Enoh

[Cravenawin]

Martin Jol fears being priced out of a move for Enoh. He wants Ajax to drop their 2 million asking price. Think that tells us all we need to know and that is there isn't a pot to piss in.Also seen a report that were chasing Lee Cattermole! Him and Sidwell in midfield and we'd end up with 9 men most games!

[Frankie-Peter Taylor]

I think it's a ploy to get him for cheaper. To make Ajax think "we don't want him, should we just accept £1m" or something similar.

As for the Cattermole rumours, I think that's just papers going "who else can we link him to? Fulham sounds viable, that'll do."

[Matt Inglis]

I agree with FPT we are going to get linked with every CM who is available as we are in for one.

[Apprentice to the Maestro]

Martin Jol fears being priced out of a move for Enoh. He wants Ajax to drop their 2 million asking price. Think that tells us all we need to know and that is there isn't a pot to piss in.Also seen a report that were chasing Lee Cattermole! Him and Sidwell in midfield and we'd end up with 9 men most games!

Calm down.

"Martin Jol fears being priced out of a move for Enoh" is just paper talk I think. Jol seemed only to say that we have to make a decision. Enoh looked a solid player and I would be happy to have him but we now have Boateng and Sidwell so is he the type of central midfielder that we need as top priority?

I am also sure that we have a decent amount of money to spend on the right player. We just don't talk about it or splash the cash on overpriced players. Jol is pleasing cautious and clever with his spending in contrast to what Hughes has shown himself to be.

You rightly think chasing Cattermole is ludicrous paper talk. I am sure that most of us will agree.

We should be concerned about Sidwell's sendings off last year. They cost us, particularly as we were struggling to put out a regular central midfield pairing. I was certainly thinking after his second sending off that we might bring in Enoh at the expense of Sidwell.

[zschwartz]

The price talk is an excuse to delay while looking at alternatives in a long window. 2m is not a lot for a CDM in the premier league. it is a lot, however, if we've already got 3 or 4 others who bring similar qualities and still need to bring in one more play-maker at CM.

We should be concerned about Sidwell's sendings off last year. They cost us, particularly as we were struggling to put out a regular central midfield pairing. I was certainly thinking after his second sending off that we might bring in Enoh at the expense of Sidwell.

I doubt Sidwell's spot is in question even post-signing and he will likely partner whomever is brought in. Two red cards in April hurt us a lot, there's no doubt. This coupled with the Dejagah injury and it was a proper disaster. But when was the last time he got a red card? 2008 in a Europa league match for Aston Villa. The last time he was red carded in the prem? Never. Not yet ready to change my screen name to SidwellApologist12-13 but i will also not be disappointed to see him line up alongside whomever is brought in.

[MasterHaynes]

You can never be sure of the figures quoted in the papers but i thought Jol said at the end of the season the price was nearer £4m, is £2m the price we are trying to negotiate? Getting AJax to halve their price to £2m makes Enoh very attractive to a lot of teams which means we could lose out as he may opt for a more attractive package.

Cattermole is a poor attempt at a wind up, even by the red top press standards.

[domprague]

Spot on about paper talk, negotiations, Cattermole and Sidwell.

Martin Jol fears being priced out of a move for Enoh. He wants Ajax to drop their 2 million asking price. Think that tells us all we need to know and that is there isn't a pot to piss in.Also seen a report that were chasing Lee Cattermole! Him and Sidwell in midfield and we'd end up with 9 men most games!

Calm down.

"Martin Jol fears being priced out of a move for Enoh" is just paper talk I think. Jol seemed only to say that we have to make a decision. Enoh looked a solid player and I would be happy to have him but we now have Boateng and Sidwell so is he the type of central midfielder that we need as top priority?

I am also sure that we have a decent amount of money to spend on the right player. We just don't talk about it or splash the cash on overpriced players. Jol is pleasing cautious and clever with his spending in contrast to what Hughes has shown himself to be.

