The Replacements

[Indy_Bones 441]

The latest rumours doing the rounds are suggesting that both Etuhu and Safri are on their way, for £2 mil and £1.5 mil respectively.So, £3.5 million for them both, why do I seem to be one of the few who think this is great business?The main focus on their potential sales does not appear to be that people are so convinced by their ability they want them to stay, but more regarding who (if any) the club would bring in to replace them.Personally, I don''t think it''s that tough a job.Let''s assume that they do go, I''d be straight on the phone to Leeds taking Jonathan Douglas off their hands, after his fallout with Wise and now being stuck in League 1 he''d jump at the chance to leave Elland Road, and Leeds can hardly claim they don''t need the cash.Next I''d be on my way to Oldham to take Gary McDonald away. Grant and Duffy are both likely to be familiar with him from his games for Kilmarnock, and again he won''t cost the earth.Now for a bit of youth, and off to Man City where free-spending Sven is unlikely to be looking too hard at playing youngster Paul Marshall, who through his good performances for the youth/reserve team earned his first pro contract in the summer, for the right sort of cash we could prise away this promising star from a team likely to be relying on Thailand''s bounty for their first team.Over to Derby, and let''s see if they are willing to cut a deal for Bob Malcolm, has mainly been played in defence for them, but is a far superior defensive midfielder, so if Brellier is injured or we want to play a 5 man midfield, Bob can step up and give us the quality we need. A far better passer than many realise and with the determination to match.Add these 4 to Fozzy, Spillane, Rossi and potentially Croft or Chadwick (both can do a good in the centre) and we have a choice of 8 or so people for the centre, easily enough for our needs. Plus, we''d still likely have a bit of cash leftover to go towards the new centre half we all feel we need.I personally don''t see why there''s such desperation from some to keep Etuhu and Safri. If Etuhu could maintain his consistency and also demonstrated creative passing, I''d be of a different opinion, but he''s not managed it for us or Preston so far, and can we really afford to keep hoping that one day he will? As for Safri, on his day he is a good player, but struggles to play more than 25 games a season and when you''re being offered £1.5 million for a 30 year old, it''s a lot of cash to turn down.We need to realise that the same players that didn''t perform for the last season or two, are unlikely to suddenly do so now. Hence the signings Grant has made. We''re in a period of transition, from the old Worthy era, to the new look Grant era, and part of that change is going to be getting rid of some current players to give new ones a chance. Now we need to keep the ball rolling, and bring in the replacements for Safri and Etuhu and move on.Thoughts?

[ricardo 7,345]

[quote user="Indy_Bones"]The latest rumours doing the rounds are suggesting that both Etuhu and Safri are on their way, for £2 mil and £1.5 mil respectively.

So, £3.5 million for them both, why do I seem to be one of the few who think this is great business?

The main focus on their potential sales does not appear to be that people are so convinced by their ability they want them to stay, but more regarding who (if any) the club would bring in to replace them.Personally, I don''t think it''s that tough a job.

Let''s assume that they do go, I''d be straight on the phone to Leeds taking Jonathan Douglas off their hands, after his fallout with Wise and now being stuck in League 1 he''d jump at the chance to leave Elland Road, and Leeds can hardly claim they don''t need the cash.

Next I''d be on my way to Oldham to take Gary McDonald away. Grant and Duffy are both likely to be familiar with him from his games for Kilmarnock, and again he won''t cost the earth.

Now for a bit of youth, and off to Man City where free-spending Sven is unlikely to be looking too hard at playing youngster Paul Marshall, who through his good performances for the youth/reserve team earned his first pro contract in the summer, for the right sort of cash we could prise away this promising star from a team likely to be relying on Thailand''s bounty for their first team.

Over to Derby, and let''s see if they are willing to cut a deal for Bob Malcolm, has mainly been played in defence for them, but is a far superior defensive midfielder, so if Brellier is injured or we want to play a 5 man midfield, Bob can step up and give us the quality we need. A far better passer than many realise and with the determination to match.

