Davefevs

Semenyo. We’ve got to stop thinking about how much he’s worth based on ability, current form etc, and look at 1) are we looking to sell him - no, 2) do we have to sell him - no, not definitely, 3) who wants him, etc. you might think Obafemi and him are similar in ability, but the range of fees each might command could be poles apart. (Scott £25m) Of course if he bangs in a decent amount in these last 20 games, or fires us on a cup run, his value could go up.

Here’s some bits from the interview.

Kristian Pederson (Birmingham) is a more relevant example. Signed for Brum but they weren’t allowed to register him!! Brum knew they had to agree all signings with the EFL and they chose not to, didn’t they.

For me I think it comes down to whether we see any chance that Semenyo will extend his contract here or not. His own position may have changed as he’s gone through a bit of a rollercoaster this season. The highs of World Cup selection of the back of a good end of last season. The lows of injury, loss of form, loss of being an automatic starter. That might also have cooled interest from the “right clubs”. Hypothetically he might really fancy Palace but not Bournemouth and it’s now only Bournemouth interested. Lots of uncertainty created. All whilst he’s on a contract signed in 2019, which means he’s not maximising his wage. Of course he might think “well I’ll definitely be off in the summer, I’ll sacrifice 6 months wages”. But he might also think “I can sign a new deal, get my wage up, do the business and Palace will be back in for me”. I know it’s not anywhere as straightforward a picture as I paint, but they are part of the overall consideration.

For the right player, PL clubs will still pay Champ clubs good fees. Obafemi is in a different situation to Semenyo. Their manager isn’t exactly talking about him in glowing terms, suggests to me they want to move him on. Whereas we don’t. That affects the price massively. Personally I think any club interested will be given a starting amount of £15m, whether that’s right or not. If they genuinely want him, they’ll then start to look to see whether there’s any wiggle room.

In our current position, we will be under some form of reporting / monitoring, so going gung-ho this summer isn’t an option, not in terms of fees anyway. And by fees I mean total spending £30-40m with contracts over 5 years. EFL would probably decline registrations. It is expected that new FFP regs are coming in for next season, but real-time / more regular reporting of finances will be part of it.

PL clubs haven’t really stopped spending big fees, and that will be where he ends up, so we ought to be ok.

I was just picking two games where he made a number of extraordinary saves, not saying those were the only two games. But it does seem we are in agreement that Bentley has dropped off…the debate re who is best now is all about opinions. I’m not sure of Bajic’s height.

It’s pretty much why I posted it. Apart from his dour personality when speaking, he pretty much was as blunt as Nige has been, and I think he’d be saying these things had he come to us for example.

I rated Maenpaa, exactly what you want from a keeper. Interesting that the old “shot stopper” tag comes up re Bents, but I guess some might argue that Max’s performances against Boro (this season) and Villa (a few seasons back) show him to be the better shot stopper. A very subjective position isn’t it? Too short Ronnie, you are no Jan Moller!

…and I think he’s grasping / grasped the opportunity. He looks like he feels he should be there, not just until Bentley inevitably comes back in.

They have Bonham, but he really is a no2…suggests they need a no1, which of course Bentley would fit (as would others). Iverson was one of the best GK’s in the champ last season.

Now this’ll start some some excitement on here!

If we were to go with your suggested team, I’d probably swap Pring and Naismith over. I will be surprised if that’s not the starting xi tomorrow and in that system.

At is simplest it (FFP) is basically money in vs money out. If more money goes out than comes in, FFP will punish you where the losses are beyond a certain amount.

Think this is a classic example of where finances and football conflict. Essentially the rumours are that Bentley wants a better contract than the one he signed pre-Covid. We can’t afford it, there appears to be no middle ground. At the same time Bentley’s form dipped and allowed O’Leary an opportunity (who imho has always been a perfect no2) and he has shown enough improvement in his overall game to make the selection decision less cut and tried than previously. In fact based on this season’s form, I’d happily argue that O’Leary is the right choice as no1 currently. The evidence is there. I’m not disputing that I think Bentley is the better keeper over their comparable careers, but it’s about the relative here and now. Bentley’s levels have dropped (in his overall game), O’Leary’s have improved. One is on the decline, the other is on the up. If money was no object, we’d probably we continuing letting them fight for the no1 spot, but the financial dynamic complicates it. Tough decisions required. Someone seems prepared to make that decision (Tins, Nige, RG). Especially in light of the fact that it could allow us to strengthen the squad in other positions.

I guess we are looking at the following players as being in the mix as starters: O’Leary (1) Tanner Vyner Atkinson Naismith Pring Dasilva (6) Sykes Scott James Williams (4) Wells Semenyo (2) 11 / 13 legitimate starters. Then the following definite on the bench (assuming Bentley not off): Bentley King Bell (3) And then the probables: Kadji (1) And then the possibles (1 / 4) Martin Taylor-Clarke Massengo Klose (4) I do think Nige will stick with a back three to start with and my guess is that Dasilva will be in the bench with Sykes.

I know this is gonna be a ridiculous thing, but with Bentley, Massengo, Dasilva out of the line-up are we missing some player songs for the crowd to at least generate some noise? Can’t seem to recall a player song sang since football returned after the WC?

That is a great article, so much speculation without much base.

Swansea interested in Ogbene. Also had two unsuccessful bids for a championship player. No idea if the two are linked.

Did a skid…

That’s how I read it too.

See my earlier “frying pan” comment.

He’s playing in a struggling side. He’s a wide man originally who’s seriously bulked up and now plays predominantly central and is a handful. Quick too. 6 in 18 starts, is reasonable enough he’s the type of player we should be looking at in the market we are RoI International too, few goals for them.