OLSSON !

[SwindonCanary 457]

Don''t like the line ''Norwich were last night considering a 4 million deal''  He''s worth a lot more than that.http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/552786/Swansea-bid-Martin-Olsson-Norwich

[lake district canary 4,836]

I''d let him go if he wants to.  £4m or push the price up to nearer £5m and job''s a good''un.   If his heart isn''t in it at Norwich or he''s distracted with speculation  (and the first Cardiff goal didn''t exactly show great desire on his part) then we''re better off letting him go and getting cover there.  We have Garrido - and Whittaker can cover that position too.  Just means we have to look to strengthen both full back positions this window if possible.  Wouldn''t really be happy to see him go, but after yesterday, it may be the best thing to do.

[Crabbycanary3 994]

That looks like you''re judging him on one game LDC - if so, unfair

[Paul101 191]

sums him up for the seasons tbh

but it might just be a natural scowl

[Move Klose 303]

I think this one might happen, seemed very off saturday and seemed to have a long embrace with a few of players at the final whistle saturday. I cant say i would be overly upset at this happening, give Garrido a run and get this highly rated left back from Hamilton for back up. I think Olsson has been poor this season for whatever reason. Garrido wasnt great in the prem but lets give him a chance at this level. Remember him having decent couple of performances this season. I think 1 vs Ipshit.

[hogesar 10,770]

Olsson, by his high standards set last season, has overall had quite a poor season.

His control of the ball is occasionally shocking, and certainly on Saturday he was responsible for at least one of the goals.

He''s a good left back but as Chris Goreham said - not irreplaceable.

[SwindonCanary 457]

The boards objective is to improve the squad every transfer window, I don''t think selling him and replacing him with someone already in the squad is doing that.

[Lessingham Canary 108]

Sounding more like its going to happen, Garido is a very capable option, but any spend this window sounds like we need a CB and a LB, may have to get rid of one other with Olsson to fund.

[Jim Smith 2,610]

If there are to be any big player departures in this window then perhaps Olsson going would be the least disruptive. On form he is a great player. Off form as he has been most of this season he''s still a decent enough left lack at this level but there is no doubting he has been below par for most of this season and he does seem to have a tendency to get done at the far post as happened for the first goal on saturday.

He comes across to me as perhaps symptomatic of the problems we have been having defensively this season., Seems a nice guy who hasn''t kicked off for a move, good player but perhaps a bit complacent at this level and I query whether he''s really got the stomach for this fight. Garrido did nothing wrong when playing earlier in the season and is plenty good enough to be our left back at this level. Indeed him playing coincided with our run to the top of the league. i also think we can probably pick up a decent replacement left back for a couple of million, possibly this kid from Hamilton who appears highly rated.

If he wants to go then lets just push the fee up as much as we can and get on with it.

If come 31st January we have lost Olsson but kept Hooper and Redmond then I won''t be too unhappy with that.

[Jim Smith 2,610]

Indeed Garrido coming into the defence could be a blessing in disguise because he is positionally much better than Olsson and obviously is very experienced. May give us the bit of structure our defence has been lacking. Hopefully saturday will also encourage Neil to get Bassong back involved soon as well.

[Lewis Esquire 0]

Bite Swansea''s arm off for 4 million quid. I''d take half of that for him any day of the week.

Martin Olsson would be a good winger/LM but he can not defend for toffee.

Get Toffolo back and lets crack on!

I''ve only been a city fan for the last ten or so years and Martin Olsson is not in even in my top 3 left backs in that time.

All this talk of him being our stand out player last season is laughable. Norwich City were awful last season - there was no stand-out, they were all dreadful!

[Norfolk Mustard 106]

Based on his performances this season, I ask myself whether I''d be concerned playing against Olsson? - and my response is "No, not really..."

So something is wrong.

A bid of £4 to £5m would be decent business IMO. Whether Olsson stays or not, I''d love to see a few of Garrido''s swinging left-foot crosses met by Cameron Jerome with Hooper and Redmond following up. That might be even more productive in this league!

[Lewis Esquire 0]

Does anyone actually remember how slow, awful and lazy Bassong actually is?

He is not the answer, he''s just another over-hyped. relegation specialising, journeyman!

[Branston Pickle 4,151]

Olsson certainly seems rather susceptible at the back post - we''ve seen similar goals to Cardiff several times this season; he''s a decent player on his day and good on the ball, but doesn''t seem to have been at his best this season so if the price for us was right I''d certainly give it some thought.

