Transfer Rumour Matt Grimes (174 Viewers)

Skyblue Bangkok

Well-Known Member
Yes indeed. We signed him at 31 for £3 million back in the 1995/6. He was probably our best player for 4 seasons but we refused to give him a decent extension at 35. He then went to Liverpool on a free. One of the worst bits of business we ever did to let him go. He then played some 80 odd games for Liverpool and had some of his best career form.

So just shows if a player looks after himself, stays relatively injury free, mid thirties is not anything to be too concerned about. At 36/7 he was running the midfield of Liverpool!!

I think we should get plenty out of Grimes. 😀
McAllister was miles better than Grimes .
 

lord_garrincha

Well-Known Member
Yes indeed. We signed him at 31 for £3 million back in the 1995/6. He was probably our best player for 4 seasons but we refused to give him a decent extension at 35. He then went to Liverpool on a free. One of the worst bits of business we ever did to let him go. He then played some 80 odd games for Liverpool and had some of his best career form.

So just shows if a player looks after himself, stays relatively injury free, mid thirties is not anything to be too concerned about. At 36/7 he was running the midfield of Liverpool!!

I think we should get plenty out of Grimes. 😀
He signed a year later... and he really wasn't our best player.

96/97: S
 

CCFCSteve

Well-Known Member
We were trying to sign Browne in the summer who’s the same age as Grimes. I’ve said all along that we need more experienced players in the squad but I don’t think it’s true there’s a policy where we won’t even consider them.

Don’t bring nuance into it

Haven’t continued to throw millions on players after spending 40-45m and increasing wage bill significantly and trying to make the club sustainable - haven’t got a pot to piss in

Not signed a loan this year even though we tried in the summer and also signed two last year that Robins didn’t really use regularly - King refuses to sign players on loan

Tried to sign older player who decided to go to another club - king doesn’t want to sign older players

There is obviously a model we are operating but that doesn’t mean that for the right players we wouldn’t move away from that. It’s not black or white. People just make up their own narratives to suit though.
 

clint van damme

Well-Known Member
Don’t bring nuance into it

Haven’t continued to throw millions on players after spending 40-45m and increasing wage bill significantly and trying to make the club sustainable - haven’t got a pot to piss in

Not signed a loan this year even though we tried in the summer and also signed two last year that Robins didn’t really use regularly - King refuses to sign players on loan

Tried to sign older player who decided to go to another club - king doesn’t want to sign older players

There is obviously a model we are operating but that doesn’t mean that for the right players we wouldn’t move away from that. It’s not black or white. People just make up their own narratives to suit though.

Not sure that rumours we were trying to sign a loan but didnt actually signed one proves we are trying to sign loans.

Again, we're the only club in the league without one, it's not that difficult to get them.

And you're right about people making up their own narratives!
 

Sky Blue Goblin

Well-Known Member
Not sure that rumours we were trying to sign a loan but didnt actually signed one proves we are trying to sign loans.

Again, we're the only club in the league without one, it's not that difficult to get them.

And you're right about people making up their own narratives!
People forget but we did have loans last year in Binks and Yasin.

We also know that we’ve attempted at least one this window with Rabbi and been rumoured with Chelsea to have a shortlist and been attempting with one. Not to mention tried with Joe Worrall and a Liverpool CM.

I think there is a preference for us to own our players and not to put others ahead of their development unless they can help us make the step up (which is rare but not impossible).
 

skybluelee

Well-Known Member

TomRad85

Well-Known Member
Not sure that rumours we were trying to sign a loan but didnt actually signed one proves we are trying to sign loans.

Again, we're the only club in the league without one, it's not that difficult to get them.

And you're right about people making up their own narratives!
Is the lack of a loan even that much of problem though or was it just one of many things people were latching on to because we were playing shit?
We look ok atm. Bring in Grimes, get EMC and Wright back, we look very good on paper. Wouldn't say no to another couple of players to help us out, whether that's loan or perm though.
 

CCFCSteve

Well-Known Member
Not sure that rumours we were trying to sign a loan but didnt actually signed one proves we are trying to sign loans.

Again, we're the only club in the league without one, it's not that difficult to get them.

