Danny Drinkwater

[themightyfin]

DD gave us years of loyalty and was a great player for us.

How you can deny him a bumper pay rise with the chance to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world is beyond me.

Ok so it has not gone like he wanted so far but he had to take that chance.

 

[Albert]

1 hour ago, KingsX said:

By no means am I judging him only on that friendly.  My point is that it was was consistent with his recent body of work.

 

Did you ever see him make one of his PL appearances for Chelsea and ask yourself "why aren't they playing him more?"

 

Me neither.

 

IMO selling (this) player for £35m and then re-signing him 12months later for half the amount would be to waste 17.5M and huge wages to chase a memory.  And indeed to sully that memory, when he cannot perform to justify that cost, and gets an (Andy) King-size slating.

Apart from Wilf can u name one midfielder that has consistently performed better than Drinky did when he was with us? 

[KingsX]

3 minutes ago, Albert said:

Apart from Wilf can u name one midfielder that has consistently performed better than Drinky did when he was with us? 

This is the transfer forum.  I am not trying to debate what DD has done for the club, but whether he would be a wise acquisition.  Which means the player he is now, and will be in future.

 

Whether we have replaced the player he was from 2014-2016 (and hasn't been since), is a valid (but different) debate.  All I am saying is I can't see DD, approaching 30 with some degree of chronic injury, being an answer.

 

We're talking past each other, so I'll rest my case on this topic.

 

 

[Merging Cultures]

We are a different team now, playing a different type of football. He's moved on, so should we.

[Albert]

37 minutes ago, KingsX said:

This is the transfer forum.  I am not trying to debate what DD has done for the club, but whether he would be a wise acquisition.  Which means the player he is now, and will be in future.

 

Whether we have replaced the player he was from 2014-2016 (and hasn't been since), is a valid (but different) debate.  All I am saying is I can't see DD, approaching 30 with some degree of chronic injury, being an answer.

 

We're talking past each other, so I'll rest my case on this topic.

 

 

Each to their own mate & I understand where you’re coming from. I’m probably slightly biased towards Drinky for a number of reasons but for me he’d be a cracking signing for us regardless of what’s gone on before. Looking at the transfer fees flying about and the fact we’ve just spent £20 odd million on a teenager that has no experience i think signing a proven Prem player that is a consistent performer who would slot right into the squad on a cut price deal is a no brainer. 

[Guest Chocolate Teapot]

Really not sure we'd need him and we would need to get rid of 2 CMs which i can't see happening.

 

As i said as well given the bad blood between him and the club, and the view that his best days were behind him when he left i would be suprised if we signed him.

[volpeazzurro]

2 hours ago, Albert said:

Lol. So you’re saying given the opportunity you’d turn down a £5m-£7m pay cheque and the chance to play for one of the biggest clubs in England alongside some of the best players in the World to stay at a club you’d been at for 5yrs that had gone as far as it could & had Craig Shakespeare as your manager?!?! 

 

Absolutely Albert, perhaps this poster has never moved jobs and tried to better himself in his entire life then?

It's a job to footballers and as well as well as the money,  most since kids would be dreaming of and trying to play at the highest level they can. Could we not say that two of our favourite sons Heskey and Kate did absolutely the right thing? I was hugely disappointed at the time but understood and wished them the best. It's only when things are done in a particular way like Marhez that I feel that we have a right to gripe.

[Koke]

Of all the crucial title winners (first teamers) Drinkwater is probably my least favourite. All the things people accuse Demarai Gray of I see in Drinkwater imo. When things aren't going his way he's a moody cvnt with a slapped arse of a face and an attitude problem (seeing as we are judging people by their body language on FT). His hoofballs to Vardy got old very quick and I don't want to see that ever again back at City  

 

Never cared for Drinkwater. I'll take him back for £12m and reduced wages but beyond that, no thank you.

[AS78UK]

His form for us got him into the England Squad, if he can get anywhere close to that it will have played well. Just need to know if his this is one of his good seasons or one of his off ones. 

