Anthony Elanga

[The College Dropout]

14 minutes ago, timeEd32 said:

 

It's very hard to get those players in our position, especially the much coveted left-footed RW. 

 

We need to buy the next Olise a year or two earlier or find one from abroad.

We had a winger that could be worth £60m soon but we had to sell him.  Game is rigged. 

[Roids]

4 minutes ago, Erikse said:

Luckily the very top teams tend to face more and deeper low blocks than what we do. Those who do park the bus against us are often the worst defences in the league, and are prone to individual mistakes. Thanks to our tight defence we haven't been chasing an equalizer against anyone other than Liverpool yet. In the Leeds game, well.. They didn't even need to park the bus as we went 5 at the back.

Forest parked the bus against us and we struggled till Bruno's strike, many other teams will do so especially at SJP. We'll face more low blocks than otherwise this season.

We aren't the plucky underdogs of 3 seasons ago no one saw coming but rather a somewhat proven & recognised threat and will need to adjust accordingly

 

 

Edited October 6, 2025 by Roids

[nufcjmc]

I guess even at the fee with the prem proven tax added in you ask could 52/55m be used to get a better level of player?

 

Hes only 23

Hes got ok output

He hits Howes requirement of qualities in a player

He "should" improve

He can cover more than 1 position should it be needed (swapped sides with gordon a few times and floated out to the other wing).

 

I want him to do better and would have preferred a quicker hit the ground running/impact than what I am seeing but early days and more time/patience needed. 

 

In Howe we trust I guess for the fee we paid we need it to work really as no one would bail us out at that sort of outlay. 

[Erikse]

3 minutes ago, Roids said:

Forest parked the bus against us and we struggled till a Bruno's strike, many other teams will do so especially at SJP. We'll face more low blocks than otherwise this season.

We aren't the plucky underdogs of 3 seasons no one saw coming but rather a somewhat proven & recognised threat and will need to adjust accordingly

 

Sure, but we talked a lot about not having players who can open low blocks last season, and it was rarely a problem (I think?). Maybe that was just the rat giving us a lead, though..

 

They way the game went yesterday wasn't like seeing City, Liverpool or Arsenal play against lower sides. They were not that deep.

 

 

Edited October 6, 2025 by Erikse

[OoOGazOoO]

He was a lot better in the second half with the minutes he played, but I still am not sold on his signing.

 

Said it at the time I was underwhelmed, and it was a lot of money in relation to his ability (as I perceived it). Still on the fence at the moment to be honest.

[Erikse]

Lets say you're going to park the bus against us. And Villa. And Spurs. And Man Utd. And Chelsea, City, Liverpool, Arsenal. Most teams will not park the bus against half of the league. Sure, it will happen, but it's more common with the very top teams.

 

Last season we beat all the bottom 7 teams twice I think?

 

 

Edited October 6, 2025 by Erikse

[Dan]

Ali Dia vibes. 

[Mole]

55 minutes ago, KaKa said:

 

Both Liverpool and Arsenal have looked at Gordon.

 

When you really dig into it there's not too many wingers that have been as productive as Gordon and Elanga over the past couple of seasons.

As I said I'm not absolutely sure yet, I just wouldn't be surprised if it's something that get looked at down the line. But we'll see, tonnes of football to be played before that's an actual real discussion point.

[madras]

3 hours ago, nufcjmc said:

I think speed merchant and Howe's desire to get us up the pitch quickly is a good thing not a bad thing, obviously we want and we need more. The fact Elanga came with such a large price tag adds to the expectation to hit the ground running and be impactful. 

 

He needs to do more and we need to get the best out of his current skill set even yesterday Trips kicking it up the pitch for him to chase but not getting the weight of the pass right  adds to the look its not quite clicking. The complete change to the forward line (striker I mean) and injuries has certainly been mitigating factors to some extent he isn't the only fresh face we have added in and the team by Eddie's own admission aren't getting the training sessions in as the games come thick and fast. 

 

I don't want to already rule him out but admit its been a slower start than I wanted from him he wasnt my first choice to drop big money on but clearly someone Howe wants to work with and with age on his side he should get better. 

