Nile Ranger looking good, but can he step up to Premier League level?

Posted on July 22nd, 2010 | 151 Comments |

Can he kick it? Errm...
Can he kick it? Errm...
Nile Ranger has returned to pre-season with a bang, scoring two goals in two games, but does he have what it takes to step up to life in the Premier League?

It seems like a lot of our squad have a point to prove this season.

Whether that point is proving that they are good enough to not get relegated again or to prove that they can actually play at the highest level, they all have something to prove to the fans, and most importantly, to themselves.

One of the players who is looking to establish himself is Nile Ranger, who has been chirping on today about how he relishing the opportunity of testing himself at the highest domestic level and how he is here because he wants to play, not because he wants to make up the numbers.

I personally have reservations about him. I don’t doubt his work ethic on the pitch, and I don’t doubt his ability as such, but I do have concerns over whether or not he can do the thing that strikers are paid to do – put the ball in the back of the net.

Having said that though, I feel a bit of perspective is needed. Ranger, in fairness, hasn’t really had that many minutes on the pitch. Most of his appearances have been as a substitute, apart from at the start of last season where he found himself starting due to injury within the squad. But the stats will reveal that he only scored two goals, which isn’t enough.

Now don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t expecting him to bang twenty goals in, in fact I wasn’t expecting any set number goals from him as he is still learning, but what concerns me is the fact he seems a little ‘shot-shy’. I think you all know what I mean, but just in case you don’t I will try and cliche it – If you don’t buy a ticket, you won’t win the raffle.

Basically, he can hold the ball up, find a team-mate with a pass, chase things down etc etc, but when he gets into those key positions he seems to want to find a team-mate rather than having a shot at goal himself, which isn’t a bad thing if it is done at the right times.

Perhaps it is just me being greedy as I used to be a striker many many moons ago and always looked to get a shot away. Granted I was playing at a significantly slightly lower level than Ranger is, but I still reckon there is some validity in my approach.

Can Ranger make the step up?

Well if he can improve his goalscoring then I don’t see why not. Ranger is a raw talent and hasn’t really had that much exposure to first-team football. We have all seen he has some ability, but he needs to hone those skills and continue his improvement through first-team football.

Two goals in two games would suggest he is beginning to do this, although with respect to Carlisle and Celtic reserves, I am sure there will be tougher challenges ahead.

NUFCBlog Author: toonsy toonsy has written 643 articles on this blog.

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151 Responses

  3. What was the score from that Celtic Reserve friendly? Was it actually Celtic Reserves or Boro? (It’s like Clark Kent and Superman is it not?)

  4. Agree with you Toonsy mate.

    I remember Ranger banging in 20 plus goals in the reserves for us in the season prior to his 1st team call up but he has been very shot-shy since then.

    He’s got bags of potential and I agree his workrate has already turned him into a crowd favourite since he broke on to the scene.

    He just needs more time on the pitch I think to learn how to keep his head under pressure and get the best out of the obvious natural skill he has.

    Getting him to work with a seasoned, professional striker could do wonders for him with their guidance.

    Maybe u should give him a bell eh Toonsy?

  5. The lad has shown he has bags of talent. I think last season when he was shoved in at the deep end he was a bit overwhelmed by it all, a bit low on confidence. The season before for the reserves and England under19s he was banging them in for fun. There’s a lot more to come but we need to play him – certainly ahead of Best and probably Shola. I understand there are reservations about his temperament but that appears to be off the pitch – never seen it on it.

  6. Ranger has shown he has bags of talent. I think last season when he was shoved in at the deep end he was a bit overwhelmed by it all, a bit low on confidence. The season before for the reserves and England under19s he was banging them in for fun. There’s a lot more to come but we need to play him – certainly ahead of Best and probably Shola. I understand there are reservations about his temperament but that appears to be off the pitch – never seen it on it.

  8. Shearer saw something in Ranger when he was manager and last season there was glimpses of a player beyond his years. The way he holds up the ball is exceptional (better than any of our other strikers), the only thing he needs to add to his game is goals which will come just like they did with Carroll in the second half of last season.

