Ryan Fraser - Official: Signs for Sydney

[Toussaint]

5 hours ago, gio1saints said:

Love his character but I feel he needs get that “scared to score Fraser “ tag that I mentally envisage whenever I see him, off his back. Get more ruthless more devastating a lot less jovial “ wee man”. Get angry get goals get assists get greedy - and forget your squad popularity. 
 

Really ? I’d say that’s what has cast a dark cloud over his career.
 

To your other point, he is way too old to play on the wing. He was in decline when we took him on loan in the championship, and that was 2 years ago. We should never have signed him permanently, I think he needs to go. 

Edited 27 July, 2025 by Toussaint
Typo

[gio1saints]

2 minutes ago, Toussaint said:

Really ? I’d say that’s what has cast a dark cloud over his career.
 

To your other point, he is way too old to play on the wing. He was in decline when we took him on loan in the championship, and that was 2 years ago. We should never have signed him permanently, I think he needs to go. 

I thought he was ok + the first year in the Championship. But his extension was a mistake. He may have been in “decline” but he was plenty good enough for us in the Championship certainly compared to SE and any other s  who had a go too left upfront as he was more effective defensively AND offensively than others. 

Agree we needed better for EPL but I cannot say I think his character sucked for Saints. If anything in a squad quiet as a mouse at least he played a team role supporting whatever asked to do ( mainly track back and tackle!) He was no Gordon Strachan but he’s did/does have a little bit of devilment about him. Some personality. Sam could do with some of that but I guess being so young don’t help. 

[AlexLaw76]

5 hours ago, gio1saints said:

 

Love his character but I feel he needs get that “scared to score Fraser “ tag that I mentally envisage whenever I see him, off his back. Get more ruthless more devastating a lot less jovial “ wee man”. Get angry get goals get assists get greedy - and forget your squad popularity. 
 

What do you love about it?

[gio1saints]

I love he’s got a smile on him. Some personality. And that, year we went up, he was prepared to do exactly what he was told by RM to make it happen. And he seemed to be a team player that contributed to the whole and club success rather than his own ( admittedly damaged) image from previous clubs. 

[Gloucester Saint]

3 hours ago, Toussaint said:

Really ? I’d say that’s what has cast a dark cloud over his career.
 

To your other point, he is way too old to play on the wing. He was in decline when we took him on loan in the championship, and that was 2 years ago. We should never have signed him permanently, I think he needs to go. 

It’s odd because he’s only what 31? Unless he’s had a horrible injury I can’t recall, he shouldn’t have lost most of his pace. He’s had spells under Howe and last season not playing but not the same thing as wear and tear/physiological decline.

[Dman]

I'd rather see him on the wing, than I would BBD or Armstrong. He's been playing behind the striker in pre-season, which he's been pretty poor at. 

Good enough to be back-up to a new first choice left winger, but wouldn't be upset if he moved on. 

[S-Clarke]

8 minutes ago, Dman said:

I'd rather see him on the wing, than I would BBD or Armstrong. He's been playing behind the striker in pre-season, which he's been pretty poor at. 

Good enough to be back-up to a new first choice left winger, but wouldn't be upset if he moved on. 

I think that statement alone illustrates how bad our attacking wide options really are. I don't think either Fraser or BBD should be anywhere near the starting 11 of a decent outfit, I'd like to think the club don't either - but then they did offer Stephens a new deal.

[pimpin4rizeal]

21 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

I think that statement alone illustrates how bad our attacking wide options really are. I don't think either Fraser or BBD should be anywhere near the starting 11 of a decent outfit, I'd like to think the club don't either - but then they did offer Stephens a new deal.

Not sure what people want really . On the wings in the attacking positions we have the options of AA someone who’s scored 20 plus goals in multiple seasons there,dibling can play there he’s still here, bbd wasn’t great last season but he’s also scored 20 plus playing out wide at this level  . Fraser who had excellent end product last time in this league and then you still have Robinson and edozie .. all of these look decent options at championship level ?

even if we sign another in that position it’s not gonna be a given they start over that bunch 

Edited 28 July, 2025 by pimpin4rizeal

[S-Clarke]

8 minutes ago, pimpin4rizeal said:

Not sure what people want really . On the wings in the attacking positions we have the options of AA someone who’s scored 20 plus goals in multiple seasons there,dibling can play there he’s still here, bbd wasn’t great last season but he’s also scored 20 plus playing out wide at this level  . Fraser who had excellent end product last time in this league and then you still have Robinson and edozie .. all of these look decent options at championship level ?

even if we sign another in that position it’s not gonna be a given they start over that bunch 

I thought Fraser started well for us, bit of a worker but his quality level wasn't high and I wasn't massively for signing him as a PL side - didn't think he was good enough anymore. He's probably a decent option as a squad player, but we need to sort out that starting left wing berth.

