Unless someone wants Firpo on loan in January he will be staying and therefore we won't be signing a replacement. Surely you can see that
I don’t even know why you count Firpo. He has been a complete waste of transfer money and wages as he’s never fit.
We need a to cover LB, neither Byram or Firpo will be fit for the rest of the season. Not really a big ask as the rest of the squad is covered. Up to Farke and the money boys to roll the dice.
So we have owners with billions supposedly and we can’t afford a second left back at club when first one has no legs. That’s laughable
It would be a third left back though. Do we have 3 specialist players for every position because last time I checked that's not the case. Plus we have Shackleton and Dallas who can play left back more than adequately.
we must have a left back somewhere in one of the academy teams as well Jambo. Any of the coaching team ever played left back? I’ve heard Nora the tea lady has a decent left peg. Plenty of cover.
Let's be honest though Jammy, Firpo is one but in name only. Not only is it so annoying how many games he has missed since signing but the number of injuries. Im sure someone can find the stat but he seems to have had a dozen different injuries to different bits of him so pointless including him as a specialist player surely
To mind we have only one specialist left back in Firpo who is never fit. Byram is a converted right back and currently injured. Not really sure what position Shackleton plays but isn’t he also injured at the moment? And we don’t really know if Dallas will ever play again. Need a left back in January.
Agreed but to get one we'll need to offload Firpo from the wagebill. Farke made his choice in the summer to go with Byram and Firpo and nothing has changed apart from Firpo is out for 2 more weeks but will be back for when the transfer window opens.
Why do we need to offload him from the wage bill? Finances aren't tight. Get a proper one in and then look to offload him if necessary but don't let his presence prevent us from looking to signing in that area
We don't want senior players hanging around who are not first or second choice otherwise this can seriously damage the group dynamic. Farke knows this just as Bielsa did. The only way that might change is if Byram's injury is likely to keep him out for more than a few weeks.
Will be back for 10 minutes and out injured for 3 months again by then. Plus even Farke can see he put his trust in a dead duck by now.
we've needed a FLFFLFB for F-ing years. Farke genuinely is quite happy playing inverted left backs, hence he's fine with Byram - and to be honest Sam has done well. The risk with him was always his injury record not his capability.. and he's currently injured. He may well feel that Spence can do the same.. i'm not writing DJ off after a game. For me - a specialist left back, whether loan or perm is the key in Jan. It means Spence can compete for the right back spot - and we don't end up having to shuffle the pack too much to cover 1 position. I'd also look at a more creative 10 option - as i feel our attacking options are good out wide but limited in central playmaking.
I’m not in favour of January signings, and I wouldn’t be upset if nothing materialised this time. However I think we need to sort out the LB position, like Heidi posted a few days ago, I believe we have suffered as a result of allowing Alioski to leave. Yes he wasn’t fantastic as a first choice defender, but he was integral in the Bielsa system going forward and believe he would have suited how we play now. Think Sam’s done great, but feel we should sort the position out with a natural left footer. It seems DF may think otherwise, but for me Firpo has never been the answer on the basis of performance and availability. Feel we’ve not had a proper creative player since Pablo/Samu Siaz. Would have loved to have got Buendia a few years back, but that birds flown. Be nice to get one this window.
