The all new official Albert Luque megathread

[Guest alex]

ANTI Luque brigade...FORGET last year...Consider Luque a NEW signing...OK

 

Let's see how good he is...Hopefully Roeder will play him more often than 5 to 10 minutes towards the tail of an already have been decided game...

Are your posts coded messages btw?

Ask Gemmill

i know GEMMILL pointed out YOU randomly use capital letters the other day and i know it seems DAFT but i was wondering if there was a reason for this or am i just being a TWAT?

[Parky]

Let's say for a minute we're after a striker who plays in Spain (not a million miles from the truth) and they hinted they fancied Lucky da Luque.

Then we look at the history of Lucky's comments on his little jaunts back to the mother country...The links with Real that he was flattered by...etc..

There is a lot more going on here than just a player displaying motivational issues me thinks.

[Guest Gemmill]

ANTI Luque brigade...FORGET last year...Consider Luque a NEW signing...OK

 

Let's see how good he is...Hopefully Roeder will play him more often than 5 to 10 minutes towards the tail of an already have been decided game...

Are your posts coded messages btw?

Ask Gemmill

i know GEMMILL pointed out YOU randomly use capital letters the other day and i know it seems DAFT but i was wondering if there was a reason for this or am i just being a TWAT?

 

RED ROBOT HEAD!!

[stozo]

I think we should cut our losses on Luque.

 

The guy has no pace which makes it hard for him to play on the wing. He is as fragile as anything, I mean he's played 1 game this season and already he's injured. I'll admit his goal against Lillestrom was good but throughout the game he jogged around, didn't ever pressure the Lillestrom defenders and never looked like getting in behind them.

 

I mean I've seen people using his goal against Sunderland as an arguement for him but if people remember the ball bounced over the Sunderland playters head to get him, it's not like he made a deceptive run or anything. Also while the finish was well taken he never really accelerated away from the defender, in fact the defender had caught him up again by the time he struck the ball.

 

I just don't think he doesn't have any really great qualitities, he's not got any pace, he's not paticularly good in the air, he doesn't have a high workrate and when he runs at people he doesn't make you think "Wow, he could dribble it past 3 defenders here".

 

I will give him that he is a good finisher, I just don't believe he has the neccesary skills to create enougfh chances for himself.

[Guest alex]

I think we should cut our losses on Luque.

 

The guy has no pace which makes it hard for him to play on the wing. He is as fragile as anything, I mean he's played 1 game this season and already he's injured. I'll admit his goal against Lillestrom was good but throughout the game he jogged around, didn't ever pressure the Lillestrom defenders and never looked like getting in behind them.

 

I mean I've seen people using his goal against Sunderland as an arguement for him but if people remember the ball bounced over the Sunderland playters head to get him, it's not like he made a deceptive run or anything. Also while the finish was well taken he never really accelerated away from the defender, in fact the defender had caught him up again by the time he struck the ball.

 

I just don't think he doesn't have any really great qualitities, he's not got any pace, he's not paticularly good in the air, he doesn't have a high workrate and when he runs at people he doesn't make you think "Wow, he could dribble it past 3 defenders here".

 

I will give him that he is a good finisher, I just don't believe he has the neccesary skills to create enougfh chances for himself.

Good post I reckon.

[Guest SLK]

ANTI Luque brigade...FORGET last year...Consider Luque a NEW signing...OK

 

Let's see how good he is...Hopefully Roeder will play him more often than 5 to 10 minutes towards the tail of an already have been decided game...

Are your posts coded messages btw?

Ask Gemmill

i know GEMMILL pointed out YOU randomly use capital letters the other day and i know it seems DAFT but i was wondering if there was a reason for this or am i just being a ****?

And what was my reply to him They are NOT bloody RANDOM

 

I'm just trying to get around the copyrighted shit the club has imposed on us here...Instead of saying "PM me pleaaseeee" ya know...Guys keep up with me here come on stay focus tongue3.gif

[Parky]

Quote from: stozo on Today at 04:36:17 PM

"I think we should cut our losses on Luque.

 

The guy has no pace which makes it hard for him to play on the wing. He is as fragile as anything, I mean he's played 1 game this season and already he's injured. I'll admit his goal against Lillestrom was good but throughout the game he jogged around, didn't ever pressure the Lillestrom defenders and never looked like getting in behind them.

