Showing posts with label Ibe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ibe. Show all posts

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Loic Remy for £8m & Borini for £14m. The apocalypse is upon us.

We have apparently sealed the deal to gain a striker with an amazing goals on pitch difference and let go of one who does not.  I've written about what Loic Remy did for Newcastle last season, when he was on the pitch, they were a much better side.  In fact, had he played all 38 matches for the Magpies, they could have possibly finished with 66 points and ahead of Man United.  Instead, they finished 10th with just 49.

How we got him for £6m less than we sold Borini is beyond me.  Borini does not have the pace to be a star in the Prem.  Sunderland may be the perfect fit for him as their 'grind it out' style better suits his game.  I understand he is still 'young' by many standards, but even at 23, he's had his chance to prove he can be of value to a 'big' club like Liverpool.  If he was smart, he'd go back to Italy, where 'technique' is favored over pace.  That's called sarcasm, Serie A is far from technically superior to the Prem and uses that excuse to make up for it's home grown snail's pace.

If the rumours are true and we've added Remy, that makes three solid adds and one which, at best, will go done as 'meh'.  If Lambert will just let the game come to him like he did at Southampton, he'll be a great contribution, but if he tries to force things, he won't see the pitch much and will be gone after this season. He's not the one I'm referring to as 'meh' though, if Loic Remy is worth only £8m, Lallana should have come on a free.  Speaking of additions, Can was apparently injured today in our 2-1 win over Preston North End, I really hope he it's just a niggling and he'll be okay, we need him to compete for minutes pronto.

Speaking of that match, Jordon Ibe was apparently quite impressive.  I didn't get to watch it due to other obligations, but I did get to see some of the highlights.  This first video shows Ibe finding Suso right outside the box, then the Spaniard does his magic with a fine curler.  The second video shows Ibe hooking up Kristoph Peterson for his second goal of the pre-season.  Will Rodgers take the latter on the tour of the US now?  It looks like he'll have an open spot now that Borini is gone.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

The transfer terrorists and their sneaky, little dirty bombs

If you are like me, you are already tired of all the speculations and half-fabrications pertaining to potential transfers involving our beloved club.  The silly season is upon us and since my two pence is worth at least one-fiftieth quid, I figure I'll have a go at deciphering through this radioactive mess.  I don't claim to have an advantage of who we may bring in, but I can at least give my thoughts on who is 'surplus to the cause'.

Lucas Leiva
I'm really on the fence about Lucas.  As much as I think we should keep him, part of me thinks the Lucas of three seasons ago is gone and he shan't return.  His injuries have become too frequent and though his passing and ball-handling skills have improved, he appears slower than ever and that's saying a lot considering pace was never one of his strengths.  At least now, with the addition of Can, we won't have to rely on him as much.

Daniel Agger
Absolutely not, losing Agger would be a greater loss than losing Suarez.  He was our best centre back last year and unless Sakho proves his worth early on next season, Agger should be around for a few more years.

Iago Aspas
Here's an interesting stat concerning Aspas... oh wait, there are no interesting stats concerning him.  Give'em a ticket and say bon voyage.

Fabio Borini
Even without the addition of Rickie Lambert, Borini should be shipped out.  In 2692 Premiership minutes, playing for Sunderland, Liverpool, and Chelsea, he has scored 8 goals, 3 of which are penalties, and assisted on 3 more.  For a comparison, he scored 9 goals in 1680 minutes for Roma in Serie A.  He doesn't have the pace nor the technical ability to make up for the lack of pace to make it in the Prem.  I say sell him to Sunderland or use him as bait to get a versatile defender like Federico Fazio.

Ousama Assaidi
Assaidi had a decent spell at Stoke last season, but not enough to really consider keeping him.  His ccp90 of 1.53, shooting accuracy of 45%, shot % of 20%, and a TTI90 of 8.6 are all respectable numbers, but he'll be 26 in August.  If he was 23, I'd say keep him around for another season, but it's time to cut ties and try to get back at least some of what we paid for him.

Jack Robinson
Robinson's loan spell at Blackpool probably did more for his character development than it did for his skills. Blackpool started the season in decent form, sitting on 31 points 17 matches into the season, than the ship ran aground.  They lost 20 of their remaining 29 matches, even bringing in Barry Ferguson as the manager did little to help their slide.  Was Robinson integral to their fall? Not really.  Despite picking up 3 red cards, 2 of which were in their first 17 matches, Robinson's output was respectable:

npgp900pass%71.7gap901.44intp902.27
gcp900.1bp%37.3gsp900.83clrp905.3
ccp900.77sacc%8.3gop90-0.61bsp900.35
ap900.1shot%0tgop90-0.61adwp901.4
ccv12.5TTI9011.7tp901.95adwon%57.1
tack %51.3

Ferguson even deployed Robinson at left mid for 4 matches with mixed results.  Being only 20, I expect him to be loaned out again and hopefully show more promise than last season.

As for Suso, Wisdom, Kelly, Coady, Yesil, and Ibe, unless they vehemently demand to leave, we should hold on to them.  The first three can contribute now, while the latter three probably need seasoning at a Championship side to improve their game.

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