Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Wolves delighted with Zubar deal
Wolves boss Mick McCarthy believes Roland Zubar will prove his worth after completing the £2.5million signing of the Marseille defender.
The 23-year-old has put pen to paper after talks with chief executive Jez Moxey.
He will join up with his new team-mates on Wednesday on the pre-season tour of Australia, on a flight with fellow new-boy Nenad Milijas and trialist Bobo Balde.
McCarthy has had to wait to bolster his central defence this summer, after Scott Dann turned down a move to sign for Birmingham from Coventry.
So the manager is glad to have his next target in the bag, with another possibly to follow as former Celtic defender and free agent Balde joins the club.
But Zubar is a cert for next season and the Wolves boss feels he may have unearthed a gem.
He said: “ I’m delighted we’ve managed to get him.
“Taff’s seen him a lot and we’ve had some very good reports from those watching him out in France.
“He will prove a valuable addition to the squad and I’m very much looking forward to working with him.”
Wolves had believed the deal to be all but dead, only to receive a call to say the transfer was back on and a flight was quickly arranged for the former French under-21 international to fly to England.
It appears Marseille wanted to sign Zubar’s replacement first and they have now virtually completed the capture of Bordeaux’s former Charlton defender Souleymane Diawara.
It has been an ardous pursuit for Moxey to get the player to Molineux, as he explains.
The chief executive said: “It’s been a really busy and hectic time, but we are generally thrilled to come out at the end of the week by signing Ronald from Marseille.
“From the very outset Mick wanted to sign Ronald and it’s been difficult and challenging, because there was competition for him and it was another international transfer which are always difficult.
“He is a great athlete with a tremendous pedigree who has played in the Champions League and played in a high pressure situation in Marseille for three seasons.
“Coming to Wolves in the Premier League won’t faze him and he is a genuine guy, who is very excited about being here.”
Zubar, who stands 6ft 2ins, has plenty of experience, having played 96 games for Caen from 2002.
Impressive performances attracted the interest of Lyon and Arsenal, only to sign for Marseille in 2006 for an undisclosed fee.
The centre-half, who becomes Wolves’ sixth signing of the summer, has played 72 games for the southern French outfit only to recently fall out of favour with the coach, leading to claims the from the player that he was “unwanted.”
The Frenchman becomes Wolves’ fourth signing of the week after Kevin Doyle, Andrew Surman and Greg Halford.
Now the signs are Wolves’ spending – which has now reached around £15m – still isn’t complete.
The club may yet have another ‘big’ signing on the way to surprise people, just like the Doyle deal.
Manchester City’s Richard Dunne has huge respect for boss Mick McCarthy – one of his predecessors in the Republic of Ireland defence and Wolves could yet be his destination.
But that would leave Neill Collins, a surprise omission from the 24-man squad Down Under, on the periphery and possibly available.
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I think this will be an excellent signing. Ok, he doesn’t have Premier League experience but he has played in the Champions League against the likes of Liverpool, so I think that with 1 more centre back on loan (Mancienne) our back 4 could be sorted. Now in with one more centre midfielder with Premier League experience such as Kevin Nolan and possibly a left midfielder we are ready to go!
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23…good age
Zubar??? who?
Hope he isn’t injury prone. And…now its wait and see if he delivers..thats if the deal is completed.
Optimism is good but can lead to dissapointment…therefore wait..watch…and see.
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I’ll buy Collins.
My gardens full of weeds and the car needs cleaning.
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Brilliant. Brilliant.
no to Dunne.
As for Collins, well thanks for the goals.
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exciting times, I hope we also get mancienne or a dunne/campbell type player if not those two specifically :) Squads coming along nicely just think we need a few more key signings such as a LB aswell as another CB. Think we could do with another midfielder and Left winger aswell though. Just my opinion though.
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Well do we think think this is a good signing,one of my concerns would be the africans nations cup in jan could be a big miss in an important part of the season
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That why Mancienne is coming on Loan number 6.
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Its a ok signing don’t reallt know how good he is cuz i an’t ever seen him play but he is the right bulid for the premier league. add me jamesfletcher@hotmail.co.uk
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i love this club two more signings and i can see us finishing mid table
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yessssssssss so happy with this ive seen him play quite a few times for marsaille when i drove up from nice hes such a class defender i rate him twice as good as mancienne and i honestly believe our defence is going to solid with zubar elokobi foley berra i believe that we will stop up now and zubar will be wolves player of the season for 2009 if he stays injury free just remeber were you heard it first i better take a breather im getting over excited
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Bonyour, i’ll nouvous monsiour Collins. Ie; I im crap and a liability, search u-tubeabout him, Marseille fans must be laughing their pants off.
