The January Transfer Window 2020

[wormley]

Randolph and Allen would both be great additions to the squad.

[Ironing Board]

Yup. Goals and assists for days. The assertion that Allen is ‘much better than Snodgrass’ is hugely debatable.

In fact it’s total b*llocks.

I would hope so - Snodgrass is a winger, while Allen is a deep-sitting playmaker.

I was one of the biggest advocates for getting Snodgrass back, but he is not a midfielder.

[Longaz]

Are we going to hear this overwhelming negativity with every signing that isn't 40m or higher?

Allen isn't the answer to all of our problems, but he is an an answer to one of our problems. Same with Randolph.

For the first eleven?

[LeonRivers]

Back up GK? Yeah, **** it, he's cheap, have him then. Sullivan's transfer strategy in one short sentence

But he’s significantly more expensive than keeping the one we already have. There are probably a thousand keepers currently available for less money, too.

[Lil Joe 17]

For the first eleven?

Sometimes yes. About as frequently as I'd expect of a 7m pound signing.

[goa127]

In the normal run of things backup keepers only play in cup matches or when a keeper gets sent off. Even Liverpool sign an out of contract keeper

[Romford_Iron]

:raver:

You can’t even compare Shelvey and Allen, as they are completely different. Allen is consistent and metronomic with a good eye for a pass. Shelvey is wildly inconsistent, capable of looking amazing one game and awful the next.

My point wasn’t really about comparing the two. I agree with your assessment above, however they’re both not going to be good enough in the long term and both have little to no resale value so, in my eyes at least, they’re both short sighted signings and in that sense they‘re entirely similar.

[Peaches]

I don’t see all the hatred for Randolph. He isn’t great in the air, but neither was Adrian who seems to be revered on here, and he is much better than Roberto in the air. Randolph is a top class shot stopper and I guarantee would have saved at least 3 and probably 5 of the goals Roberto let in. There is no doubt in my mind we would have beaten Tottenham If Randolph was playing, and no worse than a draw in the Home match vs. Palace and probably a win against Arsenal. We’d be in 7th place ahead of Tottenham.
My best mate is a ‘Boro fan, and he and pretty much every other Smoggy I know is gutted at losing Randolph. Other positives are that he is well liked and respected by many of the players and counts as home grown. The £4m fee is a bit of a stretch as we will only be paying £2.5m and not getting paid the remaining £1.5m Boro are supposed to pay us this summer.

Joe Allen is a different story. He literally would bring nothing to our midfield. He’s a poor man’s Mark Noble. I just pray we sign Gedson Fernandes and leave Allen at Stoke.
With Fredericks and Johnson injured, we do need a right back, Jayden Bogle would be perfect, but West Brom’s Nathan Ferguson who is out of contract in the summer would also be a good fit.

[Finishing Hammer]

I've said it before ... Mark Noble can no longer play effectively game after game after game. He appears to have 2-3 good games and then a couple of poorer games. I feel Allen might be brought in to supplement Noble so we can give him a rest/break, whatever you want to call it, when needed. Call it a rotation if you like.

[westhamshares]

Are we going to hear this overwhelming negativity with every signing that isn't 40m or higher?

Allen isn't the answer to all of our problems, but he is an an answer to one of our problems. Same with Randolph.

Many of us have not yet fully acclimatised to the new next (lower) Level which our leader and captain so obligingly wrote about on behalf of the board - the one in which we now sign players at a lower level than we were selling

Thanks to board sycophants like yourself who repeatedly claim what a great job they’ve done and are continuing to do when all the evidence clearly suggests the opposite we’re supposed to be delighted and suck their knob for the signing of such next (lower) level players

Get used to it

[traxop]

I cant believe how comfortable everyone is at the prospect of signing Joe Allen.

You deserve these owners.

It boggles the mind. We need to to refresh the midfield and people think a 30yr Joe Allen is going to be that prospect. If we are going for experience, then I want quality.

I had no problems with us taking a punt on a 30yr old Nasri last season. Even though he played only a handful of games, he was quality and you could strongly argued that a couple of his performances were match-winning. The same cannot be said for Journeyman-Joe.

We don't need a facsimile of Noble that is going to be winding down in a couple of years, we need some that 'someone' whom we've been missing in the midfield for the last 4-5 seasons. People thinking that in Allen, we've got a ready-made replacement for Noble if he goes down are missing the point. We don't need a copy of Noble more than we need someone that can offer us a different look. Someone that can come in as a different tactical option rather than being forced upon only when injury strikes.

