So the transfer window has finally closed after a month of mass speculation surrounding Bristol City, linking the club with players from Scotland to Turkey. During the month many names were mentioned by journalists locally and nationally, with the majority of the players being strikers or attacking midfielders. In the end their rumours were proved correct as we signed attacking midfielder Nick Carle from Genclerbiligi and striker Dele Adebola from Championship rivals Coventry City. As is commonplace in the game now, the fees paid for both players were undisclosed, but speculation suggests the club forked out £500,000 on Carle and £250,000 for the services of 32-year-old Adebola.
The signing of Adebola, or at least that type of player (a target man), was always on the cards after City accepted a bid from Leeds United last week, for striker Enoch Showumni. He ultimately declined to talk to Leeds and stated his intention to fight for his place. Yet he found himself sitting in the stands last week against Blackpool as Johnson stated publicly he felt the move would be good for Showumni.
Deadline day was fairly quiet for City as Johnson seemed satisfied with his two new signings, but there was still business to be done with outgoing players, as Kevin Betsy headed to Walsall on a month’s loan and Jennison Myrie-Williams extended his loan with Tranmere until the end of the season. Alex Russell also extended his loan with League One local rivals Cheltenham Town and Showumni finally left for Sheffield Wednesday on a month’s loan. This deal was inevitable, as the day beforehand Johnson had made clear in an interview that he had signed Adebola because the strikers already at the club lacked that physical presence.
In a more intimate interview on Friday, Gary said how he had tried to turn Showumni into a target man, but the Nigerian striker still considered his role to be someone who plays off of someone like Dele. With Steve Brooker still on loan at Cheltenham but likely to return in the near future, Showumni’s time at City looks at an end with his contract set to expire in the summer. To me he has always offered us a strong presence up front, but he lacks good ball control and, for a player of his size, he is very poor in the air on many occasions. It is clear Johnson is looking to trim the squad of players unlikely to cope with the demands of the Championship, and as he always says when discussing possible new signings: "We will only bring players in who enhance our squad."
On Saturday we faced QPR, a side totally transformed from the side we hosted on the opening day of the season, a game which finished 2-2. Since then the club has had three new major shareholders in Formula One tycoons Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, and steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, worth an estimated £15billion and the world’s fifth richest man.
Going into the game I was confident that we could hopefully collect all three points as QPR had signed many players in January. I thought it might take them time to gel; sadly this was not the case as they stormed into a 2-0 lead by half-time with a brace from new signing Patrick Agyemang. In the second half, we improved and we were starting to dominate, but just couldn’t find a way back into the game. Then against the run of play, the home side scored a third through Akos Buzsaky. Adebola saw an effort hit the post late on and his rebound also hit the woodwork. It was clear that it wasn’t going to be our day and it proved the case.
Next up is Sheffield Wednesday at home, in a game we will expect to win. Judging by the manager’s comments after Saturday’s game, the players have a point to prove and hopefully Dele can be convinced that he has made the right move.
ANDY DAVIES
Showing posts with label transfer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transfer. Show all posts
Monday, 4 February 2008
Friday, 1 February 2008
Transfer deadline blues
Roughly £4.9million received in player sales. Only £1.5million spent. When I mused in previous blogs that, despite the gloomy outlook, Plymouth Argyle might end the January transfer window with a stronger squad than they began it, I was possibly being a little over-optimistic.
Of course, money isn't everything, and the cut-price signings we have made could easily prove to be better than the players sold. But Argyle seemed to lose out to their Championship rivals on so many big targets this month, it almost became a cruel joke. Preston signed both Aberdeen right-back Michael Hart and Oldham’s highly-rated centre-half Neal Trotman. Talented Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Glenn Whelan, who many felt would be a strong replacement for Argyle’s departing David Norris, has instead joined Stoke.
Sheffield United defender Leigh Bromby went to Watford, although for an inflated price of £600,000 (which could rise to £850,000). The £400,000 bid Paul Sturrock tabled for the right-back seemed reasonable, but clearly those kind of offers are not enough to secure the kind of players who can secure Argyle a play-off place, when competing against a relegated Premiership club who have ridiculously huge parachute payments to call on.
Much of Luggy’s wheeling and dealing has indeed been attempting to sign a right-sided full-back to provide competition for Paul Connolly, who has pretty much had the run of the role since David Worrell left in 2005. There is a groundswell of opinion among Argyle fans that Connolly is one of the weaker links in the team, and that, at least, further options in that position would be welcome, particularly after the sale of the versatile youngster Dan Gosling to Everton. However, it seems efforts to secure this have been unsuccessful.