Edozie is Edozie, blind allys.com is what he specialises in. I'd personally take the cash if we were offered decent value for him. Fraser is not a starter for a team aspiring for what we're aspiring to do.

So, we need a starting top quality LW - assuming Dibling and Robinson compete for the right flank.

BBD on the left is a non-starter for me, he's slow, cumbersome and technically incredibly limited. In a team which will rely on width and fast transitions, he's the worst player you could ever have in that role. Sadly, we won't get any takers - so he'll be an option up front for me. 

Edited 28 July, 2025 by S-Clarke

[gio1saints]

10 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

I thought Fraser started well for us, bit of a worker but his quality level wasn't high and I wasn't massively for signing him as a PL side - didn't think he was good enough anymore. He's probably a decent option as a squad player, but we need to sort out that starting left wing berth.

Edozie is Edozie, blind allys.com is what he specialises in. I'd personally take the cash if we were offered decent value for him. Fraser is not a starter for a team aspiring for what we're aspiring to do.

So, we need a starting top quality LW - assuming Dibling and Robinson compete for the right flank.

BBD on the left is a non-starter for me, he's slow, cumbersome and technically incredibly limited. In a team which will rely on width and fast transitions, he's the worst player you could ever have in that role. Sadly, we won't get any takers - so he'll be an option up front for me. 

Agree about BBD. Whenever ball goes to him it’s like we’ve passed to a very large sandbag. It means death to the move. He kind of has the ball close by and then - nothing happens. Others have to do stuff for him. The moment, if there was a moment or half chance closes and some of our players are out of position through trying to help him. So he’s actually a liability. He cannot run fast or even cleverly nor dribble and his tackle is poor & turning circle is tanker-like in addition he’s aerially uncompetitive and usually silent , his first few yards are in the head they say - his are in the changing room. We need a better wide player urgently. 
 

This player roast was brought to you by Gazprom, CL sponsors. 😁

Edited 28 July, 2025 by gio1saints

[pimpin4rizeal]

On 28/07/2025 at 11:08, S-Clarke said:

I thought Fraser started well for us, bit of a worker but his quality level wasn't high and I wasn't massively for signing him as a PL side - didn't think he was good enough anymore. He's probably a decent option as a squad player, but we need to sort out that starting left wing berth.

Edozie is Edozie, blind allys.com is what he specialises in. I'd personally take the cash if we were offered decent value for him. Fraser is not a starter for a team aspiring for what we're aspiring to do.

So, we need a starting top quality LW - assuming Dibling and Robinson compete for the right flank.

BBD on the left is a non-starter for me, he's slow, cumbersome and technically incredibly limited. In a team which will rely on width and fast transitions, he's the worst player you could ever have in that role. Sadly, we won't get any takers - so he'll be an option up front for me. 

If I was still I think I’d be starting Robinson on the left he looked good there in pre season cutting in from the left, don’t think it has to be on the right or not at all and he looks excellent pre season.. 

Regarding  Brereton Diaz I thought he was poor too last season so don’t really wanna play devils advocate here. But after loads of people was raving about the signing everyone is now totally against him on the evidence of what ? 4 premiership starts in which he was very isolated out wide ..it’s a very small sample size to give him much of a chance and also when you look at the difference between AA in the championship compared to the premier league The gulf is so huge I think it’s not out of the question that BBD could actually be very effective when dropping down level He’s done it before with Blackburn and was even decent in the premier league with Sheffield .. I’m open to seeing if the step down could make a huge difference he’s not a lost cause yet.

Edozie isn’t really a team player a lot of the time but he can give us something different he takes it on himself to try and make things happen and must be a nightmare trying to defend against sometimes I think we have a nice array or options personally at this stage 

Edited 29 July, 2025 by pimpin4rizeal

[Sheaf Saint]

8 minutes ago, pimpin4rizeal said:

Regarding  Brereton Diaz I thought he was poor too last season so don’t really wanna play devils advocate here. But after loads of people was raving about the signing everyone is now totally against him on the evidence of what ? 4 premiership starts in which he was very isolated out wide ..it’s a very small sample size to give him much of a chance and also when you look at the difference between AA in the championship compared to the premier league The gulf is so huge I think it’s not out of the question that BBD could actually be very effective when dropping down level He’s done it before with Blackburn and was even decent in the premier league with Sheffield .. I’m open to seeing if the step down could make a huge difference he’s not a lost cause yet.

