Badger

We were linked at one stage in the summer to one of their CBs, Patrick Bangaard.

Of the group we're facing they might be the more difficult opponents, (if you exclude the ridiculous trip to Qabala or wherever..).

Bet they're hoping we draw Ajax at some stage !

dangle

Shame as he sounded quite a prospect although realisticallly I couldn't see Shake selling him. But as Saint Garrettt said RK wasn't keen on this one. I didn't think signing a German player would be too high on his agenda somehow.

toe nail

Perhaps he's just a plane spotter.

Certainly looks a bit of a bruiser doesn't he ? At 6'5" I think the label "no nonsense centre half" that many wanted in the Championship might fit.

It doesn't look a particularly reliable source, unless anyone can say diffferently (did it break the Ramirez or Osvaldo stories for example ?) True, but possibly the real problem has been signing players of South American descent rather than from Serie A.

Yes, apologies to all was written in a rush.

I'm not convinced we are that keen on VVD. If we were then I'd expect a little more 'noise' or rumblings about it in the media or in Scotland. At the moment any features merely appear a reworking of the same story from a few weeks ago. Admittedly we like to do our business 'behind closed doors' and quietly but even allowing for that there seeems very little of note, less so than our deals for Wanyama and Forster. Added to this is a post on here last year from someone saying Reed had publicly said we weren't interested, RK was not keen. Presumably there's no history between RK, EK and VVD from their time in Holland that anyones aware of ?

My recollection is that the club - either under Adkins when first back in the Prem , or under Poch - agreed to loan JWP to Bournemouth but he decided against it.

Quick Google search though: http://www.vavel.com/en/international-football/italy-calcio/520489-chiriches-completes-napoli-move.html noted: But of course we have a proven track record of getting players performing to their potential (Lolvren for one.). As I'd no idea of the blokes existance until a few minutes ago, I'll trust RK, Reed and the Black Box to perform their magic touch again.

Never heard of him, but his name can easily slot in to the Agadoo song so as we have a potential song for him it would be a shame not to sign him. Van Dyke may be the better player but thats irrelevant.

cling-on

I wasn't at the game but a story that lives in my mind is Carrick Rangers away in 1976. One of their players was injured and placed on a stretcher to be carried off. Stupid bastards carrying the bloke managed somehow to tip him out of the stretcher back onto the ground. I heard the commentary on this on the radio at the time. It certainly seemed to fit the 1970's 'Irish joke' culture of the time.

Isn't that a feature of most wingers though ?

A winger would be a bit of a luxury as I see it, would probably call for a bit of a change in the shape of the team. That could be a good thing from time to time, but I still think the CB CM roles should be priority.

I hope Stephens gets some good experience under his belt there, if not he'd have been better off joining a smaller club in the Championship for game time. Be good if a few others go out for the experience, (Gazzaniga even, although that would mean bringing another GK in). Strange though that we've come round to releasing players on loan when the club publicly stated they were opposed to the idea a couple of seasons ago. Wonder if the change at the top has anything to do with it ?

That's the key really to improving the squad with quality additions rather than just seeking reinforcements by just making up the numbers (with Martina, and possibly Caulker type signings). VVD seems the stand out option for defence, although dare say Reed and Co are crowding into the Black Box room looking for an alternative we've not considered on here, the MF option is an intriguing one, and we've really no idea where or who they're now looking at.

Unnamed club in bid for a France U21 midfielder : http://metro.co.uk/2015/07/26/liverpool-take-lead-in-jordan-veretout-transfer-race-because-tottenham-have-too-many-midfielders-5313285/ Could it be ?

Following the sequence of that article it does seem that Charlie Austin has fallen down the ladder a bit, as he's now possibly a replacement for Mayuka.

gibbon

A concern with Stekelenburg is not just an injury. After his time at Fulham and Monaco, his confidence might be knocked, and if he has a poor start, or suffers a heavy defeat how will he respond ? His WC Final appearance of 5 years ago is history and his last couple of years have been wretched. I hope Gazzaniga is improving but don't agree with the rest of of your first sentence, Davis is susceptible to conceding some weak goals (the nearpost was a weakness in our promotion year,more recently Spurs second looked pretty feeble, although he was left exposed a bit by Yoshida etc), and anyone thinking Forster will be back by Christmas has clearly forgotten how Rodriguez was o be back in October, November.. the Burnley game 13th December etc. Best policy would be to write FF off for the season, anything else is a bonus. Pleased to read your observation on Stekenlenburg, that bodes well, but not sure Feyenoord have provided a stern enough test.

L1 didn't harm the development of Schneiderlin or Lallana did it ? That said, inclined to agree Championship might be a better option, providing its to a team who try and play a bit, not just taking him as "oh he's a big lad, can play as a battering ram up front for us...".