Sheffield Wednesday & Bosnia 2010-2011

[Chief Rum]

Hey folks!

I have finally negotiated my way to the end of the 2009-10 season, and played out the World Cup in South Africa.

But the chapter of this story is just getting started.

A year ago, my Owls of the Sheffield Wednesday club just missed out on Europe in our first season back in the Premiership. Our goal was to reach Europe.

We ended up doing that with ease, qualifying for the UEFA Cup this year, and nearly winning through to the Champions League, despite a late season slump.

If you have not read of the Owls' travails this past season, you may read it in my first thread, Sheffield Wednesday 2009-10.

It's a brand new season for us and another chance to improve. The UEFA Cup won't be enough. We want the Champions League, and that will be our goal, regardless of what the board says. And, of course, we will aspire to be champions of the ultra-tough Barclays Premiership, the top league in the world.

This season brings with it a personal twist, though. In mid-July, 2010, I am hired as the new national team coach for Bosnia. It will be my job to get this young squad to Euro 2012.

This thread will detail the happenings for both squads in the 2010-11 season.

Go Owls!

[Chief Rum]

The New Club Season

As any FM player knows, a ton of things happen when the season turns from one year to the next. Here is a breakdown on the goings-on at Hillsborough.

-- We are now Continental in reputation as a club. That is certainly a step up for us, who were National before. The Owls are now as well-known as I am. I jumped to Continental rep as a manager in February, 2010, when we won the Carling Cup.

-- Money! This is always some of my favorite news, because a big balance generally means a big transfer budget. The Premiership is doing well, and we get kicked down a cool $26.5 M for TV rights for our league matches. Even after paying out some $7.5 M in dividends to shareholders, we have a healthy bank balance of $60 M, the second-highest it has been since 2005 (it blipped a touch higher in early January, after we received the $25 M fee from Chelsea for Juha Ojala).

-- Unfortunately, the board members were less than generous with all that cash. They gave me just $12 M to spend on transfers. That won't help me much right now, although I guess it leaves a lot of room for a possible winter window increase. Also, I did spend almost $23 M of the $29 M in transfer funds I was given in April after signing my contract extension. Well, they didn't give that to me to just sit on it, did they?

-- The payroll budget is very high, at $70 M. The squad salaries are around $50-55 M right now, and we have some $9 M coming off of the books on July 1. So we have plenty of room to bring players in (and if you have been following along, you know we already started with several Bosman transfers, and a couple normal transfers as well).

-- One area the board promised to improve last season was the training facilities, and they did so. We have now improved to top training facilities plus youth academy! I don't think it will have its impact until next year (at least with the kids being brought up), but I am sure it will help us in the training room right away. If we can get the attendance high enough, I might push to expand Hillsborough, although I wouldn't mind bulldozing the infamous ground either, and putting up a tribute to the 96 football fans who lost their lives there in a soccer tragedy in 1989. Getting a new ground is much more difficult than expanding the current one, though.

-- I did have training facilities, of course, so I did get a fresh batch of kids. No one to exciting just yet. My AM pointed out a midfielder named Harvey, but the kid is lacking in a couple of my key areas (particularly Determination). Seven of the new additions do have the requisite mental skills, and hopefully will develop the physical game. None will see time outside of the U-18 squad, of course, for some time.

-- Ricardo Vaz Te is named the Supporters' Player of the Year for the third straight season. I thought Toifilou Maoulida would have a chance after a great 2009-10 season, but the younger spark that is Vaz Te is still the fans' choice. We wouldn't be anywhere without either Vaz Te or Tofu, of course.

-- The board is delighted with my performance as manager. We are expected to achieve a respectable position in the Premiership this season. Well, I read that as meaning repeat8ing last year. I want to do better, of course. The supporters largely echo the board's sentiments, but are more specific on my goal--to qualify for Europe. Well, I will certainly attempt to oblige them there.

Meanwhile, in my Bosnia job, the Bosnia Football Association is expecting us to be competitive during qualifying for Euro 2012. They have also stated they want me to develop the youth on the squad to build a foundation for the future. For the footy fans of Bosnia, they want me to uphold the country's honor during Euro 2012 qualifying. I'm not sure what the actually translates into in results, but I will do my best and hope it's enough.

The date is June 20, 2010.

