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[Albion] Early first impressions on the new signings?
- Thread starter Mustafa II
- Start date
All of them have pro's and con's so far. Would I say that:
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.
- 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.
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.
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.
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
Well-known member
- Jul 19, 2021
- 8,632
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
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
Matt O'Riley is a rather Mwepu-like player. Really looking forward to see him.
AstroSloth
Well-known member
- Dec 29, 2020
- 1,383
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
Well-known member
- Jul 19, 2021
- 8,632
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
Well-known member
- Sep 28, 2011
- 12,139
Ali_rrr
Well-known member
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
Well-known member
- Jul 19, 2021
- 8,632
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
Well-known member
- Dec 29, 2020
- 1,383
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
Well-known member
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.