Pez1974

At last - some sense

Great news. Big risk in bringing him back and the injury reoccurring, especally as he seems quite brittle. The Rickie Lambert factor is interesting - Clark likes a punch up, and Vlaar looked weak against him in the away game. For his (very many) faults, Dunne might have been a good option against Lambert.

I can't stand the man, but the Warnock in midfield shout I think has some merit - when he played a few games there last season he looked OK - certainly better than we have right now and he would be within touching distance of the defence so could add a bit of value there. Maybe. The negativity on Westwood is bang out of order for me. He does the simple stuff well, gets in the right positions and soaks up pressure off the team by retaining possession, and moves us forward. It might not be pretty or really dynamic, but it is bloody valuable and was central to our decent run. Fergie likes to play Carrick, who does something similar, and they do alright! I think this guys injury has hurt us as much as Vlaar's.

Dunne has been injured for almost 6 months. He is probably the size of a house! At his age, just getting fit will take a while, and with being out of contract in June, there is a risk that he won't be the committed defender he came back as at the end of last season - if he gets injured again, no job next year! Plus he is another year slower, and will remain error-prone. The MLS pre-season starts in March does it not? Nobody will give us money, but if he can get a contract, we could let him go and not pay him the £60k a week for the next 5 months. An assumption of course. Good deal for me if true. And earlier enough to make signing a replacement possible.

Would be great news. £60k a week

The Sky Sports News article would probably have had Pete Colley's input, so no shock that it backs up his comments. Colley says No - he might be on the nail, he might be guessing, he might be reporting what he has been told, but this is spin whilst we are finalising the deal and we present him, Stephens, Lampard and Messi in time for the Southampton game. Would still need a defender and DCM though!

This. Although the guy is apparently a pain in the arse, so he may be dismissed as a possibility on those grounds.

Pete Colley is a Villa fan and we know he has access to people in the Villa camp through his links with Sky. He also added, somewhat as a caveat, that he found PL's transfer targets "aren't always easy to spot". He doesn't appear to be someone who tweets an opinion on everythiung, so IMO, to tweet this, he has heard something, whether it is spin or otherwise. Although we should always take with a sack full of salt anything before it is announced, I suspect that if he says something, it is likely to be closer to the mark than 99% of the other guff out there.

After a night of little sleep following that, and pot of coffee later, and a bit of perspective...... We were shit. No-one really played to an acceptable standard, but....... We should have scored plenty, but the finishing was poor. Benteke was the main culprit, but Bent's miss was the worst of the lot - and we now know that his ego/shame button is in his knee, and that suddenly hurt when he realised what he did. Sometimes you have days when this happens, and you just have to move on. I don't balme the managers for this, and I am sure that the players don't do it on purpose! They scored from a deflection (which happens) at a time when we were on top, and it knocked us off course. They then scored from a defensive mistake, at a time when we were on top. They finally scored from an unstoppable header (albeit from poor marking) when we looked likely to equalise. They also hit the bar from a well worked move. It wasn't a fluke on their part, but generaly things went their way. On another night, we could have won 5-0. The thing that worries me the most is the midfield, it has no attacking flair and no defensive stability. This has been true for weeks, and badly needs sorting out. Directionless and clueless. However, as shit as they were, Bannan created (I think) 4 clear opportunites, and Delph at least one. In the second leg, we should be able to turn this around against BCAFC. The thing that worries second is the balls of the team. When they scored, the attitude should have been "**** it, lets destroy them". Instead it seemed to be "****, we going to get destroyed again". This is a much deeper problem for me, and shouldbne the main focus for the club.

