Andros Townsend

[markieboy]

Townsend just tweeted something about moving possibly to QPR and then quickly removed it.

 

[Shadydan]

Absolutely astounding

 

[Strikeb4ck]

I think there's two sets of opinions here, those who saw him play at QPR and those who've seen glimpses of him elsewhere. I'd go so far as to say he was one of the best players in the EPL on his loan spell, he was at the heart of everything good in QPR's play, took on fullbacks and beat them every time, scored goals, etc...I don't know what more the guy has to do to prove he's good enough for us, and if AVB wants to make this mistake and let him go then fair play, the kid deserves a chance to settle somewhere and prove how good he is. If he's available though then he can do a hell of a lot better than QPR, could see him at a top half EPL club no problem. Personally though if he goes I'm really starting to question AVB's player judgement. Already saw him make an epic fuck up in wanting Dawson to go. I hope he's learned.

 

[nightgoat]

Agree to disagree I guess.... But ill leave you with this thought... if Townsend's end product is better than Ince's, why does Ince have 27 goals in 84 career games when Townsend only has 12 total goals in 106 total career games? Stats aren't the whole story i know but still...

And I would hazard a guess that Ince has had twice as many starts as Townsend has. If you'd put Townsend in Ince's role for Blackpool last season I reckon he'd have done just as well.

 

[newbie]

I really want Townsend and Carroll to make it the video makes it even more so, Townsend has a swagger we need our academy needs them to come through and be regulars.

 

[Kiedis]

Love the dead bear Tom Carroll has on his head.

 

[PrettyColors]

Townsend has two goals this pre-season and has looked extremely dangerous.

I just don't get what more he has to do??? Why does everyone write him off so quickly? I just don't get it.. I judge players on what they do on the pitch, not by reputation, and he's looked very, very sharp. He brings pace, incision, energy, and burst. We could definitely use that.

 

[Misfit]

Maybe we were waiting for an offer for Azza? That hasn't come and Baldini/AVB/whoever are serious about bringing in another winger, and who would argue if that winger was the quality of a Lamela? Instead, Andros is attracting interest. Maybe he is rated but not enough. He could also be agitating for a move, having had a taste of regular football last season. We also don't know how the off-field indiscretion has affected things. Maybe there's more to that and that's why the club aren't going to trip over themselves to keep him. Maybe AVB just doesn't rate him highly enough.

Or, and let's all sit down for this devastating nugget of truth, the story is a load of bollox. Just something to fill a page in a paper for a day.

Many possibilities.

 

[Snarfalicious]

Townsend has two goals this pre-season and has looked extremely dangerous.

I just don't get what more he has to do??? Why does everyone write him off so quickly? I just don't get it.. I judge players on what they do on the pitch, not by reputation, and he's looked very, very sharp. He brings pace, incision, energy, and burst. We could definitely use that.

He has looked very good. I think people take a lot of what Breezer's ITK stated (AVB getting on him during training) and then think he can't be good, doesn't have the ability to hack it in AVB's style of play or he's not proven enough.

The truth is, he's been relatively successful where ever he's gone on loan. He was consistently fantastic for QPR, a constant threat and his work rate was tremendous. He really did the little things for QPR that made him really stick out (defensively he was unreal in terms of tackles and interceptions for an inverted winger).

I'm all for given him a shot before we sell him permanently. But, if it comes down to keeping Townsend or buying Lamela, and you can't have both, I'm going to go with Lamela as he's younger and more talented.

 

[AUSpur]

Townsend has two goals this pre-season and has looked extremely dangerous.

I just don't get what more he has to do??? Why does everyone write him off so quickly? I just don't get it.. I judge players on what they do on the pitch, not by reputation, and he's looked very, very sharp. He brings pace, incision, energy, and burst. We could definitely use that.

All of that says "super-sub" to me. He's great at going in a straight line toward goal and taking a shot. Not sure that's a 90-minute skillset.

 

[Snarfalicious]

All of that says "super-sub" to me. He's great at going in a straight line toward goal and taking a shot. Not sure that's a 90-minute skillset.

He was good across complete matches for QPR.

 

[AUSpur]

He was good across complete matches for QPR.

Getting in the flow of the game, moving the ball around? Genuine question - didnt get to watch much QPR.

 

[felmani26]

He has looked very good. I think people take a lot of what Breezer's ITK stated (AVB getting on him during training) and then think he can't be good, doesn't have the ability to hack it in AVB's style of play or he's not proven enough.

The truth is, he's been relatively successful where ever he's gone on loan. He was consistently fantastic for QPR, a constant threat and his work rate was tremendous. He really did the little things for QPR that made him really stick out (defensively he was unreal in terms of tackles and interceptions for an inverted winger).

I'm all for given him a shot before we sell him permanently. But, if it comes down to keeping Townsend or buying Lamela, and you can't have both, I'm going to go with Lamela as he's younger and more talented.