Add these 4 to Fozzy, Spillane, Rossi and potentially Croft or Chadwick (both can do a good in the centre) and we have a choice of 8 or so people for the centre, easily enough for our needs. Plus, we''d still likely have a bit of cash leftover to go towards the new centre half we all feel we need.

I personally don''t see why there''s such desperation from some to keep Etuhu and Safri. If Etuhu could maintain his consistency and also demonstrated creative passing, I''d be of a different opinion, but he''s not managed it for us or Preston so far, and can we really afford to keep hoping that one day he will? As for Safri, on his day he is a good player, but struggles to play more than 25 games a season and when you''re being offered £1.5 million for a 30 year old, it''s a lot of cash to turn down.

We need to realise that the same players that didn''t perform for the last season or two, are unlikely to suddenly do so now. Hence the signings Grant has made. We''re in a period of transition, from the old Worthy era, to the new look Grant era, and part of that change is going to be getting rid of some current players to give new ones a chance. Now we need to keep the ball rolling, and bring in the replacements for Safri and Etuhu and move on.

Thoughts?
[/quote]

You''re not the only one who thinks its good business Indy. The board obviously think the same.

At this rate we will be the richest club in league 1.

Here we are just starting the pre-season games and the whole structure of the team is being torn apart. Never mind about good business Indy, the question you should be asking is does anyone think that this is a total disaster.

 

[Grando 260]

Problem is, how do we know we''ll get anything like that amount for them (at least straight up before add-ons). I''d be amazed if we get more than about 700k for Safri at any rate. At least if we''re going to sell players let''s hope we actually get ridiculous transfer fees - something other clubs (e.g Cardiff and Chopra) always seem to manage...

Plus, players don''t generally fall over themselves to come here, so I''m not that confident we''d get two like-for-like blokes in.

As to the players you suggest I haven''t seen them so can''t comment. Any transfer is a bit of a lottery though, so suddenly having an untested midfield (let''s not forget Brellier may not be the saviour we hope) strikes me as a real worry, particularly this late on...

[Tetteys Jig 830]

Some good points, but i''m fearing another lower table season of transition with all this instability. In hucks, we have the brilliance of a player who can get us out of this league as he has before. He won''t be around for long, and i thought this season we were gonna make a real go at it, and not fanny around selling players who we need. I haven''t got a clue what our budget is, although if we get £3m for Etuhu and Safri, then with what we''ve got, we have plenty of money. I''d like us to go out there and get some real committed players (no, not like hughes, some with ability). Maybe theres still more on it''s way from Eastern Europe, but we should be able to afford Ben Watson and Davenport on loan easily.

Davenport isn''t the best Player, but do you see a better option for us to get? He''ll do well with Shackell Deffo, with Drury, Semmi, Marshall and Brellier around him, and if we can either keep safri and play like the argentines, or bring in someone of Ben Watson''s calibre, we''ll have a decent 1st XI

But then we need backup, i.e, 2 players in each position:

Goalie, sorted

Right Back - Will do for now as we wait and see how semmi fits in and hughes can cover

Left Back - Need a permenant Cover Player here lappin is a left mid and is only an emergency left back

Centre Back - NEED a player in the 1st XI, but in doc, dublin, Spillane, Halliday and Jarvis, have enough in the locker to deal with injuries, but a decent reliable 1st teamer is a must

Right mid - Croft and Chadders are fine, no need there

Left Mid - Hucks and Lappin will do there for now

Centre Mid - Brellier looks solid, but i''m worrired who he will partner, Etuhu and Safri are good enough, but seem to be leaving, Fozzy and Hughes will do as backup, but only that for now until Fozzy proves himself. Not sure if Douglas is good enough, but Ben watson is my choice

Forward - Cureton and Strihavka will do, with Martin, Brown, Dublin and Jarvis in reserve, but i wouldn''t mind loaning a striker with raw pace, as we don''t really have that. Sinclair from chelsea would be brilliant for this. Maybe Bally Smart will suprise us!

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

[quote user="ricardo"]

[quote user="Indy_Bones"]
Thoughts?
[/quote]

You''re not the only one who thinks its good business Indy. The board obviously think the same.

At this rate we will be the richest club in league 1.

