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Acquisitions - moving in the right direction.


Stu

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Also re Cabaye, glad as fuck he seems a bit of a player but no one knew how he would turn out.

 

...this touches upon another point, when you say no-one knew how Cabaye (insert name of another NUFC signing in the past 12 months) would turn out. It would appear that Mr Carr (and by default, the powers that be at the club) are actively signing players that they feel have the right mental attributes to be a success at NUFC (in addition to having the right physical and technical attributes).

 

You can only connect the dots looking backwards, but of the signings made in the past year or so compare much more favourably than our previous transfer history.

I looked back at our signings over recent times  - didn't judge the loan signings as they were 'only' temporary. Definitely looks like the new owners have become more and more successful in identifying players who 'turn out' OK or better. Carr touched on the fact that they are extensively scouting players (a bit like Roeder and Kuyt!) before signing them.

 

Sep 2004 Ronny Johnsen DEF Unattached FreeBrought in for 'experienced cover', didn't do anything

Jan 2005 Celestine Babayaro DEF Chelsea £1m Brought in for 'experienced cover', didn't do anything after his bright start. Another 'injury victim' - never settled.

Jan 2005 Jean Alain Boumsong DEF Rangers £8m Most memorable moment in a NUFC shirt was him being given the run around by non-league DJ Campbell on his debut. Sums him up.

Jan 2005 Amdy Faye MID Portsmouth £2m Brought in for 'experience', didn't do a lot 

Jun 2005 Scott Parker  MID Chelsea £6.5m Never really settled. Looked good in patches.

Jul 2005 Emre Belozoglu  MID Inter Milan TBC Never really settled. Looked good in patches.

Jul 2005 Tim Krul  GKR Den Haag TBC Development Squad - now 1st choice GK

Jul 2005 Craig Moore  DEF Unattached Free Brought in for 'experienced cover', didn't do a lot except drink

Aug 2005 Lee Clark  MID Unattached Free Came back to help out, by his own admission he wasn't capable of playing Prem football for 90minutes each week

Aug 2005 Albert Luque  FWD Deportivo La Coruna £9.5m Injured, never settled

Aug 2005 Michael Owen  FWD Real Madrid £17m The height of our ambition at the time, kept the profile of the club high, injuries curtailed his efforts most seasons. Never settled.

Aug 2005 Nolberto Solano MID Aston Villa £1.5m Brought him back, he did a decent job

Jul 2006 Damien Duff MID Chelsea £5m Most memorable moment in a NUFC shirt was his leg deflecting in the goal that got us relegated. Sums him up.

Aug 2006 Obafemi Martins FWD Inter Milan £10.14m Signed as our new 'number 9' and was consistently inconsistent, never really settled.

Aug 2006 Giuseppe Rossi FWD Manchester United 4 month loan

Aug 2006 Antoine Sibierski MID Manchester City fee tbc Brought in for 'experienced cover', didn't do a lot outside of the Europa league

Sep 2006 Olivier Bernard DEF Rangers free Brought in for 'experienced cover', didn't do anything

Sep 2006 Pavel Srnicek DEF Unattached 4 month deal Brought in for 'experienced cover', didn't do a lot

Jan 2007 Oguchi Onyewu DEF Standard Liege 4 month loan

Jun 2007 Mark Viduka FWD Unattached Free Rarely available to play

Jun 2007 Joey Barton MID Manchester City £5.8M Rarely available to play in first 3 seasons, some redemption from his last season

Jun 2007 David Rozehnal DEF Paris St.Germain £2.9M & £200K Never looked comfortable in the Prem, never settled

Jul 2007 Geremi DEF Chelsea Free Had no legs, sometimes took a decent set-piece, didn't contribute

Aug 2007 Alan Smith FWD Manchester United tbc Not a striker, not a midfielder, did a decent job in the Championship for a few months

Aug 2007 Cacapa DEF Free agent Free  Brought in for 'experienced cover', didn't do a lot, never settled

Aug 2007 Jose Enrique DEF Villarreal £6m Broke into the team during his first year at the club, never looked back

Aug 2007 Abdoulaye Faye DEF Bolton £2m Did a decent job for the club, fell out with the manager, shipped out

Aug 2007 Habib Beye DEF Marseille £2m Looked a class act for the club, left to 'play at the top level' when we were relegated. Hasn't played since.