[Chief Rum]

June 2010

Here is a wrap up of the remaining news items from June.

June 20 Our friendly with Basel is cancelled because it comes too close with the start of Switzerland's Axpo Super League. We'll just have to find another opponent, and later in the day, we do: Bundesliga champ Bochum, at our place. That's an improvment.

-- With a strong need for more transfer funds than I had been given, I decided to offer around several of my players on the fringe and younger talents. I don't expect (or want) to move them all, but hopefully some of the lesser ones will draw decent interest and get me some more cash. The players are followed by the amount I offered for them to clubs:

ST Kevin Thompson ($7.75 M)
ST Rocco Sacco ($5.75 M)
ST Kjartan Henry Finnbogason ($5.5 M)
ST Drew Talbot ($3.8 M)
ST Hjalmar ($3.3 M)

AMR Cristiano ($4 M)
AML Johan Absalonsen ($5.75 M)
MR Romano Denneboom ($4.4 M)
MC Ari Salo ($2.1 M)
DM Kevin Gomez ($7 M)

DR Frank Simek ($3.1 M)
DL Steven Hammell ($3.6 M)
DL Trond Erik Bertelsen ($2.7 M)
DC Jens-Kristian Sorensen ($1.1 M)
DC Richard Wood ($1 M)

GK Kenneth Vermeer ($3.1 M)
GK Callum Reidford ($825K)

Several of these players are quality players I won't move if I don't get that number at least. Those are Thompson, Sacco, Salo and Gomez.

But many of these players I just simply have to move. Cristiano is a pill in the locker room, and Absalonsen did a lot of complaining this past year. So did Bertelsen. And I know Vermeer and Bertelsen are going to ballistic at their lack of playing time.

The most interesting moves to follow are Simek and Hammell, two longtime starters with some emoptional attachment to me and the club. For Simek, I am one of his favorites, but he just isn't up to play at this level, IMO. And Hammell is a two-time past Supporter's Player of the Year, and is very popular.

-- Just the opposite of the last post: I realize Vaz Te and Tofu are in the final year of their contracts. I am not going to allow the questiont o even come up and take care of this now. I thought about leaving Tofu (31 y.o.) alone, but he is still too good, and we're still too poor in proven depth up front.

I offer a one-year extension to 2012 to Tofu for $2 M, with a $550K bonus. Vaz Te wants $3.5 M through 2013, and a $1.2 M bonus. I offer that, but add in a $50M minimum fee release clause.

-- I pull Thompson, Hjalmar, Sorenson and Sacco off of the market when I don't get any interest for them at that price. I'm not going to lower my demands for them. Among the rest, only Gomez, Salo, Simek, Cristiano and Bertelsen are receiving interest. I will lower my prices on the others and re-offer.

-- Hammell is bitterly disappointed at my decision to offer him to other clubs. He spoke to the media about this (bad idea, Steve). He must not have noticed me playing him much less, and also signing his replacement to a Bosman deal. Ironically, after no one bites on Hammell the second time, I take him off the market, at least in offers, because I don't want him possibly turning the fans on me. I do transfer list him, though.

-- Kiss agrees to a deal with Portugal's Felgueiras, and will move to them on July 1. Nearly all of the first team and Reserves players who are nearing the end of their contracts have now signed Bosmans to move on to a new club. Nice to see my castoffs are in demand.

June 21 Tofu agrees to the extension.

June 22 Vaz Te agrees to his extension. Good, both of the key players on their final years have re-upped.

-- Money from nowhere. We got $10K from a future fee on the sale of Luke Boden between Scottish clubs St. Mirren and Dundee Utd. I have never even heard of this guy. I looked in the club history and discovered he had been moved way back in 2005, two years before I arrived at Hillsborough. Okay, well, I'll take it.

-- I start to receive bids on the players I have offered around.

Bertelsen draws offers from Sturm Graz (Austria) and Seongnam (South Korea).
Gomez draws an offer from Fenerbahce (Turkey).
Cristiano draws offers from Columbus (USA), San Jose (USA), HJK (Finland) and Mainz (Germany).
Absalonsen draws offers from Austria Wien (Austria), Coventry and Wolves.
Talbot draws an offer from Oxford.
Denneboom draws offers from Sporting de Gijon (Portugal), Malatyaspor (Turkey), Bursaspor (Turkey) and Kocaelispor (also Turkey--he's not Turkish, I don't know what's going on there).
Finnbogason draws offers from Cardiff, Blackburn and Bolton.
Reidford draws an offer from Swansea.
Vermeer draws an offer from Bristol City.