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No 6 & 7 why would Zubar who has played for france u21’s be involved in the african nations cup???
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Number 1;
Yeah he’s played in the CL against Liverpool, he was the one who gave the penalty at Marseille lol.
He looks big, he’s young, hopefully he’ll be steady with another good defender next to him, to help him through the first few matches so he get’s up to speed of the Prem, then hopefully we should be okay after that.
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This guy is a beast….ask Gerard…how can you lot NOT be excited. This is an extract from a piece in a Marsielle program.
“Since then, the player from Guadeloupe has put in some great performances against Liverpool, Toulouse, Nice and then Madrid….” you want experience…come on???
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Terrible signing.
No Premiership experience and error prone. really needed someone who had been there and done it at centre half.
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how can anyone say no to dunne!! his a quality player, i would prefer him to mancienne, and i would love it if mancienne came.
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Im very unsure we could get Manacienne but Mancienne will probably think twice about coming If Zubar does sign….
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Am intrigued by the starting eleven against the hammers. Would love dunne to sign. And maybe ledley. Exciting times.
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i thought he was french not african!
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Good point blue wolf especially with how well France do in the African Nations!
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Lets hope he’s a bit more loyal than the last Senegalese play we signed.
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6 – Isnt he a french under 21 international????
The Senegal international mentioned is Marseille new signing.
How refreshing wolvesmod a nice comment! :D Do agree Dunne wouldnt be ideal.
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5,Chrissy Careful mate,Just my opinion,Certain people on these pages only allow you an opinion if it agrees with theirs.Seriously though agree 100% still feel we need Experienced cover in the positions you have cited.Looking at the 24 man squad going to Australia how many have prem experience?.May well suprise a few teams next season but surely some older heads are needed to see these young uns through when the going gets tough.
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6. Blue Wolf
I wouldn’t worry too much about the African Nations Cup. Zubar is French (born in Guadeloupe).
The ‘Senegal international’ in the article is Diawara who will replace Zubar at Marseilles.
I’m more concerned at his reputation for being accident-prone.
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Good deal and more to come, as for surprise signing- how about our Robbie, well I can dream eh- as for collins whether you like him or not, it is still wrong how the club have treated him by leaving him behind, that said there could be things going on that we the ordinary fan do not know about.
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Oh my god……the unluckiest defender in the world according to you tube!! watch him on there, he does make some howlers..lol
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number 6 hes french u triffid
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He is French so he will not be involved in the African Nations cup! He isn’t injury prone, and whilst he has speed and athleticism, he is a bit accident prone. He is known for some dreadful bloopers. Although technically he is also very good, so at 23 we can only hope that the right coaching can eliminate the mistakes and let Zubar shine! Who knows perhaps we’ll all be singing super zubar to a well known ABBA song before too long!
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He’s French!, the African Nations Cup is relevant how? The Senegal international referred to is Diawara.
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6, he wont be playing in the african nations, hes from guadeloupe.
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Blue Wolf- not sure the African Cup of Nations should be a concern, should it? He played for France U21s, and should he choose to not play for France at senior level he’s from Guadeloupe, hardly a force in African football and unlikely to be represented at the finals I would have thought.
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top signing..
gold and proud..
another big one coming next week im told..
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4.Why wouldn’t we want to sign Richard Dunne? He is quality and is exactly what we need-a proven premiership performer. As for Zubar, no idea if hes any good but if Wenger rated him at some point he must be half decent.
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6,blue wolf
he plays for France
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Richard Dunne would be a quality signing lads.
I think he has been voted fans payer of the year for the last 4 or 5 years apart from last season. Clearly that show he isa good player and has great experience in the prem.
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Again I cannot fault this one. See we can still do business whilst MM is away. Just wondering who Steve Morgan’s BIG ONE is? I hope Joe Ledley.
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Awesome, good enough for Marseille good enough for me add Mancienne in there to it’s looking solid I’d like to see a proven left back Michael Ball is on a free, must be worth a shout
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exellent signing i have seen him play a lot and he is better than any defender we have trust me our defence are good but he is top class we could not have got much better this summar defence wise forget about mancienne he has no experience and look at the mistakes he made in england u21 game he made tiny little basic mistakes and i dunno if richard dunne is just speculation but i hope its not come on u seen how solid ricahard is and people are moaning about us gettin him are u stupid! and that bobo balde from celtic is flying out with the lads today but dunno about him :S
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number 7. Why would mancienne come on loan, we have already put a bid in for him.
