Ali Al-Hamadi - Signed for Ipswich Town

[Carnero]

https://www.teamtalk.com/news/exclusive-blackburn-derby-thunder-into-race-for-wimbledon-hotshot-chased-by-leeds-sunderland

Exclusive: Blackburn and Derby thunder into race for EFL hotshot chased by Leeds, Sunderland

Blackburn Rovers and Derby County have joined the chase for in-demand AFC Wimbledon striker and Leeds United and Sunderland target, Ali Al-Hamadi, TEAMtalk can reveal.

[Carnero]

"Wimbledon hope to collect a fee even higher than the £1.2m they received when selling Ayoub Assal to Qatari side Al-Wakrah in January."

[Kernow]

At first glance I thought this was Ali Al-Habsi, the Wigan keeper from about 10 years ago. Then I saw the story and realised that he’d be much more like to join than Al-Hamadi.

[YorkshireRam]

27 minutes ago, Kernow said:

At first glance I thought this was Ali Al-Habsi, the Wigan keeper from about 10 years ago. Then I saw the story and realised that he’d be much more like to join than Al-Hamadi.

Same, and the worst part is I still thought ''yeah, sounds about right for our recruitment'' 😂

[Jubbs]

Not sure about this one. Considering we had him on trial (he scored a penalty in his only game), we clearly made a mistake not offering him a deal if we were to then buy him for £1m+ a couple of years later.

[QuitYourJibbaJivin]

3 hours ago, Jubbs said:

Not sure about this one. Considering we had him on trial (he scored a penalty in his only game), we clearly made a mistake not offering him a deal if we were to then buy him for £1m+ a couple of years later.

I’m fairly certain we weren’t able to offer him a deal due to restrictions at the time. 

[Srg]

Wasn’t he linked in the summer too?

[Bris Vegas]

Ah the classic TEAMtalk article of linking as many clubs with big fanbases as possible to get the most clicks.

[Ghost of Clough]

5 hours ago, Jubbs said:

Not sure about this one. Considering we had him on trial (he scored a penalty in his only game), we clearly made a mistake not offering him a deal if we were to then buy him for £1m+ a couple of years later.

2 hours ago, QuitYourJibbaJivin said:

I’m fairly certain we weren’t able to offer him a deal due to restrictions at the time. 

Played on trial, then we went into admin a few days later. I'd be surprised if we decided not to keep an eye on him, and even more surprised if he wasn't on our current watch list. I would be surprised if he goes for anything close to £1m+ though

[Ram@Lincoln]

That's the Derby way thought? Reject players when they're cheap/free, sign them for big money, then give them away/pay them to leave. We need to learn how to play the market like Brighton, Brentford or Peterborough. Buy low, sell high.

[DarkFruitsRam7]

1 minute ago, Ram@Lincoln said:

That's the Derby way thought? Reject players when they're cheap/free, sign them for big money, then give them away/pay them to leave. We need to learn how to play the market like Brighton, Brentford or Peterborough. Buy low, sell high.

I completely agree, but we're a million miles away from being able to do that with our current setup. We need a complete restructuring of the club IMO, as we're currently being run like something from the 90s.

Of course, the most important thing is that we're being run as sustainably as possible, and I have complete faith in Clowes on this. But if we're going to progress, we need to modernise. There were some positive noises around this at the recent fans forum, so fingers crossed.

[Ram@Lincoln]

1 minute ago, DarkFruitsRam7 said:

I completely agree, but we're a million miles away from being able to do that with our current setup. We need a complete restructuring of the club IMO, as we're currently being run like something from the 90s.

Of course, the most important thing is that we're being run as sustainably as possible, and I have complete faith in Clowes on this. But if we're going to progress, we need to modernise. There were some positive noises around this at the recent fans forum, so fingers crossed.

Completely this. We have to be sustainable. People were intrigued by Peterborough putting Clarke Harris, Edwards on the transfer list this summer, but that's their policy. Any players out of contract the following summer, who aren't committing to a new deal they try to sell. They announced 9 players on the transfer list, most first team regulars. They then invest that money into the non league and upcoming gems. 

[Gee SCREAMER !!]

