And koulibaly
- Status
That last para is bang on the money.
I don't mind Brands at all and obviously Carlo is class, but this is our club in an absolute nutshell - Having a good DOF and a great manager doesn't necessarily = transfer policy cracked. In much the same way we've assembled a squad (on paper) of good players who let us down regularly as a unit.
There's so much more nuance required in the joint thought process than "go for youth" or "go for proven quality". Bad signings from Holland in the past shouldn't stop us going Dutch in the same way the success of Godfrey shouldn't see us hoovering up Champo players.
My concern is - great as he is - Carlo's experience and trusting what/who he knows is going to lead us purely in the direction we're trying to get away from; namely buying players past their prime, with big fees and/or wages attached. I know there's very little proof to back me up but my feeling is a 100% Brands policy would see us bringing in (or trying to, given the new WP rules) young, exciting (on paper) South American talent or otherwise unproven rough diamonds, the success rate of which would be in the lap of the Gods.
We need mobility. We need players who can move the ball from back to front and not be running in treacle trying to recover their position when the ball is lost (which we would also like to do less of in the first place). We need to replicate James's eye for a killer pass in someone who can give us more games and drift out of games less. If we could clone Doucoure I'd take that, and all. I also think Koulibaly is too expensive and too much of an unknown in PL terms to be made our marquee signing (assuming at the expense of a forward player).
TL;DR - I worry that we will go into the summer without a coherent strategy and we'll end up with more expensive bums.
I see that Ollie Watkins has become the new flavour of the month on this thread, If he hadn't scored last weekend would he still be as highly regarded or do we want to sign everybody who has a good game against us ?
I note that he is 26 next birthday and about fifteen months older than DCL.
A good player but I am not sure he is what we are aiming at.
I note that he is 26 next birthday and about fifteen months older than DCL.
A good player but I am not sure he is what we are aiming at.
He has been very good this year to be fair. I wouldn't be signing him now because the price would be astronomical and I wouldn't have signed him in the summer because we had other priorities, so i'm not sure of the relevance of him in the thread,. But he does look like an example of a good signing who has fit the profile his club needed, which is more than can be said for many of our recent signings so maybe that's the point.
I wouldn't be critical at all of Watkins who is a good player , but I think there is a tendency here to think that we have missed out hugely on certain players . We simply can't sign everybody, we tried that and it didn't work.
Ollie Watkins has scored two goals fewer than DCL but has played five game more, he will also be 26 at the end of the year.
He was a very good buy for Villa , he has done well for them this season but I don't think we could have affored to take a punt on him or anybody else really at around 30m when at the time we already had DCL,Kean and Richarlison as strikers.
mccole
Player Valuation: £35m
The way I see Carlo and Brands works is very much like our last summer window.
Carlo - Ready Made Players
Brands - Youth/Squad Players
I think they comprised excellent in the Summer and we have to admit the additions have been the best summer window in years.
You can see they worked together well just by the purchase of Godfrey. Carlo was sceptical, Brands forced the issue and together they made the right choice.
I see this window being just as good especially with a lot more deadwood removed and a healthy wage bill.
Kean future might be out of Carlo's hands should he want to keep him with PSG and the player wanting a move plus rumoured £40m+ for him is too good of an offer.
Right back will be the first signing for sure and I hope Moshiri finds some extra to bolster the starting XI (CM and RW/FW) and squad.
Llyrap
Player Valuation: £2.5m
Of course when we are discussing our transfer policy we seem to be basing it on transfer rumours. I'd be hesitant about being critical based on rumours.
The only real track record we have is last summer. Godfrey, Allan and Doucoure seem pretty good to me. James on a free - ok he's been injured but we sort of knew that he may struggle a bit with the physicality. He has however made the difference in a number of key games and is not on a long term deal.
If there is substance to the some of the rumours I could also see the rationale in buying a top class centre forward who may, due to injuries, not play a full season. DCL is still developing. We have missed having a true option on the bench particularly as Richarlison has not found his mojo this year.
I think that we need to look at the fundamental structure of the team which I think has started to change this year. Godfrey, Digne in defence (pace and creativity), a midfield of Allan and Doucoure with athleticism and DCL and Richarlison up front.
We could do with a Mina type player but with pace and a Digne type on the right hand side. Also a RW. If we sort out the Right hand side it will free up space for the left hand side.
I know we want to write off half of the players when we lose so badly, but 3 signings improves us. If we get a fourth signing similar to that of James (short term and possibly 20 games a season) then great.
We are going to lose some dead wood this summer. I doubt will generate a lot of income beyond Moise. Holgate has had a shocker recently but he is useful as a squad player and he may sort himself out.
The only real track record we have is last summer. Godfrey, Allan and Doucoure seem pretty good to me. James on a free - ok he's been injured but we sort of knew that he may struggle a bit with the physicality. He has however made the difference in a number of key games and is not on a long term deal.
If there is substance to the some of the rumours I could also see the rationale in buying a top class centre forward who may, due to injuries, not play a full season. DCL is still developing. We have missed having a true option on the bench particularly as Richarlison has not found his mojo this year.
I think that we need to look at the fundamental structure of the team which I think has started to change this year. Godfrey, Digne in defence (pace and creativity), a midfield of Allan and Doucoure with athleticism and DCL and Richarlison up front.
We could do with a Mina type player but with pace and a Digne type on the right hand side. Also a RW. If we sort out the Right hand side it will free up space for the left hand side.
I know we want to write off half of the players when we lose so badly, but 3 signings improves us. If we get a fourth signing similar to that of James (short term and possibly 20 games a season) then great.
We are going to lose some dead wood this summer. I doubt will generate a lot of income beyond Moise. Holgate has had a shocker recently but he is useful as a squad player and he may sort himself out.
catcherintherye
Player Valuation: £80m
The issue I suppose with Watkins, even last year was the price. He's the sort of lad, who if we sold Calvert Lewin for say £80m+ that dropping £28m on him from the championship makes sense. It's what the club didn't do and probably should have done re Lukaku.
However in general, 28-30m is a large chunk of change and as you say it's likely to be more now he's had a good season fro Villa.
Jesus H Christ on a motorbike
Zatara
Player Valuation: £90m
Get @Bungle involved and there is a pornhub classic for the ages in the making there
In which direction ???
Toast
Player Valuation: £80m
Who’s in goal for this side mate ?
Stuartisitc1878
Player Valuation: £25m
wasn't Bale one of the reasons why Carlo left Madrid?
- Status