I don't think he's a lost cause, but I have no idea why we are constantly talking about him as a left winger, just because Russ played him there on a handful of occasions before realising how utterly hopeless he was in that position and dropping him completely. He might be a useful target man up front in the Championship, but he simply doesn't have any of the necessary attributes to be any kind of winger.

[Fabrice29]

9 minutes ago, Sheaf Saint said:

I don't think he's a lost cause, but I have no idea why we are constantly talking about him as a left winger, just because Russ played him there on a handful of occasions before realising how utterly hopeless he was in that position and dropping him completely. He might be a useful target man up front in the Championship, but he simply doesn't have any of the necessary attributes to be any kind of winger.

BBD? Scored just as many goals from the left as he has when as a striker in his career from the quick search I did. Was part of a very fluid front three including Armstrong at Blackburn from memory. 

[pimpin4rizeal]

20 minutes ago, Sheaf Saint said:

I don't think he's a lost cause, but I have no idea why we are constantly talking about him as a left winger, just because Russ played him there on a handful of occasions before realising how utterly hopeless he was in that position and dropping him completely. He might be a useful target man up front in the Championship, but he simply doesn't have any of the necessary attributes to be any kind of winger.

Pretty sure he played off the left at Blackburn ?  I do agree about the attributes but could see him being a bit simular to how Adam Armstrong or at a real stretch jay rod played .. I’m not a fan at all by the way I just think he probably deserves a bit more chance then 4 games last season .. the drop in level could do what it does  for AA let’s see 

Edited 29 July, 2025 by pimpin4rizeal

[Sheaf Saint]

5 minutes ago, Fabrice29 said:

BBD? Scored just as many goals from the left as he has when as a striker in his career from the quick search I did. Was part of a very fluid front three including Armstrong at Blackburn from memory. 

He regularly played on the left of a forward 3 at Blackburn, but not as an out and out winger. For that you need pace, trickery, the ability to beat a man and a decent crossing ability. BBD has none of those things on last season's evidence.

[Chez]

41 minutes ago, Fabrice29 said:

BBD? Scored just as many goals from the left as he has when as a striker in his career from the quick search I did. Was part of a very fluid front three including Armstrong at Blackburn from memory. 

How accurate are transfermarkt when it comes to positions?
How do they handle change of position in the same game?

[Fabrice29]

38 minutes ago, Chez said:

How accurate are transfermarkt when it comes to positions?
How do they handle change of position in the same game?

No idea. No idea.

[Fabrice29]

3 hours ago, Sheaf Saint said:

He regularly played on the left of a forward 3 at Blackburn, but not as an out and out winger. For that you need pace, trickery, the ability to beat a man and a decent crossing ability. BBD has none of those things on last season's evidence.

I'm not entirely sure where the idea that we'll be playing with out and out wingers has come from anyway in fairness.

[pimpin4rizeal]

7 hours ago, Sheaf Saint said:

He regularly played on the left of a forward 3 at Blackburn, but not as an out and out winger. For that you need pace, trickery, the ability to beat a man and a decent crossing ability. BBD has none of those things on last season's evidence.

Could see this also being a forward 3 if we are using bbd and Arma wide . 
another thing I’d say about the way we used him last season it seemed like more of a 442 but with him stuck out completely wide and Armstrong who was also isolated and is not the type of player to hold up the ball to let bbd make runs off of him .. so we hardly played at all to his strengths really. At Sheffield utd he played off a target man so they used him very differently.

if we are to use him and Armstrong as wide forwards it would make a lot more sense to play downs over archer as downs can hold the ball up allowing those two chance to make runs inside.. I think it’s hard to accommodate archer into a 3  

[coalman]

1 hour ago, pimpin4rizeal said:

Could see this also being a forward 3 if we are using bbd and Arma wide . 
another thing I’d say about the way we used him last season it seemed like more of a 442 but with him stuck out completely wide and Armstrong who was also isolated and is not the type of player to hold up the ball to let bbd make runs off of him .. so we hardly played at all to his strengths really. At Sheffield utd he played off a target man so they used him very differently.

if we are to use him and Armstrong as wide forwards it would make a lot more sense to play downs over archer as downs can hold the ball up allowing those two chance to make runs inside.. I think it’s hard to accommodate archer into a 3  

Oh god. We're having a serious conversation about Armstrong and BBD being our wide forwards. I just threw up in my mouth.

