Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: Smirker on August 05, 2025, 07:29:02 PM
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It's been here we go'd.
If it doesn't happen I'll take a permaban.
WELCOME TO THE VILLA.
8)
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Too many assists Smirker.
Very interesting, sounds promising in terms of profile.
Who have we managed to shift then? It’s a pretty substantial fee when we have the UEFA restrictions.
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Good lord, it looks like we’re signing someone…
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Too many assists Smirker.
Very interesting, sounds promising in terms of profile.
Who have we managed to shift then? It’s a pretty substantial fee when we have the UEFA restrictions.
I reckon Bailey will be the first departure for decent money that shoots off.
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Good lord, it looks like we’re signing someone…
Good Evanns, Shirley?
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Watching the clips he has quite a lot in common with Morgan in terms of running style, strength and technique.
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12 goals from 32 games last season and Nice finished 4th . Not bad .
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Watkins off?
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Watkins off?
More likely a replacement for Bailey, so Leon off?
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He looks like a centre forward to me, 6ft 2 - I wonder if his eyes are blue?
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He looks like a centre forward to me, 6ft 2 - I wonder if his eyes are blue?
Evann Guessand's after you...
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Never heard of him before, but been told he’s good on FM which will do for me :)
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He looks like a centre forward to me, 6ft 2 - I wonder if his eyes are blue?
He isn’t. He can play there, but he is more of an “inside forward”.
https://breakingthelines.com/player-analysis/evann-guessand-striker-winger-or-a-hybrid-forward/ (https://breakingthelines.com/player-analysis/evann-guessand-striker-winger-or-a-hybrid-forward/)
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I remember seeing a link to him in January so I watched his youtube vids and, for me, he's exactly what we need. Him and Rogers out wide and then Ollie and Asensio at 9 and 10 is a scary looking attack, and then you have players like Malen, Ramsey and McGinn fitting in around them, I reckon teams would be fucking terrified of us.
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Welcome to the Villa.
Help win us something and shut sundry family members up!
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Takes penalties too!
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I remember seeing a link to him in January so I watched his youtube vids and, for me, he's exactly what we need. Him and Rogers out wide and then Ollie and Asensio at 9 and 10 is a scary looking attack, and then you have players like Malen, Ramsey and McGinn fitting in around them, I reckon teams would be fucking terrified of us.
Love that Paul….bit of positivity we need
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I remember seeing a link to him in January so I watched his youtube vids and, for me, he's exactly what we need. Him and Rogers out wide and then Ollie and Asensio at 9 and 10 is a scary looking attack, and then you have players like Malen, Ramsey and McGinn fitting in around them, I reckon teams would be fucking terrified of us.
Love that Paul….bit of positivity we need
This makes me very, very excited :)
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His show reel looks fantastic but I've never heard of him
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Good feel to this signing .
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I remember seeing a link to him in January so I watched his youtube vids and, for me, he's exactly what we need. Him and Rogers out wide and then Ollie and Asensio at 9 and 10 is a scary looking attack, and then you have players like Malen, Ramsey and McGinn fitting in around them, I reckon teams would be fucking terrified of us.
Love that Paul….bit of positivity we need
Isn’t the problem with that the lack of Asensio? Great vision, though. Just hope we can make it happen.
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Some journos suggesting it's an initial payment of 22 million pounds.
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It is a very low bar to improve on what Bailey was producing last season.
Can play as CF if needed so looks a good pick up to me.
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It is a very low bar to improve on what Bailey was producing last season.
Can play as CF if needed so looks a good pick up to me.
Anything better then 5 goal contributions will be a positive over Bailey.
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Isnt he fairly similar to Malen?
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Apart from the 2 foot height difference.
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Isnt he fairly similar to Malen?
Not physically , plus he can play central and left too
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Isnt he fairly similar to Malen?
He’s much taller, more skilful and likes to take players on.
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Apart from playing left, right or central is also something Malen has done at other clubs in the past. So just the apparent physicality.
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Malen
Rogers
Guessand
Decent forward options.
Ramsey if he can get some consistency again. Reckon he might be off though.
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Definitely need to get others chipping in to help Watkins, given he scored or assisted 50% of our goals in the league last season.
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Still very unfair that the league decided not to count any of the goals we scored from his assists.
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Evann 'elp us.
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Still very unfair that the league decided not to count any of the goals we scored from his assists.
Unfortunately, as has always been the case, goals scored by a striker count as 2, assists by a striker are -1. Rules are rules.
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I remember seeing a link to him in January so I watched his youtube vids and, for me, he's exactly what we need. Him and Rogers out wide and then Ollie and Asensio at 9 and 10 is a scary looking attack, and then you have players like Malen, Ramsey and McGinn fitting in around them, I reckon teams would be fucking terrified of us.
Love that Paul….bit of positivity we need
Isn’t the problem with that the lack of Asensio? Great vision, though. Just hope we can make it happen.
Well this guy hasn't signed yet either but I think he will and I reckon Asensio will join in again in a couple of weeks, unless someone else comes in for him in the meantime. I've had a feeling all summer he'd be back for another year on loan.
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Ramsey if he can get some consistency again. Reckon he might be off though.
certainly hope not . Bailey can go
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Sounds like a good bit of business. On my birthday too. Hope he signs and is brilliant for us. Good to have another attacking option.
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^^ Happy birthday Steve.
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No idea if this is good or not.
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Sounds like a good bit of business. On my birthday too. Hope he signs and is brilliant for us. Good to have another attacking option.
through the middle or down the left .
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Wonder if we are going 3-4-3? Can’t beat them so join them
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Ramsey if he can get some consistency again. Reckon he might be off though.
certainly hope not . Bailey can go
West Ham fan at work suggested they were after Ramsey (he said a swap for Paqueta) but I’ve no idea whether their ITK is as solid as ours…
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Sounds like a good bit of business. On my birthday too. Hope he signs and is brilliant for us. Good to have another attacking option.
Wish you a very happy 58th birthday Mr.
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^^ Happy birthday Steve.
Thanks Perce!
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Sounds like a good bit of business. On my birthday too. Hope he signs and is brilliant for us. Good to have another attacking option.
Wish you a very happy 58th birthday Mr.
Thank Aftab, very kind of you.
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Just hoping Small Heath don't try to hijack the deal.
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Wonder if we are going 3-4-3? Can’t beat them so join them
Dibu
Konsa Tyrone Pau
Cash Bouba Youri Digne
Rogers Ollie Jacob
Subs
Bizot Gauci
Garcia, Bogarde, Moreno, Maatsen
Onana McGinn Buendia
Illing-Junior, Jimoh-Aloba, Malen, Guessand
Fully expect some of the subs to be loaned/sold/replaced
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As I said from the start - a totally different option from Malen.