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No.6&7
Why would a French u 21 player compete in the African Nations Cup? Unless France are now part of Africa???
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Well done again the “3 M’s”, great week’s business. Though clearly from the comments made by the new signings the ground work has been put in over the previous weeks and months, so again well done.
Hopefully this guy lives up to his pedigree, you’re obviously always gambling with foreign signings, but Wenger’s tracked this guy for years supposedly, and his judgement isn’t usually wrong is it? Hopefully all the scoutings paid off. Think mick probably made a couple of personal checks on the guy aswell, as i seem to remember reading that he’d taken in some games in southern france in the couple of weeks after our season finished.
Another centre half (Mancienne or Dunne, or being greedy how about both? :)and a battling CM (maybe Nolan?) and i think we’re there. Then maybe utilise the loan market towards the end of the window (when the top clubs will be willing to release having sorted their squads) for more cover up front and on the wing.
On Collins’ ommision from the tour I’d just like to thanks him for his efforts and ask everyone to lay off the lad as (hopefully) his time at the club comes to an end. I have been one of the fiercest critics of his playing talents, but the guy always gave 100% for the cause (which we cried out for during the years of giving over paid has beens one last pay day). People also forget that at the beginning of last season he was rock solid for a time alongside stearman during the long wining run (when we came one short of beating a club record!).
Now lets have a productive (in terms of fitness and team bonding) injury free tour and get the Aussie bashing started next week along with the criket!
UTW
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no 6
african cup of nations???
french under 21 international.
didn’t know france was in africa?
he was born in guadeloupe, which is a french overseas territory (and also in south america, not afric….. dilbert
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Just another point.
Number 6. This guys from guadeloupe (in the french antilles, not in africa). So that’s not going to be a problem. I believe the article is referring to this diawarra who marseille have signed as his replacement when it says “The Senegal international will sign a four-year deal pending a medical”. It is confusing though, and why the E & S thinks we want to new the terms of a new marselle players contract i don’t know???? :) We’ve got our man, that’s all i’m bothered about. Hopefully marseilles loss is our gain, and it’s just the fact that their manager doesn’t fancy him that they’re letting him go. These continental clubs change manager more than the albion so he was probably someone elses signing and the current manager obviously wants his own players.
UTW
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we must get mancienne no matter the cost.
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RE 6–How does the african nations cup effect him if he’s french? lol
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Hmmm…. Quickfire deal? Is this cos we weren’t his 1st choice? Its been in the pipeline 4 ages, so I doubt its down 2 his club. Probaby gonna b a sulker. Not very optimistic on this one.
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7. I do hope we get Mancienne back..preferably on a perm deal but if not on loan for season,..but it has to be with no call back as last time it really effected our next few games when he left.
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can anyone tell me if the games in OZ are being televised
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no6 Dont think you will have to worry about African Nations,as he has already played for the French under21s.Watched him on You Tube,prone to the odd blunder or two oh well everybody has an of day.
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Looks like Kevin Nolan, Mancienne and one other I suspect are signings to come.
Sol Campbell or Viduka would suit me
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have a look on the web some french dudes have posted a video of him making all manner of horrific mistakes, gets brushed away by arshavin in one clip he looks an absolute donkey, i fear we are going to take a bath on this one, other signings good so far though…..MORE EXPERIENCE NEEDED!
KEEP THE FAITH!
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Why all the negativity? Mr. Morgan is putting his money where is mouth is and what an unbelievable transformation in three years! I don’t know anything about this lad but the three M’s seem to be guiding this club in the right direction. I had no confidence at all last time we went up, but I just feel this time could be very different! Whatever the outcome next season no-one can say that the board didn’t try and make fist of it! Thank you Mr. Morgan! ( Bet a lot of other clubs would love you as their chairman.)
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Never really seen him play, but if this guy is not flat footed we could well have boosted our options, and £2.5m is not that big a risk in today’s transfer market.
Mancienne would be fab, with Stears making CB number 3. Stearman ahead of Berra for me, but a good pre-season would see what options we have. Would like to see some Premier League Steel at the back though because the CB area is our achilles heel IMHO.
At least one more CB for me if not 2, and Kevin Nolan in CM would be absolutely great. Come on Wolves, and well done on an excellent week in the transfer market.
