Big_John_10 Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Because I think he wants to sell the club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suttonpaul Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 I'd think you would be all for it if he keeps 20m for Benteke in his own pocket and sells the club for 20m less Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 I expect it will be another transitional season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_John_10 Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 I'd think you would be all for it if he keeps 20m for Benteke in his own pocket and sells the club for 20m less I'll take that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suttonpaul Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Haha thought you might. 230m it is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_John_10 Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Haha bargain for those billionaires out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P3te Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 I expect it will be another transitional season. It can't be. The third season for any manager is time to shit or get off the pot. I've been quite forgiving towards Lambert and Lerner but that'll change next season. It'll be time to start delivering Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suttonpaul Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Agree Pete. When the budget is balanced which it surely is there are no excuses to stay where we are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smetrov Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Agree Pete. When the budget is balanced which it surely is there are no excuses to stay where we are. What budget ? What Balance ? - Do you mean we show a trading profit in a particular year ? - Or do we take account of all what Lerners put in, since his arrival in 2006, and stay its still showing a loss ? My point is you can use a set of accounts to prove what you want. And lets be clear Lerner is very, very wealthy man - *IF* he wants to give Lambert £40m for players next summer, he can - The fact is, in recent years he hasn't wanted to, thats his choice, but lets be clear here, Lerner needs no green light from the accounts to invest in players if he wants to..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suttonpaul Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Ok lets be clear. That there are no excuses when the books are balanced now, not what he has previously spent. Lets be clear that FFP penalties come into effect this year which means for the last three years we have needed to comply with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MessiWillSignForVilla Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 I think we need just a few players to improve our current first XI, I'd like to see us go into September with something like (This is gonna be a bit long, sorry Also take into account I think Cardiff, Palace and Fulham will go down.): GK's: Guzan - More than good enough to start again next season, the only worry is someone further up the table might want him as I think he's one of the top 6/8 GK's in the league. Steer - Good enough as a back up, but if Guzan does go, he's probably not ready to start. Given - Past it and too much wages, ship out ASAP. New GK - Either a new starter in the unlikely scenario Guzan leaves, or a 3rd choice, I'd be fine with Siegrist being that 3rd choice (if he's still here) Defence: Lowton - Potentially a top RB, but seems to be something going on off the pitch and i can see him being sold. New RB - Need someone to replace Lowton, whether he goes or not, He's not done it this year and needs a natural RB to challenge him. If Lowton does go we need two imo, but it isn't a priority. Vlaar - Definitely keep him, don't think anyone will come sniffing, but we need to wrap him up in cotton wool whenever we can. Okore - Hopefully he can get fit soon and show why we were so excited when he signed, and hopefully he can stay fit next season too. Clark - Good enough to start with Vlaar, not comanding enough to be relied upon as the "senior head" though, keep him as 3rd choice. Baker - Still young and room to improve, but not good enough to be relied upon consistently, should be 4/5th choice. New CB - We need either an experienced CB or young, well rated CB for when Vlaar inevitably gets injured, Hangelaand or Caulker maybe? Bertrand - He makes our defence 10x better, we have to go all out to get him if we can afford it. If not Bertrand, we could do with a new starter. Bennett - I like him, I think he has potential to be decent, but only good enough as a back up for now. Luna - He's been poor this season, and I don't think he'll be good enough for the Premier League, sell him back to Spain. Hutton - Need I say anything? Midfield: Westwood - I think Westwood has the potential to be a very good midfielder, but needs to be played in the right kind of midfield. Delph - One of the only bright sparks this season, a bit erratic at times, but I think he'll be very important for us over the coming seasons. Only worry is if someone tries to buy him, but I think he would stay unless it was Chelsea/Arsenal etc. El Ahmadi - Not great, but would be a good enough back up, he can be relied upon to do well if he starts ~10 games with about 15 sub appearances. Sylla - Was good last year, and I think he was relied upon to be our "enforcer" but he's been shite this year, ship him ASAP. Bacuna - Been doing well recently, but I think he needs to be played in midfield. Good player to have for his versatility and would be a good enough RB back up if we only sign 1. Herd - Not good enough, get rid. Tonev - Not played much this season, and not impressed when he has. I say give him an extra 6 months to see if he improves as his pace could be valuable. Unfortunately it looks like Petrov will never be a good scout. Albrighton - Been doing really well this season, should be given a new contract and more starts, but we need another winger to play him consistently for balance. Gardner - I think he deserves an injury free season to try impress, give him a 12 month contract, but it's last chance saloon. New CM - We need an "enforcer"/ball winner, I think having someone to do the dirty work will help Westwood improve, someone like Medel possibly? New CM - We also need a playmaker, someone who can help break down teams at home, Hoolahan but better. I would also like to see Grealish as the back up here. New Winger - If we play Albrighton more, we need someone who can play on the left to offer balance, someone like Whittingham. N'Zogbia - Too inconsistent for his wages and seemingly disliked by Lambert, get rid. Could be useful if we don't find a buyer though. Attack: Benteke - Would love for him to stay, but think we'll sell him for ~£20m. Agbonlahor - Invaluable to us and vital for our away strategy, but needs to be kept fit too. Weimann - Despite not playing too well this year he's a good player, and every team needs a