Summer Silly Season Transfer Thread 2024

[RaySmith]

Do believe the negativity re Berge is unjustified. The guy has class & with Silva's renowned coaching abilities, he just may surprise the doubters .... if it happens. Besides, always good to have a Norwegian in the side - isn't it!!

WE know well that they're real grafters, who always give their all!

[Nero]

The difference between Palhinia and berge is one has  3 bad games a season and the other has 3 good games

[hovewhite]

Getting piss off with these 4 6 8 10.Midfielders Robson, Keane,Souness,had no numbers they were  just complete Football players.

Agree - no idea what they talking about 👍
You can add to that - double pivot 🤷

It's something that makes me laugh fans pretending to understand nos of players predicting where they will play on the pitch.

[Caedal]

Our recruitment has been overall excellent the past few seasons. (If a bit slow). For all the complaints people have with it, our success rate is very high. Yes there are a few outliers but that is to be expected

It's more important to bring in players that fit the system than it is bringing in star names. Berge is a very good international player. Yes he isn't a direct replacement for Palhinha, but Palhinha is basically impossible to replace for a club of our size.

The most sensible option is signing 2 players which exceed what Palhinha + Reed did for us last year. Given Reeds main "quality" is running around like a headless chicken (and being constantly out of position) having 2 disciplined players in there will be a massive upgrade

[General]

I think it highly unlikely that we would get Andre he has only just got in brazils side and I would doubt he would qualify for a uk work permit and you wouldn't get it 10 days unless they applied ages ago this transfer dead ages ago.

If Muniz got a work permit then andré would.

[General]

The fact we were all universally excited with ESR and I think 50/50 on Berge says a lot.

Berge just isn't the player to take us to the next level and I think we were all hoping this year for several really exciting quality starting players to push us forward to towards the top 10, even Europe especially with the transfer budget and the lack of financial constraints we have.

This signing just suggests we are happy with lower mid table

This is kind of where my heads at tbh.. I'm happy to suspend judgement re berge and would also happily be proven my opinion on him wrong..

I think for me, when compared to the potential signings of André and Mctominay, and the initial buzz around getting one or both of them, I just can't help but feel a bit underwhelmed by us going for Berge out of everyone that's out there.

That's me though and I'm happy to be proven wrong.

I'd rather we spread big signings over two windows to flesh out the squad and get higher profile players in, then try and spread the money out over less high profile players who may or may not improve us and our position in the league, which is what I'd like us to do.

[Count Flapula]

The fact we were all universally excited with ESR and I think 50/50 on Berge says a lot.

Berge just isn't the player to take us to the next level and I think we were all hoping this year for several really exciting quality starting players to push us forward to towards the top 10, even Europe especially with the transfer budget and the lack of financial constraints we have.

This signing just suggests we are happy with lower mid table

Where did you get "lack of financial constraints" from?

We sold Palhinha for £47m - yes that's a decent fee but we also lost Tosin, Ream, Willian and Bobby for nothing from our first team squad (as well as Ballo Toure, Broja going back and Rodák leaving from the bench).

Anyone thinking we had that Joao money to simply lump back onto another DM is sorely mistaken/tunnel visioned.

And if someone else mentions the "Mitro money" once more I'm going to throttle someone!

Yes, we do have a bit more of a transfer kitty than the Joao money but we needed to spread that around to cover a minimum of 6 positions in total (2 x CB, LB, CM, AM/winger, plus another midfielder/forward according to Silva). When you are looking at Prem ready/quality players fees and wages that doesn't go as far as you think, hence we are seemingly trying to spread it as wisely as possible to get the best combination of players that limited money can buy. Hence we can't "just pay the extra £5m" every team wants to every single player we get linked to.

every. single. player.

As someone quite rightly pointed out, we would be extremely hard pushed to replace Joao like for like as there is NO ONE around with the stats he had for tackling - in fact when have we EVER had a DM as good as him? Enjoy him for what he was but we need to move on.

