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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2017 5:34:59 GMT
I'm not concerned by Hughes's statement about us not spending huge amounts of money
First you have to define huge
Is it in terms of Citeh, PSG? Now that is big money
Maybe he means not breaking our transfer record of £18m on players who flatter to deceive..... Quite a gamble
Maybe he is under pressure from PC to blood the youngsters?
Remember you can't win anything with kids? Maybe the drive of youth players is what has been missing? Too many old players, tried and trusted, but maybe they had tunnel vision?
As Shunryu Suzuki said:
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the master's there are few"
What we've been missing is spark and ingenuity. We've been so predicable for the last few seasons. Maybe youth and verve is what we need.
Imagine this as a possibility:
Hughes buys and brings youth through and they have the same impact as Ferguson's Fledglings - even if his hand is forced to do this and it's a gamble he has to take, just imagine that for a while
Let's judge the transfer window when it closes and see what happens
As the original poster says, dry knickers are necessary and a benefit 😀😇
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Post by sheikhmomo on Jul 28, 2017 5:37:06 GMT
A Biblical scale signing maybe what's needed, dave, to quieten things down. There's at leat £50M in the bank? One mega signing isn't going to fix things because we have too many holes to plug, especially in the defense. We have to replace Pieters, and Johnson and we need a right winger or wing-back to free up Shaqiri to play in the middle. We also need either a back-up or a replacement for Shawcross, who from all accounts hasn't done well pre-season. Getting in Martins Indi would make a huge difference, even if it did relegate Shawcross to the bench. Otherwise, the reserve CBs are Cameron and Wollscheid. A £25M Marquee signing and £25M covering the shit of the last few windows. We've got the money of the owners still fancy it and the executives have the skill to spend it. Both of which I severely doubt. We've got £25M in the bank and must have anticipated spending AT LEAST £20-25M before the window opened. Lets not let the club get away with anything less.
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Post by stokemark on Jul 28, 2017 6:26:21 GMT
One mega signing isn't going to fix things because we have too many holes to plug, especially in the defense. We have to replace Pieters, and Johnson and we need a right winger or wing-back to free up Shaqiri to play in the middle. We also need either a back-up or a replacement for Shawcross, who from all accounts hasn't done well pre-season. Getting in Martins Indi would make a huge difference, even if it did relegate Shawcross to the bench. Otherwise, the reserve CBs are Cameron and Wollscheid. A £25M Marquee signing and £25M covering the shit of the last few windows. We've got the money of the owners still fancy it and the executives have the skill to spend it. Both of which I severely doubt. We've got £25M in the bank and must have anticipated spending AT LEAST £20-25M before the window opened. Lets not let the club get away with anything less. Agree - too many seem happy (clappy) to swallow the clubs rehetoric Even if we bring 2/3 in now it shows that lessons haven't been properly learnt re preparation and that the club is complacent from top to bottom
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Post by trickydicky73 on Jul 28, 2017 6:33:14 GMT
A £25M Marquee signing and £25M covering the shit of the last few windows. We've got the money of the owners still fancy it and the executives have the skill to spend it. Both of which I severely doubt. We've got £25M in the bank and must have anticipated spending AT LEAST £20-25M before the window opened. Lets not let the club get away with anything less. Agree - too many seem happy (clappy) to swallow the clubs rehetoric Even if we bring 2/3 in now it shows that lessons haven't been properly learnt re preparation and that the club is complacent from top to bottom The "little Stoke" mentality prevails. We are becoming incredibly easily pleased as fans. We are fucking loaded!
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Post by nott1 on Jul 28, 2017 6:39:42 GMT
A £25M Marquee signing and £25M covering the shit of the last few windows. We've got the money of the owners still fancy it and the executives have the skill to spend it. Both of which I severely doubt. We've got £25M in the bank and must have anticipated spending AT LEAST £20-25M before the window opened. Lets not let the club get away with anything less. Agree - too many seem happy (clappy) to swallow the clubs rehetoric Even if we bring 2/3 in now it shows that lessons haven't been properly learnt re preparation and that the club is complacent from top to bottom Perhaps I'm a bit naive but the club knew at least a couple of months before the end of the season that we needed to strengthen, so why did we not get players in for pre season training if not before? We always have this complacency and we had it with Pulis too, and other clubs beat us to the gun every season! What's the point of bringing in people days before the season has started or even when it HAS started, as there's no time to get them settled in and playing in tune with the rest of the team.
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Post by itsajoytobeapotter on Jul 28, 2017 6:58:32 GMT
Agree - too many seem happy (clappy) to swallow the clubs rehetoric Even if we bring 2/3 in now it shows that lessons haven't been properly learnt re preparation and that the club is complacent from top to bottom The "little Stoke" mentality prevails. We are becoming incredibly easily pleased as fans. We are fucking loaded! Sorry but we aren't loaded. The Owners are and surprise surprise they will decide if and when they spend it. The opinions of the wailing masses in this board count for nothing.
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Post by sportsman on Jul 28, 2017 7:04:21 GMT
Just to put it in perspective, boro are about to take their summer spending past 40m for their championship season.
