England's Lewis Hall

[Kanji]

Eghbali and Boehly are tight with Amanda and Mehrdad (and I assume the Reubens). Our owners have been building a relationship with them since their own takeover - didn't work out for us in Jan when we tried to get Puli or Gallagher, but i think this one just suits all parties better. 

 

@Viana class post on the prior page, I see it very similarly. We pushed the boat on the right targets and played a timing game with the others. You HAVE to give credit to Ashworth, Howe and the team for that. 

[Hot Since 1882]

2 minutes ago, GeordieDazzler said:

I don’t think the clubs look at it that way, both in the same position of having to play the accounting game. For all intents and purposes it’s a permanent transfer. 

 

 

 

 

Chelsea fans seem to think Poch rates Maatsen over him - so would be 4th choice if stayed behind Cucarella/Chillwell either way. 

 

Whoever has the final say on the signings at Chelsea isn't worried about strengthening us when they spend £11M loan fee for Joao Felix - then spend upwards to £300M on midfielders. 

[Dr Jinx]

They don’t have to help us but it’s not like we’re mugging them.. it’s still a decent fee for a very young player.

[Displayname]

16 minutes ago, Smal said:

sure, but they’re strengthening a top 4 rival for nowt this season

They probably dont need the money this season. The problem with Chelsea and FFP lies more to the future. 

 

And everyone wants to be friendly with our owners atm. The Saudi League gives us major soft power in negotiations. 

[ponsaelius]

10 hours ago, alexf said:

Eddie seems to like an English signing. 

 

We could field and entire 11 of English players and still have a pretty impressive line up and not some shitty Burnley EDL types, actual exciting highly rated talents.

 

Following up on this as I think it is a really interest point considering how clear this transfer policy is shown to be. I really don't mind it personally. I don't think it's just Eddie who will be pushing it, but I think Ashworth will be right behind it as well. There are quite a few reasons why focusing on a core of English players makes sense.

 

1. Team spirit. We're starting from a low base in terms of squad quality and a lot of our recent success has been built on collective team spirit and camaraderie within the group. In my opinion, and it may be a controversial point, it is simply easier to do this if you keep a solid core of domestic and local players. New players are more likely to settle in the area and stick around, it retains a clear lingua franca on the training ground, limits too much cliqueing within the group etc. Having local NE players involved, even of a lower skill level, reinforces this further. Obviously as we improve this can't be maintained at the cost of the talent level in the squad - but it's a good base line in the short-medium term as the momentum of the club carries us.

 

2. It is 2023, not 2010. If we'd prioritized English players even 10 or so years ago, and I will have even said this at the time on here, I think it would have been significantly to the detriment of the squad. The value wasn't there because there was a dearth of talent in this country. Since the St George's Park reforms, this is no longer the case. There is actually a pretty strong depth of English talent and they are often tactically astute, technically proficient, physically robust. Ashworth will know that well enough more than anybody. I'd also say this increased depth in quality extends to Scotland too who are producing much better players that they were previously - and similarly there appears to be a potentially good generation of Irish youngsters coming through below the admittedly weak current national team.

 

3. Risk and value. The perceived understanding, and has been the case for a while, is that English players are overpriced. That's still possibly somewhat true but I think it is becoming less so as a result of the increased supply of good English players (see above), and I don't think the prices are any wilder than the rest of the market. While you may pay slightly more upfront for an English player, I think there is a lower chance their value will hit the floor as with a signing from continental market. There's been loads of cases of English players who went for what I thought was crazy money - but would probably cost you more now. Morgan Gibbs White is probably the most obvious recent example of this where the fee Forest paid seemed enormous but in hindsight was probably the best signing they made last summer and he's probably worth even more now. The other factor here is that PL clubs have loads of money - so even for players who don't do so well you will nearly always have a re-sale market down the league. Big flops from continental Europe you have a bigger risk of having to cut your losses if the player bombs or wants to go home.  