[Bert]

2 hours ago, Albert said:

Apart from Wilf can u name one midfielder that has consistently performed better than Drinky did when he was with us? 

Kante  

[Woodsey1727]

If King, James and mendy leave I would take him then we would have 4 decent cm options 

[1972 Fox]

59 minutes ago, Albert said:

Each to their own mate & I understand where you’re coming from. I’m probably slightly biased towards Drinky for a number of reasons but for me he’d be a cracking signing for us regardless of what’s gone on before. Looking at the transfer fees flying about and the fact we’ve just spent £20 odd million on a teenager that has no experience i think signing a proven Prem player that is a consistent performer who would slot right into the squad on a cut price deal is a no brainer. 

Are you referring here to 21 year old Maddison?

[Ric Flair]

Can't be having him back here whilst we've got 7 central midfielders and zero chance of the ones we want shot of going. We don't seem to have that much flexibility in increasing our wages and he'd command at least what he was on here before which was £80-90k wasn't it? Horrible.

[Guest Col city fan]

16 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

Can't be having him back here whilst we've got 7 central midfielders and zero chance of the ones we want shot of going. We don't seem to have that much flexibility in increasing our wages and he'd command at least what he was on here before which was £80-90k wasn't it? Horrible.

This is the problem. We really do have so many central mids at the club and, Wilf aside, none of them much better than the others.

It reads like an upper championship midfield imo. King, James, Can’t Mendy, Iborra, Silva - all just average at this level. And we can’t sell em cos no-one wants em.

[Bazly]

Reported to be heading off on loan to Crystal Palace or West Ham. I really think he is a spent force. He has had one good season in the last 4 and now sidelined injured as much as not. Classic decent player once on the slide, recon he'll be turning out for Reading FC soon enough.

[Ric Flair]

16 minutes ago, Col city fan said:

This is the problem. We really do have so many central mids at the club and, Wilf aside, none of them much better than the others.

It reads like an upper championship midfield imo. King, James, Can’t Mendy, Iborra, Silva - all just average at this level. And we can’t sell em cos no-one wants em.

Yeah, central midfield needs sorting at some point but we've other pressing issues. I'm quietly confident Silva will become more influential this season and I do like Iborra but it's hard to argue that we're sound in midfield. Ndidi is obviously class too. If we can somehow move Mendy on, convince James to go in to coaching instead and King can do what he wants. Doesn't warrant the dough he's on but the lads been here from the start with us and would probably play for free, I'd stop paying him. Then we could look at bringing in one more, but until then I see little point.

[Albert]

1 hour ago, Bert said:

Kante  

...he’s dead to me ?

[That_Dude]

6 hours ago, WigstonWanderer said:

If I earned 5m (his reputed wage at Leicester) in a single year at any stage of my career, I guarantee that I would already be set up for life, let alone earning it for 3+ years. 5m or 7m wouldn’t make much of a difference.

With money come needs.

 

Sure, from our point view it's a tremendous amount of money but these guys have an expensive way of life. He ain't going to travel in economy or take the subway to go home. He might also think about his family (not only his kids).

 

So 5-7M more would make the difference. It would do for any of us anyway.

Edited 31 July 2018 by That_Dude

[SecretPro]

2 hours ago, volpeazzurro said:

Absolutely Albert, perhaps this poster has never moved jobs and tried to better himself in his entire life then?

It's a job to footballers and as well as well as the money,  most since kids would be dreaming of and trying to play at the highest level they can. Could we not say that two of our favourite sons Heskey and Kate did absolutely the right thing? I was hugely disappointed at the time but understood and wished them the best. It's only when things are done in a particular way like Marhez that I feel that we have a right to gripe.

Hang on a minute? Isn't that a bit of a contradiction? 

