verlaine1979

Veerman sounds more like a central AM than a defensive midfielder.

My point was just that the assist was doing the basics well, not an example of great vision or understanding. As for his goal against city, it wasn't a fluke, but he'll get one chance like that in his whole career. On balance I care a lot less about the rare worldly than the decent chances he spaffs away every week by having no composure.

Happy that he got the assist yesterday, though it was a percentages cutback rather than actually aimed at Ings. Then a typical swing and a miss when presented with an opportunity to show some composure. Also got severely outpaced by a Burnley CB when he had a clear yard head start. Still not seeing anything to suggest he's anything more than a championship level player.

Spot on. We were absolute toss and nicked three points by virtue of being ever so slightly less awful. If you're watching that as a neutral, you'd say both teams are likely to be well in the mix for relegation.

I disagree - domestic success and exposure in Europe is probably more valuable than being associated with a PL relegation candidate.

Unless the player has an unusually far-sighted manager who thinks it'll be better for his long term chances to shine in a solid PSV side rather than struggle at Saints. Bit like whoever is advising all the young stars to pick Dortmund rather than sit on the bench at Chelsea or City.

Ares are a pretty huge, which makes me curious why they'd get into bed with someone as small time as DaGrosa.

He was absolutely superb at Monaco. When they knocked City out of the Champion's League a few years ago, he looked better than Fabinho.

Building a brand is expensive if you didn't already become one during football's heyday. It's not for nothing that the only two clubs attempting to join the famous old guard on the global stage are owned by countries, rather than individuals.

He seems similar to William Carvalho in stature and style of play - he looks a bit slow and ungainly from YT clips, but hard to tell if that's just a consequence of how big he is.

Luis at Benfica would seem to fit the bill for a Hoj replacement - his highlights suggest he covers the ground very well and has a decent passing range.

I was directly comparing him to an Argentine international who played for both Barcelona and Madrid. What makes you think I'm criticising his height? That said, if he really is 5'9, he must have short little legs for someone that tall...

I just can't see DaGrosa finding the investment he needs, not after his relationship with the majority shareholder he brought on board at Bordeaux soured so quickly. He just doesn't have the profile to attract the money required to buy into the PL. He's a small-time middle man who once sold a few fast food franchises twenty years ago - no one is trusting him with half a billion dollars or more.

Sims reminds me of Javier Saviola, insofar as he's so small that when he's running with the ball is looks like the top of it almost reaches his knee.

Lucky they don't have Lemina, Hoedt and Carrillo on their books, otherwise they'd be completely hamstrung.

Consistently hitting your shots close to the keeper isn't bad luck, it's bad finishing.

Have you perchance looked at how many goals per game we've conceded so far?

3/4 of his goals and the vast majority of the chances he's missed are just him smacking it as hard as he can. That's kicking, not finishing.

Agreed. Gunn was signed so we could play with a higher line. If McCarthy's shot stopping drops further, there's no reason not to go back to Gunn. At least he'd have snuffed out Son's first today.

Adams isn't unlucky, short on confidence or still adapting to the league. He's just a very poor finisher with below average anticipation in the box. Such a poor buy considering how broke we are.

That's insane - high line needs at least one genuinely quick CB and a nimble keeper comfortable with the ball at his feet. Our CBs are lumpen (even Salisu doesn't look that quick) and our first choice keeper is as old school as they come.

We weren't unlucky to lose to them. We had two decent chances to score, they had about five.

I think one of the reasons Redmond plays it safe is he knows he's not actually quick enough to beat most full backs over more than about two yards. He's got a good burst from standing and good balance, but he's not actually very quick. Hence why he's also usually a disappointment on the break - I think he's a player who tries to limit exposing his weaknesses by not attempting anything that won't work.

I was just thinking this - not the first time Ralph has said he needs/expects more incoming, only for them not to arrive with all the rationalising and excuse-making that usually entails. The Swiss Ramble thread on cash injected by owners is revealing. As others have pointed out, the likes of Palace, Brighton and Newcastle (and Bournemouth) all have expensive flops who hardly trouble their benches these days, but it hasn't stopped them investing in the first team.

Welcome. I guess you haven't heard about agents' fees and national insurance contributions over in Australia, huh?