The Daily ITK Discussion Thread 27th July

[Sandro30]

Wouldn’t mind Ousmane Dembele at all, he’s a good player. I still think I’d rather Martial but Ousmane offers something different.

Mousa I’m happy to leave and happy to stay so don’t mind it either way.

 

[glospur]

I'd prefer Zaha or Martial on a permanent transfer than Dembele on a loan, but I wouldn't exactly be disappointed if the latter happened either. But yeah, like others, I cant see this being anything other than a loan.

 

[Rob]

==== Rob's Rant ===

Thought I'd chip in here so you can see it's not just A&C being a ****!

The rules in here are strict. Like COYSesque strict. We know that. People try to argue with us that the rules are unfair and too strict. We know that. It's for a reason and it's grown like that with 15 years of experience. We have thousands upon thousands of people here every day and if we relax the rules just a little bit, it descends into chaos. If we give someone a warning for a minor rule break, 50 people will see that it's ok to break that rule and follow suit, before we know it the thread is locked and is all being deleted.

I'd go as far as saying the rules probably are unfair at an individual level. Yeah, you personally might well get screwed over by them. At a community level, they're necessary to maintain any semblance of order.

If you get banned, you can still log out and read all the info/posts, you just can't contribute any more. Given that it was you breaking the rules in the first place, your contributions are likely not wanted anyway so I think that's a good compromise. We don't hide all the info behind a wall like other forums but we also have to enforce that contributions follow the rules so it doesn't descend into chaos.

The number of PMs we get that start "I can't access the transfer forum. I'd be shocked if I'm banned as I've never broken the rules...". Yeah, well *shock*. A&C ignores them by default now. I tell people to message A&C, who then ignores them. Now people have started pestering the other mods. At best any PM like that is going to get ignored, at worst it'll double the (already indefinite and possibly permanent*) length of any ban.

Read the rules, understand the rules, don't be shocked if you still end up on wrong side of them and most of all, STOP FUCKING SENDING US PMS ABOUT IT!




*That's right, you'll be double-permanent banned

 

[freeeki]

Two Dembeles?

Meh, I wanted 7, but that’ll do I guess.

 

[George94]

Would be a great backup option to have if all else fails though wouldn't he. I'm liking the links to Zaha, Martial, Dembele level talents at this window goes on, let's hope something materialises on the back off our spherical headed chairmans hard work over the next couple of weeks

Having said that, it doesn't seem likely that we'd bring in anyone on loan...

Trying to think of our last on-loan signing...Eidur Gudjohnsen?!

Depends how much we rate O.Dembele really. I could see Barca agreeing to a permanent transfer with a buy-back clause - but we don't do those either!

 

[Hoopspur]

Barca paid a crazy amount for Dembele. There is no way they will be able to recoup that. They will have to take a big hit or have to loan him out. As someone else has said I’m not convinced we need him per se as we already have 2 players in that position. Would he be the game changer for us immediately? Probably not. Personally I’d rather have Zaha - we kind of know what he’ll deliver.

As for our Dembele staying then I’m kind of sorry about that. Although I like him I was/am hoping for a top player in that position as a replacement. We’ve tried and fallen marginally short these last few seasons. We need to take a couple of steps forward.

 

[wrd]

Barca paid a crazy amount for Dembele. There is no way they will be able to recoup that. They will have to take a big hit or have to loan him out. As someone else has said I’m not convinced we need him per se as we already have 2 players in that position. Would he be the game changer for us immediately? Probably not. Personally I’d rather have Zaha - we kind of know what he’ll deliver.

As for our Dembele staying then I’m kind of sorry about that. Although I like him I was/am hoping for a top player in that position as a replacement. We’ve tried and fallen marginally short these last few seasons. We need to take a couple of steps forward.

Bang on imo, we all love Mousa but its easy to see he's becoming less effective every year.

 

[TheAwsPhil]

I love Mousa to death, but I had finally come around and was actually excited for a new cm. If we get a 15/16 mousa season then I want him to stay, but if it is another 17/18 season where he is struggling for match fitness, injuries and only gives 5-8 games of class then I would rather us going for a new cm or winksy.

