Now it seemed to me that Bassedas didn't do too well in our team last season. It always seemed he was passing into space that our midfield should have been running into but wern't. Seemed that if only we had a more mobile team, then his passes would have found their targets and opened the game up. As it was, his passes went astray and he looked like a clown.

Now for my point. He got a fair few chances in the team when it was clear that he didn't suit our static style of play. Now things have changed. We have Robert and Bellamy. Both like sh1t of a shovel. Enter the hero of the hour - Bassedas. The man who can pass to a moving target - can pass into space ahead of R & B. But no. Now we have a team he may flourish in, YBR won't give him a chance.

Thoughts...

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001

Answers

apap

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001

I agree, I'd like to see him get a couple of games over the next few weeks. We were very static for much of last season, especially when Dyer was out, and there's a reasonable chance Bassedas could use our new-found movement better than Lee/Speed/Acuna do.

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001

I've seen Bassedas a few times this season in WC and friendly matches when we had Robert and/or Bellamy in the team. Still didn't do well enough IMHO. I honestly hope I'm wrong, but if I am, so must YBR as he has steadfastly chosen not to select him ahead of Speed, Lee and Acuna. Something's not right somewhere. Perhaps a loan spell at Oldham might help?

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001

Wonder if Oldham would take Marcelino (who young Nick insists if the best defender at the club, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary) as well?

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001

'WAS' the best defender at the club. Past tense. Another foreign footballer who's confidence we have destroyed. 6.5 million thrown away. HE'll leave one day and I fully expect him to succeed at his new club. Just like JDT did.

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2001

The usual excuse with the likes of JDT and Maric is that they were played out of position, and there is some merit in that argument. As far as I'm aware though, Marcelino has only ever played (and I use the word loosely!) for us as a centre half, which is supposedly his preferred position. So what exactly did we do to destroy his confidence? I do still find it hard to believe that he's completely useless but I've yet to see him play anything resembling a decent game.

-- Anonymous, November 21, 2001

I assume he must have had quite a few decent games for us to pay 6.5 mill for him. So what do we do to make a 6.5 million rated player look like a donkey? Maybe we don't play to his strengths. I'm not sure what I mean by this. Like you say, he should be able to play a regular centre back position. Maybe he was used to man marking or played as sweeper. Did he play in a back 5? Could he play full back? He was meant to be a fantastic player of the ball. Could he move up into midfield and spray some passes around? We must be able to make some use of Marca and Badass.

-- Anonymous, November 21, 2001

As far as I was aware, he hasn't had a bad game for us or if he has, he hasn't had many.

But that's where the problem lies, he hasn't had many games for us.......If he was fit or could be arsed then I'm sure he could be an excellent player.

-- Anonymous, November 21, 2001

Melt him down for glue maybe?

I think we need to get away from this assumption that just because we paid a lot of money for someone then he must have been good. Stating that someone is, or was, the best player in his position at the club simply because he cost a lot, and without ever having seen him play, flies in the face of years of experience.

Older members of the bbs will no doubt be able to confirm that we have bought countless overpriced donkeys long before my time, but hand up who remembers the expensively assembled quartet we bought with the Gascoigne money? Dave Beasant - cost a fortune, must have been good. Andy Thorne, cost a fortune, must have been good. John Robertson, cost a fortune, must have been good. John Hendrie.... well actually I quite liked John Hendrie, but you get the point. What about Roy Aitken? Billy "last piece in the promotion jigsaw" Askew? Frank Pingel? Glynn Hodges? And the more recent list is even more frightening - Ian Rush (well his wages anyway), Andreas Andersson (from Milan AND expensive, he must have been fantastic), Des Hamilton, Warren Barton (I know he has his fans, but 4 million back when 4 million was a lot of money?). The list goes on and on.

The message I suppose is don't get carried away at what we paid for a player, because sometimes you have to accept that maybe we've just been stitched up. Milan reportedly pissed themselves laughing when they got our Anderssen offer. And if Marcelino really was so great in Spanish football then why is he still at the club when we would clearly accept a hell of a lot less than what we paid for him to get him off the books?

Excuse the rant, but I'm at work and I'm bored to tears. You'll be pleased to know that home time has arrived......

-- Anonymous, November 21, 2001

Best bit of business Jim Smith ever did. Sold Robertson back to Hearts for what we paid for him.

-- Anonymous, November 21, 2001

So you rate Rob McDonald then do you?

-- Anonymous, November 21, 2001

Andy Thorn and Dave Beasant were when I first understood that big transfer did not equal good player.

Thorn was no more than an average player inthe top flight, we paid an enormous million pounds for him. Our problem was then that when we came to try and sell him our directors knew he was worth a million and demanded that in transfer fees. Sadly the rest of the world weren't so blind and only wanted to pay what he was worth to them, not what he had been worth to McFaul.

That is where we have come to with Elena, and to a lesser extent with Bassedas. Elena is worth £6.5m in big Freddie's eyes cos that was what he paid for him. Sadly he isn't prone to seeing the other person's point of view and can't see that any off er for the guy is value for money.

Bassedas may have turned out okay in different circumstances and always had a bit of bite about him.

-- Anonymous, November 21, 2001

I saw that Merson is not happy at Villa. Wonder if he would be available on the cheap? Not as a replacement for Lee but he would definitely improve our squad and give another attacking option.

Just a thought.......

-- Anonymous, November 21, 2001

A lot of it is down to chemistry. Just because a player (might) have talent and ability doesn't necessarily mean he will fit into the team. This is something that we seem to have ignored in many of our transfer dealings. In Farcelino's case, it's just because he stinks and causes a nastry reaction :-)

-- Anonymous, November 21, 2001

Spot on Macbeth, that was a watershed year for me too. As a naive 16 year old it all made perfect sense to me - a heroic goalie, a commanding centre half, a prolific striker and a talented winger, how could it possibly go wrong? Well only a couple of things, one being that none of them were worth anything like the money we paid, and another being that we completely neglected the central midfield. (Ian Bogie!!???). Sound familiar??? And I won't have a word said against Rob McDonald. He played with Ruud Gullit you know, he must have been good....

-- Anonymous, November 21, 2001

I agree,we've paid for him we have to try him out. 5 games to Dyers' return would give him a good shout at the expense of Lee or Speed. Bassedas did no worse in the intertoto than anyone else & significantly, when Lee returned against Troyes we were hopeless in midfield as he chased shadows (Midfielders who move should be banned - we'll do a lot better)

Bassedas, JDT, Maric, Marca have all been left out when in similar fashion to Ruud's exclusion of Lee yet they have just sat back & counted the money & who can blame them. It's only the media reaction being different.

-- Anonymous, November 21, 2001

I feel desperately sorry for Bassedas as he is a great pro and hasn't whinged when he might have done. I'd have to agree that he hasn't had anything like a run in the side - it's been games here and there and appearances as a sub. Remember how sh*te we thought Nobby was? Actually, he has occasionally shown some good stuff: remember Leeds at home last Christmas?

-- Anonymous, November 21, 2001