Segundo Castillo and Stefan Maierhofer signed on the dotted line yesterday to add further reinforcements to Mick McCarthy’s already large squad. I’ll admit I know very little about either player so it will be interesting to see what they can bring to the team.
I’m particularly happy to see the big Austrian arrive, given the fact that Halford was hitting the penalty spot from the halfway line with his throw-ins against Hull. Castillo should also bring further combative qualities to the side in the more physical matches we encounter this season.
The Hoff: Should be a useful weapon
But with these two players coming through the door, who is likely to be leaving on transfer deadline day?
The defensive trio of Darren Ward, Neill Collins and Jason Shackell are all available, with the latter already on loan at Doncaster. I wouldn’t be surprised to see one or all three gone by the end of today as Mick tries to clear the decks. I think we’re well covered with the 5 specialist centre halves we’ve got, plus Halford can fill in there if there’s some kind of crisis. Maybe Matt Hill will depart as well, given the fact he’s at least third in line for that left-back slot. I’d imagine there would be a few championship teams happy to add him to their ranks.
Competition in midfield has been significantly intensified with both Milijas and Halford looking more and more like guaranteed starters. With Castillo also in the mix, could there be a shock departure for someone like David Jones? There’s a long running conspiracy theory that Mick isn’t keen on the former Man Utd man for whatever reason, so maybe he’ll be farmed out on loan somewhere?
Up front, the signing of Maierhofer brings yet another twist to an already intense debate. It was a Keogh and Doyle partnership on Saturday, but with SEB looking like he’ll be back for the Blackburn match and the giant Austrian surely in contention as well, nobody seems guaranteed a place. Vokes will almost certainly slip down the order you’d imagine and again, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him sent out on loan at some point this season.
So that pretty much covers the possible departures. Or have I missed someone?
Moxey gave strong signals that further arrivals weren’t likely now, but it will be interesting to see if any shock signings come through the door before 5pm when the window slams shut.
Feel free to leave your ‘I just saw him in ASDA’ rumours. It is transfer deadline day after all.
Well, hope Maierhofer will score some goals for the wolves so his goal celebration figures won´t remain unused…
honestly, wish him all the best!
Wikav, can you tell us more about Maierhofer? Is he a good signing and do you think he will do well in the Premier League?
I know as much as the next guy about these two signings, the press pack on both of them seem to add up to two good additions to the squad, especially Castillio.
It would be quite a sight to see Big Chris and the Hoff line up together up front. I can see plenty of set piece work in training over the coming months!!!!
There’s strong rumours circulating that Ledley is going to sign for Wolves from Cardiff for £5.5 million, with Vokes going to the Bluebirds on a season long loan.
Anyone else heard this?
Heard we were in for Joe Ledley for approx £6m. Not heard Volkes going the other way though.
Doe’s anyone else think Ledley for £5m+ is not needed after the other 9 new signings we have brought in.
I was very dissapointed to see both Tuncy and Huth go to stoke for less than £9m. I think the transfer business that Stoke and Sunderland have conducted means we can probably count them out of the relegation mini leauge we will be in all season. But I believe, that Burnley, Birmingham, Wigan, Pompy, Hull, Blackburn & Bolton will be in our mini leauge with us.
You would fancy being better than 3 out of those 7 teams
Well, Thomas, depends on what you expect. What you CAN expect is, that he will work on the pitch till he drops. His ambition may be his biggest plus (even moren than his body height, for which he is “kinda” weak at headers – he often reaches them of course, but he can´t put as much pressure behind a goal header as you´d expect. although i have to say, he improved a bit there lately) – but also exaggerates from time to time, which results in stupid fouls.
You cannot expect him to handle the ball like let´s say Ibrahimovic…although, after 9 horrible first touches, giving away the ball, you may also see him making a good turn past 2 defenders and just drilling it into the net, or doing a really nice bycicle kick (as against Villa lately) – pure mystery.
another plus is of course, you can play simple balls, just long up front and let him head the ball forward to another, more pacey striker.
at last, he just kows how to score. no matter how, he just finds the goal.
overall, i have to say, one month ago, i would have carried him over to you personally for 2m euros – but so shortly before closing of the transfer window, i had rather kept him (althouh as i said 2 + 1 M € for Maierhofer is just an unbelievable amount of money…).
