Now That's What I Call Transfer Rumours! 7

[ExiledGeordie]

3 hours ago, Away Toon said:

Bit controversial but I’d be looking to upgrade Pope with a goalkeeper with some semblance of footballing ability. Either that or instruct the players to never pass the ball back to him. 

 

In terms of area of the team that needs upgrading keeper is almost bottom of the list imo.

 

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by ExiledGeordie

[Groundhog63]

6 hours ago, Away Toon said:

Bit controversial but I’d be looking to upgrade Pope with a goalkeeper with some semblance of footballing ability. Either that or instruct the players to never pass the ball back to him. 

 

 

6 hours ago, Dr. TC said:

Are you kidding? He was outstanding today. 

 

3 hours ago, ExiledGeordie said:

In terms of area of the team that needs upgrading keeper is almost bottom of the list imo.

 

 

 

Less "controversial" 

More stupid

[ExiledGeordie]

Definitely need more back in that back line, Arsenal made it look pedestrian at times yesterday. It’s still an awesome Unit but definitely vulnerable to speed.

[SAK]

9 minutes ago, ExiledGeordie said:

Definitely need more back in that back line, Arsenal made it look pedestrian at times yesterday. It’s still an awesome Unit but definitely vulnerable to speed.

As Schar is getting on a pacy CB in the summer would be good. But I think we could solve the problem in other ways like  signing a defensive mid with a bit of pace, Willock and Joelinton do their pressing high up, so when teams  pass through us Bruno doesn’t have the recovery pace so you get players unchallenged bearing down on our slow defence. Even getting a pair of fast fullbacks would help as they could come across to cover (Trippier often is too far forward to help plus not the fastest and Burn is slow, not saying doing way with these guys but bringing in complementary players and use the squad based on the opposition’s strength).

[NoU]

Honestly, Rice would be perfect for our squad. If we were to make one statement signing (100+m) this summer, I hope it is him. We can build around him for many years and he might not blow the wage budget.

[gbandit]

Yup, Rice is perfect for us, unfortunately he’s perfect for most clubs as he’s ridiculously versatile. Still, I imagine we’ll be enquiring as he is the perfect Howe player 

[Dr Venkman]

7 hours ago, Away Toon said:

Bit controversial but I’d be looking to upgrade Pope with a goalkeeper with some semblance of footballing ability. Either that or instruct the players to never pass the ball back to him. 

 

I see this as well and have brought it up previously. He’s a great shot stopper but the teams who win things regularly have keepers who are great shot stoppers and great footballers, too. I don’t think that’s controversial. I’m surprised that some are so shocked at the suggestion given it was broadly agreed that we didn’t need to upgrade on Dubravka, and then when Pope joined it was self-evidently the correct decision. The same will happen when Pope is upgraded IMO.

 

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by Dr Venkman

[NoU]

5 minutes ago, gbandit said:

Yup, Rice is perfect for us, unfortunately he’s perfect for most clubs as he’s ridiculously versatile. Still, I imagine we’ll be enquiring as he is the perfect Howe player 

Definitely. It does seem like a lot of the usual players are having trouble with FFP and/or needs sell before they buy, so there are only a handful of clubs left that can afford him, and if they look elsewhere then we need to be ready.

[Rich]

8 minutes ago, Dr Venkman said:

I see this as well and have brought it up previously. He’s a great shot stopper but the teams who win things regularly have keepers who are great shot stoppers and great footballers, too. I don’t think that’s controversial. I’m surprised that some are so shocked at the suggestion given it was broadly agreed that we didn’t need to upgrade on Dubravka, and then when Pope joined it was self-evidently the correct decision. The same will happen when Pope is upgraded IMO.

 

Can we get three defenders that are equally as good characters and defensively/with the ball as Trippier, Botman, and Schär but a hell of a lot faster while we're at it?

[Dr Venkman]

1 minute ago, Rich said:

 

Can we get three defenders that are equally as good characters and defensively/with the ball as Trippier, Botman, and Schär but a hell of a lot faster while we're at it?

I see your point but I think you’ve overplayed your hand a tad 

[Guest]

A sweeper keeper who's quick off his line and good with his feet would mean pace at the back is less of a hindrance?

[SUPERTOON]

An out and out number 6 will help with the lack of pace at back as well.

[Rich]

8 minutes ago, Dr Venkman said:

I see your point but I think you’ve overplayed your hand a tad 

 

Pope's at least as good in his position as those three are in theirs when looking at the rest of the league, like.

 

You're basically asking for an Allison or Ederson if you want a goalkeeper that does everything else Pope does to the same standard and is also top class in possession.

 

Allison was £67M in 2018. Ederson was £35M in 2017, but the second most expensive keeper ever at that point.

