VillanousOne

he still has a lot to prove but he has shown plenty of promise between the **** ups. I still think he'd be better in midfield.

Our attack is capable of being top 6-8 quality with Benteke, Weimann, Gabby and Helenius all fit. Our midfield is probably mid table standard. So many unknowns.............. will Tonev play will he and Bacuna be any good, will Gardener or Albrighton emerge again, will KEA come good? Will Delph and Sylla get even better? Will Westwood be as consistent? Last season our defence was league two level for over half the season and maybe championship level when we finished. It definitely improved with Baker and Vlaar in the centre but we still conceded every game. Okore, Luna look like good signings but it may take a while before they actually start improving our goals conceded. I am more optimistic about our ability to score goals, but not convinced much will change defensively, so a 10th-14th finished at best if we don't start defending set pieces.

The issue is more down to Con's one man PR crusade to convince us all Bannan is a quality midfielder. I think Bannan has had a fair few chances and a few times been ok, maybe even good, but mostly been very average. When he did play his set piece taking was abysmal and contributed to the reason we never scored from corners. His passing and technical ability are decent and his passion and commitment never in question, so I don't think he deserves hatred or bile. He deserves respectful sterile indifference and not a thread of 387 pages. He may well go down a division and prove us all wrong by doing well and get a transfer back to the Premiership, but for now..................

The Telegraph are reporting that Newcastle told his agent that they will only pay 2mil and not match his wage demands. WTF???? 2mil really? A) are the telegraph spouting garbage? are Newcastle on crack? I honestly wish we'd keep bent and tell the Geordies and Cottagers to **** right off. Why suddenly do the press think we're a bargain basement full of players we will give away. Bent is a proven England goal scorer, he may not fit with Lamberts plans but there are still few proven goal scorers out there much better, wages or not.

Don't think so as it was on the players own account. But as for my post above, he was just used as an example because he is the last defender we've been linked with. Fair enough, hope it is true. It would make sense for Lambert to have sounded a few players/clubs/agents out - for when we do move some players on. I can see at least two more signings on the horizon, although I have no factual basis for this, just a feeling.

I thought the Capuano thing was Twitter bollocks?

I used to think that too. Remember Wigan at home last season? Ireland was a disgrace that day. I had tried to block that game from my memory. Dear god that was a low point in a few weeks of low points. Everyone was a disgrace at Wigan and at Bradford, Ireland has never been any worse than anyone else. Not saying I want him to stay just bored of him and Bent being the Pantomine villains.

him leaving will be worth it just to shut this thread down and for Con to finally be able to enjoy life.

Yup

Last season we scored 47 goals which was about the middle range of goals scored We scored 37 goals 2011-12 season, the lowest was Stoke with 36!!!!!!!!! We scored 48 the season before that So yes I agree we need more midfielders to score goals! It didn't help that we almost never scored from set pieces, which is probably why we can't defend them!

I agree but in a sense this is why Lambert plays with three strikers, I think we actually scored more goals in total last season than we have done in a long time (anyone got stats on that?) But it would be nice to have the kind of attacking flair in the middle of the park that we could actually change our playing system, I don't think we could play an AM behind three forwards though. As much as i have faith in Lambert, I still wish to good he would sign some more experienced defensive cover. I don't buy that after getting turned over for most of the season our defence is going to miraculously shape up, even with Luna and Okore in the mix.

Surely we need to replace what we sell? And to some extent we were low on numbers to start with. Heleneius Tonev Okore Steer Bacuna Luna So we have signed 6 We have got rid of Dunne Dawkins Bannan (Any i have missed?) and Petrov has retired Which leaves Given Ireland Bent Hutton Delf Stevens and possibly Zog - although I am not 100% sure we want to sell him, but I doubt we'd block a move if someone came in for him. Donacian, Herd and Webb are clearly going to be preferred as right back cover to a new signing. We might get rid of Bent but for the rest it sounds like loans with subsidised wages and other bullshit will mean we don't get rid of completely anytime soon. Which begs the question if when the season starts no-one has come in and taken them and we have to pay them why not just reintergrate as clearly no-one else wants or can afford our dead wood. I have no issue with Bent and Given being a part of our team, they have done little wrong. We are some way from getting rid of enough dead wood to justify any more signings.

Hope Zog can play a full role for us this season. He suffered because he is seen at times as a luxury player, but for all the talk of needing an AM - Zog can do that job once we have a settled team and play different formations. Hopefully having Helenius and Tonev will mean we can actually play a different way when we need to and a way that suits Zog. Sticking him in a 3 man attack doesn't really work, although he did ok at times. oh and he was never close to being in the bomb squad.

We did not sign Delph to be a defensive midfielder, he didn't play that way at Leeds at all................ but yes we know he likes a tackle. We have only managed one full season out of the guy since he signed and he was pretty decent when he got a run in the team, but at the time he broke through we needed more steel in the middle, as defensively we were shocking. I'm sure if we actually manage to stop conceding **** ridiculous goals this season and we settle as a mid table team a bit, we'll see much more from Delph's game. We've seen that he wants to get forward and that should tell you everything you need to know right now.

