Scouting players - what would you look for in a player?

[Neil]

If we lose Owen, i'd like to see us sign a natural finisher. Someone who is young and looks like they have a future.

 

I might get hounded for this but i like the look of Matt Derbyshire.

 

He's English and young, in today's market that's what, a £50m price tag?

[Baggio]

If we lose Owen, i'd like to see us sign a natural finisher. Someone who is young and looks like they have a future.

 

I might get hounded for this but i like the look of Matt Derbyshire.

 

I'd prefer us to go out and get a link up man between midfield and attack, similar to the role Modric played today.

[STM]

If we lose Owen, i'd like to see us sign a natural finisher. Someone who is young and looks like they have a future.

 

I might get hounded for this but i like the look of Matt Derbyshire.

 

He's English and young, in today's market that's what, a £50m price tag?

 

Aye but if they are foreign and highly rated they have no chance, see Xisco.

[Guest firetotheworks]

If we lose Owen, i'd like to see us sign a natural finisher. Someone who is young and looks like they have a future.

 

I might get hounded for this but i like the look of Matt Derbyshire.

 

Aye, why doesnt he get a game? Every time Ive seen him play, or come on he plays well. Seems beyond arrogant like. Do we have any Blackburn fans on here?

[STM]

If we lose Owen, i'd like to see us sign a natural finisher. Someone who is young and looks like they have a future.

 

I might get hounded for this but i like the look of Matt Derbyshire.

 

I'd prefer us to go out and get a link up man between midfield and attack, similar to the role Modric played today.

 

What i call the "Eidur Gudjohnsen". What an underated player he is.

[STM]

If we lose Owen, i'd like to see us sign a natural finisher. Someone who is young and looks like they have a future.

 

I might get hounded for this but i like the look of Matt Derbyshire.

 

Aye, why doesnt he get a game? Every time Ive seen him play, or come on he plays well. Seems beyond arrogant like. Do we have any Blackburn fans on here?

 

Arrogance isn't always a bad thing. I too am baffled by the fact he doesn't get a game.

 

Were Man Utd not looking at him?

[NE5]

Pace (particularly in today's game), intelligence (e.g. decision making) and technique, to combine pace and intelligence into success.

 

What about for Everton Lien? Do you still need a right back?

 

Surprisingly Neville has been canny recently, less irritating than usual. Ideally yes we do, but we have bigger concerns, i.e. a quality attacking mid.

 

is Cahill for sale like ?

 

 

 

Not that I know of. Just, imo, he's average at best. Very limited player.

 

And in a 4 man midfield, he looks utterly lost.

 

you think so ? Scores a few goals from midfield, and supports his strikers better than any of the ones that we have.

 

What about that new bloke you have, the bloke who scored against us, is he Italian ?

 

I don't know what your main weaknesses at Everton are by the way, I only watch you against us or on telly now and again.

 

 

[STM]

Arteta is the best player in their squad like. Not in keeping with the goalscoring midfielder theme but fuck he's got a brilliant range of passing.

[The Prophet]

If we lose Owen, i'd like to see us sign a natural finisher. Someone who is young and looks like they have a future.

 

I might get hounded for this but i like the look of Matt Derbyshire.

 

I'd prefer us to go out and get a link up man between midfield and attack, similar to the role Modric played today.

 

What i call the "Eidur Gudjohnsen". What an underated player he is.

 

Definitely. Think he was the key to Chelsea's success in the early Abramovich years. His ability not only to be able to score goals, but to be able to bring Robben and Duff into play to allow them to get on the score sheet was outstanding.

[Baggio]

The thing is with the likes of Cahill and Elano is that they usually play in a 3 man midfield with one striker in front, I don't think they would get that many goals in a standard 2 man midfield where they will be expected to do their fair share of defensive work.

[Neil]

Pace (particularly in today's game), intelligence (e.g. decision making) and technique, to combine pace and intelligence into success.

 

What about for Everton Lien? Do you still need a right back?

 

Surprisingly Neville has been canny recently, less irritating than usual. Ideally yes we do, but we have bigger concerns, i.e. a quality attacking mid.

 

is Cahill for sale like ?

 

 

 

Not that I know of. Just, imo, he's average at best. Very limited player.

 

And in a 4 man midfield, he looks utterly lost.

 

you think so ? Scores a few goals from midfield, and supports his strikers better than any of the ones that we have.

 

What about that new bloke you have, the bloke who scored against us, is he Italian ?

 

I don't know what your main weaknesses at Everton are by the way, I only watch you against us or on telly now and again.

 

 

 

Cahill's strengths are his timing, aerial ability and 'enthusiasm'. Technically poor, passing, shooting, control, none are particularly good. Crossing is ok I suppose. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying we should get rid, but unless he's playing just off the main striker (or indeed as striker it seems!), he doesn't offer a lot.

 

Fellaini is the one you're talking about. He's Belgian, 20, and although the price tag was too much, he's doing well IMO. I think DM bought him as a defensive midfielder, but he's doing well getting forward, most games I've seen him have been him offering more on the offensive front. I think we need to decide what position he's best at and keep him there.

 

If we therefore keep him in the defensive mid position, we still need an attacking mid, a la Moutinho who we were apparently on the verge of signing over the summer, and perhaps would have if it wasn't for inept transfer dealings. Arteta is good when he's on form, he needs creative support. Pienaar has the odd effective game. Osman is good in parts but nothing special, fairly lightweight, like Pienaar.

