Anyone else disillusioned by the summer spending?

Its been a very active window in a sense, but at the same time, I haven't found it to be as interesting as previous years and I'm also not at all sure that clubs have made the right buys...

Clubs seem to have spent far too much for average players, strengthened in areas of the squad they didn't need to and left gaping holes in other areas of the squad that really needed addressing.

Do you think the quality of the league will improve this year as a result of the signings made?

The only club's signings that have really impressed me have been Man CIty, who've pretty much got a whole new beast in their teams though. In contrast, I expected big things from Villa this summer, but they haven't really signed anyone! and the players they have signed are pants!

If we don't sign a striker I might be.

too much money floating around. man utd have bought reasonably well but overpaid imho.

liverpool have bought some decent players but haven't addressed some critical positions, eg CB cover, RM.

chelsea bought cr@p imho but mostly cheap, malouda will do well but overpaid.

arsenal plain sh¡te, one poss decent signing time will tell let djorrou go why (albeit on loan)?, not replaced players who have left, squad still looks too lightweight and low in top quality

spuds overpaid on cr@p generally

everton good signings who will strengthen

blackburn as above

man city v good signings who will really improve squad

west ham some poor buys and have over spent on most imho

newcastle disappointing effort imho

yeah we've certainly been less active than i thought. 10 players out, only 3 in so the squad is rather minimal (only have 5 senior defenders) so we're pretty much certain to be picking up a few more before the deadline. reo-coker's good for us though - definite step up from mccann and he's started well. harewood's a squad player, carson's good. but yeah, if you read any villa messageboards they're all in meltdown with annoyance & disappointment - "omg we've got no right back. harewood's $h!t. mon's an eejit. end of the world. blah blah blah." it's quite funny.

overall i think league quality will be pretty similar. lost a few stars robben, henry in particular, but gained a few with torres, nani, etc. there'll be a few more deals yet, always is when it gets close to deadline day.

I think the Spanish teams have been very active on the transfer market after having seen their disappointing season last year, especially in the CL. I don't know how this will affect the balance between the leagues but overall I am at least optimistic about this year's advances in Spain.

Parks lives wrote:If we don't sign a striker I might be.

Do you actually think you will though? You've spent quite a bit this summer so I'm not sure how receptive the Glazer's would be to the request for another signing.

Who were you thinking of anyway? Suppose you could just get a stop gap for a bit; somone like Marcus Bent

Well we've got around £25 - 30 million in return, so there should be some money.

Sammy Lee said today he won't stand in Anelka's way if he wanted to leave for Champions League football as well.

I wasn't paying much attention but they had a report on SSN this morning saying that Man Utd would not be making a bid for Anelka and he was not in their plans at this point in time. I don't know if the guy speaking was speculating, or if that had come directly from the club.

I just think we'll keep him at least until the Reading game.

It's weird, against Portsmouth we were playing some great football, much better than under Allardyce, and because of that, everyone wants Lee sacked.

Maybe Fergie thinks Saha can stay fit until at least Rooney returns.

Expect him to break down on September 1st.

The-Frank-Tavern wrote:
newcastle disappointing effort imho

You would say that.

I'm not disappointed at all, we've got rid of most of the deadwood and brought in some good players. The squad is far stronger now than it has been in the last few years.

Kimbo wrote:

The-Frank-Tavern wrote:
newcastle disappointing effort imho

You would say that.

I'm not disappointed at all, we've got rid of most of the deadwood and brought in some good players. The squad is far stronger now than it has been in the last few years.

And players back from Injury, who will act like new signings.

Tomorrow we'll have a full team. Parker, Neill, Gabbidon, Ljungberg and Ashton should all be back.

I'm happy with all of our signings.

Deano Guðjohnsen wrote:Tomorrow we'll have a full team. Parker, Neill, Gabbidon, Ljungberg and Ashton should all be back.

I'm happy with all of our signings.

Pardon me while I drool. But damn, I've got setanta and they aren't showing the game until later. So I hope to avoid all news of the scores so I can watch it as if it were live.

Di Caniooooo! wrote:

Deano Guðjohnsen wrote:Tomorrow we'll have a full team. Parker, Neill, Gabbidon, Ljungberg and Ashton should all be back.

I'm happy with all of our signings.

Pardon me while I drool. But damn, I've got setanta and they aren't showing the game until later. So I hope to avoid all news of the scores so I can watch it as if it were live.

Avoid here then!

Yeah we have a great squad now. I still think we'll sign another 2 before the tranfer window closes. Curbishley has said he is looking to do this.
A striker looks like a certainty...then there are strong links with Nicky Shorey, Giles Barnes and now El Hadji Diouf

Man City, Newcastle and West Ham have significantly improved their teams.

Blackburn, Spurs and Everton have consolidated already strong squads.

I think Tweeds is disillusioned because he recognises that Arsenal have yet again sold a senior experienced player and either not replaced him or replaced him with an inferior product.

Diouf wont be a bad signing though for Hammers.