Jan 2008  Ben Tozer DEF Swindon Town £tbc Development Squad - never made it

Jan 2008 Fabio Zamblera FWD Atalanta £300K Development Squad - never made it

Jan 2008 Olof Soderberg GKR BK Hackens fee tbc  Development Squad - never made it

Mar 2008 Lamine Diatta DEF Unattached Three month deal Brought in for 'experienced cover', didn't do a lot

Jul 2008 Jonas Gutierrez MID RCD Mallorca fee tbc First choice immediately, apparently has no end product but other teams still double up on him. Has had a few struggles in 2012/13. 

Jul 2008 Danny Guthrie MID Liverpool £2.5m Has flitted between first team and back-up status during his time here. Squad player. Rejected new contract, went to Reading on a free. 

Jul 2008 Sebastien Bassong DEF Metz £tbc  Broke into the team during his first year at the club, sold at relegation for 'champions league football'

Aug 2008 Fabricio Coloccini DEF Deportivo la Coruna £9.1m First choice immediately, had a rough couple of months during his first season trying to do the work of 3 players and came under a lot of scrutiny, never looked back 

Aug 2008 Nile Ranger FWD Unattached 2 year deal tbc Development Squad - knocking on 1st team squad but has character issues

Sep 2008 Francisco Jiminez Tejada "Xisco" FWD Deportivo la Coruna £5.7m rising to £7m Done jack all. Arguably never given/taken his chance. His signing appears to have been the catalyst for the deliberate shift in transfer policy. Fucked off Jan 13. 

Sep 2008 Ignacio "Nacho" Gonzalez FWD Valencia Season long loan

 

 

Contrast that with the 'success rate' of signings under the new transfer policy:

 

Jan 2010  Danny Simpson  Manchester United  £TBC  First choice RB for the club. Has been upgraded by Debuchy.

Jan 2010  Wayne Routledge  QPR  £TBC Effective in the Championship, found out in the Prem

Jan 2010  Mike Williamson  Portsmouth  £TBC Effective in the Championship, capable in the Prem. Struggled in 2012/13.

Jan 2010  Fitz Hall  QPR  Loan

Jan 2010  Patrick Van Aanholt  Chelsea  Loan

Feb 2010  Leon Best  Coventry City  £TBC Barren in the Championship, on-fire in the Prem. Sold for a profit in Summer 12

Feb 2010  Jóan Símun Edmundsson  B68 (Faroe Islands)  Loan tbc Development Squad - released

 

Jul 2010  James Perch  Nottingham Forest  £TBC What a difference 6 months makes, from figure of ridicule to cult legend, "Perchinio" has found his feet at the club and turned out to be an astute capture (was initially red).

Jul 2010  Dan Gosling  Unattached  Free Not seen enough of him to judge, in and around squad though. Still not made a significant contribution after two and a half years. Injury riddled.

Jul 2010  Sol Campbell  Unattached  Free Brought in for 'experienced cover', didn't do a lot

Aug 2010  Cheick Tiote  FC Twente  £TBC First choice CM for the club

Aug 2010  Hatem Ben  Arfa  Marseille  Loan

Jan 2011  Hatem Ben Arfa  Olympique Marseille  £5.75m  First choice anything for the club

Jan 2011  Stephen Ireland  Aston Villa  Loan 

Feb 2011  Shefki Kuqi  Unattached  Free Brought in for 'experienced cover', didn't do a lot

 

Jun 2011  Yohan Cabaye  Lille  £TBC First choice CM for the club

Jun 2011  Demba Ba  Unattached  Free First choice ST for the club. Scored 29 in 54 before Chelsea activated the release clause.