Thing is, Lennon is an even worse fit in AVB's system as for me, he was at his best in a flat man four midfield with the space to run into whereas now, he gets it and has little room to manoeuvre himself or just ends up far too peripheral in matches and very ineffectual.

It's obvious that Walker is designed to bring the width on the right and he will occupy those long overlapping runs into space that Lennon used to occupy so whereas Lennon's worth is definitely now as a super sub, his status is diminishing and I'd personally sell him now whilst his stock is high.

 

[Snarfalicious]

Thing is, Lennon is an even worse fit in AVB's system as for me, he was at his best in a flat man four midfield with the space to run into whereas now, he gets it and has little room to manoeuvre himself or just ends up far too peripheral in matches and very ineffectual.

It's obvious that Walker is designed to bring the width on the right and he will occupy those long overlapping runs into space that Lennon used to occupy so whereas Lennon's worth is definitely now as a super sub, his status is diminishing and I'd personally sell him now whilst his stock is high.

I've been mentioning that selling Lennon and buying Ruben Garcia would be fantastic business for awhile ago. I'm a fan of Lennon and I thought we were obviously a better side when he was in it last year. But, as you mentioned, Lennon is probably at the peak of his value. He's probably as good as he's going to get and soon enough his value will start to diminish. I just can't imagine us selling Lennon, Hudd, Parker and Caulker in one window.

 

[davidofkane]

Townsend has improved his confidence a lot over the last 8 months but when he played Europa league he was Terrible. Was much better suited to coming over the bench and running at players. He could become a great goal scoring winger or he could become predictable and average. Could go either way. I think for his own career it would be beneficial for him to play under Harry and get more confidence and first team football.

Did anyone see him play for Birmingham?? In the playoffs for promotion he was shockingly bad. Nathan Redmond looked a far far better player. Way more ideas and well rounded. Townsend was subbed pretty early.

Personally I have seen ince play once and some YouTube clips and he seems to be able to to it all as a winger. 1-2s, assists, goals vision and general good play. Whereas I see Townsend as a winger who beats his man then shoots or looses it trying to beat another defender.

 

[Maitland]

Getting in the flow of the game, moving the ball around? Genuine question - didnt get to watch much QPR.

From what I saw of him with QPR I think he showed flashes, and it's tough to say what proper flow of the game is for a team that wasn't very good. I think Townsend could certainly develop into a more complete player, and best case scenario is loan him out and see if he can at least add finishing to solid ability to break people down in space. But, I don't think he showed enough to where they should be completely put off by the idea of selling him.

 

[felmani26]

Townsend has improved his confidence a lot over the last 8 months but when he played Europa league he was Terrible. Was much better suited to coming over the bench and running at players. He could become a great goal scoring winger or he could become predictable and average. Could go either way. I think for his own career it would be beneficial for him to play under Harry and get more confidence and first team football.

Did anyone see him play for Birmingham?? In the playoffs for promotion he was shockingly bad. Nathan Redmond looked a far far better player. Way more ideas and well rounded. Townsend was subbed pretty early.

Personally I have seen ince play once and some YouTube clips and he seems to be able to to it all as a winger. 1-2s, assists, goals vision and general good play. Whereas I see Townsend as a winger who beats his man then shoots or looses it trying to beat another defender.

What relevance is comparing his form at Birmingham to now?

Players grow and develop at different rates and Townsend's loan at QPR has done him the world of good and he's now showing the skill set and confidence of a player who will be a valuable asset over a long campaign.

 

[carpediem991]

If we continue with our new transfer strategy, we will struggle to have 8 compatitive english players in our squad.

Naughton, Dawson, Defoe, Lennon, Sigurdsson etc are all not nailed on for the next years, I think only Walker.

And there we have a future international, a goal threat, our guy. Can't let him go. Only way would be if he is pushing for it.

 

[ButchCassidy]

If we continue with our new transfer strategy, we will struggle to have 8 compatitive english players in our squad.

Naughton, Dawson, Defoe, Lennon, Sigurdsson etc are all not nailed on for the next years, I think only Walker.

And there we have a future international, a goal threat, our guy. Can't let him go. Only way would be if he is pushing for it.

At some point we'll have to start replacing with homegrown players when we let players go. But at the moment we have Rose, Lennon, Bale, Naughton, Defoe, Dawson, Siggy, Walker, Dawkins, as well as others on our youth squad. With AVB's supposed preferred 23 man squad, we only need 6 homegrown players + a couple of youngsters, so losing Parker and Townsend wouldn't be a huge deal, but we wouldn't want to sell many more after that without picking up homegrown replacements. Hopefully the idea is to bring our youth players up more successfully and create the next gen of squad players with guys like Kane, Carroll, Fryers, Veljkovic, Ceballos, Pritchard, Archer, etc.

 

[GetSpurredOn]

I actually don't think he'll go. I think he had progressed hugely over the last twelve months. I think he can be a genuine cover option for the wider forward role if Bale is injured/rested/suspended.
I'd like to see him and Carroll stay to be used in cup matches, league bench role etc.