    Would like to see him go out on loan to get games because i doubt Hughton will put him on ahead of Best and Shola :(

  9. He’s shown he has talent, but needs playing time outside the reserves to hone his skills. If he’s not going to get it here, then a loan it is. Just send him somewhere where there’s nothing to do and the club can keep an eye on him…

  10. SD75 – 3-3 against a Celtic XI behind closed doors. Ranger got one, Airey got the other two.

  11. I would play Ranger ahead of Best every time. He can do everything Best can do including hold the ball up, (he has built himself up abit aswell by the way), but he can chase long hopefull balls aswell that Best and Ameobi don’t even bother with. All in all most oposition teams haven’t enjoyed playing against Ranger so what does that tell you.

  12. Ranger is one of the best up and coming talents we have at the club, just behind Vuckic. He should have been given the game time last season, not supplanted by that useless lump Best. If he had played more regularly and consistently started, you would have seen more goals. Lets not forget that the current flavour of the months and new number 9 barely scored any in the first half of the season, as well as the fact that a number of Ranger’s starts, such as the Cardiff away match where he was superb, he was playing up front by himself, which isn’t a task that is envied given our utterly paceless centre midfielders.

    He should be our third choice striker. Shola has proven he is average at best, Best is lousy and Xisco shouldn’t be given another chance after admitting that he faked an injury.

  13. From what I have heard his attitude/professionalism isn’t the best. The reason he didn’t get much game time last season wasn’t to do with ability – more to do with frequently being late for training etc.

  14. SD- 3-3 against Sheltic. And aye, boro might aswell change their name to “old firm FC”…currently 8 out of their 11 starters i think it is, are ex old firm.

  16. Bowburn-just reminded me there actually, haha. Ranger should stay with us, I dont want to see him going on loan to another PL club, i’ll actually be quite annoyed if he does. A top flight CCC club then fine but I dont want to see him going to the likes of Blackpool.

  17. Whilst I reckon theres a lot of promise with Ranger I dont think he’d be ready for the premiership just yet and certainly he hasnt done anything to warrent a place ahead of Shola as some have stated. Let him go to a CCC club where he will start week in week out and see how he does then – remember the lads only just gone 19

  18. i have been saying that airey ferguson and we all no about vuckic.will make it big time. but airey was playing at the back for us last seson until they moved him upfront dont now by choice or we got lucky. but this kid is so raw.he could be anything.he could be the shock of players playing for us this year.i beleive he could play right now.

  19. I saw Ranger against Plymouth in the FA cup, as RLTR says he can really hold the ball up well but with the style of play we had away there wasn’t anyone to pass it to. I think in a more ball playing team he would be fantastic, stick him out to Swansea or even Forest on loan I’m sure he’d do well, even if only for a 6 month period.

  20. Airey looks to small, too lightweight to me. If he could bulk up a bit then yeh, why not.

  21. looks strong and pacey to me! toonsy both footed and direct lightweight watch him play u wont be saying that toonsy.

  22. Yep, I’d agree with Toonsy regarding Airey judging by the few games I’ve watched. Mind you, he’s quick and knows where the goal is. As a striker, sometimes that’s all you need, so who knows?

  24. Aiery is class. My dad even said he was super fast and he must be to get praise of me fatha like!

  25. Different gravy though, running away from kids vs running away from seasoned pro’s who will knock you off the ball and use any old trick to do it. Pace is good to have, but I still think he needs to bulk up particularly upper body so he can hold people off at least until the point where he can use his pace to eradicate the out of the equation.

  26. Keep Ranger don’t send him out to some hockle yockle club.

    Ranger vs. Bramble next season only one winner.

  27. Remember tho he’s still just a kid. He will build up over time, every time ive seen him he’s looked quick AND strong. He used to be a defender remember so he probably has a few tricks of his own!

  28. maybe more in the past toonsy than today,most refs dont like contact,spoiling the bloody game,will be down to netball rules in no time :(

  29. Nee offence to old Titus but nowt would be better than him making a quite monumental mistake at SJP against the scum to repay us for all those clangers ;)

  30. Yeah toonsy I would agree with you regarding Aiery, ive saw him play for the ressies and he does look like a strong gust may blow him over! But as mentioned, size isn’t everything, however with his type of play, i think he needs to bulk up a bit.