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Post by Danstoke82 on Jul 28, 2017 7:08:29 GMT
We aren't spending purely because we're just not very good at it!.
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Post by Dave the Rave on Jul 28, 2017 7:10:42 GMT
No money left after our huge ground expansion.
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Post by crouchpotato1 on Jul 28, 2017 7:12:29 GMT
Maybe the hierarchy have decided Hughes is more effective when he spends less money🤔i.e. Grant,Arnautovic,Bojan etc
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Post by cobhamstokey on Jul 28, 2017 7:12:33 GMT
Agree - too many seem happy (clappy) to swallow the clubs rehetoric Even if we bring 2/3 in now it shows that lessons haven't been properly learnt re preparation and that the club is complacent from top to bottom Perhaps I'm a bit naive but the club knew at least a couple of months before the end of the season that we needed to strengthen, so why did we not get players in for pre season training if not before? We always have this complacency and we had it with Pulis too, and other clubs beat us to the gun every season! What's the point of bringing in people days before the season has started or even when it HAS started, as there's no time to get them settled in and playing in tune with the rest of the team. I think you have to look beyond the manager.
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Post by sufolkstokie on Jul 28, 2017 7:21:46 GMT
Well something appears not to be adding up. We finally expand the stadium, but at the same time there are now external comments that we lack ambition and so far our lack of spending appears to back that up. The managers comments lack context re what constitutes spending big money, but is badly timed given the loss of a key player and lack of any significant singings. Whilst I am all in favour of blending experience with youth, I fail to understand how we can go from zero to what looks like an earmarked four or five in one season
Maybe the whole thing is just running out of steam?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2017 7:23:12 GMT
One mega signing isn't going to fix things because we have too many holes to plug, especially in the defense. We have to replace Pieters, and Johnson and we need a right winger or wing-back to free up Shaqiri to play in the middle. We also need either a back-up or a replacement for Shawcross, who from all accounts hasn't done well pre-season. Getting in Martins Indi would make a huge difference, even if it did relegate Shawcross to the bench. Otherwise, the reserve CBs are Cameron and Wollscheid. A £25M Marquee signing and £25M covering the shit of the last few windows. We've got the money of the owners still fancy it and the executives have the skill to spend it. Both of which I severely doubt. We've got £25M in the bank and must have anticipated spending AT LEAST £20-25M before the window opened. Lets not let the club get away with anything less. Agreed Sheiky. I question our ability to spend that in one window considering the number of deals it would involve. I'd guess we'll spend around £30-35m this window with £15-20m in January. Of course it would be better to get everyone we need in this Summer. That marquee signing would be very welcome about now...
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2017 7:23:26 GMT
Fear of Brexit, impending interest rate rise, strength of the pound against the euro. Could be anything really....
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Post by magwitch on Jul 28, 2017 7:23:58 GMT
My guess is that if there is little or no investment in the team by the end of August, Hughes is being lined up as the fall guy. If this happens, I can see his departure being acrimonious to say the least. A crisis manager will then be appointed, probably Allardyce. David Brooks of Sheffield Utd looks like a player who should interest Stoke.
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Post by wuzza on Jul 28, 2017 7:24:58 GMT
The "little Stoke" mentality prevails. We are becoming incredibly easily pleased as fans. We are fucking loaded! Sorry but we aren't loaded. The Owners are and surprise surprise they will decide if and when they spend it. The opinions of the wailing masses in this board count for nothing. 'The wailing masses' is a tremendous description of your customer base - I'm surprised more organisations haven't adopted it!
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Post by Dave the Rave on Jul 28, 2017 7:29:44 GMT
I've got to be honest, there's a part of me that wants us to throw the likes of Sobhi, Verlinden, Tymon and Edwards in at the deep end.
Arnautovic leaving has left a hole which Sobhi definitely has the ability to fill, Verlinden is very highly rated and could be this year's Sobhi, and we were so poor in both full back positions last season that I wouldn't mind some youth and energy being thrown in there.
It would also add some excitement back into the starting line up and may even kick some of the seniors up the arse a bit.
EDIT - We definitely need to sign a CB though.
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Post by crouchpotato1 on Jul 28, 2017 7:30:55 GMT
I've got to be honest, there's a part of me that wants us to throw the likes of Sobhi, Verlinden, Tymon and Edwards in at the deep end. Arnautovic leaving has left a hole which Sobhi definitely has the ability to fill, Verlinden is very highly rated and could be this year's Sobhi, and we were very poor in both full back positions last season that I wouldn't mind some youth and energy being thrown in there. It would also add some excitement back into the starting line up and may even kick some of the seniors up the arse a bit. Nice sentiment Dave but if we don't spend the championship beckons imo
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Post by reddipotter on Jul 28, 2017 7:40:32 GMT
I'm not sure that you can throw them all in, but full backs/wing backs have rapidly become key players in current formations and they need to be able to get up and down the pitch quickly and often. That probably means that they need to be young.
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Post by lordb on Jul 28, 2017 7:41:25 GMT
A balance between bringing young players through,spotting bargains and some bigger buys should be the aim.
