Same with Dom, the minute he started hitting the gym hard, injuries started picking up..No doubt, then sign a player suited for a style of play you want to play, rather than one who has developed his entire career/game based on his existing physique, an asking him to be/do something he isn't. Thierno Barry is never going to be a back to goal striker.
It's the same with Aznou - seems odd to me Barcelona an Bayern Munich didn't think they needed to get him on weights. He comes here an can't get a sniff ahead of one of, if not the worst left back we've ever had IMO. Premier League blah blah.
You'd hope/expect, but it seems all the club, manager an player himself now seem to ref in every conversation is he needs to work on his physique. It always seems to be the pressing issue. Like even this thread now, it's being debated because it's constantly mentioned and people parrot it.
Yeah sound, you're a centre forward in the Prem, use the gym - but the apparent massive onus on it where it's proactively mentioned is a throwback in mentality to me, and/or we're signing players and asking them to do a job they're not natural at.
This fella did a report on Barry a few years ago;
Thierno Barry - Scout Report
The French international has gotten off to a fantastic start for Basel this season and is showing he is ready for the next step in his career.franciscomaldonado.substack.com
And a lot of it rings true to me from what I've seen of Barry -
^ Get in front of the defender, be smart with the ball - being a grok shouldn't be a prerequisite. As per examples, some of the very best goalscorers are no stronger than him.
I get it, he needs to sometimes be stronger on the ball, but it's just over-egged IMO.
Random, but Ross Barkley lost a lot of his game when someone decided he needed to bulk up.
Well, that was a side point/throwaway line - but the point is a very basic/simple one. Evidently they prioritised technique>ability over being a grok.
[Edit] and Bayern apparently wanted to keep him but he forced the move to try and play.
MACCA75
Player Valuation: £70m
Technique and strength is required to be a good defender. Not like a grok, but enough so a gust of wind isn’t blowing you over.
preposterousvelios
Player Valuation: £15m
There's a reason we got the best of Rom, and it's because we were the only team to have lean Rom before he bulked up. Barry is fast and tall, looks like he needs to work on his balance maybe but I dont think him putting on a load of muscle would really benefit him that much.No doubt, then sign a player suited for a style of play you want to play, rather than one who has developed his entire career/game based on his existing physique, an asking him to be/do something he isn't. Thierno Barry is never going to be a back to goal striker.
It's the same with Aznou - seems odd to me Barcelona an Bayern Munich didn't think they needed to get him on weights. He comes here an can't get a sniff ahead of one of, if not the worst left back we've ever had IMO. Premier League blah blah.
You'd hope/expect, but it seems all the club, manager an player himself now seem to ref in every conversation is he needs to work on his physique. It always seems to be the pressing issue. Like even this thread now, it's being debated because it's constantly mentioned and people parrot it.
Yeah sound, you're a centre forward in the Prem, use the gym - but the apparent massive onus on it where it's proactively mentioned is a throwback in mentality to me, and/or we're signing players and asking them to do a job they're not natural at.
This fella did a report on Barry a few years ago;
Thierno Barry - Scout Report
The French international has gotten off to a fantastic start for Basel this season and is showing he is ready for the next step in his career.
And a lot of it rings true to me from what I've seen of Barry -
^ Get in front of the defender, be smart with the ball - being a grok shouldn't be a prerequisite. As per examples, some of the very best goalscorers are no stronger than him.
I get it, he needs to sometimes be stronger on the ball, but it's just over-egged IMO.
Random, but Ross Barkley lost a lot of his game when someone decided he needed to bulk up.
Aznou obviously is short and very slight, can understand Moyes wanting him to develop physically to comfortably compete in the league. Again I agree though it's odd the extent to which it's a non-negotiable.
Not like myko is dominating games with pace and strength that Aznou doesn't have.
Aznou isn't getting a game, predominantly, because he needs to bulk up. Shame Barcelona/Bayern didn't notice that, or more to the point - our recruitment team prior to us signing him. That was a small, throwaway comparison about us having a mindset that players need to be a certain type to cope with the Premier League - so back to the main point/the threads topic.
I think the narrative of a striker needs to bulk up is a throw back in mentality.
