Locked: Summer 2007 ins and outs

Apparently we are going for Mohammed Zidan from Mainz.. He was voted most valuable player in the danish league when he was with FC Midtjylland.. And recently he was third in the "Bild Player of the year" competition.. Mainz has just been relegated, but he wont go cheap.. I think he scored about 13 goals since christmas, and he almost saved Mainz from relegation...

His mainquality is his fantastic dribbling skills and lately he has been scoring a lot of goals. Spurs is after him as well, and unfortunately he prefers the Spanish league.. But lets see.. It would be a coup to get this guy even though he is pretty selfish on the pitch, which can be a good thing with strikers..

Apparently we are also getting most of Northern Irelands population like Hughes, Healy and Davis... Davis is quality, Healy is alright and I will give him the benefit of the doubt.. Hughes on the other hand is not the solution in the back...

And on the LB I agree Heath Pearce would be a great addition.. He is out of contract in the summer, and would be totally free...!

Maybe we should go for Swedens Rade Prica from Aab.. He is looking great at the moment, and is in the Sweden national team... Great heading ability and scores a lot of goals, when he has the confidence...

But most importantly we need those central defenders... Lets hope Russell Anderson is the solution...

 

According to numerous you lot were in for Sami Hyppia, but couldn't agree on wages.

Would of been a quality center back to come in and play right away.

 

If we have all this money to spend then why are we being linked to crap players? I mean Healy and Cook are good players, but Anderson,Hughes etc are all players who will not perform in this league. We always hear how much we have to spend and then we sign players that might keep us up and that is it and we show no ambition. We need defense and we have not been linked to a CB that would actually show teams in the Premiership that we are for real. Teams are spending large amounts of money while we seem to be happy buying players from Scotland or players from Northern Ireland. If we do not sign a quality CB we will more than likely be relegated from the Premiership as our defense is horrible and the players we have been linked to will not help.

 

Hyppia, the only CB I have heard mentioned with Fulham, is a quality CB. Better than any CB currently on the squad and would improve the back line while bringing a sense of leadership as well.

 

Rumours, rumours, rumours.......but fun.

Update !! -- Steve B, Wednesday, May 30, 10:59:53am (88.111.71.179)
Just to keep you in the picture......I have only not posted cos nothing has really changed over the last few days.
The 'mystery' player as he is now known is still in the balance. He has one year left on his contract and the club are trying to agree a fee. All parties are keeping the deal quiet and it will come off if we pay the asking price. I think the selling club are realively happy with our offer and it should be concluded this week one way or another as the player will leave or sign an extension by the time he goes on holiday next week. He is a CB !!
The Hyppia transfer is still on the cards. I have been told again that he wants £30k per annum, a 3 year deal and incentives.........which in total amount to a £5m, 3 year deal. We are not that far away with our offer and Reading have offered what he wants........but Fulham is his 1st choice for the reasons I stated earlier........London, house near frimley etc. There is still a chance this could go ahead as he has said no th Newcastle.
Healy is to be signed. Admin issues relating to the proposed sale/purchase of the club is forcing Leeds to hold back any transactions until resolved. We have everything in place and just waiting........however it MAY not be until mid-June !!
Finally, out of interest, a mate met with Cookie a little time ago in a bar and was chatting about a lot of things. One thing he said was that during January we had discussions with around 15 different players/agents to try and bring in the right signings but did say just how difficult the process is for a club like us when the competition are so willing to throw cash at all and sundrie just to add to there squad. I was told by a different mate that Onweyu was paid £20k per week during his loan spell at Newcastle than we, or indeed Liege , were prepared to pay him !!

 

Start with a few names that I believe are available from some prem clubs...can get into talet in other leagues later.

Watford: Marlon King (quality young striker dealt with an injury this season) DeMerit (shown his class and has the entire rags to riches story nailed down)

Charlton: Darren Bent (classy young forward, he is out of Fulham's price range at this time) Rommedahl (not exactly what Fulham is looking for, but can nip a goal here or there) Hasselblaink (still a quality striker and has maybe two seasons left in his legs, there are worse choices for a top striker out there)

Sheffield Utd: Jagielka (rumoured to be on the move and is a solid midfielder going forward, tracks back as well)

Wigan: Baines (will soon be out, quality service into the box, good tackler, would be a bit pricey though) Luis Valencia (he was loaned to Wigan via Villareal and would be a nice addition, proven to do quite well with his brief time in the prem)

West Ham: Tevez (most assuredly out of price range and already stated he wants to go to a giant in Europe) Carroll (quality back up keeper, but can't stand him b/c he is a former manc) Konchesky (nice defender, tackles well and along with a decent ball into the box, not a CB but can be adapted for the role) Reo-Coker (young leader, nice shot and wants to move badly) Harewood (seems to be on the outskirts for a starting job, but with Tevez obviously leaving he may be closer to the starting XI) Don't see the club parting ways with Davenport or Spector at this time either.

