The 2016 Official Silly Summer Season Transfer Thread

[westcliff white]

Sheffield Wednesday have had a £13 million bid accepted for Ross McCormack - @TFS_SheffWed

I'm done, I'm officially done. Shahid Khan, Tony Khan, Mike Rigg, the lot of you F**K OFF!!!  :031:

It's hard to say at this point but I'm not actually that bothered about Ross going for 13m. At his age I think that's a good deal and although he is our talisman I don't think he gives the team the balance it needs. I wanna see Cairney in the hole with 2 wingers either side and a goalscorer in front. Although Ross is more than just a goalscorer I struggle to work out a formation that fits both Cairney and Ross into it.

Having said all that if he doesn't go I'll also be happy.  As long as these players are replaced and the 13m spent on improving the team as a whole then I won't be upset. But if they cash in and we start the season with Smith and Woodrow then I'll be fuming.

The club have a 2 and a half week window to keep me on board. After that I will be convinced no one at the club knows what they are doing nor do they have any urgency at a time when we desperately need to hit the ground running and get a team to gel

Tick tock Khan and Rigg, Tick tock

I'm in the same camp Danny. You could do quite a bit with the 13M and yes people we say where will goals come or assists. Well they will come from elsewhere, that's what happens a team evolves and new stars appear.

So, we nearly go down, two seasons running, and your solution to that is to sell arguably the best player in the division. If we have any intention to progress we should be signing players like Ross McCormack, not selling them.

Who could we sign for £13 mil that has a proven goal scoring record that matches McCormack?

see you are just reading the headlines and not the contents of the discussion. there is more to this than just anyone wanting to sell Ross. Danny brings up the tactical side of things but lets just ignore that eh? Yes Ross scores lots and has assisted a good number as well. I'm not advocating selling him, but if an offer came along at that total then you need to consider it looking at the bigger picture. Tactical and financial issues come into play.  And personally I would not spend 13m on another player to replace him. It would be about building a team and not trying to rely on one star player.

The tactical aspect ois a good one, have we see the best of TC yet? no one knows, but he does seem ore suited to playing in the number 10 role behind a front striker. It is also a good quesito n to ask do they both fit in the same team as Ross likes to drop deep and TC would already be there if in a number 10 role. Every team should be about the team and what make sit function best and play the best football. Having said that, Ross has been key ot some of our best football and results, so it is hard to ignore that. MJG is right as well we do need to build a team buand 13-15 million is a lot for a 30 year old, so it could be right to cash in and build a team capable of moving ofeard and taking us up (not saying we wont do that this summer or with Ross in the team just staying thats what we need to do). I am hoping that Kahn spends big and forgets FFP, other clubs do so the rules can be challenged as they have already been. That aside as some have said how do you replace the goals, it isnt just Ross's that would need replacing its Dembele's too, that's45 odd goals last season, how much does it cost to build a team and replace the goals as well?

Tough choices ahead, even mor eif we are only spending what we raise plus a little extra to abide by the ridiculous rules that others fliout without punishment.

[ffc73]

Ross at anywhere from £13m to £15m is good value for us

We are not going up, need to rebuild across the park and will not get more for Ross in January or next window. 

I vote "Sell"

[Tooting legend]

Seriously wheres the real evidence that a bid as been made, just a made up twitter account, and your letting this wound you up.

[Chutney]

Sheffield Wednesday have had a £13 million bid accepted for Ross McCormack - @TFS_SheffWed

I'm done, I'm officially done. Shahid Khan, Tony Khan, Mike Rigg, the lot of you F**K OFF!!!  :031:

It's hard to say at this point but I'm not actually that bothered about Ross going for 13m. At his age I think that's a good deal and although he is our talisman I don't think he gives the team the balance it needs. I wanna see Cairney in the hole with 2 wingers either side and a goalscorer in front. Although Ross is more than just a goalscorer I struggle to work out a formation that fits both Cairney and Ross into it.

Having said all that if he doesn't go I'll also be happy.  As long as these players are replaced and the 13m spent on improving the team as a whole then I won't be upset. But if they cash in and we start the season with Smith and Woodrow then I'll be fuming.

The club have a 2 and a half week window to keep me on board. After that I will be convinced no one at the club knows what they are doing nor do they have any urgency at a time when we desperately need to hit the ground running and get a team to gel

Tick tock Khan and Rigg, Tick tock

I'm in the same camp Danny. You could do quite a bit with the 13M and yes people we say where will goals come or assists. Well they will come from elsewhere, that's what happens a team evolves and new stars appear.

