Well, Taïder is an actual player, who doesn't have a history of beating his team-mates up and will turn up to training. That's a start.
Tancredi Palmeri: For Saints fan asking: Taider is a CM pretty decent on a physical and tactical level, with lot of potential and that deserved more trust
I didn't see him for England Under 21s but it seems that the majority of praise for him, at least that I've seen, comes from his game against Wales U21s.
The thing is playing most international U21 teams is akin to playing, like, Hereford or something. He tore up against Wales U21 apparently, but it's Wales U21. Isgrove is in that team.
Last tournament I also thought he was one of the only bright lights for the U21s. Also put in a fantastic performance I saw against Scotland. Didn't see the Wales game so can't comment.
Stood out like a sore thumb against Italy U21s, who did not infact have Lloyd Isgrove playing for them. That any better?
A bit. Who was in that team? The squad Wikipedia has for them right now is actually surprisingly poor.
Dutch journalist Marcel van der Kraan was just on talkSPORT. Said he thinks Koeman wanted De Vrij, but De Vrij has an axe to grind. Koeman took the captaincy away from De Vrij in 2013 because he said he wasn't man enough and needed to concentrate on his own performances. van der Kraan says Saints would've been a better move for De Vrij but "sometimes, these players don't forget these things and they cloud their judgement".
He's ok, I first noticed him while he played for Birmingham. Has a certain limitations to his game, but can be devastating if used the way it suits him. He reminds me of a Dyer/Routledge/Lennon type of player, bags of pace, some trickery, decent crossing. Haven't watched him enough to see whether he's capable of being anything more than a stereotypical winger.
Taïder is one of those who moved too soon. He was catching a lot of attention at Bologna but went to Internazionale and he was just 20/21. Didn't play too much, then Mazzarri recruited his own guys - and Erick Thohir's takeover meant new investment in the team for Mazzarri again. He's been on the periphery since, but a lot of Italian journalists and fans think he's got something about him and just needs to be developed properly. A loan-to-buy therefore sounds like a good suggestion, seeing as they're the only club seriously in for Osvaldo - and Dani wants to go there.
I'd liken him more to the Steve De Ridder type winger who runs about quickly but can't really kick a ball.
