Allardyce to be given £50m by Ashley - The Times

[Rich]

I also think a lot of people seem to assume that, "Expensive player = Trophy Signing". Eidur Gudjohnsen would be expensive, not a trophy signing though.

 

You're right about that, like. Although I think the bigger picture is that people would worry about spending a lot on one player equating to spending less on "emergency areas". It would be nice if the "source" was right when he said Ashley would have a separate budget for "big signings", mind! If this is fact, which it probably isn't, and there is exactly £50M to spend then in my eyes it needs to be shared out between at least 3 more defenders and 1 more midfielder (if nobody else is to leave) and I'm sure that Allardyce is fully aware of that already. It certainly does seem to leave some wiggle room for a big name or two to come in.

 

A lot hinges on Owen and Martins, who are two big names in their own right (moreso the former, of course) if one or both of them were to go then I'd fully expect us to bring in a massive signing to replace them and appease the supporters/improve the team. With the four senior strikers we have there isn't much room for a "mega buy" up front (which is the traditional area of spending big) unless one of them leaves in a season without European football and I'm not sure if you can spend crazy money on other areas of the park when you're not a Champions League - or even a UEFA Cup - team.

 

I certainly wouldn't complain at spending big money on a top-class footballer for any position that was a vast improvement to the team though... until it went tits up... then I probably would. Hi Damien!

[gazza ladra]

we have scouts at the copa america i think. these will be the same scouts we used to have mind, but then they did find krul and zog so they may not be too bad.

 

Nery Castillo

[gazza ladra]

A lot hinges on Owen and Martins, who are two big names in their own right (moreso the former, of course) if one or both of them were to go then I'd fully expect us to bring in a massive signing to replace them and appease the supporters/improve the team. With the four senior strikers we have there isn't much room for a "mega buy" up front ...

 

The crux of the matter really. If Martins and Owen stay, that £50M could go a very long way. Replace the entire backline and the subs bench-- Taylor excepted.

[rocksammy]

Lets just sell all our players an buy kaka

 

and hell be our trophy

[Guest ryunufc]

with that amount we should go for quality (regardless of young or older), to build squad with players playing at their correct/best position. so, we spent 30-50m during souness, it didnt work but it should not be the reason to seek for players with hunger ahead of quality. the problem we had in the last few years was that we bought quality and hunger but expect it to just pay off. bringing quality is just the first step, the second is to help the quality to appear. hunger is temporary, once it is satisfied that is the end of it. which was why sam did not hesitate to take okocha,djorkaeff,hierro (these were not hungry players they had achieved everything from a career)because he seeks for quality and then focus on the second step.

[Guest optimistic nit]

we have scouts at the copa america i think. these will be the same scouts we used to have mind, but then they did find krul and zog so they may not be too bad.

 

Nery Castillo

 

The guy who scouted zog, the guy who scouted krul, the guy who's at the copa america or someone we should sign from said tournement?

[Guest Moe-Ali]

If we have that money we should definately buy one "Trophy signing" ie someone with real class like a Deco or someone, not someone like f****** Bent, I want technical footballers!!!!

[Superior Acuña]

For the people wanting big money signings over cheaper players i say why don't you go on nufc.com and look at the tansfer section under Souness and have a little think.

 

If the £50m bit is true i would be happy for him to spend £30-£35m on bulking up the squad with good quality players, then maybe bringing in one big signing and it would have to be a creative playmaker for me.

 

This.  Sort out the squad in general, then maybe the remainder on a creative midfielder to play with tough barton?  People seem to think expensive players are a bad thing.  Some are just trophies, but some are actually expensive because they're really good.  Nothing wrong with us getting an expensive high profile player - with the money and manager, it wont just be about wages, i think players will expect us to become a good team.

[Guest optimistic nit]

i don't think were ready for a deco yet. get us a balenced squad before considering those types of players.

[Willow]

One comment that really impressed me from Sam was that he always liked to check the background of the player. Once he had signed, then he made sure their family/home life was going well enough. He likes to check up on the smaller and often over-looked psychological states of the players. By that I mean he wants everyone to be happy, motivated and raring to get out on the pitch come match day.

Couple this with a top class health and fitness policy then there really shouldn't be many problems to overcome.

 

I have total faith in Sam and realise it will take time. A lot of fans may see the £50m figure and get their hopes up to unreachable levels, which would spell disaster but we have to wait a while before results will become consistent.

 

One thing that we MUST NOT forget is the position we were in with Roeder. We are now in a very lucky position at the moment so I hope everyone realises that and is thankful in a way, I know I am and its hard to contain my excitement.

 

A very interesting summer continues.... blueyes.gif

[Baggio]

Deco ffs, he would never sign for us in our current position.

[lovejoy]

i would like to see us build the squad up with good playes rather than see us spend a la souness.

 

i still think we should make a biggy though to signal our intentions, and i think ashley may want that too

[Guest Toonie]

Remember Souness spent 50 Million on Owen, Luque, Boumsong, Faye and a few others. That is an example of 50 mill being used very badly. Lets not get excited and do that again. Lets be rational and spend all of it on Gerrard.

