The 2nd biggest spenders since the Prem started?

[Guest]

We had the cash, we just spread it over 5 players...

Seriously fredo, if you buy ONE young world class striker such as a Torres, you've solved half your strikeforce problem for a decade.

It's really that simple.

True, but we had other positions to consider too.

[Guest]

Nonsense fredo, even by your standards.

Good players cost money.

What's the point of spending £30m on 5 players, who flop and are sold at a combined fee of £15m the following year or two?

Just buy ONE brilliant player and leave it at that.

People may say we have other gaps to fill but when we buy average players, we're not filling those gaps, because a year later, we're back in the same boat trying to find ANOTHER player to play in that position...and why? Because we bought ****e in the first place.

Lets use Pennant as an example. £7m. And then Benayoun...£6.

£13m later, we still dont have a brilliant right sided midfielder/winger.

What was the point? If we sold them both now, we'd just about get £9m IMO.

Multiply this process by 4 or 5 (across various positions) and you see why we're ****e.

Big lump of money spent on 5 players. 18 months on, those problem positions arent sorted and the same 5 players are either squad fillers who arent good enough or sold for less than half what we paid for them.

And then we complain that we dont have enough money.

If it wasnt to depressing, it'd be funny.

I agree, but it's not that simple. Trust me. It has to be an evolving process on a number of years.

[RhylRed]

Fact is we have wasted more cash than our rivals! We can't keep saying we havent had the same amount to spend!

When quite clearly we ****ing have!!

[Craig_H]

True, but we had other positions to consider too.

Yeah but the players we've signed for the other positions have been average - hardly world beaters.

We'd have been better off sticking with what he had and fixing one or two positions (long term) one season at a time.

It IS that simple.

[Craig_H]

I agree, but it's not that simple. Trust me. It has to be an evolving process on a number of years.

Yes it is that simple.

[Guest]

Yeah but the players we've signed for the other positions have been average - hardly world beaters.

We'd have been better off sticking with what he had and fixing one or two positions (long term) one season at a time.

It IS that simple.

Dunno, but it's easier being an armchair supporter.

[Craig_H]

Dunno, but it's easier being an armchair supporter.

What a cop-out of an answer...

I'm just waiting for the 'rafa knows more than us' one now...

[Guest]

What a cop-out of an answer...

I'm just waiting for the 'rafa knows more than us' one now...

Mate, I'm sick of discussing things which is just barely speculation in the end.

[Craig_H]

How is it speculation?

You're sick of discussing things that you cant dispute, more like...

[Guest]

How is it speculation?

You're sick of discussing things that you cant dispute, more like...

Oh no. Can't bother making my point again and again. It's like slashing a rubber ball against a wall.

[Craig_H]

You dont HAVE a point fredo.

It was 'i agree with you but...erm...no, you are wrong. I dont know why, but you are"

[Guest]

You dont HAVE a point fredo.

It was 'i agree with you but...erm...no, you are wrong. I dont know why, but you are"

Ok, by your analogy we should have splashed all our transfer money on a world class player each year leaving other areas needing to improve for the other year. Yeah ok.

Sanctimonious bollocks from you.

[Craig_H]

Ok, by your analogy we should have splashed all our transfer money on a world class player each year leaving other areas needing to improve for the other year. Yeah ok.

Sanctimonious bollocks from you.

It's not bollocks, because even though we spent money on the 'areas that needed improving', we DIDNT improve them.

What's the point? Just leave them as they are and ACTUALLY improve one area at a time, if that's what it takes.

Call it bollocks but look at the league table and tell me it's a better method than what i've suggested. We've tried it your way - it's failed.

[willa1975]

Well...

I think our net spend is so high mainly because we've done a horrible job of selling players. Look at United...Ferguson has sold players on for good money, whether it be Ince or Kanchelskis back in the 90s, or more recent examples like Veron, Beckham and Van Nistelrooy. We, on the other hand, have suffered thanks to **** buys like Diouf, Cheyrou, Cisse etc. who we didn't have a prayer of getting any sort of return on.

Moreover, we've just been guilty of bad business, selling Fowler to Leeds for less than he was worth, and letting the likes of Owen and McManaman **** us over--McManaman left on a Bosman, when we could have gotten at least ten million pounds as a transfer fee. Meanwhile, Owen was, at the time, a 20 million-pound striker who we sold for a measly 8 million. That's more than 20 million down the drain on those two.

Give Rafa credit...he has done better selling players on, and we actually made money off the likes of Baros, Bellamy and Sissoko, and we should make some money selling Carson as well.

I also agree with DJS. We have been guilty of buying quantity over quality, and have suffered for it. I think we should have taken more of a long view after winning the CL in 2005, and concentrated our funds on fewer, higher-quality players instead of bringing so many into the squad, many of whom haven't panned out.

Look at the likes of Paletta, Sissoko, Pennant, Gonzalez, Bellamy, Kuyt, and Morientes...at least 40 million spent on that lot. Would we not have been better buying one 15 million pound player during each of the past three offseasons instead? And the players whose transfer negotiations have been drawn out, and eventually collapsed (Alves, Simao for example) have been in that price range.

I'm not saying we need to spend major money on every player who comes in. If a guy with real talent is available at a great price e.g. Hyypia, Agger, Arbeloa then, by all means, buy him. Look at Arsenal...there isn't a player in their squad who we couldn't have paid for when Wenger bought them. But I think we've got enough lads in the Academy who can develop into average players that we don't need to spend money to bring them in from other clubs.

[Guest]

We've sold the following players with a profit or broke even:

Paletta
Sissoko
Gonzalez
Bellamy
Morientes
Josemi
Kronkamp
and there's more ...

Disproving DJS's theory.

Hardly ****e players if we've sold them for more or at the same value eh ?