Hatem Abd Elhamed

Wasn’t asking everyone, because I realise most wont.

 

I will wait till I see him before jumping to conclusions , he,s no even in the door yet and people have made their mind up .

 

Hope he israeli good

 

I admire that

 

We now play an enormous amount of games per season. I expect and want our squad to be filled with quality, both in the starting regulars and those who may only play occasionally.

 

I get the impression some do but with some it's just low budget signings in in the last 3 years have failed ie Gamboa, De Vries, Henry, Commper and Izzy. Loads of fans have already written off Bayo. Hayes seems to be unpopular (I do believe unfairly) by many fans. Only really Bain has succeeded with the team and the fan base. Morgan and Shved are still tentative.

 

This guy could be quality. You have no idea. If you’re signing guys that are established stars to come in and be a role player, you’re going to end up with an unhappy dressing room. There’s guys like this in every team, they come in expecting to be a role player and if they perform above that then it’s win/win.

 

Where did I say established stars should be brought in as squad players?

I said, given that we're now playing an enormous amount of games per season, nearly all of which are important, we should be aiming to have quality players throughout the squad. That's my expectation as regards our recruitment. I don't think that's unattainable for a club of our size and wealth. Incidentally, quality players as back-up needn't be established stars, or even excellent, but they should be considerably more than being distinctly average.

While you could be right about this guy turning into a good player, I'm less convinced. Firstly, he does not have the luxury of being a prospect, or a raw talent capable of being developed. He's 28. He's played for a number of uninspiring clubs, two of which have been unsuccessful loan spells, and has a solitary cap for a poor international side to his name. In my view, there's nothing in his career to date which suggests he's anything other than bang average. Even if he were free I'd still be concerned about this level of signing.

 

That's a totally back-to-front approach. Players should be signed as first-choice picks, and if they fail to make the grade, then they can deputise for someone more competent.

 

We seem to be getting him at the right time..

Off the back of a couple of good season's. Over bad crash injury. First Israeli cap. Peak year's. Isn't his first trip in to Europe as a younger player..

Think he may be surprisingly better than some are anticipating..

 

Ajer and Jullien are first choice everyday of the week.

 

It's a balance though isn't it?

If we bring everyone in thinking they're gonna be first team picks then you end up with an awful lot of unhappy players

 

Unless somebody comes in and plays better.

 

Exactly. Which is why there’s no harm in signing this guy.

 

I should have said that we should be signing players as first-choice picks (van Dijk, Sinclair, Jullien), or future first-choice picks (Wanyama, Christie, Ajer). If they fail to make the grade, fine.

We should never target players who we know, or suspect, will never be good enough to be a regular starter for us. It is a waste of resources.

Neither Christie nor Ajer caused any problems whatsoever when their game time was limited. They are now some of the first names on the team sheet when fit.

 

Yeah fair enough.

All we can hope is this guy is a bit of a late bloomer and surprises us. It happens

 

How long do we take to * conclude a deal. It's ridiculous. This guy was linked away at the start of july, bid seemingly accepted thurs/Fri and he's still not signed yet or even been pictured to be in Scotland at all. We need to be far more efficient in transfer windows

 

Calm down he needs a work permit

 

Is it wrong that I'm kinda hoping he doesn't get a WP?

 

I think it is. The least we can do is let the man show if he can fill the jersey.