grafter. Kozak - Done well when he's played, scored some important goals too. If we get another winger we could really do some damage putting crosses onto his head. Helenius - Not seen much of him, but I think he's Benteke's replacement, he's just being given a year to bulk up a bit, rotate him with Kozak. Bowery - A low fee risk that hasn't paid off, get rid. Bent - Too much wages for little return, get rid ASAP. If we don't get rid, could be useful off the bench, at least use him if he's collecting £70k/week. Delfouneso - I don't think he'll make it, let him go. New ST - Could do with a player to replace Benteke and be a bit versatile, someone who could play on the wings too. (Bold = New Signing, Italic = Priority, X-Out = Sell) So roughly £20m on 4 players, and whatever we sell Benteke for on an extra 4 back ups, not too unreasonable. I think with a few good signings in key areas we could challenge for the top 8/10 next season, we need to build a squad now instead of just fleshing out our current one. For me it's make or break for Lambert next season as I think we'll finish where I thought we would in the summer and next season is when the excuses of building a squad on a budget will no longer be acceptable, we should have sorted the wages and we should be able to spend again now. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomaspg Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Id be surprised if we got more than 15m for benteke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P3te Posted February 17, 2014 Author Share Posted February 17, 2014 Id be surprised if we got more than 15m for benteke if that were the case, wed probably hold onto him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomaspg Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Id be surprised if we got more than 15m for benteke if that were the case, wed probably hold onto him I think we should, hes had one really good season, this year hes been a bit soso, he either needs to find his spark and get us another ten goals this season, or a reasonably good one next year before we can look for a 20m or higher fee for him, all imo of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romavillan Posted February 17, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted February 17, 2014 Id be surprised if we got more than 15m for benteke if that were the case, wed probably hold onto him I think we should, hes had one really good season, this year hes been a bit soso, he either needs to find his spark and get us another ten goals this season, or a reasonably good one next year before we can look for a 20m or higher fee for him, all imo of course The biggest factor in this for me is the world cup If Belgium get to the quarters with Benteke scoring a few good goals his value will go through the roof. After the World Cup is silly season and if someone does offer silly money, at this point in the squads development we'd be stupid not to take it. Otherwise we should do our best to keep him. Otherwise, it looks like Carruthers and Grealish are doing well, hopefully Gardner will impress at Wednesday too. We should be looking to get all three involved next year. Grealish can provide the balance on the left when Abrighton plays. Carruthers captained the next gen playing box to box and if Gardner can finally fulfill his potential thats a lot of midfield reinforcement and squad depth added for free. If we can finally get rid of Hutton, Given, Zog and Bent, then our annual £20m kitty would be best spent on a true trequatista/attacking midfielder, Bertrand and if Lowton isn't going to tow the line, a RB of BErtrand's quality. If Benteke goes for silly money, use the silly money to up the quality of the AM signed and get a replacement. That would mean no massive tinkering, only a few new faces and some reinforcements from our academy. It's a bit of a gamble on the academy lads but by buying a proper trequartista/AM then that's someone they can learn from in that role and someone to take the pressure off the young lads' shoulders. Plus, Weimann, Clark, Baker, Delph, Albrighton and Westwood will be a year on in their development too. We just need to get through this season and things shoudl start looking up. A lot of the ugly work has been done, the team is earning £200k less a week as a whole, there's been a massive player turnover. I can't see a repeat of 8 or 9 signings this summer and nor should there be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob182 Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 (edited) Buy Bertrand, a decent CM and a decent AMC. I think that is our minimum requirements, and I would be fairly happy if we brought just those 3 players in (providing we spent £5m+ on each of them, preferably a bit more, if it means they are better players). Guzan GK, Bertrand LB, Okore CB, Vlaar CB, Bacuna (or Lowton) RB, Delph CM, New CM, New AMC. Then 3 'forwards' out of Benteke, Helenius, Weimann, Gabby, Albrighton & Kozak. I'd be happy with that line-up next season (and I hope that Lambert can bring back the Lowton of last season). Edited February 17, 2014 by Rob182 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakid007 Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Bertrand, Chalobah, Redmond and bacuna cam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexicon Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Midfield's the obvious priority here, for me. With no outgoings we should get the usual 15-20mil or so to spend on players - which would mean Bertrand, and a good CAM and CDM. I think Lowton can do a job and while his form has troughed, he and Bacuna will do a job for now. If Benteke goes, that'll make things interesting. As will the inclusion of Carruthers and Grealish, who by the looks of it will almost certainly get a chance next season. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smetrov Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Ok lets be clear. That there are no excuses when the books are balanced now, not what he has previously spent. Lets be clear that FFP penalties come into effect this year which means for the last three years we have needed to comply with it. How does FFP work then ? - so if Randy wants to invest £40m into what is effectively a business - the FA would move in and stop him ? - do you honestly believe that would happen ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MessiWillSignForVilla Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Ok lets be clear. That there are no excuses when the books are balanced now, not what he has previously spent. Lets be clear that FFP penalties come into effect this year which means for the last three years we have needed to comply with it. How does FFP work then ? - so if Randy wants to invest £40m into what is effectively a business - the FA would move in and stop him ? - do you honestly believe that would happen ? They wouldn't stop him, but they'd deduct points off of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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