Transfer rumours

[Hughesy]

Even if ASM and Joelinton are as good as Perez and Rondon - which seems unlikely - we still haven't strengthened the squad in any material respect.  You could argue that Willems gives us a more natural left wing back, but Krafth doesn't seem any better than Yedlin or Manquillo.

 

Fucking ridiculous.  We should be looking to improve every position possible, whether it's getting a better central midfielder than Shelvey or Ki or getting a better back up striker than Gayle or Muto.

[SteV]

Apparently we were working on 2 deals yesterday, but now Douglas is saying he thinks it's unlikely we'll get a CM or a striker in, so looks like Krafth will be last one in. Another terrible window where we haven't even replaced the outgoings, let alone strengthen a weak squad. Mint.

 

Perez - ASM

Rondon - Joelinton

Diame - Shortstaff

Joselu - Gayle

 

Am I forgetting someone?

 

+

A new pair of fullbacks

 

I wouldn't say buying 2 young players who have never scored more than 7/8 league goals in the German and French leagues is replacing our 2 top scorers from last season. (ASM also seems to play a different position to Perez). Likewise Diame, who featured a lot in the last 2 seasons, isn't replaced by an academy graduate who has never played a minute of competitive first team football. Gayle is clearly out of favour, hasn't featured at all in preseason, and has been rumoured to be leaving all summer. Kenedy hasn't been replaced either. We've signed 2 fullbacks who arguably are no better than the ones we currently have.

 

It is replacing them though isn't it? The question is whether they've replaced them with sufficient quality, and that's obviously to be determined. It might prove to be absolutely disastrous, or it might not.

 

And Gayle's been injured all preseason (so we're told at least).

 

Ok I'll rephrase - we haven't adequately replaced the players we've lost. We're taking a massive risk on replacing proven performers with inexperienced youngsters and putting massive pressure on them to perform straight away.

 

Yes, that's probably a fairer assessment. I don't think anyone could say for certain either way that Joelinton will be better/worse that Rondon, and likewise ASM and Perez. Clearly it's a very risky policy though.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

We could have Man City’s XI and be weaker all because of who the fuckwits in charge got in to replace Rafa. We are massively down on last season regardless of who replaces who as Rafa alone was what keeps NUFC up and up well. We are now back to Pardew FC and there is a good chance Bruce will be McClaren 2.0 and a 3rd relegation is coming. If not this season another under Bruce. 

[SSFC]

Even if ASM and Joelinton are as good as Perez and Rondon - which seems unlikely - we still haven't strengthened the squad in any material respect.  You could argue that Willems gives us a more natural left wing back, but Krafth doesn't seem any better than Yedlin or Manquillo.

 

Fucking ridiculous.  We should be looking to improve every position possible, whether it's getting a better central midfielder than Shelvey or Ki or getting a better back up striker than Gayle or Muto.

 

Thats where Im at and its really worrisome that all these new guys..have zero experience in the league. That is a huge dice roll IMO. Especially considering Joelinton was never asked to the guy before and ASM is honestly an Adama Traore in my estimation till proven otherwise.

[nufcjb]

I have a bad feeling that on deadline day, Bruce will be given at least one free transfer of his choice and it'd probably be someone like Andy Carroll. Elmohamady is still with Villa right?

[steve_69]

I have a bad feeling that on deadline day, Bruce will be given at least one free transfer of his choice and it'd probably be someone like Andy Carroll. Elmohamady is still with Villa right?

 

The one thing we know about Carroll is that he can score goals in the PL. The same can't be said for any of our others forwards.

If he could stay fit he'd be a big asset so i'd say he's worth a gamble.

[geordiedean]

I have a bad feeling that on deadline day, Bruce will be given at least one free transfer of his choice and it'd probably be someone like Andy Carroll. Elmohamady is still with Villa right?

 

I'd take Andy Carroll on a free as you know he will score goals Joelinton I see as Mitrovic 2.0 and ASM from everything I've seen is just a dog chasing a balloon. You see him on YT and none of the videos show any end product or goals. Who the fuck is interested in fancy flicks and dribbling it's about end product and ability to score

[TRon]

I don't want Carroll for reasons I have already given. I think he's useless unless you are playing hoofball, and a liability with injuries. Much happier to take a chance on Joelinton rather than give Bruce the long ball option.

[geordiedean]

I don't want Carroll for reasons I have already given. I think he's useless unless you are playing hoofball, and a liability with injuries. Much happier to take a chance on Joelinton rather than give Bruce the long ball option.

 

Hed be good to have on the bench as a plan B I think

[steve_69]

I don't want Carroll for reasons I have already given. I think he's useless unless you are playing hoofball, and a liability with injuries. Much happier to take a chance on Joelinton rather than give Bruce the long ball option.

 

Hed be good to have on the bench as a plan B I think

 

Agreed. And you can be 100% certain we're going to need a plan B and probably a plan C too with Bruce at the helm.

[Guest covmag]

I don't want Carroll for reasons I have already given. I think he's useless unless you are playing hoofball, and a liability with injuries. Much happier to take a chance on Joelinton rather than give Bruce the long ball option.

 

Correct but for free and pay as you play he’s an option for any lower PL team.

[Shearergol]

We're desperately attempting to stand still whilst other teams are taking steps forward. The Ashley way.

