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It's Character Forming

Transfer activity - our rivals

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Haven''t found any overview of transfer dealings so far.  I am impressed with our signings, definitely RVW and Fer are at a level above the players we would have been looking for last summer.  But with the extra money going to everyone, I''m conscious we need to up our level just to "keep up with the Joneses".  So, based on literally minutes of research on the BBC football website, this is what has gone on so far around the Prem.  Starting at the bottom, alphabet-wise.  N.B. I''m ignoring players moving out (unless I think it''s interesting) and also I''m ignoring loan deals that are renewed or were effectively a permanent move at the start like Garrido.  So for comparision with the following, I''d count City as having brought in RVW, Fer and Redmond this transfer window. 

West Ham - signed Andy Carroll for £15m.  Bid £14.5m for Negredo at Sevilla, rejected.  Otherwise they''ve bought a Spanish keeper called Adrian and a full-back called Whitehead from Stockport.

 

West Brom - Signed Anelka.  That''s it, except that they have a player called Brown who started a game for them last year age 16 and has been taken by Chelsea, sounds like the fee is going to a tribunal.

 

Spurs - have bought Paulinho from Corinthians for £17m, that''s it so far.

 

Swansea - have bought Shelvey from Liverpool for £5m and Bony from Vitesse Arnhem for £12m, also Pozuelo from Real Betis (undisclosed) and Amat, a defender from Espanol for £2.5m.  Plus they''ve signed a couple of teenagers including a 17 year old goalkeeper.  Looks like Laudrup continues to mine his contacts for signings, you wouldn''t bet against him doing well.

 

More later, otherwise feel free to contribute in the usual way...

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[quote user="Its Character Forming"]

 So for comparision with the following, I''d count City as having brought in RVW, Fer and Redmond this transfer window. 

[/quote]Why omit Olsson?

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ICF wrote - "Haven''t found any overview of transfer dealings so far."

Presume you mean on this forum as lots of sites have overviews;

http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/news/news/2013-14/jun/summer-transfers-2013-ins-and-outs.html

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It''s never about who you sign but how they fit your system, your club and how they fit the current team. QPR & Pompy are examples of money can''t buy you success.

 

I believe that all the players in so far will push our current 11 and will add to the quality, most being happy to pull on the yellow shirt. Not just the big wages ala Wanyama.

 

Villa have impressed me as much as it pains to say, they have added quality young players to a good young side. funny that we are now seen in the same light as Villa.

 

We have signed some good player and that''s why I hope we don''t go after this old  Quagliarella bloke, big money high wages and might just upset the team moral. Hooper would fit Norwich better.

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[quote user="Indy"]

We have signed some good player and that''s why I hope we don''t go after this old  Quagliarella bloke, big money high wages and might just upset the team moral. Hooper would fit Norwich better.

[/quote]

 

I don''t get this comment at all - whilst it is true that £6m - £7m is a lot for a 30 year old the player is clearly worth that much as he is a truely excellent player, an Italian international and played more than a few games for the Italian Champions. Aruna Kone is of similar age and he cost £5m, if you want to bring in quality, especially up front, then it will cost serious money. He is currently on 2.1m Euros a year, that isn''t that much more than Holty was on at Norwich and how anyone can say he would ''upset team moral'' anymore than Olsson, Wolfswinkel, Redmond, Fer, Hooper or any other player Norwich might sign is baffling - unless you know all those people of course and can vouch for their characters - if not I would be tempted to say you were making an assumption based of a lazy stereotype about Italian players...

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[quote user="Indy"]

It''s never about who you sign but how they fit your system, your club and how they fit the current team. QPR & Pompy are examples of money can''t buy you success.

 

I believe that all the players in so far will push our current 11 and will add to the quality, most being happy to pull on the yellow shirt. Not just the big wages ala Wanyama.

 

Villa have impressed me as much as it pains to say, they have added quality young players to a good young side. funny that we are now seen in the same light as Villa.

 

We have signed some good player and that''s why I hope we don''t go after this old  Quagliarella bloke, big money high wages and might just upset the team moral. Hooper would fit Norwich better.