    But again, can be done no probs, looking forward to seeing how he comes along.

  32. Ice-he improved slightly at wigan but howay man it would be hilarious to see him fluff a clearance and Carroll just nip onto it and slide it into the back of the net for 1-0. I’d get a “one titus bramble” going as soon as possible like,lol

  33. I think if he gets a few opertunities he will score and once his confidence is up he won’t stop, the lad has the ability.

  34. See Milner has also said he wants to leave Villa, chopping and changing that lad is, nowt to say he’ll start at Citeh

  35. Aye :D

    So then James, what make you want to join the billionaires at Man City :lol:

  36. Milner, eh? I hope he goes and they don’t start him. Firkin funny that would be. Barry and Milner “honest we went for the football” firk em.

  37. Aye Milner frustrates me. Obviously he wanted to leave us and we weren’t too happy about that but he joined a club who are top 6 and could potentially challenge for higher honours if the right signings were made. Instead he’s decided to use them too as a stepping stone to join a club where fair enough he might win something, but he’ll get whatever medal he does knowing he’s been a bit part player in the team because he wont start week in week out. Obviously happy to bench warm and come on when needed for huge wages. A shame because he looks a bright young talent, but he’s obviously putting his bank account before anything else.

  38. It would be extremely silly to loan him to another PL squad, especially if things don’t go well for us

  39. just on transfer rumours and one saying were after royston drenthe of real madrid for fee of 4million, now that would be a great signing he can play lb,lw n rb,rw probably no truth in it but wow that would be great, also hearing de guzman could be signing but he has had lots of bad injurys lately but he would also be a great signing on a free

  40. Shame we couldn’t get Adam Johnson before he went to City, goood LW if ever I saw one.

  41. Drenthe would be great, I liked him after the last euros when real obviously got him.

    Airey maybe very good but I am not at all suprised he needs to bulk up, my bro is built like a brick s house an he has had to and he’s a keeper so for a cf at a prem club then he will need to

  43. Let’s not get too cocky about Bramble. Seem to remember season before last he was one of our many ex’s (it felt like!) who scored a late equaliser against us at SJP, cost us 2 points, would have avoided relegation blah blah…!

  44. Not every player is going to be a model pro, sometimes player’s carry a bit of baggage & need a slightly different approach. It’s upto chris to bring the best out of him, because the lad has talent.

  45. Aye and I remember the same season when he hit a powder puff backpass fell on his arse and Van Persie I think it was left one on one lol.

  46. Ross I agree regarding Milner .Yet another England player left warming the bench,we will never have a decent national side all the time that happens,but then again who gives a sh*t about the national side bunch of mercenries

  47. anyone read between the lines of hughtons dismissals of the transfer speculation? while he said that there’s nothing in the benjani/hooper/ben arfa links, he said that theres been ‘no progress’ on the campbell front. which would mean that there has been some sort of contact there, yeah?

  48. anyone read between the lines of hughtons dismissals of the transfer speculation? while he said that there’s nothing in the benjani/hooper/ben arfa links, he said that theres been ‘no progress’ on the campbell front. which would mean that there has been some sort of contact there, yeah?

  51. A joint strike force of Andy Barroll and Nile Ranger could be quite a handful in a couple of years. We need to get re-established in the PL, bring in some good seasoned pros and provide a good steadying atmosphere to nurture the good young players through i.e. Vuckic, Nile Ranger, Krul, Foster etc.

    At the end of the day, probably a lot of clubs think they have a “good crop of youngsters”, how many of them acually become first team regulars remains to be seen, however the majority of the bloggers must agree that the future looks bright for the toon.

  52. JAY JAY I wouldnt mind hooper,but the more i think about it that would have been a done deal by now if he wanted him ala perch deal,as scunny had no inv in w.c ie buying or selling of players,just a thought like

  53. Ranger is blatently not going to be good enough for the PL this season. He couldn’t even get a game in the fizzy.

    Loan him out to a Championship side and make sure he plays.

  54. jw if there is any truth in the rumour that morimoto has been to newcastle for a medical 1 website sed it was on sky sports news but a cnt find nout

  55. A lot can happen to a young player between the ages of 19 and 21, physically and mentally. Loan Ranger out to a club where he can learn the tricks of the trade in the Fizzy League, then we can get a better idea of his true potential. Agreed Stuart, this season could be too early for him to make a mark in the PL..