 

I mean I've seen people using his goal against Sunderland as an arguement for him but if people remember the ball bounced over the Sunderland playters head to get him, it's not like he made a deceptive run or anything. Also while the finish was well taken he never really accelerated away from the defender, in fact the defender had caught him up again by the time he struck the ball.

 

I just don't think he doesn't have any really great qualitities, he's not got any pace, he's not paticularly good in the air, he doesn't have a high workrate and when he runs at people he doesn't make you think "Wow, he could dribble it past 3 defenders here".

 

I will give him that he is a good finisher, I just don't believe he has the neccesary skills to create enougfh chances for himself."

 

"Good post I reckon." Alex

 

 

Agree totally.

[Guest ChickenKiev]

I think we should cut our losses on Luque.

 

The guy has no pace which makes it hard for him to play on the wing. He is as fragile as anything, I mean he's played 1 game this season and already he's injured. I'll admit his goal against Lillestrom was good but throughout the game he jogged around, didn't ever pressure the Lillestrom defenders and never looked like getting in behind them.

 

I mean I've seen people using his goal against Sunderland as an arguement for him but if people remember the ball bounced over the Sunderland playters head to get him, it's not like he made a deceptive run or anything. Also while the finish was well taken he never really accelerated away from the defender, in fact the defender had caught him up again by the time he struck the ball.

 

I just don't think he doesn't have any really great qualitities, he's not got any pace, he's not paticularly good in the air, he doesn't have a high workrate and when he runs at people he doesn't make you think "Wow, he could dribble it past 3 defenders here".

 

I will give him that he is a good finisher, I just don't believe he has the neccesary skills to create enougfh chances for himself.

 

I wouldn't exactly say Owen creates chances for himself. Bet you're not going to winge about him.

[Guest alex]

I wouldn't exactly say Owen creates chances for himself. Bet you're not going to winge about him.

  Neither does Given. Nice selective reading there.

[Howaythelads]

Any of you numpties considered for a micro-second Luque wants to be sold.

 

You'd think he'd start by submitting a transfer request or at least saying something to the media.

 

Probably too lazy to bother.

[Guest ChickenKiev]

I wouldn't exactly say Owen creates chances for himself. Bet you're not going to winge about him.

  Neither does Given. Nice selective reading there.

 

Cheers 

[alpal78]

I think we should cut our losses on Luque.

 

The guy has no pace which makes it hard for him to play on the wing. He is as fragile as anything, I mean he's played 1 game this season and already he's injured. I'll admit his goal against Lillestrom was good but throughout the game he jogged around, didn't ever pressure the Lillestrom defenders and never looked like getting in behind them.

 

I mean I've seen people using his goal against Sunderland as an arguement for him but if people remember the ball bounced over the Sunderland playters head to get him, it's not like he made a deceptive run or anything. Also while the finish was well taken he never really accelerated away from the defender, in fact the defender had caught him up again by the time he struck the ball.

 

I just don't think he doesn't have any really great qualitities, he's not got any pace, he's not paticularly good in the air, he doesn't have a high workrate and when he runs at people he doesn't make you think "Wow, he could dribble it past 3 defenders here".

 

I will give him that he is a good finisher, I just don't believe he has the neccesary skills to create enougfh chances for himself.

Good post I reckon.

 

Except for the bit on not pressuring defenders. Anyone who attended the game against Lillestrom saw that the only good thing both Luque and Milner were doing in the first half was putting pressure on their defenders. As for the Sunderland goal, yes he was fortunate in the way the ball ended up at his feet, but he showed good composure and kept the ball under control eventhough the ball kept bouncing off the pitch (watch the goal again). My point is simple, if we get a decent offer (for me >5M), then ok sell him (even if that will be harsh on him), otherwise we cant afford to loose our asset cheaply.

 

Yes there is that possibility that his value will drop further the longer we keep him, but equally there is the possibility that he will come good and his value will appreciate and judging from recent performances, its more likely to be the latter. By all means he was one of the top 3 players against Lillestrom, dont believe me? go check the player rating thread of everyone who went for that game. Yes one game does not make a season, but I'm not using that game to say that he is world class, I'm using it as a positive indicator that things will most likely improve if he stays. Besides, hypothetically lets say we get a bid of say 3M, how much lower can it get for him by January. Even if in the most extreme case, his value drop to 1M, then we would have lost 2M extra for keeping him, balanced against the lilkely possibility that things will improve. On the other hand if we sell him now for 3M, we are guaranteed to loose 6.5M compared to his buying price. Yes wages is a factor, but if we sell him now, we'll definitely be buying an extra player which would  more or less be on the same wages, so thats a write off for me.

