Summer Transfer Misery and Recriminations.

[Özim]

Based on what you say you about Vardy you would have rejected and moaned about us signing Ian Wright back in the 90s. He joined us when he was at 28 and scored 28 goals in his last 72 league games for Palace before joining us. Yet he turned out ok, so why not Vardy.

No, he was a bit younger and also his goal record was better than Vardy's and also a fair bit cheaper. Let's not fool ourselves and think this guy is another Wright at a higher level for longer and even in the equivalent of the championship he was scoring a lot unlike Vardy and as PNG said things were very different then.

This reminds me of when people said if we spend money we'll do a Leeds or Chelsea will go down the pan when Abrahmovic leaves, it was all hearsay that never materialised and never would, just like Vardy being another Wright.

Wright was about 100 levels above this chump anyway, we should just finally bite the bullet and buy a top striker, we've messed around for too many years bying middle of the road players and paid for it.

For me we should just pay what we need, we primarily needed a top striker that was our biggest priority and if money was an issue I'd have saved the money we spent on Xhaka and put that towards a striker, so we can pay the 50-60 million or whatever it takes to sign someone like Griezmann or Higuain.

Now we've gone and spent 33 million on someone relatively unknown, great if we get a top striker as well, not so great if we hold back now because we've spent half our budget on a player who really noone knows anything about and who isn't in the most important position we need right now (though a DM is also needed but less so than a striker).

[Niall_Quinn]

Personally, I believe that Sanchez's problem is more to do with the fact that he has played a big summer tournament for each of the last three years, in addition to playing over 40 matches for his club team in each of the last 5 seasons.

But that's where Wenger screwed up. He's played him into the ground because he invariably needed him introduce something into the nothingness our system provokes. On sheer effort alone Alexis can make things happen. Alexis runs all day, he's game. But surely we could have used him more judiciously and in a more direct manner when the occasion called for it. I'd have liked to see him play as the second striker against some of the teams we should have beaten but ended up looking toothless against.

This tippy, tappy possession game. It's horrible. It takes good players and makes them nondescript cogs. It takes exceptional players and wastes them.

[Özim]

That was the early 90s. Expectations were different and the league was different. Name a situation in modern game or where we've done this under Wenger and it's been a success.

There aren't any because we all know the middle of the road players never really deliver for us up front, if we'd signed some of the top players we should have things would have been very different, but everytime we take the cheap option up front, seems like we want to do it again.

[Niall_Quinn]

Higuain, Lewandowski and Griezmann are far better and more logical options for us.

Lewandowski, yes of course. But forget it, the club won't spend that amount of money. Ditto Griezmann whose value must be rising by the match. Higuain we had the chance to get and I can understand why that didn't happen in the end, though I can't understand the ridiculous £1 farce that meant we didn't get the better alternative either. Back then the figure being talked about to bring Higuain here was £30mill. Now it will be much more than that because of the PL premium and the antics of clubs like Utd, the chavs and the gypos. You can even (thank fuck) scrub Lukaku. Can you see us spending that kind of money on the back of £30mill we spent on Xhaka? So what can we get realistically that will make an actual difference come August? It seems obvious to me. One man fits the bill perfectly. Anyone can be a one season wonder. But that's highly unlikely to be the case with Vardy. Everything about him says he's entering the prime of his career, despite the fact he was a late starter. These days £20mill isn't a gamble. Turds like Benteke and Sterling are going for twice that and more.

[Niall_Quinn]

That was the early 90s. Expectations were different and the league was different. Name a situation in modern game or where we've done this under Wenger and it's been a success.

Leicester have just shown up this "modern" league for what it is, using decidedly 90s methods in the process. The modern game is a myth. Only cowardly managers play it.

[Özim]

Lewandowski, yes of course. But forget it, the club won't spend that amount of money. Ditto Griezmann whose value must be rising by the match. Higuain we had the chance to get and I can understand why that didn't happen in the end, though I can't understand the ridiculous £1 farce that meant we didn't get the better alternative either. Back then the figure being talked about to bring Higuain here was £30mill. Now it will be much more than that because of the PL premium and the antics of clubs like Utd, the chavs and the gypos. You can even (thank fuck) scrub Lukaku. Can you see us spending that kind of money on the back of £30mill we spent on Xhaka? So what can we get realistically that will make an actual difference come August? It seems obvious to me. One man fits the bill perfectly. Anyone can be a one season wonder. But that's highly unlikely to be the case with Vardy. Everything about him says he's entering the prime of his career, despite the fact he was a late starter. These days £20mill isn't a gamble. Turds like Benteke and Sterling are going for twice that and more.

There lies the problem for me and on that basis I'd rather we got noone and waited until someone new comes in and spends the money on the right players, I don't believe we'll win anything with that guy in charge anyway so I'm just waiting for the time he's left and I'd rather he didn't waste the money on the wrong players, either go all out or don't bother.

