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Benitez Future In Doubt Over Failure to Secure Key Signings

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knitting away said:
Fill your squad up with those types of player and there is only one outcome. That is the conundrum that you have now and the reason for the lack of signings and Benitez seemingly getting irksome. Its what did for us!
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Well, our aim is surely to get safety this season, then use the tv money for survival to fatten/improve the squad. Sign him now and a 26/7 yr old Townsend could play second fiddle to a 24yr old better winger, no? Especially when Benitez likes to rotate as much as he does.

We've got a while before the window shuts, I'll only really be concerned if we go into th final fortnight without signing good players for key areas.

fwiw I'd rather we signed Murphy from Norwich, than Townsend as the latter is very much the Damien Duff of the 2010s
 
The Fish said:
By all accounts Townsend (e.g.) was keen on the move at the time, we certainly could afford the fee and his wages. We were odds on for promotion and it was a club/manager Townsend had apparently enjoyed playing for before. Surely the only sticking point will have been the boardroom at St JAmes' trying to get Townsend for less than Palace were willing to release him. Subsequently we've seen a transfer for a player with a release clause drag on because, yet again, the boardroom at St James' are bickering over comparatively small sums, seemingly oblivious to the state of the wider market.
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Does 'by all accounts' mean speculation in the tabloids?

When you say 'comparatively small sums' you've actually no idea, whatsoever, about the true figures have you :lol:
 
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The Fish said:
Well, our aim is surely to get safety this season, then use the tv money for survival to fatten/improve the squad. Sign him now and a 26/7 yr old Townsend could play second fiddle to a 24yr old better winger, no? Especially when Benitez likes to rotate as much as he does.

We've got a while before the window shuts, I'll only really be concerned if we go into th final fortnight without signing good players for key areas.

fwiw I'd rather we signed Murphy from Norwich, than Townsend as the latter is very much the Damien Duff of the 2010s
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I would agree with your last point. Townsend wont improve as a footballer. He looks finished at the top level to me.
 
Ageing Grey Mackem said:
This is a very good point. See for reference Bruce's transfer window when we let him loose with the Henderson money. Buy several 'squad' players from the lower prem clubs and that's the absolute highest you can aspire to - the arse end of the division.
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I trust Rafa ( I know, I know) to get the balance right.

He signed players that raised eyebrows, Hanley, Murphy etc. But they did the job they were bought for. When injuries/suspensions/fatigue meant our 1st choice picks for those positions were absent, these unashionable, unfancied players slotted straight in, and did a job. He also spent big, big sums on players that are excellent for that division (Ritchie, Gayle), because he knows having a squad of grafters isn't enough to win automatic.

I'm not expecting us to spend £50m on someone like Sigurdsson or Barkley, we couldn't attract them. So it'll be gambles on foreign players, young players or players who've not yet been consistent in the Premier League.

Reiver said:
Does 'by all accounts' mean speculation in the tabloids?

When you say 'comparatively small sums' you've actually no idea, whatsoever, about the true figures have you :lol:
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This thread is literally peppered of Sunderland fans hooting with joy at claims and counterclaims for journalists. Will you :lol: their way too?

I have enough of an idea to hold an opinion. If you're to :lol: at people holding opinions without 100% of the information, you're going to flood this message board with :lol: s aren't you?

knitting away said:
I would agree with your last point. Townsend wont improve as a footballer. He looks finished at the top level to me.
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Aye, this is his peak. But that peak would be fine for me this season. His 'Run down the wing, turn 90° left, run 10yds and shoot' routine gets boring, but if it gets us a few goals, freekicks, corners etc. I'm ok with it.
 
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The Fish said:
This thread is literally peppered of Sunderland fans hooting with joy at claims and counterclaims for journalists. Will you :lol: their way too?

I have enough of an idea to hold an opinion. If you're to :lol: at people holding opinions without 100% of the information, you're going to flood this message board with :lol: s aren't you?
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So it's all guesswork, thanks I thought so.
 
The Fish said:
It's wicked to misrepresent a broader point by picking out a smaller facet.

Likely that a lot of Sunderland fans aren't that bothered, but there are plenty on here who are.


But I answered.

I then noted you haven't asked other posters to provide proof of their claims.
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You're entitled to your opinions, obviously; however, I am curious about your reasons for being present on this thread. Your response, above, suggests that you believe this board doesn't represent the views of the majority of Sunderland supporters. So, with that in mind, I wonder why you choose to allocate so much time to this thread. Surely, if you're looking for concensus in your beliefs, you'd be better of communicating with like-minded people, such as Newcastle supporters, or even Sunderland supporters who don't post on here. Alternatively, it could be assumed that you're being contrary to simply wind-up the fans of your rivals. There's another assumption, but I try not to use those word too often.
 