You rightly think chasing Cattermole is ludicrous paper talk. I am sure that most of us will agree.

We should be concerned about Sidwell's sendings off last year. They cost us, particularly as we were struggling to put out a regular central midfield pairing. I was certainly thinking after his second sending off that we might bring in Enoh at the expense of Sidwell.

[westcliff white]

as much as I like Enoh, we need a creative midfield player, Enoh is defensive minded and we have Boatang and Sidders already on top of that if its true Kara is coming back we probably should look at creativity before looking at Enoh

[FFC1987]

The price talk is an excuse to delay while looking at alternatives in a long window. 2m is not a lot for a CDM in the premier league. it is a lot, however, if we've already got 3 or 4 others who bring similar qualities and still need to bring in one more play-maker at CM.

We should be concerned about Sidwell's sendings off last year. They cost us, particularly as we were struggling to put out a regular central midfield pairing. I was certainly thinking after his second sending off that we might bring in Enoh at the expense of Sidwell.

I doubt Sidwell's spot is in question even post-signing and he will likely partner whomever is brought in. Two red cards in April hurt us a lot, there's no doubt. This coupled with the Dejagah injury and it was a proper disaster. But when was the last time he got a red card? 2008 in a Europa league match for Aston Villa. The last time he was red carded in the prem? Never. Not yet ready to change my screen name to SidwellApologist12-13 but i will also not be disappointed to see him line up alongside whomever is brought in.

I think you might be eating those words unless he greatly improves his technical game. I think if Enoh comes in, and we buy a creative technical midfielder, it will be Enoh/Boatang and the creative player. Could be wrong but I think Jol was left very frustrated with Sidwell by the end of the year and consequently will be a squad player next year.

[Apprentice to the Maestro]

The price talk is an excuse to delay while looking at alternatives in a long window. 2m is not a lot for a CDM in the premier league. it is a lot, however, if we've already got 3 or 4 others who bring similar qualities and still need to bring in one more play-maker at CM.

We should be concerned about Sidwell's sendings off last year. They cost us, particularly as we were struggling to put out a regular central midfield pairing. I was certainly thinking after his second sending off that we might bring in Enoh at the expense of Sidwell.

I doubt Sidwell's spot is in question even post-signing and he will likely partner whomever is brought in. Two red cards in April hurt us a lot, there's no doubt. This coupled with the Dejagah injury and it was a proper disaster. But when was the last time he got a red card? 2008 in a Europa league match for Aston Villa. The last time he was red carded in the prem? Never. Not yet ready to change my screen name to SidwellApologist12-13 but i will also not be disappointed to see him line up alongside whomever is brought in.

I don't think Sidwell is a bad or a dirty player but his decision making about tackles can be poor and referees were even less lenient last season about two footed tackles and feet off the ground.

The really annoying thing as far as I remember is that neither tackle need to have been made, at least in that way. Weren't both in midfield with us in no real danger? Players need to keep their heads. And the second red card was minutes after he came back from his first suspension. That is very disappointingly stupid.

[Apprentice to the Maestro]

The price talk is an excuse to delay while looking at alternatives in a long window. 2m is not a lot for a CDM in the premier league. it is a lot, however, if we've already got 3 or 4 others who bring similar qualities and still need to bring in one more play-maker at CM.

We should be concerned about Sidwell's sendings off last year. They cost us, particularly as we were struggling to put out a regular central midfield pairing. I was certainly thinking after his second sending off that we might bring in Enoh at the expense of Sidwell.

I doubt Sidwell's spot is in question even post-signing and he will likely partner whomever is brought in. Two red cards in April hurt us a lot, there's no doubt. This coupled with the Dejagah injury and it was a proper disaster. But when was the last time he got a red card? 2008 in a Europa league match for Aston Villa. The last time he was red carded in the prem? Never. Not yet ready to change my screen name to SidwellApologist12-13 but i will also not be disappointed to see him line up alongside whomever is brought in.

