Summer '08: Ins and Outs

I don't think Andy Johnson is garbage. The issue with Johnson is his health. The number of matches he's played per season has declined for the last five years.

If his groin surgery is successful (The physical would be important for any club signing him.), then he'd be a good man to bring into the set-up at Fulham. He can finish the chances he receives and he can create opportunities. He's not brilliant. But when healthy, he is good at every task a manager asks him to perform

Crouch, mainly because Rafa is trying to gather funds for Barry, has an inflated price tag of anywhere from £12-15 million (It wasn't all that long ago the quote was anywhere from £6-8 million.). He's currently seeking £80,000 per week in wages.

We see rumors here and there with MAF giving RH freedom to make a big signing for a striker. But even then it still wouldn't follow that he would sanction £80,000 a week.

Love to see Crouch in a Fulham shirt. I think he would fit into Fulham with ease and the fans would take to him from the get-go. But as Lyle and Optimizer said before, the wage demands seem to be beyond Fulham.

 

Crouch would be an instant star at Fulham. Sounds like Pompey nearly have him sewn up though, mate.

 

For the Andy Johnson fans, take a look at how many of his goals came from penalties. Seems that his scoring rate has decreased right around the same time refs started cracking down on diving, too.

I think we're a lot more likely to see Anders Johnsson in a Fulham shirt.

 

"FULHAM, more International Supporters than most Prem clubs."

Maybe we can take the Portsmouth approach and actually make it work.....

 

For the uninformed and newly initiated to the PL can you help us understand what the Portsmouth approach is?

 

I'd like to know as well.

It seems that Lyle aka HatterDon is again suggesting we are only likely to add value players (MY TERM) of decent quality and hopefully bring in some talent that has been well scouted, but relatively unknown. Kind of like what happens in Oakland....ok I'll let the go in case Lyle is reading this

I heard in an interview with Roy, I'm sure everyone else heard the same thing, when he used the word "Platform", in relation to building one in which the club can succeed in the future.....I read into that that he wants to create an organizational structure that would help Fulham to avoid relegation battles and to win more matches.

When he used that word 'platform', what do you think he meant? I have an idea, but would like to hear from others who get this game better than I do.

 

Not a novel approach, by any means.

After skating by and missing relegation by a nut hair (just like us) a few years ago, Portsmouth went out and spent like they were a top 10 club. And guess what happened? They became a top 10 club.

Now that they have achieved what they set out to do, the questions are many, but perhaps most importantly, how they will maintain their position and spending, especially considering what Don is alluding to, the fact that no one outside of England apparently gives a nickel about what happens to that football club on the southern coast.

How long can the owner continue to splash the cash while getting such a small return on his investment?

I've undoubtedly left out many other items, so others with additional knowledge please feel free to add in.

 

Not a big baseball fan, are we? :lol:

 

Don's right about Portsmouth as well. They're a club who is living the good life right now, thanks to an owner paying more than he should and because of Harry Redknapp's gravitas. It was reported all last season that the owner is looking to sell the club, which means he might just be putting money into the club to raise it's value to sell it for a profit.

I happen to like their owner, he's like a poorer version of Roman Abramovich, but Portsmouth can't keep their winning ways up for long. They'll get relegated at some point in the not so distant future.

 

Lewandowski is actually my favorite Polish player. He is a box-to-box midfielder that is 29 years old. He is not afraid to go in for a challenge and he has no problem shooting from distance.

He will score a couple of goals over the course of a season but his main asset is that he can control the midfield from a defensive perspective. He provides good cover for the back four.

He currently plays for Shakhtar Donetsk in the Ukraine and has for the last four or five seasons so he does have experience playing in Europe.

With his physical makeup and the way he plays, I think he would settle rather quickly in England. If he does come to Fulham I would not expect him to start every match, but he would play a fair amount.

 

Sounds a lot like Andreasen, though Lewandowski is probably a lot more polished. I've heard him described as a Polish Gattuso, which certainly sounds good.

 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... 200450.ece

The Bullard rumors continue. Again, not sure how credible any of these rumors are. Makes me wonder if they are actively shopping him or using this to negotiate a lower contract extension with him.

 

No pun intended I'm sure.

 

Per BBC, Benitez has shot down Pompey's 9M pound bid for Crouch.

 

That is a good valuation on Crouchinho. Gareth Barry and a credit crisis related to New Anfield are driving Benitez at this moment.

 

If we are in the market for a striker, why not Roman Pavlyuchenko. He's thick and has played superbly for Russia at Euro 08. any word of him being eyed by other clubs in the transfer window?