Adman Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 55 minutes ago, villalad21 said: Owners really throwing everything at this Stevie G project. And this is only January. If this fails we could be in trouble. Exciting but at the same time I'm a little worried. Agreed. If Gerrard turns out to be all mouth and no trousers, we're screwed. You would also have to question the owners / senior managements forward motivation if their best efforts fail so expensively too. It's happening to Everton now, and we nearly folded in our recent history. But today we signed coutinho, so woohoo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippo Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 1 hour ago, villalad21 said: Owners really throwing everything at this Stevie G project. And this is only January. If this fails we could be in trouble. Exciting but at the same time I'm a little worried. Massive and unecessary gamble on a very inexperienced manager. Sure great player - but often that doesn't cross over into management. I really hope we would build on the work DS did last season. Seems like we are gambling heavily on Stevie G coming good. 1 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villalad21 Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 (edited) 5 minutes ago, hippo said: Massive and unecessary gamble on a very inexperienced manager. Sure great player - but often that doesn't cross over into management. I really hope we would build on the work DS did last season. Seems like we are gambling heavily on Stevie G coming good. I agree. This strategy seem a lot more risky. Little resell value, high wages etc. Hunting the best young Championship players certainly felt like a more safe and secure transfer strategy. And also a lot more sensible considering it's only our 3rd season since promotion. I cannot help but feel concerned. Only thing that can reduce that feeling is seeing results, and results has been awful recently. Edited January 11, 2022 by villalad21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 1 hour ago, villalad21 said: Owners really throwing everything at this Stevie G project. And this is only January. If this fails we could be in trouble. Exciting but at the same time I'm a little worried. Not really yet. We have a six month loan with an option to buy player and potential a £20m+ left back. It’s not as if we’ve spent £100-£150m. We haven’t mortgaged the house. Seems clever signings and investment strategy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adman Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 Just now, villalad21 said: I agree. This strategy seem a lot more risky. Little resell value, high wages etc. Hunting the best young Championship players certainly felt like a more safe and secure transfer strategy. I cannot help but feel concerned. Only thing that can reduce that feeling is seeing results, and results has been awful recently. The other unknown part to this strategy (for us) is the value of the uplift in the status and profile of the club. Gerrard and Coutinho are global superstars with huge followings, how we monetise this and by how much is hard to quantify. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 3 minutes ago, villalad21 said: I agree. This strategy seem a lot more risky. Little resell value, high wages etc. Hunting the best young Championship players certainly felt like a more safe and secure transfer strategy. And also a lot more sensible considering it's only our 3rd season since promotion. I cannot help but feel concerned. Only thing that can reduce that feeling is seeing results, and results has been awful recently. Yet with those players our 2021 record was awful and as you pointed out, under Gerrard, we’ve lost the last three games and lost more than we have won. Maybe a slight adjustment to that strategy needed to happen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaJay Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 I personally was a little underwhelmed with the Gerrard signing, but was willing to give him a chance and to see what he can do with us. From what I've seen so far from Gerrard and our board since game 1, I'm very optimistic that Gerrard will be a huge success and see us progress as a team as expected. On the pitch I've seen a clear identity in our play and can see how he wants us to play, off the pitch I can see he's identified where we need to improve to play his way too. Based on the opening games, which included games against Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Utd and Leicester, I'm not sure any manager in world football could have done much more with our current team. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NurembergVillan Posted January 11, 2022 Moderator Share Posted January 11, 2022 1 minute ago, villalad21 said: Our midfield is letting us down because we currently don't have a defensive midfielder. Not sure how coutinho is solving that. I wasn't aware it was a binary choice. The game's gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacketspuds Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 Just now, villalad21 said: Our midfield is letting us down because we currently don't have a defensive midfielder. Not sure how coutinho is solving that. It’s not solving the problem, but it’s still brilliant that we’ve got Coutinho. Plus the window has a way to go, and I am confident that Gerrard will sort it. If the budget was that tight he wouldn’t be bringing in Coutinho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted January 11, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted January 11, 2022 (edited) 29 minutes ago, hippo said: I really hope we would build on the work DS did last season. Seems like we are gambling heavily on Stevie G coming good. Gerrard is here, because DS couldn't build on the " work DS did last season " . You do realise this? Further more, weren't you slagging Deano non stop as well? Either way, I really need to stop latching/biting onto some of the madness I'm reading from people with agendas that have surpassed logic. We get it, you hate the Manager. And you're going to find anything possible to moan about until we get one you like, until you don't like them either. Edited January 11, 2022 by JAMAICAN-VILLAN 10 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted January 12, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted January 12, 2022 (edited) 55 minutes ago, villalad21 said: But have we completely ditched the championship market now? Something which worked so well for us last season. Why not explore more of something we've had success with? I may still be a little scarred from some of the MON recruitment but I'm still very much in the favor of the young and upcoming player route. Kinda like Arsenal are doing. We signed Buendia and Bailey, both under 24, 5 - 6 months ago plus other young players? Again, we have some of the most coveted young players in the country, in our ranks already! The " older players " provide quality NOW, to help us reach our ambitions, while our young players develop to be ready for when those older players are moved on or past it. It also gives those young players mentors to watch, learn from and play with. The only Championship players we should be signing at this stage, are the cream of the crop, and there are a limited amount of them, and we can't sign them all. You also risk simply becoming the best club in the Championship, but in the Premier League, instead. The