 

We also need some pace, Victor Obinna was one we were close to getting on loan, a pacy Nigerian who can play up front or on the wing. His work permit was refused for some reason though, probably because we don't play in red.

 

Otherwise, nothing urgently required. If we're being picky, could do with 4 or 5 players to really get us to the next level, which we so frustratingly failed to do over the summer due to a lack of money, plain and simple.

 

 

[NE5]

All of these things are well and good, but a book I have had for years, called "with Clough by Taylor" [by Peter Taylor] in chapter 4, Peter Taylor says what he looked for in players, and he was taught by a man called Harry Storer.

 

"yes I agree that the lad can play, but can he play when he has a big angry bloke trying to stop him". He (Storer) scouted for Everton as an old man when he finished management but they still remember receiving from him a short report on a player. It was one word in capitals across the reporting form. COWARD. He also said that Storer once had a centre forward playing for him, and at half time in a game bawled him out in the dressing room, saying to him "get out there now and show me the hole"....the player said "what hole" not knowing what he was talking about, and Storer said "the hole that you've disappeared into for the last few games"

 

Look on this in different ways, I have learned since that Clough and Taylor - allied this to the determination to make things happen, the ability to control a ball and find a man when under pressure, and the real burning desire to win whatever the circumstances.

 

Anybody can look good and pose around in midfield, hit nice chipped passes. Taylor says he slightly disagreed with Storers' mega-hard judgement in this area, and decided that he thought that although some players lack physical courage, they made up for it by having moral courage ie the ability to try courageous things with the ball, just so long as they had desire and had the right mental desire to do what they were good at as often as possible ie John Robertson maybe fell into this category, he seemed like just an average 2nd division player at Forest until Clough and Taylor got hold of him, and Frank Clark says that he is the best player he ever played behind as a full back. He told me that as a defender playing behind him, he could just give him the ball, he would never lose it and would find his man or put in a good cross, he was always confident that Robertson wouldn't have him put under pressure again.

 

In so far as what Newcastle United need, we still need a central midfield with pace who will get a few goals and a central striker, who we have needed for almost years.

 

 

 

Nice input. Out of interest, any players you think fit the bill?

 

I don't watch a lot of football these days, especially foreign football, so I'm not sure. With me, its just a matter of sometimes I might see a player and think that I like the look of him , or otherwise. There are players around who would improve us but probably aren't the top class that I would ultimately want, and I don't necessarily agree that this slow building is the way to go, I think you should get the top quality when its available. Thats how a club like us should act.

 

Is Arshavin available ? Is he the type of player ie position. we need the most ? Probably not, but you could do some wheeling and dealing if you wanted him, its getting the quality that counts.

 

If Owen goes, we need to completely re-shape our attack to be honest.

 

 

 

 

[Baggio]

Is that right the refs are picking on Fellaini because of his hair cut?

[Neil]

Some of the refs could only dream of his mini 'fro.

 

Tbh he gets harsh decisions, because he's big and strong. The game against Stoke was a joke. Because their team is big and strong, when our players (i.e. Fellaini) outmuscled them, which was the case throughout the match, it was automatically a free kick.

[Baggio]

Some of the refs could only dream of his mini 'fro.

 

Tbh he gets harsh decisions, because he's big and strong. The game against Stoke was a joke. Because their team is big and strong, when our players (i.e. Fellaini) outmuscled them, which was the case throughout the match, it was automatically a free kick.

 

I was reading something earlier and someone at Everton suggested he was getting unfair treatment because his hair makes him stand out so much, 8 yellows this season isn't it?

[Neil]

Some of the refs could only dream of his mini 'fro.

 

Tbh he gets harsh decisions, because he's big and strong. The game against Stoke was a joke. Because their team is big and strong, when our players (i.e. Fellaini) outmuscled them, which was the case throughout the match, it was automatically a free kick.

 

I was reading something earlier and someone at Everton suggested he was getting unfair treatment because his hair makes him stand out so much, 8 yellows this season isn't it?

 

Haha I doubt it, but you never know. We do get our fair share of bizarre decisions against us, so who knows.

 

Yeah, 8 yellows I believe, and I can't remember one particularly bad tackle to date.

[Optimistic Nut]

Whether we keep or lose Owen, I'd do anything to try and convince Cisse to choose us over Sunderland. He's the one player I've seen for them in the Premiership era and thought, "what the f*ck's a player like him doing there".

[Ikon]

I would look for a dynamic DM as a replacement for Butt. I would love to see Mbia from Rennes. Probably would cost a little bit too much and surely would have some good options as he's been playing really well. So he's probably too hard to get? But trying wont make things worse right? And also look for a more attacking cm...

[Guest optimistic nit]

Pace (particularly in today's game), intelligence (e.g. decision making) and technique, to combine pace and intelligence into success.

 

What about for Everton Lien? Do you still need a right back?

 

Surprisingly Neville has been canny recently, less irritating than usual. Ideally yes we do, but we have bigger concerns, i.e. a quality attacking mid.

 

is Cahill for sale like ?

 

 

 

Not that I know of. Just, imo, he's average at best. Very limited player.

 

And in a 4 man midfield, he looks utterly lost.

 

arteta, fellani? cahill was the new pele a few seasons ago.

[DJ_NUFC]

Good looks, innit.