Pez1974

Today is getting better! I would expect Stoke to pay at least £40k per week for the moron, if there is no loan fee. Bannan on the way (for good); Ireland on the way (for good); Given likely to be on his way for a year. Even allowing for us paying some of their wages - this has to shift at least £5m off our wage bill this year.

I understand the signing, as Benteke is so integral to our play and we don't really have a like-for-like replacement. It's the mooted fee that baffles me - either it's bollocks (which is usually the case) or PL really sees something in this guy. Either way - in Lamber we trust.

James Nursey has blogged that the fee is in the region of £1.75m! Paul Faulkner, take a bow.

If true..... They have the Arse in the Champs League qualifyer. Send 'em a DVD of the game when Bent scored 2 at the Emirates a couple of years ago!

Really optimistic. I think 8th, or even 7th if Everton don't fire, is possible. But gone for about 10th because I still worry about the defence. Lambert keeping Benteke is HUGE!

Get rid. Quickly. Not on the cheap, but £5m - £6m is fair enough considering his age, wages and value at our club. And I am certain he will be gone in the next 10 days (not ITK), but any buying club will need to get him match fit. Keeping him away from the first team squad may actually help in this regard, as any buying club will know he isn't 100% match fit, so will need to give him a few weeks to get up to full speed. As a result, this transfer is boiling up now rather than at the end of August. I truly believe that once we get a bit of money for him, and shift his wages, we will see at least one more transfer in. If we can shift either Ireland/Given (because they earn are paid so much), or the other Bomb Squad members, that will free up another spot or two. I don't believe it's the transfers fees that are the problem, it's the wages.

Shouldn't Bannan control his agent, not vice versa?

If true, this shows Bannan quite badly. He thinks he's good, so go and be good somewhere, and then you'll become a star. Sit on your arse for another season earning more money, then earn less forever. clearing in the woods.

Um. Maybe...? Because they bid £4m and we said "that's too low". So they have now come back with a higher bid (£6m) to see if that is high enough for us. I may just be having a bad morning but I really fail to see any problem with bit of the article at all. I just think it's a bit of a leap in the bid. I would guess that bids would step up in smaller increments than 50%, especally as they know we are a little desparate to sell. Maybe you're right, but it just seemed a little odd to me. It's probably all bollocks though!

James Nursey (Mirror) reported a few weeks ago that both Banna and Delfouneso were on £20k per week. I know, FFS. He has to realise, duirng his more sober moments, that he can rot on £20k per week for a year, and his career will have properly stalled; or he can accept a pay cut and go to a club that want him and if he is half as good as Con says he is, he will bounce back in the future on better contracts and have a very fruitfull career.

Probably BS but.... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2381229/Fulham-increase-offer-Aston-Villa-striker-Darren-Bent.html It's says Fulham have bid £6m after we rejected a £4m bid. Problems Why would they bid £6m if £4m was there previosu bid? The article says we paid £24m for Bent, and I think it is generally accepted that we have never had to pay the full potential fee It's the Daily Mail But hey, fingers crossed!

I am pretty sure that Bent and Bannan will go, and quite soon. I am surprised Stevens has not moved on yet. He has played a few times and looked OK, and I wouldn't think we would be asking much, and his wages would be quite low. I think that the club should be able to trade believing these 3 will be gone by September. I really don't see N'Zogbia going anywhere this window because of his injury, which I think rules him out until about Christmas. I would be stunned if anyone came in for Ireland. For me, if we can get someone to pay £5 per week of his wages, that's money saved. Hutton is the same as Ireland for me, although we may be £10k of his wages paid. Delfouneso is apparently on £20k pw, and no-one will pay him that. Our best bet is that he is sensible and will take a longer contract on lower salary and try and work his way back up the ladder. The club should be planning that these clowns will be on the books for another year, at least. Given the wildcard. He earns a lot, and seems willing to move to the right club.It just seems that onbody of a reasonable standard wants him, which is surprising. We might just end up with him going on a short term loan, save a few quid, but be able to recall him if Brad gets injured.

Reports (in the TImes I think) that Fulham's triker target ain't coming, so they are back in for Bent (not ITK). In any case, will someone make a bid and let us all move on!

I understand why people think PL has devalued Bent, but I think any effect will be minimal. Bent is 29(I think) and is paid a huge amount. Any team buying him would factor this in, as Bent has 2 years left on his contract. David Villa went for a low fee because of wages. Another example of player power - the higher the wage, the lower the fee. Probably the same with Benteke and Spuds; we have a high value because of wages: they would have to pay the higher wage so valued him lower.

I'm not too worried. Transfer window isn't over yet and these signings aren't necessarily going to be a success (just look at QPR last season). I also think a lot of our future summer shopping depends on being able to get certain players off the wage bill. I don't know this for sure but my guess would be that Bent, Ireland, N'Zogbia and Given alone rake in around 200k per week between them - that's probably more than what our starting 11 last season were on. I think you're a bit light there - £230k to £250k per week is probably closer to the mark. Add Hutton (30 - 40k per week); Bannan and Fonz (both reported at 20k pw) there is some £15m + a year on that lot!

Not sure moving him to a different piece of grass will help him delivery well timed passes, stop running down blind alleys, and become less lazy (amongst other things).

Am I too old for this thread? WTF is poke? And how did this move on to Snog, Marry, Avoid - which seems to be a 'thing' but I don't know what.

Good luck to him. He hasn't improved over the past couple of seasons, so he needs to move on for his career, and for sanity of VTers. Rumours of £750k to £1m. Result!

If PL wants Capuano - I want Capuano. A couple of points though: Just because we have sufficient players in a position, if a great prospect becomes available for the right fee, surely we must sign them? If, for example, Clark become surplus as a result the squad and team will be better for it. His English is bloody good for a 21 year old Italian. There's a few on VT who could learn better English 'n stuff like from him!

That may be a bit harsh. On a holiday in May/June there was a pro footballer in the same hotel as us and he did a 1 - 2 hour run everyday to stay in shape, and you never saw him scoffing the bacon etc at breakfast or putting away the lager at night despite it being all inclusive. Apparently Charlie-boy hurt himself on a run, so maybe he was being a good pro and was unlucky. Still want rid of the overpaid eejit though.

Starting to think the best we can hope for is some sort of Richard Dunne type injury, ruling him out for the season saving us money on the insurance. Not that I normally wish an injury on a player - but I can think of some exceptions!

Yeah, this is huge and with 1 or 2 more changes (pluswith a couple of higher earners leaving) we really could be looking at a major step up next season.

Any chance PL could speak to my ex-wife and ask for some of my money back?

Paul Lambert is the messiah, but HH is GOD!

And, is that a box of tissues in his hand? Is he expecting to be spending a lot of time on his own!