 

I think it's also worth noting that we are not exclusively buying from the domestic market. Some of our biggest signings and best players have been from the continent - so we are not limiting ourselves. But we are striking a balance between a domestic core young English talent and only getting 'marquee' signings from abroad where we are feel they are sure things (Botman, Bruno, Isak, Tonali).

 

 

Edited August 17, 2023 by ponsaelius

[KaKa]

55 minutes ago, Kanji said:

Eghbali and Boehly are tight with Amanda and Mehrdad (and I assume the Reubens). Our owners have been building a relationship with them since their own takeover - didn't work out for us in Jan when we tried to get Puli or Gallagher, but i think this one just suits all parties better. 

 

@Viana class post on the prior page, I see it very similarly. We pushed the boat on the right targets and played a timing game with the others. You HAVE to give credit to Ashworth, Howe and the team for that. 

 

In addition to the boardroom relationships, all the Chelsea recruitment guys from Brighton used to work with Ashworth too.

[McCormick]

29 minutes ago, ponsaelius said:

 

Following up on this as I think it is a really interest point considering how clear this transfer policy is shown to be. I really don't mind it personally. I don't think it's just Eddie who will be pushing it, but I think Ashworth will be right behind it as well. There are quite a few reasons why focusing on a core of English players makes sense.

 

1. Team spirit. We're starting from a low base in terms of squad quality and a lot of our recent success has been built on collective team spirit and camaraderie within the group. In my opinion, and it may be a controversial point, it is simply easier to do this if you keep a solid core of domestic and local players. New players are more likely to settle in the area and stick around, it retains a clear lingua franca on the training ground, limits too much cliqueing within the group etc. Having local NE players involved, even of a lower skill level, reinforces this further. Obviously as we improve this can't be maintained at the cost of the talent level in the squad - but it's a good base line in the short-medium term as the momentum of the club carries us.

 

2. It is 2023, not 2010. If we'd prioritized English players even 10 or so years ago, and I will have even said this at the time on here, I think it would have been significantly to the detriment of the squad. The value wasn't there because there was a dearth of talent in this country. Since the St George's Park reforms, this is no longer the case. There is actually a pretty strong depth of English talent and they are often tactically astute, technically proficient, physically robust. Ashworth will know that well enough more than anybody. I'd also say this increased depth in quality extends to Scotland too who are producing much better players that they were previously - and similarly there appears to be a potentially good generation of Irish youngsters coming through below the admittedly weak current national team.

 

3. Risk and value. The perceived understanding, and has been the case for a while, is that English players are overpriced. That's still possibly somewhat true but I think it is becoming less so as a result of the increased supply of good English players (see above), and I don't think the prices are any wilder than the rest of the market. While you may pay slightly more upfront for an English player, I think there is a lower chance their value will hit the floor as with a signing from continental market. There's been loads of cases of English players who went for what I thought was crazy money - but would probably cost you more now. Morgan Gibbs White is probably the most obvious recent example of this where the fee Forest paid seemed enormous but in hindsight was probably the best signing they made last summer and he's probably worth even more now. The other factor here is that PL clubs have loads of money - so even for players who don't do so well you will nearly always have a re-sale market down the league. Big flops from continental Europe you have a bigger risk of having to cut your losses if the player bombs or wants to go home.  

 

I think it's also worth noting that we are not exclusively buying from the domestic market. Some of our biggest signings and best players have been from the continent - so we are not limiting ourselves. But we are striking a balance between a domestic core young English talent and only getting 'marquee' signings from abroad where we are feel they are sure things (Botman, Bruno, Isak, Tonali).

 

 

 

What a post . Completely agree.

[80]

Does anyone know who this kid supported growing up?

 

Feels like this has become a trademark signing for us. Looks quality in every way.

 

 

Edited August 17, 2023 by 80

[Gazzaschicken]

Remember when all the media said our owners didn't have a clue what they were doing. Look at us now.

