Albion struggling to make signings
Tuesday 24th August 2010, 11:55AM BST.
Albion boss Roberto Di Matteo has admitted the club are still finding signings difficult because of the slow summer transfer market.
The Baggies are still keen to add to their squad despite the double-swoop for Peter Odemwingie and Somen Tchoyi on Friday.
But Di Matteo admitted a lack of movement across the country is making it tough for the club to wrap up deals.
He said: “It’s difficult. Since the start of the transfer window it’s been difficult but we will keep trying.
“We’re getting nearer to the deadline. There are seven days left. We thought there would be more activity generally but not much is happening anywhere.
“That ‘snowball’ hasn’t started rolling yet but we’re still hoping.”
Albion are still targeting a defensive midfielder and a targetman as they look to follow up the signings of Pablo Ibanez, Nicky Shorey, Boaz Myhill, Odemwingie and Tchoyi.
Portsmouth captain Marc Wilson remains near the top of their wanted list after two bids were rejected by Pompey.
Former loanee Marc-Antoine Fortune, currently with Celtic, is still on the radar despite his public claims that he wants to stay with the Bhoys.
Di Matteo confirmed the Baggies had made a second bid for Wilson, but refused to comment further on his hopes of signing the 23-year-old Irishman.
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money talks in the end ,and if we need those players it may mean going the extra mile, cos if we do go down its gonna cost us a lot more in the long term. we should be able to do that without being reckless
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Whilst I agree that things appear to be slower in this years transfer window than in recent years I still think there have been some bargains to be had, and a number of players (THE RIGHT TYPE OF PLAYERS) could have joined us by now. So Im not totally convinced the slowness of the market is to blame. I honestly believe its down to the usual issue MONEY! Reports suggest that Wilson at Portsmouth is worth nearer £5million than the £3m we have offered so if we want him that badly then why not make a serious offer. We have let other players slip through the net due to not offering the right money, so more could have been achieved with the right financial commitment I feel. According to Big Dave (Moore) we had a good chance of landing Bellamy and could have stole him under the noses of Cardiff had we have moved quicker, and his wages would have been massively subsidised by MC before anyone says we couldnt have afforded him. So for me its more about not wanting to spend the money than how slow the Transfer Market is sorry RDM!
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It was suggested a while back that Albion would wait until clubs name their ’25′,then see which players were being released near deadline before making serious bids.People were complaining about not enough new signings,but this seems to have been Albion’s plan all along.I guess the idea was to find some clubs desperate to offload,so the price would drop for these players.If this doesn’t happen,I still expect one or two new signings,because JP and RDM do seem to seriously want to add to the squad,even if we end up paying more than the club wanted to spend.With a week left,we shall soon find out one way or other.
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I’m glad to see we’re still trying to add to what we have, and we must have a little in the coffers to even be talking about more signings after getting 7 players on the books this summer. However, I’m not over excited about either of these players.
Wilson is a good player and will do a job in midfield so this isn’t so much about him but Fortune to me feels like a backwards step.
Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s a decent player but he’s not going to carry the imposing threat that we need up front.
Odemwinge looks like he’s our speed demon option but surely we need a hatchet man now. preferably one that can score goals.
A bruiser would give us the ability to change our aproach in a game if needed and wouldn’t damage the confidence of PO for changing like for like.
Boing Boing
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2-If no one else mentions it,I heard SKY say that Man.City agreed to loan out Bellamy,but NOT to any other Premiership club as they were rivals.It had to be lower divisions.
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What about Felipe Caicedo on loan from Man City? West Ham could have got him but seem to have messed it up. Now it’s time for us to try.
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Yet more negative reorting from the E&S…..story does not match the headlines.
Transfer activity is slow across all leagues yet baggies are “struggling”
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No.5
Do you really believe that we are rivals to City? dont belive everthing you hear or read
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There’s nowt wrong with the signings we’ve made up to now and there’s a week to go. I know that ‘One swallow doth not a Summer make’
but watching Peter Odemwingie had me wondering if we’ve found a hero again. Ronnie, Jeff, Bob, all scored on their debut I think and all looked the part immediately. No nerves on show.
