Dokko Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Not too sure about Hanley, (would have preferred Caulker) but Rafa knows best and Im sure he can make him a better player. A 6 ft 3 physical defender with experience at that level and captain of a team at that level is a good signing. Probably better bet than Caulker where the jury really is out and not convinced he's great at the back, probably better on that ball but happy to have Central Defenders that win the ball and play it simple to more capable midfielders / full backs. Where we are at is building a resilient defence which we have never had. With a Central Defender the main considerations should be anticipation, concentration, positioning and strength but not can he pick a ball up and dribble past 10 players, or can he play a pinpoint pass down the channels for a winger. First and foremost he should be able to defend and be part of an effective unit. FMtastic Yip almost like Sky Sports I know but didn't mean for it to be honest . It's hard not to compare I'd you rattle off a few attributes which normally would be perfectly acceptable in any other circumstance. FM has ruined how you can talk about a footballer... Ironically Sky Sports in the last year think it's hip to do so. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinmk Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 I feel like I've never heard of him. Have you lot been watching the Championship a lot or am I missing something? Seen him regularly for Scotland. Always seems pretty calm and strong in the air. Should do the job. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattypnufc Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Good enough for Rafa is good enough for me. In Rafa we trust. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmonkey Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Never seen him play or know nothing of him, but from the descriptions of him on the Blackburn forum I've just scanned it seems that: 1) Good last season. Relatively shit in prior seasons. 2) Similar story to us in terms of stingy/bad ownership. Owners not spending money despite decent amounts coming in with a £100m+ debt on the clubs books, and now players being sold for cheap to service that debt with none of it being reinvested. Might be the case that we're getting Hanley on the cheap because of this. 3) He seems to have had a problem with being out on the lash regularly, though may have cleaned himself up in this regard last season. http://www.brfcc.com/mb/index.php/topic/31201-grant-hanley/ I like the sound of all of this. Shades of us getting Woodgate on the cheap in some ways (no comparison intended). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyeDubbleYoo Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 He definitely looks like he needs to clean up a bit lifestyle-wise, just at first glance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Crooks Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 I feel like I've never heard of him. Have you lot been watching the Championship a lot or am I missing something? Seen him regularly for Scotland. Always seems pretty calm and strong in the air. Should do the job. Scotland?! http://m.imgur.com/gallery/U6SuIrv Great news. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wullie Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 I feel like I've never heard of him. Have you lot been watching the Championship a lot or am I missing something? He broke into the Blackburn team the year they went down and is/was their club captain after Dann left for Palace. Played against us a few times, including the FA Cup game where Hatem scored THAT goal. Scored the winner at Old Trafford that year as well when they won 3-2. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lotus Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 If he's 188cm isn't he only 6 ' 1.5''? Hardly towering. And he's also slow. So, not particularly tall and slow with limited ability with the ball. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chopey Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Neil Ruddock ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GM Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 I know a Blackburn supporting mate of mine who will be going radge about this. He'll be more gutted about this than when Shearer signed for us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottledDog Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Genuinely gutted about this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GM Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Building a squad of good quality players with good attitudes, like it. This. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdckelly Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 relatively young, plenty of experience in the league and we needed another cb so looks good to me Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mighty__mag Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Moving clubs when he's not guaranteed first-team football, doesn't that make him a greedy c***? He'll be a regular starter like. Over Mbemba & Lascelles? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odear Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Bring him in as backup and let him force his way into the team. I think the current duo have potential and it would be shitty to just shelve that. Rafa certainly doesn't mess about though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanji Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 How has he performed as their captain? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixx Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Don't really mind him signing at all. Going to be a long season and if I recall correctly Benitez likes to rotate so it's positive to have a bit more experience and especially height. Actually I had him confused with Ryan Nelsen all up until yesterday. That worried me a bit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
huss9 Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Rotation lads, we'll be seeing lots of rotation. scott parker, anyone? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figures 1-0 Football Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Any chance he could be involved tonight? Sounds like it's been a done deal since this morning but just not confirmed yet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanji Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Rotation lads, we'll be seeing lots of rotation. scott parker, anyone? Credit to whoever said in the Fulham thread that their pitch probably has crop circles Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figures 1-0 Football Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Grant Hanley: Completed at least ten more interceptions (154) than any other player in the Championship last season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nufc4eva Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Not too sure about Hanley, (would have preferred Caulker) but Rafa knows best and Im sure he can make him a better player. A 6 ft 3 physical defender with experience at that level and captain of a team at that level is a good signing. Probably better bet than Caulker where the jury really is out and not convinced he's great at the back, probably better on that ball but happy to have Central Defenders that win the ball and play it simple to more capable midfielders / full backs. Where we are at is building a resilient defence which we have never had. With a Central Defender the main considerations should be anticipation, concentration, positioning and strength but not can he pick a ball up and dribble past 10 players, or can he play a pinpoint pass down the channels for a winger. First and foremost he should be able to defend and be part of an effective unit. FMtastic Yip almost like Sky Sports I know but didn't mean for it to be honest . It's hard not to compare I'd you rattle off a few attributes which normally would be perfectly acceptable in any other circumstance. FM has ruined how you can talk about a footballer... Ironically Sky Sports in the last year think it's hip to do so. At least I'm not rating each out of 20 which makes no sense in real life Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Squad building. What a novel idea . It really is. I swear there was a fans forum* where they basically laid out the plan of having as paper thin of a senior squad as possible and rely on reserves/youth expected to fill the gaps, but I can't for the life of me find it. * - it may have been communicated elsewhere but that's where I remember it from. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RafaelBenitez Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 He's doing what he did at Napoli, to Newcastle. It's great to see but at the same time, players take time to gel. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeletor Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Squad building. What a novel idea . It really is. I swear there was a fans forum* where they basically laid out the plan of having as paper thin of a senior squad as possible and rely on reserves/youth expected to fill the gaps, but I can't for the life of me find it. * - it may have been communicated elsewhere but that's where I remember it from. Aye. The 'Purples' era. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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