Who would you buy? (Part 2)

Ayala started in that first home game of 09/10 against Stoke.

Lucky came on last season, yes.

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ibrahim Mbaye?

looked good in afcon and also against france

He is potentially one of the pawns in the Diomande situation. PSG have an excellent front 3, but behind them they have excellent back ups in Barcola, Lee Kang In, and now Mbaye. PSG selling one of those is needed for their interest in Diomande so go through but so creates a knock on situation in the case they do end up landing him.

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It obviously wasn’t ā€œfineā€ as the manager/ Head coach was let go but the events are still within the boundaries of normal business for the club and it is clear that they are still following their processes.

They had a short list of managerial candidates they were in touch with as early as December - I don’t recall Xabi being named as being on there which suggests they were focused as to who they wanted bringing in where they to replace Arne. Andoni was under consideration when the club appointed Arne and now had demonstrably more evidence to support his appointment.

Arne was brought in as the continuity candidate with a view to improving the injury record and possession play. He was given until the summer to show he could right things once they started to go wrong, and he couldn’t. There was nothing there to show that next season would be a significant improvement under him.

what do we think of wilfried Singo? looked good both ways

Perfect for us a he came off injured!

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This little fella impressed me, Christ Inao OulaĆÆ

But it is only one game!

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Only nine to go. :smiling_face_with_sunglasses:

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Is that watching only 9 of his best games?

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Bellgarde
Not as a main winger but as a backup
Has anyone seen much of Bellgarde from Wolves - he’s playing at the world cup for Haiti
Could probably get him very cheap

Apologies for the late reply.
I appreciate that you’ve most certainly seen and digested more on the decisions made by the club than I have but the term ā€œcontinuity candidateā€ is kind of where I struggle.

Yes, Slot was brought in as the best option following Klopp’s departure. All good, I can see that as continuity but he is also tasked with transitioning the squad and competing. He has failed on those two. I think we agree on that.

I’m just uncomfortable with the suggestion that Slots tenure was always going to be a short one. Can we now apply that logic to Iraola as he only has a 2 year contract?

In my eyes we seem to have people making up terms and bending stuff so that it fits the idea of a grand plan when in reality, the shit hit the fan a bit and we’ve had to adjust.

And just to bring this thread back on track a bit. A United supporting work colleague has been trying to convince me that we have gone full United, while they’ve gone to where we were. They’re buying hunger and value with strict wage control, while we’re splashing the cash and busting our wages structure.

Do we need to be looking back at value purchases this summer?

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No, they’re two different scenarios. The club would have identified when appointing Arne that there was a risk of failure given his limited experience so likely offered a 3 year contract, to limit the potential downside should things not work out. Although it is possible that they had their eyes on someone even back then to take over after 3 years regardless of how well he did I think is unlikely. However, the fact they did not offer him an extension last summer suggests that there were still question marks hanging over him.

Andoni always asks for a 2 year contract regardless of club.

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I do think the approach where we went after one or two and didn’t actually get any was the right approach for Slot though maybe it was his downfall as if you flip the seasons it’s a good return and result wise it still is.

It’s why I am wary of anyone advocating throwing the babies out with the bath water approach. There is no doubt some players on the wane while others it was just the season.

I do think a refresh with Iraola is right but I’d be wary of going mad.

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Wolves would probably drive him to us themselves.

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The short answer is no, this isnt what’s happening at all.

First, ā€˜value’ doesnt automatically equate with a low price. Degen was a bust whatever we paid while Mo would have been cheap at twice the price.

Secondly, we’re not spunking fortunes on players like Casemiro at the tail end of their careers. Our wage bill is still relatively restrained - hence why we’re seeing some people leave rather than sign new deals.

Finally our finances have been moving upward while Utd’s has been going the other direction - which is forcing them to spend less and without CL football they’ve been less attractive to the tier of players we are challenging for.

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Exactly so if he“s fit, he“s an extra player for the squad. Morton has had an excellent season in France and has been on loan. Bring him back. Two extra midfielders.

Our team isnt good enough to win the league. We need to develop the team

Morton was sold wasn’t he?

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Morton was SOLD not on loan and the if for Bajcetic is a big IF

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Javi Guerra if Jones were to leave

Ah true he was sold youre right.

Just Bajcetic then and using other youth where possible.

We have to get top quality in and we can“t get that in and improve the squad a lot.