So, we nearly go down, two seasons running, and your solution to that is to sell arguably the best player in the division. If we have any intention to progress we should be signing players like Ross McCormack, not selling them.

Who could we sign for £13 mil that has a proven goal scoring record that matches McCormack?

see you are just reading the headlines and not the contents of the discussion. there is more to this than just anyone wanting to sell Ross. Danny brings up the tactical side of things but lets just ignore that eh? Yes Ross scores lots and has assisted a good number as well. I'm not advocating selling him, but if an offer came along at that total then you need to consider it looking at the bigger picture. Tactical and financial issues come into play.  And personally I would not spend 13m on another player to replace him. It would be about building a team and not trying to rely on one star player.

I fully understand what you're saying in regards to how £13mil could be useful, but I disagree in this case. Look how poorly we invested the Roberts money. My opinion is, that in order to progress, we should be, like you say, building a team capable of doing so. I just don't understand why we can't do that and keep hold of a guaranteed 20 goal player. How is it that Sheffield Wednesday are able to throw £13mil around (if true) on one player and we cannot?

Both clubs have very wealthy owners, Khan is worth substantially more however. I think the difference is that Sheff Wed appear to be taking a financial gamble in order to chase promotion, in that, they intend to break ffp rules as long as it gets them promoted. Yes its a gamble, a relatively big one, but it does demonstrate intent. As much as statements like "put your money where your mouth is" are cliche I'd like to see us do so.

We have arguably the best player in the division in McCormack, bring in players of equal quality and build the team around him. No more Stearmans/Reams and rubbish like that, players like that are a backwards step. We need more McCormacks/Cairneys, stand out players at this level. Unfortunately, players like that tend to carry a price tag of more than a couple of million. If we intend to build on a budget and within the restraints of FFP then we need to rely on uncovering gems from abroad, on the evidence of the last few transfer windows, we are completely inept in this department.

I guess I am just very disillusioned with the club currently and the direction (or lack of it) we appear to be heading in and as a result, I want to see more intent from them. Selling our best player would have the opposite effect. And even with the £13mil, what standard of player would want to sign for a relegation battling side that just sold its best player? I don't want to find out.

[alexmur]

Regardless of his ability, if Barbatov is the answer, someone is asking the wrong questions.

Brilliant response

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[MJG]

Im running a twitter poll on Ross and the amount we might accept to sell. Its running for an hour at

Snap poll (1 hour) We get an offer for McCormack do you sell at....

— MJG (@1966MJG) July 6, 2016

[Mince n Tatties]

13 million is good business I suppose,but the fact is because of our position last couple
of seasons who are we going to get decent to replace him?
Good players arent chumping at the bit to sign for us.
Id rather we keep our best player(by a mile) than have the money.

[Thamesbank]

personally think it would be recklessly stupid to sell Ross now with Dembele gone, its all very well having cash and buying new players but you can never guarantee they will fit in and perform (particularly forwards).

[Tonywa]

As I said a few months ago, which two players are you going to get to replace him?  There's the small matter of between twenty and twenty-five goals a season, plus in the region of ten or more assists.  Personally I think it would be total madness to sell him. 

[mkras99]

http://www.sport.be/nl/jupilerproleague/ploegennieuws/?SN_Article_ID=237124

[MJG]

Results from the hour long poll I ran on twitter

[dannyboi-ffc]

Ross has never been in a 'good team'. Leeds were a same situation to us, it's always crap side that would be nowhere without Ross.

That's true in the fact he seems to be instrumental in everything we do in the final third but imo his teams struggle because he is awkward to build the team around.

I'm not saying we must sell but 13M would mean we could sign 4 good players, maybe a Bamford on loan and a winger who can chip in with goals as well as a Mccarthy in goal and a fullback or two.

Surely if we replace McCormack with a team and not another McCormack it will result in us being a better side overall? We could spread the goal scoring burden across the team, and if one of them gets injured we would still be strong. At the moment it's always a case of if Ross gets injured we are f&#&#$. And I don't think any team gets promoted putting all their eggs in one basket.

It would be like having a flash car on the drive but a dated kitchen, bathroom and leaking roof. You could sell the car, fix all the problems with the house and then buy a different car. You still end up with a car but now have a Nice complete house to go with it.

