Sunderland After Ashton
The People say that Sunderland boss Roy Keane is planning an £8 million bid for West Ham striker Dean Ashton. The People claim Keegan did want Ashton but is now happy with his strike force, leaving Sunderland "in the box seat to snap up the England hopeful."
With West Ham expected to undergo a summer clear out we may be faced with a long summer of just this sort of wild speculation. Indeed if you believe Carlton Cole some of the players have already begun to worry,
"We're all disappointed that we haven't been able to push higher up the table and there could be a few worried people at the club this summer," admitted Cole yesterday.
"We're all fighting for our futures. It's up to the manager who goes and who stays, but I'm contracted to West Ham for another two years and I want to stay here."
posted by Keir Clarke @ 9:59 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
I think your assessment is spot on- "wild speculation". For reasons explained before,it makes no sense for West Ham to sell Ashton. In fact ,it probably wud not make sense to sell him for 18 million, no less 8 ,because it will cost a lot more than 8 to buy the equivalent of an in-form Ashton.
It s highly unrealistic that Keane will be given a huge kitty to spend, especially after what he splashed out on the Scottish keeper. His is a team that will be looking to consolidate their position, and move up 2 or 3 places ,not a side excactly preparing for the European chase.
Not to mention ,apart from the transfer fee, where wud Keane get funds for Ashton s wages.
And from Ashton s point of view ,it wud not even qualify as a lateral move .I t wud be worse than that . Sunderland work hard, and the manager has done well thus far, but it s simply unrealistic for anyone to pretend that Ashton wud be furthering his England ambitions by going there.
I make you right as well though, about how it s going to be a long summer for us enduring this sort of nonsense. The media seem to enjoy fabricating stories, often unfavorable,about us in the best of times, so at a moment when the Icelandic economy is in trouble and in the spotlight becaus eof it, and when our manager is not exactly winning a popularity contest ,it is inevitable that stuff like this is going to come out.
what s odd is why the press don t print stories about probable/realistic departures, of which there is no shortage. But Of course ,that doesn t sell papers , does it?
I remember reading a couple of months back Keane mentioning that he will have £40m odd to spend in summer, so on a financial basis, may not be so improbable.
Whether he will go from a career point of view and whether we will sell is another matter all together.
I really really wanted Tevez to stay last summer and the way that dragged on, I really don't fancy another summer like it, especially as the banking world is in turmoil so looks like our own spending will be cut short!
Makes me wonder, assuming that the story about Sunderland having as much as 40 million available to spend is true, where their funds are coming from. Given that they spent heavily last summer,and given the overall shape of the economy, and the league position of Sunderland ,it s hard to believe. But then again ,they re not backed by owner who s seen th e value of his home currency drop 15 percent or more vs the pound this year.
For a club like Sunderland, so soon after their return from the Championship ,to be in a position to spend 40 million pounds speaks volumes about the state of the game. It also shows the mountain we have to climb to move up the table,which was tall enough given what Man City ,Newcastle and others
will be spending
Is there any new TV money coming in?
I would have thought a substantial amount of any clubs spending would be based on that.
good question...
agreed ,altho i guess that assumes the debt level of the club in question is manageable...which may not be a fair assumption is come cases.
keir- do u have any knowledge of whether the Sky/setanta money for next season is meant to be higher than what it was this season? If so, sounds like we re going to need every penny of it..
Cant see Ashton going to the Black Cats. Newcastle might be a bit different, with the King Kev revolution going on furhter. Besdies, they have a large treatment room too so her might feel at home.
Having said that i hope he stays. He is a fantastic player, and i would love to see him play with the injury listers!!
Cheers
Kenny
i make u rite on newcastle- still not likely , but more possible than sunderland. perhaps it s a good thing for our sake that Owen has regained form ,as Keegan has less of a pressing need for a striker. Also hard to see Ashton being happy sitting on bench watching some combination of Owen,Martin and Viduka ,before he got a chance.
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