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Picking at the relegation carcass


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Norwich

Sunderland

Newcastle

Villa

 

With Villa already gone it's going to be 2 out of the other three joining them in the Championship.

 

Usually when a team goes down there's a flood of players putting in transfer requests and maybe one or two players who are "too good to go down"  I don't think there's anyone who I'd take here from the four of them though.  

 

Mitrovic at Newcastle looks like he has the makings of a good player but is a bit mental. I wouldn't thank you for any of Villas lot and with the exception of Defoe whose goals are sure to attract a move back into the top flight I can't see the good ship Premier League saving them.

 

Redmond from Norwich looked a decent prospect a while back but he's gone into hiding with the rest of the green and yellow squad.

 

Anyone spot a Henchoz style bargain in with that rabble?

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I'd rather we concentrate on players used to winning things and fighting at the other end of the table. We've bought too many mid- and lower-table players in recent years and it goes a long way towards explaining why we haven't been battling it out at the top end ourselves.

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I really like Amavi from Villa. He suffered a similar injury to Ings and Gomez but when he gets back fit and is available for transfer, I think he would be a great bargain that we could bring in to challenge Moreno at left back. He was one of the brightest full backs in France during his time there and is much too good for the Championship

 

Can't really think of anyone else that is good enough or that we really need.

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I think Wijnaldum is the best of the bunch, and he could be fine as one of our 4/5 up front, but... we have Origi, Sturridge, Ings and Firmino, with Benteke likely to exit and another likely to come in, and in that sort of mix there's no spot for Wijnaldum. He's good enough to be a squad man for us though, IMO.

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Would not take any player from that lot. If we have serious designs on the title/top 4 then we need to start buying players of that calibre. We bought more than a few mediocre/average players in recent years from mid-table clubs and they turned out terrible. To go even further down the depths of mediocrity and look for players from the bottom 4 is not going to improve the squad.

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I'd rather we concentrate on players used to winning things and fighting at the other end of the table. We've bought too many mid- and lower-table players in recent years and it goes a long way towards explaining why we haven't been battling it out at the top end ourselves.

Hate to say it like, but like Leicester?

It's not about buying players who are used to winning things & from where we get them, its about getting the RIGHT players. Which is what we haven't done. You don't have to buy from the top table all the time, there is quality to be had elsewhere.

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I wanted us to sign Wijnaldum in the summer but not arsed about him now. 

 

I'd take Defoe as our 4th striker. 

 

For some reason I always thought Redmond was on our books but I must be getting confused with Phil Redmond who gave us Brookie. 

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Wijnaldum might be good enough when motivated, in a decent side. Mitrovic looks to have the most potential out of the bunch seeing that he's only 21 and has been talismanic at times for Newcastle this season. 

 

Other than that Redmond is a shit Sterling. Jack Grealish is an idiot and hasn't got the mentality to be a top player. Ayoze Perez is a decent player but goes missing in most games. Watmore is rubbish, M'Vila hasn't got the attitude or the ability on the ball to play for us. It's slim pickings. Defoe will be back in the premier league next season if Sunderland go down, that's about it. 

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I wanted us to gamble on Micah Richards last summer, no idea how he's got on there, has he been immune from criticism this season or has he been dogshit as well?

 

 

He got into an argument with Villa fans during the wycombe cup game 

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Hate to say it like, but like Leicester?

It's not about buying players who are used to winning things & from where we get them, its about getting the RIGHT players. Which is what we haven't done. You don't have to buy from the top table all the time, there is quality to be had elsewhere.

 

Leicester have very much been the exception not the norm. As well as they've done (and they've done incredibly well), their basic template is NOT the one for us to follow. They sit very deep, cede possession and look to break at pace on the counter. That requires the opposition to dominate proceedings and the vast majority of teams against Liverpool - regardless of how strong or otherwise our squad is or how well we're doing at the time - look to play on the counter against us instead. It's a legacy of our previous decades of domination that has stuck, much like Man Utd's opponents shitting the bed at Old Trafford even though Man Utd have been considerably weaker than in their heyday for some time now. Old mentalities still prevail.

 

Where Leicester and Ranieri have been clever this year is in knowing that the vast majority of teams in this league struggle to play on the front foot, dominate possession and create chances against defenders sitting so deep. Where they've been fortunate is that their counter attacks have been unusually more clinical than is normally the case and that their key players have all remained fit.

 

I've theorised before that for an underdog (which Leicester are) to prevail, they need 3 things to come together. Firstly, they need to play above themselves, which Leicester have. Secondly their opponents need to perform below themselves, which the other teams bar Spurs (who are also considered underdogs when it comes to a title race) have done. Lastly, they need a huge slice of luck which again they have had a lot of. Not in terms of refereeing decisions and the like, but that their counter attacks have been so clinical compared to the statistical norm.

 

When a team wins something, they usually find that there is much more onus on them to dictate terms in matches the following season, and opponents usually up their game against them. Leicester are so close to the title right now but they'd need to show that this season is no fluke. The regular contenders will regroup and reinvest, and Leicester will lack the element of surprise they've had this year.

 

Let me cite one player as an example - Ngolo Kante. I know he isn't merely a ballwinner but that is the main emphasis of his game, and he has been exceptional at it this year. Since his defenders usually camp out on the edge of their own box and his team usually allow the opposition to control possession, he operates in that part of the pitch 20-40 yards outside his own penalty area. If he was playing for a side which defend with a much higher line and also dominate possession, would he be as effective?

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