Left-back has been another problem position, with Lee Hodges ageing and technically deficient despite his boundless, admirable commitment. Youth product Gary Sawyer, who looked towards the end of 2006-7, has not progressed as hoped this season, with many believing he is more at home in the crowded centre-back position. Luggy moved yesterday to strengthen here, with Motherwell’s Jim Paterson coming in for a reported £250,000. This looks a good signing and, with Paterson apparently good going forward as well as defending, Peter Halmosi can expect increased support down an already dangerous and potent left side.
Norris, of course, has gone, with Argyle eventually receiving £1.25million of Ipswich’s £2million fee, thanks to the Tractor Boys’ close ties with Bolton, who originally held a 50% sell-on clause on the player. This seems a reasonable return with the player out of contract in eighteen months – he’d never have signed another one, and his value in the summer would have been lower. The question now is whether any of the three new midfield recruits – Chris Clark, Yoann Folly, or the currently imjured loanee Gyorgy Sandor – can adequately replace Norris. Clark looks the most likely, with a goal and some impressive performances already under his belt. If Sturrock prefers the Scot in the centre, Nadjim Abdou could return to a right-sided role.
Up front, the pressure is all on Steve McLean, already appreciated by many fans, despite his penalty miss in Tuesday’s 0-0 draw at Ipswich. This result was an odd one, with the hosts dominating, but Argyle having a great chance to win it. McLean will be expected to pick up Sylvan Ebanks-Blake’s goalscoring mantle, although it remains to be seen whether big man Rory Fallon or the pacy, improving Jermaine Easter will partner him. Personally I’d like to see the two smaller, skilful players in tandem, but it seems unlikely – Luggy likes a target man and a goalscorer.
Tommorrow the Pilgrims face Hull, in a game which - and I can not stress this enough - we simply MUST win to stay in touch with the play-off hunt. Having beaten the Tigers twice this season already this should be more than possible. If not we’ll have to start looking over our shoulder – four points behind the top six, we’re also only ten points ahead of the bottom three…
RICH PARTINGTON
Of course, money isn't everything, and the cut-price signings we have made could easily prove to be better than the players sold. But Argyle seemed to lose out to their Championship rivals on so many big targets this month, it almost became a cruel joke. Preston signed both Aberdeen right-back Michael Hart and Oldham’s highly-rated centre-half Neal Trotman. Talented Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Glenn Whelan, who many felt would be a strong replacement for Argyle’s departing David Norris, has instead joined Stoke.
Sheffield United defender Leigh Bromby went to Watford, although for an inflated price of £600,000 (which could rise to £850,000). The £400,000 bid Paul Sturrock tabled for the right-back seemed reasonable, but clearly those kind of offers are not enough to secure the kind of players who can secure Argyle a play-off place, when competing against a relegated Premiership club who have ridiculously huge parachute payments to call on.
Much of Luggy’s wheeling and dealing has indeed been attempting to sign a right-sided full-back to provide competition for Paul Connolly, who has pretty much had the run of the role since David Worrell left in 2005. There is a groundswell of opinion among Argyle fans that Connolly is one of the weaker links in the team, and that, at least, further options in that position would be welcome, particularly after the sale of the versatile youngster Dan Gosling to Everton. However, it seems efforts to secure this have been unsuccessful.
Left-back has been another problem position, with Lee Hodges ageing and technically deficient despite his boundless, admirable commitment. Youth product Gary Sawyer, who looked towards the end of 2006-7, has not progressed as hoped this season, with many believing he is more at home in the crowded centre-back position. Luggy moved yesterday to strengthen here, with Motherwell’s Jim Paterson coming in for a reported £250,000. This looks a good signing and, with Paterson apparently good going forward as well as defending, Peter Halmosi can expect increased support down an already dangerous and potent left side.
Norris, of course, has gone, with Argyle eventually receiving £1.25million of Ipswich’s £2million fee, thanks to the Tractor Boys’ close ties with Bolton, who originally held a 50% sell-on clause on the player. This seems a reasonable return with the player out of contract in eighteen months – he’d never have signed another one, and his value in the summer would have been lower. The question now is whether any of the three new midfield recruits – Chris Clark, Yoann Folly, or the currently imjured loanee Gyorgy Sandor – can adequately replace Norris. Clark looks the most likely, with a goal and some impressive performances already under his belt. If Sturrock prefers the Scot in the centre, Nadjim Abdou could return to a right-sided role.
