"He's Just A One Season Wonder"
"He's Too Old/Past His Best"
"He's Too Expensive"
"Only A Reserve At Another Club"
"Never Played For A Big Club"
"We Must Sign World-Class Players"
"No Premiership Experience/Might Not Settle"
"He Wouldn't Get Into the Chelsea or Arsenal Side"
One season wonder? It's hard to say if a player is a one season wonder or not. But naturally, if a player has showed consistency over a few seasons, that's an advantage. More of "what you see is what you get" than a gamble.
Too old? Wonder what Roger Milla and Gary Mac have to say about that. But it's a point to consider. Is experience what we need? And what younger player could we get instead?
Too expensive? Disagree with Paul's view on the budget. It does matter who we spend the cash on, even if we stay within the budget. Diouf, Diao and Cheyrou? Just because we have the cash doesn't mean we can afford to make expensive mistakes. I struggle to make up my mind about the signing of Crouch. He'd give us an option, but he'd cost as much as Owen and more than we paid for Morientes. Don't think we can afford to fail and I'd consider it a gamble. If we fail with Morientes, we can get a decent fee back. If we fail with Crouch, well, let's just say we won't make a fortune when we sell.
Only a Reserve? Means little to me. Sure it matters if it's Figo or Nunez we're after, but if the player provides an option we need but don't have, then his impact can be huge.
Never played for a big club? If we get a player from Barca, he's used to the pressure. We'd know he can cope with that and most likely he possesses some skill. So it's valid, but if we have a really hot prospect or a player who has shown he can do it for a few seasons, then we could have ourselves a rough diamond at a bargain price.
World class players? I reckon it's more valid this season than in a long, long time. Because this year we have a unique ability to attract the best. We are the Champions of Europe. Normally I don't call for big players, but now I want us to build on the success. We can sign good squad players every year. Let's try to buy an Aimar, Ronaldo, SWP etc. Although difficult, it will never be as easy as this summer.
No PL experience? I'm not worried. It's great if he has it, but it matters more if he's got experience of a high pressure environment.
Not in Arsenal/Chelsea squad? I divide this argument in two different groups. First if the player fits in or not. Second it's about quality. It's quite possible, because of the way a team wants to play, that they don't look to sign a certain type of player. But there's still a difference in class between say FSP and Cisse. While DC could offer genuine competition at Arsenal/Chelsea/Mancs/..., it's questionable if either of those teams would look to buy FSP to strengthen the side. And if all those teams have a "Cisse", we're not likely to get away with a "FSP" if we want to keep up.
