Forget whether Tony Watt is joining/ not joining ,or any good/ not very good the big question is will this thread go past 50 pages like the Andy Delort thread?
Really don't understand some of you lot. We are desperate for a striker and Watt is available through Roland's network. He's british so won't take too long to settle and ok has an attitude. Di Canio came with attitude and he did ok. I like players with a bit of attitude if it can be focussed in the right direction. When this guy fails then let him have it with both barrels but until then I think you should be glad we've got him and give him some support.
Di Canio also came as a proven Premier League forward.
Take notice of the word proven Mr Duchatelet.
We would like proven championship players, not asking much.
Elfsborg, RD has brought in many players who have never or rarely played at any level in England, with some decent success - Buyens, Gudmundsson, Tucudean, Onyemi and hopefully this Tony Watt lad will be up for it. Astrit Adjarevic also very capable but lacked fitness. Tucudean, I strongly believe, will do the business.
This clearly suggests that he knows what standard of player is required at this level so we should be confident he can get us nearer the promised land or at least in the right direction - which we certainly are compared to this time last season.
Marcus Evans has been at Ipswich some 7 years or so and only now is he seeing his investment come to something - and many of Mick McCarthy's players are hand me downs from his previous clubs (proven Championship players, yes, but many coming to the end of their careers).
Buyens and Gudmundsson are certainly good enough to play at the next level up - and young enough so there is a chance to build an established team.
Considering RD has only had the club 9 months, he has done pretty damn well to bring in the right players to bring some success - at many clubs, some success means staying in the Championship and not dropping to the lower tier!
In the main I would not disagree with you.
I think you have hit my thoughts with your third paragraph(proven championship players). This to me is the way we need to go, coupled with Ipswich sticking to McCarthy being a very good manager at this level who knows it inside out.
I cannot argue that compared to 12 months ago the club and the team are in a better place, but I am sure you would agree that things are not perfect, nothing is of course.
What would your thinking be though IF we were to sack Peeters(this to me would be a bad move) and have a new manager for the start of next season. That would then be the fourth manager in 13 months.
Your comment about Mick McCarthy knowing this level inside out is spot on and on that basis we should give even more credit to RD & Peeters for coming in relatively blind and doing so well from day one.
Ipswich are not especially better than Charlton, just they have found a way to score goals and that comes much from more positive play - and wins breed confidence.
If, as you suggest, Big Bob is ousted then Tony Pulis would definitely be a name I'd like to see at Floyd Road, however, I don't expect, for one minute, Peeters not to be offered a new contract if he keeps us up.
This is a learning curve for the entire Management team and this season will give them priceless experience in developing a club, a squad and a strategy for initial consolidation and ongoing progression. As others have pointed out, drawing players from RD's Liege player bank has been a blessing as we've brought in some very good players, the like of which we simply could not have afforded if we'd drawn from the existing Football League & Championship player base.
I feel very positive about the way things are going. It will take time to bring in players and develop a squad that is capable of and, equally importantly, hungry for promotion - players who believe they can cut the mustard at Premiership level.
I'm sure we'd all like to see a club built on strong foundations and a sustainable Premiership future, as Peter Coates has done at Stoke City.
SHG points out, quite rightly, how difficult it is for a club like ours to get into the top division and stay there. The trick is to go up, and not spend money on (hardly) any new players, take the hit, but take the money and go again like West Brom have done. Of course it is possible to go up and do well with the same team that got you there, we should know you only have to look back to 1937 to see that.
SHG points out, quite rightly, how difficult it is for a club like ours to get into the top division and stay there. The trick is to go up, and not spend money on (hardly) any new players, take the hit, but take the money and go again like West Brom have done. Of course it is possible to go up and do well with the same team that got you there, we should know you only have to look back to 1937 to see that.
Agree, Seth but this is surely why when you first go up you need to have some substance in the squad. I've always questioned clubs who bring in loanees or ageing pro's to get them up to the next level but then have to make an almost complete rebuild when they get there. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the ideal scenario is to bring in younger players who can develop the team but who believe in their own ability to play at the highest level. I believe Southampton would be an example of this, OK, they have one of the best youth set ups in England but with RD's player network, maybe we can do the same in a slightly different way?
So the transfer window opens tomorrow, which is a Bank Holiday. As Watt has been training with us it seems reasonable to assume he's passed his medical blah blah and it's just a question of signing the paperwork both here and in Belgium so I have two questions; 1. Anyone know if 2nd January is a bank holiday for the a Belgies (like it is for the Scots)? And 2. If not, what time would both signatures have to be dry on the Friday in order for him to play on Saturday?
So the transfer window opens tomorrow, which is a Bank Holiday. As Watt has been training with us it seems reasonable to assume he's passed his medical blah blah and it's just a question of signing the paperwork both here and in Belgium so I have two questions; 1. Anyone know if 2nd January is a bank holiday for the a Belgies (like it is for the Scots)? And 2. If not, what time would both signatures have to be dry on the Friday in order for him to play on Saturday?
You would imagine that this has all been put through already and we are just waiting to announce it once processed?