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Wonder if we are going 3-4-3? Can’t beat them so join them
Dibu
Konsa Tyrone Pau
Cash Bouba Youri Digne
Rogers Ollie Jacob
Subs
Bizot Gauci
Garcia, Bogarde, Moreno, Maatsen
Onana McGinn Buendia
Illing-Junior, Jimoh-Aloba, Malen, Guessand
Fully expect some of the subs to be loaned/sold/replaced
That back 3 would be catastrophic I fear. Digne and Cash would be rotten in that setup too. Just no
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Wonder if we are going 3-4-3?
I was having a pleasant evening.
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Wonder if we are going 3-4-3? Can’t beat them so join them
Dibu
Konsa Tyrone Pau
Cash Bouba Youri Digne
Rogers Ollie Jacob
Subs
Bizot Gauci
Garcia, Bogarde, Moreno, Maatsen
Onana McGinn Buendia
Illing-Junior, Jimoh-Aloba, Malen, Guessand
Fully expect some of the subs to be loaned/sold/replaced
That back 3 would be catastrophic I fear. Digne and Cash would be rotten in that setup too. Just no
Agree, relegation candidates if we put that out every week.
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Wonder if we are going 3-4-3? Can’t beat them so join them
Dibu
Konsa Tyrone Pau
Cash Bouba Youri Digne
Rogers Ollie Jacob
Subs
Bizot Gauci
Garcia, Bogarde, Moreno, Maatsen
Onana McGinn Buendia
Illing-Junior, Jimoh-Aloba, Malen, Guessand
Fully expect some of the subs to be loaned/sold/replaced
That back 3 would be catastrophic I fear. Digne and Cash would be rotten in that setup too. Just no
Agree, relegation candidates if we put that out every week.
The last time Emery tried it, might have even been the first time, was away at Palace last season. Emery lost his mind that night, looked as if the players had no idea where they were meant to be playing. Including poor old Bailey on at RWB. Bogarde was torched on the left of a three including Konsa and Disasi! It was the most random team selection I recall Emery ever making, Mings left on the bench too.
Wembley and Old Trafford were awful but that display at Selhurst Park was surely our very worst under Emery. 4-1 was very flattering.
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Happy 67h Steve.
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Happy 67h Steve.
Thank you. Up the Villa!!
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she reminds me a bit of Adebayor 🤔
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she reminds me a bit of Adebayor 🤔
A milestone, our first gender-fluid player.
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she reminds me a bit of Adebayor 🤔
A milestone, our first gender-fluid player.
Whoops yes he , sorry
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Evann Almighty?
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Happy 67h Steve.
Harsh, he might look 67 but he's only 58!
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Happy Birthday Steve.
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I hope for SE and CD's sakes that he's made of steel, not glass. https://x.com/NumbToLosing/status/1928064930499932382
They've never been quite the same since Bertie left.
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A touch of the Eze about him
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He looks very quick and skilful and can finish. Some good assists as well.
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I know Im not calling it well - but I cant see any actual links to him
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A touch of the Eze about him
Is that why Palace were looking at him?
Replacement?
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I know Im not calling it well - but I cant see any actual links to him
The BBC, The Athletic, Fabrizio Romano have all said it’s done.
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I hope for SE and CD's sakes that he's made of steel, not glass. https://x.com/NumbToLosing/status/1928064930499932382
They've never been quite the same since Bertie left.
Oof!
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I'm not sure I'm ready to give my heart to another just yet.
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Let’s hope he is as great as pre injury Jimmy Danger. The only other Côte d'Ivoire player in our history*
*nerds might point out that Dane Jores Okore could count as he was born there and has dual citizenship.
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I hope he’s better than that.
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Kodjia was such a frustrating player.
Sgnificant talent, but with absolutely no conception of the fact that sometimes, it makes sense to give the ball to a team mate.
The opposite of Watkins in that sense.
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He was but he was also outrageous by way of the types of goals he scored. A poor man’s Benteke in a sense that he had it all but there were times he’d try to do too much himself. The injury ruined him.
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I remember seeing a link to him in January so I watched his youtube vids and, for me, he's exactly what we need.
[…]
From the highlights I’ve seen, he does that quick ‘receive and turn’ thing that Kamara and Tielemans do in midfield, and has a burst of acceleration to go past defenders ( like Ramsay when he’s in form).
Quite looking forward about seeing him in our team as it appears to show a coherent plan in squad building - he’s well suited to the right or left role bursting into the space between opposition CB and FB. Seems like that would match up well with Ollie in the middle and overlapping full backs giving width.
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What the Bejesus, an actual new signing!
Quite a ride this window is turning into.
Evann on paper/film looks good, better than that other Evan we were being linked with a couple of windows back.
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Looks like a Diaby replacement to me. We need the likes of this guy, Watkins and Malen to stretch teams especially when we're under the pump in away games. I'd expect him to be a high impact sub to begin with.
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I hope he’s better than that.
I was going to say - I liked Kodjia, but even pre-injury I hope this guy is a different level. Kodjia was a good player in the Championship.
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Never heard of the guy until last night - hopefully he will be brilliant for us
It will be interesting to see where Unai plays him in the team
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Never heard of him, although looks flip hot.
AFCON this season isn’t it?
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He looks a top player.
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Would this leave Malen out in the cold?
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Would this leave Malen out in the cold?
I don't think so, need all the options we can get.
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Never heard of him, although looks flip hot.
AFCON this season isn’t it?
Only downside yes. Although we aren't the worse affected for that.
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Would this leave Malen out in the cold?
I don't think so, need all the options we can get.
And as we have seen with Malen, Guessand will need to earn his spot. Based on what we have seen in pre season Malen will start on the right.
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And I like Malen on the right, has a kind of bustling-towards-goal thing going on. Plus he seems to be able to shoot a crosscourt forehand into the far corner like it's easy.
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He looks a fine player, really exciting and Im glad he looks like coming. But as it looks likely that he's be the only big money buy, I'm a little surprised we are spending our budget on a player who looks so similar to JJ and Rogers in style. I thought we might go for a more natural '10' or a rapid right winger.
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Have we loaned him out yet?
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He was but he was also outrageous by way of the types of goals he scored. A poor man’s Benteke in a sense that he had it all but there were times he’d try to do too much himself. The injury ruined him.
What the Bejesus, an actual new signing!
Quite a ride this window is turning into.
Evann on paper/film looks good, better than that other Evan we were being linked with a couple of windows back.
Johnny?
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But as it looks likely that he's be the only big money buy, I'm a little surprised we are spending our budget on a player who looks so similar to JJ and Rogers in style
This time yesterday the consensus was that we weren't making any "big money buys".