Roger Hunterrific wrote:

I think Tweeds is disillusioned because he recognises that Arsenal have yet again sold a senior experienced player and either not replaced him or replaced him with an inferior product.

Not really. Arsenal already have a good squad. There's no need to play your agenda card this time.

What I meant was that I expected the chasing group to have made better improvements than they have. Newcastle still have a couple of improvements that need making, although so far, they've made some decent additions. Some clubs seem to be set on playing the same univentive football that they've relied on in the past. I'd have expected a slight change in style from some teams this season: less direct and more puro toque, but it seems that clubs are still relying on their hoof it long ball tactics. Its not good for spectacle

Tweedle wrote:

Roger Hunterrific wrote:

I think Tweeds is disillusioned because he recognises that Arsenal have yet again sold a senior experienced player and either not replaced him or replaced him with an inferior product.

Not really. Arsenal already have a good squad. There's no need to play your agenda card this time.

What I meant was that I expected the chasing group to have made better improvements than they have. Newcastle still have a couple of improvements that need making, although so far, they've made some decent additions. Some clubs seem to be set on playing the same univentive football that they've relied on in the past. I'd have expected a slight change in style from some teams this season: less direct and more puro toque, but it seems that clubs are still relying on their hoof it long ball tactics. Its not good for spectacle

Be more specific please.

Kimbo wrote:

Tweedle wrote:

Roger Hunterrific wrote:

I think Tweeds is disillusioned because he recognises that Arsenal have yet again sold a senior experienced player and either not replaced him or replaced him with an inferior product.

Not really. Arsenal already have a good squad. There's no need to play your agenda card this time.

What I meant was that I expected the chasing group to have made better improvements than they have. Newcastle still have a couple of improvements that need making, although so far, they've made some decent additions. Some clubs seem to be set on playing the same univentive football that they've relied on in the past. I'd have expected a slight change in style from some teams this season: less direct and more puro toque, but it seems that clubs are still relying on their hoof it long ball tactics. Its not good for spectacle

Be more specific please.

How can I be more specific? That's about as specific as you could expect. Do you want me to name teams or something?

Tweedle wrote:

Kimbo wrote:

Tweedle wrote:

Roger Hunterrific wrote:

I think Tweeds is disillusioned because he recognises that Arsenal have yet again sold a senior experienced player and either not replaced him or replaced him with an inferior product.

Not really. Arsenal already have a good squad. There's no need to play your agenda card this time.

What I meant was that I expected the chasing group to have made better improvements than they have. Newcastle still have a couple of improvements that need making, although so far, they've made some decent additions. Some clubs seem to be set on playing the same univentive football that they've relied on in the past. I'd have expected a slight change in style from some teams this season: less direct and more puro toque, but it seems that clubs are still relying on their hoof it long ball tactics. Its not good for spectacle

Be more specific please.

How can I be more specific? That's about as specific as you could expect. Do you want me to name teams or something?

I think that's what you would call being specific yes. People can't disagree with you if they don't know who you're talking about.

Well teams don't seem to want to play a more adventurous style of football. We still have teams effectively playing 4-5-1 and trying to rely on hoofing it up to the frontman as their primary tactic.

Man City seem to be playing with a lot more creative freedom, which is good to see.

you have to admit though, that Butt is a severely limited player for yourselves and realy shouldn't be in a team aiming for the UEFA cup - his passing isn't even Championship quality!

Tweedle wrote:

Roger Hunterrific wrote:

I think Tweeds is disillusioned because he recognises that Arsenal have yet again sold a senior experienced player and either not replaced him or replaced him with an inferior product.

Not really. Arsenal already have a good squad.

Three or four injuries could cripple your side, particularly in defence.

There's no need to play your agenda card this time.

What is it with the word 'agenda' on this forum? It's as though people reckon if they use it there's no comeback and they've won. Pathetic...

What I meant was that I expected the chasing group to have made better improvements than they have. Newcastle still have a couple of improvements that need making, although so far, they've made some decent additions.

They're still looking, and I expect another player or two to come in now Dyer's gone.

Some clubs seem to be set on playing the same univentive football that they've relied on in the past. I'd have expected a slight change in style from some teams this season: less direct and more puro toque, but it seems that clubs are still relying on their hoof it long ball tactics. Its not good for spectacle

That's because money can buy you better players, but if you've still got the same $h!t British managers you'll still get the same tactically naive hoofball.

Roger Hunterrific wrote:

Three or four injuries could cripple your side, particularly in defence.

Well its not as though we're going to finish in the bottom half of the table, is it?

What is it with the word 'agenda' on this forum? It's as though people reckon if they use it there's no comeback and they've won. Pathetic...

Hardly. Whats pathetic is that you seem to think that all I was thinking aobut when making this thread was Arsenal. Do you even bother reading most of my posts? I'm as equally interested in every EPL team

They're still looking, and I expect another player or two to come in now Dyer's gone.