[Jim Smith 2,610]

[quote user="Lewis Esquire"]Does anyone actually remember how slow, awful and lazy Bassong actually is?

He is not the answer, he''s just another over-hyped. relegation specialising, journeyman![/quote]

He''s not slow and he''s not awful. Yes he has the odd mistake in him when not concentrating but to be honest I think people have exaggerated his struggles last season. He still played in virtually all of our clean sheets last season.

[Highland Canary 78]

We should not sell Olsson, nor any of other first team players, since, following the change of management, we are well placed to achieve one of the playoff positions. Thus, the dismantling of the squad, which will be necessary due to the material risk associated with future declining parachute payments and the aspiration for PL football among our better players, should wait until the Summer should we remain in the Championship. Neil''s reputation is built on maximising the performance of young, hungry players, a strategy we would have to follow in year two of championship football. I would suspect he board had an eye to this on his appointment. Hopefully, however, we shall benefit from a one in four chance playoff win such that squad dismantling can remain no more than an academic discussion.

[Reggie Strayshun 0]

Bassong has proved that, given the right mindset and motivation, he can play exceptionally well over a prolonged period of time and turn in consistently good performances.Frankly, Olsson has yet to do that for me. OK he''s played very well in selected games, but he appears incapable of either doing it consistently, or going more than one game without making a dreadful mistake or keeping his concentration for 90 mins. Sat v Cardiff was a perfect illustration of that. A player can get away with that at the lower reaches of the Champ downwards, but certainly not at a Champ club challenging for promotion , let alone in the Prem. If he''s to go to Swansea and come up against to notch operators, he''d have to up his game big-style, as Swansea themselves found to their cost on Saturday!I''m fast coming to the conclusion that our defence needs some pretty major surgery over the coming months . My suspicion is that Neil will soon come to the conclusion that some root and branch reform is needed in that department. It''s a positive sign that he''s given Bassong a clean slate. If it were to come off, it''d be almost like signing a new player on a free transfer, wouldn''t it ?As regards Olsson, frankly, if Swansea were to offer us 4 or 5 mill, I''d take it and use the money to strengthen the defence generally.

[CJ 1]

I never fail to be amazed at the different views on players.

In my opinion and clearly several premier league managers Ollson is class and one of our best players. Left back is a tough position to play because of the large number of quality right wingers in this league and above, and yet rarely do you see anyone really troubling Ollson. He unfortunately almost due to lack of business in his position get drawn out of position too often as he did against Cardiff, who like many other teams put most pressure on our weaker right back position.

Having said that like others I think he wants away and if his mind is really elsewhere as I think it was early in the season it is best to get best deal for us and him and move on.

However Garrido in my opinion is no replacement anybody who went to Shrewsbury will tell you how awful he was and seemed not to care either. I know only one game but to me would be big risk .And therefore will need replacement.

The next match is a must win and at least keep him for that whilst behind scenes sort out the deal if we must.

[vlad666 207]

I could see this happening especially with Stephen hendrie highly rated at Hamilton. Olsson is excellent on his day but often loses concentration.

[Horse Renoir 1]

5 Million up front and I''d accept. Considering it''s January and Swansea are now loaded we should be able to get this figure from them.

Olsson is a decent left back at Prem level but is strangely only really a decent left back at this level as well. I can see why we we''re considering 4 Million, but we should be trying for a bit more first.

I''m not sure Hendrie is the answer though, the only player I''d be considering from Hamilton is Andreu, but it depends on how our scouts view his potential, I don''t think he''s as good as Garrido yet and Toffilo might have more potential. To be honest no names jump out at me though, I can''t think of a decent left back available in the Prem or standing out in this league or L1

[The Great Wall Of Tettey 0]

Can anybody not remember garridos tackling? Slow and just dives in 2 footed. If we''re trying to keep a side with belief we will get promoted then we have to keep olsson. If we go back up we would have to spend the same amount of money trying to cover the position again with another quality LB.