So it seems a little premature to decide that this is now it.
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He was but he was also outrageous by way of the types of goals he scored. A poor man’s Benteke in a sense that he had it all but there were times he’d try to do too much himself. The injury ruined him.
What the Bejesus, an actual new signing!
Quite a ride this window is turning into.
Evann on paper/film looks good, better than that other Evan we were being linked with a couple of windows back.
Johnny?
We're sorry, wontcha' come on home.
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He was but he was also outrageous by way of the types of goals he scored. A poor man’s Benteke in a sense that he had it all but there were times he’d try to do too much himself. The injury ruined him.
What the Bejesus, an actual new signing!
Quite a ride this window is turning into.
Evann on paper/film looks good, better than that other Evan we were being linked with a couple of windows back.
Johnny?
We're sorry, wontcha' come on home.
Remember me
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Evann Guessand turned down a 4 year contract worth €34.4m at Saudi club Neom SC in favour of his sporting career — he chose to join Unai Emery’s project at Aston Villa.
@lequipe
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Fair play to him, Neom isn't a project I'd choose to be involved with.
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Talking of Neom, The Line project being worked on is apparently the section that contains the football stadium that will be perched 100metres high and needs to be ready for the CWC/WC in '31/32
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I know Im not calling it well - but I cant see any actual links to him
The BBC, The Athletic, Fabrizio Romano have all said it’s done.
I'm surprised that had any space or time to report this with the Sesko transfer.
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I wonder if it will be a slow integration like Maatsen, Malen and Garcia. Maybe we will only see a bit of him next season. It seems to be Unai’s way
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He was but he was also outrageous by way of the types of goals he scored. A poor man’s Benteke in a sense that he had it all but there were times he’d try to do too much himself. The injury ruined him.
What the Bejesus, an actual new signing!
Quite a ride this window is turning into.
Evann on paper/film looks good, better than that other Evan we were being linked with a couple of windows back.
Johnny?
We're sorry, wontcha' come on home.
Remember me
Ferguson. Of Drogheda via the Hove. Shuffled out on loan at, er, today's opponents it seems.
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I wonder if it will be a slow integration like Maatsen, Malen and Garcia. Maybe we will only see a bit of him next season. It seems to be Unai’s way
On the other hand you have Morgan Rogers.
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I wouldn't have thought so. He won't start vs the Geordies, but will get some time off the bench, I reckon.
Particularly if Bailey is off.
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But as it looks likely that he's be the only big money buy, I'm a little surprised we are spending our budget on a player who looks so similar to JJ and Rogers in style
This time yesterday the consensus was that we weren't making any "big money buys".
So it seems a little premature to decide that this is now it.
Well possibly but there appears to be a distinct lack of noise about incomings.
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There wasn't any noise about this fella until we were about to sign him. We're not sha, we do things rather than just talk about it.
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But as it looks likely that he's be the only big money buy, I'm a little surprised we are spending our budget on a player who looks so similar to JJ and Rogers in style
This time yesterday the consensus was that we weren't making any "big money buys".
So it seems a little premature to decide that this is now it.
Well possibly but there appears to be a distinct lack of noise about incomings.
There was a distinct lack of noise about us signing Guessand, until it suddenly turned out we were.
Who's to say there isn't a centre-back and winger version happening too?
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There might be, but agents seem to leak the stories of interest to drive the price, and there haven't been any other than this one have there?
I read about our interest in this fella last week so its not completely out of the blue.
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I can’t help but think Gestede when I hear his name. Hope he’s far better than how he turned out to be.
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I keep thinking Plastic Bertrand
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Diaby turned down Saudi to join us, we all know how that turned out. Guessard will probably be loaned out for the season and sold on for a profit before 30th June next year.
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I can’t help but think Gestede when I hear his name. Hope he’s far better than how he turned out to be.
I knew nothing about him until yesterday, but that is a seriously low bar to clear. I control the ball better than Rudy could.
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Diaby turned down Saudi to join us, we all know how that turned out. Guessard will probably be loaned out for the season and sold on for a profit before 30th June next year.
I thought it turned out ok? We had a decent first (and only) season with good numbers for goals and assists and we made a profit?
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Diaby turned down Saudi to join us, we all know how that turned out. Guessard will probably be loaned out for the season and sold on for a profit before 30th June next year.
Pretty well as I remember. He was decent, not amazing, we qualified for the Champions League and then sold him on for a bit of a profit
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I’ld be happy to have Diaby back. His pace is exactly what the team needs
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Diaby turned down Saudi to join us, we all know how that turned out. Guessard will probably be loaned out for the season and sold on for a profit before 30th June next year.
Pretty well as I remember. He was decent, not amazing, we qualified for the Champions League and then sold him on for a bit of a profit
It was evident from the January onwards that Diaby didn't want to be here. We did well to make a profit.
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I’d be delighted if he spends one season with us, scores a few goals, we get into champions league, and we sell him for a decent profit. 😀
I’ll be even happier if that sale happens after several seasons if it.
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Birmingham Airport has closed until at least 6pm today after a private aircraft heading to Belfast was forced to make an emergency landing.
Hope he got here earlier.
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Each time I come to Villa Park
To watch the Villa play
I stand up on the Holte End
And cheer and sing and say
Thank Evann for scoring goals
He scores them in the most exciting way
Thank Evann for scoring goals
More and more and more and more each day
With apologies to Maurice Chevalier.
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No need to apologise, the bastard didn't want to come.
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Guessand Guessand Gander
Where shall you wander
Left Wing or Right Wing
Or with Ollie in his chamber
There I met a Blues fan
Who wouldn’t say his prayers
So Mazrim took him by his left leg
And threw him down the stairs.
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Birmingham Airport has closed until at least 6pm today after a private aircraft heading to Belfast was forced to make an emergency landing.
Hope he got here earlier.
🤞💯
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On his way
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Gxrsjk0WYAA9Fvb?format=jpg&name=large)
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Nice bracelet.
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Nice bracelet.
One of those copper bracelets for his Arthritis, no doubt.
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Another looker. Well done to all concerned.
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Nice bracelet.
I imagine that's where he got it, yes.
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Nice bracelet.
I imagine that's where he got it, yes.
:)
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I am sure he will find it very easy to fit in with this group. Not only his countrymen in Digne and Kamara but Onana and McGinn look very easy to get on with
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Has he actually signed yet
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Has he actually signed yet
Guessand no.
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They’ll announce it Evanntually
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They’ll announce it Evanntually
that'd be Nice.
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Guess and ho!
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Does he wear a hat?