I accept almost all of the offers, renegotiating a couple I want to make slight changes to.

-- I am not so fortunate with Simek and Sale. Bolton consider a move for Simek, but pull out, saying he wouldn't improve their team. Derby decides not to pursue Salo because they feel the deal isn't good for the money. I re-offer both around for less money.

-- A solid looking Italian GK named Stafano Terenzio agrees to a Bsoman deal with us. He was with Serie A squad Siena. The 23-year-old has some very solid skills, kinda like Tanghe when I got him. Also like Tanghe, my intention with Terenzio is cover, with me trying to move Vermeer and Reidford. It's amazing how GK injuries pile up all at once in this game.

-- Having realized I was still a bit short on the backline in depth, I decided to offer a one-year Bosman deal to Surinam defender Kurt Elshot of NAC Breda in the Eredivisie. Elshot is 33, but he is still pretty fast and has good offensive skills. He's also a smart player, although he isn't as solid defensively as I would like (similar to Mendy in that respect). He can play in the middle and on the right.

June 23 My Bosman offer to an exciting young right wing prospect, Danish 18-y.o. Nicolai Wittrup, is accepted. Wittrup will join us from Betis and go to the Reserves.

-- A couple more of my outgoing players receive Bosman offers. Serie B squad Venezia offer a contract to Perrotta, and Oldham makes offer to Westerblad.

-- I decide to re-up my top physio (20 Physiotherapy) in Ronny Morthier, but I am still looking for a guy with a higher reputation to take over my lead physio job. I need to make a change here because of all the injuries we suffered this past season.

June 24 My advert for AM's only draws interest from current Sheff Wed coaches, strangely enough. I decide to offer an upgrade to Andrey Kochergin.

-- Star midfield prospect Garrido returns from his season on loan at Parma. He started for a solid Serie A squad in 2009-10, and got 2 G, 4 A and a 7.06 rat in 33 matches for them. He's just 18 and looks terrific. He is definitely in my midfield plans and looks like a possible superstar on the rise.

-- Gomez rejects the offer from Fenerbahce, saying he wanted a bigger contract. I would have liked the transfer money, but I won't under-sell him. So Gomez is off the market.

-- Derby make an offer for Salo (the money must match up now), but Bolton says the same thing about Simek's fit with the team in their interest. Well, then, why are you interested? Sheesh.

June 25 Reidford and Vermeer both agree to deals with offering clubs in Swansea (L1) and Bristol City (Champ). We will receive $375K and 30% future fee for Reidford and $700K straight for Vermeer.

-- Talbot rejected the offer from Oxford, saying the bas pay is unacceptable. That is very disappoointing. He is 23 now, and no longer a prospect, but I have always liked the way he plays. He needs to move somewhere else to show what he can do.

-- Westerblad accepts the Bosman offer from Oldham (L2), and will move on July 1.

June 26 My scout and physio adverts come back. I make an offer to Hubert Neu of Kaiserslautern and Eyjolfur Sverrisson of Hertha BSC for scotuing, and to a national rep physio named File at Brazilian side Estacio de Sa.

-- It's a bad day for guys I want to leave, leaving. Bertelsen and Cristiano turn down all of the offers to them as unacceptable, and they had three and four teams after them. They were generally upset at the salary terms offered. Salo also turns down a deal from Derby, saying the signing bonus is too low.

-- Absalonsen actually tries to leave, agreeing to a deal with Wolves, but, sonofab..., they can't afford the transfer fee. Grrr... he rejected offers from Austria Wien and Coventry to go with Wolves, too. I re-offer him for a little less money.

June 27 I had offered a Bosman deal to fast right winger Karim Ziani, a member of Algeria's national team and currently contracted to Ligue 2 Orange club Amiens. His quickness and ball control would serve as a good backup choice on the right side and in the middle, essentially repalcing Denneboom. Unfortunately, he agreed to a deal with the Eredivisie's AZ instead, turning down us, Terrassa (Spain) and Strasbourg (France).

