True, nearly every player we sign has some flaw or other although Hart would never turn out to be a Friedel whilst there's a hole in his arse but he could be a Robbo who wasn't bad for a while until the bad back etc caught up with him.

A myth created by Waggot to explain away signing Brereton for that fee.

No doubts he's been good for Palace in the Prem but so is Duffy for Brighton I think similar to strikers and their service at centre half a lot depends on what's around you and who manages you and the style of play the team has, he obviously suited Palaces for a while. He was at Rovers as a stepping stone just to get fit and get a move and his form reflected that he was dire at first then perked up when fully fit and being scouted by other clubs. I was never keen on the body language of him at Rovers so i'd be passing on having him back for his wages I think there's others out there less tainted.

Allardyce had Salgado getting up to speed for ages when he first came to be fair and he did really struggle at times with the pace of but the man came from Real Madrid and oozed quality so not really a good comparison.

Yeah he'd have benefitted from working with a good keeper in his time here but Steele and the other lad were never any better than him. At this stage having broken into the first team as no 1 he was never going to accept being a no 2 again when there was other interest in him I don't think.

Obviously but when do we sign people directly from others first teams these days ?

Raya was dropped at the back end of last season, that's right dropped and although Mowbrays public handling of the situation was very poor the dropping of the player was correct. Steady performing keepers don't get dropped but granted everything else that's followed seems a bit knee jerk from both sides so whether there was something else at play who knows but fact remains he'd become a poor performer.

Might be in a minority but I don't want Dann back at all. Anybody think unrealistic big names are being chucked in again now so they can say they tried but couldn't pull them off so we go with what we have ?

The fact a contract he's free to sign anytime allegedly remains on the table the rest won't come into it he'll just pick up the phone and be accepted back. Defensively, where he wants to play and the manager seems to prefer him he didn't prove good enough aside from a couple of games v poor opposition.

So Nixon has been has reported that we've been after him for 3 windows so that's gospel but i'm repeating Nixons sell to buy which looks to have happened in the case of Raya yet I'M inferring it and Nixon is a fud ???? You're getting worse mate ?

No he really isn't what he is is a different style of keeper who may be more suited to this team, yes the potential to be a lot better isn't there due to age but the basics should be more ready made and if he can command a defence and kick and catch competently then he's already a better all round keeper. Would've loved Raya in comp with someone like this but it isn't to be and the lad spat his dummy out himself nobody did it for him.

Still 3 things at play here for me, there's the football side of it obviously then the investment arm and still of course the little friendly agents section. Every time there's a busy window the action seems to be split 3 ways to varying degrees when really it should ALL just be about the football team.

@Biz That's why I said he would've been worth investing in even if wages and signing on fee took the deal to 2 mill or so and that he would've fit into Mowbrays selection policy i'e not being first choice -- Pay attention As for the fee last summer well it's a bit rich bringing that up again now no doubt you were one of those saying why pay it when we might get him for free in a few months. Of course they wanted him they've been tracking him for ages waiting to pounce because they thought they'd get him cheaply so he'd fit the bracket of potential profit turnaround but face it they had their pants pulled down and didn't have anything else similar lined up. That's left them scrabbling about now and trying to divert attention away from the defensive issues I think it'll all now come down to someone offering them something half decent but cheap at the 11th hour or there'll be nothing.

Maybe you aren't allowed to buy defenders rather than not sign any could be a reason so it's narrowed the field significantly in trying to find better than what is there given the crazy prices. Similar would apply to loans as in no big wages as sanctioned elsewhere but not there unless parent club is tipping up the shortfall again narrowing down the field a lot. Bauer was a target until it became too expensive, as a free and on or around the wages they prefer to pay he'd have slot nicely into Mowbrays selection policy but it wasn't to be. Not many about like him though that's why he would imo have been a handy signing but they didn't want to invest in him or possibly that area of the park because it's earmarked for growing yields.

Employing Downung as a wing back would be plain stupid at 35 yrs of age look how Caddis struggled when asked to do it in league bloody 1. Ok nowhere near Downings quality on the ball but that primarily isn't what it's about you have to get up and down and that lad was knackered after 15 mins so it would be no different now the intensity levels are too much for old legs in that role.

You're like a stuck record pal most of the stuff on here is assumption and opinion you should know you've just assumed Nixon hasn't a clue when it's well known that in certain cases he has when dots join whether we like it or not, yeah most of the time he's a fantasist obviously but probably not on this one. As for the other bit we've just sold Raya for a reputed 3 mill before add ons and just signed Gallagher for a reputed 3 million before add ons.......... Sell to buy said the Scottish fool

Nixon will probably be well in the know on this one given the agent and he said 3 mill initially paid which isn't too bad in the grand scheme of things although it seems Raya fees gone directly into this. That could mean loans or frees for any keeper / defender.

It was pretty much a done deal regardless is what I heard along with Coyle just being employed cheaply to coach the first team and literally nothing else. Would make perfect sense when you look at that window. Other advisors were in favour I reckon especially when he reeled off the list of players HE wanted in the next window, we dodged some bullets.

No more injury prone gambles for gods sake how many do we want to carry never mind the risks of signing mid 30's players. Let's just get something fit, tried and tested whether it's loan or not. Hoban is no better than what we have at the min.

Evans has featured in the kit promos etc hasn't he ? He's been on a real good number his entire time here so it would take some persuading to get him to leave. Plus I think Mowbray rates him ?

Of course, anyway he would only be claiming back the ale expenses he used in tapping him in the first place I suppose ?

That would be a humdinger of a mistake.

I'd like nothing more than see Lennon flunk badly at Celtic, horrible turkey and the Stokes saga is still fresh in the mind. Wonder how much he made out of that for his back pocket.

Winger-s ?

I think they've done some front loading ready for this so one big sale every few seasons is doable without ruining the squad. Batting from a position of relative strength on that score now with value already in the squad rather than the desperate fire sale last time. Trading club as opposed to a selling one which is good, could all change in blink of an eye though obviously.