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I am sure he will find it very easy to fit in with this group. Not only his countrymen in Digne and Kamara but Onana and McGinn look very easy to get on with
French speakers at the club:
Digne
Boubacar
Tielemans
Onana
Bizot - spent 4 seasons in Ligue 1 - must have picked up a smattering
Unai - spoke it when at PSG.
Though he might struggle to understand Meatball, Glasgae isna English
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I though only Spainish speakers were being signed from now on.
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I though only Spainish speakers were being signed from now on.
That’s until we take delivery of the robots #insight
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This one is going on for evann and evann.
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This is becoming the nEVANN-ending story
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So where exactly is this guy? No flight, no - seen at airport or Bodymoor it’s very quiet!
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It’s been a couple of days. Just let it play out.
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Pretty much every transfer goes like this, the story breaks, everything is quiet for a few days then we get a welcome video, shirt pulling pic and monchi gets a pic with them.
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Still stuck circling and waiting for a landing spot at Birmingham Airport.
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He definitely landed, he was seen at WH Smith buying some Evann Water.
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Not sure it's already been mentioned but Guessand turned down an €8.6m a year four year contract from Neon in Saudi to join us. The lad's ambitious. His contract with us is for five years according to the craziest vlog I've just watched from the Ivory Coast.
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Aston Villa is delighted to announce the signing of Evann Guessand.
The forward joins from OGC Nice for an undisclosed fee.
Guessand came through the ranks at the French club and enjoyed a 2024/25 campaign where he scored 12 goals, helping Nice finish fourth in Ligue 1.
The Ivory Coast international, who is a versatile operator capable of playing across the front line, was also named Nice Player of the Season last term.
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We is delighted!
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Woooo
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Good signing.
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Gx0hqfgWsAAXdqj?format=jpg&name=large)
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Great signing, now get another defender and I reckon we're ready to go.
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Where is the congrats from BCV?
(https://media.tenor.com/ZMzKkrUnAn4AAAAM/discord-who-asked.gif)
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Lovely stuff, be good please.
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What's going on with SUE's barnet.
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I love when clubs use the word 'undisclosed' in their official announcements. You're the ones not doing the disclosing! I assume it's been disclosed to you, you're just not disclosing it to us! Evanns above.
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Great news, a new centre half and I think that's us done.
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I love when clubs use the word 'undisclosed' in their official announcements. You're the ones not doing the disclosing! I assume it's been disclosed to you, you're just not disclosing it to us! Evanns above.
My biggest issue with the whole undisclosed thing is that the finances are a huge thing for fans now because of PSR so all this does is create guesswork. If FFP and all it's derivatives, are really about financial transparency and fairness then I think the costs of transfers should be public knowledge. Most of the time the fee can be roughly worked out anyway so there's no benefit to hiding it.
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Welcome to the Villa, I hope you’ll be Evann Almighty!
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great signing - brilliant value for money , a player who can play differnt positions , excited about this one .
guessand floats on water .
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Excellent signing.
Really like the way we do our business quietly.
Welcome Evann.
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Guessand £26m plus £4.3m add-ons
Sesko £66.3m plus £7m add-ons
Who's got the better player?
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What's going on with SUE's barnet.
Maybe he’s done one of those bet things where he don’t cut it until we win something
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I love when clubs use the word 'undisclosed' in their official announcements. You're the ones not doing the disclosing! I assume it's been disclosed to you, you're just not disclosing it to us! Evanns above.
My biggest issue with the whole undisclosed thing is that the finances are a huge thing for fans now because of PSR so all this does is create guesswork. If FFP and all it's derivatives, are really about financial transparency and fairness then I think the costs of transfers should be public knowledge. Most of the time the fee can be roughly worked out anyway so there's no benefit to hiding it.
It's like when on news programmes they say 'the news was dominated today by...' - YOU'RE. THE NEWS.
And yeah, the only people it could possibly be worth hiding the money from are other clubs who might be curious about our financials, and I find it deliriously unlikely that they don't know anyway.
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Guessand £26m plus £4.3m add-ons
Sesko £66.3m plus £7m add-ons
Who's got the better player?
No idea, on paper Sesko is amazing but against us, in the euros and in the handful of other games I've watched I haven't seen anything to suggest he's going to be the man to drag Man Utd back up the table. Guessand looks like a Drogba-style late bloomer who could become an absolute menace in the next few years.
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Evann help us! Welcome mate please be good.
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"When I heard the club wanted me I didn't think twice," Guessand said.
"I'm ready to give my all. Every game, every kick, every minute."
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evann help them , I like the look of this guy .I know utube and all that but I dont care I am excited
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Add this guy into our front line and the options are really amazing. A front four of Watkins, JJ, Rogers and Guessand has me so so excited. And loads of quality options/different profiles to come in behind that like McGinn, Malen, Buendia...
I really like windows where it's 1/2 high quality, specific additions. One elite right-sided defender and we're in Top 5 shape again, IMO. We're already in good shape, especially if Bogarde continues his development trajectory.
Roll on the weekend games, I hope Evann gets a run-out.
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To update a banner from any years ago.
'With Evann's help we'lre Shaw to score'
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Guessand £26m plus £4.3m add-ons
Sesko £66.3m plus £7m add-ons
Who's got the better player?
No idea, on paper Sesko is amazing but against us, in the euros and in the handful of other games I've watched I haven't seen anything to suggest he's going to be the man to drag Man Utd back up the table. Guessand looks like a Drogba-style late bloomer who could become an absolute menace in the next few years.
On his track record, you'd have to back Emery improving Guessand more than Amorim and Sesko.
On the evidence of last season, Amorim only seems to make players worse.
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Evann help us! Welcome mate please be good.
Let’s hope it doesn’t turn to Evann knows I’m miserable now!
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Has there been a post lugubriously asking whether we're going to be losing him to AFCON this season? And did anyone answer it?
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Has there been a post lugubriously asking whether we're going to be losing him to AFCON this season? And did anyone answer it?
Never heard of him, although looks flip hot.
AFCON this season isn’t it?
Only downside yes. Although we aren't the worse affected for that.
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His stats from last season compare very favourably with Watkins, yet he dribbles and runs with the ball more too. He wins duels, he defends, his assists and expected assists were great too. He's a Rashford type player, who's younger, cheaper and more keen to impress.
This could be a cracking signing.
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Has there been a post lugubriously asking whether we're going to be losing him to AFCON this season? And did anyone answer it?
Never heard of him, although looks flip hot.
AFCON this season isn’t it?
Only downside yes. Although we aren't the worse affected for that.
Thanks.
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He should be made to wear wrist bands like Alan Evans, one of my favourite players as a kid. Why don’t players wear them anymore. I would, they should make a comeback. Just not head bands life Foster. That’s just weird.