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I don’t think Bellamy was an option as wherever he goes he seems to fall out with the management or his team mates. You don’t need that at your club which is why City have got rid. His family live in Wales and Cardiff need any offer of help they can get but we are not in that position.
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I think Portsmouth will hold out for as much as they can for as long as they can. They are possibly hoping that as with other ‘targets’ that we’ve had once someone makes an enquiry it alerts other agents & clubs alike. It’ll be a waiting game and as with other ‘windows’ it gets frantic in the last few minutes, I don’t think we should panic buy just yet. All the papers & electronic media love all this action as it keeps people guessing & surmising!!
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So baggie for life(2)….RDM quotes something and you know better?.. £5mill for Wilson is over the top at this stage IMO.
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There aint half a lot of posters that seem to have the mentality of my daughter. She’s great at spending other peoples money too. Yeah, lets fork out 5 miliion for Wilson if that’s what’s required, yeah my starry eyed daughter completely agrees with you, after all, it aint our money so why worry about the consequences of spending it.
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Wilson & Fortune would be perfect for us as both are decent – but I also think we are not far away with the players we have and if we go ahead with no new signings till Jan i think we will do ok.
Its hard to get players for several reasons including we are a promoted club and yet new players are not guaranteed a start.
I think our policy is spot on – who are all these players we have missed ?????? (please don’t say Beattie, he just wants an easy end to his career or bellamy who just wanted to play near his house !!!!)
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Struggling, I don’t think so. I think we’ve done some fantastic business up to now and if we can bring in two more players (a defensive midfielder and a striker) this week then JP and DA deserve an A+. As it is, they’re already at an A.
This transfer window has been one of the toughest ever and yet we’ve still brought in 5 new, quality players (Myhill, Shorey, Pablo, Tchoyi and Pete), signed 2 players permanently who were on loan (Tamas and Reid) and locked up our young talent (Dorrans, Morrison, Brunt, Jara, Thomas etc) on long term contracts. What more can you ask for.
Despite the slow window, we’re one of the few clubs that are constantly in the news (national) being linked with players. It’s exciting getting up every morning and seeing who we might be in for. What other club (other than Man City and they’re on another planet to everyone) can say that. This is testament to the job JP has done running the club.
The training ground, sports science and medical facilities and scouting network are fantastic which is why we’re able to use our limited resources creatively and get an advantage.
I honestly believe that if we can bring in the final two pieces of the jigsaw this week, we shouldn’t have to fear anyone outside the top 6 (Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal, Man City, Spurs and Liverpool) in the Premiership.
Keep up the excellent work lads.
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Rockstar (12) I didnt say I knew any better that was purely my opinion of the matter. However, RDM has been quoted as saying he hoped for more signings and some reports I have read suggest theres been one or two “tongue in cheek” jabs at the club for not making more money available. Lets be honest RDM aint about to come right out with it and say how frustrated he is for not having more funds made available but I bet like you and me both mate, hes thinking it!
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5 CR78. 10 RB.
You’ve missed the fact that the anti JP brigade never let the facts get in the way of a good slur.
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9 Cyril.
Don’t forget your almost namesake. He scored on his League, FA and League Cup debuts.
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8 Dave-I was quoting what was said on the SKY football commentary,whether I believe it or not doesn’t make any difference,but the fact that we are in the same division and have to play them twice probably does make them our rivals,yeah?
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west brom need to bite the bullet and blood buy a strike everyone knows and who is good for 7-10 million instead of buying players for 2.5million we never every hear off so come on albion blood pull your finger out and stay in the blood prem this year !!!!!!!!
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15. Most sensible comment made. I could not agree more; a solid striker, defensive midfielder and plenty of passion and we will stay up comfortably this time!
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Well said 15 NYBaggie I’m with you, look at other teams of our elk…Newcastle, Blackpool West Ham, Bolton etc and then tell me we have not transfered in better or more players than them.