I think Sidwell's spot is in danger. I think he would be behind Boateng, Diarra and Enoh for any defensive midfield spot, behind Karagounis (at least for the first 60 minutes) and behind any new creative midfielder we might buy. He is only currently in the reckoning, I suspect, because we are short of central midfielders.

[cmg]

The problem with Sidwell (as with several of our recent candidates in this position) is that he is not quite a top-level defender. Thus, occasionally, he is not quite in the right position or his timing is not quite right, it's only a matter of inches or of micro-seconds but it makes the difference between a well executed tackle and a foul.

Much of the art of defending is in the head. There is a considerable range of talent. At the top end we have the likes of Mooro (and there were not many like him) who hardly ever needed to make a tackle (and then only against the likes of Pele) but almost always ended up with the ball. At the other end (I was going to say David Luiz, but that wouldn't be quite fair) is the unfortunate Uzbekistan right-back in the recent u20 WC clash with France, the rather interestingly named Shamshitdinov, who was so embarrassingly outmatched that his coach should have subbed him after his first yellow (which should have been a red) but who continued to flail away at anything in blue until the inevitable second yellow left his side with 10 men. Sidwell is nothing like as bad as this, of course, but is always going to be a bit of a risk,. There are, of course, many defenders in the PL of whom this could be said.

[zschwartz]

I think you might be eating those words unless he greatly improves his technical game. I think if Enoh comes in, and we buy a creative technical midfielder, it will be Enoh/Boatang and the creative player. Could be wrong but I think Jol was left very frustrated with Sidwell by the end of the year and consequently will be a squad player next year.

Eating a recitation of facts? Fair enough, the dreaded search function may yet rise again. I'm not saying what i will do when inevitably appointed by the board (Day 1: liquidate the club and give the proceeds to remy's defense fund) but instead what i think Martin will do. Sidwell went right back into the XI after his ban.

He came up big in the draws at Chelsea/Arsenal and the win at tottenham. In those games he was partnered with Baird, Diarra and Karagounis (subbed for Enoh at '78 in the spurs game).

Is having to rely on a player who has probably the fastest back-to-back red cards ever in the premier league ideal? No. But this law of small numbers bullsheet is how we end up with players like Riise, Duff, Stekelenberg and Berbatov for little to no money and it would be a shame if we fell victim to the same hasty decision making.

Steve's a well above average CDM for a mid table side and he works himself to death for the club. Martin's been around too long to write him off and i very much do not see him placed on the team sheet behind untested Boateng, potentially released Diarra and an unconfirmed Karagounis.

[MasterHaynes]

I think everyone maybe overestimating Boatengs abilities and will be disapointed if their expectations are that he is an upgrade on Sidwell, He only came on as a sub against us for Dnipro and didn't really get into the game even though we had tried to bring him in in the summerso you would think he would be doing his utmost to impress. I think he has been bought as a back up when Sidwell is not available.As previously stated Jol put him straight back into the team after his suspension evidence he knows his importance to the team.

[FFC1987]

I think you might be eating those words unless he greatly improves his technical game. I think if Enoh comes in, and we buy a creative technical midfielder, it will be Enoh/Boatang and the creative player. Could be wrong but I think Jol was left very frustrated with Sidwell by the end of the year and consequently will be a squad player next year.

Eating a recitation of facts? Fair enough, the dreaded search function may yet rise again. I'm not saying what i will do when inevitably appointed by the board (Day 1: liquidate the club and give the proceeds to remy's defense fund) but instead what i think Martin will do. Sidwell went right back into the XI after his ban.

He came up big in the draws at Chelsea/Arsenal and the win at tottenham. In those games he was partnered with Baird, Diarra and Karagounis (subbed for Enoh at '78 in the spurs game).

