Willian

[Graysonti]

Please sign Dembele

 

[Spursking]

Please sign Dembele

There are more options than players most people know about. That is the problem with a lot of football fans. They only believe that one or two players are right. All others are not worth buying just because they don't know the players. I would rather get in players who are not in the spotlight than players who are in the papers every day.

 

[Bing]

There are more options than players most people know about. That is the problem with a lot of football fans. They only believe that one or two players are right. All others are not worth buying just because they don't know the players. I would rather get in players who are not in the spotlight than players who are in the papers every day.

That sounds good in theory but in reality looking back over the last 20 years nearly all of our successful signings have been established known players where we knew what we we're getting or youngsters picked up for relatively cheap.

When I think of the good signings we've made I think Modric, Berbs, VDV, Parker and when I think of the younger guys I think Lennon, Walker, Daws, Carrick.

Sure you have signings like Bale that dont really fit this but the overwhelming majoirty of unknown unproven players we have signed were cack...Trying to think of examples but for some reason ZOKORA just keeps flashing in my head in 100 foot high letters ha.

Its actually a bit disheartening that we appear to be regressing to our old ways...Over the last few seasons we seemed to have finally got things right targeting strong, solid proven players who even if they we're not at an elite world class level we knew what we were getting and what they would add (think parker)...it seems we are regressing now a bit with our transfer targets and are back to old ways.

 

[shaqTHFC]

A few questions for those who have seen enough of this guy to judge him, does he have pace, is he two-footed and what's his end product like?

 

[raf18]

A few questions for those who have seen enough of this guy to judge him, does he have pace, is he two-footed and what's his end product like?

He's got very fast acceleration, and looks quick when running with the ball but not seen enough over a long distance. From what I have seen, he uses his right foot unless his left foot is the only option. His end product is much more developed than the popular YouTube vids that people have been judging him on. His final ball is sometimes off but can also be very precise. For example he has mishit a few left-footed crosses over the bar. He tends to drill his crosses across the goal rather than curl it. In terms of his passing range, he looks tidy both short and long.

 

[kishman]

Really?

Who in our squad can dribble like him?

Who in our squad is unpredictable like him?

Apart from VDV (and maybe The Sig), who in our squad offers guile and craft?

Bale and Lennon offer none of the above.

Your comments give me comfort about us signing Willian.

 

[Blackcanary]

Your comments give me comfort about us signing Willian.

Honestly, I think we should all be excited if we do sign him: He's one of those tricky little players who you look at and think 'wizard'. Offers a huge amount IMO.

 

[tobi]

His skill set is something we've lacked since Ginola.

 

[AUSpur]

His skill set is something we've lacked since Ginola.

Looks like he's added some muscle, too, based on the recent video posted.

 

[ItsBoris]

Doesn't sound much like Modric to me. As far as we know he isn't trying to cling to a loyalty bonus while refusing to train with the team, and hasn't sat out games because his "head isn't right". There's nothing wrong with a player wanting to move to a bigger, better team in a competitive league for higher wages. Modric just went about it like a total ****. As far as we know Willian hasn't done that.

Just checked the Shaktar Donetsk website, seemingly Willian wasn't in the squad for the game yesterday because his head wasnt right.

lol

 

[TheGreenLily]

Bale is so much better than Willian it is hard to know how to even debate the point. If you don't value my opinion ask Mourinho which player he is interested in signing.

Not if he keeps wandering all over the bloody pitch and upsetting the balance he ain't.

He is absolutely great a when sticking to the left and could be a world class left winger.... IF HE BLOODY STAYED THERE

 

[freeeki]

Not if he keeps wandering all over the bloody pitch and upsetting the balance he ain't.

He is absolutely great a when sticking to the left and could be a world class left winger.... IF HE BLOODY STAYED THERE

And stopped being a selfish bastard, shooting from impossible angles when we've men in acres of space... but anyway.

 

[TheGreenLily]

That sounds good in theory but in reality looking back over the last 20 years nearly all of our successful signings have been established known players where we knew what we we're getting or youngsters picked up for relatively cheap.

When I think of the good signings we've made I think Modric, Berbs, VDV, Parker and when I think of the younger guys I think Lennon, Walker, Daws, Carrick.

Sure you have signings like Bale that dont really fit this but the overwhelming majoirty of unknown unproven players we have signed were cack...Trying to think of examples but for some reason ZOKORA just keeps flashing in my head in 100 foot high letters ha.

