Summer '08: Ins and Outs

Beattie is similar to McBride. But I don't know if he has McBride's ability to produce in the clutch.

That being said, I think he would be worth the price. He'll give it his best every time he's out there and will have an added incentive to prove those who doubt his abilities at the Premiership level wrong. Another positive factor is that he's a team-oriented player who, like McBride, will work to the benefit of those around him.

If this rumor is true, then you're really seeing a pattern with the players Roy Hodgson is trying to bring in. He's going for the players who are as solid off-the-pitch as they are on it. Gera and Schwarzer are quality football players. But they are also good guys to have in your locker room.

 

I fail to see why we should be willing to pay 6 million pounds for him if he was worth 4 million pounds when he was a year younger. 22 goals in the Championship last season is nice, but 13 goals over 76 appearances in two seasons with Everton (when he was 27 and 28, which is closer to most strikers' prime than the time period we'd have him for) is hardly awe-inspiring. Haven't Healy and Kamara shown us the risk in overpaying for guys based on their track record at lower levels?

 

No way to Beattie at £6m. £2m would be ok. I'm sure Roy is looking elsewhere though, as opposed to overpriced English strikers.

 

Good points, jmh. I'm more worried about his performances with Everton than I am about his age.

But Sheffield United were no one's idea of great passing side. Beattie did this without the kind of service from the midfield Kamara received at West Brom. And he also did far better on a higher level than Healy did with Leeds.

Sheffield United bought him from Everton for 4 million. Since that time, he has become a 20-goal-scorer on the Championship level. Considering the fact that Andy Johnson went to Everton for 8.6 million after scoring 15 goals in his last year at Palace, I don't think Sheffield United are asking too much for a player who is very likely to repeat the 20-plus goal effort again this season for them.

The question becomes a simple one:

Do we think he can cut it at this level?

I'm glad I'm not Roy. I think he can make a strong contribution to Fulham next season due to his work ethic and his abilities. But I've got my eye on that Everton performance as much as you do. It doesn't inspire complete confidence.

 

Fulham rumored to be in for Croat CB Simunic.

At 6'5" tall he certainly would meet Roy's height requirements.

 

What's with all the Croatian-Australian athletes? Simunic, Viduka, Bresciano, Andrew Bogut...I'm sure there are others. Seems like an unlikely combination, given the distance between the two countries.

 

Work-ethic only gets a team so far. I know damn well I'm in the minority, but the object is to win and if that means passing on players like Beattie and getting players with bad attitudes who are 10 times better, then so be it. Beattie was absolute rubbish with Everton. If he tripped, he was out for 10 months and if he played, he didn't score. Work-Ethic=what we've had for 8 seasons and it's gotten us nowhere fast.

 

Now Siminuc is somebody I like and have liked for years now. What a great player he would be. He's absolute quality at both Left-back and CB. Please let it happen!

 

Bresciano is of Italian descent.

 

Without work ethic, our compatriots overseas are making plans for Doncaster and Plymouth right now. To win that match against Manchester City in that circumstance was a testament not only to character, but also to work.

We're not talking about someone in Beattie who could barely get 10 goals last year. He was a top-level scorer in a club lacking quality in delivery from the midfield.

MAF is not going to drop 10-20 million to bring in the level of striker we'd all like to see at Fulham. By necessity, we've got to take risks. I can't think of a forward we're considering at this stage who doesn't come with some deficiency or risk.

 

He scored 20+ goals in the CHAMPIONSHIP! He scored 13 goals in 76 games for Everton and was ALWAYS injured. Shouldn't we be going by his recent premier league history? That would suggest that he's crap in this league.



I'm not saying we don't need work-ethic. I'm saying that to buy players that are great workers with no skill is not the way to go. We've been doing this forever now. It isn't working. I personally could give a shit if our star forward is snorting a drug as long as he performs on the pitch.

 

Wow, he and the Hangman would be a tremendously imposing pair. Seems to be an important part of Croatia's Euro 2008 squad (started the first two games, rested for the third with first place in their group nailed down and on a yellow card). Been at Hertha for 8 years, maybe he's ready for a change. Started 21 games at center back for them this season, along with 6 in central midfield and 2 at left back, so it doesn't seem like he's as surplus to requirements there as Bresciano is at his club.

As I've said before and will say again, if he's willing to spend 6 million on Kamara one summer and (rumored) 6 million on Beattie the next, it makes more sense to spend 12 million on one player who can definitely get the job done rather than on two players who might or might not. (I understand that we need to look for bargains, but at 6 million that's not what we're doing, and if we're spending that much cash, we shouldn't be spending it on someone who we're unsure about.)

 

Well I'd love to see that take place as well. £12.7 million would get you a great talent like Alves. I could do with that for Fulham.

I just think the days of Al-Fayed releasing that level of funding for one player in one off-season are gone for now. Hopefully he hasn't entirely closed the door to that option. I'm hoping he's waiting for a manager who proves his abilities in the transfer market.

Keep your fingers crossed. Maybe Roy can find the next Roque Santa Cruz on the cheap. Just remember that Santa Cruz arrived at Blackburn as a risk himself with a reputation as a frequently-injured player at Bayern.

 

I kind of had to chuckle when someone mentioned Simunic. I play FIFA 2008 religiously and actually play as Hertha, and he's always solid. lmao. Now don't judge anything off of a game, but maybe it is a sign!

 

Why would such a performance in the Championship be ignored by Fulham? Should David Moyes have ignored Cahill and Lescott because they excelled with Millwall and Wolves? Should Coventry have ignored Robbie Keane because he was scoring goals in the First Division? Quality performance in the Championship doesn't necessarily mean that such quality will be repeated in the Premiership (Kamara and, for an older Fulham example, Arthur Rowley serve as just two examples of many proving the truth in that respect.). But one's ability also can't necessarily be judged by the level of competition they compete in.

I certainly believe RH should take Beattie's Everton record into account. But I also think what he accomplished last season in a rough and tumble league with a club playing inconsistent football should balance that evaluation.

 

He's that too...his father is Italian, and his mother is Croatian.

 

Oh, solid. I read that the first time as "always sold." Always solid is much more like it!

 

Championship performances should be ignored if they have a rubbish Premier League record. Let me ask you something. How did Kamara do last season? He was even more dominant than Beattie was.