Sunderland Surfer said:
You're entitled to your opinions, obviously; however, I am curious about your reasons for being present on this thread. Your response, above, suggests that you believe this board doesn't represent the views of the majority of Sunderland supporters. So, with that in mind, I wonder why you choose to allocate so much time to this thread. Surely, if you're looking for concensus in your beliefs, you'd be better of communicating with like-minded people, such as Newcastle supporters, or even Sunderland supporters who don't post on here. Alternatively, it could be assumed that you're being contrary to simply wind-up the fans of your rivals. There's another assumption, but I try not to use those word too often.
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You've misunderstood, I think this board is a decent cross section of Sunderland fans, but there are is a section who're not interested in actual conversation with Newcastle fans because they're Newcastle fans. I've had good conversations on here and read some interesting points of view without commenting at all.

However, when ridiculous things are written about Newcastle United and it's fans, of course I'm going to defend the club I support.

It helps that I'm whiling away time and enjoy the distraction. None of my posts are intended to wind up, but there are some members of the board who're so bothered about a Newcastle fan posting on here that they'll follow them around trying to goad them into a response with juvenile "contributions" and threads tend to be derailed when that happens.

Reiver said:
So what are the sums involved?
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Did I ever once claim to know the exact figures, or did I use the deliberately vague "comparatively small"? I can't remember.

I just checked, and I used the vague term. It's super cool that you're trying to focus on small part of a broader point rather than have a conversation though. :lol:
 
The Fish said:
Did I ever once claim to know the exact figures, or did I use the deliberately vague "comparatively small"? I can't remember.

I just checked, and I used the vague term. It's super cool that you're trying to focus on small part of a broader point rather than have a conversation though. :lol:
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You called me a liar when I said you were just guessing at the figures.

I said that you have absolutely no idea what those figures are despite you making a specific point about them.

My original point is that not only do you not know 'the exact figures', you've actually no idea whatsoever what any of the figures are, not a clue.
 
The Fish said:
You've misunderstood, I think this board is a decent cross section of Sunderland fans, but there are is a section who're not interested in actual conversation with Newcastle fans because they're Newcastle fans. I've had good conversations on here and read some interesting points of view without commenting at all.

However, when ridiculous things are written about Newcastle United and it's fans, of course I'm going to defend the club I support.

It helps that I'm whiling away time and enjoy the distraction. None of my posts are intended to wind up, but there are some members of the board who're so bothered about a Newcastle fan posting on here that they'll follow them around trying to goad them into a response with juvenile "contributions" and threads tend to be derailed when that happens.
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Sorry, I don't buy what you're peddling and you haven't addressed my points that relate specifically to this thread and the comments you made, as highlighted. All you've done with this post is try a little bit of distraction, which was a pretty poor effort really. Come on, droning on about conversations in other threads is quite sad really. Honestly, I've never felt the need to used the ignore feature of this site, but I'm willing to make the exception for you. You've indicated that you're a very frustrated person. Honestly, if you've really got a lot of time to while-away then you should really find something more productive to do than sit trolling a rival team's message board, as that is quite sad. I suspect that it gives you a little thrill being on here, assuming a bit of a supercilious manner. If it makes you feel any better, you can know that I don't think you were worth the time I spent typing my comments about your posts.
 
Reiver said:
You called me a liar when I said you were just guessing at the figures.

I said that you have absolutely no idea what those figures are despite you making a specific point about them.

My original point is that not only do you not know 'the exact figures', you've actually no idea whatsoever what any of the figures are, not a clue.
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I called you a fibber when you stated as fact that my opinion was based purely on guesswork. It isn't based purely on guesswork.

I didn't claim to know the figures exactly, but I can surmise that in comparison to the actual transfer figure (his release clause) the figures that were holding up what should be a straightforward transfer would be comparatively small. Do you disagree with that point Reiver? I mean genuinely disagree rather than disagree for the fun of it?
 
Sunderland Surfer said:
Sorry, I don't buy what you're peddling and you haven't addressed my points that relate specifically to this thread and the comments you made, as highlighted. All you've done with this post is try a little bit of distraction, which was a pretty poor effort really. Come on, droning on about conversations in other threads is quite sad really. Honestly, I've never felt the need to used the ignore feature of this site, but I'm willing to make the exception for you. You've indicated that you're a very frustrated person. Honestly, if you've really got a lot of time to while-away then you should really find something more productive to do than sit trolling a rival team's message board, as that is quite sad. I suspect that it gives you a little thrill being on here, assuming a bit of a supercilious manner. If it makes you feel any better, you can know that I don't think you were worth the time I spent typing my comments about your posts.
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I'm going to skim past the needless ad hominem attacks and return to you first question, which I thought I answered.

In short this thread is about the club I support and it's manager. There are opinions being put forward that I disagree with. This being a message board rather than a notice board I have engaged in conversations with people who don't share my opinion. I wouldn't find a conversation with someone who agreed with me as interesting.

If your question boils down to "Why is a Newcastle fan on a Sunderland board?" the answer is; it's busy, there's often a conversation about Newcastle on here, the opinions are usually different to my own.

Hope that helps, feel free to click that ignore button if you want, it's literally no skin off my nose.
 
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