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Lambert: We Targeted Wickham
Lambert: We Targeted Wickham
Tuesday, 11th Feb 2020 23:24

Blues boss Paul Lambert has revealed he made a loan approach for ex-Town striker Connor Wickham in January but with the 26-year-old Crystal Palace frontman well beyond the club financially.

Asked whether he had any regrets about not signing a striker in the January window, Lambert said: “We couldn’t get one. We tried for a lot of guys. I enquired about the lad Connor Wickham, who was here. Dear oh dear, we couldn’t get anyone in.

“The ones I did go for, to help the guys, incredible, we don’t have the money to go and do it.

“Ideally would we have got people in to help? Aye, we would have but we couldn’t get anybody in that was in our bracket.”

Quizzed further on the approach for Wickham, Lambert added: “I enquired about him, [general manager of football operations] Lee [O'Neill] spoke to the agent, but the money was… wow!

“It wasn’t just him I looked at, there were a few guys a looked at but the level was incredibly high.

“It’s not realistic, we just felt we need a little bit of help in certain areas to try and get us through it but it just never materialised.”

However, he says he is confident that the strikers he has at the club are capable of scoring the goals required to climb back up the table and be in the running come May.

“They’ve done it before, that’s why I know it’s in them," he said. "We have to take chances when we’re on top.”

Wickham eventually joined Championship Sheffield Wednesday on loan on deadline day.


Photo: TWTD



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MrTown added 23:27 - Feb 11
Premier League striker, on Premier League wages.... what was he expecting, to come here and play for £2.40!
9

Coco added 23:28 - Feb 11
The desired headline.
4

im_marcacus added 23:29 - Feb 11
Deflecting from the situation.
15

Girthyguy added 23:29 - Feb 11
Surprised we didn't sign Sancho from Dortmund aswell with all your connections and the fact you won the champions league 500 times in 1 season with them.
14

Carberry added 23:29 - Feb 11
Oh no, not more of this 'we just need a little bit of help' BS. Honestly did he think he was going to get a Premier League player on loan? He's making this stuff up, surely.
5

SingBlue added 23:35 - Feb 11
Seriously is he taking us for idiots! “We are trying...I wanted to sign Bale but he wanted a million a week and for us to build a pitch and putt round the outside of our training pitch... I had to say no”
10

MickMillsTash added 23:39 - Feb 11
Dick !
0

Sm00411 added 23:40 - Feb 11
Just what our strikers needed to hear to fill them with the confidence they are missing...
1

blueboy1981 added 23:43 - Feb 11
Pull the other leg it squeaks - so called lesser Clubs than us, with only two pennyworth of a playing budget manage to get players in.
Why is it they we always seem to have a problem ? - it's either bull, or we expect something for literally NOTHING.
3

blueboy1981 added 23:46 - Feb 11
...... bl##dy phone - should read ‘that' instead of ‘they'.
0

Doctor_Earman added 01:04 - Feb 12
Thought he said ''never go back'' when it comes to ex=players?

Just do one Shambert.
0

Len_Brennan added 05:59 - Feb 12
For all their relative lack of goals, it's hard to argue that Jackson, Norwood, Keane & Sears are not a strong enough quartet for Division 1 football, even with Sears not at full fitness. On paper at least those are options that most clubs in this league would bite your hand off for.
While Norwood's finishing has disappointed - I thought he would be the clinical striker we've been missing for years - I don't believe our main issue is up front. It's the lack of creativity & direct attacking from deeper out that is denying us the chances our suposedly superior players should be providing; and that is down to how we are playing, which falls to the manager.
Possession, passes & other non-goalscoring stats are only impressive when they are accompanied by 3 points; we are seriously underperforming in the goal chance creating department, which then ties in to our strikers snatching at & misfiring the chances when they do come. We still have a squad of players well capable of promotion, if they play a sharper, more positive game.
9

skankerman added 06:49 - Feb 12
Shock statement from the club that football is expensive
Keep shopping as we currently do with basement purchases and we could end up in Division 3
1

Karlosfandangal added 06:55 - Feb 12
Funny how Peterborough got two midfields on loan and they are tearing teams up
15

norfolkbluey added 07:29 - Feb 12
Len you are spot on and so too Carlos. Feed the forwards and they'll score. Our mid field just don't link to the front men. I do hope KVY gets back soon as he appeared to do this very thing. I honestly think that unless we start scoring serious goals we are not even going to be in the playoffs. I think PL's latest excuse says it all. He's got little money but he goes to CP and tries to get Connor here!!! He's living in cloud cuckoo land. Peterborough got two midfielders why couldn't we? PL, you've lost me! My doubts have been confirmed.
3

BlueandTruesince82 added 07:34 - Feb 12
Well what a waste of time that was. Time that could be been spent working on a workable deal.

No wonder fees seemed high, did we enquire about Danny Rose too? We're we in the mix for Odin until Utd came calling?
0

RegencyBlue added 07:35 - Feb 12
This is nothing more than an attempt to placate our support who are showing signs of finally having had enough of our tinpot owner!

Pathetic!
3

BluedanW added 07:39 - Feb 12
Enquired knowing we had no chance of paying his wages. Why not actually try and sign a championship striker who could do a job in this league?
3

pennblue added 08:01 - Feb 12
Lets not make the manager scapegoat this time
-1

DoseOfReality added 08:33 - Feb 12
Evans will not pay for anoyone, Wickham was worth a punt and that's all it was.

THE TROUBLE IS EVANS WILL NOT PAY ANYTHING FOR NEW ADDITIONS & FUND THE SQUAD FOR A PROMOTION PUSH.

Get ready folks it is going to get much much worse... Lge 1 with gates well below 10000 ... boring mid table for another 5 years then Lge 2

EVANS IS A CANCER TO THIS CLUB & SHOULD NEVER HAVE BOUGHT IT IF REFUSES TO FUND IT FOR WHAT IT IS. YOU DONT BUY A COFFEE SHOP AND STOP BUYING COFFEE BEANS.
5

ThaiBlue added 08:45 - Feb 12
I think i would rather not have known about this more crap from the management
2

Devereuxxx added 08:47 - Feb 12
This is a deflection tactic that Lynton Crosby calls the 'dead cat strategy'
2

dirtydingusmagee added 09:02 - Feb 12
Other teams strengthened in January …….Ipswich predictably didn't. Posh ,once treated as a joke, now free scoring and above us, NICE ONE MARCUS.
5

bluerico added 09:14 - Feb 12
I appreciate the debt the club has (to ME) but given that home attendances are double say Peterboro I cannot accept there is no money available to bring in a loan striker for this level. CW was always a non starter! There may have been a goodwill factor with fans ar the start of the season but this is disappearing fast. It will not be long before season ticket renewals come around and I cannot see the numbers being anywhere near this season's level, meaning reduced resources for the club.
3

BeattiesBackPocket added 09:15 - Feb 12
I don't know how people can see this as anything other than the manager wanted a couple of signings and the owner didn't want to budge on money. If he wasn't going to when top of the championship he won't in league one simple! We've seen lambert go into one twice this season about lack of support from Evans and one of those times ended with us securing KVY. I don't agree with some of Lambert's decisions but how many more managers are going to come in and have the same issues with Evans!? We won't get a decent manager due to funds and anyone on the up will want some funds even in wages for players so we will get lower league or managers towards the end of careers simple 🤷‍♂️
3


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