[Albion] Mats Wieffer SINGS on 5 year contract

el punal said:

Interesting about De Zerbi - I wonder if he was told that we would strengthen the squad in the summer and that he should be patient. Or, maybe he wasn’t told at all and that led to the parting of the ways. Water under the bridge.

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Nobby Cybergoat said:

I personally hope we didn't

Sends the wrong message to prospective signings

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Hugo Rune said:

I don’t think he has the dynamism or mobility of a Bissouma or Caicedo. I think Lewis Dunk is a much better comparison. Same height. Same aerial prowess. Same good passing ability and vision.

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Bald Gull said:

Think it’s yet another masterstroke from Messrs Bloom and Barber.

They wanted RDZ out but wanted to do it in the best possible way for the club…

Tell him we want him to stay but we won’t be recruiting too much over the summer. He says ‘no thanks’. We say no hard feelings but can we have an agreement that we get some money if he gets another job before August? RDZ says no problem.

Off he trots, gets another job. We pocket £6m and then splash £60m in a couple of days after we have our RDZ compensation… Genius!

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Paulie Gualtieri said:

Points taken

I would counter that I don’t think a league can define a player though. You can only play in the surroundings presented to you at that time. There could be players playing at their maximum who shine and also players playing at 75% of their ability who equally are performing but also not at their ceiling

Here’s a list of recent exports from the Eredivisie, sure there have been failures (mostly man United related) but I’d argue the majority have worked out. (Our new boy is #19 on value)

Veltman has been solid despite reservations from the Ajax fan base that he’s error prone when he left.

The DJ and AJ I feel had actually peaked in their breakout seasons but our model thought there was more to come and there wasn’t sadly. We will never know why, be it a lack of confidence, not integrating with the squad, not settling or simply not being able to step up.

It’s a mixed bag like most of the leagues in the world, I wouldn’t dismiss a player based on league though. I’d like to think our data science guys actually looked at why Big Jurg and AJ didn’t work out and maybe finessed the model if there was something in the data set(s) that we had interpreted wrong.

Could have just been unlucky but I bet we analysed these two that didn’t work out in great detail to avoid a mistaken assumption again (if there was actually one)

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GrossTurn said:

I’m quite intrigued to see how he’s such an effective ball winner given the comparative lack of mobility compare to those bygone midfielders you mention. He must be incredible reader of the game. But it also seems like if he goes into any sort of duel, be it aerially or on the ground, he invariably comes out on top.

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Hiheidi said:

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One Teddy Maybank said:

Really is a matter of opinion.
I’d say over 50% of those haven’t.
And given we are talking PL, 2 possibly 3 of those listed.
Gakpo could be, but hasn’t been brilliant to date and is struggling for a start - playing well for the national team though.

Fair point on the surroundings, but as you say, this is the environment we’re judging players in, so my points re intensity, space etc are relevant, and could be why so many struggle in a tougher environment.

Veltman of course is excellent, and as per my earlier post there will always be exceptions. Will have to wait and see re Wieffer, but certainly not dismissed, just not overly excited

However, we are fishing in a higher quality pond now in terms of funds, and again agree that the club have been brilliant in recent times scouting wise, so hopefully you’re right

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pigmanovich said:

Is this really a denial or is Slot just not being clear enough with his language? Because he could have made Wieffer a target without tapping him up.

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Paulie Gualtieri said:

One to keep an eye on but hopefully he works out and settles

Had wondered how his champions league performances had been in comparison to maybe better opposition, but ran out of steam!

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One Teddy Maybank said:

Excellent analysis though and interesting discussion - thank you

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Jimmy Grimble said:

That ball recoveries stat is very good news. No one was doing that effectively last season.

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Bakero said:

I watched the match last night with a Dutch Feyernoord fan. He was effusive in his praise if Wieffer and expects him to settle in well immediately. "Good head on his shoulders, never gives up, strong, good distribution"

He was a little less complimentary about Minteh: "like a blind horse for the first 6 months." He did follow that up by saying Slot managed to get him focused and then he started delivering. Obviously has lots of talent.

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Nobby Cybergoat said:

If the Dutch had not had to play a second string midfield, through the whole tournament they would have been a much bigger threat last night. I think Wieffer would have been a big part of it.

As for Minteh. That sounds a very normal development challenge for a player of that age. We've got a great track record of bringing players like that through, and with the options we're amassing in that area, will likely have the chance which was denied to us last year, of bringing a young player in and bringing him out when form dips

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Nobby Cybergoat said:

If the Dutch had not had to play a second string midfield, through the whole tournament they would have been a much bigger threat last night. I think Wieffer would have been a big part of it.

As for Minteh. That sounds a very normal development challenge for a player of that age. We've got a great track record of bringing players like that through, and with the options we're amassing in that area, will likely have the chance which was denied to us last year, of bringing a young player in and bringing him out when form dips

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Flounce said:

Ali Mac being another. Looked bang average at best until he got up to speed with the PL. Maybe Potter held him back

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