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He’s a unit, and he looks rapid. With Malen, Rogers and Watkins we could really stretch some defences. I’m looking forward to seeing this lad on the pitch
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Will we be able to register him (and Malen) for Europa at the moment?
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Not at the moment I don’t think.
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He’s a unit, and he looks rapid. With Malen, Rogers and Watkins we could really stretch some defences. I’m looking forward to seeing this lad on the pitch
And Ramsey and Bailey (big IF), McGinn, Buendia buzzing around, Tielemans pinging the ball around, Onana carrying from deep and our full backs pushing up....
Life could be interesting this season.
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Why can't we register them?
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Why can't we register them?
Yea Im confused by this.
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I maybe wrong, but I think we have to be neutral or better on “A” squad player costs to register any new players for Europe (vs the last registered squad).
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Malen might be ok, but can’t see how Evann will be.
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If that is the right interpretation of the requirements - I may be wrong.
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Why can't we register them?
The UEFA controls which states changes to A-List have to be a positive transfer value.
The Club agrees to be subject to a sporting restriction and, as a consequence, may not
register any new player on its List A to UEFA club competitions unless the List A Transfer
Balance is positive.
The List A Transfer Balance is defined as the difference between the cost savings from
outgoing players (“Cost savings”) and the new costs from incoming players (“New costs”) at
any applicable deadline for the Club’s submission of its List A
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I maybe wrong, but I think we have to be neutral or better on “A” squad player costs to register any new players for Europe (vs the last registered squad).
Do we get any credit because we're not paying for Rashers, Marco and Axel D any more? I don't really understand what the unit of measurement is, amortised value? / Wage bill / number of followers on insta? Any ideas?
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I suppose the question is do “costs” include the transfer fee or just wages?
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Wouldn't the costs of Rashford, Ascencio and Disasi be coming off the last list we subitted?
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Wouldn't the costs of Rashford, Ascencio and Disasi be coming off the last list we subitted?
Yes and Olsen as well though that may be covered straight away by Bizot.
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Wouldn't the costs of Rashford, Ascencio and Disasi be coming off the last list we subitted?
Their wage costs and potentially loan fee costs. Do transfer fees mean costs?
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8)
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Wouldn't the costs of Rashford, Ascencio and Disasi be coming off the last list we subitted?
Their wage costs and potentially loan fee costs. Do transfer fees mean costs?
Yes, but probably amortised, although that isn't clear and I wouldn't be surprised if it's the full cost given this requirement seems to have been plucked from nowhere.
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Wouldn't the costs of Rashford, Ascencio and Disasi be coming off the last list we subitted?
Their wage costs and potentially loan fee costs. Do transfer fees mean costs?
You’ve got to assume transfer + wages + agent fees are all included. However, I suspect adding Malen and Garcia (as they both have transfer fees to amortise) eats into a lot of the saving from Rash, Asensio and Disasi.
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Looks a cracking signing, really happy with this one.
Welcome to the best in the land, Evann and UTV!!
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Can’t claim any knowledge of him but based on the profile and reports on him, seems like a very smart signing - hope he can hit the ground running.
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Looking forward to seeing Evann, can't wait.
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Welcome Evann, to the best football club ever.
Be brilliant.
Please.
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He’s a unit, and he looks rapid. With Malen, Rogers and Watkins we could really stretch some defences. I’m looking forward to seeing this lad on the pitch
And Ramsey and Bailey (big IF), McGinn, Buendia buzzing around, Tielemans pinging the ball around, Onana carrying from deep and our full backs pushing up....
Life could be interesting this season.
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So, for instance, if we were to sell a player for the same or more than we paid for Evann we could then register him on our A list European squad?
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Welcome aboard Evann and be good.
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Be epic
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He's far from the finished article but what he has already will see him get plenty of minutes. Once he gets some one on one coaching from the same fella Watkins has mentioned a few times, (Pablo?) he can only improve. He's only just turned 24 and is a later bloomer so a bit of patience will be needed but he looks ideal for the PL and his attitude by all accounts is top rate.
Welcome, Boyo!
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"When I heard the club wanted me I didn't think twice," Guessand said.
"I'm ready to give my all. Every game, every kick, every minute."
Full quote ends with him stating Up The Villa. Shows the differences between us and them that to get the fans on board, new signnings are told UTV, whilst over there they are told to say SOTV.
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"When I heard the club wanted me I didn't think twice," Guessand said.
"I'm ready to give my all. Every game, every kick, every minute."
Full quote ends with him stating Up The Villa. Shows the differences between us and them that to get the fans on board, new signnings are told UTV, whilst over there they are told to say SOTV.
Because they are propper fans, not like our mob who shout Viela like a bunch of seals
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There’s a bloke who goes on the All Villa No Filler podcast every summer recommending players we should be after. The last three years his tips have been NDiaye (sp?) who went to Everton, Cherki last summer and… Guessand this year. Adam Tynan I think his name is, knows his stuff.
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There’s a bloke who goes on the All Villa No Filler podcast every summer recommending players we should be after. The last three years his tips have been NDiaye (sp?) who went to Everton, Cherki last summer and… Guessand this year. Adam Tynan I think his name is, knows his stuff.
Assume he focuses on the French league then? Always encouraging to hear recommendations, though!
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Assume he focuses on the French league then? Always encouraging to hear recommendations, though!
N'Diaye was pretty mediocre for Marseille. It was his Sheffield Utd form that would have made anyone interested in him.
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Not quite JPA to Duran, but some encouraging words from his compatriot. https://x.com/krmfoot2/status/1953803740193927417
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Not quite JPA to Duran, but some encouraging words from his compatriot. https://x.com/krmfoot2/status/1953803740193927417
hopefully with more longevity
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Assume he focuses on the French league then? Always encouraging to hear recommendations, though!
N'Diaye was pretty mediocre for Marseille. It was his Sheffield Utd form that would have made anyone interested in him.
Bizarrely, he played against N’Diaye for a Sunday league team in That London when N’Diaye didn’t have a club. I don’t think that was the basis of his recommendation though.
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Didn’t take the no.9 shirt - can we expect another striker this window?
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Didn’t take the no.9 shirt - can we expect another striker this window?
Perhaps he just had a preference for the number he did take.
Or, perhaps he's leaving it for Dominic Calvert-Lewin
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Fuck. As YouTube show reels go, his is very good. Could just be we’ve signed a superstar.
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Welcome Evan - 25-30m is a big price mind.
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Welcome Evan - 25-30m is a big price mind.
It’s not really, at the level we’re trying to compete it’s basically a squad player, certainly for an attacker. That’s not to say he might not go on to be amazing, and worth a lot more, but in terms of price tag it’s that kind of ballpark.
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A bargain really when you consider Manure are expecting to recoup £40m for Rasmus Hojlund - who must be one of the worst striker signings ever.....