The transfer window doesn't open until Saturday 3rd January here in England I believe, so it's highly unlikely he'll be involved in our FA Cup "run" this season
The transfer window doesn't open until Saturday 3rd January here in England I believe, so it's highly unlikely he'll be involved in our FA Cup "run" this season
From Wiki:
The winter window opens in the first moment of the new year, one second after midnight on Thursday 1 Jan 2015. It Closes At 11pm on Monday 2 Feb 2015.
The transfer window doesn't open until Saturday 3rd January here in England I believe, so it's highly unlikely he'll be involved in our FA Cup "run" this season
From Wiki:
The winter window opens in the first moment of the new year, one second after midnight on Thursday 1 Jan 2015. It Closes At 11pm on Monday 2 Feb 2015.
Bryan Swanson from Sky Sports News tweeted that the window opens on Saturday
Can he hold the ball up and bring the midfielders into the game? I hope so.
Googling Nadir Ciftci "hold up the ball" does actually bring back a few results. Edit: not sure Watt is, probably more of an alternative to Igor (which I think we could also do with having that type of player in the squad).
Ciftci, though, is so sunnily confident that he did not need that chilly day at Inverness to bolster his belief that United will win today.
"With the players we've got in our team and the quality we've got, if we do what we're capable of then it shouldn't be a problem for us," he said in a breezy summation of events.
He is central to United's ambition of forcing Rangers on to the back foot with his ability to hold up the ball and play others in and to run channels with menace. Lee McCulloch and Bilel Mohsni have not faced anyone with such power, pace and technique this season. The confrontation between striker and central defence will be pivotal to how the match is played out.
Don’t get me wrong, United have dipped into the transfer market as well, and one of their new recruits is 21 year old Nadir Ciftci. Ciftci is best as a striker, and although he has a bit of a temperament, he is another exciting player. He is able to hold up the ball, he is good in the air, and has the ability to run defenders ragged. He has a good eye for goal as well. Recently United played Celtic at Celtic Park, and I was highly impressed with Ciftci.
Comments
Ipswich are not especially better than Charlton, just they have found a way to score goals and that comes much from more positive play - and wins breed confidence.
If, as you suggest, Big Bob is ousted then Tony Pulis would definitely be a name I'd like to see at Floyd Road, however, I don't expect, for one minute, Peeters not to be offered a new contract if he keeps us up.
This is a learning curve for the entire Management team and this season will give them priceless experience in developing a club, a squad and a strategy for initial consolidation and ongoing progression. As others have pointed out, drawing players from RD's Liege player bank has been a blessing as we've brought in some very good players, the like of which we simply could not have afforded if we'd drawn from the existing Football League & Championship player base.
I feel very positive about the way things are going. It will take time to bring in players and develop a squad that is capable of and, equally importantly, hungry for promotion - players who believe they can cut the mustard at Premiership level.
I'm sure we'd all like to see a club built on strong foundations and a sustainable Premiership future, as Peter Coates has done at Stoke City.
Of course it is possible to go up and do well with the same team that got you there, we should know you only have to look back to 1937 to see that.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, the ideal scenario is to bring in younger players who can develop the team but who believe in their own ability to play at the highest level.
I believe Southampton would be an example of this, OK, they have one of the best youth set ups in England but with RD's player network, maybe we can do the same in a slightly different way?
As Watt has been training with us it seems reasonable to assume he's passed his medical blah blah and it's just a question of signing the paperwork both here and in Belgium so I have two questions;
1. Anyone know if 2nd January is a bank holiday for the a Belgies (like it is for the Scots)? And
2. If not, what time would both signatures have to be dry on the Friday in order for him to play on Saturday?
2014– Standard Liège 13 (2)
The winter window opens in the first moment of the new year, one second after midnight on Thursday 1 Jan 2015. It Closes At 11pm on Monday 2 Feb 2015.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/a-test-unlike-any-rangers-have-faced-this-season.23940433
Ciftci, though, is so sunnily confident that he did not need that chilly day at Inverness to bolster his belief that United will win today.
"With the players we've got in our team and the quality we've got, if we do what we're capable of then it shouldn't be a problem for us," he said in a breezy summation of events.
He is central to United's ambition of forcing Rangers on to the back foot with his ability to hold up the ball and play others in and to run channels with menace. Lee McCulloch and Bilel Mohsni have not faced anyone with such power, pace and technique this season. The confrontation between striker and central defence will be pivotal to how the match is played out.
http://www.vavel.com/en/football/306702-jackie-mcnamara-s-united-should-inspire-neil-lennon.html
Don’t get me wrong, United have dipped into the transfer market as well, and one of their new recruits is 21 year old Nadir Ciftci. Ciftci is best as a striker, and although he has a bit of a temperament, he is another exciting player. He is able to hold up the ball, he is good in the air, and has the ability to run defenders ragged. He has a good eye for goal as well. Recently United played Celtic at Celtic Park, and I was highly impressed with Ciftci.
Nothing wrong with the Tucedean / Vetokele partnership...unless one of them is injured,