[Albion] Arsenal being linked with Simon Adingra

B-right-on said:

This. I think there's a fundamental change in the way we (at least) play the game where 4-5 subs coming on is absolutely normal and part of the match day plans.

Who comes on, when, for who etc... is all dependent on how we're doing in that game, but it means we HAVE to have 'game changers' on the bench and Adringa is one of those.

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Triggaaar said:

That rings a bell although I'd be surprised if Arsenal released that, because it's like telling other clubs how to do it. But when selling someone we don't want to sell, I don't see why we'd give a price, or say when they're close, unless they're really close and we've decided we do want to sell at a certain price.



That's what I imagine. The 'Barber wanted negotiations to start at £65m' just sounded like complete BS. I can't imagine him ever saying something like that.

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Bodian said:

None of us really know how March is going to be when he's fit again. Whether his pace is affected, and so on. Could take a while to get back to where he was.

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beardy gull said:

My point stands though. To say African players never go for big fees is patently not correct.

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Baldseagull said:

I really don't have an opinion on whether there is generally a lower price range for African players. But Nicolas Pepe is a French born player.
Picking out a couple of exceptions means the word "never" is untrue, but not the general argument.

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Triggaaar said:

Eto'o, Salah, Mané, Mahrez, Drogba, Yaya Touré?

Must have been some reasonable fees for that lot?

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Baldseagull said:

I am sure there was, but you are going back 20 years for some of those players. I really don't have an opinion about the validity of the claim that African players tend not to go for big money, just that Nicolas Pepe is French, as is Riyad Mahrez by the way.

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Triggaaar said:

At the end of the day, if a player is good, then the country they came from (outside of home-grown stuff) is really irrelevant. Did Ecuadorians fetch huge fees before Caicedo? I've no idea, but he was worth a lot to us and we wouldn't let him go unless the fee was crazy high. I don't imagine Brighton or Chelsea cared whether he was from Africa, South America, Asia or whatever.

Mahrez: "Mahrez was born in Sarcelles, France, to an Algerian father and a mother of Algerian and Moroccan descent."

That's not very French. Are you telling us that an African can be sold for more if their parents were on holiday in France when they were born?

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Tom Hark Preston Park said:

This. Now that RDZ is gone, wonder who in the footballing hierarchy will have the big balls to challenge the business model hierarchy to put the brakes on the revolving door policy of flipping players for profit just a wee bit

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The Optimist said:

Did RDZ do that? I remember him talking about players deserving to leave while they were still with us. Who do you think we should have kept for longer?

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Tom Hark Preston Park said:

Was disappointed to see Barco go out on loan for starters. Looked the real deal last season, didn't look in any need of a 'pathway'. And will be gutted if WBG gets forced out of the club, as seems to be the narrative. Just think the club needs to slow down and take footballing stock sometimes, rather than act increasingly as a wholesale player brokerage

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Triggaaar said:

At the end of the day, if a player is good, then the country they came from (outside of home-grown stuff) is really irrelevant. Did Ecuadorians fetch huge fees before Caicedo? I've no idea, but he was worth a lot to us and we wouldn't let him go unless the fee was crazy high. I don't imagine Brighton or Chelsea cared whether he was from Africa, South America, Asia or whatever.

Mahrez: "Mahrez was born in Sarcelles, France, to an Algerian father and a mother of Algerian and Moroccan descent."

That's not very French. Are you telling us that an African can be sold for more if their parents were on holiday in France when they were born?

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The Optimist said:

A fair point on those two players. What’s not clear is who is pushing them out. Perhaps Hürzeler doesn’t really fancy them.

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Tom Hark Preston Park said:

We'll be f*cked if he turns out to be as poor a judge of a player as Plodder was

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Harry Wilson's tackle said:

I recall disquiet about the non-scoring performance art project, but I don't recall anything about Potter being a poor judge of player. To what are you referring?

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Tom Hark Preston Park said:

Barely playing Estupinan, using Mitoma as an impact sub etc etc

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Harry Wilson's tackle said:

Seriously? Barely playing Estupinan?

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As for Mitoma, I don't recall too much complaint about his 'impact sub' role at the time, and perhaps overuse by the donkey flogger (as we now recognize RDZ to have been) contributed to his injury absence for much of last season.

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Nothing sinister to see that questions Potter's judgement here as far as I can see. :

What other vile calumny did the little weasel perpetrate?

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