“ Cardiff agree fee for keeper £4mill “

etheridge deserves a chance in the prem, started off a bit dodgy but grew in confidence and was excellent second half of the season.
maybe smithies will get his chance when etheridge is away

Have to say, hats off to NW, definitely a pattern and structure emerging with the signings.
Good, solid Championship players who I'm sure will be chomping at the bit to test themselves in the Premiership.
I'm sure that none of the three signings so far will upset the spirit in the dressing room, and I've no doubt that, perish the thought, and the season ends badly, they will be equipped to go again.
Very astute business.

I dont doubt NW, but when I hear good solid champ players I’m startiting to question things.
We need to sign a bit of tried and tested quality as well, to give experience and confidence in the dressing room. The prem takes no prisoners, we could be hung, drawn & quartered by Christmas

I understand where you’re coming from, but what is premiership quality and how does our club in our position guarantee it?

The reality is that if you define true Premier League quality as someone who has consistently delivered over at least a couple of years they are probably out of our reach; at which point it seems entirely sensible to invest in high quality Championship players that might make the grade, but if they don’t then will either have some resale value or help us build a squad that will compete next time around.

Have to say, hats off to NW, definitely a pattern and structure emerging with the signings.
Good, solid Championship players who I'm sure will be chomping at the bit to test themselves in the Premiership.
I'm sure that none of the three signings so far will upset the spirit in the dressing room, and I've no doubt that, perish the thought, and the season ends badly, they will be equipped to go again.
Very astute business.

I dont doubt NW, but when I hear good solid champ players I’m startiting to question things.
We need to sign a bit of tried and tested quality as well, to give experience and confidence in the dressing room. The prem takes no prisoners, we could be hung, drawn & quartered by Christmas

I understand where you’re coming from, but what is premiership quality and how does our club in our position guarantee it?

The reality is that if you define true Premier League quality as someone who has consistently delivered over at least a couple of years they are probably out of our reach; at which point it seems entirely sensible to invest in high quality Championship players that might make the grade, but if they don’t then will either have some resale value or help us build a squad that will compete next time around.

We are building on a very strong defence. A defence man city broke down once in open play. When we invited them on too us for 90 mins.

We will be fine

I think some people were expecting us to sign David De Gea.

Have to remember who we are and spend wisely.

Smithies has consistently been one of the top goalkeepers in the Championship. Remember he turned down a move to Huddersfield in January as well.

Will be a top signing for us. I, and others, doubted the signing of Etheridge and we were proven wrong.

Some fans are terribly deluded in the kinds of signings they put forward or think we should be aiming to sign. The last go at the Prem saw us spend big and land anyone willing to come, regardless of reputations or language barriers etc. I think Warnock and Co are being shrewd so far. Covering bases, age appropriate, some Prem experience, hungry and personalities that will only enhance our best weapon - team spirit. We don’t have the budget or the means to gamble. The signings we’ve made so far would god forbid drop down with us and go again if need be, not have to be sold off at cut prices like Medel, Caulker, ACorn etc. just have faith in NW and enjoy the group he’s putting together. Two CMs and an RB coming in and I’ll be buzzing for August! I don’t care to speculate about the budget he’s been given - let him crack on and keep plying us with nice surprises!

Have to say, hats off to NW, definitely a pattern and structure emerging with the signings.
Good, solid Championship players who I'm sure will be chomping at the bit to test themselves in the Premiership.
I'm sure that none of the three signings so far will upset the spirit in the dressing room, and I've no doubt that, perish the thought, and the season ends badly, they will be equipped to go again.
Very astute business.

I dont doubt NW, but when I hear good solid champ players I’m startiting to question things.
We need to sign a bit of tried and tested quality as well, to give experience and confidence in the dressing room. The prem takes no prisoners, we could be hung, drawn & quartered by Christmas

What’s the difference between a good championship keeper and a good premiership keeper though?

It’s a bit different to outfield players

The difference is huge as we’ll find out if he’s not up to it, remember we’re up against the likes of salah & Kane lol
Your keeper is a very specialised role and no1 priority imo

couldnt disagree more to be honest and how we do against Liverpool and Spurs isnt exactly going to define our season

Have to say, hats off to NW, definitely a pattern and structure emerging with the signings.
Good, solid Championship players who I'm sure will be chomping at the bit to test themselves in the Premiership.
I'm sure that none of the three signings so far will upset the spirit in the dressing room, and I've no doubt that, perish the thought, and the season ends badly, they will be equipped to go again.
Very astute business.

