Paddy McCourt plus A.N Other was at the game tonight

[wehatepalace]

I can only assume that none of you moaners have actually seen McCourt play.

The guy is a quality winger with some serious skill and a bit of pace.
Played a lot of games for that crappy Scottish side, Celtic I think they are called, oh and 14 times for his country.

No, why would we want him?

Let WB stay, so that you can whinge a bit more.

FFS, its like the Priestfield and the Withdean never happened.

Reality check please, supporting this club is FUN now.

So good he was about to sign for Bury, and please don't compare the BHA of 2014 to the Withdean years, its a completely different club, back then we were trading water, just trying to survive, if we have aspirations of improving on our current level, players like this are not the way forward.
If Tony Bloom came out and said, "we've reached our level, and we're happy to stay here" then fine, but we are constantly told we're Premier League Ready" and that our ultimate aim is to get promoted, but having sold or released over £20m worth of players and then replacing them with cheap offcasts is not going to get us there.

 

[Grombleton]

Well the summary in my eyes is, we may have now, 2 players coming in from relegated Barnsley, some guy nobody knows from Grasshoppers Zurich, Hughes, who looks at best, not bad so far.

Not good reading so far for a club that has sold (inc. Buckley) the best part of £14m ish. We have spent all summer waiting and waiting and it's all a bit late to be trying to help a squad together. We should have been doing that a long while ago

The bit that I take solace from is: we're not alone. I'd hazard a guess that all bar a couple of teams in this division are still needing players and are in the same position as us. If everyone else had 'complete' squads (if such a thing exists) and we hadn't then yes, that'd be a worry - but up until the close of the window there's going to be business going on.
We don't know how many people we're negotiating with, or how many players we've bid for - the Clayton saga has shown how complicated a transfer can be and how many different variables there are to have right. I genuinely don't think Bloom & Burke are sitting around playing Fifa rather than making calls and negotiating, but the players that will bring real quality to our squad probably have other options - some with better geography for the player than us, some with more money, some with more guarantees over playing time etc.
Yes, we've got the money - but it doesn't mean we need to go and splash that money about. It's also a negative thing to have in some cases: clubs know we got 8m for Ulloa, so if we go for a player they know we're monied and therefore we may end up paying a premium for the player.

Is it an ideal situation? I don't think anyone will say "yes" to that, but it just isn't as black and white as some people make it out to be.

 

[brighton_girl87]

I don't see anything wrong with taking the guy on trial, we aren't forced to sign him up after.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

As posted on these very pages last week, Paddy McCourt is on trial with us this week.

That he popped along to see the game should not be much of a surprise to anyone.

2 Albion related articles in The Argus today , one revealed on NSC last week and the other reported in the Irish Evening Herald yesterday.

 

[Hyperion]

The bit that I take solace from is: we're not alone. I'd hazard a guess that all bar a couple of teams in this division are still needing players and are in the same position as us. If everyone else had 'complete' squads (if such a thing exists) and we hadn't then yes, that'd be a worry - but up until the close of the window there's going to be business going on.
We don't know how many people we're negotiating with, or how many players we've bid for - the Clayton saga has shown how complicated a transfer can be and how many different variables there are to have right. I genuinely don't think Bloom & Burke are sitting around playing Fifa rather than making calls and negotiating, but the players that will bring real quality to our squad probably have other options - some with better geography for the player than us, some with more money, some with more guarantees over playing time etc.
Yes, we've got the money - but it doesn't mean we need to go and splash that money about. It's also a negative thing to have in some cases: clubs know we got 8m for Ulloa, so if we go for a player they know we're monied and therefore we may end up paying a premium for the player.

Is it an ideal situation? I don't think anyone will say "yes" to that, but it just isn't as black and white as some people make it out to be.

I was certainly not suggesting we "splash" the cash.

I also don't expect us to have a "complete" squad, of course there is business yet to be done.

We have however failed to secure anything near the quality we have lost since January.

 

[minkymorgan]

positives = He has more footballing talent than any of the current BHA squad ,can beat players easily & not with pace just pure skill , can see a defence splitting pass & execute it , negatives = he is inconsistent ,injury prone & cant play for more than 60 minutes. Anyone who remembers the Barnsley game at the amex last year knows he completely ran the show . you tube his name & check some of the goals he has scored

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

positives = He has more footballing talent than any of the current BHA squad ,can beat players easily & not with pace just pure skill , can see a defence splitting pass & execute it , negatives = he is inconsistent ,injury prone & cant play for more than 60 minutes. Anyone who remembers the Barnsley game at the amex last year knows he completely ran the show . you tube his name & check some of the goals he has scored

Hi Paddy

 

[Change at Barnham]

We have limited funds and want to get the best value for money. It's like shopping in the week before Christmas at the moment when everyone charges the top prices. Whereas if we wait until just before the transfer window closes we will be in a very strong position with funds available and other clubs needing to off load players from their wages bills.
By holding our nerve and not spending our kitty now means we can shop at John Lewis and Waitrose instead of Matalan and Lidl.

I fully expect Tony Bloom to get best value for his money. He's not going to show any nerves or weakness when waiting for the right moment to buy. He will want the club to succeed more than any supporter on NSC.

