dubai_phil Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 I am of the opinion that there are better players out there than Puncheon. I still believe he has a Walcottesque problem about him in that he does not have a strong footballing BRAIN. Cannot fault his effort, core skills or commitment to the team dynamic. However his decision making in attacking areas is (when compared to Lambert for example) poor or at best seems slow. This is a similar issue that Walcott had been accused of in the media before switching into the central striker role.. The final ball, the killer pass or the composure in front of goal are still JP's weakness. The run of the mill he does very competently now at this level. Is it an issue that can be coached into/out of him? or is he just not able to think fast enough in the final 3rd? That's up to the experts to decide. Perhaps Mayuka was expected to be the answer. (But to be honest no idea what the question was when we got him!) Such a tough call, with a better run in that position would Guly increase our creative / scoring opportunities by a few percent? I still think we need to see more from him before he gets carried away by being worth big bucks. He is SO close to being the real deal, but he is also dangerously close to being Chicken George Lawrence at times Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Kirkup Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 TBF he's one of the only ones who are prepared to have a pop from outside the box Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KelvinsRightGlove Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 No doubt. Could take gulys place in the squid so to speak. It's a squad game these days Can see us getting in another defender, midfielder, attacker and forward That will replace Hooiveld GULY De ridder Lee Bit off topic I know, but just out of curiosity. Were we to replace Jos in the summer, what sort of player dya reckon we'll go for? Jos, who I think has been performing well of late in fairness to him, is effectively 4th choice CB now. Do we go for a young, ball playing CB, who will come into the side from time-to-time, or go all out for another first XI cb, who considering Yoshi's impressive form, and you would imagine Forren being first choice, would have to be a player of a pretty decent calibre. I guess really the same would have to be true in Punch's case. The guy has played ever so well this season, and for someone else to come in the same position you probably face the same dilemma. That said, I do believe that standing still is equal to going backwards. One only needs to look at the start to the season Newcastle had to see that. Exciting times ahead! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSAINT Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 Were we to replace Jos in the summer, what sort of player dya reckon we'll go for? I'd like to think we'd get the same kind of centre-half as him, but better. Still nice to have the aerial power that he gives us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tajjuk Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 I am of the opinion that there are better players out there than Puncheon. I still believe he has a Walcottesque problem about him in that he does not have a strong footballing BRAIN. Cannot fault his effort, core skills or commitment to the team dynamic. However his decision making in attacking areas is (when compared to Lambert for example) poor or at best seems slow. This is a similar issue that Walcott had been accused of in the media before switching into the central striker role.. The final ball, the killer pass or the composure in front of goal are still JP's weakness. The run of the mill he does very competently now at this level. Is it an issue that can be coached into/out of him? or is he just not able to think fast enough in the final 3rd? That's up to the experts to decide. Perhaps Mayuka was expected to be the answer. (But to be honest no idea what the question was when we got him!) Such a tough call, with a better run in that position would Guly increase our creative / scoring opportunities by a few percent? I still think we need to see more from him before he gets carried away by being worth big bucks. He is SO close to being the real deal, but he is also dangerously close to being Chicken George Lawrence at times Agree with most of this, he has gone missing in a lot of games this season and can be one dimensional in his play at times. However to let him elave on a free would be silly. To get a similar lvel player to replace him we'd be looking at £3-4 million. So sign him up unless he wants absurd wages. I'd like to see us sign a 'Coutinho' level player though to challenge all the spots behind Lambert. Bit off topic I know, but just out of curiosity. Were we to replace Jos in the summer, what sort of player dya reckon we'll go for? Jos, who I think has been performing well of late in fairness to him, is effectively 4th choice CB now. Do we go for a young, ball playing CB, who will come into the side from time-to-time, or go all out for another first XI cb, who considering Yoshi's impressive form, and you would imagine Forren being first choice, would have to be a player of a pretty decent calibre. I guess really the same would have to be true in Punch's case. The guy has played ever so well this season, and for someone else to come in the same position you probably face the same dilemma. That said, I do believe that standing still is equal to going backwards. One only needs to look at the start to the season Newcastle had to see that. Exciting times ahead! I can see us going for an Astori level player, a quality centr back that will prbably be first team. Having 3-4 decent centre backs is a must as we have seen this season form ourselves, but also look at even the likes of Utd, City, Chelsea etc, key defenders like Kompany, Terry, Vidic etc. get injured, you need decent back up. I agree with Delldays, provding we stay up and we sign up Boruc, Shaw and Puncheon. I can see us getting another attacking midfielder/wide man, a quality centre back, and another defensive mid to back up/challenge Cork and Morgan, maybe another fullback as well. Could easily see us spending another £30 million for 3 quality signings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