Here we are just starting the pre-season games and the whole structure of the team is being torn apart. Never mind about good business Indy, the question you should be asking is does anyone think that this is a total disaster.

 

[/quote]

My only problem is the one part of the team I wouldn''t mind seeing torn apart and replaced - The defense - looks to be remaining fairly intact  [:S]

[Pyro Pete 1,889]

[quote user="Indy_Bones"]I personally don''t see why there''s such desperation from some to keep Etuhu and Safri.  We''re in a period of transition, from the old Worthy era, to the new look Grant era, and part of that change is going to be getting rid of some current players to give new ones a chance. Now we need to keep the ball rolling, and bring in the replacements for Safri and Etuhu and move on.Thoughts?[/quote]I see what you''re saying. But I am thinking that Grant and his staff had no idea that he would be losing Etuhu as well as Safri (if the speculation proves to be true). As a consquence I am assuming that they haven''t got quality replacements lined up. It leaves the club in limbo, and surely messes up Grant''s pre-season planning for the new season.Midfield is the engine room of the team, and one area where you can''t get away with not having strength in depth.

[Dame to Blame 95]

[quote user="Pyro Pete"][quote user="Indy_Bones"]I personally don''t see why there''s such desperation from some to keep Etuhu and Safri.  We''re in a period of transition, from the old Worthy era, to the new look Grant era, and part of that change is going to be getting rid of some current players to give new ones a chance. Now we need to keep the ball rolling, and bring in the replacements for Safri and Etuhu and move on.Thoughts?[/quote]I see what you''re saying. But I am thinking that Grant and his staff had no idea that he would be losing Etuhu as well as Safri (if the speculation proves to be true). As a consquence I am assuming that they haven''t got quality replacements lined up. It leaves the club in limbo, and surely messes up Grant''s pre-season planning for the new season.Midfield is the engine room of the team, and one area where you can''t get away with not having strength in depth.[/quote]That''s what worries me Pyro the fact that they were not banking on losing Dickson and now this has but a serious spanner in the works and will have a negative effect on  team moral  and the fans come to that ,instead of a rocking carrow road first game of the season  it could well be like last season with that awful atmosphere of faliure and mid table mediocrity o dear and i was really looking forward to the new season but this has really put a downer on things.

[albyella 0]

[quote user="barclayendboy"][quote user="Pyro Pete"][quote user="Indy_Bones"]
I personally don''t see why there''s such desperation from some to keep Etuhu and Safri.

 We''re in a period of transition, from the old Worthy era, to the new look Grant era, and part of that change is going to be getting rid of some current players to give new ones a chance. Now we need to keep the ball rolling, and bring in the replacements for Safri and Etuhu and move on.

Thoughts?
[/quote]

I see what you''re saying. But I am thinking that Grant and his staff had no idea that he would be losing Etuhu as well as Safri (if the speculation proves to be true). As a consquence I am assuming that they haven''t got quality replacements lined up. It leaves the club in limbo, and surely messes up Grant''s pre-season planning for the new season.

Midfield is the engine room of the team, and one area where you can''t get away with not having strength in depth.

[/quote]

That''s what worries me Pyro the fact that they were not banking on losing Dickson and now this has but a serious spanner in the works and will have a negative effect on  team moral  and the fans come to that ,instead of a rocking carrow road first game of the season  it could well be like last season with that awful atmosphere of faliure and mid table mediocrity o dear and i was really looking forward to the new season but this has really put a downer on things.
[/quote]

 

Not just that, if PG wasn''t party to this then it undermines him and he will be well hacked off - we don''t know the full story yet, it may be that PG has rubber-stamped this and has plans of his own in that department (in which case we need to see what happens)....if he hasn''t rubber stamped it, then we could be well and truly stuffed..

[Canary in the Forest 0]

Most worrying is that a key insider , Hucks, is so demoralised-there mebbe trouble ahead............................

[Show Me What You Gooot! 0]

I don''t know what to think really.[:|]

On the one hand maybe Grant plans to get rid of them and use the money to buy in something truly special. Who knows what he has in mind. Lets not forget how pleased the majority of us have been with his signings so far, maybe this''ll continue.