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Post by The battheader chronicles on Jul 28, 2017 7:45:01 GMT
To an extent yes I think a season in a deep end would do these lads good, and I still don't think we're poor enough to go down
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Post by Stokyo on Jul 28, 2017 7:53:55 GMT
No, I want us to spend and strengthen at the very least equal to the teams around us (9th-13th position). Now how we spend the money is up to the shrewd guys running the transfer department, whether we get good deals and make the money stretch to 3 or 4 players as opposed to spending it all on 2 players, but what is not up for debate is if we should be spending at all. This is a business, it is the chairman's job ensure we are a competitive business and that means adapting to the market.
That means shopping in the same stores as the rest of the teams and not moaning about the prices. If we are constantly waiting for the out of date sushi discounts at M&S, sooner or later we are going to get food poisoning and I for one don't fancy a weekend on the shitter.
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Post by manicstreetpotter on Jul 28, 2017 7:54:53 GMT
I don't really think spending for the sake of spending is the answer. I'd rather we take our time and get the right players in whether they cost a lot or not. Fletcher is a great signing.
I think we have the core of a good starting XI with just a couple of positions needing attention. I'd like to see the youngsters used as back up rather than having a large squad of older players as we have done in recent seasons. Then they are bound to get some games at points in the season without having the pressure of being thrown in the deep end from the off. We can then see who has it to make the grade.
I'd take a nice clear plan and a settled team over a flurry of spending as that is what we clearly lacked last season.
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Post by FullerMagic on Jul 28, 2017 8:04:46 GMT
I think there's a difference between Sobhi and the 3 others.
Only Tom Davies and Marcus Rashford played 1000 minutes in the Premier League as teenagers last year apparently. And only a handful of others got 250 minutes.
I'd be surprised if every other Prem club hasn't got teens as talented as Edwards, Tymon and Verlinden, but they'll be loaned out to see how they handle it at lower levels.
The truth is we don't know if they're anywhere near good enough and taking chances, especially with the full-backs, could be catastrophic.
Now we've got some decent prospects, for maybe the first time, I think there's a danger of getting carried away, and assuming they can just come into the most physical league in the world at just turned 18, and do okay.
Looks like we've promised Tymon that he's at least going to get a taste of it though, so it'll be interesting to see how we handle things if Pieters starts badly.
Hughes has always been pretty risk-averse with youth players, so can't imagine he's suddenly going to become a great risk-taker and chuck 'em in willy-nilly, unless he's been given very firm instructions that that's what we want for financial or other reasons.
We're crying out for at least 4 more senior players, and Hughes clearly knows it.
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Post by Laughing Gravy on Jul 28, 2017 8:10:13 GMT
There isn't half some fucknuggettry on this board at times. Does anyone think that we are deliberately trying not to sign players? Do we really think that Peter Coates is gambling with our premiership survival by a) his desire to blood young players at all cost, b) his tightwaddedness or c) he couldn't give a fuck anymore? I'll grant you I'm not happy AT THE MOMENT but things can change. All this comparing ourselves unfavourably to West Ham is bollocks. Does anyone think that if Sir Peter wanted to he couldn't steal Lanzini off them? Of course he could. He would have to stoop to the shite methods West Ham adopted first though. I.e. Destabalize the player by offering him say, £200k a week then offer West Ham £50m for him. It's easy if you throw stupid money at it but I'm glad we don't because that way is madness and Leeds (deliberate typo) to only one destination. So can we stop with the 'why aren't we spending' (in a pissy pants whiny spoilt child voice) and just wait and see. Let's discuss it by all means but this constant whinging second guessing brings fuck all to the table and does nothing for my blood pressure.
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Post by wuzza on Jul 28, 2017 8:11:33 GMT
I wish they were as good as all that but let's be frank this isn't a Man City / Chelsea type set of youngsters. They are better than what has come through before but to imagine they are going to hold their own in the PL is just wishful thinking.
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Post by Staffsoatcake on Jul 28, 2017 8:14:13 GMT
We need to spend some money,we need pacy experienced full backs for starters,our youngsters should get on the bench at least and get some game time if and when the time is right to bring them on,so during the season with enough game time between them,we will know if they are good enough,and hopefully save us a lot of money in the transfer market.
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Post by TinkerT on Jul 28, 2017 8:19:02 GMT
We are spending and will spend.
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bandit
Academy Starlet
Posts: 221
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Post by bandit on Jul 28, 2017 8:21:56 GMT
Just to put it in perspective, boro are about to take their summer spending past 40m for their championship season. JJust to put it into perspective that's £10 less than they received for Pickford.
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Post by Caerwrangonpotter on Jul 28, 2017 8:23:19 GMT
We need to spend yes, but a fat wad of cash burning a hole in Leslie's pocket scares me at the mo. The pursuit if you can call it if Delph? At the price being quoted? Really? Is there better out there for less? Would he be another players shoe horned into a position he is not suited to?
The sceptic in me wonders if some cash is being put back to one side as a war chest for the next manager, if by 10-12 games into the season we are 3ft high & rising in the brown stuff & Leslie gets the sack
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