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THE REASON THE DEAL WAS ALMOST DEAD? he was hoping for a bigger side to come in, no-one did and Marsielle wanted shot BIG TIME!
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Hi Blue Wolf; Zubar has played for France at International level, so even though he is from Guardoloupe (spelling), he is classed as a french international
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looking good still got 5m from when morgan took over.
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going to go against the grain but I think mancine would be a mistake at this stage yes I know he shone in ccc but would he hack it week in week out in the prem I know he has pace and ability but he’s very lightweight for cb, don’t get me wrong I think he’s a talent but needs to fill out zubar looks a good buy on the face of it well done the 3 m’s. utw
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Central Defender with a lot of talent who lost the “supporters” (and his) confidence after missing the decisive penalty in French Cup final Shootout. If he gets his head together great signing – but will he get the time to fix his mindset in the Premiership – could go both ways!
oh and 16. Not true, just last week he was linked with French Champions Bordeaux. There has been a change of management (again) in Marseille and they ara aiming at changing 40% of the team…
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Mate of mine in OZ has told me that papers there are speculating that Lucas Neill who did not return to the UK last month after World cup duty with Australia,will be talking to Fulham and Wolves while the clubs are there for a potential move.
My mate believes Fulham have an edge, but Wolves are not out of it.
Could we use the experience of Lucas Neill in our squad, I think he would be the cream on thecake we have produced with the other signings.
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I mean’t 55. not 16….sorry
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Has Geography has been dropped as a subject in W..ton schools ?
56. Guadaloupe is in the French West Indies (It is still a French Colony) – He’s French
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So, we are all agreed now……
He’s FRENCH!!!
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55. go back to the tesco pages!! Champs league experience thats good enough for me, and as for the posts about him being error prone, please enlighten us all to your vast knowledge of French football….! or have you been on you tube?!! i could put together a video of Ronaldo falling over, diving, smashing dozens of free quicks into the wall or into row Z etc… I guess that would mean he was rubbish and would be a bad signing, I bet Real Madrid wish they did the scouting from you tube the only place to go to get the low down on a player!!!! Thought the moaning muppets might have disappeared by now, but I guess we’ll have to sign Rooney, Terry, Gerrard, Guttuso etc before you lot get back in your boxes….although I imagine you’d complain about the fees and the wages.
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Can somebody tell me why the players name on a shirt is on the front? Whats all that about?
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Nothing gets past him! great signing just cant believe wolves have pulled this one off.
It gets better and better for us! i’m off to the bookies to see what odds i can get for a top half finish.
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Having watched his ‘greatest hits’ on You Tube I think Wolverhampton is going to run out of tranquillisers this winter. Particularly like the one where he and his own goalkeeper fall over each other and end up on the floor leaving the centre forward to tap into an empty net. It certainly won’t be dull with him around.
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ps I guess we should sack evans and just employ a couple of you lot to look players up on you tube then?!! Cos obviously a professional with many years in the game who has watched this lad many times hasn’t got a clue!!!! Think about it eh?
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i have been to the ZooBar in leicester square a few times, never seen Zubar though.
There are a few YouTubes of him – one is a comedy, one shows his goals.
Did you see that 25 yarder for the U21s.
I have to believe he is decent to play for Marseille regularly and be a French U21.
super.
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Wolves are doing these transfer deals or wrong. Look at brum. Signing most players for at least 5 million the way to do it and richard dunne. No way sol campbell and mancienne. Quality. Along with Martins and could try and get crouch or tuncay or nolan. These are the players to go for.
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OK Everybody I think we have established he is French and not gonna be effected by the African Nations Cup
Dunne is a proven premiership CH and has improved season by season, although last wasn’t his best. He needs a fresh start and where else but at EIRE UTD.
Come on MMM get him, Mancienne and Nolan. (and Ledley if the purse will stretch)
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Good stuff, really excited bout our chances of staying up now.
4 more to come in though according to the rumour pages:
Gavin McCann, Nicky Butt, Richard Dunne and Carlos Vela(loan) and maybe Stephen Henderson if Hennesey goes toFulham for 4M.
Vokes is going to Doncaster on loan.
Cmon me babieeeeeees….
Discuss…..
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Titus Bramble makes mistakes and he is still first choise. (still linked to premiership clubs this summer)
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Tres bien achat, Monsieur Mick. Zubar est Francais… Allez les Wolves!!!