Jun 2011  Sylvain Marveaux  Stade Rennes  £TBC Looks capable in the Prem. Injury ruined season. Stepped up in 2012/13 to show he is a very good player.

Jul 2011  Mehdi Abeid  Unattached  Free Development Squad - knocking on 1st team squad. Hasn't progressed in 12months.

Aug 2011  Gabriel Obertan  Manchester United  £TBC Had a run in the team, never really settled. Doesn't have the fans onside but still has something to work with. Injury hit 2012/13

Aug 2011  Davide Santon  Inter Milan  £TBC Looking more settled after a run in the team. First choice LB for club in 2012/13

Aug 2011  Rob Elliot  Charlton Athletic  £TBC Brought in for 'cover', shown glimpses of being a decent keeper in Europa

 

Jan 2012 Papiss Demba Cissé SC Freiburg £TBC 13 goals in 12 games. Struggled along with the team in 12/13 (played on the wing, mind)

 

May 2012 Romain Amalfitano Stade De Reims Signed on a free. Limited opportunities so far

Jul 2012 Gael Bigirimana Coventry City Signed for the development squad but pushed into the forefront this season and had some promising displays

Jul 2012 Curtis Good Melbourne Heart Signed for development squad and spent half season on loan at Bradford, some good reviews

Aug 2012 Vurnon Anita Ajax £6.7m Looks a very tidy player, struggled at first but started to become an important player in an injury hit side

 

Jan 2013 Mathieu Debuchy Lille £5m tbc First choice RB (over Simpson). Best friends with our most important player.

Jan 2013 Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa Montpellier £6.7m tbc Arrived with CL pedigree and captain of the French league champions

Jan 2013 Yoan Gouffran Girondins Bordeaux £2m tbc Some intelligent and pacey displays.

Jan 2013 Massadio Haidara AS Nancy £2.5m tbc Signed as a longer-term first team option

Jan 2013 Moussa Sissoko Toulouse £2m tbc Brought in ahead of a summer Bosman, hit the ground running with a stunning home debut and three good performances.

Jan 2013 Kevin Mbabu Servette £tbc Signed for the development squad

 

EDITS:

 

Youth signings who have been released all downgraded to red.

Ranger dropped from Orange to Red (biggest achievement: has managed to get to training on time for 6 weeks)

Santon upped from Orange to Green (now first choice LB, has some room for defensive improvement but a good attacking option)

Summer 12 and Jan 13 transfers added - only Sissoko 'graded' and even then, at a push.

 

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Sep 2006 Olivier Bernard DEF Rangers free Brought in for 'experienced cover', didn't do anything

Would say he did a lot more than nothing. He was a fantastic left back with us and his ability to maraud down the left flank was awesome.

 

Aug 2008 Nile Ranger FWD Unattached 2 year deal tbc Development Squad - knocking on 1st team squad but has character issues

He's been atrocious, never scored a Premier League goal and doesn't look like he ever will, signed a new 5 year contract and will waste away costing the club money.

 

Feb 2011  Shefki Kuqi  Unattached  Free Brought in for 'experienced cover', didn't do a lot

Was the definition of useless.

 

Aug 2011  Rob Elliot  Charlton Athletic  £TBC Brought in for 'cover', early days

On evidence so far looks horrid.

 

Other than these 4 it's fairly accurate. Nice work

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That's a good post, and I agree we're definitely moving in the right direction when it comes to player acquisition.

 

Still doesn't excuse the fact they never got that other striker in, which means Lovenkrands is still getting pitch time.

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Sep 2006 Olivier Bernard DEF Rangers free Brought in for 'experienced cover', didn't do anything

Would say he did a lot more than nothing. He was a fantastic left back with us and his ability to maraud down the left flank was awesome.

 

Aye, about 4 year earlier when we originally signed him, never made an appearance after this second signing man. :lol:

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Nice trip down memory lane that!