Judging by the types of player we have been linked with, looks like in lieu of being able to sign Joao mark 2, Silva has asked for a ball playing midfielder who can link play / progress us up the field and also press and put a shift in defensively when needed. Berge seems to fit that mould nicely (plus replaces some of the height lost at set pieces from Tosin and Joao, which I was a bit concerned about).

It seems Berge has been (somewhere) on our lists of targets before so although he wasn't (reportedly at least) maybe a primary target at the beginning of the window, if he's on there and we've put a bid in then the scouts, stats team and Silva all want him. Our recruitment has largely been very good last few windows so that's good enough for me.

[Tabby]

The thing that gets me a bit bitter about Berge is that we are essentially paying £10 million more for him than he was available for last season and he hasn't really improved since.

But that is a nitpick more than anything.

[@jolslover]

I don't understand anyone saying that the Berge signing shows a lack of ambition and is an indication we are not aiming for top half. United have spent the past two months in talks with Burnley over signing him so does that mean they were trying to secure a 15th place finish..

[Bassey the warrior]

The thing that gets me a bit bitter about Berge is that we are essentially paying £10 million more for him than he was available for last season and he hasn't really improved since.

But that is a nitpick more than anything.

True but we didn't need him last season.

[General]

Would this work, could it happen? Probably not, but does look tempting.. earlier in the transfer window there was speculation we were after both McTominay and Andre... If that had actual legs, perhaps Berge would be a McTominay alternative and Andre is still a possibility? One can live in hope, even if it's unlikely..

https://twitter.com/CottageTactico/status/1825782801796374903

[FFC1987]

Would this work, could it happen? Probably not, but does look tempting.. earlier in the transfer window there was speculation we were after both McTominay and Andre... If that had actual legs, perhaps Berge would be a McTominay alternative and Andre is still a possibility? One can live in hope, even if it's unlikely..

https://twitter.com/CottageTactico/status/1825782801796374903

This is the scenario I'm hoping for.....

[General]

Would this work, could it happen? Probably not, but does look tempting.. earlier in the transfer window there was speculation we were after both McTominay and Andre... If that had actual legs, perhaps Berge would be a McTominay alternative and Andre is still a possibility? One can live in hope, even if it's unlikely..

https://twitter.com/CottageTactico/status/1825782801796374903

Coming around to Berge, particularly if he played as a CM instead of DM.. his tenacity and eye for an assist or goal makes him seem like a better fit for a role higher up the pitch, similar to McTominay...  Apparently Berge had 21 g/a in 65 games whilst at Sheffield Utd.

https://twitter.com/Itiiri_jr/status/1825788444234170377

[hovewhite]

Would this work, could it happen? Probably not, but does look tempting.. earlier in the transfer window there was speculation we were after both McTominay and Andre... If that had actual legs, perhaps Berge would be a McTominay alternative and Andre is still a possibility? One can live in hope, even if it's unlikely..

https://twitter.com/CottageTactico/status/1825782801796374903

This is the scenario I'm hoping for.....

good luck with that lol

[Jim©]

The difference between Palhinia and berge is one has  3 bad games a season and the other has 3 good games

Impressive that he won players' player and fans' player of the season on the back of 3 good games.
Wish we would listen to people that have watched him week in week out, rather than make our minds up on
1) where the teams he played for have finished
2) the one or two games v Fulham that we've seen him
3) how he compares precisely to Palhinha

I genuinely suggest that some people look at the links to other teams forums where they discuss him. May whet the appetite a bit.

[General]

The difference between Palhinia and berge is one has  3 bad games a season and the other has 3 good games

Impressive that he won players' player and fans' player of the season on the back of 3 good games.
Wish we would listen to people that have watched him week in week out, rather than make our minds up on
1) where the teams he played for have finished
2) the one or two games v Fulham that we've seen him
3) how he compares precisely to Palhinha

I genuinely suggest that some people look at the links to other teams forums where they discuss him. May whet the appetite a bit.

