Thumbheed

Based purely on YouTube he plays a bit like Balde at Barca.

Really excited by this signing if it comes off.

We get caught up alot in thinking that transfer fees are the driving factor behind our restrictions on FFP when in reality it's wages that hurt the bottom line the most. I think that's why clubs like Dortmund and Birghton will always have the ceiling they've got and never truly break into the elite because their business model relies on sourcing high potential players to replace the excellent players they sell.

Selling any player for large sums helps our bottom line in the short term but its not a sustainable method of building a highly consistent winning team (as alluded to by Eales in We Are United - "wages are the number 1 reason for a successfull team").

Ultimately we need to improve our commercial revenue and that can only be done by ensuring we continue to be successfull on the pitch - that can't be done by selling our star players and hoping the replacement we get in replicates what that player has produced. 

With that in mind, this would make Isak comfortably our least sellable asset. 

Based on nothing I think we know exactly who we want but are waiting till the end of the window to avoid a scramble that pushes the price up.

If I had to choose I'd probably go for a left back based on the general quality of opposition in that area of the pitch. 

9 hours ago, Kid Icarus said:

Here's a good one. Which player had the biggest impact/was the best in the smallest amount of time?

 

First player that comes to mind for me is Townsend. Obviously discounting Tony Green (wasn't around when he played, but presumably he's #1)

Cisse for me. 

Lived off the back of that 5 month period for the next few seasons.

Edit: didn't realise you meant was here for the shortest period.

1 hour ago, Coffee_Johnny said:

Almiron is a top class player. Gordon has a higher ceiling than him, I think. Hoping it’s with us and peppered with silverware. 

I think so too. Think he's got a bit more footballing intelligence than Almiron, whereas Almiron is a bit more instinctive with his play, albeit from a position that's not natural to him.

I think he's very similar to Almiron, personally, only more 2 footed and more direct and I'd day his link up play is better too.

Is that 3 rule changes aimed specifically at us? 

Sponsorship, Technical area and ownership rules? 

Have added time provisions been changed recently as well or am I making that up?

Rewatched the game and he had an excellent cameo. 

Think he'll be the surprise of the season for us, genuinely think he has the ability to be a very very good player. 

Was angry with himself at the full time whistle because he'd not bagged more 

Love his attitude

46 minutes ago, Matt1892 said:

Both. 

How do you not finish what you didn't create? 

Beca

5 minutes ago, Matt1892 said:

It wasn’t though, there was a number of winnable games that we struggled to break teams down and put it away.

 

A number of draws that were considered points dropped.

Because we didn't create enough or because we didn't finish well enough? 

Longstaff alone could have had 10 last season. 

In terms of impact I think this one could be our most significant signing. 

Murphy showed on Saturday how useful having a dribbling fullback can be for the team - instantly puts teams under pressure and distorts their shape so having someone like Livramento who has that to his game as well as defensive acumen could be a real game changer.  

His passing is so crisp like.

This guy is going to have a very good season next year. 

Think what saddens me the most about ASM going is it kind of signals the end of maverick type footballers at our club. 

Shite fee

Miley and Anderson getting game time will be absolutely critical for us when attracting the very best youngsters in the world.

But that aside, Miley in particular is definitely good enough for the 1st team, he looks excellent. 

7 minutes ago, gbandit said:

Not disagreeing that we’ve needed improvements on the wings, if Gordon can play there to a high standard we might be ok. However, the reason there was barely any rotation in our defence was because we largely stayed injury free and had barely anyone to cover 

That and Howe said he preferred a settled back four - said as much when questioned about why Targett couldn't get in the team. But anytime he's tried to go after a game he's always looked to bring on wingers first and foremost. 

Aye, said it in another thread but our wingers were our most rotated players last season and with good reason. 

I'd hooe there's a desire to ensure there's good quality in the depth we have in that position as there's a significant step down in quality after first change. 

26 minutes ago, simonsays said:

Genuinely.more excited by this than Barnes or Tonali.  If he can fulfil his potential i think this.coulould be an amazing signing.  Interesting to see where Howe wants him to play

Mad transition from the days where Habib Beye was the greatest RB we'd ever had

Howe changed and rotated his wingers the most last season so I'd imagine it's an area he definitely wants depth in. 

Joelinton, Willock and Murphy are all good options for that role but assuming Gordon is an immediate change for Barnes (or vica versa) then I'd assume he'd want another top quality wing option off the bench to replace Almiron assuming he's a starter. 

We need a seperate Barnes optimism thread

How many out and out right wingers have we been linked with? 

Seems we've been almost exclusively linked to left wingers since the takeover.