Manchester City: Beasley (loan to city via PSV, PSV seem willing to part ways with him and Rangers seems to be sniffing around for him) Barton (seems to be a head case, but he would be available at a knock down price due to his latest antics) Vassell (former England international has loads of pace to burn, not sure how long his contract has left, but would be a different weapon to throw at an opposing team's defense)

Newcastle: Onyewu (terrible first few months in the prem, but I believe Newcastle will at least stick with him until mid season) Bramble (good defender and quite a few clubs seem to be in for him) Kieron Dyer (still has quite a bit of quality, injuries have hampered him, doubt he will be available but he adds instant credibility to a clubs attacking potential)

Middlesborough: Robert Huth (former Chelsea failure, has the size but hasn't fully come into his own yet) Yakubu (continually underrated for his work effort and size, always dangerous) James Morrison (hometown kid and I'm continually impressed with his abilities)

Aston Villa: Patrick Berger (brings flashes of class and a great shot) Agbonglahor (pacey young forward who might be available soon) Maloney (think he has great talent and can run at defenders well, O'neill won't part with him though...being a former Celtic bhoy and all)

Blackburn: Stephen Warnock (newly aquired by Blackburn this past season, has done quite well and is improving with each appearance) Gamst Pederson (rumoured to be on the move, think he is greatly underrated, runs at defenders well with good service to forwards) Derbyshire (get him while he is more of an unknown before his price goes through the roof) Benni McCarthy (he is going to get a big deal while he still can, doubt he would be in Fulham's price range)

Portsmouth: Matty Taylor (Portsmouth is offering him up to other clubs but at a high price, he seems to be worth it though, good LB that has an amazing shot) Kranjcar (attacking option not used by Pompey that often, Czech has some talent that most would be surprised by) Kanu (not happy and wants out, but I doubt Fulham is on his list of new clubs)

Reading: Sonko (might be a better addition in the mid season transfer window, 2nd year slump will assuredly hit Reading, good CB) Hunt (what you would want from every player, tireless work ethic and not afraid to tackle, McBride attitude) Quality young forwards, but I dont see the club parting with either Doyle (huge fans of his) or Lita

Bolton: Tel Ben Haim (number of clubs rumoured with his name)

Everton: Beattie (on the move, not worth it though) Valente (former Porto man, prem hasn't seen much of him yet)

Tottenham: Huddelston (great size and controls the ball well for a defender) Ghaly (reported to be unhappy with his playing time, decent choice in my opinion) Mido (clubhouse cancer and available)

Arsenal: Any of their youth team players...Wow...Djouro or Hoyte (great young talents that should be bought up as soon as possible, but they will be pricey) Flamini (unhappy with playing time in a loaded midfield) Aliadiere (talent and pace to burn, would be pricey but he would also be the future)

Liverpool: Gonzalez (didn't work out in his first season, but has great pace) Zenden (no more room in their midfield, can still play in the prem, quality at times) Hyppia (Rafa might want him, but odds are he is out, still very talented) Dudek, Bellamy (head case, but a pacey pesky striker) Momo Sissoko (midfield destroyer)

Chelsea: wouldn't sell to Fulham...

Manchester United: Kieran Richardson (can't seem to break into the first team, but watched him in person and seems to have potential) Heinze (might move on, but too pricey and not worth it) Saha (fallen out of favor with SAF)

 

When I look over the squad I just don't see a player on WBA that could help Fulham progress to the next level at this time.

 

The Baggies' Curtis Davies (center back) and Jason Koumas (midfielder) would improve Fulham's quality and depth and they have been given permission to search for work in the Premiership.

 

I thnk those players would add depth to the position, but quality is lacking. I believe there are other players out there who could fill the center back role better than Davies and Koumas displace anyone in midfield at this time.

 

Quality is relative to what Fulham already possess at CB. In my opinion, Davies would start for squad as it stands right now. And when you've watched Z. Knight give the ball to the other side just outside the box for the upteenth time, "Anyone But Knight" is a fine option.

 

Haha, very true. There is the learning curve period for the EPL as well. Very few players can just jump in an have an immediate impact. Davies could adapt well, but I believe there are better options out there. He could be bought for a bargain price though.

 

Leighton Baines is SO far out of our price range, unfortunately.

 

I doubt Davies could be bought at a bargain price. He is a good, young defender and has the leadership skills few others have. While it might take him a bit of time to get acclimated to life in the Premiership, West Brom would not sell him for anything less than 5 million pounds. My guess is that he would actually go closer to 7 or 8.

 

One Sheff Utd fan I talked to says that he's a much better centre-back than midfielder. I'd like to see us go after him. He can even be our backup keeper too!

 

I was going to put that in the brackets, but wasn't sure if many caught that match. He didn't do a half bad job either. Jagielka is a bit of a utility player who can fill several roles. Fulham would assuredly benefit from signing him.

 

Looks like Fulham is going to miss out as Jagielka is apparently headed to the Toffees for 4 million quid.

http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Sto ... 32,00.html

 

Can't stand the toffees...if he is going for as little as 4 million quid (I know not a completely small asking price) I would hope Fulham could come close to matching that. He can play a variety of positions, has a leaders' mentality, heart, good at tackling and links up with his teammates well.

Without Jagielka, I doubt Sheffield United woudl of been nearly as competitive.

 

How about Frank Simek? He is a tough tacking fullback, motivated, young, talented and a yank to boot. Sheffield Wednesday are struggling to hold off clubs such as Aston Villa and Pompey from inquirring about him.

With the other yanks on Fulham they could motivate or influence him to make a great career choice by transfering to Fulham.