8 hours ago, Carnero said:

https://www.teamtalk.com/news/exclusive-blackburn-derby-thunder-into-race-for-wimbledon-hotshot-chased-by-leeds-sunderland

Exclusive: Blackburn and Derby thunder into race for EFL hotshot chased by Leeds, Sunderland

Blackburn Rovers and Derby County have joined the chase for in-demand AFC Wimbledon striker and Leeds United and Sunderland target, Ali Al-Hamadi, TEAMtalk can reveal.

If this is correct all 3 of those clubs can pay more, pay more wages and could offer a massive promotion bonus.  Leeds, Sunderland, Blackburn, League 1 side in that order. That's your lot really.

[Tombo]

4 goals in League 2 if I'm reading correctly?

[Day]

17 hours ago, Ram@Lincoln said:

That's the Derby way thought? Reject players when they're cheap/free, sign them for big money, then give them away/pay them to leave. We need to learn how to play the market like Brighton, Brentford or Peterborough. Buy low, sell high.

This isn't quite the same though is it.

His trial was under a different owner, manager, coaches, academy staff the lot.

If we did go on to sign him now, spending the money would be of no fault of the current owner or staff.

[Ghost of Clough]

1 hour ago, Tombo said:

4 goals in League 2 if I'm reading correctly?

4 goals and 5 assists, plus 1 goal in the FA Cup. 10 goals and 1 assist in 19 games last season as they narrowly avoided relegation.

I know how much a lot of people love xG (🤐), but he currently ranks 3rd in L2 for xG per game and 5th per 90 (out of those playing 50%+ mins).
He's a good all rounder - pace, dribbling, heading, link play, etc... Whilst being about as good as McGoldrick in front of goal, he's creating almost twice as many chances despite being in a midtable side rather than one competing for automatics. He's also only 21.

[Day]

50 minutes ago, Ghost of Clough said:

4 goals and 5 assists, plus 1 goal in the FA Cup. 10 goals and 1 assist in 19 games last season as they narrowly avoided relegation.

I know how much a lot of people love xG (🤐), but he currently ranks 3rd in L2 for xG per game and 5th per 90 (out of those playing 50%+ mins).
He's a good all rounder - pace, dribbling, heading, link play, etc... Whilst being about as good as McGoldrick in front of goal, he's creating almost twice as many chances despite being in a midtable side rather than one competing for automatics. He's also only 21.

What's the xS (expected signing) though? That's what I want to know 

[Ghost of Clough]

1 minute ago, David said:

What's the xS (expected signing) though? That's what I want to know 

I guess it depends what the xF (expected fee) would be

[Jubbs]

34 minutes ago, Ghost of Clough said:

He's a good all rounder - pace, dribbling, heading, link play, etc

He also ranks 8th for chance creating carries. 

He ranks 2nd for open play assists per 90.

[Ram@Lincoln]

3 hours ago, David said:

This isn't quite the same though is it.

His trial was under a different owner, manager, coaches, academy staff the lot.

If we did go on to sign him now, spending the money would be of no fault of the current owner or staff.

If it came across I was meaning that and trying to slag off Clowes, then it's crossed wires.

Regardless of owner, we've never really sold when at the top value. Look at the deals for Rob Hulse and Kris Commons with GSE, before that Barnes and Nyatanga had big interest we reportedly turned down. Further back the deals for Riggott and Christie, then back again for the likes of Stimac. Still baffles me why we agreed to lose nearly £1m on him. 

The main reason Brentford and Brighton have made it to the premiership and maintained their positions is through smart investments and knowing when to sell. This has then enabled then the invest in their stadiums, training facilities etc. 

Steve Mac mk1 had it right in investing in young up and coming players like Thorne, Dawkins and getting the loans of Wisdom, Bamford and Ibe. Just a shame we couldn't make it up then. The waste of money on Butterfield, Jozefzoon, Anya etc is what caused this mess. 

We need to get back to signing assets that will appreciate in value, the likes of Wilson, Fornah and Nyambe (if he stays) is a good move in that direction. The likes of Washington and Bradley will leave us for no regained value. It'll take time for the rebalance for sure.