Transfer Activity

[zzamora]

After reading the article about Jesse Joronen, where it says we rate him very highly, it's got me thinking about our transfer activity.

We know that Jol wants to strengthen and make his defence his own, that is clear, but we haven't seemed to sign anyone for the position where he can impose his style the most- center defence: despite Aaron Hughes getting older, and losing it a bit, and Senderos being injured all the time. We also seem to have started giving people 1 or 2 year contracts, Mladen Petric, Diarra and Murphy notable examples, but I agree with the reasoning that that is because they are old etc.

The fact that we havent signed a goalkeeper, according to Admin Jol doesnt like Stockdale, also seems strange, as we've been linked with plenty and we haven't singed really really young players for the first team.

My question to you is that are we simply waiting for some of the excellent talent to come of age, people like Jesse Joronen, or is it simply a ruthless and wise transfer policy from the club, only buying on our terms?

Personally I think it's a mixture of the two: it is wise business not to give 30 year olds long contracts and all that stuff, but we are also making a positive culture at the club of youth academy coming into the first team. We're waiting for those talents like Joronen, Dan Burn, Grimmer, Minkwitz, Williams and to a lesser extent the excellent under 18 team to come through and make a role their own, just like Kaca has done this season.

[keith]

Good post and i agree with you.

[Boggers]

I agree too, it seems like Jol has been told to make do with Bosmans and aging players on the cheap, giving the time for the youth to develop and hopefully breakthrough.

If the youngsters don't make it then Jol probably has the funds available to buy proven quality and experience. Quite a nice position to be in really.

[TonyGilroy]

I doubt that there's a set in stone policy. Things are going well and there's plenty of young talent coming through.

Hughes and Hangeland are still top quality and Senderos much better than some of his detracters claim. We seem to have tried to buy Douglas and still might.

In the absence of affordable, better, players than H & H why not stick with them and see if the likes of Burn might step up. Or buy when we really need to.

Not giving over 30s long contracts is a no brainer as far as I'm concerned although clearly clubs like QPR disagree.

[Apprentice to the Maestro]

I doubt that there's a set in stone policy. Things are going well and there's plenty of young talent coming through.

Hughes and Hangeland are still top quality and Senderos much better than some of his detracters claim. We seem to have tried to buy Douglas and still might.

In the absence of affordable, better, players than H & H why not stick with them and see if the likes of Burn might step up. Or buy when we really need to.

Not giving over 30s long contracts is a no brainer as far as I'm concerned although clearly clubs like QPR disagree.

Good analysis.

I don't understand the original claim: "Jol wants to strengthen and make his defence his own, that is clear, but we haven't seemed to sign anyone for the position where he can impose his style the most- center defence".

Hangeland and Hughes are amongst the best central defender pairings in the PL. They may not be the best ball players but they are very effective.

Surely the problems that faced Jol when he arrived were that our forwards were not scoring enough goals and that we needed to replace the central midfield (and to some extent these continue to be the main concerns).

Also, posters seem to set up rigid policies, such as lowering the age of the team, and then start to moan when these seem to be overridden.

My view is that the long term aim is to produce more of our players from the academy but MAF's and Jol's short to medium term policy is purely pragmatic by buying players of whatever age who will improve our team such as with Diarra.

[MasterHaynes]

I tink one of the attractions of Jol when we first tried to sign him was that he would bring the Dutch ethos of bringing young players through, fully integrating the academy with the first team, tactics and dveloping players to play in multiple positions.

It all fits with our business plan of living within our means and developing players so they add value either on the pitch for Fulham or from the transfer revenues they generate

[Jack Fulham]

Are transfer policy is very sensible, we wouldn't be able to afford players like Diarra and Berba when they were in their 20's and it doesn't look like we will pay over the odds for players in their prime. Dejagah for example is worth a lot more than we paid for him but we took advantage of his contract situation. Let's hope these academy players can come through but we still got a few years to wait.

[JackyFulham90]

I like the ways the transfers are happening with Jol when you bring in Diarra Petric Rodallega Karagounis all in for free you are doing well, promising youngsters coming through in Smith , Burn , Briggs , Donegan you also already have.Kacaniklic , Frei , Kasami & Trotta

[rhyspabsolom]

Ignoring the overall theme of the thread and focusing on the goalkeeper microcosm mentioned: Jol seems keen on Etheridge and maybe sees him as a future #1 rather than JJ.

[TonyGilroy]

Ignoring the overall theme of the thread and focusing on the goalkeeper microcosm mentioned: Jol seems keen on Etheridge and maybe sees him as a future #1 rather than JJ.

I doubt that goalkeeper is seen as a problem position.

Schwarzer is still top quality, Stockdale a reliable deputy and there are promising younger keepers.

Until Jol perceives a need to replace Mark we're fine. When that day comes a decision will have to be made. Meanwhile, whatever we may think, Jol and Segers will have formed a firm view on Stockdale's potential to be Schwarzer's replacement. They won't tell us though.