Maybe, to get a better picture of Stefan Maierhofer, here a short review of his career so far:
he is now 27. Four years ago, he was playing in austrias 4th (sic!) division and even there, his coaches said, stay at your parents hostel preparing Schnitzel for the guests…then, somehow Bayern Munichs scouts saw something in him and they scouted him for their second team. in 2007, with 25 years, he made his first professional football appearences (2, for Bayern). after 2 short spells at german second division sides, he moved to Rapid during winter 2008 (where tha majority of the fans had some doubts about their management because of that). First thing he said was, that he wanted to become Champions with Rapid (we were second behind Millionaires Club RedBull Salzburg back then), get a call by the austrian national team and finally make a move to Premiere League. Well, although we were very amused by those statements, 1 and a half year later, he had accomplished all of these tasks…
i guess you just have to love him for that.
We (Rapid) by the way, lost the second half of our miracle attacking line (Hoffer, who moved to napoli was the first) that scored 50 goals together last season, so you will find some mourning fans i vienna these days (and some cheering others, wearing violett dresses, but they don´t really count).
still, all the best to the Wolves (stay up, damnit! *g*) with SM.
I hope Jones and Hill don’t leave. They are two my favourite players, and I rate them both.
I can still see Keogh playing and he seems to be McCarthy’s own flesh and blood. Even when Iwelumo was fit last season, he still chose Keogh. But hopefully big TC will give him a kick up the arse and Keogh will get dropped. Fair play to the lad, he is a grafter; but he can’t finish, which is what we need.
I still think we need one more quality player, possibly for the wings as we have missed Kightly an awful lot. It will also add competition, hopefully raising the standards. Joe Ledley could be the man to do it. I hope we do get him.
Danke schön Wikav.
Wow, what great information and very cool to get the inside story from a Rapid fan.
Good luck to you too for the rest of the season and well done for knocking Villa out of the Europa League!
Thank you!
Will have an eye or two on the Wolves´ season.
i feel what we have got now is enough good players to ensure there is back up in every position, a couple of times over in some instances.
a lot of people go on about our lb but i think elikobi has looked immense and we will be fine. when ward and zubar start fighting for places everyone should be on top of their game. i just hope all this purchasing and excitement can lead to goals and showing some real quality!
It is interesting, we now have squad depth in numbers – just the question now is in quality. I like that these 2 have been loaned, thus we are not to be held to ransom on wages should the unmentionable occur.
the hoff wasn’t a loan, hes in on a 3 year deal with a fourth in our favour. cost 1.8 million with a further 900 000 if we stay up this season (possible total 3million euros)
Love it, the guy hasn’t even kicked a ball for us yet and he has a nick name. And what a nick name, “The Hoff”. He has a lot to live up to if he is to achive the cult status of his name sake, lets hope he does it.
I stand corrected, mind you, The Hoff would be a tidy, almost tailor made player in that league if the unmentionalbe occurs.
I prefer his other nickname, The Neck
the neck or the hoff, whatever, he sounds good to me and his record does look good. i know the comparison has been made a lot but he does sound like an austrian version of peter crouch. doesnt physically look like he can stand let alone play football but does, not as good in the air as people expect for his height and sometimes has a poor touch HOWEVER, he will score, probably get more with his head than people give him credit for, bit of a joker and loves the game, will work his socks off.
if this is true, im excited!
Yeah definitely, however it’s whether or not he’ll get a game; as Keogh appears to be McCarthy’s love child. Plus we have SEB and Doyle. Definitely 3 fantastic strikers, and don’t forget Iwelumo who can score goals.
Why would you be dissapointed with the Austrian Pete Crouch, If any of you said you would not have Peter Crouch in your team I would have to question it.
I can’t wait till we wheel him out to shouts of “FREAK” & “KEEP IT IN THE CIRCUS”, he may be a freak, but he is our freak now!!!!
LOVE IT!!!
i think keogh is great but if this guy can take his chances and i reckon he will work well with either SEB or doyle we should play him. its just gut instinct but i reckon he’ll hit the ground running like big chris last season.
i think his size will be a great asset. unlike crouch he isn’t scrawny. im 6’3″ and used to live with a guy who was 6’7″ and it really is weird. when you are taller than most and then someone even taller comes along you just think giant. hopefully teams wont know how to defend against him and may leave doyle, seb or keogh with even more free space. his assists tally could hit the roof!
@Sam
Don´t kow about comparison with crouch – or, as some Villa Fan put it “That is some other kind of animal”…
feel free to google for “getz fotografie” – you may buy your girlfriends (or yourself?) that calendar…
“his assists tally could hit the roof!”
as well as his head
sorry I couldn’t resist.