 

[rambu]

Moussa staying...less and less likely to sign a starting cm then.

On the other hand O Dembele seems to have pickedup a bad rep in relative short time - the missing act in order to go to Barca, alleged bad attitude in training and his fast food habit, etc. Sure he’s talented, but for a phenom who cost over 100 m a year ago shouldn’t be available after just 1 year at the new club, let alone being showed around...wonder how big a red flag that is for ppl itk.

 

[George94]

I love Mousa to death, but I had finally come around and was actually excited for a new cm. If we get a 15/16 mousa season then I want him to stay, but if it is another 17/18 season where he is struggling for match fitness, injuries and only gives 5-8 games of class then I would rather us going for a new cm or winksy.

Just a shame Harry Winks is a bit broken or he would have stepped up and been able to replace Dembele no problem. Although, I'm still hopeful he can overcome those injury problems. If Dembele is staying, I presume that means we won't be signing a new central midfielder? If that's the case, could be a big season for Josh Onomah with the injury records of Winks and Dembele.

 

[doctor stefan Freud]

Glad the Moose might be staying. But we probably still need another CM with his and Vic’s injury concerns. The other Dembele is an intriguing, if unlikely, option- I can see Chelsea or someone like that throwing huge money at him

 

[SpartanSpur]

Ousmane Dembele throws a cat amongst the pigeons in the Zaha/Martial debate! I think he's a ridiculous talent (hence the fee he went for). Not quite sure why it hasn't worked out for him, think he had an injury and maybe he just hasn't meshed well with Barca/Messi's play.

If he's on a permanent I'd be all for it but I'd imagine it'd be a loan. Hopefully he goes abroad if not to us. The Goons think they can get him which would be a disaster.

With Wanyama and Winks' injury issue keeping Mousa for now makes sense. Could probably move him to China in January for similar money to what the Italians would offer. Just hope it doesn't stop a new CM coming in (although seems optimistic right now!).

 

[Colonel Dax]

Who: The Goat
When: 27th July
Where: SC

The Goat hears that Dembele at Barca being offered about by agents. We are one of the clubs he would consider. Also that 'our' Dembele is staying.

I hope we're still signing a CM. I'm a big fan of Mousa but I doubt we can rely on him much longer. Looked like he was on his last legs towards the end of the season.

 

[daryl hannah]

I used to be a big fan of O.Dembele, but watching him at Barca, something's gone backwards. Z or M are much better targets.

 

[HildoSpur]

O Dembele would be a serious coup for the club - best possible scenario is that we negotiate a loan with an option to buy next summer - chances of that I'd say are slim but it's worth a shot.

 

[etchedchaos]

Maybe the best option is a loan with a purchase option? We can have him for a year, see if he'd fit and if so then buy him for a giant fee (but not what Barca paid for him, no-one would pay that). If he flops or disappoints we're just out his wages and a loan fee.

 

[daryl hannah]

I hope we're still signing a CM. I'm a big fan of Mousa but I doubt we can rely on him much longer. Looked like he was on his last legs towards the end of the season.

Would be good to keep M.Dembele if Wanyama's fooked. I agree, we still need a CM.

 

[NickHSpurs]

Good news on Mousa, allows Winks the time needed to get over his injury properly before taking his place on a more regular basis.

I'd absolutely take Barca's Dembele on loan, don't think we can afford to buy him. What harm could another WC winner do hey!

 

[TheAwsPhil]

Just a shame Harry Winks is a bit broken or he would have stepped up and been able to replace Dembele no problem. Although, I'm still hopeful he can overcome those injury problems. If Dembele is staying, I presume that means we won't be signing a new central midfielder? If that's the case, could be a big season for Josh Onomah with the injury records of Winks and Dembele.

It sure is a damn shame about Winks and I hope you are right about Onomah. Perhaps that is what Poch had in mind when he said Onomah is still in his plans.

 

[daryl hannah]

Hypothetical scenario - take O.D. on loan for a season or two. Wait for Martial on a free.