“I think we had a really good conversation and I was full and frank with him and, in my opinion, the best thing for him was to stay at Aston Villa for another year.” PL Hmmm so a year is a long time but the fact he says only another year kind of goes back to us only expecting him to stay one more season, which makes the extension seem a bit odd.

So is the extension an improved contract/better wages or just and added couple of years?

brought a tear to my japs eye

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/tottenhams-transfer-market-go-slow-blamed-david-2057470? This is how Levy does business, it sounds like he gets into a players head unsettles them and then hopes they and their agents do all the leg work for them, based on that article I can quite see a long period of inactivity followed by a derisory bid. Benteke must have the will of a storm trooper after being so easily led to the dark side. Also I don't hate Spurs as a club, I respect the football they play and AVB, and I appreciate they are in a far better position than us now, but living in London i know many Spurs fans and they are by far the most deluded egotistical bunch of whiners I have ever met, even worse than Geordies and Scousers. Most Arsenal and Chelsea fans I know are level headed football fans, but Spurs fans literally have this undeserved smugness based on nothing and if you get two of them in the same room it is unbearable. Many here will remember how every season their pathetic itk nobs would claim Ash Young was about to sign for them and he never did. They were linked to Downing for years and yet we signed him. That club sput more hot air than a round the world balloon race.

No. You misunderstood me. I think we're doomed. DOOOOOOOOOOMED. AHAHAaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. Doomed. ARRRRRRRRRRRRGGH, i'm leaving for the Ukrane immediately in that case.

And this is what will annoy the hell out of me...Lambert should get at least the profit he makes on Bentakey to re-invest Hey, here's an idea. We could think about maybe waiting to see what does happen and THEN get super worked up over it. Are you saying then that he won't go for at least 10 mil less than he's worth because a Spurs fan or London based horribly Spurs biased media says he will, or that we won't get Jermaine Jenas and a packet of ball bearings for him? You mean to say that Lambert, Faulker and Lerner have got this................. and we may aswell have faith they'll do the right thing for the club? You mean to say that we may actually unearth some more gems in the transfer market and end up actually better off than we were last season and not be completely reliant on one player....... a player that if injured for any significant length of time would mean relegation. You mean to say Lambert and co probably saw this coming and prepared for the worst or at least are setting a plan B in motion now?

He and who?

Was it Bony who we went for before we signed Benteke but his club pulled the deal?

sounds like Castaignos has had more high profile interest although he did get in hot water for spitting at Inter Milan! Internazionale (2011-2012)[edit] After rampant speculation during the January transfer window linking Castaignos with Italian giants Inter,[11] On 4 March 2011, Feyenoord announced that they had agreed to terms withInternazionale, selling Castaignos for a fee believed to be around €3 Million upon the completions of the 2010–2011 season.[12] He featured throughout preseason, most notably scoring the opening goal in a friendly against Celtic on 30 July 2011.[13] He made his competitive debut for Inter in a Supercoppa Italiana, coming on for Joel Obi in a 2–1 loss against Milan, where he played in front of 70,000 people at Beijing National Stadium, Beijing China PR. He made his full league debut in a 3–1 loss against Novara. Castaignos scored his first goal in Serie A in an away match to Siena on 27 November 2011, latching on to Thiago Motta’s through ball before firing low past Brkić, which proved to be the gamewinner.[14] On 17 February 2012 in a 3–0 loss against Bologna, Castaignos was involved in alteration with Andrea Raggi after Castaignos spat on Raggi in the 85th minutes. After Serie A officials reviewed footage of the incident, he was subsequently banned for three matches.[15] His actions caused Inter to immediately move him into a reserve role, scoring twice in three appearances for the reserve squad. In April 2012, Castaignos suffered an hamstring injury, missing out for the rest of the season during a match against Calcio Padova.[16] At the end of the season, Castaignos announced his intention to leave Inter in favor of a 'big club'.[17] Castaignos was linked with Liverpool.[18] Liverpool tried and failed to sign him in the January transfer window.[19] Tottenham Hotspur also displayed interest,[20] as well as West Ham United,[21] Everton,[22] and even including his former club Feyernoord.[23] FC Twente (2012-Present)[edit] On 28 July 2012, Castaignos made his return to the Dutch Eredivisie when FC Twente agreed to terms with Inter Milan for 6 million euros.[24][25] Castaignos was seen as the replacement for the former Twente striker Luuk de Jong, who had been sold to Borussia Monchengladbach. On 12 August 2012, he made his debut, coming on for Dmitri Bulykin in the second half, in a 4–1 win over Groningen. On 26 August 2012, he scored his first goal and set up a goal for Dmitri Bulykin in a 3–1 win over NEC Nijmegen.

Afreo is 24, Luc is 20, both emerging talents in Holland - who have had one or two seasons at the top level, very much Lambert style signings and already have international experience at u21 level with Afreo having played as a senior international. sign em both!

Get rid of ASAP take the money and have faith the club will uncover a new striker that will make us forget the mike Tyson faced ungrateful berk. As a team we over relied on one player, we need to better than that.