 

I have to agree with Grass, that some of the comments (not necessarily on this forum) I've heard of people who wants him out probably has a bit if not a lot to do with the fact that he is a foreigner (doesnt help that Marcelino was Spanish as well) and that he doesnt play football the 'British' way. Just look at Millner who has had far more opportunities playing for us than Luque and under a good manager too (Bobby) and yet more people would prefer to keep him than Luque. Yes I'm sure there are many factors involved but I bet one of them is that he is English (at least for some people), and thats a disgrace for a club who strives to be international much like the big 4.

[Guest Footsoldier]

We didn't pay 9.5 mill for a player supposedly at the peak of his careeer when we bought Milner. Perhaps that escaped your attention.

[Howaythelads]

We didn't pay 9.5 mill for a player supposedly at the peak of his careeer when we bought Milner. Perhaps that escaped your attention.

 

Aye, but Milner's English.  :winking:

[ohmelads]

I think we should cut our losses on Luque.

 

The guy has no pace which makes it hard for him to play on the wing. He is as fragile as anything, I mean he's played 1 game this season and already he's injured. I'll admit his goal against Lillestrom was good but throughout the game he jogged around, didn't ever pressure the Lillestrom defenders and never looked like getting in behind them.

 

I mean I've seen people using his goal against Sunderland as an arguement for him but if people remember the ball bounced over the Sunderland playters head to get him, it's not like he made a deceptive run or anything. Also while the finish was well taken he never really accelerated away from the defender, in fact the defender had caught him up again by the time he struck the ball.

 

I just don't think he doesn't have any really great qualitities, he's not got any pace, he's not paticularly good in the air, he doesn't have a high workrate and when he runs at people he doesn't make you think "Wow, he could dribble it past 3 defenders here".

 

I will give him that he is a good finisher, I just don't believe he has the neccesary skills to create enougfh chances for himself.

 

If I didn't know anything about Luque before he came here, I'd be inclined to agree with you. In truth he's done nothing for us so far, and hasn't shown much either.

 

But as a follower of Spanish football I've seen enough of him to know that we have a top player on our hands. He was used mostly on the wing in his final season at Depor, largely because of his pace. Yes, believe it or not 12 months ago Luque was pretty quick. Go and watch some highlights of his performance against us in the Riazor, a few weeks before we bought him. I know people are going to say Carr is slow, but he just couldn't handle Luque's pace down our right flank and was lucky not to get sent off after a yellow card and a series of fouls. Or watch his performance against Man Utd on his debut, where he was quick down our left flank and looked like he could make that position his own. He's looked slow ever since, almost certainly because of his injury in only his second game, which was the worst of his career. Roeder described it as 'a horrible hamstring injury' and it put him out for 3 months. The big question is, has he lost a yard of pace permanently or will he get it back with fitness and games? It's difficult to say, he hasn't had a run in the side since he came here.

 

Believe it or not the Deportivo fans are still talking about him on their forum, and mention that they miss the pace that he offered them. If you don't believe me I can point you to it.

 

You mention he's fragile, but he's never had injury problems in his career. He's played over 30 games a season throughout his career. In 3 seasons at Deportivo he only missed 14 games, thats about 5 games a season. In his last season at Depor he played 37 out of 38 games and was the club's top scorer from the left wing with 11 goals. He also had a tendancy to score against the bigger teams, including goals against Villarreal, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Milan (home and away). The player we signed only 12 months ago was a regular in the Spain squad, competing with Vicente for the left-wing spot and attracted the interest of Real, Barcelona and Liverpool. He was pivotal in Deportivo's Champions League semi-final run two years ago, scoring 5 goals.

 

You don't play that well throughout your career and then suddenly turn shit at the age of 28. Are you ready to lose £5m on a player who has only started half a dozen games for us? Personally I think his pedigree suggests we should have a good look at him before we get rid.

[Dinho lad]

I think we should cut our losses on Luque.

 

The guy has no pace which makes it hard for him to play on the wing. He is as fragile as anything, I mean he's played 1 game this season and already he's injured. I'll admit his goal against Lillestrom was good but throughout the game he jogged around, didn't ever pressure the Lillestrom defenders and never looked like getting in behind them.

 

I mean I've seen people using his goal against Sunderland as an arguement for him but if people remember the ball bounced over the Sunderland playters head to get him, it's not like he made a deceptive run or anything. Also while the finish was well taken he never really accelerated away from the defender, in fact the defender had caught him up again by the time he struck the ball.

