BOF Posted September 2, 2008 Moderator Share Posted September 2, 2008 From 1 to 10, tell us how successful you think our summer transfer window was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sellbydate Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 eight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyClarke Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 8 which is probably slightly ungrateful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted September 2, 2008 VT Supporter Share Posted September 2, 2008 8. Another striker would have seen a 9, a genuinely good striker a 10. Although tbh I cant really complain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark8691 Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 8 for me.. If only we had signed Robinho... I might have given us a 6 then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoonman Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 i think milner was a class buy and i'm pleased for him and for villa. but looking at the big names flying about i do hope we can land some kind of amazing striker in the next window. carew and gabby will be fine.. but i want to see more competition for places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncy_chris Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 8/10 Positives: Good, solid signings... We broke our transfer record for a decent player who may become very good. We improved the defence with a bit of quality (Cuellar/Friedel) whilst also addressing the full back issue reasonably well. Sidwell is a decent addition and will provide competition for NRC/Petrov. Best transfer deal was keeping Barry at the club. For me, the downsides were we could have done better than L.Young for £6m. Milner also seemed very pricey. Also, no new striker which may bite us in the ass. And no real 'wow' signing. None of our signings would have made other teams look up and take much notice. But that's not MONs style. I just hope Man City and Tottenham's stock piles of cash don't blow us out the race to break top 4 now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark8691 Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Also, no new striker which may bite us in the ass. Yea...thats my worry too. Very light up front and no competition for Carew & Gabby no matter how they play.. Defintely the nex item on the agenda! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ponky Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 I would have given 8 but subtract 1 for selling Maloney. Maloney was our back-up striker, like-for-like replacement for Ashley Young, and our next most creative player after Ash. It worries me slightly what we are going to do when Ashley is being rested, suspended or god forbid injured. Milner on left and Routledge on right? I guess the potential silver lining in all this is that it will create some opportunities for kids like Delfouneso, Stieber and possibly even a kid like Sam Williams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philosopher Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Pleased with the window. We signed 7 players (because as far as I am concerned Davies was our player since last summer), which was the number I was expecting, and felt we needed as a minimum to push on and maybe put together a challenge to 4th. I do feel that we need right back cover and a top class striker would have topped things off nicely for me, but I am happy with what we have. Also while I think Milner is an excellent player, I would've preferred a more cultured and creative winger. I still have doubts about our ability to unlock stubborn, well organised teams that defend in numbers. As we didn't get the creative winger I was hoping for, it made me want a quality striker even more, however the type of player I would've liked to see is a link striker, someone who can pick a pass, link the play nicely, and pull defenders out of position with clever movement. This would've offered us an extra 'dimension' to add to our current, pacy counter attacking style. However we have definitely improved and now we are only missing a real creative attacking force in midfield/attack. Ashley is fantastic but he is no Elano, Rooney, Berbertov, Kaka type that would take us from possible 4th place contenders to a definite 4th place contender, also a proper holding player would be nice. Also I think the reason MON didn't sign a decent striker to provide competition for place was because of young Delfounso's potential. For me it was top top quality or forget it. So in January I expect another striker and maybe a right back. However I am hoping young Delfounso shows enough promise to negate the need for another striker. Next summer I expect a real creative attacker/attacking midfielder if we are to continue to progress. Just about an 8 as it would be unfair to expect any more really. Randy's rich but he is no oil baron. Edited because I never put my rating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevonIsAPlaceOnEarth Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 I went 9, we kept all the vital players and filled the gaps with genuine quality. A striker would have made it a perfect 10, but i would never have imagined us spending nearly £50mil in one window. Very pleased with what we have now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QldVilla Posted September 2, 2008 VT Supporter Share Posted September 2, 2008 I went with 7, we definately improved the quality of the squad, Milner will improve our attacking options, but still believe we are 3-4 quality players short of being a Top 4 team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBGB Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Eight. Maybe that's a touch high, but we've filled the main problem positions and have added to the squad. Three truly excellent signings in Friedel, Cuellar, and Milner IMO. Like everyone else's said, a striker to push our usual front pair would have been good, but it's been a very good transfer window overall. Oh, and we held on to Barry. With that, we have sent out a very strong message. