That's not true of Hull, under Phelan they played defensively and under Silva they have mostly counter attacked to good effect, they have been more open over the last 4-5 weeks in there desperation to win points to stay up (something Middlesbrough should have done), which is good management by Silva as he is aware they can't keep the ball out of the net, but over the season they have been mostly defensively set up.Also can't discount the style of play, Gibson has been playing in a team which is parking the bus week in week out, Keane is playing in a team which for the majority of the season has been sitting deep and countering, Maguire has been playing for a Hull that plays relatively open footy.
All 3 could turn out well and all 3 have not proven themselves fully yet. They're kind of at the level Jagielka and Lescott where when we got them (maybe a bit more proven tbf)
Im super convinced they will sign VVDI'd bet my house they won't sign either one mate, it'll be a player from abroad or at a punt someone like Gibson they go for
Regarding journeymen, none of us want those types, and Koeman doesn't either. Good.
We do have an issue with numbers though, heading into Europe, which Koeman is more keenly aware of.
As things stand though, and waiting to learn whether Lukaku/Barkley stay, I doubt if we make say 6-8 signings they'll all be of the same transfer fee and "quality" - we are not going to spend £30m+ each on six players.
In that scenario I would expect a couple "big" signings by our standards and after than you are into the territory of signing for lesser fees / prospects. I do agree though that it is of no value at all padding out the squad with players into their late 20's / early 30s with no realistic prospect of playing more than a handful of games and unlikely to contribute much of note anyway.
We really have to get maximum bang for our buck in the summer so its imperative we look to Europe and abroad for at least some of the signings, particularly those at the more modest end of the fee scale, to stretch the budget. Most clubs have to compromise somewhere along the line, so the mix of signings achieved over the summer will be particularly interesting for us this time around.
I assume Walsh will be influential in targeting younger players and those from abroad who could be considered reasonably close to the first team within a year or two, or ready now. Developing younger players and selling them on for significant profit will be a key component in our plans I feel.
I want to see us linked with players that don't play football in the bottom half of the premiership.
We have enough prospects need players ready to challenge for the first team
Was also in that scum rag mate. Pinch of salt soDer red echo
Im super convinced they will sign VVD
Im super convinced they will sign VVD
No chance. None. John Henry's Moneyball FC will never sanction 50m on a player. Just not going to happen. Papertalk.Im super convinced they will sign VVD
Klopp and FSG aren't going to break the clubs record transfer by 15m and the most he's ever paid for a player himself by the similar amount on a cb mate.
Ignore what fans, pundits and the media are saying 'should' happen and look at the reality, he brought in a free cb in Matip, converted a 30 year old midfielder to play left back rather than buy one and brought in a 30 year old from nowhere in Klavan to provide cover.
IF Klopp spends money it will be in the attacking parts of the team, it's his mentality - Christ they even bought a attacking midfielder to then convert him to a holding role in Wijnaldum.
Ultimatley the problem with Liverpool and Klopp is a system one mate, you could stick two world class centre backs into that team and they would still be exposed against teams that have been doing so, because they are left so isolated against the counter
I also wouldn't 100% rule out us selling someone no one thinks we would do, such as Gueye either mate, especially if we get a substantial offer for a player we got very cheap, and if we knew we could get another player in who fits what the manager wants etc better.
Not saying it's likely - but wouldn't be shocked if something like that happened
We will 100% start to try to develop and sell on younger players to a degree, the hope is we sdo so on our terms, sell the ones we don't deem good enough to the level we want to be at but whom others regard as good signings for them etc. (Ibe was a good example from the rs of that)
Names like Sigurddson and Ramsay are ones at the level we could realistically attract right now, the level above them is what proved the stumbling block last summer
They would concede less by being better defensively, which is my point. They have a poor squad I agree but they have still used 28 players compared to Boro 27 and Burnley 26.How would they concede less? Their squad is threadbare, they didn't have a proper manager until January, sold their best players...
You could point more fingers at Gibson and Boro for being more likely to go down than Hull and Maguire.
As for Keane...You can't underestimate how well he and Ben Mee are as a partnership.
So you'd not be interested to sign 4 players touted as being future England internationals?
Who are the superstar prospects we have in abundance which means we wouldn't want top English youth prospects?