Confirmed Signing Idrissa Gueye

[Dad watched Dixie]

I have no respect for any institution that is used to control and keep people divided. Sorry mate

No way to talk about the GOT mods

 

[ProZ]

I can't believe we are paying 14m tbh

 

[Pettifogger]

If we are paying anything close to £10m then I think it's a terrible piece of business

Objectively maybe, but relative to normal EFC business? If he puts in two or three semi-productive seasons that's a good return, in my view. But certainly interested to hear why I'm off base.

 

[Saint Domingo]

Brighton finished what 16th and 17th in back to back years and still managed to sign young talents. Palace haven't finished top half since they came up and they're doing it. Leicester brought Mahrez and Kante in on the back of a great escape and have never stopped. And we can compete wages wise with all of them. It really is a choice.

In the last 10 years

Moyes: Stones, Oviedo, Matty Kennedy

Martinez: Holgate, Tarashaj, Lisandro Rodriguez, Sam Byrne, Besic, Deulofeu, Galloway, Lukaku, Bassalou Sambu, David Henen, Connor Hunt, Matthew Foulds, James McCarthy, Christian Atsu

Koeman: Pickford, Vlasic, Lookman, Onyekeru, Sandro, DCL

Silva: Richarlison, Kean, Gbamin

Ancelotti: Godfrey Nkonkou

Benitez: Patterson, Mykolenko

Lampard: Vinagre, McNeil


I’ll admit there’s a lot of dross in there but this isn’t the hit list of a club that hasn’t targeted young talent. The effectiveness of our scouting department can be called into question but even with that, when you take the highlights from the last ten years out you get:

Stones, Lukaku, Pickford, DCL, Richarlison

All have been sold, or could be sold for mega fees over 40 million

Of the clubs you’ve named in Palace, Brighton, Leicester there’s not a load of names other than Kante and Mahrez that spring out that you could put in that bracket of absolute quality young players that they bought to the club. Maddison maybe fits in there but his biggest suitor is Newcastle and he can’t make the England squad. City won’t pay 50 mill for Cucurella today like they did for Stones, Bissouma went for 20 mill. Tielemans can’t get a buyer, they’re probably the only other ones that come to the top of my mind. The biggest difference maker at Leicester has been Vardy who was 25 when they got him.

Indeed there’s not many sides outside the top 6 selling multiple players for over 50 million as we have done in this period.

Of course we can buy better, of course we miss out on some good young players to other teams, but not every young player that Leicester Brentford Villa Palace pick up turn out to be a star for a long period, lots of them show flashes and then settle at a far lower level which is then forgotten about as we’re all obsessing over the next transfer we’ve missed out on.

Other teams are making recruitment mistakes just like we do which is why (along with the built in unfairness of the league) you don’t see any of them challenging consistently for the top 4.

The last four transfers we’ve paid any money for are: Gray Mykolenko Patterson McNeil - all pretty young

Feels like we’re looking for a problem at the club when there isn’t one.

The problem is recruitment of the right characters and the ability to keep them fit under a manager who is providing continuity.

Moise Kean is the perfect example of a player that looks great on paper but didn’t fit the club. Equally Gueye first time round was over 25 when we got him but was good for us and we sold him at a big profit.

The age of the players in and of itself is not the definitive indicator of how successful our recruitment will be. Some of them have been great but it takes a mix to make a competitive squad.

 

[Librarian]

I can't believe we are paying 14m tbh

I know mate, 20 inc the strap-on’s and leather chaps

 

[TheBigIguana]

I grant you he has the energy, or at least displayed it in the last few months. I'll allow him a month or two more to show that he can do it on a consistent basis. He has the attributes. That said, he badly needs to add assists and goals to his game especially since we have one striker now. No excuses for him to remain so goal shy.

It would be nice if he did, but I would rather have his two goals, two assists and consistent forward passing to Doucoure's two goals, four assists and more negative style.

 

[ToffeeTim]

Not really if you consider that we sold him to them for 30 million. We will have made 20 Million profit and have him back playing with us for a couple more years. Sounds pretty good to me tbh.

£10m for a 33 year old on a short term deal is terrible business

 

[Lob]

Love this tweet. Hope he helps you beat that red team with the lame song lmao. lol

 

[longers]

Can he still run like a madman or are we going full Everton and signing him now his legs have gone ?

 

[Exeter_Gently]

By the look of his Instagram story he's in Paris.

 

[roydo]

I have no respect for any institution that is used to control and keep people divided. Sorry mate

Its respect for someone else's opinion. Not the respect for the body they believe in.

 

[GoldenToffee]

By the look of his Instagram story he's in Paris.

Probably not even joining ffs lol

 

[blueblue]

Medical.

At least we don't have to worry about the photos.

 

[Lob]

£10m for a 33 year old on a short term deal is terrible business

Only if you ignore the fact that we sold him to them for 30 million pound and so have made 20 million profit and have him back playing for us again like you have just done mate.

And also not forgetting the fact that we almost got relegated last season and really need him as we haven't managed to find anyone who can do what what he does since we rented him out.

And also not forgetting the fact that we haven't got a clue how much he is costing yet other than internet rumours.

We need him regardless anyway.

 

[Martin Alvito]

This point is completely unrelated to your original one though. You said it was hard for us to attract players because we’d finished 16th. That’s rubbish. The fact that we can’t afford people and have saddled ourselves with crap is hardly breaking news, we all know this, but we’d have absolutely no problem attracting players if we could afford it.

It's not at all unrelated. Look at who they bought, and what they paid. Leeds paid over the odds for young players. Villa bought old at high prices, which is even worse in the long run. League position probably had something to do with that. You're asking the young players to take a risk, and they expect to be well-compensated for it. The agent of an older player on his last big contract doesn't much care.

The evidence suggests that it's just harder to get players of any stripe when you finish low. Being unable to spend your way out of trouble aggravates that, because it looks like you're going to stay there or get worse and you can't provide monetary compensation for the risk.

You already know this. You know that it's easier for the clubs at the top to attract young talent. This is because they are overwhelmingly likely to stay there, unless they paint themselves into the FC Barcelona fiscal corner. That's when you see them do something like pay a bunch of money for Lewandowski after selling TV rights. Buying Gueye is a similar move on a smaller scale.