I have watched him on youtube and he looks like he can work with very little space, despite his height. Have you seen his daft celebrations as well? Comedy.
lol cheap hallam but i still enjoyed it. yeah he looks a bit of a joker, definitely think he will fit in attitude wise. says he gives 100% and doesnt look to be much of an ego, quite appreciative of his opportunities especially considering he turned pro 5 years ago after training to be a chef. how often does that happen anymore. unless you’re spotted before 16 in this country its near impossible to make it!
so with the transfer window almost closed and 9 signings in total *unless ledley joins today!? somehow i doubt it though* i can officially say, im happy with the squad and think the board have proved they mean business and that we can stay up!
We can’t sign Joe Ledley anymore. The chairman went away on business at noon and only he can approve Cardiff transfers. Never say never, but it seems incredibly unlikely.
But I am glad we have been active in the transfer market. A bit more experience would have been appreciated but I agree we can definitely put up a good fight.
Looks like Krancjar is off to Spurs – Pompey have to be more likely to be relegated than us now surely?
Depends what Pompey do in January with possible new money. The idea to be beating them by as many points as we can come Jan 1 and hope they lose the plot.
depends what portsmouths new owner and hart can pull off in the next 3hr 10mins. doesn’t look like bolton will sign anyone to ease their striker crisis either. hull will be down there, maybe blackburn, burnley and brum.
i think pompey will go down with two from hull, bolton, brum, wigan. ourselves and burnley to stay up!
i think with being a new side to the prem and with most people assuming us to be relegation candidates we have done stunningly well for signings. not many players with experience will want to risk it so im happy with what we’ve done and without paying over the odds it would seem.
We managed to beat the likes of Fulham with regards to signing Doyle, so that does show that people respect us as a club.
Any other rumours about players we might sign or is that it?
I already posted the same text on the austrian soccer board to give our english visitors a sneak preview about Stefan Maierhofer.
I just c&p the following text, but is may has some quite useful information for you.
Feel free to think whatever you want
___
SM9 came to Rapid Vienna on loan in January 2008 as a result of a deficit in forward players. He has made a huge contribution to Rapid Viennas 32nd winning of the Austrian League, scoring 7 goals in 11 games, mostly as substitute with less time to play. In Summer 2008, he signed a contract at Rapid Vienna and played the whole season 2008/09, scoring 23 goals in 35 games, mostly headers or rebounds. Well, the further story is well known, so let’s head over to the person SM9.
I don’t really know why WW Official Site gave him the nick “The Neck”, his nick in Austria is “Der Lange”, translate most likely to “The Long One”, as he is 2,02 m or exactly 6 ft 7,5”. But however you are going to name him, he definitely will be the largest guy in your squad
For me and many other fans, SM9 is an extraverted, sometimes even eccentric football player, as you can see on some youtube videos where he is celebrating his current goal. Among the Rapid Vienna fans, SM9 is popular due to his unique behavior, but also polarising within all fans. He is a showman with a huge self-confidence from tip to toe, but sometimes he is overacting, that is why he does not enjoy a consistently positive image among all of our fans.
As you also may have seen on several videos posted among the usual sites these days, he celebrates nearly every goal with a different celebration style. In every game he is highly motivated (the less minutes on field, the higher his motivation is), but sometimes over-motivation results in needless yellow cards.
His grimaces are legendary and I hope you will see a lot of them
Even if he lacks in technical skills, due to his height he has a good physical exertion and is always a defensive help in case of corners for the opposite team. Also, offensive crosses and corners for your team will always be dangerous for your opponents, since a jumping SM9 can get up to 8-9 ft to head the ball behind the goal line. Just make sure your crosses will find his head
He is also well known for his team motivating activities during play; determined (but sometimes also quite stubborn) and can drill his team mates to even more peak performance. He is also a guy who doesn’t mince matters.
SM9 will either be loved or be hated, but no one will be blasé about him.
I guess also, that the Wanderers will have now many fans among Rapid fans (including myself), and I hope that you will survive in Premier League with an amazing Stefan Maierhofer! Anyway, I will keep an eye on you and will cheer WW for next season.
___
All the best from Vienna,
heikki
I just poped home for lunch, no mention of Ledley on Sky Sports News and no new roumors from this morning. I have to say the two addition yesterday coupled with the other 7, I think MM & JM have to be applauded for the work this summer.
They’ll also all be fans of the million or so Euros going their way if we stay up.
This is exactly the type of entertainer I love as a footballer, I’m getting more and more excited about this one.
Sounds like he and MM’s characters might collide at times, which will be entertaining for all.
Pete, don’t forget Steve Morgan
He’s paid for it all
Who would people play up front now, with the addition of The Hoff?
SEB and Doyle?