On the other hand are we just selling people off because the moneys good enough? Its great having money and making profit on players but moneys only worth anything when it gets spent. OK I have been one of those who thinks splashing out all the cash you''ve got is a dangerous thing to do but then I also don''t want us to spend none of it at all.

Lets just pray that Grant still has a couple of good signings coming in the next 5 weeks, because if Safri and Etuhu do leave we''re going to need even better replacements.

[MightyYellows50 0]

It''s all if''s and buts at the moment, can''t see anything on the official website to say the rumours are true, and maybe what hucks said was a slip of the tongue.  Maybe it wasn''t, but I personally will sit and wait for official word from the Club before making my mind up about what is/has/or hasnt gone on.

[whoareyou? 0]

I have to agree on Dickson and Safri...neither have been good enough to even get us in the top half of the Championship and i cannot see that changing anytine soon. The centre midfield has been woeful these past two seasons.

[norfolkbroadslim 223]

[quote user="Indy_Bones"]The latest rumours doing the rounds are suggesting that both Etuhu and Safri are on their way, for £2 mil and £1.5 mil respectively.

So, £3.5 million for them both, why do I seem to be one of the few who think this is great business?

The main focus on their potential sales does not appear to be that people are so convinced by their ability they want them to stay, but more regarding who (if any) the club would bring in to replace them.Personally, I don''t think it''s that tough a job.

Let''s assume that they do go, I''d be straight on the phone to Leeds taking Jonathan Douglas off their hands, after his fallout with Wise and now being stuck in League 1 he''d jump at the chance to leave Elland Road, and Leeds can hardly claim they don''t need the cash.

Next I''d be on my way to Oldham to take Gary McDonald away. Grant and Duffy are both likely to be familiar with him from his games for Kilmarnock, and again he won''t cost the earth.

Now for a bit of youth, and off to Man City where free-spending Sven is unlikely to be looking too hard at playing youngster Paul Marshall, who through his good performances for the youth/reserve team earned his first pro contract in the summer, for the right sort of cash we could prise away this promising star from a team likely to be relying on Thailand''s bounty for their first team.

Over to Derby, and let''s see if they are willing to cut a deal for Bob Malcolm, has mainly been played in defence for them, but is a far superior defensive midfielder, so if Brellier is injured or we want to play a 5 man midfield, Bob can step up and give us the quality we need. A far better passer than many realise and with the determination to match.

Add these 4 to Fozzy, Spillane, Rossi and potentially Croft or Chadwick (both can do a good in the centre) and we have a choice of 8 or so people for the centre, easily enough for our needs. Plus, we''d still likely have a bit of cash leftover to go towards the new centre half we all feel we need.

I personally don''t see why there''s such desperation from some to keep Etuhu and Safri. If Etuhu could maintain his consistency and also demonstrated creative passing, I''d be of a different opinion, but he''s not managed it for us or Preston so far, and can we really afford to keep hoping that one day he will? As for Safri, on his day he is a good player, but struggles to play more than 25 games a season and when you''re being offered £1.5 million for a 30 year old, it''s a lot of cash to turn down.

We need to realise that the same players that didn''t perform for the last season or two, are unlikely to suddenly do so now. Hence the signings Grant has made. We''re in a period of transition, from the old Worthy era, to the new look Grant era, and part of that change is going to be getting rid of some current players to give new ones a chance. Now we need to keep the ball rolling, and bring in the replacements for Safri and Etuhu and move on.

Thoughts?
[/quote]

 

Ain''t gonna happen, they''ll go, we get some second rate freebie from the highland league or league 2 and some past it has been on loan from the premiership and I am being realistic, we have seen it all before with Norwich.

[Iwan=legend 0]

''Whole structure of the team being torn apart?''

I hardly think so. Safri maybe wasn''t going to get so many games this season with the signing of Brellier, and aprat from the last 5 or 10 games of last season, NO-ONE rated Dickson at all!!!!!! To get money for such an under performer as Etuhu would be a good bit of business......pending the right replacement for the potential we think Dickson might have. He just doesn''t show his ability ofter enough, never has done, even at preston.

Get the Watson guy in.