You can say that again hahaha.
When you’ve posted you need to go to the bottom of page and select general chat or revisit last topic posted or it will keep dicking you lol
I dont doubt NW, but when I hear good solid champ players I’m startiting to question things.
We need to sign a bit of tried and tested quality as well, to give experience and confidence in the dressing room. The prem takes no prisoners, we could be hung, drawn & quartered by Christmas

Dont worry, NW knows what hes doing, building a side different to most PL sides, like last season wont have big possesion stats, but once the ball is won back break with speed, not tap it around in our half, many sides doing it in WC with much success, Liecester did similar when winning a mediorcar PL. Also no one knows his budget, probably higher than we think, so some real quality may yet arrive behore the kick off! Have more faith chap

I heard you the first time

Lol, every time I press post, for some reason it does it several times

Have to say, hats off to NW, definitely a pattern and structure emerging with the signings.
Good, solid Championship players who I'm sure will be chomping at the bit to test themselves in the Premiership.
I'm sure that none of the three signings so far will upset the spirit in the dressing room, and I've no doubt that, perish the thought, and the season ends badly, they will be equipped to go again.
Very astute business.

I dont doubt NW, but when I hear good solid champ players I’m startiting to question things.
We need to sign a bit of tried and tested quality as well, to give experience and confidence in the dressing room. The prem takes no prisoners, we could be hung, drawn & quartered by Christmas

What’s the difference between a good championship keeper and a good premiership keeper though?

It’s a bit different to outfield players

The difference is huge as we’ll find out if he’s not up to it, remember we’re up against the likes of salah & Kane lol
Your keeper is a very specialised role and no1 priority imo

couldnt disagree more to be honest and how we do against Liverpool and Spurs isnt exactly going to define our season

It’s not just Liverpool and Spurs, the finishing in the premier is far better than the championship, you get punished for minor mistakes that you may get away with at lower levels.
I hope he’s up to the job, time will tell.

Smithies latest

Now Sky Sports are reporting that a £4million move for Alex Smithies to move from QPR to Cardiff City is ‘close’.

Rumours are there will be a medical this week

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CARDIFF CLOSE TO SMITHIES

Sky Sports News understands Cardiff City are close to completing a £4m move for QPR goalkeeper Alex Smithies.

Cardiff manager Neil Warnock is looking for a 'keeper to compete with and potentially replace Neil Etheridge, who helped lead them to promotion to the Premier League last season.

Smithies, 28, has impressed since arriving from Huddersfield in 2015, and has made 107 appearances for Rangers. He signed a three-year contract at Loftus Road in February.

Warnock also considered a move for Ipswich’s Poland international Bartosz Bialkowski, who was called up for the World Cup.

We need another keeper to compete with Etheridge. Some Prem clubs have 3 !

I’m sure Warnock has said in the past that he really rates Smithies and I won’t be surprised if this is true.

Agree, Murphy is an adequate No 2...just get him to sign for a year with an option for a further year!
If Murphy signs the contract offered we don’t need anothe keeper?

How often do prem teams resort to 3rd keepers hopefully Murphy signs I’d rather him than camp

Smithies latest

Now Sky Sports are reporting that a £4million move for Alex Smithies to move from QPR to Cardiff City is ‘close’.

Rumours are there will be a medical this week

better check with wez

Dunno a lot about him but the type of keeper I expect.

I'd rather pay the extra bit and get Johnstone but maybe wages would be an issue.

Agreed or Fabianski but still, we needed to challenge Etheridge, and from what I have seen he is decent

All out for as good a Striker as we can afford now, Mitrovic or that level could keep us up!

Dunno a lot about him but the type of keeper I expect.

I'd rather pay the extra bit and get Johnstone but maybe wages would be an issue.

Agreed or Fabianski but still, we needed to challenge Etheridge, and from what I have seen he is decent

All out for as good a Striker as we can afford now, Mitrovic or that level could keep us up!

I wouldn't have gone for Fabianski simply because of his age and he offers no resale value.
We need a quality CM and Striker and a solid Right back and we aren't far off.

Mate at work R’s fan said he was “ A very good keeper,but not as good as Etheridge “ in his opinion ,which to me sounds perfect ,competition for keepers jersey.

London Sports News

25/06/18

It's been nearly 24 hours since reports emerged of Cardiff City's interest in Alex Smithies.

While many QPR fans are not surprised by the interest in their star man, some have been left aggrieved by news of a potential departure for the Hoops most valuable asset.




Here's what we know about Alex Smithies' future.

Reports emerged last night that QPR had accepted a bid of £4million for number one goalkeeper Alex Smithies.




