3 reds in 18 league appearances, apparently lost his composure with some frequency. Might have partially owed to the fact that he wanted to get away from Lyon, though it's something of a chicken/egg thing there.
He's played at all age groups for his country and is a full international, so is obviously a good player. His lack of composure may have been to do with the team around him or other reasons...that is not set in stone and will not necessarily be repeated here. Looking forward to seeing him in action...glad we got him in before preseason.
Just watched his interview on Player. Describes himself as an aggressive ball player. Let's hope it's the large white one he's talking about!
Really happy about our first signing... UNTIL I read this: http://www.just-football.com/2013/0..._campaign=Feed: Just-football (Just-Football)
Fair enough, but (a) Nicola doesn't panic-buy, especially at the reported price. There must be something about Lovren that MP and NC like. And (b) he will have the benefit of a full pre-season at one of the best training facilities in England to iron out some of those weaknesses from his game. Finally (c) even if we lose one or more CB (my money's on Jos Hooiveld going) those remaining will have to up their efforts to stand a chance of any game time, which can only be a good thing for the squad. As others have been saying on other threads, there will probably be a lot more rotation in the squad next season as (hopefully) we will have more strength in depth at every position.
I'll withhold criticism until he plays, but I can't pretend to be excited about this. Let's hope it was just an anomalous season and he'll soon return to his old potential.
I believe MP will get the best out of him, he has shown class before and he is only 23, I just think he lost his way a bit.
I'm excited, but nervous. I'm pretty sure this means Astori is not coming as I can't see us splashing £20m on CBs in one window, so all our eggs are in this basket(case). Sounds like Lovren had a torrid time of it at Lyon for whatever reason, the talent is clearly there, but his head seems to have gone. Good that he's here for the full pre-season, the fact he speaks good English and that our players aren't a bunch of knobs should help him settle quick, the rest is in the hands of our coaches.
I'm hesitant to fall back on the line of "the talent was there before" because it was in a few games for Dinamo Zagreb - I'd rather judge his performances in Ligue 1... also because I never actually saw him play before Lyon! Honestly, I'd have been much happier with Astori, but maybe that was a no-goer anyway.
I'm not, I'm going on the fact so many people say he is great for 89 mins but can make a silly mistake. If you can be great for 89 mins, you can be great for 90 mins. Seems to indicate to me that it's a mental issue.
He's 23 years old. He obviously lost a load of confidence last season as it went on. He needed a change of club and I think he will prove to be a great signing.
For what it's worth. I saw Lovren play live for Croatia against Wales and was impressed. He scored an absolute screamer and played much of the game as a full back following an early injury to a team mate. I think he will prove to be a good signing and I imagine would fit nicely into a new back 3 system if that's what MP wants.
The more I read the more he sounds like Fonte but younger and a bit better. I suspect the Astori deal is dead (not because of this signing) but wouldn't be shocked if it did still happen.
Well, he certainly seems to have the right attitude, judging by his interviews ... very apprehensive about the deal though, can only hope it'll work out
OK Had a little while to digest the exciting news, and I do genuinely mean, exciting. Read the article you shared 'SaintRachel' and found it really interesting, especially the reference to monetary rewards for simply being in the English Premier League! "The Premier League’s new TV deal, kicking in this coming season, is worth £3billion over 3 years, up 71% on the current deal. The team that finishes bottom of the league will earn £60.6m. Just for taking part. And that’s without even taking into account the lucrative figures for overseas TV rights. By comparison, Manchester United were awarded £60.8m for winning the damn thing not two months ago." So, really not concerned about the amount of money spent. A few things come to mind as I skip through Lyon statistics, and browse Lovren's contribution last season ... The three times he was dismissed, it would appear that on two occasions it was in the last minute / injury time, and twice as a result of making a professional foul or last ditch effort - conceding a penalty on both occasions. Don't think this means he is an overly 'dirty' player with a dodgy temperament. A lot of focus has been put on his falling out with the management, and how he was responsible for goals conceded prior to being left out for the remainder of last season ... The games against Bastia and Sochaux in particular, came in a two week period where Lovren had played four games and travelled twice for international duty. In the drubbing against Bastia, THREE of the four midfielders were substituted, which suggests to me that players in other departments weren't cutting it that day, and not just Lovren? So all things considered ... We have another very young player, who is an established international with club experience at the highest level, for what appears today, to be a drop in the ocean financially. What's not to like? With regard to who might be on the way out, I found this statistic interesting ( especially given that quite a few wondered whether Fonte would be off the Premiership pace ) ... With Fonte playing SAINTS won just 15% of their games and lost 50% Without Fonte playing SAINTS won 44% of their games and lost only 25% It's maybe also noteworthy that Fox's statistics don't make for pretty reading either! And just for reference, Yoshida's presence makes for good reading, as does Shaw's, obviously. That said, you can't make a call purely on those figures alone, I admit.
