[Albion] Brajan Gruda **SINGED 14 Aug 2024**

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AstroSloth

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Dec 29, 2020
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As exciting as it is this means either we're getting an 80% or less Solly or Cozier-Duberry will be going on loan, when his reason for leaving Arsenal was regular PL football. All a bit strange as we were completely adverse to signing wingers last season when we desperately needed them.
Slightly pedantic, but his reason for leaving Arsenal for us was a clearer pathway to first team football, not first team football straight off the bat.
 


hans kraay fan club

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heart barracuda GIF


oooooohhhh Brajan Gruda
Posh Spice is a slapper
There's nobody ruder...
 


hans kraay fan club

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Before he got injured in the lockdown season, Southgate was rumoured to be looking at him as a LWB option for England. Doesn't say a lot considering England's options, but he's better than servicable wherever he plays. I'd agree that he's been best at RW under RDZ, but Minteh looks even better. If Solly's back to full fitness, he can be a very vauable player in a number of different positions.
Minteh 'looks even better' against second-rate opposition, going through the motions in meaningless friendlies (so far).

Hopefully he'll be amazing, but he's got plenty to prove before anyone ought to be declaring him better than a guy with 182 reliable Premier league appearances under his belt!
 


Guinness Boy

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Slightly pedantic, but his reason for leaving Arsenal for us was a clearer pathway to first team football, not first team football straight off the bat.
No, I appreciate the clarification and it is a little different.

His wiki stats, taken from soccerbase appear to be at odds with his Arsenal player profile, which says he played for both U18s and U21s last season and was on the bench for the first team, having also toured the US with them last summer. That feels like a more developed pathway than, say, going to Leeds on loan or just straddling the 21s and the first team bench here.

And, while he probably would have needed a couple of injuries at Arsenal to get a chance, including Saka, he now seems to be competing with Minteh, Gruda (if Romano is to be believed) and March (when / if back) plus Enciso and Adingra can both play RW if needed.

I'm not saying we've sold him a pup. Merely that we have too many options at the moment, so we're either looking at some more loans (including ACD), a big sale (Enciso or Mitoma) or March retiring or playing a small bit part.
 




Stato

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Dec 21, 2011
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Minteh 'looks even better' against second-rate opposition, going through the motions in meaningless friendlies (so far).

Hopefully he'll be amazing, but he's got plenty to prove before anyone ought to be declaring him better than a guy with 182 reliable Premier league appearances under his belt!
True that.
 


Guinness Boy

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Minteh 'looks even better' against second-rate opposition, going through the motions in meaningless friendlies (so far).

Hopefully he'll be amazing, but he's got plenty to prove before anyone ought to be declaring him better than a guy with 182 reliable Premier league appearances under his belt!
If you want to do some scouting.....


(yes, a friendly, but not sure Villareal are second-rate)
 


sussex_guy2k2

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Jun 6, 2014
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Before he got injured in the lockdown season, Southgate was rumoured to be looking at him as a LWB option for England. Doesn't say a lot considering England's options, but he's better than servicable wherever he plays. I'd agree that he's been best at RW under RDZ, but Minteh looks even better. If Solly's back to full fitness, he can be a very vauable player in a number of different positions.
It would be typical Southgate to pick someone who has shone in one position to then play them in a different positin they’ve been adequate in when called upon.

I won’t ever doubt March’s quality. I honestly love watching him at his best. I just don’t think he’s anywhere close to as good as a LWB, compared to when he’s played at RW.
 




sussex_guy2k2

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Jun 6, 2014
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Out of all our wide players March is worst attacker but best at tracking back and defending. Way our managers play maybe defensive qualities are not important but know who i would want when we are under pressure protecting a lead.
Our worst attacker?

He’s been our second best winger for some time now. And the new lads have a lot to prove before that changes.

But yes, he’s good defensively.
 


hans kraay fan club

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If you want to do some scouting.....


(yes, a friendly, but not sure Villareal are second-rate)
Meaningless games. Pointless trying to draw any conclusions at all.

I've heard Minteh looks amazing, and that Wieffer looks miles off it.

In a month's time we'll know how right or wrong either of those statements are.
 


Guinness Boy

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Meaningless games. Pointless trying to draw any conclusions at all.

I've heard Minteh looks amazing, and that Wieffer looks miles off it.