best young players around Europe, usually end up at the clubs we are trying to emulate. The highest rated young player in the world, would take less money from the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona, than come to us. We've already been doing what Arsenal are doing, at a slighlty lower level, because of the limit of players we have been able to attract in the past. Bottom line is, I reckon the board and CEO have method to what they are doing, and probably know better than us. Commercial success, profile and more immediate success are as important as ever now. As many have pointed out, the likes of Newcastle being taken over, Southampton being taken over, the emergence of West Ham etc might have sped up our plans. Any good board and CEO needs to be able to adapt and navigate the climate. Although, I'm still bemused that we are having a meltdown about potentially signing 2 - 3 top players to compliment a squad which needs help. I wonder if West Ham fans were in uproar when Lingaard came in on loan at 28 and scored all those.goals which fired them into Europe? Edited January 12, 2022 by JAMAICAN-VILLAN 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post KentVillan Posted January 12, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted January 12, 2022 There's nothing wrong with signing older players if you have talent coming through, and you don't overspend on them. Leicester are a good example of a well-run club with a smart transfer policy, but here are some signings they've made in recent years: Cambiasso (age 34) Huth (31) Fuchs (29) Okazaki (29) Jonny Evans (30) Ryan Bertrand (32) Vestergaard (29) So as much as they are always looking for young players who can go up in value, it's not 100% youth. So long as you have young players coming through in every position, there's no harm in having a few wise heads in the dressing room, if they have the right character and aren't costing you a fortune. I don't think we'll be giving up completely on the moneyball / young talent approach, but we'll be adapting it more to our short-term goal of qualifying for Europe. Gerrard has also given plenty of game time to Ramsey. He brought JPB on against Utd last night. The bench has been filled with youth talent for most games. I don't think he's abandoning the project. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippo Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 7 hours ago, Adman said: The other unknown part to this strategy (for us) is the value of the uplift in the status and profile of the club. Gerrard and Coutinho are global superstars with huge followings, how we monetise this and by how much is hard to quantify. Agree. But own its own that won't make a massive difference to commercial revenue. Sure a weeks headlines on appointment. But it's pretty much a footnote now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippo Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 7 hours ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said: Gerrard is here, because DS couldn't build on the " work DS did last season " . You do realise this? Further more, weren't you slagging Deano non stop as well? Either way, I really need to stop latching/biting onto some of the madness I'm reading from people with agendas that have surpassed logic. We get it, you hate the Manager. And you're going to find anything possible to moan about until we get one you like, until you don't like them either. Agreed DS didn't push on after last season and IMO had to go. I thought we would then go for the next level manager. Not a less experienced one - who might come good because he was a good player. You're right for a long time I wasn't convinced by DS. He won me over though. My fears are that results will not be great under Stevie G - forcing him into a massive rebuild. I thought with the base we had built last season we would build on that. Maybe we will.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 How much did smith blow? Much more than gerrard has and there has been some unbelievablely poor business from smith as well as some great successes like ollie and konsa 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippo Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 4 minutes ago, Demitri_C said: How much did smith blow? Much more than gerrard has and there has been some unbelievablely poor business from smith as well as some great successes like ollie and konsa Not sure. But Smith probably covered his ass with 2 years TV money from the prem. In a sense Stevie G has a tougher job as he has to bring in players better than what we have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 2 minutes ago, hippo said: Not sure. But Smith probably covered his ass with 2 years TV money from the prem. In a sense Stevie G has a tougher job as he has to bring in players better than what we have. Smith kept us up, that was his objectives although it never worked out im grateful for that. Taking us to next level is whay smith couldnt do and gerrards been tasked with doing it. As you say i think gerrard has it tougher as he has to find better than what we have. Im confident he can attract bigger names. Digne an countinho are demonstrating this 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishVilla10 Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 9 minutes ago, Demitri_C said: How much did smith blow? Much more than gerrard has and there has been some unbelievablely poor business from smith as well as some great successes like ollie and konsa To be honest I wouldn’t even look at it like this. Our first season up we spent a fortune but every signing was needed, no recruitment teams going to find 10+ players for 150 million odd who all turn out to be successful. In the first January things were desperate with Baston, Reina and Samatta but even they were essential signings. Then last season our recruitment was brilliant IMO. We started this season with good signings also. I don’t think Smith should get any blame for any signings over his spell in charge. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrishVilla10 Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 1 minute ago, Demitri_C said: kalinic, wesley, trez, engels, jota, samatta, baston, drinkwater Do you think Smith went to Purslow and said I want us to sign any of these players specifically, actually apart from Jota. It would have been data based, and the loans purely on availability. Some will pay off some won’t 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 2 minutes ago, IrishVilla10 said: To be honest I wouldn’t even look at it like this. Our first season up we spent a fortune but every signing was needed, no recruitment teams going to find 10+ players for 150 million odd who all turn out to be successful. In the first January things were desperate with Baston, Reina and Samatta but even they were essential signings. Then last season our recruitment was brilliant IMO. We started this season with good signings also. I don’t think Smith should get any blame for any signings over his spell in charge. I agree to an extent, not all signings will be successes. Im just highlighting Gerrard wont get every signing right like Smith with the above list. On paper this seasons signings look good, although baileys been injured for most it as has sanson! Buendia hopefully getting back to his best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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