And you're right about people making up their own narratives!

But there’s a bit more nuance to it. Would king maybe go that extra yard for a new manager who hasn’t signed any players yet, yes. Was king maybe nervous about signing loans when last year one got recalled/sent back and the other (who was on a very good salary) only played half the games, again yes

Does it mean king was refusing to sign any loans or older players, no

Edit - I agree it’s not difficult to get any old loan player in. However to find a player that you think will improve your team and then get a parent club to release a player when they’ll probably not be a certain starter and last year your two loans didn’t play regularly…and you’ve just spent 40m on improving your squad, is a bit more challenging
 
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clint van damme

Well-Known Member
But there’s a bit more nuance to it. Would king maybe go that extra yard for a new manager who hasn’t signed any players yet, yes. Was king maybe nervous about signing loans when last year one got recalled/sent back and the other (who was on a very good salary) only played half the games, again yes

Does it mean king was refusing to sign any loans or older players, no

Well I don't agree. And that's backed up by what Saddles has said. Again, I appreciate that doesn't mean it's true.
 

clint van damme

Well-Known Member
Is the lack of a loan even that much of problem though or was it just one of many things people were latching on to because we were playing shit?
We look ok atm. Bring in Grimes, get EMC and Wright back, we look very good on paper. Wouldn't say no to another couple of players to help us out, whether that's loan or perm though.

At the moment I'd say no, and along as we give Lampard what he needs then alls well.

But if money is tight, and I've never called for King to splash money we haven't got, then it's potentially another avenue of recruitment that we shouldn't ignore.
 

CCFCSteve

Well-Known Member
Well I don't agree. And that's backed up by what Saddles has said. Again, I appreciate that doesn't mean it's true.

I agree that king probably sees loan players as a potential waste of money and I actually agree with him, it’s a massive gamble. It’s just seems to have been exaggerated a bit. None of us will ever know the full truth though, saddle included
 

TomRad85

Well-Known Member
At the moment I'd say no, and along as we give Lampard what he needs then alls well.

But if money is tight, and I've never called for King to splash money we haven't got, then it's potentially another avenue of recruitment that we shouldn't ignore.
I agree, has to be smart though. Imo a lot of loans in this league are pretty duff and seem almost done just for the sake of it.
 

covcity4life

Well-Known Member
We're the only team in the league without a loanee, so it's not a myth.
And it's clear there's something behind his unwillingness to sign experience players as we've stripped the squad of them

Hopefully with the contract given to Bidwell and this signing (which hopefully goes through), he's seen sense.

One of the reasons I started to come round to the idea of Lampard is I thought King might be more likely to listen to a 'name'. I've no idea if that is the case but it seems plausible to me.

It could be that the right opportunity hasn't arrived when it comes to loans. Also why has the praise quickly evaporated for having a team full of permanent players I do wonder sometimes. We are in a great position these days

As for age I think it'd a good thing to have a policy. But the odd exception is ok and hopefully that's what king is thinking
 

clint van damme

Well-Known Member
I agree, has to be smart though. Imo a lot of loans in this league are pretty duff and seem almost done just for the sake of it.

I dongbthink our success rate in the Championship has been to bad. But any player incoming is a risk.
At least you can always fuck them off Ayari style if they're not up to it
 

clint van damme

Well-Known Member
It could be that the right opportunity hasn't arrived when it comes to loans. Also why has the praise quickly evaporated for having a team full of permanent players I do wonder sometimes. We are in a great position these days

As for age I think it'd a good thing to have a policy. But the odd exception is ok and hopefully that's what king is thinking

Having a squad full of permanent is the ideal scenario.
But if you're short in certain areas, as we clearly are, what's wrong with loans as a stop gap?
 

covcity4life

Well-Known Member
Nothing. I was open to rak sakyai coming in. I'm just not sure if king is against it or not as much as it's been said that's all
Having a squad full of permanent is the ideal scenario.
But if you're short in certain areas, as we clearly are, what's wrong with loans as a stop gap?
 

covcity4life

Well-Known Member
I dongbthink our success rate in the Championship has been to bad. But any player incoming is a risk.
At least you can always fuck them off Ayari style if they're not up to it
Ayari is an example of us fucking it imo and not the player