[Barrett487]

13 million is good business I suppose,but the fact is because of our position last couple
of seasons who are we going to get decent to replace him?
Good players arent chumping at the bit to sign for us.
Id rather we keep our best player(by a mile) than have the money.

:plus one:

We are not fashionable club anymore, reflecting our demise and poor management history. SJs influence could be key to getting players in, but he's tied up with pre-season preparations atm

[Chutney]

Ross has never been in a 'good team'. Leeds were a same situation to us, it's always crap side that would be nowhere without Ross.

That's true in the fact he seems to be instrumental in everything we do in the final third but imo his teams struggle because he is awkward to build the team around.

I'm not saying we must sell but 13M would mean we could sign 4 good players, maybe a Bamford on loan and a winger who can chip in with goals as well as a Mccarthy in goal and a fullback or two.

Surely if we replace McCormack with a team and not another McCormack it will result in us being a better side overall? We could spread the goal scoring burden across the team, and if one of them gets injured we would still be strong. At the moment it's always a case of if Ross gets injured we are f&#&#$. And I don't think any team gets promoted putting all their eggs in one basket.

It would be like having a flash car on the drive but a dated kitchen, bathroom and leaking roof. You could sell the car, fix all the problems with the house and then buy a different car. You still end up with a car but now have a Nice complete house to go with it.

Running with that analogy,  If we want to progress we need to buy more expensive flash cars and do the house up at the same time, with high end items, it wont be cheap, but quality rarely is. Or, if we want to level out and become an average side at this level then we can sell our flash car to repair the house, but then you're left with an average car, and an average house and no where to go from there.

Essentially this transfer window comes down to this, are we willing to gamble, spend well and spend plenty in order to get players that are good enough to take us up? Or do we sell our stars, our only real assets, sign 4 or 5 players for a couple of mil each and end up with a team of Richard Stearmans? They might well keep us up, but the evidence suggests they would struggle to do even that.

McCormack kept us up last year, and the previous year, these lesser quality players we sign only drag us backwards.

We need more flash cars.

[FulhamStu]

Sell Mackormack for £15m and buy 3 flash cars that are newer than 10 years old and have all the latest technology eg automatic rather than manual.

[dannyboi-ffc]

Ross has never been in a 'good team'. Leeds were a same situation to us, it's always crap side that would be nowhere without Ross.

That's true in the fact he seems to be instrumental in everything we do in the final third but imo his teams struggle because he is awkward to build the team around.

I'm not saying we must sell but 13M would mean we could sign 4 good players, maybe a Bamford on loan and a winger who can chip in with goals as well as a Mccarthy in goal and a fullback or two.

Surely if we replace McCormack with a team and not another McCormack it will result in us being a better side overall? We could spread the goal scoring burden across the team, and if one of them gets injured we would still be strong. At the moment it's always a case of if Ross gets injured we are f&#&#$. And I don't think any team gets promoted putting all their eggs in one basket.

It would be like having a flash car on the drive but a dated kitchen, bathroom and leaking roof. You could sell the car, fix all the problems with the house and then buy a different car. You still end up with a car but now have a Nice complete house to go with it.

Running with that analogy,  If we want to progress we need to buy more expensive flash cars and do the house up at the same time, with high end items, it wont be cheap, but quality rarely is. Or, if we want to level out and become an average side at this level then we can sell our flash car to repair the house, but then you're left with an average car, and an average house and no where to go from there.

Essentially this transfer window comes down to this, are we willing to gamble, spend well and spend plenty in order to get players that are good enough to take us up? Or do we sell our stars, our only real assets, sign 4 or 5 players for a couple of mil each and end up with a team of Richard Stearmans? They might well keep us up, but the evidence suggests they would struggle to do even that.

McCormack kept us up last year, and the previous year, these lesser quality players we sign only drag us backwards.

We need more flash cars.

Bournemouth probaby spent less on their whole squad than what Ross would sell for. I know what you're saying about becoming a complete average side but we almost got relegated because we only have Ross and a below averge team.

Brighton and the likes of Birmingham and Ipswich don't have a player near McCormack's standard so how come they did so well?

It's not as black and white either way. You don't need a Ross to get promoted, you need a good manager and a balanced group of players who buy into a system and respond to it. Just like Hodgson's team did, in relation to a Europa league final we didn't have a player to the standard of Ross as a championship Player.  In a way we were a team of Stearman,  cheap players who were shrewd signings and good professionals with a winning mentality that bought into Hodgson.

