coda Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 He is a footballer, not an idiot. Those aren't mutually exclusive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgyknees Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Couple of wingers, a tough tackling midfielder and cover for lb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaCas Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Couple of wingers, a tough tackling midfielder and cover for lb. I can't see us bringing in a LB at all - we've got Bennett, Stevens and Lichaj, Baker and Clark for cover. If we bring in a defender I imagine it will be a CB It also depends what you mean by wingers - if you mean LM and RM then I agree. If you mean out and out wide players I don't think so Agree about commanding CM being needed I think three or four in - CB, CM, 1/2 striker/attacking/ creative midfield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quizme Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Probably a CB (Chester ?), a CM and striker if Bent goes. Thats it I reckon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quizme Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 I've got a feeling we will be in for Liam Trotter from Millwall in January. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SempiternalVillain Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 My brother lives in Japan and is always raving about this 22 years old Japanese attacking midfielder/winger/second striker called Yoichiro Kakitani who is transforming rapidly into a revelation there. A bit Honda like. Youtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villan4Life Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A9o_Baptist%C3%A3o this guy please, has 6.5mil euro buy out clause!! from Guillem Balague: Baptistao will reach double figures in goals and assists and is a very tall striker. He used to play on the beaches of Brazil with Neymar — he’s from the same area. But he didn’t progress and eventually he was brought by an agent to Spain and trialled with different clubs. Finally Rayo gave him the chance and it was tough for him to make it to the first team as he got an injury. This year is his first full season at the club. “His buy-out clause is £6.5m and if you are a wise man and you have that money, go for him. I’m sure Rayo will be happy to get some money for him but he’s going to be a big star so that price is a bargain. "They haven’t approached him but he’s the kind of player that would do marvellously for Liverpool, as well as Swansea, Aston Villa or Everton." Having scored 17 goals in 2011/12 to save Rayo Vallecano’s troubled Spanish La Liga status in their debut season, Michu was always set to leave the minnows of Vallecas. Fans bode no grudges towards their former saviour but felt almost consigned to imminent relegation after staving off the drop by only a matter of seconds just months before. Michu had been the surprise of the season, having joined for free from Celta Vigo the summer before, and stunned La Liga with a stream of goals that ensured Rayo were allowed to tread water for ample time, but the 2012/13 season would be near impossible to endure minus the popular Michu. Now in La Liga, Leo already has 6 goals in 12 games and has targeted even more by the turn of the year! At the rate he’s going, he’ll have scored more than Michu managed, which is quite an achievement for a 20 year old who’d never previously played in a division higher than Spain’s third tier. Combined with his goals are assists. Leo added to the opening minute cross for Piti against Betis with one assist against Osasuna on Saturday and two against Malaga to help Rayo to a historic 2-1 win, Malaga’s first home loss of the season. With four assists for the team this season, Leo’s knowledge of the position is incredible already and has had an impact in 10 of Rayo’s league goals this season. Quite remarkable considering the team has scored just 18 in total. Leo has instantly shaken the Michu hangover from Vallecas and proved himself to be an exciting replacement. Though very similar players playing in an identical position, Leo has shown his generous side by freely setting up goals for team mates whilst Michu favoured personal glory and a shot at goal. The current sultan of Swansea delivered just four assists all last season, and Leo is in a perfect position to surpass him. Whether Leo surpasses Michu’s goals total remains to be seen for a youngster who continues to find his feet. 6 goals in 12 games is incredible but Leo must prove his capability over the entire season – Rayo are counting on him to stave off relegation for another season. No matter how much Rayo received for his services, Michu had proven his value to be irreplaceable – the £2m Swansea paid offered the club little consolation. Finding a player able to surprise teams with clinical finishing for an affordable fee for a second season running was a concept nobody bothered to consider. Leo Baptistao, a raw 19 year old fresh from the third tier of Spanish football, suddenly announced himself with a debut goal and assist to help Rayo to beat Real Betis just days short of his 20th birthday. In just the first minute Leo broke away from the Betis defence and fired in a low cross for Piti to tap in. A dream start for Leo was to improve on the hour mark when he ran into the area, shrugged off a challenge and slotted home to give Rayo their second victory of the season. Little was known of Leo but the attention surrounding him intensified as he scored another against Atletico Madrid. By now the young Brazilian was being deployed in the attacking midfield role Michu had adopted and starred in last season, and the similarities don’t stop there. Skinny and slender, both players are able to head the ball with impressive accuracy and find the net with equal penchant. Most importantly however, the two players are able to surprise their opponents and drift in and out of the game. A spell of three matches without a goal came, including a harrowing 6-1 defeat to newly promoted Valladolid, and the interest