Hard for a winger to hit the ground running when we are trying to bed in a CF who's not really a natural CF and the support for the winger hasn't been so great. Trippier apologised several times to Elanga for missed opportunities to pass or passing "behind" him or just not getting the pass away early enough.

 

It will get ironed out and come together at some point.

 

 

Edited October 6, 2025 by madras

[Bellars]

1 minute ago, madras said:

Hard for a winger to hit the ground running when we are trying to bed in a CF who's not really a natural CF and the support for the winger hasn't been so great. Trippier apologised several times to Elanga for missed opportunities to pass or passing "behind" him or just not getting the pass away early enough.

 

It will get ironed out and come together at some point.

 

 

 

Agree 100%. I think you can see his potential - given time, it will come together.

 

There will be some games where he tears the other team apart.

[nufcjmc]

1 minute ago, madras said:

Hard for a winger to hit the ground running when we are trying to bed in a CF who's not really a natural CF and the support for the winger hasn't been so great. Trippier apologised several times to Elanga for missed opportunities to pass or passing "behind" him or just not getting the pass away early enough.

 

It will get ironed out and come together at some point.

 

 

 

Think we agree hes lacked impact in goals and assists but not all through all his fault.

 

Howe has said we as a team need to play to his strengths and also allow the coaches to work their magic.

 

Price tag though carries its own expectation unfortunately hopefully he can eventually live up to it.

[Loki679]

49 minutes ago, nufcjmc said:

I guess even at the fee with the prem proven tax added in you ask could 52/55m be used to get a better level of player?

 

Hes only 23

Hes got ok output

He hits Howes requirement of qualities in a player

He "should" improve

He can cover more than 1 position should it be needed (swapped sides with gordon a few times and floated out to the other wing).

 

I want him to do better and would have preferred a quicker hit the ground running/impact than what I am seeing but early days and more time/patience needed. 

 

In Howe we trust I guess for the fee we paid we need it to work really as no one would bail us out at that sort of outlay. 

 

This 'prem proven' stuff is such a load of horseshit.  None of these were 'prem proven':

 

Bruno

Tonali

Woltemade

Botman

Thiaw

Ratcunt

 

Yet they somehow managed to play the game they achieved professional status in to a high level even in the vaunted premier league.  It's the same fucking game played on the same fucking pitch with the same fucking ball.  'Prem proven' can suck a fat, hairy cock.  It's bollocks.

[TRon]

58 minutes ago, The College Dropout said:

We had a winger that could be worth £60m soon but we had to sell him.  Game is rigged. 

 

 

I don't think Brighton would sell him for £60m now tbh. He's looked great in the games so far this season. 

[nufcjmc]

Just now, loki679 said:

 

This 'prem proven' stuff is such a load of horseshit.  None of these were 'prem proven':

 

Bruno

Tonali

Woltemade

Botman

Thiaw

Ratcunt

 

Yet they somehow managed to play the game they achieved professional status in to a high level even in the vaunted premier league.  It's the same fucking game played on the same fucking pitch with the same fucking ball.  'Prem proven' can suck a fat, hairy cock.  It's bollocks.

I don't agree with the sentiment you need prem proven simply that the fee is as high because they are an established prem player. 

 

Knowing the league and taking from a team within it is bound to be more money than a "punt" on a player who doesn't have that.

 

[Whitley mag]

3 hours ago, loki679 said:

 

This 'prem proven' stuff is such a load of horseshit.  None of these were 'prem proven':

 

Bruno

Tonali

Woltemade

Botman

Thiaw

Ratcunt

 

Yet they somehow managed to play the game they achieved professional status in to a high level even in the vaunted premier league.  It's the same fucking game played on the same fucking pitch with the same fucking ball.  'Prem proven' can suck a fat, hairy cock.  It's bollocks.

I think the signings you’ve listed above represent the best deals we’ve done since the takeover. I don’t think we’ve made a misstep yet when shopping on the continent.

 

 

[Palestoon]

We shouldn't be suprised, this is who Elanga is. Fantastic pace, solid delivery but lacking in the technical aspects of the game.

 

He will look good when we are in open games or playing on the counter, and will struggle when we face low blocks and need to play possession based.