  57. blatently u are not good enough to be on this blogg can we please loan u out to the sunderland stuart79.get a life.

  59. morimoto is a left mid player and he has 19 pro goals in 115 matchs thats all av seen bwt him, i think tha story is bull lyk takayuki morimoto is his ful name

  60. Morimoto won’t be coming it was a rumour made up as it didn’t appear on ssn at all. I really like the drenthe rumour but doubt it will happen.

  61. I remembering reading an article, couple years ago, about Morimoto and big things were expected from the guy, touted as one of the most hottest prospects in Europe.

  62. Stuart79 its easy to say Ranger is not good enough but who is better?
    Ranger is a better footballer than Best, Shola and Lovenkrands

  63. Munich Mag says:
    July 22, 2010 at 8:16 pm

    “A joint strike force of Andy Barroll and Nile Ranger could be quite a handful in a couple of years.”

    On the pitch? Or in a nightclub, Munich Mag?

  64. Nowt on Otamendi yet then, Hughton did make the comments about Ben Arfa before Marseille offered him, Plus he never ruled that one out he just said there had been no contact.

    I think Ranger has the ability to play in the top flight, Carl Henry, Sidibe, Craddock, Whitehead, Elokobi, Bardsley, Nosworthy, McShane, Bramble, Keith Andrews ETC. have all spent a fair bit of time in the big time and he sure as hell aint as bad as them…

  65. I think Ranger is good cover for Carroll and I have faith in him than Best at this level. But as we are lumbered with Best, Shola and possibly Xisco, he should be sent out on loan to get the games he deserves. His hold up play is unbelievable for his age. He’s as good as Heskey, but unfortunately had the same goal record last year!

    Airey should be given a chance out on loan along with Donaldson too. I don’t see the point keeping youngsters in reserve or for the cup when they could get real experience at League 1 level.

  66. aye workyticket, maybe both mate ! You need a bit of edge, and a portion of self confidence to make it as a PL striker, both of these lads have oodles of both. I wouldn’t like to be a centre half with those two big flockers coming at me !

  67. People dismiss Ranger, including Hughton, but the fact is the boy has talent and is one of our best forwards.

    If it is true that Hughton hasn’t even approached Hooper then I propose we all go round his house and take it in turns to bitchslap him.

  69. The manure page on sky sports says Cleverley will be loaned out to a premier league side. I hope we are interested.
    If City keep signing a player a day the they will need to be loaning out Weiss.
    I would gladly take Cleverley or Weiss both have legs and are a goal threat

  70. I don’t know WHY everyone keeps clucking on about Donaldson. The lad couldn’t shine Connor Newton’s boots. Newton future paul scoles.

  71. Apparantly the Scousers dismissed the Ben Arfa proposal straght away, Leaving Us snd Everton in the running, The kid has been spouting saying he wants to join a premier league side and would more than likely reject the German side.

    I havent seen enough of Hooper to give Hughton a slapping but if he’s rejected the Ben Arfa offer then i might change me mind… ;)

  72. I for one think that if given the right chances Ranger can go on to be a real cracker for us and England providing he keeps his head down and out of trouble, I dont think its fair to judge him on what he done at the start of the season he is only a kid and there was times that he was trough on as a lone striker due to injuries but never got to many balls played up to him. For me he has done more and showed more potentail in the few games that he has played, than the seasoned pro Best but we get folk saying give Best time to settle, so does the same not apply to Ranger

  73. Hooper scored 30 goals last season in a proper s### team man! We could easy beat Leeds and whoever to him for £2.5M. Hughton must be smoking crack!

  74. Ben arfa has left marseille.
    But don’t know who to.
    Been removed from official site

  75. SCOTSWOOD SUEDEHEAD[IMG]http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz147/northernkoolgent/trojanreggae3-2.jpg[/IMG] says:

    I thought Leeds were after a loan deal for Ranger,anyone read that recently??.

  76. Big Dave

    Well said, I cant believe people want Ranger to be sent out on loan when the only back up for Carroll and Loven as it stands would be Shola, Best or Xisco.

