This is my thought as well. We could pay a weekly wage of what he is earning now PLUS a signing on fee of £1.5m - £2m, based upon contract length (as I am sure we would have been willing to pay that sort of money to buy him).
You think the best use of Neil is as the deepest of a 3 then? I’m personally inclined to agree but I thought the consensus was that it was a waste of his talents and he should be released further forward. He can do the lot for me mind, I love the lad.
I personally think Neil is very wasteful in front of goal. Often failing to hit the target, so I think he’d be better off being a deep holding midfielder. He’s got better in the defensive side of the game too. Browne will be complete box to box whilst Jobe could be the furthest advanced of the 3.
I still like Neil as a box to box midfielder but i know others think hes better sitting - i like him in either position Just dont think we will sign a better CDM than Neil tbh so id play him there and then get browne in alongside him with one of the younger lads Not against jobe as a striker either tbh, but def need a couple other options up fromt
I read something that Le Bris said that made me think, he will look at player attributes and assign a position off that basis, I think the article was inferring he meant Jobe, but I read it a couple of times and thought no it's more than that, but we'll see, I don't disagree that he's an excellent CB.
You're not wrong about Neil being wasteful, but it's my theory that as he gets older and can control the rush of blood to the head he gets when lining up a shot he'll score his fair share. He can strike a ball well and we've seen some good finishes from him, he just needs to calm it down a tad. He'd probably be there already if he wasn't playing for his boyhood club.
Havent seen much of Browne if im honest but like the sound of the comments on here. Would prefer a natural CDM personally, I dont think Neil suits it there and left us exposed (not as much as Ekwah mind) but think I could be in the minority with that. The profile of the Browne signing is what a lot of us have been asking for so happy with that. Buzz is definitely back for the season now, cant wait to watch the pre season games already.
What he said could apply to all our options there - Neil, Ekwah, Jobe and Rigg. I thought Ekwah in particular was misused/incorrectly categorised last season trying to turn him into more of a holding midfileder. If he can get those allocations, for want of a better word, correct to get the best out of the players' attributes and maximise their ability (individually and as a unit) then we're laughing as there's some serious talent there with all of them.
I really don’t rate Neil as the CDM mind he’s much better as a box to box but Browne won’t be sitting deep that’s for sure. Hope he can prove me wrong.
Agreed. Tin hat on here but I think if RLB gets Ekwah's head right and can instill the controlled aggression required to operate in this league then he could go on to be our best midfielder. I've mentioned before that a couple of the West Ham fans I work with in London watched their younger age groups and they said before he signed that he's only missing that aggression which can come more easily with a little more game time. He's now had a full season where he has, as many others have said, been played in a position not suited to him, To be fair I think Dan Neill was also being asked to cover too many bases.
Catching up. Is this Browne rumour close does anyone know? I think it would be a bit of a statement signing if we got him personally. I had assumed his wages would see him elsewhere.
