Chez

I've only seen us linked with Ronnie Edwards Chris Richards Levi Colwill Phil Jones Koni de Winter but we perhaps need to offload someone to create space for another as we have Salisu, Bednarek, Stephens, Lyanco, Valery, Ramsay and Simeu

he was, and we can't compete with Bayern Munich obviously, but we desperately needed cover at left back 2 years ago, so should have been all over him then, never mind last summer (when it was too late). Maybe we were, maybe he was holding out for a free, who knows, but we spent how many millions on Perraud that we could have given him instead?

Calvin Ramsey, a suggestion made earlier on this thread has signed for Liverpool: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/61828651 I recall someone saying he wasn't great, but he certainly looked decent to me. Right back perhaps not what we need right now, and no chance anyway if competing with LFC. The big clubs again cleaning up the young talent.

Very disappointing. Hope we have a sell on and a buy back, or is it just the big clubs that can dictate how these thing go and smaller clubs like us have to feed off scraps?

prefer Omar Richards myself. Maybe we can get both, although not sure how we plan to handle full back with Small not yet stepping up an Livramento injured. Are we going to sign another. If we do, I think it needs to be a left back and we should have secured Omar Richards two years ago.

Reasonable enough opinion - and we already have young guys in Salisu and (perhaps his replacement down the line) Simeu. However, unless someone departs, will we even sign a CB this summer? It's usually a one in one out type thing these days - and we have a slight full back issue with the Livramento injury. The Stephens contact from 2020 hampers us a bit. Newcastle seem to have moved on from Salisu back to Botman, and that then leaves Bednarek as the guy we could (hope to) sell and then replace.

good question. Is he neat and tidy enough on the ball for Pep. if yes, then he would really add to them as boy does he get around the pitch - and adding that athleticism might be that little extra ingredient they need to `win it all'.

I don't agree fully with that Scottish article. At the time McCarthy was offered a new contract, he was our number 1 and there was no reason for the manager/club to offer him a contract (in terms of value) that reflected a demotion, so to speak. Forster was a different case entirely as he was on huge money and considered second choice at that time. That doesn't mean McCarthy automatically would get the first 11 shirt or indeed even stay at the club, as things change quickly in football. But he has the three (now two) year contract, which will be sizeable - more than Bazanu I suspect, but perhaps less than Forster was on previously - so if he doesn't want to, he doesn't have to go anywhere, and certainly won't for less money. I genuinely think Ralph will see McCarthy as the starter initially, and Bazanu will be the second choice and will replace him at some point. But that might be as quickly as the first game (Livramento style) depending on how preseason goes. Yeah, a fair bit of wedge, but as with Gunn, we are spending money on what we believe to be an exciting young keeper that we hope will thrive at SFC, and then go on to bigger things, helping us make a profit down the line that we can reinvest.

Ah yes, my mistake. Forster got injured didn't he. Scrub that thought then...I still think McCarthy is highly likely to be the starter come August, unless Ralph throwing him under a bus after Brighton has caused a rift/changed his opinion of him - and I have zero evidence of that.

did I say it was?

Can't see that. Happy with that signing though. He did pretty well after the first game nightmare. Pretty decent third choice for a cub like ours.

I agree. They make money and then get the chance to buy an amazing keeper on the cheap, should he shine. We on the other hand take all the risk and then don't make top dollar if he is a success. The big clubs just get stronger and stronger.

I have always thought McCarthy would be our starter next season, but the fact Ralph didn't play him in the last couple of games when he was fit (and he knew Forster was gone) makes me wonder if the relationship (and Ralphs opinion of him after the Brighton game) is what it was. We shall see.

like when Arsenal signed Chamberlain from us? League and age matter less than quality.

they must have crap goalkeeping coaches too.

how's he done at Norwich since he left?

The Gunn signing and all that money down the drain has left quite a scar on all of us. Lets hope this works out a lot better.

What is the competition like? I honestly am unsure what other keepers Ireland have right now.

I've watched most of the videos of him online and there is not a huge amount in those that suggest he is something special (not that there is much to suggest he is not), but there was one outstanding save low to his right, that was a proper `worldy' where the keeper `pulls a rabbit out of a hat', so to speak, to save it. Top class keepers make very few mistakes AND can pull off dream saves (we would need to combine our two keepers to get that). Not just good saves, but ones you thought were in. I'm hoping that save is the tip of the iceberg. However, there is a fuck up in one the games early games for the skates where he drops s simple ball on the edge of the area, that leads directly to a goal, that would have you seething. I'm hoping that is the `one in a season' calamity, and not the tip of a different iceberg.

maybe, but who knows how much United really want (they asked for a £16.5m loan fee from Newcastle for Lingaard, so your guess is as good as mine) and Henderson may want £120k+ a week wages, which could be a stumbling block. He may not want to come here on a permanent deal. Hard to say.

Only seen him live a couple of times, so haven't got an opinion on his ability, but if DT is happy with him, then I am. Boy do we need a (potential world class) agile keeper that is safe as houses and decent with the ball. Good luck to him. I hope he is the next Niemi - and totally knocks all our socks off.

£20m isn't peanuts to us though. That would be our transfer record. OK, so that isn't high compared to others, but it's still a sizeable amount of money if you are a self-financing football business. Not saying he's not worth it or we should not spend it. But is the money even there?

When he was fit in that first season, he absolutely flew, with almost everything he touched turning to gold. Less so second season and he didn't seem to hit the heights again at Villa either. If we could get that one touch-goal guy back, then its a no brainer. Will we though? If his wage is now bigger than what we a) were paying him b) were willing to offer him in new contract Do we now have to match that? I honestly can't see him coming back. What do we offer him now that we didn't last summer? He wanted more money and/or a bigger side perhaps with greater ambitions. Not sure Villa

Whenever I see "Oxford" and "CB", Mark Wright immediately springs to mind. I wonder if he is as classy.

Absolutely, but that was over 25 years ago and it feels like its only the last few years where players are turning down the `no brainer' extensions (that wouldn't stop them moving if they wanted anyway) to give them greater flexibility. Zaha being stuck behind a £70m transfer fee request typifies why players are not signing those deals as often. Clubs like ours need to be very careful as this escalates. I know we as fans don't want to hear it, but a massive bid for one of our players could be a good thing. We do need that cash and if we don't sell players at their peak they are increasingly going to walk on frees.