If he’s not in a side that dominates the ball he’s really not all that IMO. Really poor player out of possession. Obviously very talented with it but poor positioning and very weak physically.
Morton was being linked pretty heavily to West Ham towards the end of the window so bit surprised we were even in the conversation.
As well as being a left back short, with Simons gone are we also a bit short in that defensive midfield role? When Alzate is unavailable I'm really not sure who plays there. Matazo was initially talked about as a defensive midfielder but now we've seen him play I'm not sure about that at all. It's still a very big squad too.
Would think Slater, Puerta, Matazo all capable of playing in that defensive mid role, Burns at an absolute stretch too.
It’s weird because all January there was talk of a new number 6. People assumed it was Matazo but even before he joined, I had the feeling he was more of a box-to-box/number 8 than a number 6 and watching him play has confirmed that for me. He likes to drive forward with the ball but doesn’t strike me as someone who has the discipline to be a holding midfielder. When there was talk of a new number 6, I expected it to be someone who would anchor the midfield and Alzate would play more advanced. You’re right that if Alzate gets injured again, we are kind of bollocksed.
If we're talking the potential to be ****ed with an injury, surely we're most at risk if Pandur goes down. We've left ourselves exposed in a few areas in order to really cram maximum attacking options in.
Yeah, it's strange that the talk was of us wanting a number 6 and we've just got rid of one instead. Presumably something changed there.
I don’t think they are necessarily. Being a decent box-to-box midfielder and a decent holding midfielder require completely different skill sets, in my opinion. Take Kovačić for example. Great box-to-box midfielder but lacks the positional discipline and awareness on and off the ball to be a number 6. I’d argue it’s easier for a defensive midfielder to adapt to being a box-to-box midfielder than the other way around.
Yeah I definitely get that, and if Alzate was out for any decent stretch it may mean a change in shape, but if it was for a game or two and depending on the opposition it might be ok. Just not sure it was worth hanging onto Simons for.
In terms of the 25-man squad, with the window closed we have 27 overage players on our books. We will have to leave at least two out but there are several possible candidates. Belloumi and Millar are obviously unlikely to be able to play any part this season, likewise Zambrano. But I don't know that any of those are absolutely certain, so maybe there's a chance we name them. Sinik has never been worth a place and he and Ömür sound like they might still be off before the Turkish window closes in a couple of weeks, but if we're not certain about that then we probably need to name Ömür in the squad because he's too good to have sat rotting in the U21s because of a move falling through. Fleming is another one who seems to have no chance of playing. Cartwright wasn't named in the squad in the first half of the season but as he's now 3rd choice keeper instead of 5th I think he'll need to be named.
It's been weird for weeks. He's gone from not fulfilling his obvious potential to just never being seen at all. I'm a bit suspicious of this January injury he's had. Said it before but that Donny game should've been a big chance for him to find some form.
I think the words 'were in contact throughout the window, but the figures always made it difficult ..." It's kinda admitting it was never something realistic, but Baz gotta find quota from somewhere. We signed Matazo in his position. That says it all.
Not really. The lack of noise around Egan led you to assume the due diligence hadn't been done days ago, just the green lights come as the dominoes fall. Or they don't.
Well, it was a calmer day than expected. I hope we didn't repeat mistakes we did in summer and new fellas will fit in quickly, as I said before March and April games will be very important, no need put heads down if February do not produce results.
Overall a pretty decent window, good to see an experience CB in Egan coming in, ideally we needed another LB, but I guess it is what it is.