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtsimonw Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 8 for me. 9: We'd have needed depth in certain places. We have no natural RB or LB backup, even if one is due to an injury, even a loan signing of an LB until christmas would have been good. So a backup RB, LB and a decent striker would have made it a 9. 10: As above, except a very good striker as opposed to just a decent backup. Still a superb transfer window. Well done, MON. He put the doubters to bed this summer I hope! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Hmm I think it's an 8 for me (7.5 if it was an option). We've filled the positions we needed to and in the case of Cuellar, Davies and Friedel done so with top quality. However, I'll need convincing that the other signings are of the quality we need to get to where we want to be. For some reason I can't quite get in on the seemingly universal joy over Milner but I'm particularly unsure about the new full backs. I can't say for certain, but there would surely have been better options than Shorey and Young out there. I find it hard to believe that the latter is the culmination of our two year search for a RB. The lack of activity on a busy deadline day was disappointing, mainly due to the lack of a striker. I'd love to have these reservations rammed back down my throat over the course of the season though, and I'm pretty sure that they will be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markavfc40 Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 I've gone for 8. I'm more than satisfied with the business we have done. We have decent cover in all positions now ( I am aware that at RB and LB if we have injuries it will mean playing Gardner/Reo right back or Barry LB until Bouma is back ). In goal we now have a very good experienced keeper with a young understudy and a good third keeper in Taylor. Good first choice RB/LB with adequete cover for now ( as mentioned above ). Centre back should be a three way tussle between Laursen, Davies and Cuellar to start the majority of games and Knight for all his detractors is a good back-up. Centre mid is where we are really blessed with any two from Barry, Reo, Petrov, Sidwell, Gardner. I also see Salifou and Osbourne being ok against lesser teams in cup games. Out wide we have Young and Milner with Routledge seeming to gain in confidence every time I see him. Up front is my only worry if we get injuries as I don't see Harewood as being consistant enough to start too many consecutive league games and Defouneso is too young/inexperienced to be relied upon. I'm also hopeful that the odd gem from the youth system will come through and make a mark on the first team. I think the squad still allows for a chance to be given to one or two youngsters which I see as a positive. On the whole I am therefore happy. A new striker would have polished it all off but we are a work in progress and I am sure that one will come either in January or next summer and I'm willing to wait as I think it'll be worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NibblyPig Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 The success of the transfer window can only accurately be judged come May (or come what may?). In previous transfer windows, a lot of posters criticized Martin O'Neill for his lack of activity, or his sloth-like approach, or his poor choices. I, along with some others, defended him claiming that you cannot divorce a transfer window from the performance on the pitch. You can buy very few players, and players who are not deemed "shit" by some supporters, but if you're scoring the goals, winning the games, and finishing up in the UEFA Cup, you're probably doing something right. Now that we have spent 40m quid and there are claims that the transfer window is a success, I offer the same advice: we should not divorce the transfer window from the performance on the pitch. You cannot judge a transfer window simply by looking at how many players were bought and what the names were. If our higher profile signings turn out to be rubbish in the claret and blue, or disrupt team spirit, and we consequently fall down the table, then the manager's transfers will not have been good. If the players gel and we turn out to be world beaters and we continue to improve, then that would be bloody marvellous! Viewing a transfer window in isolation and judging a manager's performance based purely on who they buy and sell is not necessarily all that wise. Transfer activity is just part of the package we have got with Martin O'Neill... and by God aren't we damn lucky to have him!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irish_Villain Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 7 for me. Happy with the signings we made but i'm taking points off mainly for the fact we sold Maloney and to make matters worse didn't buy a striker, also none of the signings we got have got my pulse racing. So lack of a striker and no exciting players signed are downfalls for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozyFresh Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Im over the moon with the signings, so im going to be the only one to say 10. I've been a big fan of Luke Young and James Milner for a long time, so i would have done the same. Brad Friedel, could we have got anyone better! Brad Guzan, U.S.A no.1. and only 22 years old. Nicky Shorey, capped for england last season, cant be bad. Steve Sidwell, jose mourinho rated him and was a key part of Readings success. Curtis Davies, deffinatly not a pub team player. Carlos Cuellar, he was fantastic last season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozyFresh Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Adding to that, i think its a miricle we kept Barry (the key man). I agree about Maloney, he's a great player. But he and MON just did'nt get along, also looking at things now would have found it hard getting in the team because the competion in midfield is so fierce. It looks like there's gonna be a profit made from that sale and i'd swap James Milner for him anyday. But then again he can also play up front, so may have been that extra striker needed. Maybe MON just wants to give Delfouneso his chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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