We'll fit someone in about 5 minutes before the transfer window shuts. Welcome to the club Craig - hope you are as decent as your name sake partnering you next season potentially.
If he is our only CB signing I will be massively underwhelmed. Slight improvement on what we have. 4 years on a 29 year old hmmm. Downed tools for a year and a half at Brom. Majority think he is on the slide and are happy with the deal. Really hope he proves them wrong. Paired with Cathcart they will do a job, don't expect pretty passing football from the back...
Well we get caught out so often trying to play out making efforts to avoid that might not be a bad thing.
Welcome to the club Craig! Happy enough with this, a definite upgrade on what we had last season in the same position
I wouldn't listen to west brom fans opinion of him. Admittedly he did request to leave a couple of times and may have downed tools a little, but they're clearly mainly bitter about it all. Most of the clearer headed fans seem to thing it's a steal. Re: downing of tools, just shows ambition to want to play premier League footy. There's not a lot of loyalty left in the game to stay with a relegated club.
Mixed emotions from baggies fans from ‘good riddance’ to ‘Watford have got a bargain’ but here’s one of the more sensible opinions which seems a fair summary: “Last season Craig Dawson was very inconsistent and on occasions, poor. I was disappointed in his attitude prior to the season and it obviously affected his performances. However, this doesn't alter the fact that he has given us excellent service over the years, both as a full back and a central defender. I always thought that his best position was in the middle of our defence and felt that we were more solid at the back with him in the side. Unfortunately, it is probably the right time for us to part company and wish him well for the future. As with everything, it is all a matter of opinion and I understand that not everybody will agree with me.”
So we shouldn’t listen to fans of the club he’s just left? Or the only ones we should listen to are the ones who have good things to say?
I see this as a "step in the right direction" type of signing. We are clearly weak in central defence and have been ever since we've been promoted. Britos and Prodl did a good job in the first season, and Prodl was PotS in the second season, but gradually they both faded, although Britos was very good in his cameo appearances last year. Mapps is only ever a back up player, but a very reliable one. We've had to use him far too much though and the flaws in his game get exposed if he's played too often. Kabs can look very decent, but he's got a rashness about him. He tends to panic and lunges in, giving away needless penalties or fouls in dangerous areas. That only really leaves Cathcart, who is certainly our most consistent performer, but even he is just an average EPL defender. Dawson is far more akin to Cathcart and better than other options we have from within the squad. He's also go leadership qualities. I think if we get a fully motivated Dawson, then he'll be very good for us. He's only just turned 29 so has plenty left in the tank. Sometimes a player can be at a club too long. He was at West Brom for 9 years and found himself in the Championship. That in itself can be demotivating. I'm hoping a move to a new club in higher league will inspire him to put in the type of performances that earned him rave reviews at his previous club. It's not lost on me that we've now got Foster and Dawson, two players who were mainstays in the West Brom defence that came bottom of the league in 2017-18. However, they only conceded 56 goals that season. Watford, by comparison, conceded 64. So it's clear, even though they went down, their defence was still pretty decent. For £5.5m, it's a no-brainer as far as I'm concerned. If it doesn't work out, I'm sure we can get most of our money back on him, but more optimistically, the extra mile Javi seems to get out of players tends to make me think we'll be seeing a much better version of Dawson than the Baggies' fans did last season. Now one more CB and a striker/wide player who can finish, then I think we're good to go next season.
If you read their comments, most of the negative ones say clearly wanted to go, past his best anyway. There are very few that just say he was past his best. All include something about him wanting out. I'll read into that what I will. You can read into it what you will.
Final piece of the jigsaw. A couple more signings and we will be ready. And if we don't get them, told you so.
Foster says he's the most professional person he's ever met which is exactly what we need. Puts his body (and more important head) in the way of everything. Looking at some of the insane prices going around this looks a bargain.
Mings or Dawson? For me Dawson is by far the better player. Value? 20m v 5m Can you believe this market? No wonder we are stocking up on teenagers in the hope that we don't have to buy big. This game must surely end in bankruptcy for some clubs!
The transfer fee for Mings was clearly inflated, compared to his ability right now. Dawson is probably lower than it should be, and that's down to his being in the last year of his contract. I'd say Mings should be around £10-12m, because of his age and still has some potential, and Dawson should be around £10m, which would be fair for a player of his experience. The fact we paid £5m less and Villa paid around double what he's worth, is testament to how the owners for both clubs do their business. Villa ARE a big club, so have pressure to splash a bit of cash just to announce to everyone "we're back". Apparently Villa spent £26m on the transfer, which is ludicrous. Mings has had two major injuries. Had a back problem which kept him out for 8 months, then torn knee ligaments which kept him out for 13 months. I think Mings is a solid enough signing for Villa, but if I had to choice of the two, then I'd go for Dawson personally. Let's face it, Bournemouth, who have a defence even more leaky than ours, don't want him. That tells you everything you need to know.
It's impossible to say who is worth what these days. If the owners can afford it it becomes irrelevant. If Maguire will be sold for c£80m/£90m then you could argue Mings is worth £20m. Bottom line is, if someone is prepared to pay that fee then the player is worth it in their eyes. Prices Gino out of the market though.
It depends on how weathly the owner is and how he has funded his investment ie capital or repayable loans. If it's loans then there's a potential issue if the seller wants the loans repaid when he sells. Otherwise it's just an issue for relegated clubs who have to adapt their cost base in The Champ or bet everything on a return to the prem rather than cutting costs (yes Simpson, that includes you....).
We'll get more of an idea as to whether that is true next season. The only major concern for Mings is his injury history, but if he puts those behind him then he could still justify the extra cost; for one thing he is three years younger than Dawson, and likely still has his best years ahead. I agree that our subsequent policy of stocking up on teeneagers does make sense though.
I don’t think it is impossible and it’s quite right for fans to speculate who is or isn’t worth their transfer fee. You’re right in that their is no immediate proof though.
Fans can speculate as much as they like but it depends on the frame of reference. If Maguire is worth £90m, Mings is worth £20m. If Dawson is worth £5m, Mings isn't worth £20m. Mings may be worth £20m to a moneybags club like Villa but not worth £2om of our transfer kitty etc.
Yes I know. But you can judge each deal on its own merits rather comparing every deal against one another. Mings could well turn out to be a good deal. But the details as they are right now, and the issues the player has had, it looks to most I would say that Villa have paid over the odds.
To say they have overspent, you have to be comparing it with something ! There is no pricelist. What do you think he is worth and how do you arrive at that price ? Who else should they have bought for £20m who is available and better ? Is he not worth 1/4 of Maguire ? Or do you mean that Muff would have sold him for £10m had Villa just offered a lower sum ? Bottom line is that player prices are going up 25-50% each year.
I believe that £25m for a player who has played 20 PL games in over 3 years, has only played a handful of career games as a CB (most of which came in a lower league) and had had 2 recent serious injuries is too much. I’m basing it on the circumstances. Not against what other clubs have paid for other players.
How can you not compare it to the other transfers to arrive at your conclusion? A transfer fee is meaningless in a vacuum.