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I really can’t understand so many of the so called ‘fans’ on here. Most of last week, everyone was moaning we weren’t signing anyone. Now we are signing and ‘fans’ are STILL moaning. Who you hoping for – John Terry? And who the hell are you to judge a player from youtube!!!!! People are talking as if they are experienced managers/scouts, reality is none of us on here are not in a position to say if a player is good enough for wolves or not.
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good signings this week. dunne and nolan would be good and how about hunt from reading. him and kightly on the wings!!
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47 & 55:
i think you will find the deal was almost dead because Marselle wanted to replace him before they sold him. doesnt seem to matter what the club do with some so called fans they still moan, don’t spend money you moan: spend money you moan: don’t sign any players within 2mins of getting promoted you moan. Obviously the club approached these players when the season ended but it doesn’t just take 2mins to complete a deal.
At least this time we can see the club are going to give it a go and spend some money. Hopefully the players we have signed will deliver.
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All those people going on about youtube…just think about it for god sake. Theres entertainment in a striker hitting the stands from 2 yards out. Theres entertainment for a defender to let rodney trotter through the legs of a defender…youtube is all about mishaps and mishaps and crap. youtube aint there for entertainment its there for a laugh. imo a great siging
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Mancienne was crap for the under 21s – so does that mean we should not touch him!!!! plus if he is that good why is he not in the first team at Chelsea?
Every player makes mistakes, some more than others but it doesn’t mean they are bad players.
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Lets have some respect for Collins from u idiots shall we? Unlike all the expensive wasters an losers we signed in the wasted 90’s Collins always gave 110% for the shirt. He might have made a few mistakes but he was a genuine grafter who did his very best for us. You cant ask for more. We’re now in the market for better quality and he’s surplus. So lets remember he’s a human being and he was part of our best ever season at this level. Stop being cruel & wish him well if he moves on. We dont want selfish arrogant fans on here. Go support that lot in Britain’s 2nd worst borough. The club are going for better quality players now so maybe we need a few better quality fans too.
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I see several comment welcoming Richard Dunne as a potential signing.
The answer must be a simple but emphatic NO!
I am married to a Manchester City Supporter and two of my sons, so we watch City (via TV) on a regular basis. The season before last Dunne was a star, but last year something had “gone”, and he was absolute rubbish on many occasions. Just look at the number of times he was booked, sent off, scored an own goal or completely messed up for an opponent to score. Everyone in the family agrees that City need to get rid of him fast – but PLEASE not to Wolves!
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Hopefully a good addition to the back 4.
Not too worried by the YouTube video. I’m sure if you searched hard enough, you could probably scrape a similar complilation together for Neill Collins.
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No 52 Is that relevant about Arshavin as he brushed the Liverpool defence aside 4 times at Anfield last season, let’s give the lad a chance please
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Starting to feel sorry for Jez Moxey, seems who ever he brings in people aren’t happy. Here’s one option nip across the road buy yourself a Tesco’s bag and support the other team. No room for losers next season. Unless of course your playing in the Championship with a second rate manager who couldn’t get promoted from League 1.
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Pleased with this one, but not Balde, please!!!
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I have seen this quote about him,”He has represented his country of birth, Guadeloupe, at full international level though. As they are not a FIFA member, he is still eligible to play for France at senior level too.”
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This is something I have read, “He has represented his country of birth, Guadeloupe, at full international level though. As they are not a FIFA member, he is still eligible to play for France at senior level too.”
Good signing, but not Balde please!!
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Sorry about the duplication, but my posts #57 & 58 didn’t seem to have appeared.
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Chuffed with signings so far, but Dunne is a donkey! No pace and gives silly goals away, booked/sent off loads, stupid money for a poor player.
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Guadeloupe is a Caribbean island not African. It is part of France. Was in Cayman recently and noticed that half the population are called Ebanks! SEB has to have roots out here. Hoping to get a few more Wolves fans recruited over the coming season. Caribbean islands are football mad and the scouts should take it more seriously.
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Sounds like an exciting signing, now all we need to do is sign Lucas Neil when in Oz.
UTW
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WOW what a great week for wolves, congrats to all at wolves. Lets stop making nasty comments about collins, he provided some important goals last season so if he moves good luck to him.
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I think Roland Zubar is a great signing, I have followed him before and he is quality.
I dont know why Mick McCarthys has offered a trial to Bobo Balde because he is not very good.
What do people think on the Bobo Balde situation?
CMON WOLVES
(Torbay Wolves 09-10) :)
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