 

Seems to have a great attitude, and still young, so we can hope Eddie improves him.

 

I think a lot of the frustration here stems from the fact that we know what we've needed from the postion for years, and to spend almost 60 million and still feel like we have the same problem is hard to take. 

 

In contrast, look at the Thiaw signing. Schar is a legend, but its been obvious for years we needed his replacement to add pace and physicality to our back line. And just like that, you can see the impact of addressing those weaknesses.

 

Elanga is a solid player, but when you spend 60 mil on the position after years, and it looks like we'll continue to struggle with the same issues it can be frustrating, even if its not really fair on the player

 

 

Edited October 6, 2025 by Palestoon

[rebelrouser]

1 minute ago, Palestoon said:

Elanga is a solid player, but when you spend 60 mil on the position after years, and it looks like we'll continue to struggle with the same issues it can be frustrating, even if its not really fair on the player

I thought we could have had a more technical player for a lot less.  Still, he is available to play and that is better than Ramsey and Wissa.  

[Erikse]

Just watched some highlights of his g/a from Forest. Obviously very very dangerous on the counter. Most of the goals or assists were on the counter, but that's how Forest play. I must say his delivery looked fantastic. Obviously you only see the good in these videos, but you can see why he had loads of asissts at Forest. His delivery from free kick looked superb. Lots of assists from set pieces, even corners. Chris Wood misses him. He will probably get used to Woltemade and link up with him in a similar fashion.

 

 

Edited October 6, 2025 by Erikse

[Sibierski]

Bit of a selective overview of his game, but the clip at 30 seconds and the final one is his positives. Essentially need to play the ball into him quicker when there’s space for him to turn / run into.

[McCormick]

He had a strong performance against USG but struggled against a team that clearly knew him well and how to nullify his game. Some on here are being overly critical; I still have full confidence he'll be a real asset for us. His pace is frightening, and he often delivers some excellent balls.

I get the frustration with his touch and decision-making at times, but if he had someone like Bruno or Trippier’s football IQ and technical polish, we’d be talking about a Ballon d'Or-level player imo. 
 

Wingers like him tend to have their ups and downs but, given time, this lad will shine for us.

 

[ExiledGeordie]

He’s still settling in and getting used to new players. His first touch can be very frustrating and his delivery can be a bit hit and miss but with coaching I think he’ll come good. It’s still early days.

 

Hes definitely more suited to away games and Europe currently playing on the counter but I think the coaching will address his role for home games helping to break teams down. 

[St1pe]

38 minutes ago, Sibierski said:

Bit of a selective overview of his game, but the clip at 30 seconds and the final one is his positives. Essentially need to play the ball into him quicker when there’s space for him to turn / run into.

Came on to post this as I’ve just seen it on twitter too. 
 

it’s a bit of an alternative opinion but stuff like that is easy to miss when watching a match accompanied by a wall of negativity around a player. I think he’s gonna be great for us eventually. 
 

One realisation I did have watching this clip is even on some of those failed moves were actually light years ahead of where we were under Bruce. Howe is so underrated - we’re a really top side. 

[TRon]

5 hours ago, Sibierski said:

Bit of a selective overview of his game, but the clip at 30 seconds and the final one is his positives. Essentially need to play the ball into him quicker when there’s space for him to turn / run into.

 

I didn't have access to this clip at the time but this is precisely what I was talking about when I mentioned attacking intent and quick one twos on the previous page. He looks for line breaking forward runs and sometimes it won't come off, but when they do, they cut the defence wide open. 

[Kid Icarus]

Good example of him doing the right thing and being let down by the positioning of Gordon I think. Tbf, Elanga's been the same when Gordon’s put in very good balls too.

 

Gordon used to be great at getting to the mid to back post as well, but he seems to gravitate more towards pull backs now. He does it here and you can see from where Elanga has to play it from and where Woltemade is, that even though he's pulled two defenders with him, it's never on. I'm convinced they'll work it out though.

 

 

 

Edited October 7, 2025 by Kid Icarus

[Shays Given Tim Flowers]

Also whilst we're wheeling out Trippier and Burn at Full-back having someone with his pace stops the opposistion full-back getting too far forward.