I'd sell Miggy as I think Murphy is as good but expect us to get a first teamer in. Tripps I don't mind either way. He's a leader and that means a lot but I want to see more Livramento this season and there's fewer games so Tripps needs to understand he's being phased out. Wilson I would 100% keep. We won't get much for him and although he doesn't play that many games his goals to game ratio is still excellent and we don't need him for as many games this season anyway. I'd play him in the cups and 1 in 4 games in the prem to rest Isak. If he was 27 and without injury he'd be a 60m+ player, I don't want to downgrade the quality in selling him for a pittance unless we have a similar or better replacement.
TLDR - There's a place for players like Calvert-Lewin at our club, I don't actually want him though. I think it's easier as a fan to judge a striker on their pace and their finishing and then afterwards decide whether they are good or not by their numbers. For all of those factors then Isak and Wilson crap all over DCL and probably would do next season too. However last season showed quite a few things which I'm sure we'll be looking to rectify. Our record against the top teams was better than it had been in the past as we beat everyone except Liverpool (some quite easily and Villa we did twice) but where we came up short was in the results against the bottom half of the table, our style of play works much better against teams that come at us but is nullified in part by defensive teams. In 2022-23 we consistently won those games and yet last season we got 8 points from the 8 games against Luton, Everton, Bournemouth and Forest. Much of that was because we struggled to break them down, watching Isak/Gordon/Miggy etc trying to create chances against them just wasn't happening at times and we're talking about a season in which we scored 85 goals overall in the league. Our team is set up to play a specific fast-paced way in attack and our current strikers complement that but we need an alternative at times. I'll get lambasted for this but we missed someone like Chris Wood. The guy scored 14 league goals last season and they were against... Luton (3), Us (3), Burnley (2), Shef Utd, Bournemouth, Brentford, Fulham, Crystal Palace and Tottenham. Now I did say we'd miss him when we sold him as he offered something different and feel like we're still crying out for a bit of a lump of a striker who occupies defenders, brings others into play and just gives the opposition something to worry about. DCL wouldn't be my first choice for that role (and he's not exactly the same type of player as Wood but he is different to Isak and Wilson) as obviously there's better around Sesko, Vlahovic, Mitrovic, etc but he's possibly the best we can get. This also plays into which RW we look for and what we do with Trippier/ Livramento. Our current system rewards getting the ball forward and wingers cutting in but with a DCL type we'd also want them to be able to get wide and cross - which Miggy is very hit miss at and I'm not sure it's a strength of Barnes either. In this situation you'd want to keep Trippier and get the ball to him in crossing positions, etc. There's a lot to consider but I think this summer may not be about just getting the "best" players available as much as giving us genuinely different options - if we buy an out-and-out pacey finisher up front and a RW who likes to cut insdie then yes they fit our system but I'll sense frustration against the so called smaller clubs in the league again next year.
Wood stayed fit, DCL is constantly injured, that would be the biggest difference. No evidence to suggest his record would improve with us, just seems like an utter waste of money right now. Any job he does for us relies on him being fit.
Love the details and facts here. And you make some very good points. The evidence suggests to beat the lower teams you need a more physical approach. DCL is fantastic in the air. Let’s park the being injured etc. Get two wingers who can cross the ball (Miggys crap at it) then you can have a DCL up top with players rushing the box for the scraps. Good post mate.
Why are we parking the being injured? He was there more last season, but played less than half the games of the previous 2 seasons. Duncma Ferguson was fantastic in the air, so was Carroll, didn't matter though cos they were never fit.
Parking the injured because I am talking more about the principle rather than the player. If you can get a player like DCL who can stay fit and do that kind of stuff it gives you a different option. That what I am referring too.
£900m spent in the PL so far. We’ve done nowt, it’s nearly the end of July. Our contribution has been paying for Hall.
Plenty of time... let the others bust their budgets and we'll scoop our targets. Relax. The sun is shining... have a beer.
Blame PSR - while the likes of Chelsea have sold their women's section and two hotels to..... themselves to get around the rules.
Cider today actually. However on the subject of beer, loving the Sale Di Mare from Moretti. Stunning summer beer.
