Gamble is the last thing I want the club to do to be honest. We need to consistent and rigorous. If the players we wanted werent available the very last thing we should have done ia gambled on anyone who was available. The argument that any number 9, or any available player, would have made a difference is wrong in my opinion. Mowbray will know that or he could have got some free agent in for 6 months. Imperative we only get players we properly assess over a period of time, not just throw a dart and hope.
I haven't read the earlier posts but that 4th goal we scored was nearly a carbon copy if the Reading game. I didn't think that goal could be topped but this one runs it very close imo.
. Great post!! So many clubs have gambled and its gone horribly wrong, we used to gamble all the time for short term fixes and it never worked. The only way we will be successful in the long term is having a clear vision and sticking to it. Looking at the amount of teams that are in real financial difficulty now is scary and we were like that a few yrs ago. So slow and steady is fine with me - especially if it means watching the football we play these days every week.
I agree with this too. Maybe 'gamble' wasn't the right word. I'm worried that the model may be too conservative though. I can't possibly know this but I'm hoping there wasn't a good CM available for $500K more than the 'budget' allowed. In that situation I would hope that the model would allow flexibility to allow for unexpected opportunities. For example I don't think this years budget would have anticipated we would have had any chance of promotion at all.
On the subject of centre mids I’ve mentioned him before but I think max bird would be perfect should derby not come up, 6ft 22 years old 155 league games already could be very useful as the ‘evans replacement’
As fans we need to get used to this approach. I love it. I never want to sit and watch a transfer deadline day again wondering if Will Grigg is or isnt signing. In fact I hope we never make another deadline signing of any sort. Summer will be interesting I am sure. My one big hope is Michut signs on full time. Him and Neil are a superb pairing in a 4231. I am sure there will be others and we will already have the short list properly assessed and scouted. I would love to see Zac Johnson come through into the first team along with as much of Chris Rigg as Mowbray thinks is right. This club is exciting from academy to first team. We have a great chance to build something other clubs cant because of our reputation with young players. Long may it continue.
Yeah good post mate. I didnt think you meant gamble the clubs future. I think we have seen the flexibility already and sure it will be seen again. Lee Johnson was the one who wanted Baath and the club backed him on a player that wasnt quite what we might have expected. Stewart was another where we got him because we paid a fee whereas others wanted to wait to get him on a free 6 months later. We have a model that is proven in other clubs, but we will have a bit of financial muscle too if we want to flex that. We are in a great place.
Michut and Neil have potential to grow into a quality partnership. I'm a massive fan of Johnson, I was speaking to a manager of a Scottish side a month or 2 ago and I said they should take Johnson on loan - he's a manager that is good with youngsters so would be a great move for him. Rigg is obviously class but the one that keeps standing out for me is Watson - every time I watch him he reminds me more and more of Jack Clarke. @Hudson92 - I love Max Bird, exactly the type we should be going for. He's a young lad but has loads of games under his belt.
I am a fan of his too mate. Would have no problem signing a lad like him. I have seen him a few times this season and have felt he has not improved as much as he might have, but as we know league 1 is a miserable place and like a lot of ours have proven he will be better in the championship
Johnson is a class act mate. If we end up cashing in on Ballard he will step in. Not seen much of Watson but would be great if another academy lad comes in to challenge the first team. Seems to me like if some of our players attract big bids, we have some replacements in our own youth system. Absolute perfect if we can do that on a regular basis.
I agree, an eye for goal as his records prove, but a poor first touch and very low pain threshold, interesting to see how long he lasts under Dyche, .
Not seen much of him but know he is highly rated, looks a big lad for 18 too, is he an out and out centre half now? Know he’s played right back on occasions too
I completely agree, and i've read the following posts that reference not wanting to gamble, and they're all right too! We're all in the same boat, everything suggests that we're going in the right direction and any doubt's are cast aside when you see the young lads playing with reckless abandon and regularly scoring, literally, world class goals. But, it's completely true that if we had some kind of replacement for Stewart in place, we'd probably have been 10-15 points better off. The supporter in me finds this very frustrating, but I'm finding myself in the unnatural position of proactivly wanting to put those feelings to one side, due to the other factors in play. I was massively enthused by TMs comments this week, even though, as @Flash Gordon noted, he didn't really say that much. He didn't have to say anything, really, so I'm gonna glass half full it until proven wrong and assume we've got some brilliant players incoming and nothing to worry about.
I’d like to echo the post earlier saying the ref and linesmen had good games. They got the majority of decisions right and let the (very good) match flow.
Agree. And this approach might allow for sensible 'gambles'. Like I read that Michut is locked in for 5 million. If that's true, perhaps we have enough backing to buy him but then sell him for more if we don't go up next year. And that's without selling Stewart and Ballard even though that could well happen too.
Michut is my number 1 hope for the summer. He is learning so fast and will be a very good player. For 20 mins last night his positional play was naieve and it exposed us. Then he seemed to get it and was fantastic. He has work ahead of him, but I would love him to be here next year and beyond.
I was looking at some stats on Dan Neil's performance yesterday - yesterday I was really impressed with him and cant believe how much he has come on this season. Not only is he good on the ball but he is getting better and better out of position - he is such a key player for us now and moving forward. Stats from yesterday - pulled from wyscout: Completed 57 out of 62 passes - 92% 100% successful dribbled Won 50% of his duels - 50% is considered very good for CMs Had 6 interceptions Had 10 ball recoveries - 6 of these being in the opponents half
I thought he started a bit off the pace but when they scored he switched on and had a great game from that point. Very strong performance stats and personality wise.
Excellent stuff that, appreciated. Was there anything on the stats about the size of his heart....i.e. being pea sized? Would be good to dispel that (lunatics) myth as well.