  77. Ranger needs game time but I have all the confidence in the world that Carroll will make the transition next season. The domination he showed in the air against these brute fouling CB’s in the CCC has me confident he’ll have no problem throwing his weight around against back fours in the PL. The only problem for me will be foul happy ref’s who the moment he goes shoulder to shoulder will blow their whistle. Advantage to the attacker my arse.

  78. ranger is quality, djg :-) we need to sign hooper he is another young player who is going to b quality, anyone heard owt about de guzman ive heard he could be signing only rumour like, i like the royston drenthe rumour can play on both wings and both full back postions and real madrid dont want him

  79. BIG DAVE find thats twice i agree with you :)

    better get my heed checked when i go for these stitchs oot lol

  80. if thats true bout ben arfa then i would expect an annoucement tomorro from which ever club he has signed for hope its us :-)

  81. Would love to think if Ben Arfa was offered to us we’d try our best to sign him. I think SSN said it would be on loan with an option to buy, perfect for us on a tight budget.

  82. From yesterday………….

    42 franko says:
    July 21, 2010 at 5:45 pm
    Scunny fan here suplying information on Hooper.

    Hooper is a very mobile striker,carries a lot of pace,he is strong for his size,hard working and is tecniqually very good.

    Hooper creates chances himself and finishes them..he is an outstanding talent.Hooper in only his first two season at league level playing regular football has netted 50 goals…he is a natural born goalscorer if i ever i have seen one.

    Hooper is still a kid really in striker terms,but,his natural footballing ability he possess is frighting really…so natural it`s un real.

    Hooper will continue to get better and better..he is an outstanding talent now,god knows how good he is going to end up being..scary really just thinking about it.

  83. would be good wish we would jus buy him out right if it is us doubt it is though i think they only wanted 6mill for him

  84. I just don’t have faith in Hughton to give any of the young guns a decent chance this season after he wasted Ranger and Kadar in the Chumpionship. Therefore, he has to be sent out on loan so that he doesn’t waste away

  85. DJG totally agree wit hooper is must for 2.5mill just the sort of striker were looking for

  86. I don’t think CH would sign ben arfa because of his discipline or lack of it. Wouldn’t want to rock the boat, talented though.

  88. well houghton didnt dismiss him this morning wit all the other rumours he said he would b interested if i remember, ssn said they had offered him to us, everton n liverpool n liverpool hav come out n said there is nothing init so that leaves us and everton be great if we could get one other everton that would be 2 in aweek :-)

  89. Ice ;) I dont think you need to get your head checked mate I said you were a wise head :) .
    As for Hooper I really dont see the point can you really see him get a chance while we have Carroll and Lovens as our main 2 strikers then you have Shola and Best then Ranger and Xisco bringing up the rear, where is he going to fit in he would waste away

  90. I think Chris said something similar when asked if we were in for Gosling so I hope there is something in the reports

  94. Hooper is the missing link! The small striker we’ve been missing for years on end! 22 years old english 1 goal every 2 games man, Ashley you fat pr### get your platinum card out.

  95. BIG DAVE lol,unless we loan some out,i have never been a shola fan,xisco i dont rate,only scored 3 goals in spain and played a lot so cant see him hacking it in epl would keep ranger like AS seemed to rate him he should know like,the mind boggles

  97. Worky :lol: its not as bad as the one you came of with lastnite > “I’ve been hammering away at the back end today” was that with Xisco ;)

  100. this is what houghton said about ben arfa, ive read about him and he is a cracking player and its nice to see us linked with him but there has been no contact wot so ever, but that was said wednesday alot can change from then, and houghton wont admit interest in any player even if its true he dosent like to say anything till its a done deal

  101. Ice I am not a Shola fan mesel but he has pulled us out of the shit sometimes so I would say he is a useful back-up. but as for Best I just dont think he has it and I dont rate him at all. But I would be pretty sure while we have them they will allways get the nod ahead of Ranger I just think that CH will go with the older ones unless there is no option, it was the same with our mid last year Guthrie only got playing where I think he is best in the CM when we had no other options.