I think we have the best squad we have had since the 70s under Big Ron. A couple more players (striker and midfielder)and we will have a team able to compete with all but the top five.
I think the top table have done well when the transfer market was slow.
Many clubs are only to keen to let other clubs know when you make an offer so they can start an auction but then thats business.
Keep up the good work JP DTM DA.
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With one or two more potential signings in the pipeline when are we going to start off loading the likes of Moore, Barnett, Meite and Mattock when fit and if he aint sent down.I cant imagine Jeremy wanting to keep these on the payroll.
Bully Hoo, He also scored on his central league debut as well !!!!
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Remember we can make loan signings up to the last minute with first refusal, so what’s the
the problem?.
~~~~BOING~~~~BOING~~~~JtH.
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Re Bellamy read Robin Brittain hes trouble anyway.Like most i am pleased with signings so
far I would like an imposing middie like Vierra buts what wrong with steven reid ? Maybe Luke Moore will grab a hat trick tonight
or am i getting into the realms of fantasy I do believe weve got a decent bunch but Idid say before the Chelsea game we are better defensivly but evidence so far suggests bookies pay out now for title.
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5 mill is way over the yp for Wilson.Sidwell would be a much more reasonably priced and better experienced buy.
We still need a quality right back,let Jara back in centre midfield.
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Cyril & TRBH. You´ll also find that, on this day in 1955, a certain Derek Kevan made his debut against Everton, scoring both goals in a 2-0 victory. Apparently, he had a knack for finding the net. Before my time though.
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By the way,who said the transfer market is slow?Man. City don’t seem to have that problem.I just heard that in last night’s game against Liverpool,City had over 90 million pounds worth of players SITTING ON THE BENCH.All you need is a multi-billionaire owner who is willing to throw endless money at the squad,and players appear from all around the world,banging on the door.Simples.
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Small club. Hence no signings. FACT.
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I do agree with 2 – baggie4life on this one, I think we do want to sign the right player but are trying to haggle too much on the price. The whole story on Djemba Djemba makes sense with what we are trying to do.
U cant count all 7 as new signings because Reid etc were just loan moves turned permanent by either free transfers or very low fees… so it would seem we have probably spent around half of what we spent last time we as in the premiership… but hold on Im not being negative because I actually think the signings have been a lot better and we have more balance to our team this time.
But we need to pull our finger out if we are serious about signing certain players! We lost out to one player already who has now joined Newcastle but his name escapes me!
I think we will end up getting Wilson nearer to the deadline when JP realizes Pompey are serious about his value. I think the idea of a fee plus swapping Luke moore is a good idea!
I would also like to see a (Proven) Striker here because if Odemwingie gets injured we are screwed… I like Bednar and Miller but they are unproven and Miller is injury prone!
If it comes to it get Jason Roberts in last minute… although not my first ideal choice he is cover and has (premiership) experience
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Bottom line is JP just wont pay the money, I am sure with this 25 man rule we could get a few decent fringe players in from decent clubs but Mark Wilson is not the answer. I heard the club will go back in for Djemba-Djemba at a knock down price and we have put in a late bid for Mc Cormack from Cardiff as he due to sign for Leeds.
We beat a very poor Sunderland side on Saturday who were missing several key players and had the worst away record in the league last season, we still need strengthening with 3-4 players to take us upto Jan with damage limitation.
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poor signings, no money, no ambition….
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16TRBH I had I’ll admit, forgotten Cyrille who burst upon the scene in similar fashion to P.O. To be fair, the three I mentioned were all 1 in 2 men, Cyrille was 1 in 3 overall. However, if PO is as good as the big man, we’ll have our new hero up front.
13.Warren Peace . (Just couldn’t resist that mate, Lol).
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29 who am I anyway?-We have lost count the amount of times we’ve beat wolves.We’ve already signed SEVEN players with more to come.DOUBLE FACT.
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Blinkin heck, we’ve got some moaners on here.