[TRon]

I don't want Carroll for reasons I have already given. I think he's useless unless you are playing hoofball, and a liability with injuries. Much happier to take a chance on Joelinton rather than give Bruce the long ball option.

 

Hed be good to have on the bench as a plan B I think

 

Agreed. And you can be 100% certain we're going to need a plan B and probably a plan C too with Bruce at the helm.

 

With Bruce as the manager I predict he'd become Plan A sooner rather than later.

[gdm]

I imagine Krafth will be the last one in. Would have liked another striker and centre mid with Gayle and Colback out

[Joe_F]

Aye that's us done. Penfold will have his feet up smoking a cigar during deadline day. Thinking what a great job he's done.

 

Twat.

[mrmojorisin75]

How have we not managed to ship Gayle to a champo team man?

 

Add regards Joelinton being Mitro mkII time will tell but the difference appears to be pace at this stage. Maybe they learned their lesson on that one.

[Johneddy]

Lets not forget the signing of Ludwig

[gdm]

How have we not managed to ship Gayle to a champo team man?

 

Add regards Joelinton being Mitro mkII time will tell but the difference appears to be pace at this stage. Maybe they learned their lesson on that one.

 

By all accounts Bruce wants to keep him

[mrmojorisin75]

How have we not managed to ship Gayle to a champo team man?

 

Add regards Joelinton being Mitro mkII time will tell but the difference appears to be pace at this stage. Maybe they learned their lesson on that one.

 

By all accounts Bruce wants to keep him

 

Says everything about Bruce, but I mean he doesn't get a say surely.

 

They'll just be asking for a daft price.

 

He's goals down there ffs.

[taxfree]

[Astroblack]

Charlie Austin would be perfect. Used similarly to Giroud at Chelsea.

[Consortium of one]

I think Almiron is the key.  He is so adept at creating space that he makes everyone else better.  I just hope Brucie lets him play.  I'm not convinced he will.

[Minhosa]

I think Almiron is the key.  He is so adept at creating space that he makes everyone else better.  I just hope Brucie lets him play.  I'm not convinced he will.

 

Agreed. With the bit in bold particularly.

[Kanji]

Bruce has been waxing lyrical about him in pre season but yeah obviously a concern in the long run. Would rather us do the 5-2-3 / 3-4-3 Rafa formation and bench Shelvey and allow Max/Joelinton/Almiron play up top together.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

Brummie, your first season in the Championship with Bruce, I worked in an around Aston probably 10 times that year and we often ended up in a local Villa fans pub once or twice on match days and the majority we come across/talked to seemed not just happy with Bruce, but thought the football was entertaining.

 

I know you didn’t go up that year and Bruce was eventually peddled, but I know even mackems who said under Bruce the football was good in the main, did you lot actually play decent stuff under Bruce or did it just seem decent enough based on the level and the shite served up under MON?

 

Or were people too blind to see it was shite?

 

I think Newcastle’s football under Bruce will be more entertaining than the football played under Rafa, but in a more disorganised and obvious clueless caution to the wind type of way meaning more drubbings and more losses.

 

I can see some of the more attacking players individually doing better under Bruce and someone like Shelvey being more important to the team. Shape, organisation, defensive solidity and being able to withstand pressure, nullify the opposition and every player off the ball coming together so the team itself performs better than the sum of its parts, however, follows Rafa out the door.

 

Glad to see you posting Brummie and I for one am happy for you your club is back and looking very healthy indeed, on and off the pitch. I hope you have a good season 👍

 

Hi

 

Thanks for the nice words

 

In the early days, we were in the championship, we'd just emerged from a spell of - no exaggeration - 5 or 6 years of utterly horrifying bilge. Anything was an improvement. We were playing shit teams, so winning far more. For a while, the loan players he brought in started to click a little and things looked better.

 

Bruce's problems really emerge when the team is up against it - he starts blaming all and sundry, everyone but himself - the fans, the players, pretty much anyone. He lost a lot of support when he started doing that.

 

He also played the "some of them will never like me because I used to manage Blues" card, which is exactly what you're going to hear re Sunderland at some point.

 

What you have to understand about him is that he doesn't really have a football ethos - he is from the MON brand of 'slap them on the back, get them pumped up and send them out there' management. That works to a certain degree, but no further. Beyond that, it really is up to the players to make things happen, because they'll get no tactical guidance from the manager.

 

The best example of those limitations is what happened in the play off final against Fulham. The contrast between us (barely a shot on goal) and Fulham, a team set up to play in a certain, attacking style, was brutally clear.

 

The other thing about Bruce is that he's a 'streaky' manager - he'll go on decent winning runs, then launch into a horrific run. I think that's partly because his 'gee the lads up' style tends to mean that his teams are confidence teams - when it is there, they'll do alright, when it's not, it's horrible viewing.

 

There are worse managers out there, for sure, but he's very much one of the type where, if their team plays some nice stuff, it's mostly because they've stumbled across it themselves rather than through any way the manager has sent them out to play.

 

Has he brought Steve Agnew with him? His arrival with us (he didn't join when Bruce did) coincided with a slight uplift in attacking menace. If he has come, that's a good sign, a positive.

 

 

 

Thanks for that. To think 3 years ago we had Rafa and yous had Bruce and we were going up and yous were staying put. If you can stay up this season which I don’t see why yous can’t, yous will kick on well away from NUFC. Good luck 👍