Its actually a bit disheartening that we appear to be regressing to our old ways...Over the last few seasons we seemed to have finally got things right targeting strong, solid proven players who even if they we're not at an elite world class level we knew what we were getting and what they would add (think parker)...it seems we are regressing now a bit with our transfer targets and are back to old ways.

I wouldn't say we was progressing back, I would say that AVB is targeting players he definitely knows a lot about, even if we barely know of them.

It was when harry was in charge we was regressing.... Being linked too, loaning and purchasing the likes of Joe Cole, Saha, Nelson etc... I wouldn't say that targets of the like Lloris, Leandro, Willian, Moutinho or Dembele are players that you would not call a regression.

 

[TheGreenLily]

And stopped being a selfish bastard, shooting from impossible angles when we've men in acres of space... but anyway.

Sure you are not getting confused with Defoe

 

[Casparian]

Best vid I have seen so far,seem's to have electric pace yet very agile does not appear the type that will get shrugged off the ball easily.Get the impression similar to Modric in that playing in a eastern europe league would have had his fair share of stoke type tackling against him yet manages to produce the goods often.I'm sure numerous vids have already being viewed ,atleast the title may prove true sooner than later I hope.

 

[OpenHeartZoo]

I can understand why people are a bit hesitant about this singing considering the likely pricetag, though I personally reckon we'll get him for a tad less than we paid for Modric. He hasn't scored enough goals in his career and of course is unproven in a top league. On the other hand though I think we're genuinely missing someone with a bit of arrogance and spark at the moment. We don't have anyone with this guys skill on the ball, nowhere close. We don't have a player who can receive the ball at a stand still on the edge of the box, beat a man and cause problems. Lennon is the closest we have and he's pretty predictable and lacks confidence at times. Didn't we afterall bring AvB and his team in to mould a balanced squad from the right ingredients, even if they aren't the most obvious signings? As long as the fee isn't insane (£15-16m is fair) then i'm behind this signing...

 

[InOffMeLeftShin]

Still not convinced. So many step overs and beating a man 3 or 4 times puts me off. I appreciate that he has the ability to beat a man and do something special but why doesn't he just do it once and go on, why the repeated cut back pause, shimmy and beat him again? He plays from the left a lot of the time too and just not sure why we would spend so much money on a guy whose primary position is the same as Bale's. Is it me or does he play better when he has a 'fro?

 

[lol]

i really like this guy, but are we really going to sanction 20m out of our budget for a position where lennon, bale and vdv(sig) are first choice players? yes i agree he might be so good that he can push 1 of them down, then we very well might have to sell 1 of our currently players(likely VDV). if not, i much rather see DL spend it on our weaker areas first, such as st mc and GK, then see if we can make something out of this with our remaining cash.

 

[danielneeds]

i really like this guy, but are we really going to sanction 20m out of our budget for a position where lennon, bale and vdv(sig) are first choice players? yes i agree he might be so good that he can push 1 of them down, then we very well might have to sell 1 of our currently players(likely VDV). if not, i much rather see DL spend it on our weaker areas first, such as st mc and GK, then see if we can make something out of this with our remaining cash.

I doubt it will be £20m if we sign him, more like £17m-£18m. Let's face it, when has Lennon last played a full season without breaking down with injury? Even if you think he should be an automatic starter, his injury record means we need someone else with pace who can beat a man. If he or Bale go down with serious injury, then we only really have Townsend, who is still very raw.

Personally I think if we sign Willian, Lennon will be used more of an impact sub anyway, the Brazilian's extra variety coming off the line giving the opposition more to think about and opening up space for Walker to exploit.

 

[lol]

i would love to have a dilemma like this, eg having lennon on bench. that is manu-esque. but the problem really comes down to priority. addressing the right wing starter, isnt a problem. the problem lies with the cover.

like what i said, the priority now for us should really be a CM(mod replacement)->ST(we only have ade)-> GK(brad is not gonna last) -> then to whatever position that we have to cover, or weak in.

if we sanction 17 - 18m, this guy HAS to be an automatic starter, even breaking our 17m bentley record. He is a very very good player, i agree, but it really isnt worth it when lennon is good enough to do a job, then you spend 18m just to get him to the bench.

i wouldnt mind having him as a luxury, but i seriously think that this is a player we should only consider after we clear up the bigger problems