Dele, Rose, Lennon, Walker, Robinson, Defoe, Carrick, Keane, Bale, Dawson, Kane etc all played for struggling and or lower league club's but stood out. Some players look good for a season but can not step up. Some players are hyped up by the media and pundits and in my honest opinion both of these things are true of grealish.
1. How many more ?? 2. And from whom (given that 6 of them were lost to the teams currently 1st/3rd) ??
Rose hadn't played a game for Leeds, mate, he was signed at 16. Lennon wasn't setting the world alight at Leeds either. Walker had played just a handful of games as he was Naughton's back up at Sheff Utd. Dawson wasn't really making waves and he was signed as the "extra" in the Andy Reid deal. We took punts on them that thankfully paid off, not forgetting Tommy Huddlestone too who was another. I think Grealish would certainly fit that mould if we'd have done/ if we do similar, albeit he'll cost a lot more now than what a regular "punt signing" would be.
exactly, let's not even talk about other clubs, wanyama was hardly the beast he was at southampton that he is now. Likewise Dembele was a laughing stock for a bit until coached properly. If you want 2 of the biggest examples see the monkey king himself who struggled initially (Bale - in the wrong position as a lb) and even Harry himself when he first started out. Some players just fit other teams better and some don't
Indeed. If the "multiverse" exists, then in one other than this we could have Citeh spanked, the Poool win the PL, and the myth of Pep the messiah truly crushed.
Who knows, it's an "if" just as Power suggested "if" we signed them we'd be worse off. It's impossible to tell but I know for sure I'd favour the idea of having extra options than not having options. Football is a squad game, no team wins the league by playing the same XI every game.
Judging by how the BBC hack seemed to actually choke when saying we were currently in second place earlier, I doubt it
Football's crazy, man. So many factors define if a player makes it or not. Some of it is marginal as well. Things like playing with the right manager/ team mates/ system can all determine it, then there's the mental side of having the belief and correct attitude, then there's also stuff out of anyone's control like injuries. Not having just one of those factors go your way could mean a player never gets to show their true potential. If Leicester never signed Kante, he likely wouldn't have gone on to become a double Premier League and World Cup winner. If Soldado wasn't ****, we probably wouldn't have seen Kane emerge. If Bentaleb wasn't a big headed prat, he'd still be here probably bossing the midfield with Dier/ Sissoko and likely being linked with Barca and Madrid by now, he was a special talent who let himself down with his attitude. Like I said, football's crazy.
Not just me. The CIE site has him as the 11th best midfield player in the European leagues over the last month. Not sure how they do their rankings but likely to be better justified than your or my opinion.
Or been selected and prevented us from one of our 5 defeats? Or provided squad rotation to allow Sissoko to have had a rest? This game could go on forever.
Agreed. But as I said we have had our best start ever so I'm surprised people think it should somehow have been even better...
Transfermarkt says he's got zero goals or assists. And only has one goal and two assists in 88 games. Rival fans both on here and social media (as well as more of our own) are now mocking him for his constant persistence with two yard passes. We can all use sites or other people's views to boost our opinions. Ultimately, I don't go by stats when it comes to rating Winks or not. I watch enough of Winks to not need a stat site to tell me if he's good enough or not and for me, he's a completely useless player who hinders our midfield.
As we were all mocking Sissoko until recently....the only inarguable stat is the 48 points from 21 matches. Amazing we managed that with a hindrance in a key position.
We’ve still lost 5 games, scraped through in the CL, and for a large spell at the start of the season we weren’t actually playing that well. New faces could have seen competition for places, resulting in existing players upping their game. (As well as all the other reasons mentioned).
Alderweireld's situation and World Cup fatigue have been factors too. It's hard to be critical of a team with 48 points from 21 games, but looking at the five defeats, these two points may be relevant. Defensive errors/fragility in the big games this season are the difference between you and Liverpool so far. A committed Alderweireld and fit Dembele would have helped. Come on City!
City V Pool - Not sure about Peps selection tonight to me it has the look of a team that Liverpool may well pick off with some ease - Can't see City winning for some reason, I hope I am wrong