Look what he's doing for Brighton in orem less than 12 months later. No way it's about player improvement in that time. Robins admitted he never really gave him a chance because he couldn't take the risk
 

Viktor17

Well-Known Member
Ayari is an example of us fucking it imo and not the player

Look what he's doing for Brighton in orem less than 12 months later. No way it's about player improvement in that time. Robins admitted he never really gave him a chance because he couldn't take the risk
Would go stage back, failure to secure a more ready hamer replacment was issue, Ayari should have supplemented that. We then could have used him better.

instead we had a raw, clearly technically footballer having to be used from off in games, when he was miles away from being ready for that. Layer on a new team and you end up with what we got from him.
 

shmmeee

Well-Known Member
Maybe we’ve just been waiting for the right player. It’s not that we’re anti loan/experience - just that we’ve identified certain players and they haven’t come off and we’d rather wait for what’s better than waste cash on fillers.

You’d still have to explain why we’re the only ones to not manage to find an appropriate player
 

David O'Day

Well-Known Member
Well I don't agree. And that's backed up by what Saddles has said. Again, I appreciate that doesn't mean it's true.
Not sure how trying to sign a loan only to be dashed by an injury isn't proof we'll sign loans if needed.

We don't have a loan player as it fell through, King also loaned players last year.
 

KenilworthSkyBlue

Well-Known Member
Ayari is an example of us fucking it imo and not the player

Look what he's doing for Brighton in orem less than 12 months later. No way it's about player improvement in that time. Robins admitted he never really gave him a chance because he couldn't take the risk

The issue with loans is that clubs are entrusting you with their young talent to develop and play games so there's a relatively high level of expectation there.

The club bringing Ayari in and then not playing him would've almost certainly annoyed Brighton given how highly they rate him. They would've expected him to feature heavily. So I strongly suspect words were had which DK wouldn't have appreciated.
 

JimmyHillsbeard

Well-Known Member
Exactly! Gary McAllister was running games in the premier league at 35/36. Sometimes you need to invest in players for the here and now and not always think about sell-on value


I agree w the sentiment but McAllister happens to be a poor example for us.

We spent £3.5m he was a marquee signing. But he left on a free after doing very little for us during his time here.

His first season (96-97) was a disaster and we could not find a way of utilising his skill - the other players tended to just pass to him and stand back and watch in expectation. The following season our form improved dramatically after November when he got a serious injury which ruled him out of the season. His final year was his best season for us - feeding Keane and Hadji in particular - and he was magnificent for Liverpool after leaving us.

His return as manager wasn’t great either.


Here’s hoping that Grimes follows a different path.
 

clint van damme

Well-Known Member
Not sure how trying to sign a loan only to be dashed by an injury isn't proof we'll sign loans if needed.

We don't have a loan player as it fell through, King also loaned players last year.

The Liverpool player was only a rumour on here, so the source is no different to Saddlebrains saying King is against loans.
Austin was also very negative towards loan signings when asked about them at the forum. I think he'd have mentioned if we'd had one lined up but if fell though and I'm fairly sure it didn't.
 

Boicey

Well-Known Member
I just hope he can bring a bit more than Sheaf.
Play at a higher tempo, be a bit quicker, thread more forward passes, tackle a bit harder, cover the defence a bit better.

If he's a Sheaf MK2 I'll be a bit disappointed.

But absolutely we need more quality, experience and a calm head central midfield to help progress.
 

clint van damme

Well-Known Member
Ayari is an example of us fucking it imo and not the player

Look what he's doing for Brighton in orem less than 12 months later. No way it's about player improvement in that time. Robins admitted he never really gave him a chance because he couldn't take the risk

Though isn't that what loans are to achieve for the parent club, to give the players bit of a kick up the arse?
Harry Kane had a lot of uninspiring loans, I'd imagine it was all part of his development. Not much comfort for the loaning club though.
 

shmmeee

Well-Known Member
Not having any of this woke gentlemen’s agreement nonsense. Sign him today. Play him Saturday, he can not celebrate when we win if he wants to show his respects.
 

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