[Gazzaschicken]

5 minutes ago, 80 said:

Does anyone know who this kid supported growing up?

 

Feels like this has become a trademark signing for us. Looks quality in every way.

 

 

 

Some of his family are Newcastle fans apparently. Standard craic

[midds]

Sure I've only seen him the times we played them last season, Chelsea were not high on my list of teams to follow last season

 

Everything I have seen and read so far makes this look like another excellent bit of business. He's still very young obviously and the idea of him nailing down the LB role quickly could be a little optimistic, he'll need time to bed into a completely new system and organisation and that's asking a lot of any 18 year old. 

 

Looking forward to seeing him for the next 12 years though, I very much like how we're doing things and this is another hefty block in the squad we're building. It's going to take time and we need to remember how far we've come and how much more there is to do though. But we're getting there and I don't think I've ever been more positive 

[Tsunami]

If this happens it’s all down to Chelsea having to try and balance books and the player having Newcastle ties. It simply doesn’t happen otherwise. Stars aligning.

[Chapo]

Time to reopen the Black Power thread 

[Mountain]

24 minutes ago, Chapo said:

Time to reopen the Black Power thread 

 

Yakub dislikes this.

[Nowhere Man]

I’d feel happier about this transfer if the kid supported Newcastle 

[LV]

Who does he support? I’ve not seen anything about it 

[nemtizz]

Just now, LV said:

Who does he support? I’ve not seen anything about it 

 

The questions in his first interview are going to be unbearable.

[LV]

Just now, nemtizz said:

 

The questions in his first interview are going to be unbearable.

 

I’m already cringing 

[alexf]

I know there are alot of jokes about how many times it's been mentioned who he supports etc. 

 

However, I do think it's another shrewd move by the club. If we look at Burn, Longstaff and Murphy. I feel it does eek out a little bit of extra % from the players who have additional incentive to give their all. 

 

Also helps I think bond the players to local fans abit more, seeing players living their dream like we all would want to, by playing for their favourite team. 

 

It may also help foreign players settle into the area with more of a "fan voice" in the dressing room.

[Memphis]

INTERVIEWER: "Well, Lewis, you must be buzzing to be in Newcastle, and I know you're a supporter of Newcastle United, so it must be nice to be back in Newcastle and playing for Newcastle United, the club that, as I mentioned, you support."

HALL: "Uh, yeah."

INTERVIEWER: "But how do you feel about coming back to Newcastle to play for your beloved Newcastle United?"

HALL: "As you'd probably guess, it feels great."

INTERVIEWER: "Are you excited about coming back to Newcastle to play for Newcastle United?"

HALL (to cameraperson): "Is my mic working?"

INTERVIEWER: "Your excitement must be truly exciting, Lewis. It's such an exciting time. Are you buzzing?"

HALL: "Did you have a stroke, mate?" 

[simonsays]

16 minutes ago, LV said:

Who does he support? I’ve not seen anything about it 

Not only this, but if we get him on an 8 year contract can we spread the cost over 8 years?

[McDog]

1 minute ago, simonsays said:

Not only this, but if we get him on an 8 year contract can we spread the cost over 8 years?

 

 

No, only Chelsea were grandfathered in on that rule.

[Nobody]

2 minutes ago, simonsays said:

Not only this, but if we get him on an 8 year contract can we spread the cost over 8 years?

If we then sell him a year later, how much more can we spend to stay within FFP? 

[Pilko]

And, though his surname may be similar to that of Fitz Hall, no he is not a relative of United's former loanee defender.

 

 

Edited August 17, 2023 by Pilko

[toontownman]

4 minutes ago, Pilko said:

And, though his surname may be similar to that of Fitz Hall, no he is not a relative of United's former loaner defender.

He is however Sir John's grandsons, cousins, boyfriends, neighbors former roommate though.