alias75

really excited about this signing, think he has the potential to go to the next level pretty quickly in which case it'll be money well spent. Hes obviously really talented but the thing i like about him the most is his attitude, he has a tremendous will to win.

probably means Torres is off

£28 million!!! so just a bit more than Darren Bent

this Torres news makes it even more important for NESV to send a signal to the rest of the squad that their serious about making improvements. Ajax's valuation is probably a little high but its mid-season and hes a highly rated young player so lets just pay a little over the odds and get him in. Im pretty confident he can have a similar impact Torres had when he signed, at that time his profile might have been slightly higher but id say they were on a similar level although because Torres played in La Liga i guess he was a bit more proven. But im pretty confident Suarez will be seen as a £25 million plus player in a year so a few extra million now to secure him will be worth it, and if it helps placate players like Torres and Reina then that adds even more value to the transfer.

Agree with that but im more worried about the signal it might send out to other players in the squad especially someone like Reina. If it did happen we'd have to have 2 or 3 deals lined up really quickly, but i do think replacing him with 2 maybe 3 genuine world class players would improve the team. Ive seen enough of Suarez to be pretty confident he can make the step up much like Torres did when we signed him.

No worries, thats the reason id written it off too cos i assumed it was a loser with other managers going before him.

12 months ago id have been devastated to lose Torres but we've seen plenty of times this season an unhappy Torres is next to useless for us anyway (hence this thread) he does look like he's lost that blistering pace he had when he first got here. If we do sell him we have to make sure we get £50 million plus and its all invested back in the team. If we replaced Torres with Suarez plus added 2-3 genuine world class players the team would be better off for it. This is a huge moment for NESV they either have to show players like Torres and Reina that their serious and make the signings that will convince them to stay or make sure we get maximum value for our marquee player and make sure all the money (and more) is invested back into the team. I agree with those though that still don't believe this story, i still like to believe Torres is better than this and going to Chelsea at the moment is hardly a guarantee of anything.

we would have ended up with Daniel Sturridge as our main striker!!

They announced they'd turned down a bid from us so we must have contacted them directly about that.

wonder how many new followers he got bid will be rejected massive no story.

thats just been announced, not sure if its the news that guys talking about but it is a big story.

Blackpool fined for fielding weakened team v Villa. didn't Holloway say he'd resign if that happened??

Think he was our highest assister (is that a word) in the 2nd half of last season, also pretty sure i read that Insua was our 2nd best assister so it made perfect sense to loan them both out.

think theres a case for playing Kelly at CB and moving GJ back to right back with Aurellio at left back. Its tough to change the defence when we've just had 2 clean sheets but there are obviously still problems that need addressing. I don't like the balance of the back 4 at the moment, while GJ has done well at left back he still looks uncomfortable making tackles with his weaker foot. We also panicked a lot in possession yesterday when with more composure on the ball we could have countered better and maybe got the 2nd so Aurellio would help with that.

thats how id do it too, if we got Adam. That wide right position has been a problem for a long time, the spell Gerrard had there under Rafa has been our best option in that position for a while, Bale has proved you can still dominate games and be your teams main attacking threat from those wide positions i think Stevie could do the same for us. I like the balance in a midfield of Lucas, Adam and Meireles, you have Lucas's energy and defensive attributes, Adam's passing range and Meireles' ability to get forward and support the forwards.

Really strange performance that, the players did look tired which is a worry at least we won't have to worry about fixture congestion this year. Thought we did miss Lucas more than anything else for his energy in midfield which often gets overlooked. Still don't like the balance of the team with GJ on the left, even though he did ok, there were a few occasions defensively where hes trying to tackle with his weaker foot and its causing problems. Its a tough one because Kelly's done nothing wrong, personally id be inclined to try Kelly at CB, Skrtel once again was poor, conceding stupid free kicks and not winning his headers. Play Kelly in his proper position, put GJ back to right back and Aurellio back to left back, we need as many passers in the team as possible because once again we lacked those cool heads to play the right pass when we came under pressure. Think it also highlighted the need for a couple of fresh faces especially in those attacking positions, Kuyt is struggling, if we got Adam id like to see us try Gerrard on the right, Bale has proved you can dominate games from those wide positions. Gerrard was badly off today thought he played too deep, hopefully its just being away for a few weeks. One big plus for me is Agger hopefully he can stay fit, hes the one defender we have that will remain calm and he carried the ball well as usual, in this type of game he's priceless really because of his ability to step into midfield and create the extra man. Think the players slowly need to build their confidence and obviously winning games does that, would like 1 or 2 new signings to freshen things up and give us something different in attack.

to be fair hes worth more than £13 million if thats what we've offered. Hopefully the Babel money will allow us to get closer to £20 million. Good news that he seems to favour us.

Does it really matter?? getting Adams would be ok cos he looks a decent player but our priorities are elsewhere at the moment. We ok for central midfielders and with the Aquilani money to possibly come we have money to get someone in the summer if we want to strengthen that position. Our priorities at the moment are another attacking player like Suarez that transfer should be our priority at the moment. While Adam would be a decent signing for the right price, im not that bothered if we got him or not.

our corners might be decent!!

depends what we have lined up for the summer, its possible neither Suarez or Adam come this month but we could have deals for them in place for the summer. That probably makes more sense with Adam who Blackpool need to stay in the league and its not a priority position for us at the moment. I do think sometimes you have to pay that little extra for certain players and i think Suarez fits the bill, hes at a similar level now to where Torres was when he signed, that looked like money well spent just a few months after Torres signed, i think the same would happen with Suarez he'd soon look like a good deal even if we paid a little over the odds now.

Exactly and his market value is far less than what hes worth to Blackpool at the moment. The market dictates the value of a player i don't see lots of teams offering the sort of money Hollaway's after. It makes absolute sense for them to lose a few million on the transfer fee at the end of the season but maximise their chances of staying up. Im sure we'd be still interested next season. I guess it boils down to how much of a nuisance the players gonna be if he feels they've stood in his way from a big move. Personally think Adam will be a good professional and get his head down until next season.

Its hypocritical though when Blackpool have recently made a pretty derisory offer for Bradley Wright Phillips. Its sad but there is a pecking order in football, Blackpool will look to take advantage of teams below them on that pecking order and teams will look to take advantage of them. Its just an offer they can turn it down if they like.

a transfer request is pretty pointless anyway if Blackpool don't want to sell they don't have to, they might have an unhappy player but Adam doesn't seem like the type to stop playing or start sulking. It makes absolute sense for Blackpool to keep him until the end of the season because their chances of staying up are much greater with him. Its not a position thats a priority for us at the moment so we should just wait and get him at the end of the season.

the same Ian Hollaway that offered a derisory amount for Bradley Wright Phillips...

Just throw in Babel and kill 2 birds...