PaddockLad

If we're paying him what hes on at Liverpool we're losing Cabaye or Cisse to pay for it.

Think you're being too overly negative there Brock. Get on board Big Mike's Fun Bus at once!

Competition for places A mate went to watch Fulham play Twente last season in the europa and came back raving about a Brazilian centre half who he reckoned would be brilliant in the Premier League. Think we may have been linked with him by then, but not that strongly.

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/9821616.Reds_interest_in_Ba_could_lead_to_Carroll_deal/ Ba linked with the deal now by that well known organ of accurate media reporting, The Northern Echo What the article says kind of makes sense, but is likely to be educated guess work. Dont know how a reporter on a local rag based in the North East would know that Joe Cole is going to be included in Livepool's plans for next season when nobody else is making such claims but you'd imagine that he's more Rodger's sort of player than Andy Carroll is. Carroll is due to fly to the US next week to join up with Liverpool and Ba has 13 days left on his own private cheapo transfer window. If Carroll doesn't travel this weekend I expect there will be a deal done involving Ba so Liverpool can save a bit of face. The reasons nufc.com put forward for Ba's possible departure this summer a few months ago were very persuasive iyam and its good business to swap the two on an age and potential basis alone, and there is also Demba's dodgy knee. Its just the financial side that makes me think it could be a bad idea. A season long loan for Carroll with Ba's 7.5 mill in the bank would be the best we can hope should this link prove to be accurate.

Brian McDermott seems a good bloke but he's making the same mitake as a lot of other Championship coaches make after promotion...signing players from the division theyve just left. Fair enough budget comes into it, but if you get the right characters then there is so much more value abroad than in the home market. Looks like he's doing what Mick Mcarthy did with the tramps when he got them promoted....next season 12 points was their lot

So what if Liverpool fancy some sort of swap deal...Demba for Carroll?....Cabaye for Carroll?......Ben Arfa for Carroll? Cisse?.... any takers for that sort of action?... theyd lose less face that way, but I certainly wouldnt want to lose any of them regardless of who was coming in.

Its interesting that the Chris Hughton's much-vaunted "players comittee" have either all been moved out or are out of the picture, first team wise. Never heard Shola's name being mentioned in connection with it though

I think its little to do with Carroll as a person and more to do with Rodgers raising cash for his own signings. Do they ahve any other assets that could conceiveably raise 15-20mill?

Didnt Inter win the league the other year with virtually no Italian players? nowt much has changed, less than a quarter of last seasons squad are Italian... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011%E2%80%9312_F.C._Internazionale_Milano_season They do however have this in their favour: The club is commonly known as Inter Milan outside of Italy.[2][3] They have spent their entire history in the top flight First Division (known as Serie A since 1929). Internazionale have won 30 domestic trophies, including the league eighteen times, the Coppa Italia seven and the Supercoppa Italiana five. From 2006 to 2010 the club won five successive league titles, equalling the all-time record.[4] So, Dr Gloom mentioned that theyre "arguably a bigger club" over the page...I think we can safely say they fuckin dwarf us But, he'll be torn I think. A changing room full of his countrymen would no doubt suit him, but it is Inter Milan who are also calling. Tough one.

I doubt strongly if he'll be playing at Anfield next season like but unless its a years loan first he's a massive gamble for any club and I expect Rodgers wants cash in for him now so he can bring his own players in. Have West Ham got the cash? and are they willing to part with the 15-20mill for a player who may end up being a crippling financial millstone?....looking at the owners of WHU its "probably, to show the fans theyre BIG players" and "yes" to those questions. We're far more financially cannier than the dildo sellers, and Carroll actually wants to play for us, which is a big factor. But if Liverpool won't accept a loan deal first then I cant see a deal being done.

Went a bit MOR mad at the weekend...

thats what I mean...no one else gets complete final say on almost everything (within a given budget) at their club apart from Fergie. The rest of them are their to coach the players and thats it.

He's entitled to his too. I've a lot of time for everyone's opinion, but when you start throwing insults around from behind a internet connection because yours have been proven to be ill founded it does tend to make you look a bit daft.

I thought he had a year left on his contract?...maybe am wrong..

Why? because my opinion is different to yours? that makes you sound about as tolerant of others as you claim John Terry to be.

Is the answer you get from the person who has lost the debate

Is John Terry a racist then?

Nearly all clubs like a coach who just does coaching nowadays..Fergie is the last "top to bottom" manager left now, the rest are just some slightly unusual form of middle mangers who have to motivate millionaires on a daily basis. Good luck with that Brendan

We make a lot less on him if we sign him on a long term basis,possibly even as little as 5mill according to my "back of a fag packet" arithmatic Next season am fine with, and if he scores 20 and we finish in the top 6 again then he'll be worth it I suppose. If he's shite he can go back to the scousers. What the effect his wages will have on the rest of the changing room is open to debate. For me though, theres something not quite right about this. Pardew said he wanted to leave,asked to leave even, so why does he want him back? Is he not bothered about Carroll pulling the same shit again a few weeks after he signs his next mammoth long term deal with us?...

Yeah I agree, but that was just a for instance to illustrate the type of deal we've been doing and you're right we've moved up a level striker wise in all sorts of different ways with Cisse's signing. Ideally we need another Cisse type signing. Then if we can manage to hold on to all and add Debuchy and Douglas then I'd agree with the majority even I'd be feeling more optimistic than at virtually any other time in the last 30 years! but I can't see it panning out like that....

If that means I like to put some thought into things and can state my conclusions clearly so even the likes of you can understand them then yeah, thats negative.

Ok..what is the bigger gamble....unknown but handy foreign lad scouted by Graham Carr @ 5mill x 30k/week for 4 years or Andy Carroll @ 15mill + 4mill a season for 4 years?...I dont know the right answer to be honest, but the Carroll deal is against everything we've been doing since relegation. If we are going to cover his wages by selling another player then the other player's replacement is going to have to be just as good, and that is of course possible. I dont know, it does appeal to me, but we've just got rid of one malingering cunt who built a career and a fortune on a good 18month spell early in his career which he was never able to repeat, regardless of fitness. This isnt as fuckin bent as the Smith deal, that was so much a "jobs for the boys" effort by Allardyce it makes me sick, but it could well be as much of a financial millstone.

Not sure what the club are up to.....financially its against evrything theyve been preaching and leading us to beleive in the last couple of years....I dont think it represents particularly good value for money, which is what we're supposed to be about.

Thats the figure most quoted so it may well be around that mark. If he comes next season I dare say Smith's wagesw for next season will cover most of it. Then you're fucked mind. He'll want four or five years at 3-4 million a year That means finding the transfer fee (15 mill? will one years tv money cover that?) and selling one of Tiote, Cabaye or Cisse to cover his wages. Put like that I think they should try to sign the best young striker in France for 5mill and pay him 30k a week. As per "the model" #olympiquelyonnais

I thought that, but didnt want to interrupt the almost unanamous clamour for his signing. Didnt want to appear "negative"