We all know that the squad is poor, and I am sure that the club do too. We had the classic problem of too many managers over too short a period, who put in place quick fixes, which usually didn't suit the next guy in. For me, talk of Lamber out is madness - who would we get who is better? And he was the majority choice in the summer wasn't he? Lerner has spent loads, and although we can say that too much dross has been brought on wages that are too high, is that really his fault? If he said no to his manager, we would all be up in arms - and to knowledge, he has never said no. For me, the only real mistakes were appointing McLeish and giving O'Neill too much power, which landed us with a big squad full of overpaid medicority. However, in the case of the latter, we did quite well with the mediocrity! We had/have loads of players on the books who are overpaid and not contributing. And we are struggling to move any on - even on loan. Until this is properly sorted, we are going to be stuck in the shit, otherwise we risk doing a Leeds or Portsmouth. As angry as I am about the last few weeks, and especially last night, I understand why we are where we are, and genuinely expect one or two bigger signings this month, plus another couple of cheaper deals which will add to the ranks. I also think that the changes will continue for the next couple of seasons before we are back - to being a mid-table Premier League team. I think on Saturday, we have to continue to support the team, as kicking them won't help. UTV.

The guy is now 23, and has over 50 games for us. He is no longer young, nor inexperienced. He is also our captain of late, although that ain't his fault - but he is a terrible captain. He doesn't seem to be able to read the game as a defender, and is always having to be bailed out. Personally, I think he won't make it and we should get rid whilst we can get a few quid for him - Baker is a better player and a better prospect, so should play ahead of him. IF the coaches think there is something there, keep hold but treat him like a player who needs a lot of coaching - which means he shouldn't be our captain, and shouldn't be in the team most weeks. I know this means we need another CB, but we all know that!

Time for him to go, whilst his career can still remain intact. Too many hollywood pass attempts, very few of which succeed. Too much poor passing and decision making. No bite in the tackle. No positional sense. No presence. We have all worried about the physical side of his game, but when he can't deliver the ball consistently, he has nothing left. Get rid now, and we may get £1m or £2m for him.

A shambles from start to finish. The shape of the team was odd - I would have thought that Delph and Bannan against a League 2 team in midfield was asking for trouble, and that's what we got. At the start I thought that Herd in there (or similar) was needed for the away leg. The midfield was largely absent - Delph ran around to no end, and Bannan may as well have not bothered turning up. Gabby thought the game was a joke, and Bent showed why he was dropped; however, Benteke showed the sort of finishing to make you dream of a Emile Heskey comeback. And he badly needs to work on his defending from corners (it's not the first time). The defense reverted to type - although Baker switched off for their second, I thought he was our best defender, constantly bailing out Clark, who was awful, and is possibily the worst captain we have ever had - he is no longer young and inexperienced, and simply should not be at our club. Weiman in a deep and wide position makes no sense - he is a great finisher, so put him where he can finish. If we needed a player in that position, either play someone who can play there, or **** buy someone! I only hope that PL had **** all sleep last night, has a similar sized headache to mine, and is taking it out on the **** lot of 'em today. And starting Saturday, we get a reaction, big time.

Good post - I think I like what we have got.

They can only talk to clubs in another league with 6 months reminaing on their contract - officially. This is why we knew officially about Holman, but the club could not comment on the above even if we were talking to them. It is also why you hear about Lampard and Cole maybe talking to PSG, LA Galaxy et al, but the only rumours about them with Premier League clubs is on cut price deals in January. I have no idea why this rule exists, but it does.

A couple of ITK's mentioning that we want Lescott til the end of the season - personal ITK's rather than general, who often seem to be close to what is upcoming. I think this would be a top move. Happy New Year to all VT'ers. And get down the pub!

The guys a monster, is still raw, and is learning very quickly. If we still have him in 2 years time he has either gone off the boil or PL is the new messiah! The point made earlier about yesterdays first goal's similarity to a similar position against WBA is spot on, although having Andi screaming for the ball in space instead of Bent standing on the penalty spot surrounded by defenders does help!

Carrick and Scholes were quiet today for me, which must be down to Westwood and Bannan mainly. To keep them 2 quiet, you are doing something very good indeed. Another tough couple of games ahead, but these should school them further, and make playing the like of Reading, Norwich, etc seems easier, and let them dominate the midfield in those games.

