Locked: Summer 2007 ins and outs

He is a backup RB how does he mean this much? People overrate him and Gravesen would fill the need if Diop left. If Diop does not leave then Jirosik is quality and can play on the left wing or be a creative player in the center of midfield.

 

I agree. Gravesen was a great player at Everton and he was the engine of that midfield. While I am a fan of Volz, I think the addition of Gravesen would overcome the loss of Volz.

Additionally, Volz's production has gone down over the last two seasons. It seems he has not quite been the same since he was vaulted into the crowd at Fratton Park against Portsmouth during the 2005-2006 season. He has been a superb citizen and a great ambassador of Fulham, but his on field performances, have not quite been up to the standard he set for himself a few years back.

Is Gravesen the answer? I am not sure we need another midfielder, but if I were asked to pick between the two this season I would take Gravesen. I would prefer us to get some defenders as the addition of Gravesen would add to what is already a crowded midfield.

Lastly, if Omozusi is a right back and Rosenior's preferred position is right back, we surely have a surplus of talent in that position. Thus, we could give one up. Some might argue that Volz can play a lot of positions, which was true last season, but I would expect his days in the midfield are over and outside of the team not signing a left back and forcing Rosenior to play over there, he will NOT see much playing time.

The minuses of him leaving would be his relatively young age at 23 or 24, his hard work ethic, he is a crowd favorite, etc.

I doubt this rumour is true anyways, but if it was, it is something Fulham should surely explore.

 

If LS chooses to place Omozusi in the RB position and views Liam as the answer to the RB position then Volzy might be out of luck. His antics and personality off the field affect a lot of my opinion, but football wise it might be a sound move to sign some quality players from Celtic, not Gravesen IMO. I am interested to see the amount of time Omozusi will pick up this season as he is highly rated by many.

As I search the roster of the Celtic side there are not many who stick out as being a clear cut choice for Fulham. Many would choose Gravesen, but I don't rate him nearly as much as everyone else. Balde would be a solid choice apart from the fact he is now 31 and is coming off a broken leg injury. Lee Naylor and Gary Caldwell both have a fair amount of youth and experience on their side. Both are solid in defense and fairly versatile.

Those two would be my choices. Not like the Bhoys will give up Nakamura for a player plus money deal.

 

In case ya'll hadn't noticed (or forgot), since the board has been down we have signed:

Kamara
Chris Baird
David Healy
Konchesky

 

i for one am pretty happy about these signings. although the inlfux of new players begs the question: what will happen to everyone else? from 1-5, rate the likeliness that each player will be gone. mine are in parantheses.

john(3)
pearce(5)
qqq(5)
helguson(5)
bjorn(4)
brown(3)
davies(2)
smertin(2)
ehrlich(5)
phillipe(4)
diop(1)

if i forgot anyone feel free to add them.

 

what's going on w/ Que starting the friendly? Is it possible that he could be kept around and used as a left winger? or is LS just shopping him? back to your list Timmy...

agree that HH is likely gone...probably to a championship team unless he decides to leave England. Elrich...see you later!!!!

Love our signings...am very excited about the people LS has brought in

 

Doubt Q will be around much longer. Newcastle seem to be fairly interested and their price isn't far off what LS expects.

Fantastic signings and I believe one or two more are still to come. Cook?

 

yeah...i'm expecting Cook to happen soon. at least I hope we get him. would be a good signing IMO. i'd still like to see one more CB too.

 

omsdogg - I couldn't agree more; we need another CB. The less chance I see ZK on the pitch the better...last year he did a number on my central nervous system week after week.....

I love the signings thus far, Sanchez has really surprised me. Cook would be the "cherry on top" of this transfer season.

Welcome back msgboard......

 

Did anybody see the video feed of the press conference on the official site? Let's just say Sanchez knows 'what's up'.

 

I saw the press conference on Sky Sports free video feed on their football site. Fantastic interview and LS has a good head on his shoulders. As much as I like Cookie, I believe LS will do a quality job. A better job than Cookie? That is to be seen.

If anyone hasn't seen the interview yet I highly recommend it. You can see it on the offal or sky sports.

 

It seems to me LS is shopping from the Northern Ireland store like Coleman was starting to shop in the USA. I am wondering what the dressing room will be like for the players. Will it be divided by LS Northern Ireland players and everyone else? At this point I also think tacticly we will see exactly what northern ireland does, but I don't know what they do tacticly can anyone enlighten me?

 

Under LS, Northern Ireland has leaped up to, at one point, #29 in Fifa's rankings from a miserable#129 under their former manager. A team that couldn't score goals was finally scoring goals and utilizing Healy well by playing direct ball up the middle. Also, his sides are defensively sound and seemed to have a tenacity about them... a never say die attitude. Go back and watch the Euro Qualifier between Spain and NI. Final score NI 3 and Spain 2. Wonderful match.

The side wasn't divided with three yanks under Cookie and I doubt the four Northern Irishmen will do anything to unsettle the side under LS.

 

I can't imagine the Northern Ireland players will be dividing the dressing room. None of them seem to have big heads and since most of them were either playing in the Championship and/or sitting on the bench at Villa, they all have things to prove in the Premiership.

Additionally, I would guess that Lawrie is bringing in players he knows well that will NOT cause problems like this. He knows these guys and if he thought they would be problems off the pitch, he probably would NOT have brought them in.

I also do NOT think there will be any animosity towards them. They are coming in here with a job to do and each players will do just that. There will definitely be competition for spots in the starting XI, but that is a good thing. We have not had solid competition for places in some time as we do now all over the pitch.

 

How wrong I was! Should really think more positively.

As for Volzy I am %100 opposed to selling him.

 

I think LS said that he wants £3m for Queudrue, otherwise he won't sell. Sounds like good business to me, especially with our lack of left-footed players. I'm sure we'll end up with one of Cook/Brunt/Bouazza, but until then, someone has to play on the left side.

Would also be nice if Timlin can cut it as a backup to whoever we get.

 

I'm thinking Sanchez just bought Northern Ireland's Greatest Hits, as it were, and probably won't go after any more, unless they are readily available and highly rated. After all, these are the players that turned NI into a good side, proven winners, if you will. Something this team is sorely lacking.

 

Sounds like the on-again off-again rumors of Lee Cook are now very much on again according to our friends at t-f-i. Anybody know anything about him? All I know is he's a left midfielder which would seem to pave the way for Franck to join his beloved Newcastle.

 

I am very happy with the new signings. Konchesky is a proven EPL player, Southampton fans rave about Baird, and I have high hopes for Healy.

I would not be surprised or particularly disappointed if Q leaves. He takes a decent free kick, but he is a little slow and not much of a defender. Konch is a more than adequate replacement.