SEB and Hoff?
Hoff and Doyle?
Or would Keogh feature somewhere?
He sounds like a right laugh, can’t wait to see him
This was just on the Wolves Offical Twitter:
OfficialWolvesNot long left until transfer window shuts. Wolves not expecting major activity after y’days arrivals. May be an outgoing or two.
no way imagine the hof scoring in the 89th minute and doing some crazy celebration. the fans going wild mick punching the air. then when he is interviewed afterwards micks trying to be all serious but then the hoff moonwalks past the camera, mick chuckles calls him a clown and we all laugh.
ok too much!? im bored and theres no wolves games for 2 weeks, my mind is wandering
do you think we’d ever see 4-3-3 with seb, doyle and hof.
some how i dont think we ever would but it would be entertaining, seb and doyle scurrying around the hofs knees looking for the knock ons
Sam I can’t imagine Mick laughing. He’d probably clip him round the ear’ole and tell him to behave
I’d love to see Iwelumo and Hoff
Why do I keep forgetting about Big Chris?! Seems forever ago I last saw him play
The Hoff and Big Chris, now that would be a forward line I would not like to defend against!!!
Transfer window closed and it looks like our business is done! I have to say, having read the posts from the Rapid fans, I am really excited about the arrival of The Hoff. He’s big and awkward and should make a nuisance of himself which SEB or Doyle will no doubt take advantage of. Judging by his character he will be a fans favourite even if he’s sh*t – no doubt there will be new songs for him and if he’s to be used mainly as a sub, I can hear the South Bank screaming out for him to come on anytime after half time. I can’t wait for the 12th when hopefully we’ll get to see him in Wolves colours (following the usual media blackout for me as it doesn’t air over here until 8pm )
These indeed are exciting times, now for some goals and more importantly some points!
Neill F**king Collins loaned to Preston, looks like they are aiming for mid table then!
Collins is a complete beast. 10 goals in 97 games. 1 in 10.
Probably better than Keogh.
10 goals for or 10 goals conceeded?
10 goals scored
by him
prolific goal scorer in my opinion
You know whats coming now Hallam (statto)…………………how many did we concede that he was wholly responsible for???
heikki – thanks for the info. I had the info you posted in reply to my questions on the Austrian Soccer Boards yesterday which I was gonna get put up but now you’ve covered it all here I won’t do this. Anyway good luck for the season. Cheers.
I still think we should have strenthened on left side.Particularly at full back. With Ward now allegedly being out for up to 8 weeks, and, George being more a cult hero than an ashley Cole…I think we have missed a trick.Rest of teh squad is good enough to stay up, and time will tell. Put this behind us now, and move on to Blackburn , our next biggest game of the season
While I love Big George I have to agree – he wasn’t all that impressive against Hull. However, I disagree with Dazza in that Matt Hill is good enough as a back up at the moment. He is much maligned at times but still quite a player.
… and what is wrong with Cult Heroes, with Big George and Maierhofer we’re 2/11ths of the way to acquiring the ultimate football side.
t’OM a few people on here seem to rate Matt Hill highly, I’m still to be convinced. He seems to lack awareness and seems to get caught out quite a bit – maybe I’m being too picky. I like big George but like Dazza I worry if he can actually cut it consistently over another 32 games. Against Hull his passing / distribution was woeful although in the 45 mins he played the game before he looked outstanding! I feel we’d have been served better by bringing in a specialist left back with prem experience as first choice with Big George and Ward as adequate stand ins for the odd games.
Again I think I’m being over critical, we have had a steady start and I think we will only improve over the next few weeks. I’m confident that several teams in this league are worse than we are – Bolton, Pompey, Brum, Burnley, Hull to name but 5 and I think Stoke will come a cropper now they have a few ‘big’ names. Anything over 36 points should see us safe, it will be a struggle but we can do it I’m sure – well we better, I’m enjoying watching every game on TV!!
@Jed
I’ll feel better at describing players’ performances now I can watch every game on TV (thankyou Foxtel). I think MM sees Ward as that specialist LB and George and Hill as cover. It’s a shame Ward is out but I’m not a fan of buying to replace injuries. George and Hill will have to do for the time being.
With Ward now sidelined for 3 months, my fear of left back cover rears it’s ugly head again…to go with my ugly head
I didn’t realise it was that long till I read it on the official website. This is not good. Provides quite the awkward one. Esp if George should break down. Emergency loan anyone?
Unless Mick is thinking he can switch Mancienne to the left if Hill or Elokobi get injured and create a Zubar/Craddock/Berra combi.
I sincerely hope not though.