The Inevitable Summer Transfer Market Topic

[Jay*]

West Bromwich Albion have signed Simon Cox for £1.5 Million (Plus £400000 add ons) from Swindon. I'm looking forward to seeing what this guy can do for us. His goalscoring record last season really speaks for itself IMO.

[The Quasi Juice]

I could maybe understand one Englishman going abroad this season... but TWO? (possibly three if Sol Campbell also goes)

There used to be a time when the very elite Englishman completed his excellence by moving abroad... now it seems anyone can go ¬_¬

Actually I think it's silly not more English players go abroad to broaden their horizon. Just look at (I think) David Jones, NEC Nijmegen (Dutch) loaned him from Man Utd and he had a great year there, it gave him playing time on a high level and he said afterward that he had a good time and learned a lot. It always seems to me like English players are afraid to go abroad because they're so used to the English lifestyle and they'll have to learn a new language.

[Adam]

West Bromwich Albion have signed Simon Cox for £1.5 Million (Plus £400000 add ons) from Swindon. I'm looking forward to seeing what this guy can do for us. His goalscoring record last season really speaks for itself IMO.

Well he missed a penalty on his debut and you lost 1-0 at Histon

[IAceI]

Frazier Campbell is our first signing and hopefully the first of about 3-4 more signings we need to strengthen our team. Would like to see Dunne, Cattermole, Bent come in I figure.

[Baddar]

SAF has just announced at a news conference that United won't be making any more signings this summer.

One can only hope he's saying that to keep quiet on a possible incoming player, but it doesn't seem likely. :/

[Dynamite]

Sky Sports says City are in talks to buy Adebayor. How many strikers do they possibly need?

[Adam]

So, that means you've now definitively replaced Ronaldo and Tevez with...Valencia & Owen? That makes your attacking line now something like Valencia, Carrick, Fletcher, Park, Rooney and Berbatov or Owen? Nice. This season should be good then.

[Baddar]

Probably more like...

Rooney --- Carrick --- Anderson --- Valencia ---

--------------- Berbatov ---------------------

-------------- Owen -------------------

But yeah, still not as intimidating as last season, I must admit.

[Pesci]

I can't believe you're not buying a midfielder who can actually defend

[Dynamite]

I can't believe we're not buying a midfielder who can actually score. Our goal threat at the moment basically just consists of the three forwards - Rooney, Berbatov and Owen - with extremely little support from behind them. I struggle to see another player who will provide a good amount of goals. Anderson hasn't hit the back of the net yet. Scholes has scored 3 league goals over the past two years. Carrick managed 4 last year. Fletcher got 3 last year. Hargreaves, if he even manages to get fit, has a record of scoring 12 goals in his entire career. I have faith in our existing midfielders to do a good enough defensive job, but without Ronaldo, we need someone to step up and start scoring.

[Pesci]

But your midfield won't do well against the bigger sides. It has no bite. You should still be able to walk over the smaller teams because those are the types of sides your midfielders thrive against, but yeah, without Ronaldo, you won't be walking over them as much (unless Owen really takes off or something) and will need more points against the bigger teams as well.

[alldaws1]

Frazier Campbell is our first signing and hopefully the first of about 3-4 more signings we need to strengthen our team. Would like to see Dunne, Cattermole, Bent come in I figure.

Supposedly you're after Michael Dawson if the Dunne move doesn't work out... or if Spurs beat you to him

Don't sell Daws, Harry!

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

I'm not sure how much of the truth SAF is talking about not spending anything else. That comes a day after we're linked with Eto'o as well. Either way, people are making too much of a big deal over this anyway, acting like we're going to be shit because we lost 'god' (Ronaldo). And personally, I cant wait for the season to start. I'm expecting Rooney to be better than he's ever been, because there's a huge amount of pressure on him to deliver and he's now got the chance to FINALLY be classed among the best in the world if he can step up to the plate again this season.

Personally I'd of liked one more signing, but I don't see it as a big deal really. It could either be a genius move from SAF or one that backfires within time, but we'll see. And Pesci, out midfield wont do as well? Ronaldo and Tevez have gone, two people who aren't really even classed as midfielders any more, so where's the different in this season compared to the last? There really isn't, but we'll see.

Edited July 13, 2009 by Scum Fan 4 Life

[Pesci]

It didn't do well against big sides last season either.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

It must of done good enough if we won the league and were runners up in the CL :/

[Dynamite]

The league was pretty much won last year because of our record against the 'smaller' teams. We only dropped 2 points all season against those that finished in the bottom 10 of the league and that was against Newcastle on the first day of the season. Generally speaking, the smaller teams rarely came out, attacked us and geniunely dominated our supposedly weak midfield. Yes, our midfield did play spectacularly shit in certain games (4-1 against Liverpool for example), but its certainly good enough to protect us against the large majority of opposition we will play.

[The Future]

The two key players for me are Darren Fletcher and Owen Hargreaves. When it comes to "bite" these are the only two players we have that can provide it. I dont think it's a co-incidence that whenever Fletcher played you saw our mid-fielders getting at the other team and harrasing them but when he didn't there was no one putting in a tackle for ages(He missed games against Arsenal,Liverpool,Barca). I am not putting the losses down to him being missing but I wonder what it would have been like if he played?

Hargreaves is another one, he's played so few times for us but whenever he has he's been magnificent. Charging up and down the wing, harassing everyone in the centre and even banging two or three free-kicks in. Great player..and if he's fit it would be like a whole new signing.

[Clawson]

Tevez looks confirmed to join City.

[Adam]

The only thing I can think of if Fergie really isn't signing any new players now is that he's gonna put faith in some more youngsters-how many quality players have come through the system at Man Utd in the last two decades? I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple flourishing this season.

[Lord Nibbler]

But your midfield won't do well against the bigger sides. It has no bite.

Are you basing this purely on a few performances last season? Because we managed to beat the big teams (including Barcelona) in the season before last, with a midfield of Scholes and Carrick. I'd like to see us bring in a defensive midfielder, but I think people are overreacting somewhat.

As for putting faith in the youth, we don't have an abundance of midfield prospects. Gibson isn't up to snuff, and Possebon been sent out on loan.