I also agree now we've spent 33 million on Xhaka (is that really the best deal we could get on a player that was really unknown) which is a lot of money for that kind of player, we've blown our budget, what we should have done is blown our budget on a striker at long last because let's face it that was the priority.

DM/Defenders will come cheaper and I'm sure we can find players to fit in there if need be, but forwards, good ones cost a lot as they win you matches.

As for Vardy, yes he'll be a short term stop gap that cost us 20 million plus his wages (so it'll cost a lot more than 20 million), IMO there's a good chance he won't repeat his goalscoring feat, so we'd be spending money and then next time the chance comes up for a top striker, we won't be interested as we have too many and we won't have the budget.

Our motto should be go big or go home now, not buy cheap save money, I'm sick of how this club and manager does things, never doing things properly, it's all very amateurish, if we did thinks the right way we'd be a much bigger and better club right now.

[Özim]

Leicester have just shown up this "modern" league for what it is, using decidedly 90s methods in the process. The modern game is a myth. Only cowardly managers play it.

With all due respect to Leicester, the top teams just didn't perform which certainly helped their cause, it was a great great achievement, but unless they spend some money I can't see them being anywhere near next season.

That's not to say it wasn't an amazing thing they did because it was, but circumstances certainly helped them as well and I see normal service resumed next season, particularly with all the top managers coming in who will invariably spend money and in some cases on the right players.

[Niall_Quinn]

With all due respect to Leicester, the top teams just didn't perform which certainly helped their cause, it was a great great achievement, but unless they spend some money I can't see them being anywhere near next season.

That's not to say it wasn't an amazing thing they did because it was, but circumstances certainly helped them as well and I see normal service resumed next season, particularly with all the top managers coming in who will invariably spend money and in some cases on the right players.

Well let's wait and see. Perhaps all the top clubs really did just have an off-season as most suggest, which is disgraceful by the way. Billionaire clubs overstocked with millionaire players and some of them milking the fans mercilessly and they take a season off? I suppose in most cases the managers responsible got the boot, with the one notable exception of course - Mr Untouchable himself.

But maybe something else is happening. Maybe managers like Ranieri and Koeman and Bilic took a look at the modern game and said fuck that boring shit, we're going back to playing football. I hope that's the case because if it is then Pep, for one, will struggle with his soul destroying brand of bore ball. Maureen, we know what we'll get with him. Conte is the interesting newcomer. I loved the way his Italian team went back to the old school for that excellent performance against the pathetic "modern" Belgians.

[Bumble]

Well let's wait and see. Perhaps all the top clubs really did just have an off-season as most suggest, which is disgraceful by the way. Billionaire clubs overstocked with millionaire players and some of them milking the fans mercilessly and they take a season off? I suppose in most cases the managers responsible got the boot, with the one notable exception of course - Mr Untouchable himself.

But maybe something else is happening. Maybe managers like Ranieri and Koeman and Bilic took a look at the modern game and said fuck that boring shit, we're going back to playing football. I hope that's the case because if it is then Pep, for one, will struggle with his soul destroying brand of bore ball. Maureen, we know what we'll get with him. Conte is the interesting newcomer. I loved the way his Italian team went back to the old school for that excellent performance against the pathetic "modern" Belgians.

I don't think it is necessarily the bigger clubs and Chelsea having off seasons. The extra money coming into the league has meant it is harder to cherry pick the talent from the middle ranking clubs. Plus as this goes on not being involved in Europe might actually be an advantage. I fancy Chelsea to be top 2 next season because they don't need to sell players and they don't need to waste their time going through to the first knock out of the CL.

Football hasn't changed the idea is still to score goals. Does it really matter if we sign a striker for a couple of season. building for the future is what the u21s is for. Like the integrating of Iwobi, buy players for now and integrate the youngsters one or two a season. Simple.

I would take Vardy as he does a job for what we need plus he is a bit niggly which is a good thing. Griezman would be great as he is quality but the chances of us signing him ahead of Barca, City, United, Bayern is unlikely to say the least. The Higuian moment I would suggest has past. When Welbeck returns I do think he has a spot in the side, why not a front three of Vardy, Sanchez and Welbeck with Ozil in behind.

[Power n Glory]

Leicester have just shown up this "modern" league for what it is, using decidedly 90s methods in the process. The modern game is a myth. Only cowardly managers play it.

How is that relevant to us? I think you're getting swept away by the hype machine. You're proposing we take one component of a very well oiled machine and place it in our flawed, mismanaged and broken system but expect the same/better results than what Leicester were able to achieve. The whole is greater than the sum of parts when talking about Leicester.

We have the sort of cowardly 'modern' yet outdated manager you speak of. You've seen what Wenger has done with younger English players from lower leagues. I have no faith in this manager getting the best out of Vardy. Best believe, he'll hit a point where he'll doubt himself and the support system he had at Leicester won't be there. I don't know if he has the mentality to coach himself out of funk and when big pressure is on him and I'd rather not take the risk if he's not the only option on the table.