brighton_tom
Well-known member
- Jul 23, 2008
- 5,514
Does Mitoma improve on what we already have? Genuine question for those who’ve watched him.
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[Albion] Official Loanee Tracker Thread 2021-22
- Thread starter Gabbiano
- Start date
Kosh
'The' Yaztromo
You know, I wasn’t being entirely serious... I was being a bit sarcastic... titter. People really do take life too seriously, especially fan opinion on an obscure football message board.
Irrespective of the intricacies of the White deal, our decision as a club (as I’ve stated elsewhere) to loan out several attacking players and replace them (in effect) with Jurgen Locadia was/is unfortunate in the extreme. When we really need an exciting young prospect to offer something other than missing glaring opportunities, deep into games, we’ve literally got nothing. It’s Connolly or bust, so bust it seems is the result.
When Khadra briefly appeared last season and Andi too, it was (at times) a breath of fresh air... they’re not the answer clearly, but by God I’d have them in the team prior to both AC and JL.
Comparing the White loan as ‘good business’ versus our current lack of goals and even tangible options to score them, is a moot point. White was among a glut of superb defenders at the club, right now a glut of even mediocre striking options seems like a distant dream.
I say again, loaning out our young attacking players was a folly, proven by our woeful goals scored column. Woeful.
If Khadra belonged to Blackburn and we were looking at him for Jan we’d all be pretty excited about him making that difference to our inept attacking play... at least I doubt many would be saying; he’s too raw, he’s better off developing for another two seasons... when a bigger club can buy him. Yeah, result!
The loan out policy has utterly backfired this season and, I’m willing to bet (if possible), one or two will be back in January and whoever sanctioned all of these deals (hopefully) out. Especially when you consider lack of adequate replacements and having to reintegrate perhaps our biggest waste of money ever, DJ Jurgs. It’s a shambles that could have so easily been avoided.
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Why would he be any different from Taylor Richards and Sarmiento? Those two were the attacking youngsters we pinned our hopes on. I believe both of those would be having the same affect in the Championship if we sent them on loan.
Kosh
'The' Yaztromo
Richards aside, which is an odd one for me tbh... Sarmiento, I suspect, is ahead of where he would normally be as ‘needs must.’ In other words, I don’t think it was the plan to have him near the first team so soon, but circumstances have dictated the outcome. Or our shocking recruitment and let’s loan everyone out strategy created a vacuum. Luckily he does seem to have some talent, a bench with him Khadra and Andi would have had options aplenty and seen Locadia frozen out and Connolly (rightly, in my opinion) loaned out.
It’s just an opinion, it’s Saturday night and I can’t be arsed to labour the point BUT we’re so short in confident, fresh, energetic forwards it’s embarrassing. Maupay is literally carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, and he’s doing pretty well. Wolves was frankly awful and really served as a case in point to the above.
Yes, and it's a shame when some people spot this thread and decide to use it as a platform for their 'Why haven't we signed a £50M striker'/'The club doesn't know what it's doing' diatribes. Let's hope J*st*ce doesnt spot it - he's probably got a macro for all that stuff.
Good news is that Khadra and van Hecke seem to be winning over the fans - and more importantly, Tony Mowbray - at Blackburn. Quite how and why that is the reason we're having a bad run is beyond me.
Brilliant - quite right; nailed it in one. And anybody who seriously believes the club wouldn't have tried absolutely everything in the book to loan Locadia out, sell him (the dream option) or give him away to anyone who would take him and pay him enough to agree to sign for them is probably living in another universe.
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So, dealing with 'only exceptions', did the club get the Bob Sanchez loans wrong too?
If I remember rightly we nearly sold Locadia to a dutch team in the summer but it never came off.
Did they see his highlights reel on YouTube and realise what they were getting??
Exactly. I'm sure we tried everything under the sun to get rid of him. There's only one reason he's still here - we couldn't.
Kosh
'The' Yaztromo
Lol.
I’m glad I’ve hit a nerve, it’s healthy to debate these things. I realise you don’t hold with any criticism of the regime, so anything I say will be re-written to suit your biased narrative.
That said, I will say this. Again.
We are ludicrously thin up top, with a untried acclimatising Ecuadorian teenager as our last best hope... hang on? If you’d have been in charge you’d have loaned him out too... surely, by your perfect logic? Not sure why you and others are banging on about White and Sanchez, both of whom were surplus to requirements during their younger days?!? Help me to recollect how many genuine attacking players we went into this season with? It was and is a chronic failure on many levels.
And now, it’s come home to roost.
This assertion you made elsewhere that I have suggested signing a 50 million pound striker is frankly pathetic nsc revisionism, so refrain from making statements that aren’t true. What I have suggested is wisely keeping one or two young options who might have made a smidgin of difference ... yes I know, utter madness!
Burn the witch, sacrifice the nonbeliever! really? By God it must be great to be right 100% of the time, you’re one lucky ****er.
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Frankworthington
Well-known member
I totally agree with everything you have written on this thread
I am generally pro-Potter and pro club,but the decision to send out Zeqiri,Sima AND Khadra out on loan and keep Connolly is frankly laughable.I accept that they had no choice with Andone and Locadia.As i said before the season started,Khadra could have provided competion for Trossard and being being fast and direct could have provided an option off the bench
I am beginning to wonder who makes these decisions
Kosh
'The' Yaztromo
Thanks Frank
it’s nice to read a balanced reply.I’m not really suggesting anything that outlandish, moreover wishing the club had exercised common sense and caution coming into a season. Going with Welbeck (for example) as one of our two genuine strikers, given his track record that alone was never a ‘good idea...’
