Elm0

Indeed, I dont feel he offers much more than Johnson at left back, and thats adding in that Johnson is right footed. This also highlights my concerns with the Henderson transfer - I feel its telling that the "lets buy young players whatever the cost" has been abandoned fairly quickly.

So what are the thoughts on our bid for Clichy then?

He was probably just speaking to you on your level. would be delighted with nzogbia personally. Can cut in and adept at staying wide.

then i look silly, but deep down ill be happy because the team is performing *shrug* if im wrong im wrong, ill have no issue admitting that.

naturally. maybe i didnt word my last post right. its not that i dont trust kenny to get the team motivated etc, but the whole situation with the owners still leaves me uneasy. Sure, the signs are promising, but we were here with G&H, especially given that the owners are more (indirectly through Commoli) responsible for the transfers than in the past. Also Swan Red, the deal is borderline abysmal, because of the fee. That doesnt necessarily make Henderson abysmal. Like I said, he'll be a useful squad player.

all ive commented upon is what my thoughts about the value are, specifically related to the fee. Ive never claimed Henderson cant play a squad role here.

It is indeed. I wasnt around for the first time so im not automatically going to consider that. Im also slightly wary given how the previous owners turned out. Im cynical yes, but with good reason in my eyes, because I like to see how things are going to pan out before committing. I see no harm in that.

Without wanting to continue beating the drum, I dont see the need for Dann AND Cahill. If we're after CB's we need a ball playing player.

As a singularity? None. But im hoping I can have some influence. As for your second point, let me ask you this - why should i just trust the new owners and the manager?

Ngog who has played 3 seasons for us, 120 games and 22 goals, as well as the experience of 24 games in europe? £7M is a snip, he was just unfortunate because a) Torres was ahead of him and b) a lot of fans viewed him like they did/do Lucas.

noone is saying these signings have to be english?

Im working on them at the minute actually, hopefully ill hit the big time sooner rather than later. thats an aside though, im not saying i should be managing the club, im just saying its prudent to question things and not follow blindly.

1) The value of the transfer is roughly £20M 2) Jones - 16M. De Gea - first choice for a top 10 side, plus GK is a niche position that cant be used comparatively with outfield players. Walcott - Wasnt £20M 3) No, I dont believe its the right thing to do to just adopt this "in the club we trust" mantra. I think theyre playing a dodgy game by being so willing to pay over the odds for english when there is undoubtedly foreign talent out there for less money.

Yeah its telling that ive been watching the apprentice the "normal" fee doesnt exist as an entity, but to any football fan with an ounce of mathematical ability it should be easy to look at other similar transfers and see how they relate to our own - I guarantee no other transfer involving a player similar to Henderson will touch 20M. 500k is being very glib, because ive always been talkint in the order of millions. <Snip> Tony had his post removed. Please don't resort to personal insults and the like also. Ta.

As I pointed out previously, this assumes its buy or not buy, and ignores the possibility of a middle ground.

im talking about market value, and youre seemingly talking about worth. you may argue that people are at a market value of what people are willing to pay, but i would argue that it has to be measured against the price we could bring in other players of Hendersons ilk from elsewhere. Theyd cost less.

Its just being reasonable about things. Obviously 500k is being glib and it doesnt really matter, but paying £5-10M+ on top of the normal fee doesnt represent value in my eyes. I could understand it if it were for experienced proven players, but its not. Theres also things like moneyball to consider, like sell on. We'll never ever sell either of these young buys for more than we paid.

Mata is available. Valencia are looking to clear more debts.

Mata Gago/Diarra/Banega Enrique All available. My point isnt that we need specific players. Its that we need value. A list doesnt truly represent my view.

Naturally, but that was my intention. Theres only so much blinkered attitude one man can take before he decides to have a bit of fun. Very happy to leave it as it is though, and accept everyones apologies and all be friends.

Yeah im not a troll, I just happen to have the opposite opinion to everyone else.

nonsense, because i rate jones > henderson. and hes costing less i believe.

well any time i question these big fees im told its because we moved quickly to stop a bidding war. why didnt we do the same for jones and just outbid utd? its one rule for people that sign the dotted line and another for players we miss out on, because people are clambering desperately to any sort of justification for these signings. Also, the names dont matter. Value does. if that were true then why did we overpay on henderson when we couldve went abroad?

Jones would probably play a lot more games than Henderson will, and at a higher standard of quality as well.