  103. Big Dave says:
    July 22, 2010 at 10:08 pm

    “Worky its not as bad as the one you came of with lastnite > “I’ve been hammering away at the back end today” was that with Xisco”

    All perfectly innocent, Dave, honest! When you’re working on the code and datebases etc of a site, it’s called the ‘back end’.

  105. Two things:

    First of all, didn’t the blogger, ‘CC’ come on here as a bitter Everton supporter just a day or two ago?? :S

    Secondly, seriously guys, Hatem Ben Arfa?! He will NOT be coming here. This is the exact type of signing we have been linked to every transfer window for the last 3 years. How many have actually arrived?…Say no more.

    We simply don’t go in for these types of flashy, highly rated, luxury players.

  107. Bid Dave.

    When was the last time Shola or Best scored 30 goals in a season! Has Best even scored 30 goals I wonder.

  113. Anyone who says give Shola a chance clearly must be the biggest optimist on the planet.
    The guy has had 10 years to shine. He hasn’t and never will. He is decent backup but that is all he’ll ever be at Premiership level.
    Time to give the Rangers and Carrolls of this world their chance to develop.

    Delighted with the Gosling signing, although essentially, we are still weak in all the areas we needed to strengthen before… so we need to get cracking.

  114. As great as it is to dream, I think the sooner we forget about Ben Arfa the better. Simply put, after signing a Nottingham Forrest bargain buy and a freebie from Everton, I can’t exactly see Hughton splashing out £6mill for a french winger?

    On that note I can’t even see Hughton buying from outside the English leagues… can anyone else? I think he’ll take experience and work rate over reputation and ‘trophy signing’ status – which of course is a sensible way to play it when we need to secure survival first and foremost.

  116. Xisco could come of age this year.

    The lad must have some talent, otherwise why would Denis have bought him?

  117. ” after signing a Nottingham Forrest bargain buy and a freebie from Everton, I can’t exactly see Hughton splashing out £6mill for a french winger?”

    I wish he would spend £2.5M on Hooper the stupid c###. Has anyone noticed how all Hugthtons signing look like him ie. Perch, Routledge, Simpson, Best,

  118. He came on after 77 minutes yesterday in a friendly
    But had been removed off the official site tonight.
    Why is he back on?

  119. Come on Hughton, give Ashley a gud kick up the arse and get the money out of him.

    He will give you a good kick in the teeth otherwise in 6 months when he hoys you on the scrapheap. :lol:

  123. Not sure about this Otamendi, why would we want a 4th RB? Fair enough looking at additions, but ideally it needs to be someone to cover CB and LB NOT RB.

    Drenthe would be a great addition as he could cover the entire left hand side and I was very impressed with him in Euro 2008.

  124. Been reading todays articles about James Milner being accused of being a money grabber etc and find it hard to believe but if true, we have seen the last of the model pro.
    Wasnt he the only premier league player that had the PFA as his agents?
    He said that when he was at the toon that it wasnt about money?
    Or was this a load of bullcrap and are we seeing the real Milner now.
    Thought at the time, he wasnt worth 12m and he certainly isnt worth the 24m Villa are demanding, the transfer market has been wrecked by City as these valuations are ridiculous for bog standard players.

  125. Waddles – any news likely today? season is looming and i think we need at least 3 more additions, with a striker, LB cover and a creative midfielder a priority! any ideas??

  126. Frankly I would be suprised if Milner would be going to Man Shitty for anything other than money. Look at the squad they have now, where will he play? They already have added Toure and so someone out of De Jong and Barry will be sub, and then they have Johnson and Silva who are much better than Milner so he cant come out with the old ‘im moving for football reasons’ card, cos we all know thatd be crap.

    Shame that there isnt such a thing as loyalty in fottball anymore.

  127. Seem somewhere the reps left Rosenberg empty handed.

    Heard nothing as yet today.
    Even when I do nothing really comes right to be honest

  128. Now I’m looking forward to the new season … just sorted manure tickets … howay the lads!!!

  129. waddles – cheers, heres hoping CH can suprise us all – 3 players needed – a strongy nippy forward a priority!

  130. Waddles, your still more reliable than the media.

    See cardiff must still be in the poo, motherwell are demanding immediate payment of outstanding transfer fee, how about trying to pinch whittingham while their desperate?

