[Albion] Rate the window out of 10

[zefarelly]

It aint square, nor fully round

I'm going for an arched window.

 

[macbeth]

It aint square, nor fully round

I'm going for an arched window.

would certainly say stained glass after the fati signing…

 

[Greenbag50]

6
Sold our midfield and now given the green light to any team to expose us with pace
Seems to have gone for we can score more than we will concede tactic.

Will test that theory tomorrow

 

[kevo]

Same as most people - brilliant window except we could really do with another defender, preferably a right back.

 

[upthealbion1970]

Going forwards I’d say best we’ve ever had, defence worries me especially fullback cover.

Having said that as long as we outscore the opposition we will be fine

Overall 8/10

 

[oldboyroy]

8 for now, once/if the newbies start producing then it could go to a solid 8 and a half

 

[trueblue]

8/10. For understandable reasons, lost two key midfielders which has weakened us defensively. Overall though the squad looks stronger. If the new signings reach their full potential and RDZ can make that midfield work, it might even end up 10/10 considering the fortune that also came in.

 

[Oh_aye]

7 for me. Some exciting acquisitions but looking nervously at that gap where Caicedo was and dont understand our thinking around fullbacks at all.

 

[albionfan37]

10 offensively
6 defensively and dm unless baleba can hit the ground running we look dreadfully weak there

 

[Pavilionaire]

I think the truth is nobody knows how good the window is. Can Igor play LCB and LB? Will Baleba hit the ground running in that DCM role? How will Joao Pedro actually fit in?

This window's activity has definitely been shaped by our European campaign, and you have to believe that after today's draw and the group of death the acquisitions of Milner and Dahoud look very astute.

The key though is Fati. This guy can create goals out of nothing, the sort of stuff that we've seen Hazard, Salah, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Thierry Henry deliver that sets them apart from the rest. Playing with him could take some of our younger players on to another level.

 

[Wardy's twin]

Think we need to help the defence more - buying Igor and not playing him is a bit worrying. Not sure why Sarmiento was let go. We have lost 2 world class players not sure if we have filled that gap. HOPE I AM PROVED WRONG.

 

[tigertim68]

Still need a defensive midfielder and cover for the fullbacks
they must of known MC was going to leave would of thought they had one l8ned up
can’t believe that think we have enough cover at the back

 

[American Seagle]

Six. We seem much weaker defensively and marginally better offensively.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Will test that theory tomorrow

I fully expect us to lose in a similar way to last week. Couple of things though; De Zerbi won’t and we probably won’t play Baleba.

The test of the squad will be once Baleba and Fati are ready to go.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Six. We seem much weaker defensively and marginally better offensively.

People keep saying this but does it stand up to scrutiny?

At the end of last season we had a goalkeeper on strike. Now we have two very similar keepers. Our right back options were Veltman, Gross or Caicedo with Lamptey injured. Now we have Lamptey come through two U21 games, Veltman, Gross or Milner. Igor has replaced Colwill. Van Hecke is a genuine squad member for the whole season. We’ve replaced Caicedo, who we were always going to sell, with a guy tipped to be the new Caicedo.

We’ve lost a world class player who was key to defence AND midfield but I’d at least have a look at the replacement. Elsewhere in defence we have more depth, not less.

 

[Uh_huh_him]

People keep saying this but does it stand up to scrutiny?

At the end of last season we had a goalkeeper on strike. Now we have two very similar keepers. Our right back options were Veltman, Gross or Caicedo with Lamptey injured. Now we have Lamptey come through two U21 games, Veltman, Gross or Milner. Igor has replaced Colwill. Van Hecke is a genuine squad member for the whole season. We’ve replaced Caicedo, who we were always going to sell, with a guy tipped to be the new Caicedo.

We’ve lost a world class player who was key to defence AND midfield but I’d at least have a look at the replacement. Elsewhere in defence we have more depth, not less.

The full back positions were areas which needed strengthening, and we haven't.

If Lamptey comes back and becomes a viable first team player, rather than an impact sub, then maybe your argument is valid.
But as it stands we have Veltman as our first choice, who isn't being picked.
Gross and Milner may be able to do a job, but aren't right backs.

Are we much weaker than last season? No
Have we strengthened an existing weakness? Definitely not.

 

[trueblue]

The full back positions were areas which needed strengthening, and we haven't.

If Lamptey comes back and becomes a viable first team player, rather than an impact sub, then maybe your argument is valid.
But as it stands we have Veltman as our first choice, who isn't being picked.
Gross and Milner may be able to do a job, but aren't right backs.

They’re not our idea of right-backs but they fit with De Zerbi’s ideas. Otherwise, he’d be playing Veltman there all the time.

 

[Uh_huh_him]

They’re not our idea of right-backs but they fit with De Zerbi’s ideas. Otherwise, he’d be playing Veltman there all the time

Gross only played there when Veltman was unavailable last season.
Milner is being tried out there and was badly exposed last week, IMO.

Clearly Estupinan is De Zerbi's idea of a full back, he's played practically every game.

 

[The Optimist]

I think the truth is nobody knows how good the window is. Can Igor play LCB and LB? Will Baleba hit the ground running in that DCM role? How will Joao Pedro actually fit in?

This window's activity has definitely been shaped by our European campaign, and you have to believe that after today's draw and the group of death the acquisitions of Milner and Dahoud look very astute.

The key though is Fati. This guy can create goals out of nothing, the sort of stuff that we've seen Hazard, Salah, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Thierry Henry deliver that sets them apart from the rest. Playing with him could take some of our younger players on to another level.

I was thinking the same thing. When I look back at previous windows I wasn’t wowed by the signings of Mitoma, Caicedo, Enciso etc but they were all amazing signings.

 

[American Seagle]

People keep saying this but does it stand up to scrutiny?

At the end of last season we had a goalkeeper on strike. Now we have two very similar keepers. Our right back options were Veltman, Gross or Caicedo with Lamptey injured. Now we have Lamptey come through two U21 games, Veltman, Gross or Milner. Igor has replaced Colwill. Van Hecke is a genuine squad member for the whole season. We’ve replaced Caicedo, who we were always going to sell, with a guy tipped to be the new Caicedo.

We’ve lost a world class player who was key to defence AND midfield but I’d at least have a look at the replacement. Elsewhere in defence we have more depth, not less.

We lost Colwill and replaced with an unknown quantity. We lost Mac Alister and Caicedo and replaced them with a young player who could become good and an untested player at this level.
We may find we come out about the same as last season once the players get going BUT we need to perform at a higher level due to the larger number of games. We have a higher demand for MAYBE the same level of defense: this makes us weaker comparatively than last season.