With England Hodgson proved players like McCormack aren't always the answer. You need quality but more importantly you need players to gel together as a team and he failed miserably with those England players.

I just have faith in Joka, whether that turns out to be foolish or not Its too early to say. But imo reinvesting the money and getting JokaS team will make us better than spending money and keeping Ross. With FFP we are less likely to find the 13m to spend than we would be if Ross is sold.

If the flash car breaks down at least my way you will still have a nice house to come home to.  God knows what happens when we need to do up the garden lol. Rigg can be the ghome lol

[valdeingruo]

Here is my take on the situation for what it is worth.

We have the highest value we are ever going to get for an aging player. While he is one of the best finishers in the Division, this is the most we will get for him. By selling we can accomplish a few things. ( Any, some or all of these scenarios) I would rather 60 goals be spread across the team, than 30 of them from one player.

1) Allow our budget for players to grow.

2) Bring in players willing to fight for the team.

3) Renew the supporters faith that the Club knows what its doing

4) Screw it all up and finally convince the hold outs that the whole management is clueless.

If we are trying to switch to a sole forward formation, we need atleast two wide players. I think Williams will feature, but shouldnt have the responsibility thrust upon him. The forwards would be Ayeite, Woodrow, Smith and someone brought in (Bamford, if the rumours are to be believed).

The money could be reinvested into the defense as I think we have enough depth at central midfield even with Hyndman leaving. Part of our issue was the fact that our defense wasnt drilled. Stearman came to us highly rated, while I think we need a new Centerback, I think a full back on either side is more paramount.

We also need a keeper.

The more i type, the more unsatisfied with the squad I am.

I think a large majority of us just want some sort of sign it will be different. I dont think most of us expect promotion, we just want even performances and a team that fights for the shirt.

Ive met Khan as have a few of us on this board, he is a very nice guy and I think, had we not gone down, he would have invested on a MAF like scale, however that is moot. What is the common saying "There cant be nice guys in footbal"?  Im hoping this is proved wrong. I know I would rather have him at the helm than some of those at the head of Clubs. Lets change our Crest to the Jaguars and our new colour is teal. Get the point?  This isnt to say I am not happy with where we are, just that we could have worse.

[Riversider]

Were owned not by a multi millionaire but by a multi Billionaire, worth over 4 times what Al Fayed is worth, let that sink in for a minute !
To all those saying sell Ross for 13 million because it will make us a far better side, I then ask you this, why doesn't our multi Billionaire owner keep the best player in the division AND give Slavisa £13 million to spend (we've already brought in a lot of money) , surely then by your own logic we will be spending a lot of time in the top 10 this season,
If only it was this easy 

[f321ffc]

Were owned not by a multi millionaire but by a multi Billionaire, worth over 4 times what Al Fayed is worth, let that sink in for a minute !
To all those saying sell Ross for 13 million because it will make us a far better side, I then ask you this, why doesn't our multi Billionaire owner keep the best player in the division AND give Slavisa £13 million to spend (we've already brought in a lot of money) , surely then by your own logic we will be spending a lot of time in the top 10 this season,
If only it was this easy 

:plus one: like your thinking there , come on Mr  051 get some in. 049:gif

[ToodlesMcToot]

Were owned not by a multi millionaire but by a multi Billionaire, worth over 4 times what Al Fayed is worth, let that sink in for a minute !
To all those saying sell Ross for 13 million because it will make us a far better side, I then ask you this, why doesn't our multi Billionaire owner keep the best player in the division AND give Slavisa £13 million to spend (we've already brought in a lot of money) , surely then by your own logic we will be spending a lot of time in the top 10 this season,
If only it was this easy 

Don't necessarily believe that selling Ross would make us a much better squad but, I can see the logic in selling a player when his value is at it's peak and using that money to essentially buy his goals in other positions. Improving the defense from third worst in the league to just average would pick up 20-25 goals/season. If we can bring in a main striker that can achieve 60%-75% of Ross' output and pick up a few more goals from other positions, we'd be a more balanced, more productive side each week and where our standing in the table goes.

I don't believe that anyone is saying "let the Ross money fund everything" but, that the Ross money in addition to SJ's current transfer kitty could go a long way toward making the loss of Ross much less than painful, even beneficial....if used properly. Know that last bit is a stretch.