 

Deadline day occured with barely so much as a mention that Drinky was on his way out, he rocked up at Chelsea with a couple of hours to go and hung around with his fingers crossed that Chelsea first choice Ross Barkley would walk away from the deal, then he snuck in the back door knowing full well he was being picked up by Chelsea to satisfy the Champions League quota and also knowing they didn't *really* want him, they wanted Barkley. Meanwhile it left us scrambling around to find a replacement in Silva and we all know how that turned out. If anybody left us deep in the shit that window then it was Drinky, not Riyad. Sure, Drinky didn't bitch and whine for a move but then Drinky wasn't a world beater like Riyad, and instead took the option of trying to slip off unseen into the night for absolutely nothing more than a fatter pay cheque. In my view, that is not a dignified exit. 

 

He did succeed in warming the bench for a season and flushing his England career down the toilet though, so fair play to him. 

Edited 31 July 2018 by SecretPro

[That_Dude]

9 hours ago, Master Fox said:

Drinky coming back with a point to prove is a yes from me. Played well with Ndidi. 

No he didn't. It might have something to do with him being injured but he really was bad the last half of the season, hoofing it forward like there is no tomorrow.

[That_Dude]

8 hours ago, Leeds Fox said:

 

It’s Puel’s formation for next season. I’m sure I’ve seen it mentioned somewhere on Foxestalk. 

I'd be highly surprised if we don't go with 4 at the back next season. 

[That_Dude]

2 hours ago, Albert said:

Each to their own mate & I understand where you’re coming from. I’m probably slightly biased towards Drinky for a number of reasons but for me he’d be a cracking signing for us regardless of what’s gone on before. Looking at the transfer fees flying about and the fact we’ve just spent £20 odd million on a teenager that has no experience i think signing a proven Prem player that is a consistent performer who would slot right into the squad on a cut price deal is a no brainer. 

He's never really been consistent. 1 year up, 1 year down.

[Ric Flair]

24 minutes ago, SecretPro said:

Hang on a minute? Isn't that a bit of a contradiction? 

 

Deadline day occured with barely so much as a mention that Drinky was on his way out, he rocked up at Chelsea with a couple of hours to go and hung around with his fingers crossed that Chelsea first choice Ross Barkley would walk away from the deal, then he snuck in the back door knowing full well he was being picked up by Chelsea to satisfy the Champions League quota and also knowing they didn't *really* want him, they wanted Barkley. Meanwhile it left us scrambling around to find a replacement in Silva and we all know how that turned out. If anybody left us deep in the shit that window then it was Drinky, not Riyad. Sure, Drinky didn't bitch and whine for a move but then Drinky wasn't a world beater like Riyad, and instead took the option of trying to slip off unseen into the night for absolutely nothing more than a fatter pay cheque. In my view, that is not a dignified exit. 

 

He did succeed in warming the bench for a season and flushing his England career down the toilet though, so fair play to him. 

 

Drinkwater had informed the club he wanted to leave very early last summer and his behaviour that summer was not far off Riyad's from what I gather. Somebody within the club, whether it was Shakespeare alluded to it as well once he'd gone. 

[WigstonWanderer]

4 hours ago, Albert said:

Lol. So you’re saying given the opportunity you’d turn down a £5m-£7m pay cheque and the chance to play for one of the biggest clubs in England alongside some of the best players in the World to stay at a club you’d been at for 5yrs that had gone as far as it could & had Craig Shakespeare as your manager?!?! 

 

Not at all. I’m saying that he was already (reputedly) on around 5m and that I doubt whether a few extra million would set him up financially more than he already was, though of course more money is always better. I’m guessing that the achievement opportunity was more significant. He backed himself and it has backfired.

 

IMHO signing him back would be a mistake unless he takes a huge pay cut, and I doubt he would want that. At peak he was great but his final 6 months, not so much.

[ClaphamFox]

1 minute ago, WigstonWanderer said:

Not at all. I’m saying that he was already (reputedly) on around 5m and that I doubt whether a few extra million would set him up financially more than he already was, though of course more money is always better. I’m guessing that the achievement opportunity was more significant. He backed himself and it has backfired.

 

IMHO signing him back would be a mistake unless he takes a huge pay cut, and I doubt he would want that. At peak he was great but his final 6 months, not so much.

If he ever considered it even a remote possibility that he would be a regular starter for Chelsea, then I can only salute his extraordinary capacity for self-delusion.