-- Finnbogason agrees to a deal with Bolton. Finally! A higher money transfer deal that actually goes through! He will move for $3 M. He rejected the offers from Cardiff & Blackburn.

-- Perrotta agrees to a Bosman deal with Venezia and will move on July 1.

--File agrees to a deal with us, and will be my main physio. I hope I see better numbers on the injuries now (and more accurate estimates of the returns of players from injury).

June 28 It's back to training day. My players have returned from vacation and gotten back onto the training pitch. I have dropped a lot of the technical skills and amped up the aerobic and strength training for preseason training.

-- Scouts Sverrisson and Neu both agree to deals with us, and will round out my scouting staff. They are upgrades over my previous hires.

-- Genk (Belgium), Wolves and Coventry all make new offers for Absalonsen.

June 29 Denneboom is being difficult in his proposed move. He wants us to pay $1.2 M to him through 2012 to make up for the loss in salary he will have in going to Kocaelispor. I do the math and realize that keeping him will mean $3.8 M over the next two years, but paying this compensatory salary and letting him go will only cost me $500K. So I say yes. He will move to the Turkish club in July for $2 M.

-- Garrido suffers a dead leg in training, but he will only miss a week. He will probably be available for our first friendly with FC Bayern on July 6.

June 30 My coaching advert has gone through two rounds, and I still haven't seen anyone I like. I decide to stop the advert.

-- The FC Bayern friendly will be televised. Yay, that was the whole point in me scheduling quality opponents like that.

-- Finnbogason suffers a chest injury in training. lol...I am selling Bolton damaged goods. He goes to them on July 1 (i.e. tomorrow).

[Chief Rum]

July 1, 2010--The Departures

A lot happens on July 1, so it seems fitting to break down just who is leaving Hillsborough Stadium, and who is coming in. There may be big tickets pickups down the road (who knows, really), but this is the main day that shapes the roster for the rest of the year.

Here is a look at the players departing Sheffield Wednesday on this day.

FIRST TEAM PLAYERS LEAVING
(in order of importance)

LW Ross Wallace This young Scottish winger actually started for us on the left side for much of the first half of the season, and he looks to have a bright future. Unfortunately, due to what I believe to be a bug in the game, Wallace somehow decided he wasn't playing enough (he started just about every match he was healthy for from August to November), and got unhappy about it. Nothing I did seemed to get him to figure this out. So when January rolled around, it was clear he would sign a Bosman deal. He chose Premiership squad Norwich, too, a bit of a bugaboo for us. Needless to say, Wallace did not feature prominently in the first team in the second half, and I don't particularly wish him well.

DC Eric Addo I feel bad about Addo leaving on a couple levels. One, his play was never so poor that he deserved to have his role reduced, and he even played well during our strong winter, when he needed to start with Tim Bakens out and Djimi Traore on international leave. Two, I suddenly find myself looking for veteran backline depth, which he could have provided. Still, Addo is an older player whose best days are certainly behind him. It's a good time to allow him to leave. He will play with Swansea in League One this year.

DC Martin Laursen In case you're a longtime reader and don't recall Laursen, he is a guy I brought on as a major backline get back in the Championship days, and whom I tried to move last year after he proved to be too error-prone to be starting in a Premiership central defense. Failing to move him and knowing he would have a bad attitude about being stuck in the Reserves, I loaned him out to Nottingham Forest for the year. He did poorly there, and they didn't pick up their option on him. So he will now walk out of Hillsborough on a free.

ST Kjartan Henry Finnbogason A Sheffield scout once said that Finnbogason was destined for great things in his career. I am wondering if he really was watching Finnbogason. The Icelandic striker is decent and has his moments, but he is just not a Premiership striker, at least not on the level we need. He got plenty of opportunities, too. Interestingly, he will go to Premiership squad Bolton, and we'll get to see firsthand if we were wrong about him.

DM Petr Vorisek Vorisek had to know his days were numbered after we brought in Mathieu Flamini. He might have had a chance if Montgomery continued to be just decent, but the Scottish midfielder pretty much turned himself into a star and one of the more valuable players on this team last year. It's hard enough to get playing time for Flamini now, so keeping Vorisek was a luxury I couldn't afford. He is going to Saudi Arabia's Al Ittihad.