[/quote]

 

Interesting take. My Villa supporting buddies are not happy! They think they are a shoo-in for bottom 5 if they don''t pick up some genuine quality. They were expecting to stay up last season and then push on and now find themselves signing the same kind of players they signed last year. Less than everyone else around them too!

 

What you say about Quagliarella needs explaining too. And the Hooper fitting us better remark. Premier League side with big ambition sign (a) 5th top scorer in last years SPL or (b) Serie A, Champions League and Italy International goalscorer (two years younger than the talismanic Striker they have just sold). Still think Hooper fits better..? Really..?

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Sorry to OP for taking this slightly off-topic, but I really don''t get the negativity from some surrounding Quagliarella.

He''s an outstanding player and a huge upgrade on Hoolahan if that is the role that he''s being earmarked for. Yes he''s 30, but still has at least another three years minimum of playing at the top level. His game isn''t based on pace otherwise I''d tend to agree that this probably wouldn''t be the smartest move for the long term.

Me being Italian I''ve seen a hell of a lot of Italian football in my time and know quite a lot about him. He was brought to Juve as a kind of replacement to Del Piero, to kind of take over the role during the latter''s decline. Granted he''s not in the same league as Del Piero, but his playing style is very similar. Unfortunately for him, Conte had other ideas and brought in Pirlo the following summer to become the main creative force of the team. Joined by the likes of Marchisio and Vidal in midfield, that calssic number 10 role has pretty much become redundant at Juve.

Anyone that''s watched Quagliarella play in more than a couple of games can see just what a talented player he is. He''s got fantastic technique, has a great strike rate for a classic number 10 (just look at the great Del Piero''s strike rate and compare them) and most importantly, he''s always been a grafter and works hard for the team. He''s not a big time charlie. During the 2010 World Cup, Italy was crying out for Quagliarella to be started because the team lacked imagination, creativity and any kind of spark. When he was introduced, the impact was clear for everyone to see and he also scored arguably the goal of the tournament against Slovakia.

Unfortunately for him, Juve have splashed the cash over the past two summers and no longer need him as he doesn''t fit in with their new direction, hence why he was consigned to more of an impact ''supersub'' role and has now become available. I think even at the rumoured 6/7 mill he''d be well worth the risk purely for the experience and creativity he''d bring to the team. He''d fit in to the work ethic and certainly doesn''t command big wages unlike many other players of his ilk. The only problem I could envisage is that he may not necessarily adapt to the English game, having spent his career playing in Italy. But then we could say that about any of our other foreign imports. If Hughton wants to continue with the 1 up top policy, then Quagliarella would be ideal to play in behind RVW.

Again, sorry to digress, but just thought I''d but my two pennies-worth in. I know some won''t agree, but that''s just my opinion on the matter.

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Thanks to Joanna Grey, I just hadn''t found that useful overview, good link, which I''ll use shamelessly from now on.  Can''t quote it due to non-matching quote blocks.

Answering the other posters'' comments above

- I forgot Ollson because, well, I forgot.  Forgot Nash too, soz.

- I included Spurs as they''re in the Prem and thought it would be interesting to look at what all Prem teams are doing, I''d just got up to Swansea so far alphabetically.

- didn''t mention Lukaku going from WBA as I''m just talking about players coming in and interesting departures, Lukaku is old news.

Anyway going on :

 

Sunderland - 7 players in.  Di Canio obviously wanting to put his stamp on the squad while he has the chance. Cabral (Basle) Modibo Diakite (Lazio) Valentin Roberge (Maritimo) David Moberg Karlsson (IFK Goteborg) Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar) El Hadji Ba (Le Havre).  No idea about any of these players.

 

Stoke - Pieters in from PSV, 3.6m euros, and Muniesa from Barcelona.  Interesting to see Stoke sign a player from Barcelona.

 

Southampton - Lovren, Wanyama in.

 

Newcastle - Kemen in.

 

Man U - only Varela in from Penarol, David Moyes looking at the players in training before deciding where he wants to make changes ?

