ToffeeWeb - Season 2007-08

The Mail Bag

Musings

I guess we?re about to enter the silly season with all kinds of manure flying around. The general consensus is that we don?t have a pot to piss in so don?t expect anything major. So goodbye Manny, we can?t afford you and stay Nuno because we can. This is in general keeping with our philosophy of buying players who are either injured already or are doomed to be and will spend half the season flying around the world seeking medical treatment.

The new season will see us revert to an also ran and the stability we have with Moyes will be rocked by indecision on the stadium and a call for him to go because, well just because. Liverpool City Council have sobered up in time to lodge a formal objection to us having a new stadium but the other lot can pick any major park they like and permission will be rushed over by courier.

Me a pessimist? I don?t think so but why does this club seem to cultivate that in me. It was a rhetorical question ? you know the answer!
Robert Shaw, Vancouver, Canada Posted 07/05/2008 at 02:28:09

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Jason Broome
1 Posted 07/05/2008 at 06:23:37

We’re 5th. Have signed Yakubu, brought back Manny for a season, stole Pienaar for £2M, had our best 2 amazing cup runs since 1995, watched as Lescott established himself as an England International in the hardest position for the national side, signed Cahill & Arteta on longer contracts, gained our best ever points total in our Premiership history, promoted Rodwell and scared the shit out of Liverpool, all the while David Moyes has been found at all the right clubs, watching all the right players.

Yeah it’s gonna be another shit season again!!! FFS bring back Mike Walker!

Jason Lam
2 Posted 07/05/2008 at 07:28:28

You need to compare apples to apples. Which is pretty good considering how much Spurs and considerably the RS have spent.

Right about the manure flying around, that’s the class of players we’re ultimately in for.

Jonathan Bradley
3 Posted 07/05/2008 at 07:58:58

Manny should be sent back to the hopefully relegated Valencia unless they are willing to do a deal that is around 20% of what they paid for him - yes, he was great in patches last season but he has seriously underperformed this far and until recently looked determined to get the season over as quickly as possible, and even now he is not a world-beater by any stretch.

Sidwell at £3 million (as suggested by the BBC) would be great business, as for Joaquin it depends what we pay for him (anything more than £3-4 million is too much IMHO), Bradley I think is one of those mad rumours that appear every summer.

Erik Dols
4 Posted 07/05/2008 at 07:51:04

We’re being linked to every midfield player in France who gave more than two good passes last weeks. We’re even being linked to Joaquin who could have joined Chelsea last season but chose Valencia (and had a terrible season BTW). I don’t see any manure flying around. I’m confident that we’ll bring in one or two big signings.

James McCarthy
5 Posted 07/05/2008 at 08:23:52

How many like me winced when Bendtner leapt high above our defence to score what one commentator said was a typical centre forward goal. Our own centre forward would have needed a step ladder.

Mark Pendleton
6 Posted 07/05/2008 at 08:54:05

What a shocking post. The only bit of truth, that also incenses me is the Redshite being given permission to build a new asylum on Stanley Park, especially reading about the Walton Hall Park rejection supposedly happening when Sainsbury mooted the idea.

I find MANY positives after this season and when we?ve had many of the players available have played some excellent football. The goal of the season competition on the official site was a good reminder and there were probably half a dozen at least who deserved to win. As previous comments above have mentioned we?ve added more genuine quality to the squad over the last year or so and I believe will do so again to mean the quality football will increase and we?ll have a slightly larger pool of resources. I think there must be something in this Michael Bradley story and to be fair he does fit the Moyes ethos. In addition we are being linked with quality players now.

And finally, how frustrating to hear Moyes? detractors complaining about how we?re playing badly and can?t hold onto 5th and that we haven?t beaten one of the "big 4". Cast you mind back people to incidents such as Blackburn away when we were ROBBED of the win (remember saying how we hoped those points wouldn?t cost us) and also the Clattenburg derby where we were effectively ROBBED of that. Saddens me that so many disgruntled fans seem to have such short term memories. If I was offered our current situation at this point maybe 10 years ago I?d have never thought it possible.

Tony Williams
7 Posted 07/05/2008 at 09:01:10

"This is in general keeping with our philosophy of buying players who are either injured already or are doomed to be and will spend half the season flying around the world seeking medical treatment"

Who are they then? VDM, yup a cheapish gamble? Cahill? Only the last season and a half because of his broken toe problem. Arteta? Only really injured this season.

Who else and don?t mention Vaughan because he came through the youth system or even Gardner who was brought in as 3rd choice back up for a 35-year-old.

Tony Part
8 Posted 07/05/2008 at 09:19:06

I think with the transfer window opening you're always going to get gossip flying about. Most of it that materialises in Sunday papers is bullshit so I tend not to take notice of it but when the Echo or Daily Post print it there is usually some backbone to the story.

I think there is something in the Sidwell story and by the sounds of things it stretches back a few summers since Moyes has been interested in him and in January we tried a loan deal. Maybe he will be the regular in the Carsley position next season who knows.

Dont know anything about Michael Bradley to be honest and I think Moyes would only gamble if he has watched him for months on end and the price was right.

Joaquin would seem like the most welcome link but once again we have been linked with players of that high standard before and nothing had come of them, remember Van Bommel in 2004? Now he would have been a good signing.

I am not going to panic too much this summer although I hope we get a fair few players in before the end of June and I am hoping Moyes has learnt his lesson regards to NEEDING a far bigger squad as at the end of every season we run out of numbers. Looking at the amount of players who may leave then I think we should be looking to bring in seven at the least. I hope we dont just settle for two or three because we have simply been there before.

Mark Pendleton
9 Posted 07/05/2008 at 09:46:23

Tony, i don’t think we need 7 players. The ones who appear to be on their way out - Tommy G, AvdM, Gardner & Wessels (and maybe Manny) never really featured, aside from Manny. If we bring in another 4 who will be in a position to figure then i think we’ll be in a far better position.

We’ve not got the AFCON to rob us of important players at a vital time next season and i think by bringing in 4 quality players we should be able to cover a reasonable number of the usual injuries and suspensions.

Shaka Vendeep
10 Posted 07/05/2008 at 09:51:38

When does the silly season officially open?

Peter Bourke
11 Posted 07/05/2008 at 10:05:40

Jason Broome,

You are spot on.
It's fine to demand the best and hope for glory but some people's expectations are totally fancifull. The unrealistic expectations of some people is breathtaking.

Patty Beesley
12 Posted 07/05/2008 at 11:28:34

Nice to read something positive Mark - I?m with you on this. There was also the case of the perfectly good disallowed goal of Yakubu?s when we played West Ham which cost us two points there as well.

Joe Clitherow
13 Posted 07/05/2008 at 12:18:58

I wish people would post based on FACTS on not on perceived expectation.

’Goodbye Fernandes’ will be simply because the guy has not been up to the mark and based on value for money. Valente has not let the side down whenever he has been called on to step in and is good value for another year of defensive cover.

Fernandes made a good first impression with some decent performances last year. Whatever his talent, he has been effectively on trial again and for me hasn’t shown anything to justify a huge transfer fee.

Get your facts right before putting 2 and 2 together to make 5.

Chad Schofield
14 Posted 07/05/2008 at 13:20:17

Christ Robert, put some Radiohead on and cheer yourself up mate.

Here’s hoping to some early signings to replace those that are leaving - and one or two to bolster the squad unless DM starts using the "ones fro the future" too wouldn’t go a miss. Not sure where we’re going to get the cash, but it was said that we could expect new faces to patch over the Kirkby shenagans... it’s going to be an interesting silly season.