Summer Transfers 2014

[Gnasher]

The eyes of every big club in England, if not Europe, were glued to Southampton when Lallana was playing alongside Walcott, Bale and Oxlaide-Chamberlain in the lower leagues. Don't you think if there was even the slightest hint that he could be as good as you now think he is, they'd have signed him when he was available for buttons?

 

He's either that one in a hundred case of a player who makes a sudden and dramatic improvement in his mid-20's, or he's an extremely common example of a player who has merely hit an exceptionally good run of form, which he's unlikely to maintain in the longterm.

 

I can't think of a worse transfer policy than spunking huge wads of cash on flavour of the month players whose current form (and therefore cost) is far above their career average.

Would you say Fernando Torres has been a better striker these past two seasons than 32 year old Rickie Lambert?

[Lee909]

Plenty of players have developed a little later than others so im not worried about Lallana just about to turn 26. Marcel Dessailly didn't get a international cap till he turned 25. Cafu was 27 by the time he moved to Europe. Drogba was 25 by the time he got his big move, Luca Toni was 26.

[RazorBack]

If there was a possibility between Draxler and Lallana for pretty much the same price, around 25M and both would come here, who'd you pick?

[TheHowieLama]

draxler

[Nightcat]

I was never a big fan of German footballers but yeah, Draxler would be an immense signing.

[Lee909]

Sorry have to neg that.

German footballers are great and ooze class,Lothar Mattheus,Franz Beckenbauer,Matthias Sammer,Didi,Paul Brietner,Mehmet Scholl,Bernd Schuster the list goes on and on

[Russ Atmosphere]

I like Lallana but I'd be horrified to pay Silva money rather than Benayoun money.

[Lee909]

I like Lallana but I'd be horrified to pay Silva money rather than Benayoun money.

 

 

Dont forget the additional 15-20ml you would have to pay Silva over 5 years

[Russ Atmosphere]

Which for Silva would be value, even for our owners.

[TheHowieLama]

I would rather pay the player than the other team tbh.

[Bad Red Bull]

Think most of us agree that Lallana is a good player and would fit in right with Rodger's system but 25mill is atleast 10mill too much and at that quoted price, its a no from me. We can get kono and use the left out money to get a super left back like moreno/ criscito

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

You'd think we, more than any club, would have learnt the hard way how foolish it is to ignore a player's career as a whole and judge them entirely on the current run of form they're in.

 

Class is temporary, form is permanent. Andy Carroll is the future of English football and Daniel Sturridge is a useless, shit cunt who can't get in the Chelsea team.

Yes Sturridge had a world class career before joining us.

[Babb'sBurstNad]

Let's face it, there are no absolute rules to abide by with transfers, other than buy good players. Hindsight usually tells us which were sound.

 

£25m for Lallana is too much, but would anyone be genuinely shocked if another big club bought him for a similar figure and he went on to be a classy mainstay in that side for another five or six years?

[G Richards]

Difficult to say what I'd do with Lallana. He's a good player so if we are in for him, it's easy to see how he would fit into the side and make a good contribution. I'm not as worried about the money.* The powers that be will sort that out. Whether or not he can play is the issue. 

 

* Within reason. If we signed him for 40m to win a bidding war against all comers then that would be foolish. We'd all like the player for 12-15m but that's probably not realistic either. The idea that there is cheaper foreign talent is probably correct, but that is not without its own problems either, as for every Coutinho there is an Aspas/Alberto type ready to come in and disappoint. 

 

I'm fairly relaxed about the window. I think we will add 2-3 good players to go into the team, and another smattering of youngsters with great potential. Brendan will improve all of them and, with the best of the loanees to return too, the whole thing will get stronger and stronger. If we win it this year that will be fantastic. But I'm convinced this season is not a flash in the pan. We are building something here that will last. 

[TheHowieLama]

Let's face it, there are no absolute rules to abide by with transfers, other than buy good players. Hindsight usually tells us which were sound.

 

£25m for Lallana is too much, but would anyone be genuinely shocked if another big club bought him for a similar figure and he went on to be a classy mainstay in that side for another five or six years?

 

If it was Tottenham, then yes, genuinely shocked.

[TheHowieLama]

Wait - apologies - just seen where you said another big club.

[thompsonsnose]

Whoever we sign we need a bit more power in midfield.

I do NOT mean cloggers.

I mean players with energy for pressing, and with a tackle in them.

I mentioned it before, but i think Oxlade would be a great, if unlikely, addition.

[Tyler Durden]

Yes Sturridge had a world class career before joining us.

Well two of the richest teams in the world seen fit to have him on their books

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

Well two of the richest teams in the world seen fit to have him on their books

Did he have a good career?

[Tyler Durden]

In terms of what? Success?

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

In terms of what? Success?

It's a simple question really.

 

I'm not saying we should buy Lallana for 25m, because he's not a 25m player. It has the square root of fuck all to do with his career so far, though.

[Harry Squatter]

We're only doing it so Spurs hijack the deal and pay £30m for him

[J-V]

We're only doing it so Spurs hijack the deal and pay £30m for him

 

We tried that trick with Carrol.

[liverpoolsno9]

Well two of the richest teams in the world seen fit to have him on their books

Well two of the richest teams in the world seen fit to have him on their books

He has a world class career because 2 of the richest teams in the world have him on their books!!!!!!! Is that the definition of World a Class? You fuckin beaut.

[Gnasher]

Well two of the richest teams in the world seen fit to have him on their books

Bizarre way to judge a player. Fernando Torres has played for Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and Chelsea. Rickie Lambert has played for Bristol Rivers, Macclesfield and Southampton. Torres 4 league goals this season, Lambert 14 league goals this season.