View From The Top Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 I'd sooner have Tom Ince. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSAINT Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 Could easily see us spending another £30 million for 3 quality signings. I think that's the way to do it. If we can stay up this year, and add 3 of 4 players every year (and we get the signings spot on) then I could see us moving up quite significantly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ottery st mary Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 Hopefully Puncheon contract is being sorted now. Tremendous player who brings so much to the team. Phillips and Ince are not in the same class as Puncheon....regarding being team players. Would rather keep Punch anyday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Charlie Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 I'd sooner have Tom Ince. I wouldn't. He is unproven at this level and not as strong as Puncheon, nor does he use his body as well. Puncheon has played consistently well for near 6 months on the Prem and has 6 goals from midfield so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bearsy Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 I am of the opinion that there are better players out there than Puncheon. Word. If he was out of contract at Reading or whatever would anyone be saying we should go for him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjii Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 Puncheon's end product has been good this season and his workload is absolutely immense. He has been better than Lallana in virtually every aspect (his passing is much better, for a start). I can't believe people think he is worth only £3-4million or that we could easily do better. Nonsense. He has proven himself to be an excellent player and we would be looking at £10million + to guarantee a better output. We spent £12million on Gaston. Who's been better... Punch or Gaston? I know what I think! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony F Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 I couldn't help but notice - in the (somewhat meagre) highlights of the Sants/Man City game on TV, Punch seemed to be involved in pretty much ALL the action when Saints were attacking Man C's goal - and seemed to be linking really well with Rickie. He was in the right place, and finished it nicely, for the first - he put Lambert in for the second (finished off by Davies) - he was the target for Lambert's cross for the third (could say, if Lambert's cross had been better, it would have been a Punch goal, not an OG). Plus he had a really good volley chance in the second half from a Lambert pass. Its also worth noting that he was back in our goal area when Citeh scored their goal too - no-one can accuse him of just watching from afar. The monment he started to flag, MP subbed him - in my view an excellent substitution as the guy was spent. Whether he needs to show a higher level of fitness/stamina is probably worthy of another discussion, since I'm sure people like Morgan and Corky had committed no less physical effort to the cause. My mates who were not at the match, but watched the highlights, came away with the opinion that Puncheon was almost the key to our success on saturday. Highlights don't give the whole story - but they do give a fairly good flavour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tajjuk Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 Puncheon's end product has been good this season and his workload is absolutely immense. He has been better than Lallana in virtually every aspect (his passing is much better, for a start). I can't believe people think he is worth only £3-4million or that we could easily do better. Nonsense. He has proven himself to be an excellent player and we would be looking at £10million + to guarantee a better output. We spent £12million on Gaston. Who's been better... Punch or Gaston? I know what I think! Er no. Before he got injured Lallana was behind only Mata in terms of chances created for his teammates. He's also still our top assister despite missing like 2 months. Puncheon has scored some key goals and been a lot better than many thought, however only as reently as the Man Utd game he was taken off a half time. He has many games where he is very inffectual, tends to go inside too often. Also agree with Phil not sure his footballing brain is quite there. A good player and has improved lots this season, but no way is he worth £10 million. Swansea bought Pablo Hernadez for £5 million and he's a better player than Puncheon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ottery st mary Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 (edited) Posters saying Punch , goes missing , ineffectual , no football brain..... He has been one of our best players this season. Has been involved in so much we have achieved. Work rate has improved ..no end.. Rated highly by many in football. Particularly his team mates and opposing coaching staff..who see him as difficult man to mark/pick up.. Very good player who is improving all the time. Causes no end of problems for the opposing sides defence Great support to Clyne at the back. Top class footballer. So glad he is in our team.. Edited 11 February, 2013 by ottery st mary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shurlock Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 Made the most tackles on Saturday, more than any of our or their players - says a lot about his work ethic and willingness to contribute to MP's system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint 76er Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 Punch has made himself integral to our performances this season and full marks to him for elevating his maturity to a level few believed he could. In the process he has also elevated his market value similarly and his (often starring) role as a now established PL player will have been noted in boardrooms up and down the country. Consequently, as a commercial priority, we need to sign him to a new contract asap. This gives us the option of retaining him if his good form continues (and he doesn't go sans contract walkabout) thus saving replacement costs, or cashing in on a multi million fee if the club wish to sell. Without a new contact he simply walks for nothing come the summer and that would be folly ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 Maybe not a premiership player, but he's doing quite well at Wednesday now. Good to hear, but unfortunately playing well at the foot of the Championship doesn't make them a good choice for a Prem. club. Last season's hero Billy Sharp found that out to his own displeasure, and even Lukas Jutkiewicz (ex-Coventry) struggles to get on the team sheet at Midd' boro...and they're still Championship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 Always rated Puncheon, class winger with a work rate unrivaled in the team. Sign him up asap, I