Possibly so. Faye is being linked. Has Solano left yet as well? They've been linked witha right back anyhow

That's because money can buy you better players, but if you've still got the same $h!t British managers you'll still get the same tactically naive hoofball.

And that's what I was getting at

Tweedle wrote:

Roger Hunterrific wrote:

Three or four injuries could cripple your side, particularly in defence.

Well its not as though we're going to finish in the bottom half of the table, is it?

Dunno. I doubt it though. I've got you to finish no lower than 5th.

What is it with the word 'agenda' on this forum? It's as though people reckon if they use it there's no comeback and they've won. Pathetic...

Hardly. Whats pathetic is that you seem to think that all I was thinking aobut when making this thread was Arsenal. Do you even bother reading most of my posts? I'm as equally interested in every EPL team

Come on, that simply is not true. You are more interested in Man U than you are in Derby, just as I'm more interested in Liverpool than Wigan.

They're still looking, and I expect another player or two to come in now Dyer's gone.

Possibly so. Faye is being linked. Has Solano left yet as well? They've been linked witha right back anyhow

They should get Alves. That'd really put the cat among the pigeons.

That's because money can buy you better players, but if you've still got the same $h!t British managers you'll still get the same tactically naive hoofball.

And that's what I was getting at

You see, I knew all along what you were saying...

Roger Hunterrific wrote:
Dunno. I doubt it though. I've got you to finish no lower than 5th.

That doesn't surprise me but it s a big step to go from 6th to 10th really. I'll give you all my EMB points if we finish lower than 9th...

Come on, that simply is not true. You are more interested in Man U than you are in Derby, just as I'm more interested in Liverpool than Wigan.

Maybe, but this is a European board after all. I'm interested in clubs like Newcastle, Portsmouth, Everton and Blacbkurn as much as I am Chelsea and Man Utd

They should get Alves. That'd really put the cat among the pigeons.

It would, but its highly unlikely... they could maybe justify going for someone on the rung just below that though; the Cicinho's and Sagnol's of this world

You see, I knew all along what you were saying...

And you agree? I think if I was a fan of some unnamed sides (ok, I'll name them: Aston Villa, Blackburn, Everton...) I'd be expecting a bit more guile to the football being played than was displayed last season. there have been some very strange signings this summer though

Aston Villa is not an unnamed side. They are called Aston Villa.

Tweedle wrote:
And you agree? I think if I was a fan of some unnamed sides (ok, I'll name them: Aston Villa, Blackburn, Everton...) I'd be expecting a bit more guile to the football being played than was displayed last season. there have been some very strange signings this summer though

it's not been a great start, i'll admit. we were poor against liverpool, better against newcastle by most accounts, playing some decent counter-attacking football although still a bit hoof-y. still that's 2 hard games versus teams it isn't easy to play nice stuff against, we were playing some good stuff at the end of last season and i'm confident we can get back to that. hopefully starting by beating fulham convincingly tomorrow.

I'm not convinced by your signing of Reo Coker though - he's not really a good distributor of play - he's an old style grit and determinaintion type player with a stinker of an attitude if he doesn't get his way. I personally think it would have been better to sign someone more cultured - a Tugay type player

Tweedle wrote:

Roger Hunterrific wrote:
Dunno. I doubt it though. I've got you to finish no lower than 5th.

That doesn't surprise me but it s a big step to go from 6th to 10th really. I'll give you all my EMB points if we finish lower than 9th...

You'll leave the board if you finish lower than 9th, because I'll have material that will never wear thin in the War on Arsenal.

But bollocks to it, I'm almost certain you will finish either 4th or 5th. No higher, no lower.

Come on, that simply is not true. You are more interested in Man U than you are in Derby, just as I'm more interested in Liverpool than Wigan.

Maybe, but this is a European board after all. I'm interested in clubs like Newcastle, Portsmouth, Everton and Blacbkurn as much as I am Chelsea and Man Utd

Well, that's where the excitement lies. The most competition for places is in the 5th-10th placed section of the league. Pompey, to their credit, don't play hoofball much of the time. Everton and Blackburn have a tendency to resort to that if they can't get an early goal, but both are capable of playing some clever, intricate passing football.

They should get Alves. That'd really put the cat among the pigeons.

It would, but its highly unlikely... they could maybe justify going for someone on the rung just below that though; the Cicinho's and Sagnol's of this world

I wasn't being remotely serious. I expect Sam's got his eye on some former German or possibly Spanish international who has still got three good years left in the tank.

You see, I knew all along what you were saying...

And you agree? I think if I was a fan of some unnamed sides (ok, I'll name them: Aston Villa, Blackburn, Everton...) I'd be expecting a bit more guile to the football being played than was displayed last season. there have been some very strange signings this summer though

Playmakers and wingers are in short supply because Arsenal and Man U have bought them all. You should loan out Hleb to, I dunno, Blackburn. Only he wouldn't get in the team ahead of Bentley. Alright, Aston Villa. Only he's about as good as Young.

I dunno. But you should loan out Hleb.