Like I and you have said, who the heck made/sanctioned those key decisions ? Hmmmmm GT49er maybe ? Lol.
Anyway, here’s hoping we put it right one way or another next month.
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It is possible that the strategy for this season was poorly thought out and executed. It is also possible, I would think that the management team made/is making decisions around the longer term development of our young players based on an assumption that we will stay up comfortably, even if certain players are sent out on loan to better accelerate their progress rather than warming the bench and hoping that the odd cameo influences the eventual league position of the club.
Not saying either one of these scenarios is necessarily true, just that "they screwed up and don't know what they are doing" is not the only explanation here...
Not saying either one of these scenarios is necessarily true, just that "they screwed up and don't know what they are doing" is not the only explanation here...
I don't have a narrative, and I certainly don't think every decision GP makes is gold. I'd have certainly brought on Ferguson against Wolves, for example - nothing to lose by trying - so we didn't try and did lose! I do have a beef with those who keep on about TB's dire incompetance in not buying a brand new shiny striker (£50M or not) - and such comments felt very inappropriate on a predominately positive thread basically charting the progress of our youngsters out on loan..
I think the young untried attacking options we kept in the squad this season (Richards and Sarmiento) were, IMHO, the right choices. As potential young bloods in the attacking area, I think they were enough - Sarmiento's injury is just bad luck.
Connolly, on the other hand, whilst I'm not and never have been, in the 'burn him, he's League 1 at best' brigade, I have argued strongly on other threads that he should have been sent out on loan - and I'm still truly baffled why he didn't get loaned in the summer of 2020 or 2021 (whether he liked it or not). I've been very critical about that! - I think we have mismanaged him to the extent that we've blown it with him, and his departure is the best option now.
If we do (or can) recall either Khadra or Zeqiri in January has more to do with Sarmiento's injury than anything to do with including Connolly (and unfortunately and unavoidably Locadia) in the squad.
P.S. I don't believe the club sent White and Sanchez out on loan because they were 'surplus to requirements'!
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Kosh
'The' Yaztromo
That’s more like your old self. Lol.
I agree with most of that tbh
you see, I’m not all bad ... just a bit baffled and frustrated, then again I’m not privy to the internal goings on within the club and as such can only base my ramblings on what I feel and what I might have done.Fully agree re Connolly btw, and yes if we can wrench JL out of the club and recall one or two I’d be reasonably happy tbh.
Here’s hoping January delivers a bit of freshness and impetus, but not in a 50 million pound gamble we simply cannot afford.
Albion.
Ps I meant young and surplus in terms of numbers at the time, but certainly not the ‘not going to cut it’ category - obviously.
You could say it backfired a bit but I'm definitely not in the DA out camp. Welbeck had one of his fittest seasons last season and Jeremy Sarmiento left Benfica because of Jesus not even wanting to let young talents train with the first team squad - in order to sign him Brighton must have made some promises (that they felt they could do based on what they know about him) and believing he would be a PL player sooner rather than later. If Welbeck had stayed as fit as last season and if JS didnt get injured against Wham, there would have been very limited opportunities for game time for Zeqiri and Khadra. Especially with corona making it complicated to give them significant game time in the U23s while training with the first team squad.
With hindsight, yes maybe one of Khadra or Zeqiri should have stayed but in August I think the club felt it would have been a case of being overcautious while seriously hampering the development of these two players. Khadra now looks like he could bring something to the squad but it took a while for him to get there and its not sure he would have looked equally useful if he wasnt allowed to into it slowly in the Championship, something which is more difficult and hard to afford at PL level.
Frankworthington
Well-known member
Thanks Frank
I’m not really suggesting anything that outlandish, moreover wishing the club had exercised common sense and caution coming into a season. Going with Welbeck (for example) as one of our two genuine strikers, given his track record that alone was never a ‘good idea...’
Like I and you have said, who the heck made/sanctioned those key decisions ? Hmmmmm GT49er maybe ? Lol.
Anyway, here’s hoping we put it right one way or another next month.
No problem
Like you,i am not advocating spunking £40 m on a striker,just making the most of our limited resources.This season,the club sent the wrong players out on loan
I also agree with GT49er that Conoly is finished as an Albion player.The best thing would be to move him on
Frankworthington
Well-known member
The oracle has spoken
I dont think it was ever about Zeqiri/Sima/Khadra OR Connolly. Think the club made a decision a long time ago that Khadra and Zeqiri needs regular game time this season and Connollys alleged lack of ability shouldnt stop them from getting what they need to become PL footballers.
What I do think is that up until the last day it was about New Striker or Connolly. As the Irish coach said, Connolly was about to go on loan as well but something stopped the deal. This "something" is probably Brighton failing to sign another striker.
I think the club looked at every situation individually rather than making a comparison between the different players. Khadra was injured all spring, deserves to train with the senior team but would then be limited in his appearances for U23; needed a loan. Zeqiri deal was a no-brainer: almost guaranteed starter in a Bundesliga team or occasional minutes on the pitch for Brighton, for me it is a given to loan him out and hope others can cover his minutes. Sima - I'm guessing - was a last minute signing coming from a sudden opportunity that would not happen if Brighton had signed the player they wanted so a quick decision - right or wrong, there is no way to know how good he actually is - was made to loan him out.
As for Connolly I think the club, considering that he has gathered some experience now and has a handful of high quality performances, felt that once they didnt get another striker, they know he is capable of the occasional performance and took a chance of him improving that.
I think in the best of worlds, Brighton would have another striker (or attacking player in general) and I think everyone would be quite happy with all of these loan deals (+ Connolly also being loaned out).