Up front, the pressure is all on Steve McLean, already appreciated by many fans, despite his penalty miss in Tuesday’s 0-0 draw at Ipswich. This result was an odd one, with the hosts dominating, but Argyle having a great chance to win it. McLean will be expected to pick up Sylvan Ebanks-Blake’s goalscoring mantle, although it remains to be seen whether big man Rory Fallon or the pacy, improving Jermaine Easter will partner him. Personally I’d like to see the two smaller, skilful players in tandem, but it seems unlikely – Luggy likes a target man and a goalscorer.
Tommorrow the Pilgrims face Hull, in a game which - and I can not stress this enough - we simply MUST win to stay in touch with the play-off hunt. Having beaten the Tigers twice this season already this should be more than possible. If not we’ll have to start looking over our shoulder – four points behind the top six, we’re also only ten points ahead of the bottom three…
RICH PARTINGTON
Monday, 28 January 2008
Pride at Pompey, intrigue at Ipswich
These are odd times at Plymouth Argyle, and I’m struggling to decide whether excitement or despondency is the appropriate attitude to take with regards to the remaining three months of the season. Perhaps tommorrow night’s play-off battle with Ipswich will provide us with some answers.
January must this far be regarded as a poor month for Argyle, with unrest in the dressing room, top players leaving, and a run of disappointing league results which has seen the Pilgrims drop from 5th to 11th. Indeed, we are without a league win in four matches, a run which stretches back to the Boxing Day victory over QPR, and Argyle’s last victory outside of Devon was the 1-0 success at Watford on December 15.
In addition, our two top scorers, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Barry Hayles, have been sold to Championship rivals Wolves and Leicester, with the third highest marksman, midfielder David Norris, looking likely to depart in the coming days – probably either to Leicester or tommorrow’s opponents.
The possibility of Norris heading to Suffolk seemed to increase with today’s announcement that he will take no part in the Ipswich tie. Paul Sturrock and the player have apparently come to this decision after much discussion at today’s training session, with Luggy saying:
"Disappointingly, there has been a lot of media coverage from a team that is very interested in David.
"I don’t think he would be mentally attuned to the tussle and I don’t think it would be fair of me to allow people to put the microscope on him. Every bad pass or mistake that he made would be highlighted."
This seems strange in some ways, given that the one thing rarely questioned of Norris is his unswerving commitment. It is still possible that he could remain with Argyle, but given his roots in Peterborough, within an hour of Ipswich, and his undoubted ambition to play top-flight football, the only way this will realistically happen is if the Tractor Boys cannot meet Argyle’s valuation. The situation is complicated by the sell-on clause negotiated by Bolton Wanderers when selling Norris to Argyle, which means they receive half of any fee. Even if Ipswich boss Jim Magilton caves in and offers a reasonable £2.5million, Plymouth would only collect £1.25m of the money.
Argyle’s hopes going into the trip to 8th-place Town have been further dashed by the injury to stalwart centre-half Marcel Seip, which also kept the Dutchman out of Saturday’s 2-1 FA Cup Fourth Round loss at Portsmouth.
‘The Dockyard Derby’ defeat, although initially disappointing, may eventually be seen as a blessing. Chris Clark’s early debut goal gave Argyle a real chance of shocking their Premiership hosts, and the pride and positive media coverage garnered from an unjust cup exit should boost morale in players and supporters alike.
Clark, a versatile Scottish attacking midfielder signed from Aberdeen a fortnight ago to little acclaim from the Green Army, could be another Sturrock find, and his fellow transfer window signing Yoann Folly has a chance to prove himself tommorrow night, replacing Norris. His eye-catching cameo role in the home draw with Southampton last week promised much.
Indeed, Sturrock has been putting the £4million received for the four players sold in January to good use, picking up talented players for low fees. This is his blueprint; hungry, committed players, moulded into a tight-knit, effective unit with flashes of flair. Clark cost £200k, and strikers Jermaine Easter from Wycombe and Jamie Mackie from Exeter were £210k and £145k respectively. Folly was free from Sheffield Wedneday, and Hungarian international midfielder Gyorgy Sandor became the latest arrival last week, the 23-year-old joining on loan from Ujpest in a similar buy-later deal which previously secured Krisztian Timar and Peter Halmosi. The ‘cherry on the cake’, as Luggy would say, was the club record £500k capture of striker Steve McLean from Cardiff.