MC David Dunn This veteran midfielder was one of our key players before this last season, and even in 2009-10, he started off looking like a player who would have an impact. A major heel injury knocked him out for three months, though, and hurt his effectiveness. That, his age and the expiring contract made us decide to allow him to move on. He is going to Walsall, in the Championship.

GK Kenneth Vermeer I brought Vermeer to Sheffield in the hopes he would be the next great goalkeeper, and then Adrian Berbia even hurt himself, giving Vermeer a shot to show his stuff. Unfortunately, Vermeer seemed very ordinary, despite solid ratings. His spot starts were a bit of an adventure. When Jonah Tanghe started showing a flair for being the backup in December, Vermeer was out of the rotation. There's no point in keeping around keepers you can't depend on. Vermeer is going to the Championship's Bristol City.

RESERVES/FORMER FIRST TEAMERS LEAVING
(in order of importance)

DC Graeme Lee Like some of the others here, Lee did not deserve to have his last days at Hillsborough go down this way. He was a starter in the Championship seasons, and a key reserve in the first Premiership season. He is over 30 now, though, and was never fleet of foot anyway. Physically, this just wasn't a level he could compete at anymore. I never tested that theory--Lee always seemed to play higher than his ratings would suggest. He will play for nonleague Forest Green this year.

LW Lloyd Dyer Dyer was a bit of an afterthought this past season, so he probably is unknown to most here. But he used to be one of our top playmakers. He was dynamite for us in the Championship season, really creating opportunities for our forwards. He is very fast, even now, and knows how to set up a score. I just felt I had better options at left wing and couldn't be sure he could hold up in the Premiership. I am happy to see him leave to get his chance elsewhere, but surprised he has to leave on a free, and not via a Bosman.

DM Simone Perrotta Perrotta was probably one of the biggest "names" we had brought in the past couple of years. As a former Italy international with solid ratings, he seemed like a guy who could make a difference. But one thing that was true about Perrotta is that he was truly solid in everything--and not great at anything. He was the kind of player with every stat from 11-16, or so it seemed. So his performances were also rather vanilla--functionally sound, but no "best player on the pitch" days. Also, he was crowded out in the same defensive midfield position that also displaced Vorisek. Finally, he is ont he wrong side of 30. He leaves for Venezia of the Serie B in Italy.

ST Henrik Pedersen I originally noticed Pedersen when I was with Silkeborg. He was a favored personnel there after starring there a few years ago. He was a little-used part on a Premiership Reserve squad, though, when I went out looking for a big target man to pair with Vaz Te in the Championship. He had a very strong year, but he would soon be replaced by Tofu. His older age and a poor attitude pretty much led to his demotion to the Reserves, and his career came full circle, as it were. He goes to League Two's Peterborough.

ST Anthony Stokes This is a guy I am very disappointed he never really worked out. He's a young Irish forward with good spped who can just do magic with the ball and seemingly palce the ball in the net at a whim--on the practice pitch. Stokes never semeed to translate some impressive skills to the game pitch, and that doomed him to the Reserves. I kept hoping he would break out and figure it out, so I sent him out on a lot of loans. But he never could break into the rotation. I was a little surprised a lower league squad didn't sign him to a Bosman. He leaves us on a free.

WBR Zoltan Kiss Kiss played for me at Silkeborg, and I brought him in to Sheffield as well. He was always a versatile player who could hold up reasonably well in the central midfield, right wing and right back. He was a strong contributor for us in the Championship, but the Premiership is a step too high for him. He proved that in our first year up, and pretty muchs pent the entire second year in the Reserves. He goes to Portugal's Felgueiras.

MC Bjorn Westerblad I brought in Westerblad three years ago as a potential prospect midfielder who could make a difference as a playmaker. Unfortunately, Westerblad just never quite seemed to make it that far. He certainly has talent, and good ratings, but he didn't show it on the pitch, and that's where it really matters. His inconsistency led to playing with the Reserves last year for the most part, and now he will be playing for Oldham in League Two.

ST Henrich Bencik At one time, Bencik looked like he could be an effective option if some of my top strikers went down. Of course, this was back in the Championship days. He was never a serious option once we got to the Premiership, and he has hardly played the past two seasons outside of the Reserves. He is also aging rapidly. He leaves us for nonleague Wrexham.

