Watching Mæhle have a stormer tonight got me thinking what a blinding team we’d have if we’d landed some old the players we were in for over the last few years. In addition to Mæhle, off the top of my head, I can think of Robertson, Ziyech, Kalvin Phillips.

What’s the best 11 you can think of made up of players we had more than a passing interest in?

Beardsley and Essien have to be on the side.

Ashley (not too) Young and Jesse (not good enough for us) Lingard.

If we are stretching to loans then we could have Kane and Wilshire.

PremierLeagueClass wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 21, 2021 9:54 pm

Watching Mæhle have a stormer tonight got me thinking what a blinding team we’d have if we’d landed some old the players we were in for over the last few years. In addition to Mæhle, off the top of my head, I can think of Robertson, Ziyech, Kalvin Phillips.

What’s the best 11 you can think of made up of players we had more than a passing interest in?

I can't recall Mæhle but there were very definite links with the other three. There was even an article written for Robertson in January 2017, I was convinced he was going to sign.

Lansbury

Was Che Adams not close to signing for us that January from Birmingham?

I'm sure I've heard it before but can someone remind me of the Essien link?

Personally I think he's one of the best players in Premier League history (because football started in 1992)

jedi_master wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 22, 2021 1:42 pm

Was Che Adams not close to signing for us that January from Birmingham?

Che Adams was another on our apparent radar along with Kalvin Phillips however we just fell short of what the selling club wanted....

MG made a very good job of telling everyone we were in for these players and had decent bids in, but sadly they never materialised.
Just part of his smoke and mirrors act IMO.

He was very good at blowing his own trumpet and going public on the things he wanted people to hear and get excited about, but very rarely delivered on those words.

the_fat_shearer wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 22, 2021 1:43 pm

I'm sure I've heard it before but can someone remind me of the Essien link?

Personally I think he's one of the best players in Premier League history (because football started in 1992)

There isn't an Essien link at all - he trained with us for a few days through a favour to a Burnley fan before he returned home. I think he'd been at Man U and he was staying at the hotel run by said Burnley fan. But there really isn't a link.

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 22, 2021 1:49 pm

There isn't an Essien link at all - he trained with us for a few days through a favour to a Burnley fan before he returned home. I think he'd been at Man U and he was staying at the hotel run by said Burnley fan. But there really isn't a link.

Ah. Makes sense.

Thanks

MACCA wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 22, 2021 1:48 pm

Che Adams was another on our apparent radar along with Kalvin Phillips however we just fell short of what the selling club wanted....

MG made a very good job of telling everyone we were in for these players and had decent bids in, but sadly they never materialised.
Just part of his smoke and mirrors act IMO.

He was very good at blowing his own trumpet and going public on the things he wanted people to hear and get excited about, but very rarely delivered on those words.

Yeah he was a master of trickery, he'd purposely bid low for the ''at least we tried'' ''we were close but it didnt happen'' stuff. I remember we bid a decent chunk for Deeney £8M? We didn't get Deeney, that money didn't get spent elsewhere either, we ended up with Marvin Sordell, Steven Reid, Matty Taylor and Jutkiewicz

So we bid £20M for Phillips supposedly, it didn't happen and what happened to that money? we saved it for the takeover and bought Dale Stephens for a minimal fraction of the cost in the following summer? Smoke and mirrors at it's finest

KRBFC wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 22, 2021 1:54 pm

Yeah he was a master of trickery, he'd purposely bid low for the ''at least we tried'' ''we were close but it didnt happen'' stuff. I remember we bid a decent chunk for Deeney £8M? We didn't get Deeney, that money didn't get spent elsewhere either, we ended up with Marvin Sordell, Steven Reid, Matty Taylor and Jutkiewicz

So we bid £20M for Phillips supposedly, it didn't happen and what happened to that money? we saved it for the takeover and bought Dale Stephens for a minimal fraction of the cost in the following summer? Smoke and mirrors at it's finest

Yep, we bid upto 20m for Phillip's, didnt land him, but got Drinkwater on a free instead, then the money disappeared....

Burnley bid in excess of 12m for Adam's in Jan 19, we fall short, get nobody then the money disappears, but dont worry Season tickets were frozen..

Absolute master at pulling the wool over peoples eyes, the charlatan.

The crazy thing is people believed it several times in a row, obviously him being a "massive fan" suckered a few in and bought him time.
I doubt a foreigner wiuod have got away with it so many times.

MACCA wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 22, 2021 2:09 pm

Yep, we bid upto 20m for Phillip's, didnt land him, but got Drinkwater on a free instead, then the money disappeared....

Burnley bid in excess of 12m for Adam's in Jan 19, we fall short, get nobody then the money disappears, but dknt worry Season tickets were frozen..

Absolute master at pulling the wool over peoples eyes, the charlatan.

didn't we bid for Adams and end up with Crouch on a free transfer? or is that a different window
We bid £10M for Harry Wilson in the summer and ended up with no1 and desperately short.

KRBFC wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 22, 2021 2:10 pm

didn't we bid for Adams and end up with Crouch on a free transfer? or is that a different window
We bid £10M for Harry Wilson in the summer and ended up with no1 and desperately short.

Different window.

They all twine into 1, they were that comical, it was like ground hog day.
"We aim to finish every window stronger than we start it" was one of his favourite lines, but it appeared many confused his words with the playing side rather than the bank balance.

Thankfully Mr Dyche was a miracle worker and still could work with 1 hand tied behind his back.

Were we ever linked with Vardy ?

Ole Gunnar Solksjaer

I remember (though I cannot find a single link online to back my memory up) that Steve Cotterill made an audacious attempt to sign Craig Bellamy on loan.

I cannot remember when, he referred to it as a punt and a “why not ask the question” at the time. Not suggesting for a second it was close!

Please somebody stand this one up or am I losing my mind?

Who were the two lads we failed to get work permits for - Luton Shelton and the guy who scored direct from a corner against us. Think he played for West Brom at one point.

Fretters wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 22, 2021 10:18 pm

Who were the two lads we failed to get work permits for - Luton Shelton and the guy who scored direct from a corner against us. Think he played for West Brom at one point.

I don't think he scored from a corner but he scored a stunning goal against us down at the Hawthorns in 2003. He's called Artim Sakiri.

ClaretTony wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 22, 2021 10:23 pm

I don't think he scored from a corner but he scored a stunning goal against us down at the Hawthorns in 2003. He's called Artim Sakiri.

That's him. Just checked, the direct corner goal was against England.