Zana Badawi
That's all well and good if players were just numbers.
(FTR, if we do spend 7 million+ in the January window, Ill send you a packet of hobnobs, no questions asked.)
But if you look beyond the numbers, I would like to say the following
1. Le Fondre and McCarthy were (arguably) two of the most popular players at the club
2. There is no way that Ferdinand is a reliable replacement for Morrison. Centre Back has always been a key position we've lacked depth in (for some time now) and Id much rather we addressed that non-speculatively sooner or later
3. Lets not get overexcited by Drenthe. Our position hasn't really changed. We are still paying him a lot to do nothing at all.
4. Cox was let go originally because he couldn't get into the squad, and now several years later he is now only a half-million pound championship player. He's hardly progressed and now he is deemed good enough. A clear definition of a club in decline.
5. I disagree that Norwood (in the opinion of CW) offers 'something new'. Our buying strategy in recent years have consisted of 'A central midfielder +AN Other'. What exactly does an unreliable central midfielder who may just be too good for the championship at his best offer us that Guthrie doesn?
6. Given that we've got the U21s/U18s queuing up to be played, I would have thought that this would be a good time to reduce the number of players we're giving contracts to. Its the number of players not giving VFM for their contracts that has contributed to our 'near administration'. Injury crisis or not, I don't want to see our squad size increase.
I didn't think the window was that bad (Im bitterly disappointed that McCarthy has gone, mind you) but lets face it, its not beyond criticism. Seems a shame that CW has been suckered into feeling the need to show solidarity at the expense of more sensible reporting.
1) Neither were starters when they were sold although granted in McCarthy's case an imminent move may have been the cause of that. But although it weakens the squad it makes little difference to the strength of the first 11. I'm not sure what popularity has to with it. Are you talking about with fans or in the dressing room?
2) We simply don't know yet do we? If Ferdinand gets back to something approaching his best then he is a better player than Morrison currently is.
3) True but getting away from the club environment and paying less is about the best we could hope for.
4) Cox left because he couldn't get into our premiership squad. He's since proved to be a more than capable Championship player (including being an integral part of a promotion winning side). He's already bagged a couple of goals this season and if he carries on in the same way he'll be a 15-20 goals a season player added to his assists.
5)Well he offers us the fact that he can play, which Guthrie hasn't been able to. Also seems a bit odd to bemoan a lack of depth at Centre Half and then complain about adding depth to central midfield where we've been playing a novice centre half and a young winger.
6)I agree but again how do you suggest we reduce the squad size if you're bemoaning the fact we've sold players, some of whom weren't in our starting 11 at the time. Players aren't simply going to walk away just because the club want them to.
There's no question that compared to the calibre and quality of the squad that started last season, this one looks inferior. But if we can get half of our injured players back (and there are some pretty key players on the treatment table) then we still have a competitive squad whilst significantly reducing the wage bill from the excesses of the AZ era. I'd have liked to have seen a left back and perhaps another centre half so it isn't perfect but I'm still hopeful the loan market can fill that gap.
Of course things are far from ideal at the moment but there's certainly a lot more to be optimistic about than there was a couple of months ago. At the moment I'm just enjoying the opportunity to watch some of the Academy players (whom we've invested quite a bit on) performing for the first team and in a lot of cases more than holding their own.
