- Jul 1, 2005
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If the question is should we try to sign him (rather than whether the story's true/fabrication etc., whether he would come to WHL, whether we can afford his wages) then yes I think people are too quick to dismiss the idea. Agree he's very similar to what we have but he's head and shoulders above Livermore ATM and if not arguably better than Scotty then certainly more likely to maintain the level of performance through the whole season. Diarra is also in the final year of his contract and, as such, should be available for a knock-down fee, whether in cash or as a make-weight in a Modric deal.
I think Parker tailed off towards the end of last season, has lost 1/4 yard and realistically it's downhill from here (he is 32 in 3 months). I'm not suggesting selling him - he's still a top player and a great influence and we wouldn't get nearly enough money for him to justify it. A better idea would be to send Livermore out on loan to a Prem club and let him get a full season under his belt. He's still young and he's done well but I haven't (yet) seen anything to convince me that he'll amount to much more than mid-table prem class. It goes without saying that we'd also want to offload Jenas. In Diarra, we'd have another international/near world class DM, meaning excellent injury cover and we could even go to ManC/ManU etc. and know that we can play 4231 and replace one of our players after 60 mins without any drop in performance. As somebody said, Sandro and Diarra would be a some wall. He's also incredibly comfortable on the ball for a DM and would slot in to the AVB passing game.
I think Parker tailed off towards the end of last season, has lost 1/4 yard and realistically it's downhill from here (he is 32 in 3 months). I'm not suggesting selling him - he's still a top player and a great influence and we wouldn't get nearly enough money for him to justify it. A better idea would be to send Livermore out on loan to a Prem club and let him get a full season under his belt. He's still young and he's done well but I haven't (yet) seen anything to convince me that he'll amount to much more than mid-table prem class. It goes without saying that we'd also want to offload Jenas. In Diarra, we'd have another international/near world class DM, meaning excellent injury cover and we could even go to ManC/ManU etc. and know that we can play 4231 and replace one of our players after 60 mins without any drop in performance. As somebody said, Sandro and Diarra would be a some wall. He's also incredibly comfortable on the ball for a DM and would slot in to the AVB passing game.