 

Man C - Fernandinho in from Donetsk and Navas from Sevilla, plus quite a few players released, the new manager again wanting time to decide on the acquisitions he wants ?

 

Liverpool - Kolo Toure from Man C, Alberto from Sevilla, Aspas from Celta Vigo, Mignolet from Sunderland.  I read their (relatively) new US owners want to apply the "Moneyball" approach to football, be interesting to see how that one works out for them.


Anyway, H to A in a later post when I have time.  Keep the interesting responses coming guys. 

 

 

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Right here goes for my response on young hungry players who have to prove themselves at this PL level or an Itlalian who at 30 is pushing on towards the end of his career and at an estimated 8 million, really over priced for a club of our status.

 

At 24 Hooper (I''m not Hoopers greatest fan) is a far better fit to our club, full of good young players who have exceeded our expectations over the last two seasons.

 

I''m not sure this is the right way to go about things, a little QPR like in my book, signing Quagliarella.

 

But that''s just my opinion, no more, no better than anyone else.

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On a side note, I''m sure for 8 million we could get young Kadlec from Sparta Prague, touted as the next Rosicky.

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With the exception of Man City I''d say we have made the most impressive signings in the league by some distance.

Of course there''s a long way to go until the window closes, and most transfers will take place in the final week. But a few clubs will have to make some remarkable signings to overtake us.

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Moving on :

 

Hull - George Boyd (Peterborough United) Maynor Figueroa (Wigan Athletic) Curtis Davies (Birmingham City) Ahmed Elmohamady (Sunderland) Allan McGregor (Besiktas).  I can understand why everyone wrote us off in the Prem a couple of years back, because I assume Hull are going to struggle looking at these signings, but really I have no idea how good they are now.

 

Fulham - Derek Boateng (FC Dnipro) Free Fernando Amorebieta (Athletic Bilbao) Free Maarten Stekelenburg (AS Roma) Undisclosed.  Be interesting to see how much their new owner decides to add to the transfer kitty.

 

 Everton - couple of Wigan players in plus Robles from Athletico Madrid and a loan from Barcelona.  I guess it depends on whether they lose Fellaini & Baines, and does Martinez get any decent new players in.  At the moment you''d be worried as an Everton fan.

 

Crystal Palace - Dobbie, Gayle and Jerome Thomas in.  See Hull.  After we were promoted, one of the jibes that summer was that Lambert had put together the Championship-winning team for 12/13.  Although Palace may not be up to that level yet...

 

Chelsea - Van Ginkel and Schurrle in plus Schwarzer from Fulham.  I assume Jose has a fair bit more spending to do this summer.

 

Cardiff. - Cornelius from Copenhagen.  That''s it.  Not exactly out of the blocks, are they ? 

 

Villa - not going to bother as their 5 signings have been widely mentioned on here.  I think Villa fans will worry if they don''t get more quality in, especially as Benteke is wanting to leave.

 

Arsenal - Sanogo in from Auxerre on a free.  The owner says they have plenty to spend.  Will Wenger change his habits ?  If not, I wonder if they''ll do any better this season given the changes at Man U and Man C, never mind Chelsea.  How long will their owner be willing to accept competing with Spurs for 4th place and a modest performance in the CL ?

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[quote user="Francesco Volpe"]Sorry to OP for taking this slightly off-topic, but I really don''t get the negativity from some surrounding Quagliarella.

He''s an outstanding player and a huge upgrade on Hoolahan if that is the role that he''s being earmarked for. Yes he''s 30, but still has at least another three years minimum of playing at the top level. His game isn''t based on pace otherwise I''d tend to agree that this probably wouldn''t be the smartest move for the long term.

Me being Italian I''ve seen a hell of a lot of Italian football in my time and know quite a lot about him. He was brought to Juve as a kind of replacement to Del Piero, to kind of take over the role during the latter''s decline. Granted he''s not in the same league as Del Piero, but his playing style is very similar. Unfortunately for him, Conte had other ideas and brought in Pirlo the following summer to become the main creative force of the team. Joined by the likes of Marchisio and Vidal in midfield, that calssic number 10 role has pretty much become redundant at Juve.