The quality obviously present in this collection suggests that, with or without Norris, Argyle’s personnel may actually be of a higher standard at the end of the transfer window than when it began. This assertion could be shored up with a couple more bargains. Leigh Bromby from Sheffield United is a reported £400,000 target, and with the right-back area an Argyle weakness for several years, he’d be a shrewd acquisition. Rumours also abound of a bid for Oldham’s highly-rated centre-half Neal Trotman, now a real possibility after their ejection from the FA Cup at the hands of Huddersfield.
And Sturrock has said he wants another striker – could this be Derek Riordan, the Celtic man Argyle (or, at least, the Green Army) have allegedly coveted for more than a year? Probably not, as Burnley are currently the only club known to have made a bid, and the Celts are keen to sign Clarets striker Kyle Lafferty, so a swap deal looks on the cards.
Sturrock has made a habit, unlike Magilton, of keeping most of his transfer targets quiet, information sometimes only surfacing hours before an official announcement. So there may be some surprises in the coming days.
The eventual denouement of all this is that, after a tough four weeks, Argyle can go into February full of optimism and with a squad who are capable of relaunching a play-off charge, despite the current five-point gap. Lose at Ipswich though, and that dream will feel some huge Massey Ferguson tyres roll it slowly into the dirt.
RICH PARTINGTON
January must this far be regarded as a poor month for Argyle, with unrest in the dressing room, top players leaving, and a run of disappointing league results which has seen the Pilgrims drop from 5th to 11th. Indeed, we are without a league win in four matches, a run which stretches back to the Boxing Day victory over QPR, and Argyle’s last victory outside of Devon was the 1-0 success at Watford on December 15.
In addition, our two top scorers, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Barry Hayles, have been sold to Championship rivals Wolves and Leicester, with the third highest marksman, midfielder David Norris, looking likely to depart in the coming days – probably either to Leicester or tommorrow’s opponents.
The possibility of Norris heading to Suffolk seemed to increase with today’s announcement that he will take no part in the Ipswich tie. Paul Sturrock and the player have apparently come to this decision after much discussion at today’s training session, with Luggy saying:
"Disappointingly, there has been a lot of media coverage from a team that is very interested in David.
"I don’t think he would be mentally attuned to the tussle and I don’t think it would be fair of me to allow people to put the microscope on him. Every bad pass or mistake that he made would be highlighted."
This seems strange in some ways, given that the one thing rarely questioned of Norris is his unswerving commitment. It is still possible that he could remain with Argyle, but given his roots in Peterborough, within an hour of Ipswich, and his undoubted ambition to play top-flight football, the only way this will realistically happen is if the Tractor Boys cannot meet Argyle’s valuation. The situation is complicated by the sell-on clause negotiated by Bolton Wanderers when selling Norris to Argyle, which means they receive half of any fee. Even if Ipswich boss Jim Magilton caves in and offers a reasonable £2.5million, Plymouth would only collect £1.25m of the money.
Argyle’s hopes going into the trip to 8th-place Town have been further dashed by the injury to stalwart centre-half Marcel Seip, which also kept the Dutchman out of Saturday’s 2-1 FA Cup Fourth Round loss at Portsmouth.
‘The Dockyard Derby’ defeat, although initially disappointing, may eventually be seen as a blessing. Chris Clark’s early debut goal gave Argyle a real chance of shocking their Premiership hosts, and the pride and positive media coverage garnered from an unjust cup exit should boost morale in players and supporters alike.
Clark, a versatile Scottish attacking midfielder signed from Aberdeen a fortnight ago to little acclaim from the Green Army, could be another Sturrock find, and his fellow transfer window signing Yoann Folly has a chance to prove himself tommorrow night, replacing Norris. His eye-catching cameo role in the home draw with Southampton last week promised much.
Indeed, Sturrock has been putting the £4million received for the four players sold in January to good use, picking up talented players for low fees. This is his blueprint; hungry, committed players, moulded into a tight-knit, effective unit with flashes of flair. Clark cost £200k, and strikers Jermaine Easter from Wycombe and Jamie Mackie from Exeter were £210k and £145k respectively. Folly was free from Sheffield Wedneday, and Hungarian international midfielder Gyorgy Sandor became the latest arrival last week, the 23-year-old joining on loan from Ujpest in a similar buy-later deal which previously secured Krisztian Timar and Peter Halmosi. The ‘cherry on the cake’, as Luggy would say, was the club record £500k capture of striker Steve McLean from Cardiff.