 

Eventually, aye, we'd all like one of the best two or three keepers in the world between the sticks, but the one we've got is right in the mix behind those two in league terms as far as his overall game goes.

 

I would also take a Bruno with more robust ankles/a bit more size and athleticism, as well, just while we're at it. 

[r0cafella]

5 minutes ago, SUPERTOON said:

An out and out number 6 will help with the lack of pace at back as well.

If we stick to this system I couldn’t agree more. Neither, Bruno, or big and little Joe are defensively inclined imo. 

[Keegans Export]

1 minute ago, Rich said:

 

Pope's at least as good in his position as those three are in theirs when looking at the rest of the league, like.

 

You're basically asking for an Allison or Ederson if you want a goalkeeper that does everything else Pope does to the same standard and is also top class in possession.

 

Allison was £67M in 2018. Ederson was £35M in 2017, but the second most expensive keeper ever at that point.

 

Eventually, aye, we'd all like one of the best two or three keepers in the world between the sticks, but the one we've got is right in the mix behind those two in league terms as far as his overall game goes.

 

I would also take a Bruno with more robust ankles/a bit more size and athleticism, as well, just while we're at it. 

An absolutely elite keeper seems like a "last piece of the jigsaw" kind of signing to me. Once the rest of the squad is pretty much where you want it then you drop £50m on the best all-round GK available. 

[Coffee_Johnny]

1 minute ago, Keegans Export said:

An absolutely elite keeper seems like a "last piece of the jigsaw" kind of signing to me. Once the rest of the squad is pretty much where you want it then you drop £50m on the best all-round GK available. 

Pope will be here at least another couple of seasons. There are 4-5 upgrades, if they can be found, and probably some age-related replacements before we look at ‘keepers. 

[Rich]

10 minutes ago, SUPERTOON said:

An out and out number 6 will help with the lack of pace at back as well.

 

Definitely. Better footballers than Botman and Burn would help with Pope's lack of ability on the ball, too.

[r0cafella]

1 minute ago, Rich said:

 

Definitely. Better footballers than Botman and Burn would help with Pope's lack of ability on the ball, too.

 Not sure what’s happened to Botman, feel as though his passing has regressed over the season. 

[Guest]

I think the Pope we've seen since Liverpool is the Pope we were thought we were getting. A very good Premier League keeper with weaknesses using his feet, a little step up from Dubravka.

 

First half of the season was his Almiron where he was possessed and a cross between peak Cech and Schmeichel.

 

I do think we need a keeper to take the next step but happy with Pope for another season or two. 

[Smal]

Botman’s passing was very, very good yesterday fwiw.

[Rich]

Aye. Get the glaring weak links sorted first, then Pope definitely enters the discussion for an upgrade, along with almost everyone else in the team.

 

No player is perfect, which is the point I've been trying to make, but you can build a team to cover for each individual's deficiencies. Howe's already done that brilliantly but he's had a lot of individual deficiencies to cover. As he gets better players, the job gets much easier and everyone else is elevated as a result.

 

If Pope's deficiency is just his technical ability in possession, that is coverable, and we did a good job of doing it throughout the first half of the season. We barely used him as an outlet.

 

A bit of athleticism in at left-back and a top-class defensive-minded midfielder make a world of difference to our overall solidity, not to mention what they'll offer going forward when combined with an exciting right-winger.

[SUPERTOON]

All this discussion shows is how far we still have to improve and yet we are already 3rd in the league. That’s massively exciting ahead of the summer window.

[Rich]

8 minutes ago, Smal said:

Botman’s passing was very, very good yesterday fwiw.

 

I do actually agree, he's always looking to move the ball forwards, plays it off either foot, and more often than not picks a good option.

 

It's more the time he takes to get the ball out of his feet and get his body into a position to play a progressive pass that he needs to keep working on. He's clunky in that regard, but will improve. He's also got fuck all to his left, which doesn't help.

 

Thought he struggled in almost every other respect, though, unfortunately, but I don't think Schär was much better. Tough day at the office, while both fullbacks defended pretty well.

 

Still, there's only one of the back four I'd be trying to replace with any urgency. Then you're into Pope territory with Schär and finding someone who has all of his good parts but can score a few set piece goals and run faster than 5mph.

[r0cafella]

5 minutes ago, SUPERTOON said:

All this discussion shows is how far we still have to improve and yet we are already 3rd in the league. That’s massively exciting ahead of the summer window.

Absolutely, I wrote the same in the match thread yesterday we have areas in our team as outlined by rich where we can make huge gains. 

[Matt1892]

While there are areas to upgrade it is a nice problem to have when we are sitting third in the league and we deserve to be there.

LB, CB, CM and an attacker and we are cementing our place as cracking the sky big six.