Realistic transfer targets for the off season.

[Dark Savante]

Ok, I'm thinking since Glazer took over we should not see ourselves as major players in the transfer market anymore. Whatever we do now has huge reprecussions and I'm sure bidding wars are not something we want to be taking part in wherever possible.

I think this leaves us looking at players from teams who have not been so succesful this season...or, those who are already in debt. This means relegated teams and teams who fell below expectation(failed to reach CL or qualify for Europe) Players from teams that are on the up would cost more than we can spare and even if we do go in for one it would take almost all of our transfer budget to land one...is that wise? The other alternative is those players that could come in on free transfers for a 'small' (relative to buying players for full wack) sign on fee and wages.

I'm talking about teams like:

Southampton - relegated.. Anti Niemi
Man Citeh - not in Europe...SWP
Deportivo La Coruna - Not in Europe..Andrade
Valencia - did not qualify for CL - Vicente, Baraja, Ayala,
B.Dortmund - In debt, out of Europe - Rosicky, C.Metzelder
Roma - In debt, out of Europe - De Rossi, Mancini
PSG - not in Europe - Jerme Rothen
Newcastle - not in Europe - Given

Players that can come in on Free Transfers:

Figo, Ze Roberto, Edu(arse) etc.

There are many more but I think the chances of us getting players from top clubs or clubs that have been successful this year is remote. Our financial situation is a joke...all this 100m over 4years...is rubbish..it's just more debt..I don't see us getting any big names in this Summer. Definitely not a Joaquin or an Essien, probably not an SWP either.

If you had to realistically plan for 3-4 players this window from unsuccessful clubs or from disgruntled or older players... who would you go for? If you do mention top name players...please, give them realistic evaluations.. Essien £18m+ Joaquin £20m+ etc..

If you had to scout Europe or other markets for talent good enough to enhance us next season who wouldn't take our entire summer budget in one fell swoop, who would you go for? Woudl you gamble on 1or 2 of the best quality players and risk them not being injured or, would you try and filter the money and buy 4-5 lesser quality players?

Am I wrong btw? Do you think we can still go in for the very best players?

[johno]

De Jong of Ajax should be on that list... Bhoularouz perhaps as well... Castelan and Nolberto Solano might be on my list too...

If Vicente qualifies as realistic then almost anyone does. Marquez would be the top player on my list if we could get him... not too expensive, but very very good and also quite versatile... we'd probably have to send an EU defender to Barca though... O'Shea, Silvestre or Brown might all fit the bill, although i'd rather hold on to Brown.

[Dark Savante]

De Jong of Ajax should be on that list... Bhoularouz perhaps as well... Castelan and Nolberto Solano might be on my list too...

If Vicente qualifies as realistic then almost anyone does. Marquez would be the top player on my list if we could get him... not too expensive, but very very good and also quite versatile... we'd probably have to send an EU defender to Barca though... O'Shea, Silvestre or Brown might all fit the bill, although i'd rather hold on to Brown.
Good shout on the Ajax boys johno. I'm not up to date on certain players and their contracts Sneijder would be another one. If we are sharp, we should do just fine this Summer. I'll be amazed if we see an Essien here.

[johno]

Damnit... you've gone and jinxed it... I was hoping no one would mention wesley... he's got great potential.. but he's already creative with a nice range of passing and freekicks... he can also play LM RM or CM which is a bonus... he'd be a upgrade on Fletcher (in certain situations) a replacement for Scholes and a backup for both Giggs and Ronaldo.

[Vermont Red]

Johno, with an eye towards the future, would a Fletch and Wesley central midfield work or would it be too lightweight?

[johno]

Johno, with an eye towards the future, would a Fletch and Wesley central midfield work or would it be too lightweight?

it might be a little on the light side, but if Giggs were to be replaced with Ze Roberto (a hard working tough tackling leftwinger) we would be alright... also if Fletch beefed up a bit I would see no problem with it in the future... the thing is... Fletcher's tackling percentage is very good... I'd actually like to see him play with Scholes or Kleberson as his partner in a friendly and see how he handles the role as midfield anchor. Fletcher might be our next great CM... and another player with similar qualities... say a David Jones might be his partner... 2 hardworkers who are both good in attack as well as defense might be our new strategy in midfield...

[Vermont Red]

I couldn't agree with your more and, if it were up to me, I would look to replace Keane with two balanced midfielders who complement eachother.

I'm embarrassed that I forgot about Klebs. Try this on for size: a Milan-type formation with Fletch, Klebs and someone else playing behind Rooney, Ronaldo and Ruud. Klebs as Pirlo, Fletch and the other guy as Rhino and Seedorf.

[listen_up_fergie]

B.Dortmund - In debt, out of Europe - Rosicky, C.Metzelder


Speaking of Dortmund, they apparently have some very promising youngsters in their youth squad. I'm sure we would be able to nick a couple of them, Rossi-style. ;)

[Ronaldo07]

i'd add van der vaart to that list, even though it seems hes going to hamburg, we could try to get him on the cheap. robinson could be realistic too. i don't care if its realistic ot not, if we identify a player to replace keane, we should do everything to get him.