Toffolo looks like he''s playing quality football at Swindon and getting rave reviews, quality left foot too providing some good assists. Wether he''s the answer or not may be a risky one but I think in our current position it''s silly selling a first team regular starter at around his value. I don''t think 5 million is silly money for someone like olsson, we should be looking for well over the odds to even consider selling someone capable of representing us consistantly at premier league level

[Tetteys Jig 851]

I just wonder why Swansea are doing this to be honest. They have Neil Taylor who is a damn good left back and are letting him go to Palace for a similar price to their bid for Olsson. I think they''d be better off keeping Taylor.

I''''m not too sure we should accept £4 or £5m for Olsson. We won''t get anyone better but we''re well stocked at LB and Hendrie looks like a very promising replacement. I wouuldn''t be too disappointed if he does go but i''m still of the philosophy that we should keep all our first teamers at least until summer. We are sat on the cusp of the playoffs and a couple more wins will see us staring at the top two again. Why jepordise that?

[Essex_Canary 6]

It is puzzling that some of our fans don''t actually watch games very closely...For those who seek to believe that Olsson is a quality defender, please watch the highlights back of Cardiff''s first goal and explain to me who was to blame for Revell getting on to the end of the cross?And it''s not a one off, its a regular occurance

[smooth 114]

I think we keep him unless he wants to go and the offer is very very good

He is a premiership quality left back hence why a prem club is coming in for him. He has been disgruntled, visibly, this season because of the fact he played well last season, others didn''t and some of our first team are now proving which level they can play.

It has been reported that Swansea are looking for competition and cover, so he would not be guaranteed as many games but he would be with a club that can give him opportunities to grow in the premier league. If he stays here and we do not go up then we will gpfind it hard to go back up the season after.

Garrido is too slow for the championship, a cultured player and one great to have on the books. But at the end of the season he will have to move on, we have toff old and that will also highlight where this club is at. That with less money we will have back up as youth team players. Currently we have senior pros covering most positions, but in a years time we will not.

The guy from Scotland may be a good player, but I want players who we think can play in the premier league coming in. For me Olsson is one of the only players that if we go up can maintain his position. We need a new right back, two centre halves, left winger, 2 central midfield players and possibly another striker if we did go up.

Too many positions to fill and then a lot of squad players that have taken us down last season that are not getting any better.

[Reggie Strayshun 0]

[quote user="Jimmy Smith"] We are sat on the cusp of the playoffs and a couple more wins will see us staring at the top two again. Why jepordise that?[/quote]That may or may not be true, Jimmy. Likewise the question of whether Olsson is good, consistent, better than Taylor etc etc.But, as so often in the past, if Swansea do offer us 5m and Olsson terms, then I guess it''s pretty likely that he will have his head turned at the extra dosh and the prospect of joining a team that is more or less guaranteed Prem football for the forseeable future. So, if that''s the case, he''ll want out, and whether we want to jeopardise our chances of promotion will rank as a very poor second in his eyes, I''m afraid.

[Well I Never 0]

Wouldn''t consider £4mil to be a good price in January.

Other clubs want silly money at this time of year and I don''t think we should be any different when dealing with a Premiership club.

£6mil at least otherwise he can stay put.

[SwindonCanary 457]

How about a straight swap Neil Taylor for Olsson ?

[pete 372]

"Unless he wants to go" get real he''s wanted to go all season Hammers wanted in the summer but got the better option for LB from Ipswich since when Olsson has been sullen. As evidenced by the sending off and push on ref for first game.

Take the £4m its worth it to us to get rid of this liability which will only fester more if this move falls down. Options at LB include Garrido, Whittaker, Miquel the new guy from Accies and Toffolo. Any of them except perhaps Miquel would put in more effort. If kept his attitude could affect other players.

[The Great Wall Of Tettey 0]

[quote user="Essex_Canary"]It is puzzling that some of our fans don''t actually watch games very closely...For those who seek to believe that Olsson is a quality defender, please watch the highlights back of Cardiff''s first goal and explain to me who was to blame for Revell getting on to the end of the cross?And it''s not a one off, its a regular occurance[/quote]

Quite right, although have you seen the rest of the defence this season? Nobody has exactly covered themselves in glory.

He had a good season last year and was stand out for me, has made the odd error as has everyone. The work he does sprinting up and down the pitch week in week out for 90 minutes is so valuable, covered an incredible amount of ground. easy to forget the small tackles/tracking back he does and then point out the occasional error.

With the pass and ability he has he would be playing for a top 6 team if he didn''t make any mistakes

[Lewis Esquire 0]

4 million for Olsson is silly money in January.