[Albion] Knockaert joins Fulham on initial one-year loan

[Nixonator]

It looks like they have already replaced him with Trossard. Solly and Ali J will be his on pitch replacements.

The money saved on wages can be put to use in other areas. Judging by the rumours this will be CF and DM. Plus we need a new RB.

Hayden and Maupay, plus another, would be my guess.

Isaac Hayden and Maupay? Are you serious?

Our first 11 and squad will be weaker than in previous seasons.

 

[kevo]

I don't think he was a 'winger' as such. He lined up on the left of a front 3 (as he used to when playing in Holland, I recall reading). It's just that with Hughton's defensive minded approach, he was forced to track back and it made it look like he was a winger.

Yes and now we are losing AK when our other actual wingers are out we may see that again, even though it was pretty much a disaster.

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

When was that, at home to MK dons or in a pre-season friendly v Norwich 5-6 years ago?

I love Solly by the way.

Solly March is a decent player and a team man. I wouldn’t say he’s a game changer type. Although over the course of 150 odd appearances I dare say there are one or two examples

You asked how many of our players have it in them. Solly March does.

 

[kevo]

Knocky and Bruno had a real chemistry thing going on there. On its day, that overlapping combo down the right was an absolute joy to watch

Agreed.

 

[Guinness Boy]

If Potter decided he wasn't good enough yet, then I suggest we'd tell him he didn't do as well in his first season as we'd all hoped, and he's not going to be in the squad of 25 for the first half of the season, and that it would be a good idea for him to go on loan to a Championship side with the hope he rejoins us at the winter break. Plenty of Championship clubs would be interested.

So I'll just take this point because you'll keep on multi-quoting till a week on Tuesday. When we were origianlly rumoured to be interested in Jahanbakhsh we were the only English side linked and he wasn't interested in playing in The Championship.

A loan back to Holland might be more likely but even so he's a record signing with a 5 year contract. As much as I don't rate him he has to be given a chance under Potter. Nothing else makes sense. We'll know by Christmas whether he's really any good or not.

 

[Stat Brother]

Knocky and Bruno had a real chemistry thing going on there. On its day, that overlapping combo down the right was an absolute joy to watch

That it was, as it was with Calde and Buckley before them and will be again with x & y.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Only another three weeks and it all kicks off

 

[blue-shifted]

It looks like they have already replaced him with Trossard. Solly and Ali J will be his on pitch replacements.

The money saved on wages can be put to use in other areas. Judging by the rumours this will be CF and DM. Plus we need a new RB.

Hayden and Maupay, plus another, would be my guess.

We need to keep in mind two things. We survived last season by the skin of our teeth. Our rivals are strengthening.

We cannot afford to go into the season with a weaker squad than we finished the last.

You could argue Trossard for Knocky is about a fair swap. Maybe it is, but we now have a massive liability on Trossard not getting up to speed quickly, or (not being as good as we hoped) and/or dips in form or injuries for Solly. Selling Knocky seems to me like we're banking on Ali J hitting the ground running this season. What a colossal gamble

 

[Triggaaar]

So we just top up his wages without being contractually obliged to do so

Sorry what? Whose wages have been topped up?

each new contract has to be negotiated

Yes.

the only thing that has been guaranteed by his previous contract would be that his wages would match that of the new signing

No, that's not how it works. A new contract is just that. It's all up for negotiation, and previous contracts guarantee nothing. Sure, a player with a highest earner clause in their existing contract is in a good bargaining position when it comes to the new contract, but not more than that.

you would imagine the club trying to get such a clause removed

I'd imagine the club not giving one in the first place.

equally Dunks agent would refuse, the common ground being a long contract, Dunk remains on a par with any incoming player, we secure our most valuable asset for a longer term ensuring a good return can be made if he is sold.

If Dunk wasn't on a highest earner clause, then it wouldn't make sense to give him that just in return for 1 more year on his contract. That would be terrible negotiating. If he was already on a highest earner clause, then this wouldn't happen...

If Dunk refuses the new contract and is no longer highest earner that is his perogative

Only if he never had the highest earner clause.

In your opinion a defender shouldn't be the best player for anyone but top few clubs and certainly not for a championship club aiming for the premier league where they will sign better players, yet here we are in our 3rd season in the premier league and that championship defender is still our best player.

No, not quite. There's a couple of points: 1) a defender might be your best player, but defenders do not get paid as much as forwards on average. So the best defender in a bottom half club wouldn't necessarily get paid more than a decent striker in the bottom half. 2) Although you might not have an excellent forward in your team, that doesn't mean you won't want to bring one in at some point, and when you do, they'll be expensive. You won't want to have to increase payments for other members of the squad to match.

Maguire appears to be Leicesters

I think Maguire earns about £45k a week, and there's been talk of Leicester offering him £75k to stay. Meanwhile Vardy earns about £120,000. Although you say Maguire is better, you should realise that strikers get paid more.

Knockys bargaining position had never been better, dont believe the club acting humanely over the death of his father would even be a cosideration for his agent

The club weren't going to say 'look mate, his dad died so he ain't gonna go' The simple fact is, he was really happy here and didn't want to go. The club wouldn't have believed it if he (or his agent) had said he's going if there's not a highest earner clause. And he was under contract anyway, so he couldn't go.

he had already had an offer from Newcastle the previous summer, who were of course joining us in the Premier league and of course others would have been interested in the championship pots

So having just won promotion with us, and been offered a pay-rise, he was going to say 'no thanks, I'm off to a Championship squad'? He wasn't going anywhere.

 

[LamieRobertson]

That it was, as it was with Calde and Buckley before them and will be again with x & y.

