Confirmed Signing Demarai Gray

[TheBigIguana]

Gray spent 5 full seasons at Leicester being meh.

I don't love the Gray thing but I think you can make a case for his last two years being decent in the limited time he played. Basically 3 goals 5 assists in about 1000 total league minutes. Does that continue if he plays consistently? Maybe not. But he's also a player who can get us up the field so that is worth having too.

I can construct an argument for Gray so at 1.5m whatever. I've got nothing for Andros.

 

[Dymak]

The key here is value. Naismith was a free so any contribution is probably decent. That doesn't mean you should do it. So yes Townsend also a free will probably be "good value" to some people if he does literally anything positive but there will be an opportunity cost to doing this.

I agree that the key thing is value, and we haven’t been seeing very much of it of late, at all. Well, unless you talk about bad value, in which case we have been seeing it by the bucket load.

My point is that a lot of people have been seeing value where there was none, spending 8 million and 90k a week on Delph for example. Or choosing Funes Mori over VVD, who ended up at Southampton.

I see Townsend providing a Walcott like contribution (which we missed last year) but he’s brought in on a free, and not for 20 million and 100k a week like Walcott.

 

[TheBigIguana]

I agree that the key thing is value, and we haven’t been seeing very much of it of late, at all. Well, unless you talk about bad value, in which case we have been seeing it by the bucket load.

My point is that a lot of people have been seeing value where there was none, spending 8 million and 90k a week on Delph for example. Or choosing Funes Mori over VVD, who ended up at Southampton.

I see Townsend providing a Walcott like contribution (which we missed last year) but he’s brought in on a free, and not for 20 million and 100k a week like Walcott.

The problem for me is Walcott like contributions (or Lennon or whoever else in the mediocre range) do nothing for us long term. So as I said the biggest thing is you just take away the chance to give someone who might be better than that the spot in the squad and the time on the pitch. It's not how you get better.

 

[ilikecheese]

The vaults could tell us if anyone can remotely even be bothered. I think it'll be a case of of me/you remembering how we were feeling and generalising it for the whole forum.

Well I for one can't be bothered. I only remember feeling bad for a guy that did half decent jumping 2 levels of competition and actually scoring some goals. He wasn't a kid like 26 or 27 as I recall. I mean at the end of the day the 'he's not good enough' folks were right if we were to get better.

It doesn't change the fact that he scored goals for us at a decent rate. He did have that one brilliant one though that even they can't take from him.

 

[AussieToffee11]

This is good business if we move two of Bernard, Iwobi, Delph or Siggurdsson.

And even better business if the above occurs and we also sign a starting RW and RB.

I'll hold judgement until I see the Transfer Window as an aggregate of ins and outs, not isolated individual transfers.

In the interim, I'll enjoy the bed wetting...

 

[AmericasToffee]

He's no better than Iwobi!

Sheeit

Gray spent 5 full seasons at Leicester being meh.

Meh is an upgrade on the current backups

 

[ilikecheese]

Sheeit

Meh is an upgrade on the current backups

It's only an upgrade if we save some money on wages.

 

[Diogenes the Cynic]

At no point is this good business.

Pathetic scouting.

 

[Davidoff]

Never liked Townsend, and Gray is nowhere near as good as he thinks he is. I’m gonna boo so much this season.

I’m almost looking forward to it

 

[Zatara]

At no point is this good business.

Pathetic scouting.

I think these are all Benitez signings.

Townsend he had at Newcastle, Gray was linked to Newcastle when he was there.

Begovic im sure he'll have known.

Townsend/Begovic make sense...Gray i wonder why Gordon isnt considered superior -- if hes not better than Gray then he should be sold.

 

[Diogenes the Cynic]

I think these are all Benitez signings.

Townsend he had at Newcastle, Gray was linked to Newcastle when he was there.

Begovic im sure he'll have known.

Townsend/Begovic make sense...Gray i wonder why Gordon isnt considered superior -- if hes not better than Gray then he should be sold.

If these are Benitez signings then he hasn't been backed with any cash.

And Brands is the DOF, every signing is still his signing.

 

[Zatara]

If these are Benitez signings then he hasn't been backed with any cash.

And Brands is the DOF, every signing is still his signing.

I think the names are 'driven' by Benitez. Agree that Brands is also culpable.

If there wasnt any cash then the strategy should have surely been to sell first and go with a smaller, high quality squad.

 

[Martin Alvito]

It's not a dice roll. Townsend has spent the better part of a decade being below average.

I'm not disagreeing with you regarding his overall level of play and track record.

Pickford was below average until he wasn't, though, right?

Sometimes having the right teammates, or finding a way to change an attitude problem, makes a world of difference.

 

[fandjango]

I am not sure what the problem is here
We are clearing expensive players out clearly Bernard is gone
We need genuine wide pace on both W ings
We bring inexpensive and experienced players in
Maybe squad players but you never know one may shine …
Either way replacing expensive squad players with equally decent cheap ones is good business

 

[TheBigIguana]

I'm not disagreeing with you regarding his overall level of play and track record.

Pickford was below average until he wasn't, though, right?

Sometimes having the right teammates, or finding a way to change an attitude problem, makes a world of difference.

Pickford was really good from when we signed him through the end of 2018. Then he basically fell apart for all of 2019 and 2020 before coming back again and being decent somewhere around February or March. Townsend has been crap for way longer and frankly I never thought he was any good even going back to Spurs. I just think it is way different.

My problem ultimately is more with the philosophy though. If you want a player like Townsend for whatever weird reason that's fine go sign Dwight McNeil or something that way there's an off chance he's able to progress a little and be more than average to below average.