Blaming him for the 3rd goal yesterday is harsh. Stevens lost the midget, and shoudln't have. I think KEA will make a lot of progress over the coming months. Many players struggle to make a big impact in the PL in their first season, but then go on once they get used to the pace and find their role. Petrov struggled for the first year; Bale did sod all at Spurs for a couple of seasons (although, he was young). Having said that, I think KEA will become a squad player for much of the season, which is why I got rid of him in my Fantasy League team! However, at £2.5m and not massive wages, at least this one if it doesn't go right can easily be corrected - unlike Delph, Dunne, Collins, Hutton, Warnock, Heskey ...............

A proper, top classs manager. Dropping Given for Guzan looks like a genius decision. Signing Vlaar, KEA, Lowton looks inspired, and Benteke showed some promise today (and hopefully the goal will calm him down). Ca't wait to see the others - Bowery will probably have a dozen goals by May!!!! In Lambert we trust.

Really excited about this guy. Likes a tackle, but can pass. Young, but has a fair amount of games - and if you are a lightweight, you wouldn't get very far in Leagues 1 & 2 unless there is something special in your locker - those divisions have [some] guys who can only kick people. Alos being appointed captain (no matter for how long) shows a level of maturity and responsiblity which a few of our youngsters don't have. I can see this guy and KEA forming a good 'holding' 2, as both can step forward, but they would cover for the FBs who we know PL loves to get forward. Add Delph and Herd into the mix, I think we are fine there, and will get a lot better the more they play.

This. A proper transition year, with the young and hungry making big strides over the next couple of seasons. Whether we can get back into the top 6 will depend upon the application of Financial Fair Play properly, and how much revenue we can bring in, allowing us the additional spend. Prett optimistic medium term.

Duplicate post. Grrr!

Delighted with this signing. We have got a good player, who will get a lot better IMO. We have (probably) paid a sensible fee, with sensible wages. We have taken the first choice LB from the 25th best team in the country. He has also been their player of the year, and is still young. For me, this is a lot better than taking the 2nd or 3rd choice LB from (say) the 8th best team in the country, given that nobody seems to be able to name which current PL reserve LB we should be signing. There may be better available in Europe, but I don't know of one, so great signing and in Lambert we trust.

Some of the comments on here beggar belief, simply because I suspect that many have got the "Wikipedia" opinion on him and decided they don't like it. I lived in Chesterfield for years, it's where my wife is from, and a few of her family and friends are season tickets holders; here's a few facts as they see it: 1. He is young, very fast and filling out a bit 2. His finishing has improved a lot over the past couple of years, but still needs work 3. His first touch is not as bad as many people think, but it needs work 4. His scoring record isn't as bad as many think - he started in the first team at 17, and a lot of his 'appearances' were as a sub, often for a few minutes at the end of the game. 5. They think his actual scoring record is 12 goals in 28 starts last season; 17 in 42 starts in total Personally, I think this is the sort of singing the club should always be making. If he has some of the raw attributes, our coaches will be able to help, as they had bloody well be a lot better than a League 2 teams coaches! And if the manger see's something in him he likes, great. He is relatively cheap, and his wages will be modest. If we sign a few like this and only 1 or 2 come off, we are quids in. This is what Spurs were doing a few years ago, and ended up with Dawson, Lennon, Andy Reid, Huddlestone, K Walker, K Naughton, even Defoe (first time around) plus a few that didn't come off and I can't remember. The crux is that the outlay on these we relatively low compared to their current value; it has saved them a fortune and given them a CL calibre squad. Finally, if anybody really thinks that Lambert and Faulkner are focusing on signing this guy at the expense of making the signing upfront that most of us agree is required, in my opinion, they are bonkers. Sid's probably handling this! Lecture over. And sorry to the sane amongst us.