[Archived] Sam's January Targets

[philipl]

The Sun says Di Santo has been extended.

That means no more Prem loanees doesn't it? And just one loan move from elsewhere...

So either Ben Arfa or Amine Kounda.

[Iceman]

The Point is Iceman is this, the lad appears to have pushed on, competing at a level even Andrews couldnt hack!!

He is only 21 and maybe he has gained confidence and belief in his ability now, others such as Treacy havent and with the quality we have in midfield at the moment, maybe its time for the lad to be given some kind of opportunity, his near post header was from a great little ghosted run into the box and he wasnt picked up, ok, maybe in the Prem they could have picked him up, but maybe not, he is playing in a team low on confidence and ran the show against a Reading side who were in the Prem 2 years ago!

Completely agree with that, and like i said would be happy to see him make it at the highest level. At the moment, he is finding his feet at another level. He has the talent, but its a question of will the manager play him or not?

[Bobby G]

I think Lingazi is a permanent transfer if it happens.

[imy9]

The Sun says Di Santo has been extended.

That means no more Prem loanees doesn't it? And just one loan move from elsewhere...

So either Ben Arfa or Amine Kounda.

I think the number of foreign loans is unlimited as Portsmouth have signed the following on loan:

1. Dindane

2. Borre

3. Yebda

4. Frederic P

[Bobby G]

That could be true as well.

I just cant see Ben Arfa at our club.

[Iceman]

That could be true as well.

I just cant see Ben Arfa at our club.

I can. Its just a 6 month loan, and we would benefit from it. Its obvious that we have made contact, because i doubt that the French press would just select us as a possible destination.

[Bobby G]

I am sure we have contacted them, but I doubt no other club will move for him, and possibly someone on a permanent transfer too.

[nicko]

The latest on Ben Arfa is that Marseille expect him to leave.

I think this space has to be watched closely.

The Rovers link started about three or four days ago over there. Frankly, you could not make it up. I think there is an interest, but there wil be others keen - and the boy may fancy a more glamourous destination. He seems a bit big-time.

[Eddie]

He certainly is. Many of his problems at Marseille stem from a refusal to warm-up to come on in one match. He's a bit of a head-case, but a wonderfully talented one. He's exactly the sort of player who could be turned around fairly easily. I still can't see it actually being pulled off as those quotes from his agent appear to be genuine....but you never know.

[Bobby G]

I remember seeing him as a 17 year old and I thought what a talent. I dont think he has progressed as well as he could have, but the potential is unlimited. Reminds me of van Persie before his move to Arsenal.

[Hughesy]

He certainly is. Many of his problems at Marseille stem from a refusal to warm-up to come on in one match. He's a bit of a head-case, but a wonderfully talented one. He's exactly the sort of player who could be turned around fairly easily. I still can't see it actually being pulled off as those quotes from his agent appear to be genuine....but you never know.

He does seem to have abit of a bad attitude but Sam is used to it with the likes of Diouf & maybe even Benni

He does however have a very creative head on his shoulders and would chip in with a fair share of goals too.

Sign him up if we can!!

[Bobby G]

I said it before, Ill say it again. He is worth a 6m - 7m gamble cause its like money in the bank. He will be one of the best players of the modern era. Needs the right manager.

[Guest Kamy100]

Ben Afra would be a huge signing if we can pull it off. He is quick, skillful and would add a much needed creative spark. However I would suspect many many clubs will want him and will end up going to a bigger club.

[Silencio]

I said it before, Ill say it again. He is worth a 6m - 7m gamble cause its like money in the bank. He will be one of the best players of the modern era. Needs the right manager.

You are absolutely correct but the board will not do it, even if they will make money in the future. The best we could hope for is a loan, after which he will go elsewhere.

Would be a fantastic signing...

[Bobby G]

It all depends whether we move quickly to snap him up and whether our board decide a little bit of leeway isnt a bad thing.

[Hughesy]

Loan with a £5-6m fee agreed to make it permanent sounds like the best bet.

But you need to consider this.....If we did that - We would maybe be able to take Ben Arfa & Di Santo permanent at the end of the season but it would cost us £10m+ - now where would we get that?

+ possibly lose MGP, Hoilett & Reid for nothing!

[magicalmortensleftpeg]

I hate this cynicism towards the board, if we can afford him then we cant afford him. Thats not the board's fault or anyone's lack of ambition its just how it is. If you enjoy the cheap ticket prices and the fact that we're just about keeping our heads above water financially then you'd appreciate that shelling out money is something we cant do all that often.

[thenodrog]

I said it before, Ill say it again. He is worth a 6m - 7m gamble cause its like money in the bank. He will be one of the best players of the modern era. Needs the right manager.

Bobby G when you were a child and burnt your fingers in the fire did you carry on playing with it? Tell me when BRFC spending £6-7m on a player has ever been anything other than a major disaster and a major loss of money? How much have we spewed on Grabbi? Davies? Cole? Ferguson? The memories of that shower of shyte must make the board weep.

[S15]

Cole was worth every penny, as without him we'd be talking about Shrewsbury away yesterday, not Sunderland.

[thenodrog]

Cole was worth every penny, as without him we'd be talking about Shrewsbury away yesterday, not Sunderland.

Really? So why did we give him away for nowt? He alone cost us over 10m! We could have bought bloody Shrewsbury itself for that!

[Eddie]

Because he was older and had fallen out of favour with the management. When Hughes took over I remember when we went to play Fulham he said that he'd love to have Cole. It was a mistake to let him go on a free, but that doesn't mean it was a mistake to sign him. He played a crucial role in a very important time in our history.

[bennyboyt11]

I still can't believe this Ben Arfa interest, the lads a top top player and for the life of me I can't work out why he would want to come to lowly Blackburn when he could walk into most sides.

[S15]

Really? So why did we give him away for nowt? He alone cost us over 10m! We could have bought bloody Shrewsbury itself for that!

That post is completely insignificant in every way, shape and form.

If we didn't sign Andy Cole we would have been relegated and wouldn't have won the league cup.

But that isn't worth £8m?

Ironically we now find ourself in a very similar situation to what we did back then.

[Hughesy]

Ironically we now find ourself in a very similar situation to what we did back then.

Who would you go out and spend £7-8m on then that would impact on our team like Cole did?

Times have changed - Frazier Campbell cost £5m, rising to £7.5m and he was crap yesterday!

[S15]

Who would you go out and spend £7-8m on then that would impact on our team like Cole did?

Times have changed - Frazier Campbell cost £5m, rising to £7.5m and he was crap yesterday!

Again, a totally insignificant point. Grabbi cost £6.75m back then, only a million pounds or so cheaper than Cole.

Every manager makes bad signings, but only good managers make good signings.