[Albion] Alireza Jahanbakhsh joins Feyenoord

[Saunders]

Thought Mooy would be a good option in the two behind the front man when playing away at a top six side but after Potter brought on two strikers when we were 1-0 up, who needs to shore anything up! I do see Mooy as similar to Gross though in so far as he's got good movement, assists and set pieces. But he could play instead of Propper two as can defend (had to a lot at Huddersfield!)

I think he has been brought in as backup for the midfield not the front 3.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

At premier league level he's got a great first touch and control, works hard and has got a good shot on him I think (Huddersfield when he hit the bar). For him to succeed in the PL though he needs to have at least one of these attributes: pace, power or skill to go past people and he doesn't at this level. Think the recruitment team made a £17m mistake here. The Dutch league is not the PL. When he started I was waiting to see which of these attributes he had but could see he didn't have them irrespective of formations or systems. He'll be better under Potter but he can't make him run that much faster, make him that much stronger and teach him how to take players on. Having pace around him will help (Maupay and Andone) but currently there are many players in front of him who contribute more given their attributes (I've used this word a lot).

Good post.
Pace and power are so important, and sadly seem missing.

Hopefully AJ will gain some confidence and come back stronger


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[vagabond]

Count me in with those who aren’t giving up on AJ yet.

It’s a long old season, and there’ll be injuries and suspensions.

He will need to take his opportunities this year though, if he flops again I don’t see him getting another chance.

 

[bluenitsuj]

You know better than me, you went. I noticed that some didn’t warm to him, in their match player ratings.

If he scored 5 in a game there would still be many on here giving him 3 out of 10. Just because

 

[Triggaaar]

Thought Mooy would be a good option in the two behind the front man when playing away at a top six side but after Potter brought on two strikers when we were 1-0 up, who needs to shore anything up! I do see Mooy as similar to Gross though in so far as he's got good movement, assists and set pieces. But he could play instead of Propper two as can defend (had to a lot at Huddersfield!)

Yep, I don't disagree with any of that. We're expecting to see different formations, so it's not like there's a specific place in the team that Ali will compete for.

I've just been looking at our players heatmaps on sofascor.com. It shows Maupay as mostly being just in front of our own area? Is that right?

 

[Ninja Elephant]

Keep the faith. This is a long season, players will pick up knocks and injuries or lose a bit of form, we'll need the full squad. This time last year, nobody would have believed Locadia would start the opening game (having been almost universally picked to start in the various, "Teams for Watford" thread).

No doubts or concerns from me, but other players are currently ahead of him on merit. He'll be back.

 

[Hugo Rune]

Alireza Jahanbakhsh signs on a 5-year deal for a club record fee

For him to succeed in the PL though he needs to have at least one of these attributes: pace, power or skill to go past people and he doesn't at this level.

Those qualities are secondary.

His primary attributes need to be scoring or making goals. That’s what wins matches.

Look at his showreel when he was the top scorer in the Eredivisie, I don’t see him dancing round players, shaking players off or outpacing them yet he was still bagging goals galore.

He is not a right sided midfielder or winger in a midfield four, he is forward player who, when allowed to, will get into brilliant positions and score and create goals for fun. His shooting and positioning is a class above most of our other players but he was not able to take up his normal attacking positions under CH.

Players don’t routinely ‘go past’ people in the Premier League except the odd one or two like £150m rated Zaha. We had an expert at doing this in the Championship but he only did it a few times per season in the Premier League and has paid the price. Potterball is about possession, quick passing and movement - AJ has every chance of succeeding and I expect to see him in and around the team soon, especially as he looked so good in the 4-2-3-1 in pre-season.

CH took the anchors off him about once last season (against Huddersfield at home) and he looked class; I clearly remember thinking that AJ had been given no defensive responsibilities that game. I expect Potter to do the same with him. He could prove to be an upgraded version of Groß.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Keep the faith. This is a long season, players will pick up knocks and injuries or lose a bit of form, we'll need the full squad. This time last year, nobody would have believed Locadia would start the opening game (having been almost universally picked to start in the various, "Teams for Watford" thread).

No doubts or concerns from me, but other players are currently ahead of him on merit. He'll be back.

