The College Dropout

Aye and Schar is considered a little poor in the air. VVD has been the standard over the last half decade. This is a small snapshot (9 games or so) but I think it’s fairly typical of him at his best:

He does have pace that’s a massive strength. He’s going to play with Schar at CB this season ideally - not Burn or Botman. That’s weak in the air. Also makes it more likely the best technical LB won’t start in favour of a better aerial option. I do think more teams are moving away. From big strikers which helps. Perhaps we play even higher and more aggressive this season too. Aye or a marquee signing. Our last marquee signing hasn’t gone so well but the one before that has been blockbuster.

it’s more of an issue this season with Botman out. You assume he’ll start alongside Schar this season and that’s a weak duo in the air. I suspect Burn or Kelly will start at LB at the beginning of this season for height to compensate. When Botman is back fully - it’s less of an issue.

No I said he wasn’t a progressive passer. Last season that is a statistical fact not an opinion. I think he looks very comfortable on the ball, under pressure, short passes v. accurate. But anyone that watches Palace once or twice will see Anderson is the defender that plays the balls into the attackers. From the same website I showed you Guehi’s stats vs Anderson’s. It backed up that across the sample base Guehi is not a progressive passer and he doesn’t win many headers either. I also said from my eye test, Guehi could carry the ball more than he does because he has the ability. Performance in the past doesn’t mean that performance will be the same going forward - especially in a different team. Gordon for example, has improved every aspect of his game. But do I think Guehi has performed to a £60m level? No. That’s my eye test and it’s supported in the data I have access too. Could he prove himself a bargain at £60m for us? Most definitely. He’s clearly talented and is regarded highly in the game for his ability and his mentality. He seems a leader. Has pace. Comfortable on the ball. But I dont think he’s physically dominant enough, or progressive enough to be our marquee defender. But People that get paid a lot of money to judge players get these things wrong - me a casual observer of Guehi is even more likely to be wrong. But this is a forum so I’m sharing my opinion and supporting them with stats where I can. I was wrong about Gordon (Also right about Pope, Bruno, Botman etc.). I’ll be wrong again but my reasoning is clear, logical and usually supported with data, if it’s not I’ll hold my hands up. It’s part of the reason I’m good at FPL. I make decisions based on coherent logic from the eye test and the underlying stats.

I hadn’t noticed using both feet when passing. That’s good and cool. He’s still not a progressive passer. Everything I’ve said about his ability I’ve backed up with why it’s my opinion and stats. He could very well end up showing he’s worth every penny and more.

Just sharing my opinions. Everyone has seen Marc Guehi play but I’ve not claimed to be an expert. I still don’t think he’s worth £60m for the reasons I’ve already shared. But clearly he’s a talented player with positive attributes. My opinions are usually fairly nuanced. Rarely is it ‘lad is shit’ or ‘lad is great’ if I make a comment. If we are about to unleash a FFP hack, I love it. If he’s the CB meant to take us to the next level and taking a massive chunk of our transfer budget - I don’t love it based from what I’ve seen of him. Lads like Kelly and the striker - I’ve barely spoken about their ability. Never noticed them playing.

Watched some comps. I like his two footedness when distributing. Easily play RCB or LCB.

I don’t even have an opinion on Kelly. I assumed he was going to compete with Hall at LB and offer a similar profile to Burn but with pace. But I don’t know much about him, not looked him up tremendously.

Again I like Marc Guehi. He improves us. And his potential may be vast. But from my eye test. And the stats that I’ve seen - I don’t think he’s worth £60m.

vs Which one is the £60m defender?

Agree with your second point. If he was so great at passing and carrying the ball - it would be more evident in the stats imo. Again eye test. He looks super comfortable on the ball. Good under the pressure and looks like he could be encouraged to bring it out more. But Anderson always looked the progressive passer.

No idea. Probably not. From their size and what I've seen of them - I thought Schar, Guehi (and Konsa) weren't the best in the air at winning defensive duels. So this just supports what i observed. I thought Schar had improved in that aspect, he is aggressive in general including the air. And maybe he has but it didn't take this to show me that he's not an aerially dominant CB. Likewise for Guehi. For a big lad - I don't even think Botman is THAT good in the air. Lascelles is the best at the club in the air and arguably our worst CB - so maybe it's not that important but for £60m I need some standout attributes. The other stats are troubling for Guehi too. It's not obvious what he's meant to be really good at. Schar you can see his ball progression via passing and dribbles are among the highest in the stats. That is the Schar USP. What's the Guehi USP? From what I've seen it's pace and comfort on the ball under pressure. Need a bit more than that for £60m imo.

Fab heading stats a lot closer to my previous perception of him as fairly poor in the air for CB. I don’t love those Guehi stats I’ll be so honest. Deffo don’t love them as a pair. I don’t feel like you can play Hall alongside them this season.

Which is why I hear it

Shit behaviour from Chelsea. At the same time I hear it….

Coming off the Euros. I’d bet he’s never sold for more than this next transfer if it’s the big numbers quoted. Unless Saudi

No he’s reliable. But he’s not committed to much here.

His amortisation and wages will cost the club £18-22m per year. If our FFP position continues to be tight - that’s a massive amount for 1 player. I don’t see the potential upside on the fee. He’s at peak value.

Aye but Botman will likely not get back to 100% until next season. I know Eddie loves England. But I thought he liked his big lads too. Livra Schar Guehi Hall Thats too small for Eddie I feel. I guess Kelly balances things out if he comes in for Hall.

Isak move super quick though. This is much more cautiously worded.

I feel like i'm making a basic and uncontroversial point. Certain positions you favour certain attributes. Pace is one for wingers, aye there's lots of examples of slow wingers (yesteryear at least) but it's still a uncontroversial take as a preference. To your point - I do think height/aerial prowess is less of an issue for CBs these days. More and more are undersized.. but the 3 best teams in the division don't do that nonsense. £80m for Maguire was crackers. Maybe it's worth swerving England CBs. You're making me come across worse than I intend. Because I also don't love a Schar-Guehi partnership. a Guehi - Botman partnership looks much better though,

Don’t mean to sound negative. He adds serious quality to the squad and will improve us.

Lads not Baresi though is he? I like a big strong CB. I like a quick winger. Preference init. For 60m a CB needs a lot of boxes ticked.

As a rule I think we should target the next Guehi, the next Tomori with FFP as an issue. If we have an unlimited spending hack up our sleeves and we only need to focus on improving us today. Yeh great I love it.