waned. Playing for an unfashionable club gave Leo a status in which very few knew of his real ability and potential. Very few knew that he’d been the foil for Neymar prior to his move to the Rayo Vallecano youth setup. Born in Santos, Leo and Neymar were together at Portuguesa Santista as youngsters before Leo flew out to Spain at the age of 16. His life soon curtailed as he contracted hepatitis and returned home to be treated by his family. Once at full health, Leo returned to Spain and began his first full season of professional football as an 18 year old, plying his trade for Rayo’s B team in the Segunda B division. A broken collarbone meant further angst but he returned to score 4 times in 17 appearances, earning a contract with the first team for the new season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxy1 Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 A bit Honda like. Would you like a donut or a meringue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SempiternalVillain Posted December 3, 2012 Share Posted December 3, 2012 Geez.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodigan Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 think CB is going to be a priority, as dunne missing half the season has thrown a real spanner in the works, and is the only area where we really have no cover... also suspect that PL has concerns about lichaj... he'll stick with stevens and bennett, but not sure that he will consider that to be suficient.... think we'll look for a back up striker, but only if bent goes... finally, midfield / wingers is the trickiest one, as we now seem to have a lot of people, but not so much quality... westwood, KEA, delph, bannan, ireland, herd, albrighton, n'zogbia, holman, and then with gabby and weimann also playing out wide... can see him bringing in keane in jan again to fill the hole behind benteke - not sure what his view on ireland is, but i think that generally we are better with him in the team than not... would love a natural winger to swap for weimann, and a stronger midfielder to play alongside westwood. its funny reading the past 15 pages - i remember when we used to buy players whose names we could both pronounce and spell... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnkarl Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Unless they are out of contract or from lower leagues in Britain, we should stay off players from our Isles, we get so much more for our money abroad in Germany, France, Scandinavia and so on. Snap up some good players from the u21 european champs next year. I'll throw a few into the mix; Eikrem, Nordtveit, Asier Illarramendi, Pablo Sarabia, Sebastian Rode, Alexander Esswein. All these players would come fairly cheap, most under 5 million. They've all got bucketloads of potential and are all blooded on the international scene. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jarpie Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Should get more players who are near reaching their best years, we have enough promising players for XI who are still developing. I don't mind at all buying players who promising and are still learning but we need some honed quality as well. Experience isn't necessarely about the age of the player but experience and leadership who can command the field. The problem getting that is to find a player who can become leader in midfield almost instantly and who can hit the ground running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 There's no shafting, it's there player they are entitled to want the money now instead of a year down the line. We didn't get it done and looks like we missed out on a top player. I find it hard to believe that Lambert was happy to fork our £4 million on Lowton and £7 million on Benteke but wanted to take a look at bony for a year before buying. That doesn't seem very likely. What's more likely is Lerner didn't want to spend much more last window and once the tv money increased the following year would then buy the player. All guess work with absolutely no evidence, circumstantial or otherwise, to back it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonic_bouma Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 i thought Ronnie Stam was excellent for Wigan last night and he has been most times ive seen him hard working, pacy and what i love most about him is how direct he is hes always looking to take on a man and drive forward loves getting to the byline and getting a cross in go get him Lambo none of our players know what a touchline or byline is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Maybe they'll be interested in a straight swap taking their donkey back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brumerican Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 none of our players know what a touchline or byline is They seem to find both quite regularly with wayward passes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tayls Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Nordveit and Eikrem would be amazing. Robert Beric? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_John_10 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 All guess work with absolutely no evidence, circumstantial or otherwise, to back it up. Which is exactly the same as the argument defending it. Do you think it's likely that lambert signed who he did but wasn't prepared to pay the money for this player? It was the same during the Vlaar deal. Blindly defending the club who could do no wrong. I wonder why we ended up apologising to the player in the end if we did no wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AvfcRigo82 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 i thought Ronnie Stam was excellent for Wigan last night Jaap's brother? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaN.I Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 I think we could be back in for Dale Stephens from Charlton. Almost joined in the summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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