say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 I'd like to see Puncheon stay - at least for another couple of seasons. After all the earlier "problems " he had, he has surpassed my wildest expectations.....let's hope he can hold it together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitzhugh Fella Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 I am of the opinion that there are better players out there than Puncheon. I still believe he has a Walcottesque problem about him in that he does not have a strong footballing BRAIN. Cannot fault his effort, core skills or commitment to the team dynamic. However his decision making in attacking areas is (when compared to Lambert for example) poor or at best seems slow. This is a similar issue that Walcott had been accused of in the media before switching into the central striker role.. The final ball, the killer pass or the composure in front of goal are still JP's weakness. The run of the mill he does very competently now at this level. Is it an issue that can be coached into/out of him? or is he just not able to think fast enough in the final 3rd? That's up to the experts to decide. Perhaps Mayuka was expected to be the answer. (But to be honest no idea what the question was when we got him!) Such a tough call, with a better run in that position would Guly increase our creative / scoring opportunities by a few percent? I still think we need to see more from him before he gets carried away by being worth big bucks. He is SO close to being the real deal, but he is also dangerously close to being Chicken George Lawrence at times Nutshell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadaSaint Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 I'd like to see Puncheon stay - at least for another couple of seasons. After all the earlier "problems " he had, he has surpassed my wildest expectations.....let's hope he can hold it together. He's made a significant contribution this year, and I really like his partnership with Clyne on the right. He's willing to shoot, which is very valuable in a team that can be shot-shy, and his pass to set up the first on Saturday was great to see because he doesn't always see that pass when it's there. However, he's not the same player, and we're not the same team, when he's played on the other side. My concern relates to the underlined part. He strikes me as the kind of player who can hit ego problems as his stock starts to rise, which it is. At best, we'll re-sign him because "The Sheriff" will be able to handle him. At worst we need to re-sign him to sell him (at some point), or else we'll be waving goodbye to a potentially significant transfer fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Garrett Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobM Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 Sign him up, no doubt. He has been one of our most consistent players this season, always puts in a good shift, is willing to defend and seems to be able to adapt to different playing styles easily enough. He might not be the most gifted, we will certainly be looking to strengthen our wide positions, so the worst case is we sign him up and then sign somebody better who takes his place. Having him on the bench, desperate to prove himself, can only be a good thing. The only hesitation I have is his temperament should he be dropped, but he has shown no signs of the bad attitudes of the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avenue Saint Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 Sign him up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joensuu Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 i backed him when nobody else did.......... He's repaid me now I think most people have always rated Puncheon's technical ability. I think most have been put off by his 'couldn't be arsed' attitude that he seemed to display before we got back to the Premier League. I'm glad he's happy, and glad he's playing well, and would offer him another contract based on his form this season, but I'd be loathed to offer him more than a couple of years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordswoodsaints Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 Tbh I'd be sad to see him go if he does go,I like the fact that he has turned his life around and has made a real go of things and for that he deserves praise and a decent contract. Everybody deserves a second chance which is not an easy thing to do for both parties so everybody involved should be proud of themselves.......he's certainly more than taken his second chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Bateman Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 Does no one think he could actually be waiting to see if we stay up before he commits himself further to the club?? It's obvious really in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mowgli Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 Does no one think he could actually be waiting to see if we stay up before he commits himself further to the club?? It's obvious really in my opinion. No because every contract has a clause linking to relegation. You take salary drop or you move on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ottery st mary Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 Has not been offered a contract yet... The ribbon on the typewriter is broken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedelldays Posted 11 February, 2013 Share Posted 11 February, 2013 No because every contract has a clause linking to relegation. You take salary drop or you move on. Maybe he he does not want to be contracted to a club that has been relegated. He knows full well he will be playing prem football next season... On a good contract... If that is with us or not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedelldays Posted 16 February, 2013 Share Posted 16 February, 2013 Swansea bought Pablo Hernadez for £5 million and he's a better player than Puncheon. despite, putting in less crosses has less asissts and less goals apart fron that, he is better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doggface Posted 16 February, 2013 Share Posted 16 February, 2013 Sign him up. Always had huge potential. One of our Best players this year no doubt. no he is not the finished article, he never will be and we are not Real Madrid. To better punch would probably take 8m + and a lot of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St Chalet Posted 1 March, 2013 Share Posted 1 March, 2013 Just need the one thread for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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