 

[daveyboy1973]

so good he was about to sign for bury, and please don't compare the bha of 2014 to the withdean years, its a completely different club, back then we were trading water, just trying to survive, if we have aspirations of improving on our current level, players like this are not the way forward.
If tony bloom came out and said, "we've reached our level, and we're happy to stay here" then fine, but we are constantly told we're premier league ready" and that our ultimate aim is to get promoted, but having sold or released over £20m worth of players and then replacing them with cheap offcasts is not going to get us there.

spot on!!!

 

[WhingForPresident]

I can only assume that none of you moaners have actually seen McCourt play.

The guy is a quality winger with some serious skill and a bit of pace.
Played a lot of games for that crappy Scottish side, Celtic I think they are called, oh and 14 times for his country.

No, why would we want him?

Let WB stay, so that you can whinge a bit more.

FFS, its like the Priestfield and the Withdean never happened.

Reality check please, supporting this club is FUN now.

Quality winger? So the stats that say he got 0 assists and 2 goals in 23 games last season are misleading? Or the 66 appearances over FIVE YEARS for Celtic?

Shove your 'waah we used to play at Priestfield we lost our ground boohoo'. That's ancient history now and using it as an excuse to not progress and to not expect better is pathetic.

 

[British Bulldog]

positives = He has more footballing talent than any of the current BHA squad ,can beat players easily & not with pace just pure skill , can see a defence splitting pass & execute it , negatives = he is inconsistent ,injury prone & cant play for more than 60 minutes. Anyone who remembers the Barnsley game at the amex last year knows he completely ran the show . you tube his name & check some of the goals he has scored

Ideal replacement for Orlandi then.

 

[Charlies Shinpad]

If he is better than Kemy (good riddance to bad rubbish )then I will be happy

 

[Postman Pat]

If he's championship quality then why hasn't he been snapped up by other clubs?quality players don't go on trial's at clubs do they?
Wasn't he tipped for bury recently?

Why hasn't Tomasz Kuszczak signed for anyone yet? He is premier league quality according to some.

He was linked to Bury because David Flitcroft is manager there, and he was his manager at Barnsley, press putting 2+2 together.

If the club have a look at him and Sami thinks he will improve the squad then so be it, if not he'll be released.

 

[sllugaes]

Paddy i believe would be a great asset.
Appears to possess a natural gift of beating a man with his dribbling ability. Yes maybe inconsistent as reported, but the type of player we are crying out for. Would be protected by ince, crofts or Toko.
Yes he scored two against us last year, but it was his general all round play that impressed me, appeared really creative, as i say had ability to beat a player and probe forward that i liked. Instead of keep ball in midfield that we tend to play. Could unlock the key for o'grady/CMS!

 

[Surf's Up]

If he's championship quality then why hasn't he been snapped up by other clubs?quality players don't go on trial's at clubs do they?
Wasn't he tipped for bury recently?

To answer your first point, I suspect he hasn't been snapped up primarily because of his inconsistency and the fact that he drifts in and out of games so would be seen as a luxury player in a league where most teams require players to flog themselves senseless for 95 minutes per game and a higher premium is placed on industry rather than skill. No doubting his skill and ability though.

 

[The Brighton Buzz]

To answer your first point, I suspect he hasn't been snapped up primarily because of his inconsistency and the fact that he drifts in and out of games so would be seen as a luxury player in a league where most teams require players to flog themselves senseless for 95 minutes per game and a higher premium is placed on industry rather than skill. No doubting his skill and ability though.

Ideal replacement for Buckley then and we make some money

 

[Dorset Seagull]

So good he was about to sign for Bury, and please don't compare the BHA of 2014 to the Withdean years, its a completely different club, back then we were trading water, just trying to survive, if we have aspirations of improving on our current level, players like this are not the way forward.
If Tony Bloom came out and said, "we've reached our level, and we're happy to stay here" then fine, but we are constantly told we're Premier League Ready" and that our ultimate aim is to get promoted, but having sold or released over £20m worth of players and then replacing them with cheap offcasts is not going to get us there.

Maybe we are taking a Moneyball approach which could well work if the backroom team are doing their job properly. If this is the case then I wouldn't expect this to be advertised to the fan base as has been seen most would probably have a negative view of this as a strategy

 

[dingodan]

We are obviously just saving up for that £12M player we are after.

...Right?

 

[Bean]

We have limited funds and want to get the best value for money. It's like shopping in the week before Christmas at the moment when everyone charges the top prices. Whereas if we wait until just before the transfer window closes we will be in a very strong position with funds available and other clubs needing to off load players from their wages bills.
By holding our nerve and not spending our kitty now means we can shop at John Lewis and Waitrose instead of Matalan and Lidl.

I fully expect Tony Bloom to get best value for his money. He's not going to show any nerves or weakness when waiting for the right moment to buy. He will want the club to succeed more than any supporter on NSC.

Do we have limited funds though? With Buckley now gone we have recieved £15m+ in transfer fees since January. Even keeping FFP in consideration there is some money there to play with surely.

 

[fat old seagull]

F@ck me, we are in a serious mess financially if this is the type of player we're signing !

Well no offence, but I'll pass on the offer. That said, I have to agree its somewhat less of a talent than I had been hoping was about to arrive.