[Albion] Early first impressions on the new signings?

[Dibdab]

None of them have really done much thus far but lets not forget Mwepu looked like he'd won a competition to play football in his first few games and then went on to be an absolute beast, so let's give them time.

 

[JBizzle]

All of them have pro's and con's so far. Would I say that:

• Ferdi looks worse that Estupinan or Veltman so far? No, not really.
• Rutter looks worse than Pedro in his first few games? No.
• Weiffer looks better or worse than Gilmour? Maybe, but he's been injured.
• Minteh (20) worse than Adingra (21) to begin with? Not really.

They all look exactly as I'd expect, new players in a new system in a team all getting used to a new manager.

Some will be hits, some may flop. I'd say that I've seen promise in all of them that have had minutes, so far. Certainly nothing concerning.

 

[jamie (not that one)]

Of all the signings, Wieffer looks by far the worst. Giving the ball away is his passion.

That said, it's a big step up from the Dutch league and it's unfair to judge any player in their first 6-12 months. Hopefully this comment is proven to be ridiculous when Chelsea come in for him at £100m in 2026.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

Now is around the time we can start forming pretty accurate judgements on the 2023 signings

And in my mind, the development potential of Baleba, Verbruggen and Pedro and the potential of Barco outweighs the missteps of Igor, Dahoud and Fati. Over 50% of your signings turning out to be very very good or of very high potential is a great return by PL standards, especially if you're signing unheralded players from random leagues.

As for the 2024 signings. Err hang on OP. They've barely kicked a ball between them, let along got up to speed

 

[Han Solo]

None of them have really done much thus far but lets not forget Mwepu looked like he'd won a competition to play football in his first few games and then went on to be an absolute beast, so let's give them time.

Matt O'Riley is a rather Mwepu-like player. Really looking forward to see him.

 

[AstroSloth]

especially as the high press is proving disastrous.

There's nothing wrong with the high press, in fact both our goals against Chelsea came from the high press.

The issue is the high line, something completely different.

 

[Peteinblack]

There's nothing wrong with the high press, in fact both our goals against Chelsea came from the high press.

The issue is the high line, something completely different.

Ah, I meant high line - have corrected my original post

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

There's nothing wrong with the high press, in fact both our goals against Chelsea came from the high press.

The issue is the high line, something completely different.

OK Pep. But what is the point of a high press, if our defenders are just stationed deep in our half? The defender or keeper has an easy pass into midfield and whoever was pressing is now out of the game.

The high press and high line are intertwined

 

[Uh_huh_him]

OK Pep. But what is the point of a high press, if our defenders are just stationed deep in our half? The defender or keeper has an easy pass into midfield and whoever was pressing is now out of the game.

The high press and high line are intertwined

Yep this.

It's a conundrum.

 

[Ali_rrr]

Matt O'Riley is a rather Mwepu-like player. Really looking forward to see him.

We've missed Mwepu sorely IMO. I can't wait to see o'Riley feature more often when he's back from injury.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

Yep this.

It's a conundrum.

I mean, is it?

There's plenty of strategies other than just high line or low block.

What a lot of people are asking for, is the best of both worlds, so we're in the faces, trying to get the ball off their defence and when it doesn't work we're not vulnerable in transition.

 

[AstroSloth]

OK Pep. But what is the point of a high press, if our defenders are just stationed deep in our half? The defender or keeper has an easy pass into midfield and whoever was pressing is now out of the game.

The high press and high line are intertwined

It's possible to combine high press and low blocks.

You just need to drop off once they've beaten the initial press, quite a few teams do it.

Once Chelsea beat our forwards press we would stay high and try to play offside, we could have dropped off. It gives them more time in front of the defence but slows the attack and stops them getting in behind.

 

[Milano]

It's possible to combine high press and low blocks.

You just need to drop off once they've beaten the initial press, quite a few teams do it.

Once Chelsea beat our forwards press we would stay high and try to play offside, we could have dropped off. It gives them more time in front of the defence but slows the attack and stops them getting in behind.

This is exactly what Forest did at the Amex. They didn't park the tractor like Ipswich but if they didn't win the ball high up the pitch then the other 6-7 outfield players dropped back very quickly. You're not going to have as much possession but you're not going to be as open either.