He got his 100th goal for Southampton yesterday, well worth the £1m Pardew spent on him.
Unlike Varney 2.5m McLeod 1.1m Gray 1.5m
If only, if only...
Lambert has done excellently but I do wonder how he would have done with a legs gone Matt Holland and Racon supplying his service which is what the other three had most of the time.
I said we should have signed him and Danny Graham when they were playing in League 1 or 2 or whatever it was. Then a little while later I was sure we should have signed Bolasie from Plymouth...
SCP should sign me up as a scout. We'd be prem by now.
It's not just the goals. Holds it up well and can pick a pass. Reasonable change of pace too. You have to wonder how he's managed to languish at such a low level with that amount of ability.
Let's be fair and say that for a few years the club bought a whole load of players who didn't perform ... they were all sold on and and some performed elsewhere... and now we seem to be in a place where we have a decent mix of academy and signed players who haven't performed elsewhere
Let's be fair, its not just us who slipped up in missing these players but about 40 odd other clubs too...
The issue is more the expensive flops we bought instead, if we had just stuck to cheap signings and freebies (like Iwelemu) our finances would be in a much healthier state...
Very rarely do you get out of the Championship with cheap signings. It happens but not a lot.
Yes, those players flopped but with the aim to return to the Premiership at the time, we needed to spend to try and achieve it. The problem wasn't the money spent, but more what it was spent on.
Very rarely do you get out of the Championship with cheap signings. It happens but not a lot.
Yes, those players flopped but with the aim to return to the Premiership at the time, we needed to spend to try and achieve it. The problem wasn't the money spent, but more what it was spent on.
Thanks to Pardew's transfers we did get out of the Championship...
I personally think that with the right manager (eg - not one who tries to sap every bit of confidence from you (Mr Pardew)), Luke Varney is a very good Championship player.
I personally think that with the right manager (eg - not one who tries to sap every bit of confidence from you (Mr Pardew)), Luke Varney is a very good Championship player.
Good 'worker' but not a natural goal scorer, a Garry Nelson type of player.
Varney is Championship quality, but nothing he's done since he left us suggests there was a great deal more to be had from him than we got - he's hardly been prolific.
Just my opinion, but not many of the team Pardew had in the first Championship season would get into the current team.
Reidy? Obviously. Bougherra? Maybe but he was all posh frock and no knickers. Cort's no nonsense aproach probably serves us better. Iwelumo? No better than Yann. ZZ? Maybe, would probably be a decent member of this squad but not a nailed on starter. Generally flattered to deceive much like Stephens can. Thomas? We could do with a tricky winger and he'd give us an option we don't have. Gray? No better than Yann. Varney? Better than Wagstaff, but maybe not Haynes - although less injury prone. McCarthy? No better than Morro or Cort. Weaver? Always thought he was toilet so no. Moo2? Do me a favour. Thatcher, Youga? No chance. Holland? Maybe on experience but his legs were going. Was at a similar level by then to what Jacko is now imho. Marcus Bent? Slightly different player but comparable ability to Fuller (for the ten minutes a season he could be bothered to apply it) so another pass.
But for all it's faults and weaknesses (not least having Pardew in charge of it) that side probably would have made the play-offs if we hadn't sold Reid (and he'd stayed fit). I think that goes to show we're only a couple of good signings away from being a very decent Championship side, much like we were in 96/97 (as has been said before). Whether we can expect the same kind of (relatively) modest but well targetted investment this summer as we saw in summer '97, who knows.
Varney, Iwelumo, McLeod, Gray.....it all seems like a bad dream now doesn't it?
Nope ...... a frigging nightmare
Not sure of fullers wage tbf ....and for about 4 million less in transfer fees SCP has brought us Kermo, Fuller, Haynes and BWP - and probably much lower wages too.
Comments
That said Pardew brought Racon in so down to him.
He disagreed, saying that he was just a big lump :-(
SCP should sign me up as a scout. We'd be prem by now.
Yes, those players flopped but with the aim to return to the Premiership at the time, we needed to spend to try and achieve it. The problem wasn't the money spent, but more what it was spent on.
get right, there's four you got wrong.
Just my opinion, but not many of the team Pardew had in the first Championship season would get into the current team.
Reidy? Obviously.
Bougherra? Maybe but he was all posh frock and no knickers. Cort's no nonsense aproach probably serves us better.
Iwelumo? No better than Yann.
ZZ? Maybe, would probably be a decent member of this squad but not a nailed on starter. Generally flattered to deceive much like Stephens can.
Thomas? We could do with a tricky winger and he'd give us an option we don't have.
Gray? No better than Yann.
Varney? Better than Wagstaff, but maybe not Haynes - although less injury prone.
McCarthy? No better than Morro or Cort.
Weaver? Always thought he was toilet so no.
Moo2? Do me a favour.
Thatcher, Youga? No chance.
Holland? Maybe on experience but his legs were going. Was at a similar level by then to what Jacko is now imho.
Marcus Bent? Slightly different player but comparable ability to Fuller (for the ten minutes a season he could be bothered to apply it) so another pass.
But for all it's faults and weaknesses (not least having Pardew in charge of it) that side probably would have made the play-offs if we hadn't sold Reid (and he'd stayed fit). I think that goes to show we're only a couple of good signings away from being a very decent Championship side, much like we were in 96/97 (as has been said before). Whether we can expect the same kind of (relatively) modest but well targetted investment this summer as we saw in summer '97, who knows.