Sandro Tonali

[Kid Icarus]

6 minutes ago, Pilko said:

You can't put any blame on Tonali for tonight, surely? Overlooked in favour of Longstaff yet again and then expected to get us out of the clarts in a midfield two with a vaguely shaped shower of shit around him and Bruno on one leg when he's finally introduced.

 

It's not blame, it's a response to this supposedly obvious decision that Howe should be making to start him over Longstaff. Whatever their differences in talent, Tonali isn't making it a hard decision for Howe, let alone an easy one to start him.

 

 

Edited 2 hours ago by Kid Icarus

[TheBrownBottle]

5 minutes ago, nufc123 said:

Tonight? Against City, Chelsea, Everton he was a problem? We are judging a player who either comes on when we are chasing or starting when the whole team looks a mess. Of course hes part of the problem but so are Schar, Pope, Bruno, Gordon, Isak, Longstaff, Joelinton, Willock. 

I said he played well when played deeper - and the only win in those games was vs Chelsea’s reserves in the LC.  We won the previous two games before tonight with Longstaff starting in his place.

 

Tonali is hardly to blame for tonight, but the constant ‘we need him in the side’ clamouring as if he’s the missing link is what I’m arguing against.  He hasn’t looked anything like at the level in his time here so far.  Hopefully that changes, but I don’t think Howe has made a terrible error in not starting based on what we’ve seen so far. 

[TheBrownBottle]

2 minutes ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

 

He's going to play, it's inevitable. There's just no way Longstaff or anyone but Bruno can do enough to keep him out forever. 

There’s nothing inevitable about it - he hasn’t earned his place to date.  And it’s not guaranteed he will - plenty of clubs have made expensive signings that don’t work out.  Cost is no guarantee 

[nufc123]

1 minute ago, TheBrownBottle said:

I said he played well when played deeper - and the only win in those games was vs Chelsea’s reserves in the LC.  We won the previous two games before tonight with Longstaff starting in his place.

 

Tonali is hardly to blame for tonight, but the constant ‘we need him in the side’ clamouring as if he’s the missing link is what I’m arguing against.  He hasn’t looked anything like at the level in his time here so far.  Hopefully that changes, but I don’t think Howe has made a terrible error in not starting based on what we’ve seen so far. 

Agree with some of your points. Judge him after ten starts, not when the whole team is bad. 

[TheBrownBottle]

Just now, nufc123 said:

Agree with some of your points. Judge him after ten starts, not when the whole team is bad. 

That’s fair enough I think.  It would be a disaster for the club if he doesn’t work out.  I of course hope he does - I’m just not confident at the moment

[HaydnNUFC]

1 minute ago, Yorkie said:

 

Complete mystery why you keep going after Barnes; he's been good for us and provides the only really quality attacker that we have 'in depth.' Meanwhile the other two signings you don't mention have established themselves as starters and are regularly two of our best players. 

 

Jury still out on the Tonali signing but it would take someone very optimistic to say anything other than its been a bit of a disaster so far. 

 

I'm not going after Barnes the player, but the £40m outlay on him when we constantly whinge about PSR, whilst the RW remains the shambles it was when Ashley was owner. Regardless of that, his contributions seem to only come from the bench, the manager picked Murphy ahead of him regualrly in the run in last season and still doesn't consistently start him. £40m's worth? I'm not sure.

 

The other two didn't start regular matches until March 2024 after being signed in August 2023. But they have improved.

 

And yep. He appeared to be the marquee signing and the manager has thus far failed to integrate him into the team. With the money spent, and when we constantly claim to be PSR victims, it's shite.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

3 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said:

There’s nothing inevitable about it - he hasn’t earned his place to date.  And it’s not guaranteed he will - plenty of clubs have made expensive signings that don’t work out.  Cost is no guarantee 

 

My point's not about cost, it's about his quality. 

 

I didn't say he had earned his place to date, although I think he should get it anyway. I said I think it's inevitable that he is too good to leave out eventually. Especially when Longstaff is so bad and Willock is so inconsistent. 

 

 

Edited 2 hours ago by AyeDubbleYoo

[r0cafella]

Was obviously super exiting when we signed him but damn this isn't going how we imagined it would. 

[The College Dropout]

13 minutes ago, r0cafella said:

Was obviously super exiting when we signed him but damn this isn't going how we imagined it would. 

If willoxk was injured would’ve liked to have seen him on in his place but swapping roles with Bruno like they did previously.