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Post by jzime on Dec 31, 2015 2:56:49 GMT
Unless we get £20m bid from Daftshit FC nobody of importance will be leaving. Even if they do, i think we'll already have back-up plans in mind. I put on another thread, that i think the only place that might be looked at is Cameron's. The biggest threat would be if we had one player who really carried us - think here Suarez and Bale. For our level, we have class all over the pitch. The back 5, midfield 3 and attacking 3, there is no proverbial head to cut off. Even if we have at some point a Southampton style asset strip (Lallana, Lambert, Shaw, Chambers) i still have confidence in us getting the right players in. Conclusion...relax your batty Pretty much this. Nobody will be going in January. But I think our situation is a little different to Southampton's. All of their players that are linked with bigger clubs, or who have already left, were youth products or signed from smaller clubs and will naturally be looking up. Our star players, Shaqiri and Bojan in particular, have played for the big boys in Spain, Germany and Italy and it's not worked out for them. I don't think they would be in a particularly big rush to sacrifice settled first team football to join somebody bigger and have to fight for starting places again. Of course I'm not naive and don't think there is no chance of any of them leaving forever, we have a lot of very young and very talented players. But my major concerns would be Butland and Arnie. If Man United sell De Gea to Madrid this summer, I would be somewhat surprised if Butland was not their first choice replacement. But I expect us to hold out for them to at least match for whatever they sell De Gea for, if not more; i.e. match the world record fee or a keeper or set a new one. If we sold any of our front three, we'd sell them for double (or over ten times in the case of Arnie and Bojan) the price we brought them for and replace them with other targets, ie Yarmolenko.
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Post by turtlefox on Dec 31, 2015 3:23:56 GMT
No one giving a shit anymore
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Post by harryburrows on Dec 31, 2015 3:41:33 GMT
Greatest threats there are two obvious main ones:- 1) being asset stripped and 2) Lack of ambition (closely related) Having arguably the best front 4 in the premier league suggests is not lack of ambition . Or are you still banging on about a few hundred new seats
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Post by cooper67 on Dec 31, 2015 3:47:51 GMT
Or Hughes caught shagging Shawcross misses with Peter Coates wanking himself in the background dressed in Nazi uniform. I reckon that would put the cat amongst the proverbial pigeons ???? I've got the negatives!! Nobody will be going anywhere!
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Post by PotterLog on Dec 31, 2015 3:59:45 GMT
Our greatest threat is Man UTD. They may well approach Hughes and Im not sure if he would say no. He is ambitious and as poor as Man UTD are, the prestige of the job together with the ex player factor may be too much. As good as we are, we do not have that prestige.. or potential yet. Chances of LMH turning down the ManU job: nil, zero, zilch, zip, nowt, nada, squat Chances of LMH being offered the ManU job: nil, zero, zilch, zip, nowt, nada, squat so I think we're ok
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Post by redwhitesingfight on Dec 31, 2015 10:48:44 GMT
The obvious move for the Coates family is to give Mark Hughes a share in the ownership of the club.
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Post by Staffsoatcake on Dec 31, 2015 11:05:22 GMT
Lack of ambition, without this we will end up going backwards.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2015 12:51:47 GMT
We have quite a number of VERY saleable assets:
Butland Shawcross Arnautovic Bojan Shaqiri
There are not many clubs placed outside the traditional 'Top 4' that can boast the same.
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Post by pyrus on Dec 31, 2015 13:21:10 GMT
It's inevitable with the current run of form and praise were receiving in the press that attention we be focused on our star players. Look at all the players who left Southampton in big money deals when they were the media darlings. The same will happen here. You can't deny the luring fact that clubs such as man utd, Chelsea and arsenal have. You could go as far as saying even Tottenham. Much more glamorous clubs than our beloved stoke. That's just the way it is. The only difference is now if a player moves on we'll make money on them. Under Pulis our players value genrally dropped. I think that's one of the underlying reasons we parted company with him. We're now in a situation where we are taking players in and polishing them up. The majority would move on for higher fees than what we payed for them. Just business sense and another step in making the club self sufficient. I'd like to keep the team as it is and build on it. Unfortunately though if big teams come knocking with big fees players will leave and I have no problem with that as long as the money is reinvested and players are replaced. This is the threat. Players might just go, lured by the bright lights of a big club, Champions league football, playing with great players - we are not a cause, we are just an employer, we can't really expect any particular loyalty - I don't think (Shenton aside) we have any local lads in the squad. Southampton and Swansea have experienced this. You can clearly see what awaits us. We have found it difficult to accommodate the loss of N'zonzi. Swansea are falling apart without Bony. Soton have lost most of a team. Imagine if we lost two, three or four. You can't just replace a Bojan when you've built your team around him. How do you find another Arnie? On the positive side, FFP plays into our hands as does limited squad sizes. Increasingly players will need good 'bubbling under' clubs like Stoke. It's how we got Shaq. We must also be getting a great reputation for developing talent and reviving stalled careers. I think it is all about scouting, acquisition, development ...and sadly, selling players. We need to keep the transfer wheels turning and our progress and reputation intact. Perhaps this is our future.
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Post by partickpotter on Dec 31, 2015 13:24:58 GMT
Greatest threats. 1, foreign owners (especially American ones), who have no interest in the club's heritage or history. 2, selling the prime assets 3, losing the manager 4, standing still as a club, I.e. not improving our global image, stadium redevelopment, etc 5, having a home shirt design featuring pin stripes...
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Post by Glory Hunter on Dec 31, 2015 21:51:57 GMT
Thanks for all the great posts, in summary, we are having the time of our lives and must live it to the full. Nothing is forever so while there is always a threat, let's enjoy the moment, trust the owners and make 2016 our best ever year. Happy New Years lads.
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Post by kustokie on Jan 1, 2016 3:37:06 GMT
We could be 6th by the time window has been open 48 hours:
Stoke win at West Brom WHU/Liverpool draw Manure lose to Swansea Man City win at Watford
Why would anyone want to leave?
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Post by generationex on Jan 1, 2016 3:48:14 GMT
Not getting 40 points.
If bet 365 keep making a fortune and the Coates family back us we should be okay even if relegated though.
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