Personally I never saw that combo as good...and hey AK’s move has only just happened allow people a little bit of grieving time eh

 

[blue-shifted]

You asked how many of our players have it in them. Solly March does.

That was a terrific hit, and i'm a Solly fan, but it's hard to say he has it in him when he has only scored, I think, 2 goals like that in his career

 

[Stat Brother]

Personally I never saw that combo as good...and hey AK’s move has only just happened allow people a little bit of grieving time eh

Bloody hell in my day that would be 'wet lettuce' territory, I guess now anyone requiring grieving time is a snowflake.

 

[Stat Brother]

That was a terrific hit, and i'm a Solly fan, but it's hard to say he has it in him when he has only scored, I think, 2 goals like that in his career

I'm sure Solly has some kind of 'final third' mental block.

If Potty can unlock that he'll be amazing.
If he can't, with all his qualifications in 'talking to people and stuff' Solly will never be as good as his potential.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Bloody hell in my day that would be 'wet lettuce' territory, I guess now anyone requiring grieving time is a snowflake.

Lol...you know exactly what I mean...we all ..well most of us become attached to a player ..never take the emotion out of the game

 

[Whitechapel]

Fulham to score 90+ league goals is 14/1 on Skybet. 100+ goals is 150/1.

LUMP.

 

[Triggaaar]

So I'll just take this point because you'll keep on multi-quoting till a week on Tuesday.

FFS, first you complain that I haven't quoted your entire post in one of my replies, so then after I reply to all your points in your next post you complain I'm quoting too much
And also after complaining that I selected just part of your post, you're doing the same thing.

When we were origianlly rumoured to be interested in Jahanbakhsh we were the only English side linked and he wasn't interested in playing in The Championship.

It doesn't matter that he wasn't interest in playing in the Championship. If our manager thinks he's not good enough for our team yet, he should go out on loan. Maybe the manager thinks he's as good or Knocky, or might be as good, so worth giving more time. But if the manager thinks he's not as good as Knocky, then I don't think keeping him and letting AK go is a good idea.

 

[DavePage]

Sad to see a star go, as it always is.
He has served the club well but so have the club served him well along with the tremendous support from his teammates through his troubled times.
The bond that was formed at the time of his father dying made we feel at the time, he would only ever leave by retiring from football.
His temperament has of late been frustrating to watch, but isn't that the temperament of any genius?
The apparent greed that he shows with holding on to the ball or not passing to someone in a better position is only because of his inner belief that he will score that Palace goal with every attempt he makes.
That inner belief will come to fruition once again against lower opposition, each time it does we will point the finger and say that should have been with us.
The Premier League is a completely different ball game, with no one outside the top six guaranteed a future in that division. You could say looking at Chelsea and Manchester United last year at times, maybe they were not guaranteed either are it not for the lack of ability of the teams below them.
It's a hard division to play in, it's hard to see a star leave, but the team must come first. This year the Palace goal would not happen, VAR would have him off in the first couple of minutes. We as a team cannot afford to play games without the full compliment. (we struggled last year with the full team).
Unfortunately AK is not the only player with that borderline, potential sending off tackle that they don't seem to be able to control (all or nothing I guess).
So good luck Anthony, go tear the Championship a new AH, enjoy your football again, but always remember you are part of our family.

 

[BensGrandad]

No further news or confirmation if this transfer yet.

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

We need to keep in mind two things. We survived last season by the skin of our teeth. Our rivals are strengthening.

We cannot afford to go into the season with a weaker squad than we finished the last.

You could argue Trossard for Knocky is about a fair swap. Maybe it is, but we now have a massive liability on Trossard not getting up to speed quickly, or (not being as good as we hoped) and/or dips in form or injuries for Solly. Selling Knocky seems to me like we're banking on Ali J hitting the ground running this season. What a colossal gamble

What’s to stop Trossard being as abysmal as Alireza, as inconsistent as March, as injured as Izquierdo? Seems like a lot is resting on him hitting the ground running, meanwhile Alireza ‘deserves’ a season under Potter, yet Knockaert doesn’t? I’m thoroughly confused by our approach thus far, we’ve not strengthened any of our glaringly obvious weaknesses, though we have been treated to the annual Paul Barber sound bite about the costs of players, whilst letting an asset go for beer money. As it stands, is out first XI or match day squad actually any better than the one that fortuitously survived relegation?

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

Sad to see a star go, as it always is.
He has served the club well but so have the club served him well along with the tremendous support from his teammates through his troubled times.
The bond that was formed at the time of his father dying made we feel at the time, he would only ever leave by retiring from football.
His temperament has of late been frustrating to watch, but isn't that the temperament of any genius?
The apparent greed that he shows with holding on to the ball or not passing to someone in a better position is only because of his inner belief that he will score that Palace goal with every attempt he makes.
That inner belief will come to fruition once again against lower opposition, each time it does we will point the finger and say that should have been with us.
The Premier League is a completely different ball game, with no one outside the top six guaranteed a future in that division. You could say looking at Chelsea and Manchester United last year at times, maybe they were not guaranteed either are it not for the lack of ability of the teams below them.
It's a hard division to play in, it's hard to see a star leave, but the team must come first. This year the Palace goal would not happen, VAR would have him off in the first couple of minutes. We as a team cannot afford to play games without the full compliment. (we struggled last year with the full team).
Unfortunately AK is not the only player with that borderline, potential sending off tackle that they don't seem to be able to control (all or nothing I guess).
So good luck Anthony, go tear the Championship a new AH, enjoy your football again, but always remember you are part of our family.

We beat Palace last season with 10 men.