I was going to post this a few days ago but didn't have the time, so it was a bit of a coincidence that today I have read that Rodellega may be going to River Plate...... Do we need Hugo when we have Dembele???? First of all Hugo would be a solid player in the championship and if he stays I think he will sneak into double figures but he is on £75k a week and despite giving 100% effort he does fall short a little on quality and I feel he has lost a yard if pace since his Wigan days. I know the big issue is age and experience Dembele is only 17/18 but forgetting the numbers of how old they are from what I have seen Dembele is Quicker, has better movement will improve the more he plays where as at his age Hugo is likely to get worse with every season. Against Crawley Hugo had 4 good chances scored one, two straight at the keeper and one wide. Dembele 3 good chances scored one ( it did cross the line), one wide and one amazing block on the line by Dean Leacock. What I'm saying is that we have a very promising young player who is on probably about £5k a week who is likely to get better who from what I have seen is currently no worse than our 33 year old striker who is on £75k a week and is only likely to get worse. I would be happy with McCormack, Woodrow,Dembele and Taggert as our four strikers
The problem with bringing in or relying on youngsters is they haven't had the experience of playing consistently in front of large crowds. Good performances and the crowd build you up, have poor games and the crowd can get on your back, and confidence can drop quickly. For me Trotta has probably sampled these problems at Brentford from Hero to Zero and got through going back last season, more so than Dembele. At the moment we've had so much disruption in the first team squad, that having a good start in the Championship is probably a must to boost the confidence of the younger players. Experienced players like Rodallega have gone through the highs & lows, so isn't phased by fans reactions, but from last season looks to have the heart to play well if given the chance. So I'd rather have him in the first team than Dembele, and gradually bring in Dembele on as sub. I don't understand why you would keep playing a player in friendlies if he is not part of your plans ?
A few small points - Hugo is 29 tomorrow, not 33. He was rumoured to be on 50k a week, not 75k. He is one of our few senior players left and unless the offered transfer fee is good, I think we would do better to let his contract run out.
Yes, absolutely keep him. We've lost umpteen players on PL wages so we can afford him in that respect, and experienced heads and continuity is something we're short on.
Yup. Wherever he ends up (and I believe even £50k pw is too much in the Championship for someone who hasn't a proven goal scoring record), Happy Birthday Hugo. please log in to view this image
And here's the Birthday Boy scoring a field goal at the Jaguar's place - [Watch him against the size of the guy 10 seconds or so from the end - that's the kind of central midfielder we need!] [video=youtube;QdCjkqyMQlM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdCjkqyMQlM&feature=player_detailpage[/video]
I would be happy for Rodders to stay but if he goes I just don't think it would be a huge loss plus it would be a massive chunk of wages lost. I know if experience does count a little but first and foremost ability and quality has to come first and I think Dembele is slightly better than Rodders, and I'm talking about right now not potential. if you rated each player under separate attributes as per computer game style Dembele would be rated higher on Touch, Speed, Finishing , Headiing , Shooting, Passing, Strength would be similar ... Infact experience is the only thing I would have Rodders ahead on is experience. Anyway either way I'm happy just don't agree with people saying we have to keep Rodders or if he goes we need to replace him. Also I was also impressed with Taggert in his 45 minute cameo I know you can't tell a lot but his touch, movement and speed were all better than I was expecting think he will be a good squad player for us
