david-avfc
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Everything posted by david-avfc
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If Gerrard can get Buendia and Coutinho to build up a proper partnership then that has the potential to be a game changer for us. I know there are challenges due to their similarities, but they are both creative players and at this level of the game that is gold dust. Most centre forwards have similar conversion rates, Goals vs xG etc in the long run so the main variable is the quality and quantity of the chances created for them - and that's why these two players have to viewed as the answer. We've given plenty of opportunities for an Ings/Watkins partnership to develop so there should be no excuses why that same luxury cannot be applied to Buendia - the ceiling of a Buendia / Coutinho creative partnership surely has a far higher ceiling if it clicks than an Ings/Watkins strike partnership.
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The “official league table” since Gerrard took over might have us in X position, but to me we’ve been just as inconsistent as we were under Smith. Win a couple and then go 3, 4 or 5 without winning. The 5 game run in March / April was very telling as we lost 4 in a row and drew one which included a few mediocre teams and some very poor performances- much like Smith’s final 5 games. Again, both streaks were preceded by some good results - 3 wins for Gerrard (including 2 high scoring games) and thrashing Everton and then beating Man U away for Smith. In terms of points per game, if Smith had one just one more win the PPG of both managers would be virtually the same which is indicative of just how inconsistent we have been under both managers and that the sample size of just 11 games under Smith is probably too small to extrapolate out to a comparison of a full season
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Feels a bit like Bentancur in January. If it happens then great, but I’m not going to go overboard with it until it does actually happen
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Suarez as a squad option would make sense but I’d be worried that he’d come in and Gerrard would feel obligated to stick him in the side no matter what. I haven’t seen him since he moved to Atletico but many have commented he’s lost his pace, he’s only started 20 games this season, which indicates Atletico don’t view him as the same threat as a couple of years ago. Maybe he’d be a very good squad player but I’m not sure signing someone at that stage of their career is really going to push us on
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I think he just stands out because he’s the only flair player at Burnley. Think he’d look pretty average anywhere else
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He needs players moving off him and exploiting the space he generates when he pulls defenders / midfielders out of position, but at times it looks like all we want to do is cut back into the middle and pass sideways and backwards. Not even a player like Coutinho can create chances when none of the team mates are trying to make anything happen. Not sure if that’s individuals or tactical but someone needs to tell the players the goal is at the end of the pitch and not on the half way line.
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Should have shown him some tough love last summer and said if you don’t sign now we’ll send you back to the U18s for the remaining 2 years of your contract. Surprised at how badly this has been managed and how long it’s rumbled on for. If he’s genuinely that good then £30k a week is peanuts to us nowadays but the problem is every other youngster will now want the same especially as this lad has yet to make any impact on the pitch
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Marvelous off for Carney. What on earth was the manager thinking? Certainly not how can we keep hold of the draw that’s for sure. Taking off the defensive midfielder for an 18 year old lazy attacking midfielder, yes fine 3-0 up vs Burnley, at 1-1 vs a top class side like Liverpool… nonsensical Overall decent performance though
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Presumably we’ll pay off a higher chunk of his remaining Barcelona contract to compensate for the lower fee, but nonetheless a great signing and seems like it’s on our terms not the other clubs for a change
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Mings was constantly injured though and he joined us from Bournemouth for fitness reasons and he actually cost Bournemouth quite a lot of money initially. Hause on the other hand just hasn’t been fancied as a regular starter since he signed, even in the championship he was in and out of the side behind Mings and Tuanzebe in the pecking order. I like Hause he’s not done anything wrong for us but he’s a squad player and won’t attract a proper PL-level valuation
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Hause £15m! We’ll get £2-3m for him, he’s never been first choice so why would a promoted team pay £15m for someone proven to be not good enough to get regular game time for a mid table side
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We have to work out a way to get Buendia and Coutinho on the same wavelength and playing in the same team together. Both are too good for a side like ours to be regularly missing out. Buendia lacks the pure technical ability of Coutinho and is more prone to sloppy moments, but he works 10x harder and that offers creativity in different ways, as well as providing the extra support to rest of the team helping out defensively which is always underrated
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Maybe one of those players who just played better with no fans in the ground. Before lockdown we were a calamity at the back and Konsa was part of that, and he only properly nailed down a guaranteed starting 11 place during project restart as before that he was competing with Engels. The disappointing thing is that since he joined us he’d been consistently improving, until recently and now he’s looking like he’s rapidly regressing. He’s still young for a centre back, just 24, so hopefully enough time to get back on the right track. But I’m not sure Gerrard will show him the same love that Smith gave him, and we saw how quickly Gerrard discarded Targett who looks like a very similar case. I think selling him would be a mistake but then if he’s going to be a liability then we need to bring someone new in.