Is having to rely on a player who has probably the fastest back-to-back red cards ever in the premier league ideal? No. But this law of small numbers bullsheet is how we end up with players like Riise, Duff, Stekelenberg and Berbatov for little to no money and it would be a shame if we fell victim to the same hasty decision making.

Steve's a well above average CDM for a mid table side and he works himself to death for the club. Martin's been around too long to write him off and i very much do not see him placed on the team sheet behind untested Boateng, potentially released Diarra and an unconfirmed Karagounis.

What I meant was, I think you might be wrong in that he will be a starter *unless he improves. Sidwell looked decent in the main part of the season where we really struggled apart from the aforementioned games. I like Sidwell, great grafting attitude but the jury's out if he is better than just a bully on the pitch. We need more to break into top 10 and he's not quite there IMO. It was nothing personal by 'eating those words' just I strongly disagree with you about his role in the team next year. You would be eating recitation of facts if by December his appearances are low and he's just a squad player which I believe he will be. I'll happily eat those words if he comes good and adds to his game and pushes us closer to top 10 :)

[JackyFulham90]

Sidwell, Boateng, Diarra , Enoh & a creative central midfielder will mean we have enough quality in central midfield, a fully fit Diarra can be creative

[Forever Fulham]

The price talk is an excuse to delay while looking at alternatives in a long window. 2m is not a lot for a CDM in the premier league. it is a lot, however, if we've already got 3 or 4 others who bring similar qualities and still need to bring in one more play-maker at CM.

We should be concerned about Sidwell's sendings off last year. They cost us, particularly as we were struggling to put out a regular central midfield pairing. I was certainly thinking after his second sending off that we might bring in Enoh at the expense of Sidwell.

I doubt Sidwell's spot is in question even post-signing and he will likely partner whomever is brought in. Two red cards in April hurt us a lot, there's no doubt. This coupled with the Dejagah injury and it was a proper disaster. But when was the last time he got a red card? 2008 in a Europa league match for Aston Villa. The last time he was red carded in the prem? Never. Not yet ready to change my screen name to SidwellApologist12-13 but i will also not be disappointed to see him line up alongside whomever is brought in.

I agree.  Sidwell got an undeserved reputation for rash  or reckless challenge play.  The timing of the two bookings was unfortunate and hurt the team.  But they don't define him and his game.  I remain a fan of Sidwell.  He and Senderos brought a dynamic to the team that was missing.  They went for it.  In any event, I don't see how we are measurably improved for the upcoming season.  I see Diarra as lost to us, a debilitating injury waiting to happen.  We don't have that great distributor we need.  And no big man up top, creating chaos and opportunities for Berb and Ruiz. 

[zschwartz]

What I meant was, I think you might be wrong in that he will be a starter *unless he improves. Sidwell looked decent in the main part of the season where we really struggled apart from the aforementioned games. I like Sidwell, great grafting attitude but the jury's out if he is better than just a bully on the pitch. We need more to break into top 10 and he's not quite there IMO. It was nothing personal by 'eating those words' just I strongly disagree with you about his role in the team next year. You would be eating recitation of facts if by December his appearances are low and he's just a squad player which I believe he will be. I'll happily eat those words if he comes good and adds to his game and pushes us closer to top 10 :)

Ya, definitely. For sure Sidwell is an odd one and hard to predict. How many players have been signed by both Hughes and Jose Mourinho? Leaving Arsenal to work his way back up to the prem with Reading... Losing out on a spot to Essien and Lampard and the like at Chelsea... Fighting for starts in the days when Villa actually had a midfield: the guy has bounced back from plenty of setbacks.

He's a seasoned pro with a pretty high pedigree. I am expecting him to mentally deal with the back-to-back dismissals and still perform as a midfield enforcer. Another red early in the season and we can start to seriously look at pastures for the putting. Until then i think Martin will see it as an aberration and prefer him to the untested and aged.

If we bring in more than one who can play in that position maybe he is considered more of an impractical liability... instead of a practical one.