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We've had our pants pulled down on this.
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Future Ballon d'Or contender.
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Welcome Evan - 25-30m is a big price mind.
Isn’t it the opposite to “a big price” by today’s standards?
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We've had our pants pulled down on this.
Absolute nonsense. I’ve monitored his career for years; he’s a future Ballon d’Or contender.
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Future Ballon d'Or contender.
Absolute nonsense. I’ve monitored his career for years; we’ve had our pants pulled down on this.
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All bases covered from PWS except one in the middle:
He'll be fine, nowt special and we'll settle into being a top eight team for the time he's here.
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Welcome Evan - 25-30m is a big price mind.
Isn’t it the opposite to “a big price” by today’s standards?
More importantly, can we get this straight right from the start - it’s Evann not Evan!!!
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More importantly, can we get this straight right from the start - it’s Evann not Evan!!!
I'll be particularly disappointed if Eamonn gets it wrong.
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Future Ballon d'Or contender.
Absolute nonsense. I’ve monitored his career for years; we’ve had our pants pulled down on this.
Absolute nonsense. I've monitored your posts for years; our pants are still waist high.
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Future Ballon d'Or contender.
Absolute nonsense. I’ve monitored his career for years; we’ve had our pants pulled down on this.
Absolute nonsense. I've monitored your posts for years; our pants are still waist high.
Speak for yourself.
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More importantly, can we get this straight right from the start - it’s Evann not Evan!!!
I'll be particularly disappointed if Eamonn gets it wrong.
Quite right! I've long-since disowned my E-fada though so maybe I'm not the best moral authority on name bastardisation.
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Was he any good in his brief appearance?
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He was better than Malen. He’s strong too but given he’s had no time in training with the rest of the squad it was difficult to judge him. He got booked quickly not that it matters much.
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Looked handy last night I thought, big unit, but really good touch
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AFCON
Some observations/complaints that Guessand will miss games in Dec/Jan.
Here's the number of AFCON eligible players by club. Might change
0 Arsenal, Leeds, Toon
1 Villa, Chelsea, Liverpool
2 Bournemouth, Brentford, Everton, Fulham, Man City, Spurs
3 Brighton Palace
4 Burnley, ManU, West Ham, Wolves
6 Forest
7 Sunderland
Ghana, Guinness, Guinea-Bissau haven't qualified.
AFCON is 21 Dec - 18 Jan. Fixtures during that periid:
20 Dec ManU H
27 Dec Chelsea A
30 Dec Arsenal H
3 Jan Forest H
7 Jan Palace A
10 Jan FAC 3
12 Jan EFL s/f 1st Leg
17 Jan Everton H
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It’s small beer for those non qualifiers
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Sunderland and Forest 13 between them. Wow! We are playing Forest too.
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No wonder Sunderland have bought 11 new players.
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It’s small beer for those non qualifiers
They didn't provide very stout opposition that's for sure.
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It’s small beer for those non qualifiers
They didn't provide very stout opposition that's for sure.
They should look to draught in some youngsters and rebuild.
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My Goodness My AFCON
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Sunderland and Forest 13 between them. Wow! We are playing Forest too.
AFCON is 21 Dec - 18 Jan, these are our fixtures over thst period
20 Dec ManU H 4 players at AFCON
27 Dec Chelsea A 1
30 Dec Arsenal H nobody
3 Jan Forest H 6
7 Jan Palace A 3
10 Jan FAC 3rd rnd
12 Jan EFL s/f 1st Leg
17 Jan Everton H 2
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There’s only really Aina in their 1st 11 that’s going though. Sangare to a lesser extent I suppose. Does mean they won’t be able to rotate for EL though so will be a tough month for them.
Palace losing Sarr is good though.
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Do we play Palace while it's on? Sarr has haunted us more than anyone since... Robbie Keane?
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We would only avoid playing Sarr if Senegal make at least the last sixteen and possibly the quarter-final. Seem to remember the useless twats getting knocked out in the groups a few years ago so that Ba and Cissé could play, and inevitably score, against us for Newcastle.
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Assuming SaddVillan fixture list is accurate we do…
My thoughts exactly. United lose a few decent players too actually, Mbeumo, Amad, Mazraoui, Onana
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Group Stage: 21st-31 December
Round of 16: 3rd-6th January
Quarter-Finals: 9th-10th January
Semi-Finals: 14th January
Pointless 3rd Place Game: 17th January
Final: 18th January
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The Ivory Coast won it in 2015 and then didn't get passed the group stage in the following tournament. Hopefully the pattern repeats itself and we get him back early.
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What happened to ‘Signed’?
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Been here a while now so no need. Does his name rhyme? Is it Ay-von Gay-son?
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Been here a while now so no need. Does his name rhyme? Is it Ay-von Gay-son?
Not sure how to spell it phonetically but from what I’ve heard on podcasts featuring some France-based football writers, it’s like Devon (but without the D) followed by Gesson, all said in your sexiest French accent. So it does kind of rhyme, but not quite in the way you suggested.
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With the double 'n', I'd expect the second vowel of Evann to be a proper 'a' (as in 'van') rather than a schwa.
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I thought the second "n" was just telling you to pronounce the penultimate one? Didn't know it affected the vowel sound. Where's Bad English when you need him?
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It's a bit out of standard French spelling - there'd normally be an 'e' at the end. But I'd expect it to be pronounced as you would the town 'Vanne', with an 'e' at the front.
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Not sure if correct or whether the additional E in this one makes a difference but.
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Been here a while now so no need. Does his name rhyme? Is it Ay-von Gay-son?
He's not selling cosmetics. I'd expect it to be pronounced like 'Evan' but just has a superfluous, silent 'n', and his surname to sound like 'garçon' but with 'gess' as the first syllable.
SQ's audio suggests his first name is more like 'EEvan'. OTOH we don't hear people asking for 'EEvian' water. Basically, we're none the wiser.
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Évian has an acute. It may as well be a completely different language family. Tsk, honestly.
Thought thinking about it, that makes my initial pronunciation suggestion less likely. Drat.
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We still have the excitement of the “How do you pronounce your name “ video from the EPL to come!
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It's a bit out of standard French spelling - there'd normally be an 'e' at the end. But I'd expect it to be pronounced as you would the town 'Vanne', with an 'e' at the front.
Pleasant town, was there yesterday.
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I'm going to just call him Bob as his name is too difficult. Bob Hfuhruhurr is much easier.
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Reminds me of that joke. Statistics state that one in five siblings is Chinese. Some say it’s Waylin in my family but I’m fairly sure it’s Colin.