Anyone that''s watched Quagliarella play in more than a couple of games can see just what a talented player he is. He''s got fantastic technique, has a great strike rate for a classic number 10 (just look at the great Del Piero''s strike rate and compare them) and most importantly, he''s always been a grafter and works hard for the team. He''s not a big time charlie. During the 2010 World Cup, Italy was crying out for Quagliarella to be started because the team lacked imagination, creativity and any kind of spark. When he was introduced, the impact was clear for everyone to see and he also scored arguably the goal of the tournament against Slovakia.

Unfortunately for him, Juve have splashed the cash over the past two summers and no longer need him as he doesn''t fit in with their new direction, hence why he was consigned to more of an impact ''supersub'' role and has now become available. I think even at the rumoured 6/7 mill he''d be well worth the risk purely for the experience and creativity he''d bring to the team. He''d fit in to the work ethic and certainly doesn''t command big wages unlike many other players of his ilk. The only problem I could envisage is that he may not necessarily adapt to the English game, having spent his career playing in Italy. But then we could say that about any of our other foreign imports. If Hughton wants to continue with the 1 up top policy, then Quagliarella would be ideal to play in behind RVW.

Again, sorry to digress, but just thought I''d but my two pennies-worth in. I know some won''t agree, but that''s just my opinion on the matter.[/quote]

No need to apologise, that was a highly informative post, thank you! I''m a little bit dazed by seeing us linked with players that are mentioned in the same breathe as greats such as Del Piero.

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[quote user="pilksfanclub"]Why are Spurs in this?

Southampton signed Wanyama of course.

Villa Okore and Cornelius[/quote]possibly because they are in the same division as us

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[quote user="Jonzey"]With the exception of Man City I''d say we have made the most impressive signings in the league by some distance. [/quote]Swansea?

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Bony sounds class, granted. But I''d rather have RVW, and Fer, Olssen and Redmond eclipse their other equivalent signings.

Like I said though its early doors yet.

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Honestly I don''t know enough about the Swansea signings to say how they stack up against ours, but overall I''m very happy with how we''re doing compared to everyone else.  Early doors indeed, but fans at quite a few clubs must be starting to worry. 

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Just to clarify, Villa have NOT signed anyone called Cornelius

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I think we have certainly got the most value so far in the transfer window. I''m very happy with the signings we have made.

I think Swansea have made some very good signings, while admittedly, hugely splashing the cash (Bony) to achieve them.

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[quote user="AJ"]Just to clarify, Villa have NOT signed anyone called Cornelius[/quote]Just to clarify, you ARE a troll.Don''t Villa have any decent forums of their own?

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Just to re-clarify, if a thread mentions the Villa then I''ll probably comment on it. Especially when it''s wrong information.

I''ll give our dealings so far a 7/10. Fully expect Okore & Tonev to be the ones to be the eye catchers this season.

Hopefully with this 25m + for Benteke we''ll grab an CAM and some right back cover for Lowton

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Going away from the top 7 clubs I think ourselves , Southampton and Swansea have done the best pieces of business. Firstly iI don''t think a lot of fans across the UK will be so surprised to see Swansea sign the quality they have done due to their style of play, European qualification and their high end of season position. Secondly Southampton''s spending spree will be less of a surprise due to their huge outlay last season for Ramirez. I really do think we are raising a few eyebrows this transfer window and fans/teams realise we are growing as a club rapidly. Lets enjoy the rest of this transfer window being linked with the likes of Toby and Fabio and see how far we can go with our new looking/stronger squad. Exciting times to be a city fan!

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Michael Bates wrote - "Firstly iI don''t think a lot of fans across the UK will be so surprised to see Swansea sign the quality they have done due to their style of play, European qualification and their high end of season position. "

High? Two points and two places above us....

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Hate to say it but Villa have made some excellent signings, particularly Nicklas Helenius and Aleksandar Tonev.

Helenius would have been the perfect Holt replacement.... big, strong, good in the air. Hope they can''t put him up front with Benteke next season.

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