[westlondonhammer]

Joe Allen - Meh... he doesn't make a big difference on our first team but does provide good depth to allow us to rotate with Noble when necessary / when Noble is injured. I wouldn't say he could step in for Rice however...he is a step up on all of our other back up midfielders for that specific role in the team (Snod, Fornals, Lanzini, Sanchez all can't step in for Noble... the hope was Wilshere would, but he needs to be able to walk to do that).

Not an exciting signing, but solid. Given we appear to have bid well below their asking price (I read 5 million under yesterday), he is being treated exactly like a back up signing who we think we can get on the cheap and add some depth to the squad (and nothing more).

I would be opposed to him, but at the same time am not particularly excited by him. Hard to get too excited / wound up by adding depth to the squad.

[ChazHammer]

Many of us have not yet fully acclimatised to the new next (lower) Level which our leader and captain so obligingly wrote about on behalf of the board - the one in which we now sign players at a lower level than we were selling

Thanks to board sycophants like yourself who repeatedly claim what a great job they’ve done and are continuing to do when all the evidence clearly suggests the opposite we’re supposed to be delighted and suck their knob for the signing of such next (lower) level players

Get used to it

Grow up and accept that people can have divergent opinions. No need to take cheap swipes at fellow supporters, that simply don't see things as you do.

[Ironing Board]

:raver:

My point wasn’t really about comparing the two. I agree with your assessment above, however they’re both not going to be good enough in the long term and both have little to no resale value so, in my eyes at least, they’re both short sighted signings and in that sense they‘re entirely similar.

At the very least he will take some of the strain off Noble. He may even end up establishing a partnership or increase competition for the spot, upping both their games at the process.

For the very low, by current standards, fee I think signing Allen is a real no-brainer.

At the very least he will do Wilshire’s job while he is getting his daily massage in the treatment room!

Also, I think there would be something weirdly gratifying if Noble and Allen ended up developing into a sort of pound shop Xavi and Iniesta!

[Ozza]

Grow up and accept that people can have divergent opinions. No need to take cheap swipes at fellow supporters, that simply don't see things as you do.

To be fair he was answering directly to a post that was pointing a finger at fans only wanting 40m plus signings which was wrong and discourteous.

[funky chicken]

Joe Allen stinks of a Sully special. Especially as we have been linked to him for quite a few windows now. Even under Pellers.

You only have to look at the type of signings Moyes made at Everton. He would target either young, hungry players from the Championship, or players from the top clubs, mainly Man Utd that were out of favour. Could you honestly see him suggesting let's go sign a near 30 year old in Joe Allen that plays for a Championship club near the foot of the table?

If there's one area we shouldn't be signing 30+ players its central midfield. Rice is the only one on our books that is under 30. We have Noble, Snodgrass and Sanchez. We don't need anymore.

The absolutely oldest I will accept is someone who is 27. Maybe even 28 at a push if it's the right player. Anything older is unacceptable in that position.

[Aceface]

This might be one for IB. When was the last time Moyes made a good signing? I'll stretch this back a full decade to the 09/10 season to provide for his last 4 seasons at Everton.

By my reckoning in the last 10 years and across 5 clubs you're looking at a list that consists of: John Stones and Kevin Mirallas.

[Ozza]

This might be one for IB. When was the last time Moyes made a good signing? I'll stretch this back a full decade to the 09/10 season to provide for his last 4 seasons at Everton.

By my reckoning in the last 10 years and across 5 clubs you're looking at a list that consists of: John Stones and Kevin Mirallas.

To be fair he won’t be making the signings here

[Georgee Paris]

Why are we still shopping at Aldi?

[sendô]

Joe Allen stinks of a Sully special. Especially as we have been linked to him for quite a few windows now. Even under Pellers.

You only have to look at the type of signings Moyes made at Everton. He would target either young, hungry players from the Championship, or players from the top clubs, mainly Man Utd that were out of favour. Could you honestly see him suggesting let's go sign a near 30 year old in Joe Allen that plays for a Championship club near the foot of the table?

If there's one area we shouldn't be signing 30+ players its central midfield. Rice is the only one on our books that is under 30. We have Noble, Snodgrass and Sanchez. We don't need anymore.

The absolutely oldest I will accept is someone who is 27. Maybe even 28 at a push if it's the right player. Anything older is unacceptable in that position.

I thought we'd learnt from signing players entering or in their thirties that had no sell on value and are likely to only come here for one last big pay day.

It's not so much Allen himself, it's what it says about us as a club and our long term planning - that is, we don't have any.