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Or the other joke about acute angina
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It's a bit out of standard French spelling - there'd normally be an 'e' at the end. But I'd expect it to be pronounced as you would the town 'Vanne', with an 'e' at the front.
Pleasant town, was there yesterday.
It is indeed. Missed the ‘s’ off Vannes - my bad!
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https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/aug/19/he-can-pull-something-out-of-the-bag-aston-villa-look-to-guessand-for-cutting-edge
The overwhelming takeaway from Aston Villa’s opening game of the season, a goalless draw at home to Newcastle, was that Unai Emery’s side were strangely stale, lacking in sharp edges and devoid of a spark. Villa’s xG – for what it’s worth – was only 0.13. Enter Evann Guessand? Guessand had a watching brief at Villa Park as his new teammates struggled to penetrate the opposition but presumably Emery is tempted to introduce his £30m signing from Nice, a powerful forward with a penchant for eliminating defenders and tearing down the flanks, in search of victory at Brentford this weekend.
For Guessand there are new surrounds, and these remain early days, but the 24-year-old is coming in hot, fresh from a breakout season at Nice where he scored 13 goals in 40 matches (33 of which were starts) and was voted their joint-player of the season after helping the team to fourth in Ligue 1, their highest finish since 2016-17. Guessand’s final goal for Nice came in a 6-0 home win against Brest. The visitors’ goalkeeper that day? Marco Bizot, the 34-year-old Dutchman who is Villa’s only other arrival this summer.
Guessand predominantly featured on the right wing for Nice but also operated off the left, as a No 9 and behind the striker. “He is capable of pulling something out of the bag to make the difference,” says Lilian Nalis, the Nice assistant manager. “If he gets in front of you, it’s difficult for defenders to get him back.”
Last season was his first as a regular starter for Nice, for whom he starred domestically and in the Europa League after loans to Lausanne and Nantes. For Nalis, Guessand’s equaliser at Nantes, where he seized the ball in the box, took the briefest of glances at goal and sent a fizzing left-foot shot into the top corner, stands out. “He’s at his best on the wings because there he can take on people, dribble and accelerate beyond defenders with his speed,” says Nalis, the former Leicester and Plymouth defender who spent six years in England. “Evann, with his goals and assists, had a big part in taking us towards the top.”
Guessand was born in Ajaccio, the capital of Corsica, where his father, Herve, also a striker, played, and joined Nice aged 12 after being spotted at ASPTT Marseille, a multi-sport youth club. From that point Guessand always felt a fondness for Nice, where he was a boarder at the College du Parc Imperial secondary school, mixing with youngsters aged between 11 and 20, 200km from his family home in Marseille. Nice’s then academy director, Alain Wathelet, wanted to gauge Guessand’s talent so asked him to join an Under-14s session, in which he impressed with his dribbling skills and eye for goal. “Within five minutes, we approved him,” says Nice’s pre-academy coach, Pascal Bistarelli, for whom an Under-15s title-deciding match sticks in the memory. “It was 2-2 at half-time and I asked him to increase his level. It finished 6-2, Evann scored a hat-trick.”
Guessand’s education in Nice fuelled his drive to succeed. He was a ballboy and flag bearer at Nice matches and soon grasped the lyrics of Nissa la Bella, Menica Rondelly’s hymn synonymous with the city. “Evann always showed great attachment to Nice, even when he went on loan to Lausanne and Nantes,” says Bistarelli. “He was always determined to play in the Nice first team.” Guessand, who was given his debut against Frejus Saint-Raphael in the Coupe de France by Patrick Vieira in 2020, playing as a left winger, has stayed in touch with Bistarelli; the pair exchanged messages when he signed for Villa and Guessand gave him his shirt for Bistarelli’s birthday.
Guessand represented France at youth level but made his Ivory Coast debut last year. He grew up idolising Didier Drogba and the pair had dinner in Abidjan a few years ago and have remained in contact. But while Guessand has drawn comparisons to Drogba, unlike the former Chelsea player he is not a conventional No 9. “I think if you talk about the power he’s got, I would say yes, they are similar, but they’re not the same kind of player,” says Nalis. “Drogba enjoyed the battle of playing when he had his back to goal, a defender on his back. Evann doesn’t like that so much – he prefers almost hugging the touchline so he can see all the information he needs before making his move.”
Villa tracked Guessand, who rejected a move to the Saudi Pro League side Neom earlier this summer, for 12 months before his arrival. They moved to sign him, amid strong interest from Crystal Palace, before the £39m sale of Jacob Ramsey to Newcastle and Leon Bailey’s expected exit to Roma to prevent the possibility of being quoted an inflated price for a player who had three years remaining on his Nice contract.
illa acknowledge Guessand’s game requires some refinement but they see shades of Morgan Rogers in a player who is also adept at retaining the ball under pressure. Emery admires his versatility, citing his ability to play across the frontline, including as a No 10. “We are watching him, giving him a lot of information about how we want to build the team,” says Villa’s manager. “He is watching our analysis, our matches. I am using him as a striker and winger [in training]. Finding how to best put him into our structure is my job. He is going to help us a lot, hopefully.”
Now Guessand, voted the second-best African player in Ligue 1 last season, behind Paris Saint-Germain’s Achraf Hakimi, plans to build on his promise in the Premier League. “I think England is a step up,” says Nalis. “You get no time to rest; English football will kick your ass if you think you’re going to take your time or if you think you’re going to wait until you’re capable of playing at your high level. You need to perform.
“English football is probably more physical than French but I’ve seen him have some good games against tough guys. I’m looking forward to him showing his skills in England.”
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Didn’t pull up any trees but at least he tried to beat his man which he did a couple of times.
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We have absolutely no way of judging him yet
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Probably our best player out there alongside Mings today.
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Ive no idea if hes any good or not as by the time we'd worked the ball sideways a few times and allowed them to get safely back into shape, he'd end up receiving the ball with two or three players around him.
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Looked a decent player on today's evidence. Got to the byline a few times. We need a midfielder that actually attacks free space in the box on a cut back!
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Looked a decent player on today's evidence. Got to the byline a few times. We need a midfielder that actually attacks free space in the box on a cut back!
Exactly.
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So what did we make of his home debut then?
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So what did we make of his home debut then?
He tried in flashes.
The game passed him by and he occupied space that prevented Maatsen from attacking and putting in crosses.
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I thought hd was trying more than malen who i thought was quite poor as well as rogers. I think he is going to be good ince we soet the issues out in the team
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He was abysmal.
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Yup - I assume/hope he can do better than that. Like I said on another thread, it feels systematic rather than individual. But hopefully much, much, much better to come.
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They put 2 on him and never did he get the chance to go one on one with the right back.
Partly down to good tactics by them and partly down to us not moving the ball quickly enough.
