Lambert signing

[richardhubbard]

I know we not there yet but it's looking like there not one shit one in there. Benteke, Lowton , Westwood in recent weeks have been awesome.

Plus in Delph and weinmann he unlocked talents !

[PaulWinch again]

They've been great, Sylla was also really good tonight and KEA even showed form last week.

[Somniloquism]

They have all had up and downs, the worst ones really were the more experienced ones (apart from Guzan). And although it has cost us nothing in the long run, but why Dawkins?

[N'Zimidy]

The man is a proper genius.

Benteke, Lowton, Westwood, Guzan and Vlaar cost £13m between them. Then look at how El Ahmadi, Bennett, Sylla and even Bowery have been playing and there isn't a bad signing in there. Once the overpaid shit has been cleared out in the summer, Lambert will have plenty more wages and money to play with and I can imagine him picking up several more gems.

[paul_e]

let's be honest, Benteke may well go down as one of the best signings ever in this league, for a player to have got the 'who' comments he did and ram it down the pundits throats so emphatically is seriously impressive.

I like Lowton, he has excellent technique, he looks like a player who has worked his bollocks off to get where he has, which is hopefully a sign that he'll keep getting better.

Westwood has no fear of who he's playing against, just gets on and plays his game, a great attribute in the role he's playing.

I have high hopes for Sylla and Bennett as well, both looked very good tonight.

Oh and he brought back Guzan.

[ozzjim]

I think he has done incredibly well for 23-24 million to have got what he has.

Dawkins was a shot to nothing and is on bugger all wages so not really a consideration.

Guzan - I would not swap him for any other keeper
Bennett - incredible left foot, and now confidence is coming he is getting into games more. Shooting will come next with him, and I reckon it will be a treat. Defensively poor, but an excellent footballer, so you can work with him. A bit like Gareth Bale "light".. give him time.
Lowton - Incredible tonight, started very solid, had a tough 2-3 months, but come out the other side and been terrific lately. Great technique, good going forward and confidence has shot up since the goal at Stoke. Proper player. Again work on defending to do, but it will come. If they were brilliant defenders as well they would be elsewhere I feel.
Vlaar - probably the biggest disappointment, nowhere near commanding enough, but has proved a good captain since returning from injury and the kids have clearly improved since then with him steadying the ship. Always talking and encouraging, and many a centre half has taken time in this league to settle. A better partner might help. For the money, he is a decent player. Needs an organiser with him.
KEA - jury is out, seen very little of him since the Everton game where he played really well and was important in us getting 3-1 up. Looked decent last week. Hope is there.
Westwood - probably my favourite of the lot - just such a tidy footballer. Needs to track his runners better, but his use of the ball after the first 5 minutes of a game is exceptional. He played a pass 45 yards from the edge of our box out to the wing tonight and I thought yeah, that is what we need. Time and confidence he will only get better. Allowed to dictate tonight by...
Sylla - the French Reo Coker... who I liked a lot and thought was useful. Sylla is the same. Needs to learn to get his head up before he has the ball so he knows where the next ball is going, Westwood is brilliant at that playing 1 step ahead, but he is a terrier and a half and does a lot of donkey work. Which any side needs.
Benteke - Are there words to describe him?? A true world class centre forward. Lucky to have him, and lucky Lambert got him.

Then what he has got from

Gabby - best season in 4 years?
Weimann - becoming a real talent in this league, and should convert more of his chances in coming years
Delph - total write off to essential player - he is a very, very decent player now
NZogbia - looked much better than under the pratt who signed him...


Now...

2 centre backs this summer, another couple of midfield options and Gabby and Weimann competition please Paul!

[eamonn]

I know we not there yet but it's looking like there not one shit one in there.

Your signature always makes me queasy Richard, even more so when you mention 'shit' in your post. If you contribute to the Cat Shit thread I'm gonna have to evacuate my guts or bowels.

[Greg N'Ash]

Fairplay to him. Wouldn't write any of his signings off yet, and there's no doubt he's increased the value of our squad compared to the highly paid tat of the MON's years.. Just needs to keep us up or its all gonna be for someone else's benefit

[The Man With A Stick]

Getting Benteke, Westwood and Lowton in for peanuts (in today's market) is the best bit of business we've done since SGT got Sid, God, Platty and Yorkie for around a million quid.

If Taggart, Redknapp or Wenger had done similar, the press would be foaming at the mouth over their sheer genius.

[Mister E]

Special mention for Bennett - he has had a torrid time this season but tonight I thought he came of age. Not only did I think he played Adam Johnson pretty well, he also looked confident going forward and a real fullback.

[supertom]

Special mention for Bennett - he has had a torrid time this season but tonight I thought he came of age. Not only did I think he played Adam Johnson pretty well, he also looked confident going forward and a real fullback.

Agreed. He'd been improving over the last couple of months, with the odd tough game here and there still (as you'd expect at his age). On the whole, he's finishing the season strongly. Looks like he'll be a good signing. Today was his best game yet. Superb.
I think he and Lowton need to improve their strength a bit though. A commanding presence at CH next season will help the two lads. We need an organiser. Someone to just wake them up when they're asleep positionally. Vlaar doesn't do that. Concrete will also be better for having a commanding partner. Now...where's the next Martin Laursen hiding?

I think if we get in a decent defensive coach too, just to really overhaul what we're set up, we can stop shifting too many sloppy goals. No doubt either, that this season will have been a steep learning curve for our youngsters. They'll be better for it next season.

[Concrete John]

Bennett has really been a prime example of why you need patience.  He'll miss a few tackles and get beaten by his winger as he learns the step up to PL level, which will get him a slagging from some on here.  But if you put that aside and try to be more objective, you can see he has talent going forward and just needs to tighten up the defensive side of his game.  Had we written him off and played Baker LB, as many wanted, we wouldn't have then had that last night from him.  That's not to say he'll be like that from now on, and I'm sure the 'everything is shit' crowd will be on his back again soon, but like all our young players they need time. 

[eastie]

Bennett has really been a prime example of why you need patience.  He'll miss a few tackles and get beaten by his winger as he learns the step up to PL level, which will get him a slagging from some on here.  But if you put that aside and try to be more objective, you can see he has talent going forward and just needs to tighten up the defensive side of his game.  Had we written him off and played Baker LB, as many wanted, we wouldn't have then had that last night from him.  That's not to say he'll be like that from now on, and I'm sure the 'everything is shit' crowd will be on his back again soon, but like all our young players they need time. 

Bennett had injury problems early in the season , now he is fully fit and confident his game is coming on in leaps and bounds - the signings made by lambert have been very good and only kea has disappointed but even he showed some signs of progress last week .

We have the nucleas of a decent young side that with confidence will grow - we are not safe yet but very close to it - if we achieve safety this season i feel we can look to much better season next year.

[N'ZMAV]

Dawkins

[N'ZMAV]

Guzan has also been one of Lamberts best signings.