[bigtoga]

Am I wrong btw? Do you think we can still go in for the very best players?I say no - too much turmoil, negative publicity and too little trasnfer funds to attract the "very best players." Thread here (http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=200726)

Jose Says Parker Can Go (http://skysports.planetfootball.com/list.asp?hlid=280365&lid=2&cpid=8&title=Jose+will+let+Parker+go&channel=Football_Home) - I think Scott Parker would be a nice pickup. We could sell Klebs to Corinthians, and Miller to a local semi-pro league and have Parker replace them both.

[Mac_Howard]

I was wondering about Parker too. He's played only 4 Premiership games for Chelsea this season and clearly isn't in Mourinho's plans. I've not seen too much of him and am not sure if he's the quality we need or if he's any better than our current CM backups but he certainly fits in where we need players and neither his fee nor his wages should be too much for our new status as paupers of the Premiership ;)
.

[Prawn Sandwich]

I was wondering about Parker too. He's played only 4 Premiership games for Chelsea this season and clearly isn't in Mourinho's plans. I've not seen too much of him and am not sure if he's the quality we need or if he's any better than our current CM backups but he certainly fits in where we need players and neither his fee nor his wages should be too much for our new status as paupers of the Premiership ;)
.
Stick me down for Vicente or SWP, De Jong and Kameni or Frey (with maybe a CB as well - Milito?).

If we're smart with clearing out some of the surplus squad and cash in/player swap Saha then the above is attainable with the budget we have....

[Motterman]

I'll just say that I think that Sir Alex doesn't even know what our transfer budget is for this summer yet. When he comes back from holiday, I think he'll have a chat with "the leprechaun of evil's devil spawn" and Gill and identify his targets for Gill to go after this summer. I'd be surprised if anything other than takeover related fluff comes out of Old Trafford for about a month....

With what happened yesterday, and knowing Sir Alex's feelings about Liverpool, hopefully that will provide some impetus to get some things done this summer.

[Dark Savante]

I'll say honestly this is the most concerned I've been about the team since childhood (flashback of Liverpool glory... :( ) They are massively in the ascendancy after yesterday...they are going to make SO much money it is unreal...watch out for DVD's priced at £20 or £30 of 'the best CL final of all time' fly off the shelves..and merchandising out the ears..not to mention all the new found glory hunters they collected yesterday.... they are going to make a TON of money from that game.

We really need to pull our fingers out...A season behind Liverpool would be unbearable. :(

We have to get our house in order otherwise the Glazer era is going to hit home in an even worse way then I had imagined. and that was pretty horrific.

[johno]

I was wondering about Parker too. He's played only 4 Premiership games for Chelsea this season and clearly isn't in Mourinho's plans. I've not seen too much of him and am not sure if he's the quality we need or if he's any better than our current CM backups but he certainly fits in where we need players and neither his fee nor his wages should be too much for our new status as paupers of the Premiership ;)
.

The only problem I've got w/ Parker is that he's similar to Fletcher... in that he wont be our playmaker and he wont really be our dm... worth a shot if he's cheap though. I think Totenham are after him.

[Kavster]

I believe Everton are front-runners for his signature as they have already qualified for the CL. I think that if we go in for him, his price will inevitably inflate (Man Utd tax ;)) and that might even eliminate Everton's interest in him.

In addition, would we be satisfied with having a Chelski reject as a potential 1st team player at Utd? :o

[Dark Savante]

Agree with Kavster about Parker he'd cost us loads. But I'd gladly take the 'reject' out of Gallas and Carvalho for our 1sr team :p

[Dark Savante]

I say no - too much turmoil, negative publicity and too little trasnfer funds to attract the "very best players." Thread here (http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=200726)

Jose Says Parker Can Go (http://skysports.planetfootball.com/list.asp?hlid=280365&lid=2&cpid=8&title=Jose+will+let+Parker+go&channel=Football_Home) - I think Scott Parker would be a nice pickup. We could sell Klebs to Corinthians, and Miller to a local semi-pro league and have Parker replace them both.
Thw thing with players, unless local to the area of the club or truly in love with the club, is that they are mercenary in nature. They'd take what they are owed even if it hurt the club...look at Leeds & Sheff Wednesday. So players who come here wouldn't be fussed about all this 'Glazer nonsense' as long as they got paid...hell, there is even a rumour that Rio was holding out because of info on Glazer taking over the club (new owners saying yes to his demands) and that could be the case.

I just don't think we can afford the big buys who are on the up and have to be very wily in the transfer market for players and clubs in a worse predicement then we are...the nature of the beast I'm afraid :(

[johno]

I don't think there's any chance of us getting Gallas... and really, although I'd love Chivu or another great cb... we can really make do w/ our defense... we might even make do without a Keane replacement... What I am most interested in is making our bench and squad players better this season... We need Klebs to be healthy and Saha if he stays... we also need a Winger... I think the winger could be safely had this season... one who plays both wings would be nice. THe only reason I'm saying hold off on the Keane replacement is because I dont see us getting value for money this transfer window... we wont get Mascherano or Essien and almost anyone else would cost us bundles...

[Motterman]

I'd prefer somebody British, Irish, or Dutch as our new "hardman" in the middle.

Whomever that might be, I don't have any idea yet....