GK Callum Reidford Reidford was supposed to be the big young keeper pickup two years ago as we came into the Premiership. He was very pedestrian in his starts, though, a fact that became glaring when Berbia would go on his by now surely patented "little three-week injuries". Reidford was the reason we brought in Vermeer. I hope my choices there are better this year. Reidford will join Addo at Swansea.

FB Martin Albrechtsen It's simple, really. I only brought Albrechtsen in to move castaway winger Darren Potter last summer. This departure was pre-ordained, and only would have been stopped if Albrechtsen somehow went against his ratings and past performances over more than a decade of football and became my dream fullback. It didn't happen; he spent the whole year in the Reserves. And now he moves on to Finnish club TPS.

FB Jan Frederiksen I brought in Frederiksen a couple years ago as my backup left back, but the high level of play and his advancing years have just made him well below the standard that we need now. He goes to League One's Gillingham.

The players coming in will be featured in the next post.

[Chief Rum]

July 1, 2010--The Arrivals

It's a lot more fun to write about the arrivals than the players leaving.

FIRST TEAM PLAYERS ARRIVING
(in order of importance)

MC MArc Garrido I have already talked a lot about Garrido. When a French youth player, at just 18, goes on loan to a quality Serie A club like Parma, and starts all year, playing well, that, my friends is a star on the rise. Garrido is not technically a new addition, since we brought him on a Bosman last year before loaning him out, but for our purposes, he essentially is. He will be in the central midfield rotation, and is the heir apparent to Garcia's position in the offense. He needs to show he can handle the rigors of Premiership first team play, but I don't have too many reservations there.

DL Leighton Baines Getting a premier player at the left back spot was an offseason priority, and I think we got it here with Baines. He is fast and tireless. He has top notch skills crossing and dribbling. He works very hard and determined. And he has some excellent defensive attributes. He is head-and-shoulders over anyone we have had at this position before. He has even seen time with England's national squad, although it's awfully hard to get regular time behind the amazing Ashley Cole. Baines joins us from Man City, where he had four straight years over a 7 rating.

DR Mark Wilson Wilson is our attempt to fill the right back spot with a player who can match Simek's defensive skill and tenacity with Mendy's offensive ability and physical quality. He isn't a worldclass fullback by any rate, but he is definitely a player who can help us. He is smart and skilled with the ball. He has good pace and strength. He has the defensive skills to stay away from dumb mistakes. This 26-y.o. Scottish international never once put up less than a 7 rating with Dundee United in five years.

MR Theo Walcott Walcott is probably the biggest "name" we targeted, and is certainly the most expensive (we shelled out $13.5 M total for him to Southampton). This 21-y.o. experienced England international winger could be a superstar on the rise, and the answer for us at the troubled right wing spot. But will he let the mental side of the game get in the way? Will he put out the daily effort? That is the question. What is not a question is that he is one of the fastest players in the world. He can dribble at top speed and effectively, can cross the world's top wingers, and finish with the world's top strikers. He is just a very dangerous player that other teams will have to account for if he plays up to his abilities. He dominated the Championship last year, but was only solid at the Premiership level the previous three years. Of course, those years were when he was just a kid, and his best year before Southampton's drop was the club's relegation year.

LW Mike Zonneveld We brought in this veteran Dutch winger as a replacement for Wallace, and as insurance in case Blondel doesn't work out on the left. Our wing positions were a couple of our biggest issues to target this offseason, and I feel a lot more comfortable with this guy around. He is 29, so this is probably not a longterm investment. He is creative, a very good crosser, and an excellent dribbler. He has fine speed and creativity and he is solid in the mental game. He also has the defensive skills to drop back to left back if needed, although that's not his strongest position. One of my favorite skills for him, though, is his amazing freekick ability. We haven't really had a guy who was truly dangerous from a spot 35 yards out, but this guy really is. Zonneveld joins us from Championship's Portsmouth. He dominated at that level, and was also fantastic in the Premiership three years ago when Portsmouth was top level. He cost us $7 M.

DRC Kurt Elshot Elshot is the veteran defender we decided to go after for depth purposes. Elshot, from Surinam, is 33, and he isn't a much better defender than Mendy. But he is solid and smart, and hasn't lost a step physically. He is a creative player from the backline, and has the height to play in the middle as well as his natural spot at right back. His willingness to assume a backup role was key to our decision to bring him in. He has been playing with NAC Breda in the Eredivisie the past few years, and been effective, if not spectacular.