  131. noir9 – good shout that – he has something to prove at that level, and takes a good free kick – could get a bargain to help them pay the VAT man!!

  134. news on ed’s blog that we are in a deal wit Man u for Cleverley and a season long loan! – where wud he play? he would have to be a regular for them to allow him to leave?
    get a striker!!

  135. Jettson – Ferguson has said he can play anywhere in midfield so it’s a good deal for us, and the lad might not start every game but he is bound to get a good few appearances

  136. How is it a good deal for us? Unless it is going to be with a view to a permanent deal i think it is such a poor deal…why do we not spend money on a youngster who will actually be our own player instead of loaning off them…POINTLESS!

    With the likes of DeGuzman who is free, Weiss who is surplus to requirements and Ben Arfa who wants out of OM. I really hope CH sees sense.

  137. agree 136 – lets get quality freebies in – then they are ours and not helping out bigger clubs!

  138. Becasue we are not paying much to get a quality player in for the season who can cover a few positions.

    De Guzman is on a free because he has been injured for the last 2 years, Weiss is still part of City’s plans and only avaialable on loan, and Ben Arfa would cost us over £5M and demand fairly high wages I imagine.

    Obviously we need to bring in a few more permanent players, but there’s no harm in adding one or two loans as well on top of that.

    I don’t understand why people complain about loan deals, they are good business for both clubs involved. And if Cleverley doesn’t make the grade at Man United but is deemed good enough for us then we already have an advantage in trying to sign him.

  139. Sheffield Wednesday have been given a winding up order by HM Revenue and Customs over an unpaid £550,000 tax bill. The football club have been struggling to pay the debt after being relegated to League One last season, and will appear at the High Court on August.

    There but for the grace of god !!!

    Big club in Big trouble …

  140. The reason i am complaining about it is we could buy a young, hungry and up-and-coming player for a few million that will bable to cover our wings.

    Instead we are going to throw a several hundred thousand at ManU to get Cleverly for the season and there probably won’t even be a clause in the contract to buy him at the end of the season considering he just signed a new deal a few weeks ago.

    Cleverly is a talent no doubt but there are other players out there i feel we should look at before jumping on the loan band-wagon.

    Another example would be Whittingham who has been mentioned before, would do a great job backing up the left wing and wouldn’t cost the earth.

  141. I think Whittingham looks a decent player but I’m sure Hughton knows better than us just how much money is available, and how to juggle that around to get the best value and the right players in.

    Weiss did well on loan at Bolton last season so the way I see it is that we are simply adding some extra quality to our squad for very little expenditure, and loaning decent young players from top clubs is becoming more and more widespread as the gulf between the top teams and the rest grows.

  142. Well CH brought in Perch for 1m or there abouts as a RB when we already have 2 players that can cover that position in S.Taylor and R.Taylor. We are more in need of covering LB and our wings so why not invest real money in those positions and loan in a RB until Simpson is fit again?

    I just don’t see the logic. CH has said this week there is money to spend so why is he loaning a ManU player with no PL experience?

  143. I see Hughton is saying he likes the look of Arfa (Daley).

    As for cleverley, I’d rather have Wiltshire. Cleverley hasn’t played in the PL, so it’d be yet another risk to sign him. Wilkshire looked good for Bolton last season.

    Has Hughton signed a player who has done it in the PL yet?

    Gamble after gamble!

  145. Its great that we have to loan-out our own promising young-uns to get much needed experience, but we are expected to take other teams young-uns and give them the experience :( There is noway in this world Fergie will loan us Cleverly or anyone else unless CH agrees to play him regularly in a position that we are packed out in.

  146. The same Routledge who has been sold by Spurs, Fulham and Villa? Then ends up in the fizzy?

    Doesn’t say he’s a proven PL player to me.

    Though I am hopeful it could be 5th time lucky.

  148. Routledge has himself admitted that it was maybe his own fault he couldn’t settle at previous clubs in the past such as Spurs and Villa. He seems happy here,maybe grown up a bit, was in great form first game back and i’m expecting him to have a canny season.

  149. From the day he signed until the last day of the season Routledge was our best player by a million miles – just look at the stats – incredible for a player to produce those kind of performances week in week out when you consider he joined midway through the season.