No. 31 Baggie Pride
Your in a world of your own mate. If you insist on taking the ‘Suns’ viewpoint on football then Man U will win every game this season and Blackpool, Baggies, Wigan etc. will get stuffed every game.
sunderland must have been poor because we beat them. Fact of the matter is that we were better than Sunderland on the day and they had most of thier 1st choice team playing.
Steve Bruce played an attacking formation against us (even though he said he would play 5 in mid and a lone striker for away games) because he like most teams in the Prem thought they were going to walk all over us. They didn’t and knowing he’d made a glaring tactical miscalculation, he started to make excuses and blame his players. We’re better than they think and the longer they take us for granted the better.
3 to 4 players is obsurd. We are not 3 to 4 players short of survival. We might not need any more players. IMO we will be ok with what we’ve got till X-mas.
We’ve got to play the best sides in this league away from home in the first few matches. After this first stint the hardest part is over. We need to learn from these games so we an go into games against Fulham, Newcastle, West Ham battle hardened and sharp.
To the couple of jokers in custard, we’ve signed 7 players this transfer window. Most Wulfies have taken note of who we’ve got in and had the good sense to stop posting anything about our ‘lack of activity’. Odemwinge, Tchoyi, Shorey, Myhill, Pablo, Tamas and Reid are all excellent, international class players, and we didn’t even have to break the bank for em. I understand this must be hard to take after spending 7 mill on Fletcher but rest assured that he’ll probably get 7 goals for you this year. I’m sure you can work out how much a goal will have cost you there. Nice to hear from you though.
Wilson would be a good addition but I recon Sidwell is our man. I’m also beginning to think Heskey might be a shrewd signing for us. Not many sides have gone down with him up front.
Boing Boing.
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35 BIM.
To paraphrase Michael Winner ‘calm down it’s only Shadrag.’ The assumed name, one not seen on here before, the content and layout of the post have LW’s grubby fingerprints all over them.
Thanks for explaining the two other Wulfies comments. I hadn’t realised they were talking about us. I’d assumed they were bemoaning their own situation.
Agree with you about the potential signings as well as the ones we’ve made. I think it shows that rather than appeasing some of the fans that want Beattie, Roberts and any other name they read in the Sun. We’ve gone for decent players that haven’t got their futures behind them and rather than throwing money we don’t have at it, we’ve paid realistic prices.
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23 Streetly.
Once again I doff my gap to both your knowledge and your memory.
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27CostaBlanca. I was there mate and have made the comment before that Derek Kevan looked lost with the game going on around him, but he had shots at goal and scored twice. He came from Bradford to us and quite quickly did step up to the difference in class, becoming an England International. The ‘Tank’ in full flight was awesome to behold.
There was also David Walsh back in 1946, scored two on his debut and 7 in his first 6 games. Good old fashioned centre forward, eventually left us for Villa.
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Very pleased with our signings to date. Now it looks like we are targeting a striker I stated we should go for, KENNY MILLER from
Rangers. Now this guy knows where the back of the net is. He has already played for a West
Mids club but they played him out of position.
Smashing footballer to boot. Get him in.
~~~~BOING~~~~BOING~~~~JtH.
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That bloke with the cap.
For a start that West Mids club you refer to did NOT play him out of position. He asked to play there, sorry to correct you. As far as knowing where the back of the net is, my grandson of 8 could score goals in the SPL.
Finally he is a bit like Harston he has an appetite for “pies”. He was somewhat overweight when he played down here.
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34. Who are you then?????
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Please forgive my ignorance (I live overseas and haven’t seen Portsmouth play much), but what style of midfielder is Marc Wilson and who would he replace in the starting eleven?
I’d prefer to see money spent first on strikers and secondly on defenders before another midfielder.
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(40)
Who’re,
Miller was always known as a striker. Do you know anything about your club?. He played out of position. Now he’s back in the groove (no thanks to wolves) I wish we could sign him.
~~~~BOING~~~~BOING~~~~JtH.
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