stop madrid accepting offers that came nowhere near this.

 

the argument about wether it could have been better spent is very much a one of hindsight.

 

Not a surprise though.....

 

He's not a waste of money in terms of being a poor footballer, unlike players such as Luque, Boumsong, Parker and more than a few others. He hasn't justified the fee due to injuries, which is tough bad luck and is a part of football.

 

I presume you're using hindsight in saying Luque and Boumsong were a waste of money?

 

I presume this daft comment from you means you don't understand context.

 

The answer you were looking for was yes, not a surprise though...

 

Wrong again. Which is not a surprise...

 

So you didn't use hindsight when you said Luque and Boumsong were a waste of money?

 

I didn't know you were such a big follower of La Liga, HTL. What didn't impress you about Luque playing for Deportivo and why didn't you voice these concerns at the time?

 

No.

 

I called Luque a complete and utter waste after his first game against Manu. Surprised you missed this, I was slaughtered by people saying how great he was in Spain and we should give him time, but I thought straight away he lacked heart, and the desire to impose and force situations, and would be nothing other than a luxury player at best.

 

I said that I was worried about Boumsong getting pulled out of position too often after his first game, but hoped he would improve. I think I then said a bit later that although he had good pace, and was a half decent tackler  he physically wasn't up to the premiership, and was a headless chicken to go with it.

 

Doesn't take too long to suss out such things.

 

And no, I don't generally watch La Liga. To be honest, I don't know where some people get the time to watch all this football on telly.

 

 

Edit: thought that was directed at me, sorry.

 

 

 

 

 

[Dave]

[Howaythelads]

 

So you would rather we had bought Stead than Owen ?

 

 

 

No I wouldn't rather have Stead you brought him into it, I just showed how Owen hasn't proven to have been any better for us than Stead was for Blackburn and how much they've cost per goal.

 

I said at the time we bought Owen that we could have spent the money better instead of putting £17 million into an injury prone player.  I also said at the time that we were crazy to bid £9 milion more than our nearest and only rivals to his signature, Liverpool who bid £8 million.

what liverpool bid means little,the only price that matters is that at which madrid would be willing to sell. £17mill was probably high but not by the £9mill you say (if indeed it's true that liverpool bid £8mill or  bid at all). why we bid that much was to stop madrid accepting offers that came nowhere near this.

 

the argument about wether it could have been better spent is very much a one of hindsight.

 

Not a surprise though.....

 

He's not a waste of money in terms of being a poor footballer, unlike players such as Luque, Boumsong, Parker and more than a few others. He hasn't justified the fee due to injuries, which is tough bad luck and is a part of football.

 

I presume you're using hindsight in saying Luque and Boumsong were a waste of money?

 

I presume this daft comment from you means you don't understand context.

 

The answer you were looking for was yes, not a surprise though...

 

Wrong again. Which is not a surprise...

 

So you didn't use hindsight when you said Luque and Boumsong were a waste of money?

 

I didn't know you were such a big follower of La Liga, HTL. What didn't impress you about Luque playing for Deportivo and why didn't you voice these concerns at the time?

 

What is it with you since you turned 16, baggio? Hormones going mad, or something? You ignored the point of my post in favour of trying to argue with me for some reason. There is clearly an implication that Owen has been a waste of money. My point is that there is a difference between not getting value from a player due to injury compared to a player simply being a load of shite. Like Luque, Boumsong and Parker. That is the point I'm making and the one that you ignored. Owen is a top class player signed to replace a top class player, there is nothing wrong with trying to bring player like this to the club.

 

Now fuck off. I can't be arsed with you so stop replying to my posts and I'll reciprocate.

[NE5]

 

I laughed too, instead of deleting it 

[Baggio]

I bet no grape was safe in the HTL household after that little outburst. Tut tut.

[jimmymag]

 

So you would rather we had bought Stead than Owen ?

 

 

 

No I wouldn't rather have Stead you brought him into it, I just showed how Owen hasn't proven to have been any better for us than Stead was for Blackburn and how much they've cost per goal.

 

I said at the time we bought Owen that we could have spent the money better instead of putting £17 million into an injury prone player.  I also said at the time that we were crazy to bid £9 milion more than our nearest and only rivals to his signature, Liverpool who bid £8 million.

what liverpool bid means little,the only price that matters is that at which madrid would be willing to sell. £17mill was probably high but not by the £9mill you say (if indeed it's true that liverpool bid £8mill or  bid at all). why we bid that much was to stop madrid accepting offers that came nowhere near this.

 

the argument about wether it could have been better spent is very much a one of hindsight.

 

Not a surprise though.....

 

He's not a waste of money in terms of being a poor footballer, unlike players such as Luque, Boumsong, Parker and more than a few others. He hasn't justified the fee due to injuries, which is tough bad luck and is a part of football.

 

I presume you're using hindsight in saying Luque and Boumsong were a waste of money?

 

I presume this daft comment from you means you don't understand context.

 

The answer you were looking for was yes, not a surprise though...

 

Wrong again. Which is not a surprise...

 

So you didn't use hindsight when you said Luque and Boumsong were a waste of money?

 

I didn't know you were such a big follower of La Liga, HTL. What didn't impress you about Luque playing for Deportivo and why didn't you voice these concerns at the time?

 

What is it with you since you turned 16, baggio? Hormones going mad, or something? You ignored the point of my post in favour of trying to argue with me for some reason. There is clearly an implication that Owen has been a waste of money. My point is that there is a difference between not getting value from a player due to injury compared to a player simply being a load of shite. Like Luque, Boumsong and Parker. That is the point I'm making and the one that you ignored. Owen is a top class player signed to replace a top class player, there is nothing wrong with trying to bring player like this to the club.

 

Now fuck off. I can't be arsed with you so stop replying to my posts and I'll reciprocate.

 

Good post HTL!

[Baggio]

He missed Smith off his list of shit players we've wasted money on but apart from that, I agree, Jimmymag.

[jimmymag]

He missed Smith off his list of shit players we've wasted money on but apart from that, I agree, Jimmymag.

 

I was agreeing with him telling you to fuck off!

[Howaythelads]

He missed Smith off his list of shit players we've wasted money on but apart from that, I agree, Jimmymag.

 

I was agreeing with him telling you to fuck off!

 

[Baggio]

I forgot, you can't watch la liga HTL because you're off with the TA on the weekends, the same reason you don't go and watch us either...

[2sheds]

The TA?

 

IS HTL the forums equivalent of Gareth Keenan?

[Lotus]

FWIW i still think we have problems at the back. Roz can't win a ball in the air, Taylor can't be relied on yet and the FB's will have to bed in. Zog's positioning isn't good enough (may improve).

I'll reserve my judgement on the MF until i see how Barton, Duff and Emre perform.

As for Forwards, Viduka'a good if he can play regularly and i think Smith would be a better at holding the ball up than Ameobi (these are the Viduka alternatives).