The original Tweet can be seen below.

Football.London sources understand that Cardiff City have made a bid for the former Huddersfield man - although it's not yet confirmed whether the quoted £4million amount is accurate, or whether it has been accepted.

We understand that the newly-promoted Premier League side are interested in a move for Smithies, and more importantly, there's a feeling in west London that a move could materialise.



QPR did, however, refuse to comment on the reports.


Is £4million a reasonable offer?

Given QPR's circumstances, the reported £4million offer is reasonable.

The Hoops have said that every player is available for the right price; something which isn't a surprise given the club's ongoing battle over Financial Fair Play.

QPR's financial situation has been well publicised, and so it wouldn't be a surprise for any potential suitors to try their luck with a lower bid than what many would expect.

Smithies is renowned as one of the top goalkeepers in the Championship, but given the fact he's unproven in the top flight, it's no surprise that he isn't commanding a higher fee.

Is Alex Smithies good enough for the Premier League?

There's absolutely no reason why not.

Smithies has been QPR's most consistent performer over recent seasons - something which shouldn't be sniffed at over the course of a 46-game season.

The 28-year-old is more than capable of establishing himself in the Premier League, he just needs a team to take a chance on him to get that opportunity - and who better to do so than a newly-promoted side.





Who will replace him at QPR?

Thankfully for Steve McClaren, the position of goalkeeper is arguably QPR's strongest.

Matt Ingram took the gloves at the back end of last season, and given the fact he made over 100 appearances for Wycombe Wanderers, before enjoying a loan spell at Northampton, he's certainly got enough experience to step in.



Another option is young Joe Lumley.

The 23-year-old is highly thought of in the QPR set-up and after enjoying a loan spell at Blackpool, this could be the perfect opportunity to prove himself as a consistent and reliable number one at Championship level.

While understandably people will dispute whether Ingram and Lumley are as good as Smithies, they've both proven themselves to be consistent goalkeepers who will certainly improve over the coming years - meaning the QPR net would be in safe hands if Smithies was to leave.

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Sounds like a good bit of business to me. People talk about Premier league quality but the players need to be given a chance to show they are. Last season I’m sure most would agree that WBA had a squad full of tried and tested premier league quality and they finished bottom so how do you judge it? The spirit in the camp will help a lot during the season

I personally don’t know much about the keeper but going off what QPR fans are saying it appears he’s very good and they’d be gutted for him to go! You don’t get many fans saying that sort of thing when a player leaves so for me that’s good enough alongside my complete trust in NW’s judgement!

Alex Smithies deal latest

As we understand it, Cardiff City HAVE lodged a bid for Queens Park Rangers goalkeeper Alex Smithies, as has been reported.

The figure is said to be £4million, which would take the Bluebirds’ total spend for the summer so far to £18million - with more signings believed to be on the way.

Smithies has another two years left on his QPR contract, hence the fee, and he has the same agent as Cardiff stars Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Danny Ward.

Warnock also knows him from his brief 2015 spell as first team advisor and caretaker manager back at QPR.

We’re not expecting an announcement on this today, but keep your eyes peeled for a potential done deal later in the week. Exciting times as Cardiff look to secure signing Number 3.

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

Alex Smithies deal latest

As we understand it, Cardiff City HAVE lodged a bid for Queens Park Rangers goalkeeper Alex Smithies, as has been reported.

The figure is said to be £4million, which would take the Bluebirds’ total spend for the summer so far to £18million - with more signings believed to be on the way.

Smithies has another two years left on his QPR contract, hence the fee, and he has the same agent as Cardiff stars Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Danny Ward.

Warnock also knows him from his brief 2015 spell as first team advisor and caretaker manager back at QPR.

We’re not expecting an announcement on this today, but keep your eyes peeled for a potential done deal later in the week. Exciting times as Cardiff look to secure signing Number 3.

Love this to happen and would be great for Etheridge and Smithies to fight out the no.1 place!

Have to say, hats off to NW, definitely a pattern and structure emerging with the signings.
Good, solid Championship players who I'm sure will be chomping at the bit to test themselves in the Premiership.
I'm sure that none of the three signings so far will upset the spirit in the dressing room, and I've no doubt that, perish the thought, and the season ends badly, they will be equipped to go again.
Very astute business.

I dont doubt NW, but when I hear good solid champ players I’m startiting to question things.
We need to sign a bit of tried and tested quality as well, to give experience and confidence in the dressing room. The prem takes no prisoners, we could be hung, drawn & quartered by Christmas

Spoken like someone who’s watched premier league football (Roathy!!)