In a month's time we'll know how right or wrong either of those statements are.
Those statements are extreme and cannot be backed up, but the video shows Minteh's touch and acceleration. That won't be changing.
 




hans kraay fan club

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Those statements are extreme and cannot be backed up, but the video shows Minteh's touch and acceleration. That won't be changing.
His pace is obviously a matter of fact - so that's fine.

His touch, not at all. Smash a ball to pretty much any professional player, and they have the ability to kill it stone dead.

Smash that same ball to them, in the final minute of a close Premier League match, in front of 30,000 (or 70,000) people, with a top class defender a yard away from them trying to nick it, and few of them can.

Let's just wait and see how all the new lads get on, in real games, before deifying or crucifying any of them.
 








amexer

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Aug 8, 2011
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His pace is obviously a matter of fact - so that's fine.

His touch, not at all. Smash a ball to pretty much any professional player, and they have the ability to kill it stone dead.

Smash that same ball to them, in the final minute of a close Premier League match, in front of 30,000 (or 70,000) people, with a top class defender a yard away from them trying to nick it, and few of them can.

Let's just wait and see how all the new lads get on, in real games, before deifying or crucifying any of them.
Agree. Similar to passing. In general all pro players can hit a 10 20 30 yard pass. What makes players like DeBruyn on a different level is he plays pass early and knows where players are before he gets the ball.
 


JBizzle

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Apr 18, 2010
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Out of all our wide players March is worst attacker but best at tracking back and defending. Way our managers play maybe defensive qualities are not important but know who i would want when we are under pressure protecting a lead.
Our worst attacker? Given that he's only been an attacker properly in the PL since RDZ came in, a comparison on games, goals and assists does little bear out that assertion:

Solly March:
Apps: 40
Goals: 10
Assists: 8

Kaoru Mitoma:
Apps: 49
Goals: 10
Assists: 9

Simon Adingra:
Apps: 38
Goals: 9
Assists: 3

Evan Ferguson:
Apps: 47
Goals: 12
Assists: 2

Danny Welbeck:
Apps: 60
Goals: 11
Assists: 5

Joao Pedro under RDZ:
Apps: 31
Goals: 9
Assists: 3
 


Hugo Rune

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No, I appreciate the clarification and it is a little different.

His wiki stats, taken from soccerbase appear to be at odds with his Arsenal player profile, which says he played for both U18s and U21s last season and was on the bench for the first team, having also toured the US with them last summer. That feels like a more developed pathway than, say, going to Leeds on loan or just straddling the 21s and the first team bench here.

And, while he probably would have needed a couple of injuries at Arsenal to get a chance, including Saka, he now seems to be competing with Minteh, Gruda (if Romano is to be believed) and March (when / if back) plus Enciso and Adingra can both play RW if needed.

I'm not saying we've sold him a pup. Merely that we have too many options at the moment, so we're either looking at some more loans (including ACD), a big sale (Enciso or Mitoma) or March retiring or playing a small bit part.
I’ve heard from a very good source that ACD will be going out on loan. If a good loan can’t be found, perhaps he’ll stay but there are a lot Championship wingers going elsewhere this summer (Summerville, Rowe, Philogene, Carvahalo etc). Plenty of space for someone of his talent.

As others have said, think of his attraction here being a ‘pathway’ rather than ‘1st team squad guarantee’.
 


Oh_aye

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Jul 8, 2022
2,120
Out of all our wide players March is worst attacker but best at tracking back and defending. Way our managers play maybe defensive qualities are not important but know who i would want when we are under pressure protecting a lead.
I'd struggle to find the words to disagree with this more. For some reason the YouTube algorithm keeps sending me full matches from the 22/23 season. A season I watched in full, live. I remember he was good, but I forgot how good. Devastating in attack, almost unplayable at times and RDZ rightly called him a CL level player.
 




Han Solo

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May 25, 2024
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Minteh 'looks even better' against second-rate opposition, going through the motions in meaningless friendlies (so far).

Hopefully he'll be amazing, but he's got plenty to prove before anyone ought to be declaring him better than a guy with 182 reliable Premier league appearances under his belt!
Minteh got it, and will score 10+ PL goals this season if fit.
 


Hiheidi

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Dec 27, 2022
1,881
This. I’ve no idea how anyone who’s watched all/most of March’s games at BHA thinks his best position is anywhere other than RW.

That may change post-injury, considering our options and his potential loss of pace, but he’s never been anything more than a serviceable wing back, particularly going forward from LWB where he’s very one dimensional.

20240813_181724.jpg
 


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