Transfer Deadline Day - 01/02/2016

Hmm, not sure if you're making a good case for him with your examples. I think he's doing a good job so far, but I think despite the inflated prices, there are good deals to be had in the lower leagues. I was hoping he'd help in sniffing out some of them.

 

I could've recommended that for free and saved The Pozzo's a lot of money.

 

Quite funny looking back through this and seeing the numerous 'I've it on a good authority' or 'a good source I know' declaring we'd finished our business, only to sign another player an hour or so later!

 

Really disappointed we didn't manage to get a proper winger in.

 

Wouldn't go as far as really disappointed but I have to say I don't think we have added any width or pace to the side at all. I hope that's on the summer agenda.

 

I thought that's what Amrabat was for, though it remains to be seen whether we're going to play him out of position or not.

 

MERSE SAYS: I think at the moment, we have to wait and see what these new signings are like but they've had a go and I like that from teams who are trying to stay in the league.

In other words he has never heard of any of them, yet is being paid to comment on them.

 

In both windows we have spent just under £60m.

Welcome to the new era ladies and gents, we have never seen anything like this before.

 

We got a C and Norwich got an A??

 

Laughable.

And muff got an A-, Afobe isn't a half bad signing, but the rest?

 

For me, this window has been a very mature, sensible piece of business. Some players for the now, some for the future. No panic buying, just a very measured approach. True, we will all have our little worries, be it a lack of a proven back up scorer or lack of a really pacey winger, but the philosophy that's worked so far this season has been physical players, players who press and work hard for the team, players who make us tough to beat etc, and Suarez and Amrabat look like ticking those boxes.

An interesting aside on the signing of two players for next season, plus the likely arrival of Sinclair, shows the influence of QSF and how wrong the silly 'experts' were last summer when they made him favourite to be the first PL manager to be sacked, trotting out all the usual lazy comments about 4 Head Coaches last year etc. it really seems we are planning for the long term and it appears QSF is getting his feet under the table.

My philosophy this season has always been 'walk before you can run'. Rome wasn't built in a day. It takes time to build things. Our first mission this season was to try stay up. Then start trying to become an established club in the division. It doesn't come overnight. If we finish 15th and reach the last eight of the cup, well that's still progress. You don't qualify for Europe or win cups overnight. Build steadily and enjoy every part of the exciting progress being made. With that in mind, it appears to have been a very decent transfer window.

What great times these are. Chelsea and Spurs to play this week, a Championship team standing between us and the quarters of the cup, Mario Suarez, signing three £5 million plus players in a week, prising a young talent off Liverpool etc etc.

Wow!

 

Eight homegrown players over 21 that includes 2 GK's! Therefore we may as well put them all in the 25 man squad (except perhaps Gilmartin, as he has a long term injury), and that would still only make our named squad 24 players. That way if we were to have a serious injury crisis we will at least be able to use them.

I know we still have the u21 players to fall back on, but surely it's better to be safe than sorry.

Our 8 over 21 homegrowns are: - Gilmartin GK (injured); Simpson GK; Cathcart CB; Anya W/WB; Watson CMF; Murray MF; Deeney St; Mensah St.

Why leave any of them out, except Gilmartin as he is injured!

 

Am I being whooshed here, Mensah and Simpson over21? Surely not.

 

Amrabat is sharp but isn't especially quick, nor does he look an out and out winger - I've said it before, he's a slight upgrade on Jurado.

 

Good news about the signings for the future but it is a shame we didn't manage to get that pacy winger for the here & now. It sounds like we tried to get one in but couldn't pull off a deal anywhere. Amrabat is a very versatile forward but not sure he's a winger as such.

 

What is his speed on fifa?

 

He is a winger. That is the position hes played most if his career at and he publicy said last week its his prefered position.

 

How can he never have heard of Mario Suarez?

I know hes gone off the boil the last couple of years but before that he was amongst the elite midfielders in Europe.

 

Merse also said before the transfer window that he would be amazed if Ighalo was still with Watford after the January transfer window

 

It's possible to have heard of Suarez without knowing how he will adapt to English football. None of us know that. (Though I wouldn't rule out Merson never having heard of him.)

 

Merse & Lawro are employed for comedy value only. I'm not sure they realise though.

 

If the rumoured fees are to be believed we're the top spenders in the PL for January, have spent more than Arsenal, Spurs, Norwich, Villa, Soton and Swansea combined and out spent the whole of La Liga. Bonkers.

 

Why do people keep saying this? There was a couple of moments during the Forest game where he looked pretty damn quick.

 

Can you clarify whether Gilmartin's injured for me? Not quite sure from your post

 

Amrabat is quick. Quique wanted a player with pace, he got him and therefore we were happy to leave to squad as it is.

 

Except that we were looking to bring in Cheryshev on deadline day so maybe not. It didn't happen thanks to Gary Neville & Co but we tried.

Quique still said he wanted a wide player with pace AFTER we bought Amrabat & said he saw him more as a striker.

 

If we wanted a winger that much then we would have brought one in. Amrabat can play in a few positions. I don't know why people think they know better than the coaching staff!

 

Well it would be pretty unfair on the rest of the squad if a player, who has just been brought in on big money, actually got to play in his natural position straight away.

 

The coaching staff don't seem convinced though. We tried to do exactly that. We failed but we tried. I'm just going by what the club themselves have actually said.

 

p.s. the worst transfer deadline day ever, as an overall spectacle?

 

For some reason, the media seem to suggest that we spent the second most (net) of any other team this window. (£24.6m)

Considering we paid £4.5m for Doucoure, around 6.1m for Arambat, 600k for Pants and I haven't seen any confirmed amount for Peneranda (maybe we did give them some cash now for tax/ liquidity reasons, but I doubt it broke our transfer record).

Even assuming we spent £8 million on Pereranda and we didn't receive any loan fee for Arla, I struggle to see where the £24.6m comes from.

 

We're silly old Watford who have massively overspent on foreigners. And then get this, SENT SOME OUT ON LOAN STRAIGHT AWAY!! Clueless. Unlike Bournemouth who have spent the best part of £20m on Championship players, that's how you do it.

 

WD Sports said £3.5m for Pants on Twitter yesterday.

 

http://www.wdsport.co.uk/2016/02/ne...r-adalberto-penaranda-were-club-record-deals/

488k on this one