 

I just don't think he doesn't have any really great qualitities, he's not got any pace, he's not paticularly good in the air, he doesn't have a high workrate and when he runs at people he doesn't make you think "Wow, he could dribble it past 3 defenders here".

 

I will give him that he is a good finisher, I just don't believe he has the neccesary skills to create enougfh chances for himself.

 

If I didn't know anything about Luque before he came here, I'd be inclined to agree with you. In truth he's done nothing for us so far, and hasn't shown much either.

 

But as a follower of Spanish football I've seen enough of him to know that we have a top player on our hands. He was used mostly on the wing in his final season at Depor, largely because of his pace. Yes, believe it or not 12 months ago Luque was pretty quick. Go and watch some highlights of his performance against us in the Riazor, a few weeks before we bought him. I know people are going to say Carr is slow, but he just couldn't handle Luque's pace down our right flank and was lucky not to get sent off after a yellow card and a series of fouls. Or watch his performance against Man Utd on his debut, where he was quick down our left flank and looked like he could make that position his own. He's looked slow ever since, almost certainly because of his injury in only his second game, which was the worst of his career. Roeder described it as 'a horrible hamstring injury' and it put him out for 3 months. The big question is, has he lost a yard of pace permanently or will he get it back with fitness and games? It's difficult to say, he hasn't had a run in the side since he came here.

 

You mention he's fragile, but he's never had injury problems in his career. He's played over 30 games a season throughout his career. In 3 seasons at Deportivo he only missed 14 games, thats about 5 games a season. In his last season at Depor he played 37 out of 38 games and was the club's top scorer from the left wing with 11 goals. He also had a tendancy to score against the bigger teams, including goals against Villarreal, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Milan (home and away). The player we signed only 12 months ago was a regular in the Spain squad, competing with Vicente for the left-wing spot. He was pivotal in Deportivo's Champions League two years ago, scoring 5 goals.

 

You don't play that well throughout your career and then suddenly turn shit at the age of 28. Are you ready to lose £5m on a player who has only started half a dozen games for us?

 

at last....a quality post about luque.

[Guest Footsoldier]

Roeder sees him every day in training and it's clearly in Roeder's own interests to get as much out of Luque as he can. If Roeder feels that he's not worth a spot it merely confirms what we have seen on the pitch ourselves. Who really gives a toss what he did in Spain? It's what he does for us that counts and that isn't much so far.

 

Would I take a loss of 5mill? Yes....If FS can find somebody willing to give us 4.5 mill in hard cash I'd say take it.

[ohmelads]

Who really gives a toss what he did in Spain? It's what he does for us that counts and that isn't much so far.

 

He's started a few games. He played a few hundred minutes of football last season.

 

Sell him now and he'll go on to be a success with someone else, I'm confident of that. Selling is a gamble as is buying, if we sell a quality player and bring in a crap replacement then we're weaker, so of course you have to consider his pedigree. Would you sell Owen for a few million based on what he's done for us so far?

[Guest Howaythetoon]

I think we should cut our losses on Luque.

 

The guy has no pace which makes it hard for him to play on the wing. He is as fragile as anything, I mean he's played 1 game this season and already he's injured. I'll admit his goal against Lillestrom was good but throughout the game he jogged around, didn't ever pressure the Lillestrom defenders and never looked like getting in behind them.

 

I mean I've seen people using his goal against Sunderland as an arguement for him but if people remember the ball bounced over the Sunderland playters head to get him, it's not like he made a deceptive run or anything. Also while the finish was well taken he never really accelerated away from the defender, in fact the defender had caught him up again by the time he struck the ball.

 

I just don't think he doesn't have any really great qualitities, he's not got any pace, he's not paticularly good in the air, he doesn't have a high workrate and when he runs at people he doesn't make you think "Wow, he could dribble it past 3 defenders here".

 

I will give him that he is a good finisher, I just don't believe he has the neccesary skills to create enougfh chances for himself.

 

If I didn't know anything about Luque before he came here, I'd be inclined to agree with you. In truth he's done nothing for us so far, and hasn't shown much either.