Come on, let's have a reality check here a bit.. We all thought Ream, Cairney, Mitro, Johansen, Mcdonald were fantastic for us.. Calum Chambers and Alphonse Areola won our player of the season awards when we got relegated.. but, whilst those players did very well for us and many were fan favourites, the standard and difference between playing and doing well for a championship team/one that gets relegated, vs a competitive PL team is quite significant... which is why we've, over the last 3 seasons now, gradually by quite quickly shedded most of the team that got us promoted under Marco.

I think Robinson, Cairney, Reed, Tete and Wilson are the only ones left from that entire squad and only one of them has been a consistent ever present since we got promoted, with Tete having a blinding first season and then getting replaced by Castagne, and Reed losing out to Lukic when Palhinha came in.

Don't get me wrong, Reed, Cairney and Wilson can all do a job at this level, similar to BDR, but none of them are thriving in the league apart from Robinson and perhaps Tete. Cairney has a role to play, definitely, as a cultured CM who comes on to bring calm and slow down the game for us.. but he rarely starts. I think Cairney has got a lot better over the three years, but he's getting better now as his age is going against him more and more. Maybe he'll age like a fine wine though.

[JimmyConway]

Not my money but £20m seems somewhat inflated. If it's £25m McTominey & similar Andre then personally think we've gone for wrong option! Even if it is a Silva target?

[Deeping_white]

Not my money but £20m seems somewhat inflated. If it's £25m McTominey & similar Andre then personally think we've gone for wrong option! Even if it is a Silva target?

McTominay was £30m so £10m more expensive and he's an inferior player and older, see the wagon wheel in this article for a comparison of Berge & McTominay:

https://www.fulhamish.co.uk/post/2024-08-20-is-sander-berge-a-shrewd-move-or-a-downgrade-for-fulham/

[Willham]

The difference between Palhinia and berge is one has  3 bad games a season and the other has 3 good games

Impressive that he won players' player and fans' player of the season on the back of 3 good games.
Wish we would listen to people that have watched him week in week out, rather than make our minds up on
1) where the teams he played for have finished
2) the one or two games v Fulham that we've seen him
3) how he compares precisely to Palhinha

I genuinely suggest that some people look at the links to other teams forums where they discuss him. May whet the appetite a bit.

Come on, let's have a reality check here a bit.. We all thought Ream, Cairney, Mitro, Johansen, Mcdonald were fantastic for us.. Calum Chambers and Alphonse Areola won our player of the season awards when we got relegated.. but, whilst those players did very well for us and many were fan favourites, the standard and difference between playing and doing well for a championship team/one that gets relegated, vs a competitive PL team is quite significant... which is why we've, over the last 3 seasons now, gradually by quite quickly shedded most of the team that got us promoted under Marco.

I think Robinson, Cairney, Reed, Tete and Wilson are the only ones left from that entire squad and only one of them has been a consistent ever present since we got promoted, with Tete having a blinding first season and then getting replaced by Castagne, and Reed losing out to Lukic when Palhinha came in.

Don't get me wrong, Reed, Cairney and Wilson can all do a job at this level, similar to BDR, but none of them are thriving in the league apart from Robinson and perhaps Tete. Cairney has a role to play, definitely, as a cultured CM who comes on to bring calm and slow down the game for us.. but he rarely starts. I think Cairney has got a lot better over the three years, but he's getting better now as his age is going against him more and more. Maybe he'll age like a fine wine though.

It's an interesting point and one that's almost gone under the radar, I do feel there's players we've lost unwillingly in that time though so players who could have maybe been ever present in the first team, players like mitro, carvalho and tosin, which could have been another 3 to that list, and suddenly most first teams would have had nearly half the same team as when we got promoted.

You've also missed muniz who's now more or less the first choice striker, and he played in the promotion season.

[FFC1987]

Not to be argumentative on the matter but is this considered a good deal worth waiting for, leaving it late into the window? The more I think about it in that vein, it feels Berge was plan B/C.....