DC Carl Medjani Medjani spurned our attempt in January to get him, but was more amenable when we approached Pool about his again last month. He is a 25-y.o. French defender who seemed to be wasting away in Liverpool's Reserves, and had grown bitter about it. I expect him to step in as a quality backup on our backline, though. Medjani is solid defensively and plays with good intelligence. He also plays fairly tall and works hard. His physical and mental skills, though, aren't top notch for this level, and will probably keep him in a backup role. For depth, though, he is a good pickup. Medjani cost us $3.6 M.

ST Arouna Kone Kone is a bit of a mystery right now. He broke his foot in February and is just now rounding back into shape. I always knew he wasn't the headiest of players, but solid speed combined withe xcellent dribbling and finishing ability usualyl translates into an acceptable striker in the short term, even at this level. Kone's physical and technical skills really took a hit, though, with this injury, and I am not sure if he will come all the way back, even at just 26. And I won't likely know until near the start of the league season. That is too much unpredictability to go into a season, especially a European one, when you have two big starters and some question makes behind them. I am also paying Kone, an Ivorian international too much money, to be a Reserve striker, but that's where he may end up until I can feel more confident about his ability and potential to contribute. He joins us from Zaragoza, and was a two-time double-digit scorer in the Primera Division three years ago.

RESERVE PLAYERS ARRIVING
(in order of importance)

DC Jack Wilson Wilson has some abilities that are just awe-inspiring. He has the kind of passing skills that is the envy of some worldclass midfielders--and he's a centreback. In that respect, he is a nice potential backup for current starter Curtis Davies, himself in excellent creative centreback. Wilson's faults loom just as large, though. He has good physical quality, but has some growing to do. He has issues with the defensive side of the game in the head, and some have questioned his effort. He is just 20, but he dominated in a loan to League One Gillingham last year. But that's League One. He joins us from the Championship's Southampton.

MC John-Paul Kissock Arriving from Everton, Kissock is playmaking midfielder who looks like he could contribute in the very near future. He has fine pass, and an amazing skill set of ball control ability, particularly in his offensive vision and passing. He has to prove himself some more before he gets handed a first team role, but he definitely has a future, if his ratings are to be believed.

MR Nicolai Wittrup This 18-y.o. Danish winger has been noted as a potential future star. That may be true, but he still has a ways to go before he can make am impact on our first team. He has solid pace and is an excellent crosser. But most of the rest of his game needs a lot of work, particularly on the mental side of things. He comes to us from Primera Division club Betis.

GK Stafano Terenzio I brought in Terenzio as an emergency keeper, but he could definitely factor into the picture in net for us, given Berbia's injury issues and age. Terenzio made the grade when I was looking for keepers with high ratings in a few key stats, including high teens in Reflexes and Handling. He was a touch subpar with Siena in the Serie A, but that was in limited matches and who knows how the defense in front of him ranked. He dominated twice while on loan in the Serie C, but that isn't saying much either. Tanghe came in with similar question marks and has shown himself to be a solid netminder. Time will tell if Terenzio can have an impact as well.

DK Allan Sondergaard Sondergaard is all of 17, but he started at left back for nonleague Danish club AB last year at just 16. Even at that level, that is a respectable accomplishment. He is lightning fast which is unusual for a fullback, and he is also fairly well established defensively. His offensive game and the mental side need some work, though. He might be able to move up for a spot start in cup matches, but he isn't there yet for regular first team action. Technically, he doesn't join us until July 12, but I include him because he is a Bosman signee.

ST Jose Garces Garces comes to us from Levante (Segunda Division A) in Spain, and has the reputation of being the next coming of Raul Tamudo, which is high praise. He has some speed and ability, and he's just 19. It remains to be seen, though, if he can evolve into one of Spain's better scorers in recent memory. Even if he doesn't improve, he can be a serviceable target man for many higher level football squads (but not sure about here).

DC Jose Luis Ballesteros Like Garces, Ballesteros is a 19-y.o. Spanish prospect with some quality spots, but a lot of question marks, too. He has some good physical skills, but his defensive qualities need to develop a lot more to get to the first team. He also has some questionable abilities in the mental area of the game. He came to us from Real Sociedad in Spain.