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Last time I looked at an U23 game we had a bunch of 16 year olds in the side. All our best young players have been loaned out, so can’t expect too much results wise from the U23s. Maybe Delaney is seen as decent but not exceptional, and we want to push higher. It’s hard to judge from the outside. If we bring in an ex-Gerrard or Purslow connection I’ll be sceptical though
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Wycombe bullied MK from the parts I saw, they were far more physical whereas MK were trying to be more technical, but at that level of the game the passing ability left much to be desired to say the least. As for Kesler, he wasn’t able to get on the ball much as the team were mostly dominated by the opposition, he was guilty of some wayward passes as well as a few other players as they struggled with the pressure of the tough Wycombe side. He did come alive early in the second half, winning a few free kicks, although I gave up shortly after as the game descended into too much fouling on both sides. In defence he struggled to make a difference with the long ball approach from Wycombe which mostly came towards the centre backs anyway. Not sure if it was tactical or individual but I couldn’t work out his positioning, he was neither covering the defensive areas nor pushing up high enough to contribute an attacking threat. Based on this game and another one I saw, maybe another loan spell in a more technically competent side preferably in the championship might be best. Hopefully Gerrard takes a proper look at him in preseason though. Of course it’s all about experience at the moment, his first year of senior football, and winning young player of the season at Swindon despite leaving in Jan, and then play offs at MK is a great start
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Yeah completely agree, if Gerrard knows individual players in the French / German etc leagues then he probably isn’t spending enough time concentrating on his current players. This is why we employ scouts, head of recruitment, football directors etc, the days of the manager managing the whole business are long gone and attempting to return to that would be a monumental step backwards. I’m sure he is in constant dialogue with the other guys to discuss his requirements and any players which have been identified or have suddenly become available
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Didn’t Dybala pull out of a move to Spurs once because he had crazy wage demands… £300k+ a week level of crazy Can’t see it happening at all
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Yeah I agree I think Chambers is a very decent squad player and is more than capable of doing a solid job in most games for us but can’t see him being a first choice solution in the long term. When he’s been first choice before it’s been at Middlesbrough and Fulham - relegated both times, not that it’s his fault but I don’t think he has that extra bit of quality that’s going to push us up closer to the European places. As for Konsa, he’s got to up his game. He is still young so has a lot more to come. I’d like us to sign a new top class centre half and then Mings, Konsa and Chambers fighting it out for the second centre back spot.
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I always thought he was one of the worst regular-starting centre forwards in the league until he had a couple of seasons when he was on fire and looked a completely different player. Before that he worked hard but never showed any real quality. Jury is out which one is the “real” DCL.
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Sorry not to pick on your comment specifically but this saying about no style which gets bandied around by fans of all clubs after a few poor performances is one of the blandest criticisms in football. Of course we have a style of play, every team does unless your absolutely clueless and bottom of the league. We attack through the middle, try to pass through the midfield and push the fullbacks high for width whilst the front 3 play narrow. Whether you think that approach is good or bad is up to your opinion, personally I think Gerrards approach isn’t helping us. If anything the style he’s trying to implement is the problem, rather than not having a style at all. A bit of a rant, nothing personal, but I just find it a frustrating criticism.
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Your forgetting one thing - FFP. If a club sells a player for a loss it’s one big hit to the accounts, if we keep them or loan them out it will be a loss as per the annual amortisation cost but it will be far less as it’s spread out evenly over the duration of the contract. In a normal business you’d be right on sunk costs, but there’s a difference with football clubs. Your example of Wesley proves the point, he is actually still a villa player because from an accounting perspective it’s better to run his contract down than to sell him early (even better if you can offload his wages via a loan) - we won’t get a fee for him in any scenario but it’s about mucking around with the accounting technicalities. As for selling Buendia, after one season? Statistically one of our most creative players… would be madness.
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Considering the outlay we made for Buendia, £38m, we have to try to get him in the team with Coutinho. We can’t buy players for close to £40m and then bin them arbitrarily because the gaffer wants to sign his mate, as class as his mate is it’s not really a professional or sustainable way to do things. I think Buendia is good enough to adapt although I admit there probably is work to do but we at least need to try it. We have Ings + Watkins enough second chances to see if it would work.
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Pretty sure football insider’s approach to transfer rumours is a broken clock is correct twice a day
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Veretout is 18 months older than Sanson, and we had him what 7 years ago? Completely different phases in their careers when they signed for us and when they leave/left us
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To be fair the one game he started recently vs Wolves was the absolute worst we’ve played recently and in particular the midfield was awful offering no defensive protection and created nothing going forwards. We only regained our shape once Luiz came on and Sanson came off. McGinn gets a lot of stick but honestly since he signed for us has never let us down even if he is going through a slightly weaker spell (which is at least partially due to the tactics as well) so I can’t see him getting dropped, nor do I want him to. Ramsey is obviously highly thought of by Gerrard and I agree with some fans that he should be rested from time to time, but in the long term it’s Ramsey who has the potential to help turn us into a top half team, not Sanson, so he’s got to be playing most weeks. So where does that leave Sanson? On the bench. I’d like to see him given more chances but I don’t think there’s anything too controversial about his place in the squad, based on the other options.