 

But as a follower of Spanish football I've seen enough of him to know that we have a top player on our hands. He was used mostly on the wing in his final season at Depor, largely because of his pace. Yes, believe it or not 12 months ago Luque was pretty quick. Go and watch some highlights of his performance against us in the Riazor, a few weeks before we bought him. I know people are going to say Carr is slow, but he just couldn't handle Luque's pace down our right flank and was lucky not to get sent off after a yellow card and a series of fouls. Or watch his performance against Man Utd on his debut, where he was quick down our left flank and looked like he could make that position his own. He's looked slow ever since, almost certainly because of his injury in only his second game, which was the worst of his career. Roeder described it as 'a horrible hamstring injury' and it put him out for 3 months. The big question is, has he lost a yard of pace permanently or will he get it back with fitness and games? It's difficult to say, he hasn't had a run in the side since he came here.

 

Believe it or not the Deportivo fans are still talking about him on their forum, and mention that they miss the pace that he offered them. If you don't believe me I can point you to it.

 

You mention he's fragile, but he's never had injury problems in his career. He's played over 30 games a season throughout his career. In 3 seasons at Deportivo he only missed 14 games, thats about 5 games a season. In his last season at Depor he played 37 out of 38 games and was the club's top scorer from the left wing with 11 goals. He also had a tendancy to score against the bigger teams, including goals against Villarreal, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Milan (home and away). The player we signed only 12 months ago was a regular in the Spain squad, competing with Vicente for the left-wing spot and attracted the interest of Real, Barcelona and Liverpool. He was pivotal in Deportivo's Champions League semi-final run two years ago, scoring 5 goals.

 

You don't play that well throughout your career and then suddenly turn shit at the age of 28. Are you ready to lose £5m on a player who has only started half a dozen games for us? Personally I think his pedigree suggests we should have a good look at him before we get rid.

 

Quality post Ohmelads and coming from someone who actually watches games live from La Liga not via a telly, but live, I trust your judgement 100%.

 

Now that is a player I want to see in our team.

 

Fingers crossed.

[Guest Footsoldier]

But Luque is not a quality player for us. IMO, he's the latest in a long line of foreign players we've bought that may have looked good in their own countries but are unable to adapt to the premier league.....viana, marcelhino, bassedas there's about 20 mill down the toilet....and I've not seen anything to suggest that Luque is much different.

[Dinho lad]

I think we should cut our losses on Luque.

 

The guy has no pace which makes it hard for him to play on the wing. He is as fragile as anything, I mean he's played 1 game this season and already he's injured. I'll admit his goal against Lillestrom was good but throughout the game he jogged around, didn't ever pressure the Lillestrom defenders and never looked like getting in behind them.

 

I mean I've seen people using his goal against Sunderland as an arguement for him but if people remember the ball bounced over the Sunderland playters head to get him, it's not like he made a deceptive run or anything. Also while the finish was well taken he never really accelerated away from the defender, in fact the defender had caught him up again by the time he struck the ball.

 

I just don't think he doesn't have any really great qualitities, he's not got any pace, he's not paticularly good in the air, he doesn't have a high workrate and when he runs at people he doesn't make you think "Wow, he could dribble it past 3 defenders here".

 

I will give him that he is a good finisher, I just don't believe he has the neccesary skills to create enougfh chances for himself.

 

If I didn't know anything about Luque before he came here, I'd be inclined to agree with you. In truth he's done nothing for us so far, and hasn't shown much either.

 

But as a follower of Spanish football I've seen enough of him to know that we have a top player on our hands. He was used mostly on the wing in his final season at Depor, largely because of his pace. Yes, believe it or not 12 months ago Luque was pretty quick. Go and watch some highlights of his performance against us in the Riazor, a few weeks before we bought him. I know people are going to say Carr is slow, but he just couldn't handle Luque's pace down our right flank and was lucky not to get sent off after a yellow card and a series of fouls. Or watch his performance against Man Utd on his debut, where he was quick down our left flank and looked like he could make that position his own. He's looked slow ever since, almost certainly because of his injury in only his second game, which was the worst of his career. Roeder described it as 'a horrible hamstring injury' and it put him out for 3 months. The big question is, has he lost a yard of pace permanently or will he get it back with fitness and games? It's difficult to say, he hasn't had a run in the side since he came here.

 

Believe it or not the Deportivo fans are still talking about him on their forum, and mention that they miss the pace that he offered them. If you don't believe me I can point you to it.

