verlaine1979

Ah ha! But the first one cost twice as much, so obviously he should've had 66 appearances and 12 goals!

Depends if the club organise a formal unveiling, surely? Doesn't seem to be the done thing in the UK, but happens a lot elsewhere if the player is high profile enough, in which case I suppose behaviour would be pretty much the same.

Of the English clubs who do okay in Europe, how many of their best players are English? When United, City, Chelsea & Arsenal play in the CL, it's generally not their home-grown players that the opposition fear most.

Definitely - Norwich have added two young players of genuine international quality in Fer and RVW, and in Redmond have added to their stable of useful wingers. Far from being a scatter-gun recruitment campaign, I'd say they've strengthened their squad a fair bit, in pretty much exactly the areas they were lacking.

That's the most likely outcome, but I'd guess it's what Spurs tried and failed to do during the last two windows, so it sounds like his club are pretty stubborn about getting their valuation.

In 18 seasons since the switch to a 20 team league, only 5 golden boot winners have got 30 goals or more. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premier_League_Golden_Boot

Averages better than a goal every other game in the Copa Libertadores.

I was simply contesting that he was "the dog's" in Holland. To me that suggests he had the reputation of someone who'd torn up the league, rather than done pretty well for a bottom-dwelling team. The price we paid for him tells you he can't have been *that* highly thought of...

What gave you that impression? He played for a team that flipped back and forth between the Dutch first and second divisions and he managed a goal roughly every 8 games...

I'm pretty sure Cardiff have only actually signed one player, who they didn't sign until today, and who cost a fair bit less than we've already spent on Lovren?

If Shaw were a CB, I'd be more inclined to agree with you. However, I think it's hard to build a team around a fullback, however good they are, as the position inherently limits how influential they can be. Also, thinking back, I'd guess I've seen a single world class attacker destroy an average defence more times than I've seen one world-class defender dominate an average attack.

Brilliant as I think Shaw already is, and great as he will eventually become, I'd make that swap. I don't see Shaw turning into another Bale - more likely to be the next Ashley Cole, i.e. a completely dominant left back who chips in with the occasional goal and assist. I think £28m is the highest fee ever paid for a full-back (Dani Alves), whereas Lukaku has the potential to be one of the top 10 strikers in the world, all of whom these days seem to command fees of upwards of £50m once they enter their prime.

I think Lukaku cost Chelsea £17m before he'd even kicked a ball in the premier league. I suspect he wouldn't be sold for anything less than £25m now.

In his first full season at Wigan, Victor Moses played 21 games and scored 1 goal at basically the same age as Altidore when he was at Hull. From what I've seen, their playing styles are pretty similar, based on pace and power. Frankly, I think it's a ludicrous argument to write him off based on his play several years ago, as a teenager in a rubbish side. You might as well have written off Drogba for scoring none in the 2000-2001 season at Le Mans...

He was 19/20 at the time and only made 16 starts, the rest as a sub, playing in a poor Hull team. Nothing like enough to judge him on with any degree of accuracy.

Largely unrelated as I absolutely want him to stay, but I do object to the grovelling insistence of calling him 'Mr. Cortese' whenever some posters write about him. Unless of course this heralds a wider return of good manners and we start talking about having Messrs Lambert and Rodriguez up front.

Could be about both investment and control. If Cortese wants to spend money but has been told that no more will be coming from the family, he might have indicated that he intends to take out further external loans, which the trust might in turn have argued that he cannot do on his own authority.

Good player. Tim Vickery always seems to have positive things to say about him too.

Why, thank you. He always looked great athlete in terms of strength and pace, but now looks like he has improved his finishing. Not surprising since he was only 20/21 first time round with Hull, and is 23 now.

He did, though he also showed flashes of having innate quality while he was at Hull. However, over the last year and a half in Holland he's become a complete beast. Looks Benteke-esque, but arguably with a bit more composure.

Jozy Altidore & Omar Abdulrahman

Pedantic, but none of the teams below us have to win all their remaining games to avoid finishing 18th were we to lose our remaining two.

Played well, but aside from Clyne's shot created only half-chances, which is worrying when we haven't scored in the last three. Still, 2 0-0 draws will probably see us comfortable enough at the end of the season, even if not comfortable during the remainder of it.

Chelsea agreed to pay £17m for him, admittedly with only £10m up front. Now he's had a good season in the premier league, probably worth £20-25m in a market soon to be undergoing a bit of a striker merry-go-round (Suarez, Lewandowski, Falcau, Cavani all likely to be on the move). Out of our price range I'd say.

The 'we used to be free-scoring' thing is a bit of a myth. Under Adkins we averaged 1.36 goals per game, under Poch we average 1.29 goals per game. Less than three goals more when extrapolated over the course of a season.