I think this based on the likes of Alexander Isak and others - players which Barry was long compared with before arriving.
You either sign a player/play to their strength, or you don't.
Thierno Barry is never this;
... if we wanted that player, sign that player. Rather than;
100% agree with this.
preposterousvelios
Player Valuation: £15m
To be fair, was never getting in the Barca team ahead of Balde and never getting in the Bayern team ahead of Davies.
Bayern also wanted to keep him but he insisted on the move, and believe they also tried to insert all sorts of buy back and sell on clauses into the deal (unsuccessfully). They clearly rated him pretty highly imo.
Saint Domingo
Player Valuation: £90m
Teams should work backwards from their striker. Decide what type of service they want and then play a system that gives them it. If you have Duncan Ferguson upfront there’s no point playing through balls, equally if you have Michael Owen what’s the point in getting deep crosses in.
We’ve only historically serviced strikers the way they want in patches, and the rest of the time it’s just aimless half balls down the channel to try and chase or mindless crosses from the left back.
Jelavic when he first arrived, it was all drag backs in the six yard box on the deck and he was sweeping them in, Cahill was behind him linking and acting as a decoy. Next season we moved Fellaini up behind him and went back to our A1 typical tactic of the last 30 years of working the ball out to our left back to put a deep cross in. Suited Fellaini, but not Jelavic, so everyone said he was crap, and out he went.
Beto showed what he could do back end of last season playing on the break with Alcaraz slotting balls in front of him. We’ve not done that once this season.
Maupay, as much of a rat as he is was, was never going to score from us lashing balls into the box in the air to him.
Occasionally you get a striker like Lukaku who can do it all but very rarely.
We need to find out what type of service Barry wants and then play that way. It just baffles me though how we swap Barry out, a player that wants to come short and link play and is looking for pull backs, crosses, etc. and swap him for Beto who is only looking for through balls, and yet we play exactly the same way to both
We’ve only historically serviced strikers the way they want in patches, and the rest of the time it’s just aimless half balls down the channel to try and chase or mindless crosses from the left back.
Jelavic when he first arrived, it was all drag backs in the six yard box on the deck and he was sweeping them in, Cahill was behind him linking and acting as a decoy. Next season we moved Fellaini up behind him and went back to our A1 typical tactic of the last 30 years of working the ball out to our left back to put a deep cross in. Suited Fellaini, but not Jelavic, so everyone said he was crap, and out he went.
Beto showed what he could do back end of last season playing on the break with Alcaraz slotting balls in front of him. We’ve not done that once this season.
Maupay, as much of a rat as he is was, was never going to score from us lashing balls into the box in the air to him.
Occasionally you get a striker like Lukaku who can do it all but very rarely.
We need to find out what type of service Barry wants and then play that way. It just baffles me though how we swap Barry out, a player that wants to come short and link play and is looking for pull backs, crosses, etc. and swap him for Beto who is only looking for through balls, and yet we play exactly the same way to both
MACCA75
Player Valuation: £70m
Maybe they can buy him in the summer as he won’t be playing left back for Everton next season.
Kevsleftpeg
Player Valuation: £35m
It's widely accepted that the premier league is the most physically demanding and physical league in the world. It's not surprising that some players come here and need to improve their strength and conditioning to succeed. Barcelona had Messi, the greatest player of all time, on growth hormones etc to ensure he was physically capable of being a football. To ignore the physicality required to be a footballer is insane. Even smaller players like Bernardo Silva and Foden are strong and not easily knocked off the ball. Fitness and strength is one of the easiest things a professional footballer can improve.
preposterousvelios
Player Valuation: £15m
If we were moving him on he would be being loaned out this month to bump his value up.
Aznou will be a player for us. Might take a bit of time but I'm certain he's got the technical ability, and seeing recently how he's dealt with being managed pretty poorly by Moyes I think he has the mental resilience as well.
MACCA75
Player Valuation: £70m
Clearly has talent, can’t understand why he hasn’t had minutes on the wing.
Can understand why he hasn’t had minutes at full back.
He's like our very own Aldi Haaland, barely gets service but bags when he needs to.
I dont deny any of that.
My point is the extent to which we as a club prioritise it is, IMO, a mentality throwback. The game isnt what it was.
