Even as a stopgap, I think Shelvey is a really poor signing for what we need. Even Man City struggled massively when they lost Rodri to his ACL injury and playing Kovačić and Gündoğan as a number 6 was not the solution for them last season. They were so vulnerable to counter-attacks and they had to drop £50 million in January for Nico González to fill that gap and be Rodri’s understudy and long-term replacement. If we’re signing O’Brien and/or Shelvey and expecting them to be the number 6 until Zambrano and Matazo are available and fully fit then I think we’re on a hiding to nothing. The plan should be fairly obvious. No more playing box-to-box midfielders as defensive midfielders. No more signing knackered players whose best days are behind them and have barely played in the last few years. Just sign a decent proper defensive midfielder that can come in and be fit and raring to go now. If Zambrano and Matazo come back and get up to speed quickly after their absence then great, that’s a huge bonus, but it shouldn’t be something we’re depending on this season.
Its why im against shelvey Forgetting tactical reasons Im just sick of the club wasting money Yes hed a free agent but itll be a fortune in wages And hes barely played like you said Why why why And another short termism player Cant we sign a player that stays for longer than a season
Slaters superior speed allows him to run quickly into areas where he cannot receive the ball and have any impact on the game.
My pace of thought is absolutely rapid…high 80’s at least. This translating into actual bodily movement is near non existent. What pace I had is counting down by one every day I get older.
I actually have a question for the board. Would you want Crooks in the starting XI for most of the upcoming season or do you think the club could and should sign someone better? He scored three important goals in the second half of last season and I like him as a character. However, for me, I’d be hoping he’s more of an impact sub this upcoming season. He signed for us in January, we got the cliched ‘he needs time to get up to speed and full fitness’ and he was still blowing out his arse after 45 minutes in the final game at Fratton Park. The Championship season is a long, gruelling one with two games per week usually and if we’re building a midfield around the likes of Crooks, Shelvey, Zambrano who hasn’t played for 12 months and Matazo returning from an ACL injury, then I really do worry.
if crooks if fully fit he can be a really good player for us maybe with a full pre season, he may be able to last a full game but the thought of a midfield having crooks and shelvey is kinda frightening in a bad way
Yeah and I’m not buying the ‘we need experience’ line anymore. It’s bollocks. This squad already has plenty of experienced Championship players. Sunderland, with one of the youngest squads in the league, made the play-offs and achieved promotion. Turns out having fit and athletic midfielders who are good is actually more important than some vague Boomer concept of ‘experience’.
Think crooks is a really good player at this level and if played consistently could reach ten goals in a season
They were a pretty consistent squad for 2-3 seasons though so got experience that way. They were very inconsistent results wise for a while.
I'd be happy with him starting, I think his general play is underrated by many. Also, he works very hard to cover the pitch and his 'blowing' is probably representative of that, I don't see his levels dropping too much while he's on the pitch regardless. Side note. I have exercise induced asthma, I also work very hard on the pitch and notice that I'm gasping for air more than anyone else, I still have the stamina to continue running and putting as much effort as anyone else but I must look done in. I'm not saying this is this is the case with Crooks, just that someone visibly blowing does not necessarily mean they're not match fit or up to starting games.
That’s my point. You don’t need to be 30+ to have ‘experience’. Lots of players can have 150+ appearances in the Championship by the time they’re 25.
Understood, but are we willing to invest 3 years in a squad with potentially inconsistent results? That's exactly what we should have done with the squad assembled under Liam rather than seemingly ripping it up and starting again every season which seems Acun's wont. If he wants immediate success you do have to buy traditional experience.
Yeh, thats the frustrating thing really. The Sunderland model is exactly what we should be following but Acun doesn't have the patience. Things still seem a bit confused in whether we're buying players with a high ceiling to to fund the future or trying to bring in ready made players to challenge. Even when we do bring players with potential, we don't have the patience or faith to give them time to blossom and command healthy profits that would really make a difference.
If Acun wants immediate success then he’s in the wrong business owning a football club. Sharp’s impact was the square root of **** all and Amrabat was ‘okay’ in a team that stayed up on goal difference. I struggle to see what Shelvey adds other than he might call Laalaoui a ‘smelly Arab’.
I like crooks He’s a ****ing big unit so not going to be the most mobile But he’s someone who actually takes responsibility around the box Something slater etc just don’t do enough
I quite like Crooks as well, but I think Palmer is as good if not better, he has more to offer across his whole game