 

You mention he's fragile, but he's never had injury problems in his career. He's played over 30 games a season throughout his career. In 3 seasons at Deportivo he only missed 14 games, thats about 5 games a season. In his last season at Depor he played 37 out of 38 games and was the club's top scorer from the left wing with 11 goals. He also had a tendancy to score against the bigger teams, including goals against Villarreal, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Milan (home and away). The player we signed only 12 months ago was a regular in the Spain squad, competing with Vicente for the left-wing spot and attracted the interest of Real, Barcelona and Liverpool. He was pivotal in Deportivo's Champions League semi-final run two years ago, scoring 5 goals.

 

You don't play that well throughout your career and then suddenly turn shit at the age of 28. Are you ready to lose £5m on a player who has only started half a dozen games for us? Personally I think his pedigree suggests we should have a good look at him before we get rid.

 

Quality post Ohmelads and coming from someone who actually watches games live from La Liga not via a telly, but live, I trust your judgement 100%.

 

 

But HTL reckons Luque's form in Spain was patchy. unsure.gif Which one should we trust?!

 

:roll:

[ohmelads]

 

Quality post Ohmelads and coming from someone who actually watches games live from La Liga not via a telly, but live, I trust your judgement 100%.

 

Now that is a player I want to see in our team.

 

Fingers crossed.

 

To be fair I started watching games there after we bought Luque, so I only ever saw him on TV for Deportivo. I always thought he was overrated but still a quality player and I was surprised to see us get him as I thought he'd end up at a bigger club. He's still rated highly over there but a little forgotten about as he lost his place in the Spain squad (not surprising considering he didn't play for us almost all season).

[Guest Howaythetoon]

 

Quality post Ohmelads and coming from someone who actually watches games live from La Liga not via a telly, but live, I trust your judgement 100%.

 

Now that is a player I want to see in our team.

 

Fingers crossed.

 

To be fair I started watching games there after we bought Luque, so I only ever saw him on TV for Deportivo. I always thought he was overrated but still a quality player and I was surprised to see us get him as I thought he'd end up at a bigger club. He's still rated highly over there but a little forgotten about as he lost his place in the Spain squad (not surprising considering he didn't play for us almost all season).

 

Aye but you have a first hand knowledge of that league and what it takes to shine which as you've pointed out, Luque did, consistently and against the top sides, in Europe too.

 

I really believe his injury set him back more than one would imagine. I'm confident that if he gets a good run, a starting run, he'll do well.

[ohmelads]

But Luque is not a quality player for us. IMO, he's the latest in a long line of foreign players we've bought that may have looked good in their own countries but are unable to adapt to the premier league.....viana, marcelhino, bassedas there's about 20 mill down the toilet....and I've not seen anything to suggest that Luque is much different.

 

Neither have I, but we haven't seen much him at all, have we. We're judging his Newcastle career on the back of a few performances, he wouldn't be the first player to struggle then find his feet.

 

My gut feeling is Roeder doesn't really fancy him but probably sees him as a more viable option up front than Milner because he's actually done it there before and Milner hasn't. How many games Luque starts this season will depend on injuries, the Chronicle has already said he won't be starting against Wigan. But when you look at the prices people are charging for strikers, would it be wise to sell Luque for £4.5m and then find we can't buy anyone for that? That wouldn't even buy us Heskey at the moment.

[ohmelads]

 

Quality post Ohmelads and coming from someone who actually watches games live from La Liga not via a telly, but live, I trust your judgement 100%.

 

Now that is a player I want to see in our team.

 

Fingers crossed.

 

To be fair I started watching games there after we bought Luque, so I only ever saw him on TV for Deportivo. I always thought he was overrated but still a quality player and I was surprised to see us get him as I thought he'd end up at a bigger club. He's still rated highly over there but a little forgotten about as he lost his place in the Spain squad (not surprising considering he didn't play for us almost all season).

 

Aye but you have a first hand knowledge of that league and what it takes to shine which as you've pointed out, Luque did, consistently and against the top sides, in Europe too.

 

I really believe his injury set him back more than one would imagine. I'm confident that if he gets a good run, a starting run, he'll do well.

 

My biggest fear is that he has permanently lost a yard of pace, as his pace, bullet shooting and decent finishing were always his strong points. If he's lost that then he'll never be the player for us that he was for Deportivo. It could be that he was very nervous running full pelt after his hamstring injury though, hence why he was rested by Souness (the man who bought him) and Roeder. A lot of it seems to be confidence though, at Depor he was very composed in front of goal, even a little arrogant, whereas here he had a very disrupted start with that injury and came back looking very nervous.

 

I'm keen to see what he can do with a run in the side, none of us have seen that yet.