 

One thing is that we don't really have as much hindsight on the more recent batch of signings but most would agree about the players that have been brought in have been either a success or had a strong possibility of being a success.

 

However the problem lies with them not being interested in bringing in players unless they are relatively dirt cheap. Even when the teams needs it.

 

Looking forward to seeing what Santon is like.

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Guest johnson293

Sep 2006 Olivier Bernard DEF Rangers free Brought in for 'experienced cover', didn't do anything

Would say he did a lot more than nothing. He was a fantastic left back with us and his ability to maraud down the left flank was awesome.

 

I'd guess that refers to Bernard's 2nd spell at the club, when brought in as a free agent after the August window closed - didn't make an appearance in the 2nd spell, did he?

 

EDIT: Anderson said same above.

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Sep 2006 Olivier Bernard DEF Rangers free Brought in for 'experienced cover', didn't do anything

Would say he did a lot more than nothing. He was a fantastic left back with us and his ability to maraud down the left flank was awesome.

 

I'd guess that refers to Bernard's 2nd spell at the club, when brought in as a free agent after the August window clsoed - didn't make an appearance in the 2nd spell, did he?

 

EDIT: Anderson said same above.

 

:thup: thought the dates would explain that :)

 

That's a good post, and I agree we're definitely moving in the right direction when it comes to player acquisition.

 

Still doesn't excuse the fact they never got that other striker in, which means Lovenkrands is still getting pitch time.

 

True, it's not to excuse them for not bringing in another forward but Gimp's comment seemed to be along the lines of "well, they're only lucky Cabaye seems to have settled/adapted to the Premiership/NE1" - made me think that actually, they seem to be hitting on a lot of their targets which, given the lack of signings, is nothing short of amazing.

 

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Tbh, to say about players like Cabye, Obertan and especcialy HBA that they are 'first choice' isn't right imo. It should be 'early days' or something.

 

Owen (and even Luque) was first choice when he signed, you know....

 

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Sep 2006 Olivier Bernard DEF Rangers free Brought in for 'experienced cover', didn't do anything

Would say he did a lot more than nothing. He was a fantastic left back with us and his ability to maraud down the left flank was awesome.

 

Aye, about 4 year earlier when we originally signed him, never made an appearance after this second signing man. :lol:

 

Ah yep you're right.

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Tbh, to say about players like Cabye, Obertan and especcialy HBA that they are 'first choice' isn't right imo. It should be 'early days' or something.

 

Owen (and even Luque) was first choice when he signed, you know....

 

 

Cabaye and Obertan have come into the club this season and taken their chance to nail down that particular spot. Like I say above, all they can be judged on is what they've achieved so far, which is 'only' a first team spot.

 

Luque managed a game and a half before getting injured, never nailed down a first team spot after that. Owen was a first team player originally but in the last couple of seasons, there was a clamour for him to be dropped (which Shearer ended up doing).

 

We have the benefit of being able to look back and connect the dots more thoroughly on those two players, perhaps Cabaye and/or Obertan will get knacked in the next month or so and never come back the same player. Get the impression that the structure around the first team squad won't allow that though.

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Simpson and Obertan gain the green seal of approval for simply being first choice?

 

It's more than Perch achieved :lol:

 

No matter how poorly you think Simpson is playing atm, you have to take a step back and say he's been a good signing for the club. Low fee, hungry appetite and young enough to be moved on if things don't work out.

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Simpson and Obertan gain the green seal of approval for simply being first choice?

 

Agree that things are beginning to look slightly more promising though.

Simpsons been the 1st choice RB since he came in on loan and in general has been a reliable enough rb and seems to have a good attitude as well so no problem with him being green.

 

Obertan I'd have as wait and see but seems a talented if inconsistent player thus far

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Things have gone well in terms of signing players at/for the right time/moment. A few duds here and there mind and there's certainly no excuse for not signing a striker during the summer transfer window but all in all, as it says in the thread title, it's "moving in the right direction".

 

Canny post Stu.

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