Saint86

An interesting snippet - if only from the perspective that Everton cannot afford him... 🧐 If its come from his agent/Udinese, it implies someone is sniffing around. The next link on that site is 2hours old and says Everton are also after Zapata on a loan with option to buy.

New manager bounce incoming?

I checked his last 5 match appearances (and more), he's a sub that played generally on the wing.

No. It really isn't. Incredibly limited player and not a good goalscorer.

Ducky, you may not like stats / think they're animals from the forest. But probably one of the key points there is that he is averaging nearly 4 shot creating actions per 90min over the past year, despite playing in a struggling side, and despite being "held back" by Ralph for the first half of this season. For comparison, i was looking at Jackson the other day (who plays for a better team relative to their league, generally as a winger / sometimes CF, and often an impact sub) and he was averaging approx. 1 per 90min. Its been levelled at jwp a lot on here that he doesn't impact our attacking play, or that his passing is poor etc. But equally its been said (admittingly less often) that he offers some great attacking plays that go unnoticed by the fans. i.e. lots of good cross field diagonals and through balls etc. that the fan's don't notice because ultimately they're falling to Che (or edozi a couple of times lately), and they get spaffed into the crowd... and the fans tend to then remember the misses rather than the creative play behind them. We all know that he's a good player in the press, harrying the midfield, interceptions etc. But the stats do also show that he contributes significantly in an attacking sense as well

I agree, but nothing to do with me... 😅🙈

Was about to say exactly this. If we don't have a comparable equivalent lined up, we should definitely be going for Ings for £12M if he's interested. Add to it the fact that a direct rival wants him and we'd be screwing up their plans as well.

Basically true of any signing at this point. And ings is currently fit, firing, and clinical at this level 🤷‍♂️

Just dawned on me.... I know we have a terrible record at Goodison - but have we just won our last ever game there?😅

Imagine it would have very little bearing as Jones wouldn't have been able to magically heal Lavia's hamstring to free JWP from defensive midfield duties, and similarly he wouldn't have been able to do anything about the quality of Diallo or an unfit AMN as our only other central midfield options. I don't get this new narrative that JWP wasn't previously being used in an attacking sense - for years he's been making runs off the attackers, turning up at the edge of the box to whip in crosses, or arriving late into the box for shooting chances etc. He's been adding open play goals and chance creation to his game for a couple of seasons now. For example, 21/22 he contributed 132 shot creating actions, which was more than in 20/21 (where he created 105), which is a significant season on season increase despite missing games due to suspension. Although I acknowledge that it will be a more marked impact if Jones continues to use him as a proper #10. This is how he rates for the prem over the past 365days - Playing in a struggling side. Nearly 4 shot creating actions (91st percentile) isn't bad for a player who has been playing a more defensive role for most of this season (half the time period). Regardless, his (and saint's) uptick in form coincides exactly with having Lavia (an actual midfield anchor) back to fitness and available. Numerous fans had stated the need to get CDM cover this window as second only to strengthening the attack - and that is due to the recognised importance of the lavia/romeu role for defensive cover. If anything, i'm surprised by the number of people remarking on his miraculous uptick in form - he wasn't playing badly, he was just out of position which nullified his attacking output - he was surely always going to struggle in an attacking sense when being held back in a more defensive role?! 🤷‍♂️. Also re the England squad. Sadly i don't think it would have made that much difference how well JWP was playing - Southgate doesn't fancy him for whatever reason, maybe its big club bias, maybe he just doesn't rate him that highly. But best case, i think Southgate would have maybe picked him and not played him (as per Maddison). The reality is that Southgate is not a good manager and is tactically very limited. This is even more the case if his reasoning can't differentiate the difference between a player's form and a player being played out of position. Ultimately the guy picked Kalvin Philips over JWP - So enough said in that regard sadly. Maybe if Prowsey moves to a "big club" he'll make the euros who knows.

Bet he can't wait to do his ACL...

Yes. Sorry Egg, but Wood is not that man. And also i don't think he suits the mobility we seem to be using now under Jones. Che may not be able to finish, but he covers tremendous ground, wins flick ons and brings others into the game, and is prepared to chase and press. I just can't see that being Wood for our system - he is just a simple big man up top, minimal mobility, and average finishing (of that).