[Guest exilim]

With a few million in bolton, sam did the shotgun approach or rather buying lots of players on cheap and some might turn out decent.

 

With 50million, sam could perform the same old shotgun approach again, that means for every 10 players he signed in Bolton, he will have to sign 50 players here.

 

We could see that he's not doing that, so what's all the fuss about?

 

I believe he's as sensible as we are, signing plenty of players on a cheap (Probably 3-4m) to build some squad depth and as back ups when there's an injury crisis. Bear in mind that those cheap signings could also turn out great.

 

And of course, he will probably want a "trophy signing" or a "Expensive/Good player" to boost our current squad strength. TBH, i will want us to sign either a really good centre back to lead our backline or a really good playmaker to create more chances for martins/owen instead of giving away the ball cheaply upfront.

[WhatTheFunk]

we have scouts at the copa america i think. these will be the same scouts we used to have mind, but then they did find krul and zog so they may not be too bad.

 

Its not necessarily the scouts who will find the players. Its all about what the manager asks them to look for in a player. Obviously some scouts are better than others. But Im pretty sure Big Sam will have drilled as much detail as possible regarding what he's looking for. I'm not particularly worried....as long as the system works

[WhatTheFunk]

 

As much of that money as possible should be spent on players who can keep possession! As someone just mentioned...i think thats been our biggest problem in recent years. As shit as our defence used to be...it was mainly down to us not being able to hold on to the ball and use it wisely that has cost us.

[Dan Gleebals]

Firstly, I think the £50M is pure gestimation from the press.  For a guy who has quietly built a very substantial business (and personal fortune) I would put money on the fact (now we are going private) that he DOES NOT WANT any of our transfer or internal discussions being made public (Fat Fred will have been to drop the "we always back our manager shi*e" and shut the F*** up).  Look at Chelsea and the effect having a sugar dady had on the fee's they end up paying.

 

Naturally, having Ashley in charge will probably have a simular effect.  However, as I already said, I would be suprised if there are only a very small number of people who actually know what we have to spend - and rightly so.  This club has effectively been run by the Fat one smack bang in the media for 10 years now - for all the wrong reasons.  This is surely set to change. 

 

Back to the topic - our squad was ripped apart last year by injuries and proved how much we need a SQUAD (although with Sam in place I think we would have had half the problems).  IMO, this has to come first and the big names/more experienced later.  You need a squad to be successful, not 11 superstars.  To keep star players, you need to be successful - you need a squad.

 

First comes stability (it will take a while to bed in 6-8 new players) - they you bring in the more experienced (expensive players) when you have the fundermentals right.

 

In Sam we have just the man.  We still need 4 defenders for a start.  He knows that.  I am sure he will splash the cash on a CB, we have to.  I think we also need height in the midfield.  Up front, assuming no one leaves, we have nothing to worry about and IMO, on paper a strike force to match anyone in the league.

 

Not going to speculate on who we should get, after all, I do not know what system the big fella is planning.

 

Fook, right now just enjoying the fact that we should finally be a club again with things moving in the right direction again.  I personally think SJP will be absolutely immense this year with new found belief.  We just have to remember,  Rome was not built in a day.

 

[hakka]

£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.

 

[bodson]

Put the whole 50 mil in a descent defence..

[Ikon]

Fucking hell if this is true 

[Tsunami]

Let's just not put a figure on it. MA should simply ask Sam which players he needs & can attract to the club, to make us into a viable option for the real top players to consider coming to in the future. He should then tell Sam to go & get them & that the money will be there.

 

This may cost 20, 30, 40, 50 Million or more but it is important we do it right & have a platform to build from. We must start this process now, we will have competition from the likes of Man C, WH, Blackburn & possible others so there is not time to waste.

 

MA over to you.

[Guest elbee909]

The club needs continued investment in players, I'd rather have 20/30 mill a season for the next five years than "wahey, there you go, 50 mill!".

[NSG]

Looks like the media believed my post yesterday

 

Ashley warrants spending spree

 

Mike Ashley today handed Sam Allardyce a "bottomless kitty" to bring the glory days back to St James Park. A source close to the Sports World owner said. "Its Ashleys dream to see the likes of Tevez and Gerrard at St James Park". With the new board of directors in place this morning and the Rozehnal deal already tied up, Allardyce is expected to motor into the market over the coming fortnight.

 

More to follow

 

[Guest Bramble OG]

The club needs continued investment in players, I'd rather have 20/30 mill a season for the next five years than "wahey, there you go, 50 mill!".

 

The way i see it is spend a larger amount this season building a good size/quality squad which will get us top 6-7 hopefully then add higher quality expensive signings in the years to come, if were gonna get anywere we still need 5-6 players of 1st team quality.

[jarralad]

If he did hand over 50m i`d expect us to aim for 5th in the league.