The quality obviously present in this collection suggests that, with or without Norris, Argyle’s personnel may actually be of a higher standard at the end of the transfer window than when it began. This assertion could be shored up with a couple more bargains. Leigh Bromby from Sheffield United is a reported £400,000 target, and with the right-back area an Argyle weakness for several years, he’d be a shrewd acquisition. Rumours also abound of a bid for Oldham’s highly-rated centre-half Neal Trotman, now a real possibility after their ejection from the FA Cup at the hands of Huddersfield.
And Sturrock has said he wants another striker – could this be Derek Riordan, the Celtic man Argyle (or, at least, the Green Army) have allegedly coveted for more than a year? Probably not, as Burnley are currently the only club known to have made a bid, and the Celts are keen to sign Clarets striker Kyle Lafferty, so a swap deal looks on the cards.
Sturrock has made a habit, unlike Magilton, of keeping most of his transfer targets quiet, information sometimes only surfacing hours before an official announcement. So there may be some surprises in the coming days.
The eventual denouement of all this is that, after a tough four weeks, Argyle can go into February full of optimism and with a squad who are capable of relaunching a play-off charge, despite the current five-point gap. Lose at Ipswich though, and that dream will feel some huge Massey Ferguson tyres roll it slowly into the dirt.
RICH PARTINGTON
Wednesday, 23 January 2008
Fleetwood pledges loyalty to Rovers
This morning, on my daily look around the BBC Sport Website, an article grabbed my attention.
Over the weekend, Forest Green had accepted an offer from Crewe Alexandra for their free-scoring striker Stuart Fleetwood. It seemed inevitable that he had played his last game for the non-leaguers, and Rovers fans looked to console themselves with the £175,000 to spend, but Fleetwood had other ideas.
"It is a decision I have reached along with my family", said Fleetwood.
"Everyone at Rovers has made us so welcome, from the Boardroom to the supporters on the terraces. My mother in particular has a genuine affection for the club and everyone she meets each match day.
"The club is now part of my family as well and I am committed with my team-mates to making this the best ever season that the club have experienced in their history.
"Obviously I have been kept informed by the club of all the interest shown and I can honestly state that even if any other clubs come in with a late bid before the transfer window closes, I am not interested.
"The summer may be a different matter but I owe a debt of gratitude to the gaffer (Jim Harvey). At a time when many thought my career had ended, he had faith in me and I love the way he has the lads playing and that has helped me tremendously".
While this could mean Forest Green lose out on a substantial amount of money, Fleetwood's commitment would give them a decent shot at the play-offs, and possible promotion to the promised land of League football.
Fleetwood's attitude is refreshing, it's a nice change to see a player put his club before his wallet, and he's showing real gratitude to manager Jim Harvey for giving him a second chance.
It's good to see loyalty still exists.
JAMES LEWIS
Over the weekend, Forest Green had accepted an offer from Crewe Alexandra for their free-scoring striker Stuart Fleetwood. It seemed inevitable that he had played his last game for the non-leaguers, and Rovers fans looked to console themselves with the £175,000 to spend, but Fleetwood had other ideas.
"It is a decision I have reached along with my family", said Fleetwood.
"Everyone at Rovers has made us so welcome, from the Boardroom to the supporters on the terraces. My mother in particular has a genuine affection for the club and everyone she meets each match day.
"The club is now part of my family as well and I am committed with my team-mates to making this the best ever season that the club have experienced in their history.
"Obviously I have been kept informed by the club of all the interest shown and I can honestly state that even if any other clubs come in with a late bid before the transfer window closes, I am not interested.
"The summer may be a different matter but I owe a debt of gratitude to the gaffer (Jim Harvey). At a time when many thought my career had ended, he had faith in me and I love the way he has the lads playing and that has helped me tremendously".
While this could mean Forest Green lose out on a substantial amount of money, Fleetwood's commitment would give them a decent shot at the play-offs, and possible promotion to the promised land of League football.
Fleetwood's attitude is refreshing, it's a nice change to see a player put his club before his wallet, and he's showing real gratitude to manager Jim Harvey for giving him a second chance.
It's good to see loyalty still exists.
JAMES LEWIS
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