Santon price set at £10m

Agree with 100%, just different worlds. Bale had a tricky time intitially at Spurs but there was always bundles of ability. A natural footballer and athlete who just needed harnessed. Santon has ability which needs harnessed but he is a long from possessing what Bale did.

 

Who said he was Bale?

 

Without Suarez, Sturridge and Gerrard Liverpool are nowhere, it's not about philosophy, do I believe that Rodgers is a football management god or just the benefactor of the some of the best strikers in the league, sure wasn't that good defensively! sorry Roland but the rest of your post was beyond my attention span as I can't be bothered with this tedious need to dissect Pardews management skill at length any more.

 

Fair enough, just conversing about it - I'm resigned to Pardew staying, only trying to understand how he, as manager of the club, can fix things.

 

It was referred to (loosely) in the OP, but it is often mused over on these board when discussing Santon's move forward. Personally I think Santon has ability but I'm not quite sure he is mentally ready to take the next step. Some of that can come from coaching/management, unfortunately a lot of it has to come from the player themself. Nobody drilled into to top players how to become a top player once they became a porfessional. Some may have pointed them on the correct path but a lot of it comes down to the character of the player and desire to work hard. I heard Rodgers talking about this and it made for interesting reading to be honest.

He was talking in the context of blooding young players but I think it applies across different age ranges. I have seen it many times. People build teams around characters and traits. Mourinho at Chelsea built his around the likes of Cech, Terry, Makelele, Lampard, Drogba. Robson at Newcastle looked to the likes of Given, Woodgate, Speed, Solano, Shearer. They then surround these players with talent who maybe possess some of the same leadership/character traits but not all.

Its one thing we have lacked in abundance in central midfield with Cabaye's departure. That leadership and character, coule with ability to look beyond simply passing a football. Cabaye would actually sense danger and could kill the pressure building that leads to goals by dictating the game for short periods. It significantly impacts on the functionality of your team. Since he left with the exception of Colo and Tiote we have a lot of sheep looking for someone to lead them. I think I'm one of the most guilty parties of jumping on te back of these other players. I have found myself questioning Sissoko for instance and his will. In reality if we had the right make up around the lad, he'd actually be a very good asset. he just not a player who is ever going to grab a game by the scruff of the neck which maybe explains why he has struggled in the PL when played in CM.