Edited 29 July, 2025 by coalman

[Dark Munster]

4 hours ago, coalman said:

Oh god. We're having a serious conversation about Armstrong and BBD being our wide forwards. I just threw up in my mouth.

Don't forget Smallbone in midfield, Stephens in the back 4, and Bazunu in goal.

Need a bucket?

[tdmickey3]

5 hours ago, Dark Munster said:

Don't forget Smallbone in midfield, Stephens in the back 4, and Bazunu in goal.

Need a bucket?

🤮

[HedgeEnder]

Western Sydney Wanderers on a permanent transfer 

[Osvaldorama]

Good luck to him. 
 

Decent servant for us, all things considered.
 

Helped us get back up, and made the idea that he had a bad attitude seem a bit silly. 

[Whitey Grandad]

Good heavens.  I'd forgotten all about him.

Good luck to him though. We'll always have Wembley. 

[SNSUN]

Decent loan spell to get us up but to sign him permanently on a 2 year contract in the Prem was a strange decision.

[Willo of Whiteley]

All the best to him, was excellent in our promotion season and largely frozen out last season.

Notnlived up to the same hype this season but always was a tryer.

Permanent transfer surprises me but all the best to him.

[Turkish]

Good luck to him, played a decent part season we went up 

[Lighthouse]

31 minutes ago, SNSUN said:

Decent loan spell to get us up but to sign him permanently on a 2 year contract in the Prem was a strange decision.

Basically this. Decent player to have at a Championship level but giving him a permanent deal (on deadline day IIRC) was a pretty good avatar for our rudderless recruitment in 2024.

[davefizzy14]

Good luck to wee man. He played a big part in our promotion two years ago. Always gave hundred per cent and chipped in with some important goals.

[Saint86]

Good luck to him, seems a nice move for his retirement in fairness.

[Saint Fan CaM]

Good luck to him, but what a stupid waste of time and money with the perm contract. It’s not really helped us.

[lambtiss]

Nothing but good feelings towards Ryan and best wishes for his future. 

He always gave 100% for us and it was just age that caught up with him that hurried his departure.

[TheAlehouseBrawlers]

Yep, good luck to him, done his bit for us and proved a few critics wrong over his attitude.

I'm sure his salary has taken a bit of a knock but nice place and lifestyle to see out your pro career.

[Zorba]

26 minutes ago, TheAlehouseBrawlers said:

 

I'm sure his salary has taken a bit of a knock but nice place and lifestyle to see out your pro career.

Fair Dinkum

[suewhistle]

He's probably been influenced by the weather we've been having and the forecast.. His experience and strength should do him well down there as his pace has gone. Good luck to him.

Edit: Does this place in the squad have any implications for signings or loans, I wonder?

Edited 3 hours ago by suewhistle

[Toadhall Saint]

Good luck wee man! Thanks for everything 

[skintsaint]

2 hours ago, TheAlehouseBrawlers said:

I'm sure his salary has taken a bit of a knock but nice place and lifestyle to see out your pro career.

Hmm, west Sydney is a dive 😅

Its a physical league akin to a lower league skillset so might do ok out there. Good luck wee man.

[revolution saint]

He's about as far as it's geographically possible to get from Eddie Howe.  That's avoidance on a massive scale but fair play to him. 

[Lord Duckhunter]

1 hour ago, skintsaint said:

Hmm, west Sydney is a dive 😅

Its a physical league akin to a lower league skillset so might do ok out there. Good luck wee man.

The standard is pony, complete pony. I saw Sydney V Melbourne at Leichhardt Oval a couple of months back, best player on the pitch was Juan Mata & he’s about 50. Stadium was woeful, got fucking drenched, and the standard was Wessel league level. 

[Gloucester Saint]

2 hours ago, skintsaint said:

Hmm, west Sydney is a dive 😅

Its a physical league akin to a lower league skillset so might do ok out there. Good luck wee man.

He could afford to live in N Sydney and travel in surely?

[Gloucester Saint]

2 hours ago, suewhistle said:

He's probably been influenced by the weather we've been having and the forecast.. His experience and strength should do him well down there as his pace has gone. Good luck to him.

Edit: Does this place in the squad have any implications for signings or loans, I wonder?

If he likes cricket, probably wanted to see some victories. 

[skintsaint]

5 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

He could afford to live in N Sydney and travel in surely?

Best give it plenty of time for the commute.