https://twitter.com/VoicesOfTheVic/status/1531984019914645505?s=20&t=9m_lBWlgqTQ6DPrt18Eqqg The upsides are that he is prolific, physical, and given Reading's state with regards to FFP, probably available for relatively cheap, although on the flip side he's injury prone, and there are plenty of other teams in for him
Quite old. Turning 29 this year. But whichever top half side gets him will get 20 goal contributions from him if he is relatively injury free. For £3-5m probably the most guaranteed route to championship goals.
Very good player/scorer . Reading went to pot when he got injured though and he had a few. Could go either way.
Worth noting that website released an article 4hrs ago suggesting Forest are on the verge of signing Conor Goldson from Rangers. Since then, Goldson has signed a new contract with Rangers. Yes it would be nice to have a striker who scored goals - but I’m not convinced by Lucas Joao quite honestly. We need to strike a balance between building a side that will do well next season but then won’t be ripped up next summer because we have been promoted and they aren’t good enough.
For £3m it's a gamble worth taking with his track record, especially if we sign a backup on the cheap (Will Keane?)
We won't be buying any players who are expected to be prem material by this time next year. Let's get promoted first, we will only get relegated again anyway.
Playing for Sheff Wed (who were a dull if effective side at the time) and Reading. He’s improved a lot the last few years but staying relatively injury free is probably the big caveat. 73 G/A in 100 90s over the last five seasons is a cracking return for a player at bottom half sides.
Definitely an interesting point. I do think though that often championship goal scorers don’t translate that well to the PL. While I’d like us to sign players who are going to develop with us into future PL level players, I think that kind of signing would be more appropriate in some of our other positions and signing a £3m striker who can get us out of the Championship and then be binned off wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world (assuming we’ve signed players for other roles - CB, DM and RB - that are going to develop and play with us in the long run).
Which "yarn" ? The key thing is to ensure we get promotion first and foremost so effective players with champ track record. We won't be able to assemble a squad of prem ready players on the fees and salaries we are likely to commit to given our relegation and debt. If we could, then great, but we will need the odd champ journeymen, along side our dead wood, a few loans and maybe the odd promising gem. Yes, we will be favourites for relegation again if we do get promoted.
If we could guarantee his fitness, he’d be 10-15m, even at 29 years old. The reality is, he’d be playing for a side who famously have a poor injury record. For a couple of million, I think he’s worth it. For any more than that, no chance.
The yarn that we will certainly come straight back down, it’s one of your favourites! Of course we’d be among the favourites - doesn’t take a genius to make that leap. But that doesn’t make it the guarantee your previous message stated. At all. As for the rest of your message - it tallies up with my comment of having to ‘strike a balance’ of having a squad for next season that won’t need to be ‘totally’ ripped up in the summer should we go up…so not quite sure why you intervened? I didn’t say we would be able to assemble a squad full of PL ready players did I? You’ve gone off on a tangent there.
One of my favourites, one of the bookies favourites, and guess what, we were both right this season Not sure how many of our current squad you feel are premier league quality and how many premier league quality players you expect we will sign in the summer but I would suggest that if "ripped up next summer because we have been promoted" meant "substantially strengthened/changed", then I'm afraid whatever squad we assemble this summer would need to be "ripped up" unless the bookies and myself are to be proved correct yet again. But let's ensure we get promoted first before worrying about that as we would have additional funds available then !
I like him from what I've seen. Capable of running past people (if a bit Paolo Wanchope in the way he does it, reference for all you 90s football fans there) and creating some chances for himself rather than having to have them laid on a plate for him, and also capable of running in behind. Think he'd offer us something different to what we have.
Crowing about being proved right - yet you were continuously wrong in predicting relegation in the seasons it didn’t happen. Your use of the term ‘yet again’ doesn’t really fit in that sense… The rest of your message again is off on a tangent going against something I didn’t say. But the cycle of building a squad for promotion and then completely making a new one for a PL season is one of the reasons the current squad is in the mess it is. It’s unsustainable long term. You may want us to keep in that cycle - but I don’t. Let’s leave it there because we could go back and forth all evening and you’ll only end up saying I’m determined to have the last word - despite this little debate being something you’ve conjured up over entirely misinterpreting what I said.
I’m absolutely right about my own opinion which is all I gave? Yes I am. Hardly going to give an opinion I believe to be wrong am I! Your sarcasm isn’t even as good as it used to be. And to round the point off to save your confusion: We could or have sign(ed): Romain Saiss Maduka Okoye Lewis Ferguson Bobby Reid Josh Doig Jean Michael-Seri All off the top of my head. None entirely out of reach - and all likely to be able to contribute to a good season next season and also look at being capable of jumping up to the PL afterwards. So I don’t understand your point about us not signing players who would be ready to play PL football in a years time? Would you rather we sign a bunch of Dan Goslings on long deals?
Out of interest, why not? 16 goals and assists in 2500 mins last season and Fulham’s top scorer the year before. A very versatile player but not young which would be my main question mark. Edit: For context because of course it’s a very free scoring Fulham side that’s a goal contribution every 156 mins which is the same as Fabio Carvalho.
The original source (Football League World) had him linked with Nottingham Forest, Norwich, Burnley and Boro, which I suppose in a way is good because he wouldn't have all that interest in him if he were crap, but on the flip side, it really reduces the chances of us actually signing him!
I’d like this one. However if we could get as good without the injury question mark even better (but could we?)
Why do you take it so personally when ANYONE has a different opinion to you ? The sarcasm was an attempt to cut short one of your mega long drawn out arguments until someone hoists up the white flag or just loses the will to live. It failed. We disagree ok ? You believe we can build a substantially prem ready squad on a shoestring adding to what we retain from this season. I don't. I think it's very likely we will be favourites for relegated if we are promoted. You don't. Fine. No idea if that list of players would sign for us (other than Okoye obvs, who some seem to think won't even be good enough for the champ) and no idea whether they would be good enough for the prem in 12m. If they would be I'm sure there'd be plenty of competition for their signatures. No of course I don't want a team of Dan Goslings. Back to the subject of this thread, I'd happily take the guy for £3m if he can get the goals to get us over the line, leaving at least some funds to spend elsewhere.