Exactly. And I hate all this binning off of our players. Useless wasters, like Glen Thomas, and disco Roderick Thomas were, fine. But not the likes of Ali J.

Incidentally, that fat lad we singed from Swansea a few years ago, Kemy - could his middle name have been *Thomas? Beware rogue Thomases.

*Edit, it's Hesus which I am reliably informed is Dutch for Thomas. Fact.

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

His primary attributes need to be scoring or making goals.

These aren't attributes. They're things that come as a result of many variables such as player attributes, systems, freedom, team quality, the level of the opposition, player intelligence etc.

CH took the anchors off him about once last season (against Huddersfield at home) and he looked class; I clearly remember thinking that AJ had been given no defensive responsibilities that game. I expect Potter to do the same with him. He could prove to be an upgraded version of Groß.

No player at this level, outside of the extraordinary such as Hazard or Ronaldo or Messi tend to ever be in a team that allows them no defensive responsibilities and AJ certainly has not proven worthy of that in his time with us. He's also not proven to have the end product that Groß has, nor do they really play in the same position, so that seems like a strange comparison and a really harsh one on Groß.

Lastly, with regards to the Huddersfield game, he wasn't horrific. That's not really a compliment, it's just saying that he wasn't as bad as he'd been against, for example, Everton at Goodison Park. He still has a lot to prove. Hopefully he proves it as it's good for us, but he's no where near proving it at this stage.

 

[Stat Brother]

In fairness Ali has been busy this summer:-

 

[durrington gull]

I am not giving up yet, in spite of the majority view, I have seen flashes of great play from him and still hope he gets a chance.

I think importantly GP doesn’t see anything in AJ unless we have an injury crisis then the best AJ can hope for is sub but he brings nothing to the team tbh, really need him out by September either loaned out or hopefully permanently transferred and recoup some of the 17m - a huge let down but these things jay, I’m also hoping Loco goes the same way and out of the club too as he’s barely any better imo

 

[herecomesaregular]

I think importantly GP doesn’t see anything in AJ unless we have an injury crisis then the best AJ can hope for is sub but he brings nothing to the team tbh, really need him out by September either loaned out or hopefully permanently transferred and recoup some of the 17m - a huge let down but these things jay, I’m also hoping Loco goes the same way and out of the club too as he’s barely any better imo

AliJ will be a real test of Potters supposed man management skills. If Potter is that good then I still believe AliJ will come good. Plenty of time and to say Potter sees nothing in him is ridiculous. Much too early too tell.

Did you actually watch the game yesterday? Locadia was much improved. He found good space for himself and showed promise. Still long way to go but maybe he too can get there.

 

[ac gull]

Expect GP has had a chat and given him some books to read that he feels are appropriate to getting him back on track

 

[perseus]

Crash



AZ have some building repairs.

https://www.thenational.ae/sport/fo...-collapses-in-high-winds-in-pictures-1.896791

 

[LamieRobertson]

Lot of competition for places on the bench.....Biss...Izzy and of course Ali.....then the U23’s.....if we r lucky with injuries and suspensions there are going to be a few disappointed players ....

 

[Stat Brother]

Lot of competition for places on the bench.....Biss...Izzy and of course Ali.....then the U23’s.....if we r lucky with injuries and suspensions there are going to be a few disappointed players ....

We're running out of excuses for losing in the 4th round of the Rumbelow's Cup.

 

[B-right-on]

Not even on the subs bench again yesterday. Loan move out imminent to Europe or keep as a reserve for cup games etc?.. I'd keep him but not sure if he'd be happy with that.

Competition for places is better than I can remember.

 

[Icy Gull]

As someone who has championed him coming good with a run I am a little concerned he may not get it and I will be proved wrong

 

[Biscuit Barrel]

Not wishing to be unkind to AJ, but Trossard did more in one game yesterday, than he has managed since his arrival last summer.

 

[Hugo Rune]

As someone who has championed him coming good with a run I am a little concerned he may not get it and I will be proved wrong

It only takes a couple of injuries ............

What would happen if Groß & Trossard were to get crocked in the next few matches?

It’s a squad game, he’ll get a chance on the 26th to show Potter why he should be in the starting line-up (as will Balogun, Button & Bong).