What does he offer that Aribo doesn't do already?

Has the best xG conversion rate this season of the players i previously listed (https://www.saintsweb.co.uk/topic/59570-january-2023-transfer-window/?do=findComment&comment=3116658). He was level with Haaland on 1.3 and above Kane on 1.2. Also a decent goals per minute ratio. Now as we know, people don't like stats like xG and goals per minutes etc. But i would still say that yes, he is still a good finisher... though if we ignore the data though you'll have to trust peoples' word/perceptions 😋

Ings is one of the most clinical strikers in the prem - if we can't get someone comparative we really should be trying to strike a deal with villa.

Don't know much about Jackson. People don't seem very excited by him or his record? And we're going to go and spend £20M on him? Hmm. Not a promising start Or, is he good and i'm just skimming a few negative comments? Also, seems a bit strange that we are spending £20M on a squad player. As far as i can tell, the last game he started they lost 3-0 to Lech Poznan on the 3rd Nov? Seems to be regularly involved from the bench, and usually on the wing - may at least mitigate his goals return.

Lets not get too concerned. Wolves and Leicester are both garbage (as were we when we played them), and Forest were easily the worst side i've seen at SMS in years (bar us). But yes, they have built up some momentum through all of that - and as we've seen from two cup wins, that goes a long way!

He's a good player, and with a proper CDM and more experienced GK behind him. i am sure he'd have had a much better season and developed better. Will be a loss if he goes. But we can't really afford to let him go on the cheap - so if he won't renew its time to move him on.

I'd take ings back on a loan for the rest of the season, or worst case for circa £10M, and both of those if we're desperate and can't get anyone else in. Otherwise yes, i agree.

I agree with all of that tbh. You'd like to think we've turned the corner - it does feel like Forest was rock bottom for fans and players alike - but anything could happen before ethe season finishes. As a minimum, we've given ourselves a chance with the everton win, had we lost that it would have been grim. 3points against Villa and i have a feeling we would never look bac - especially if we can get a quality striker in. The only thing i would say is that I can't see Villa dropping back in under Emery, already he has them playing much better. And yes i concur, i can't see 38points not being enough this year - There is a lot still to go, but already i could see it being around 33/34points.

I'm not sure whether we really need that many points to be safe this year. we're 2 points from 14th place (17points), all those teams can't go on stellar runs of form to hit the mid/upper 30's surely? And if they do all manage to take that many points, chances are someone else has done terrible?

That is actually horrific. I've seen the football versions of it as well and they're so bad its unreal - there are some pretty funny/cringe videos of MLS football chants

I don't fear Newcastle. They're had a good season sure, but they aren't that good. They're solid and tough to beat, but teams are starting to take them more seriously and figure them out and they're subsequently finding it harder now. Their lack of squad depth is going to start to show, and they were extremely lucky to beat fulham at home on the weekend. Plus their best player is now out injured and you can be certain their board will tell Howe the top 4 is the priority - if there is any concerns on player fitness. They've also got to travel down for a tricky but high pressure away game at Palace on the Saturday, before then travelling down to face us again on the Tuesday. We have villa at home with no travel before the away fixture at SJP, so we should really be better rested and prepared. Against that, we are bang in form, in the headspace of treating all games as "must win" style cup matches, almost a fully fit squad, and we've got JWP pinging in 25yard penalties every other game . Its definitely there for us to win - and i personally think we're going to rock up on a wintry night at SMS after they've had a long journey down, stick a few goals past them, and then park a 5 man defence at SJP and do the equivalent of shane longing their arses late on. Its going to be saints vs united in the final, although sadly i don't think we'll beat Man Utd on their current form. Not unless we sign a quality CF.

Yeah a lot to like. I am sure his passing/touch will come with games. Probably tired / jet lagged and has a lot going on in his head with the excitement/nervousness of the move and moving to another country at 20 years old. Think we've got a gem of a player and i look foward to seeing him lining up in a midfield 3 with Prowsey and Lavia.

Don't share this... now i want him. Just cruel.