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Going forward he showed flashes of promise but looked easily shoved off the ball, when we didn't have the ball he looked like a schoolboy, didn't know where his runner was, didn't get anywhere near the right defensive shape and his tackling was weak.
Overall, he could have done better. Decent shot mind.
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He did ok for me. Can get better I hope.
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If the team was purring like most of the last 2 seasons he would shine. Every player was dump this evening.
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Looked shite, another one who won't hit the ground running. £30m and £90k a week.
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Come on, you can't already say that. I thought he was poor, but it was 45 fucking minutes. Everyone was shit.
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Looked shite, another one who won't hit the ground running. £30m and £90k a week.
Yeah, I'm going to write him off after his first start. He didn't score or assist, it's just never going to work. Get rid in Jan.
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I honestly didn’t think he was that bad, and was very surprised when he was the one that went off. He stays wide well, clearly has good foot work and beat his man a couple of times. He was way stronger on the ball than anyone else across the front. He had a decent shot as well.
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It was no surprise to anyone on our row that he came off at half time, not because of what he did with the ball, but what he didn't do without it. A team selection Im glad we tried, but it didn't work, that not to say it wont when he's a bit more up to speed.
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I was surprised he didn't get sixty minutes. Just because we are so lacking in numbers.
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Didn't look great . Hopefully there is a player there.
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Going forward he showed flashes of promise but looked easily shoved off the ball, when we didn't have the ball he looked like a schoolboy, didn't know where his runner was, didn't get anywhere near the right defensive shape and his tackling was weak.
Overall, he could have done better. Decent shot mind.
Yup it was the physicality and off the ball work (or lack of) that was the biggest problem. Hopefully that’ll be addressed as he adapts.
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If you aren't physical and don't work off the ball the Premier League isn't for you. Another one who hits the ground crawling.
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It doesn’t help when he’s coming into a team with no attacking intent and a group of players that aren’t really arsed. Bet he’s wondering what the fuck he’s signed up for.
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If you aren't physical and don't work off the ball the Premier League isn't for you. Another one who hits the ground crawling.
Mo Salah hasn’t done too bad.
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Yeah we cant write him off just yet. I mean rogers looked shit yesterday and i would argue looked worse than guessand. Definitely needs a bit of time for sure
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Compare to Pino who Palace bought for less!!
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Malen was worse in the first half.
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Compare to Pino who Palace bought for less!!
both are a gamble in terms of Premier League quality.
But attacking players generally look better in teams who know how to attack.
We could put Yamal in our team last night and he wouldn’t have a clue.
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I hope Malen, Guessand and Watkins don't turn in to Ayew, Traore and Gestede.
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I think he was sacrificed for the formation rather than because he was any more shit than the rest if them.
Needed Emi2’s buzzing around in front of their defence. For a while it looked like the change might actually work.
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Thought he worked really hard yesterday. Did alot of defensive work which was good to see. But on the downside he didnt look good when he had the ball.
Its still early days so we cabt right him off but he is struggling with the attacking side of his game thus far. Hopefully once he gets more game time we will see how good he was for nice
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Massively helped Cash out with Grealish when he came on - Surprised how well he did defensively tbh.
Big fella who I think can put himself around..... Just needs 'Bailey level' support from Unai to allow him to have a run in the team and find some form.
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He got a massive bollocking for not getting back into shape after a rare attack though.
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What are his qualities?
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Potential. He's work in progress, it will take a bit of time, certainly not one right now to be starting games.
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He offers a bit more strength in the middle, I like him. Wound up Grealish too it seemed but that isn’t difficult.
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What are his qualities?
A glorious slide tackle for one.
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Seems massively over priced and over paid then.
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Workmanlike
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He's played what, two and a bit games? What is wrong with some people?
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Potential? He’s 24.
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i would like to have a look at him centrally
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He's played what, two and a bit games? What is wrong with some people?
The good thing about Fabrizio Romano's tweets is that you get to write off new Villa players before they arrive at BMH.
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123 minutes isn't enough to judge a player on. If it was, you'd really help the recruitment team with such expertise.
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Biggest flop since Onana.
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He looks as much of a threat going forward as samba was.
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Well done Monchi.
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Absolutely looked like a competition winner tonight.
Great use of limited funds.
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The sort of player we used to buy when we were crap.
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Another window where we sign no one who can improve the first team. We've gone backwards massively, Monchi and his dog shit scouting.
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Hes Bailey replacement - which based on last seasons version he probably on par ;-)
Im sure he has plenty to offer - too early to judge
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Yep, he looked utterly and completely out of his depth. Ace.
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Joelinton used to be shit up front.Maybe we......nah fuck it
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Wow…just wow! This guy is breathtakingly bad.
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Mad how quickly he's being written off.
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Mad how poor he looks.
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It is.
For a signing that was regarded as a bit of a coup, he’s not shown anything to make you think he’s going to improve.
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i didn’t think he looked that bad. 😳😃
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I’m not holding out hope for this guy.
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Wait until he wins the Ballon D'or!
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Think we need to see him in his right position before we come out with silly hyperbole. He wasn't great apart from the chance he set up for Sancho.
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Somewhat Bertrand Traoresque albeit without the tricks, which isn’t a great barometer.
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Think we need to see him in his right position before we come out with silly hyperbole. He wasn't great apart from the chance he set up for Sancho.
People say that about Malen too….
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Malen didn't look too bad last season. He has regressed massively this season.
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Joelinton used to be shit up front.Maybe we......nah fuck it
Made me chortle.
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Somewhat Bertrand Traoresque albeit without the tricks, which isn’t a great barometer.
He makes Berti look like prime Lionel Messi.
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Somewhat Bertrand Traoresque albeit without the tricks, which isn’t a great barometer.
He makes Berti look like prime Lionel Messi.
Yep. It’s only 3 games and he’s trying to adapt to a totally new system. Twice tonight he was looking for a ball over the top to run at. That ball was never played.
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Rogers struggled in his early games too. Might just be nerves, let's hope so.
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Rogers struggled in his early games too. Might just be nerves, let's hope so.
Nerves, clutching at straws a bit.
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I think unai should have switched him with malen. Guessand looks more of a striker and malen is crap up top.
But he has looked average so far. He cabt beat a man whoch is worrying. He looks worse than bailey did when he 1st game which is aworry. Man what i would give for diaby back
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1st touch like a Blackpool beach donkey. He would sink as a Striker leading the line.
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His first touch is certainly poor but a bit early to write him off yet.
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Yeah, some hysterical overreactions on here.
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Wait until he wins the Ballon D'or!
;D
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Poor bloke surrounded every time he gets the ball. Not sure what people expect of him just yet.
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Poor bloke surrounded every time he gets the ball. Not sure what people expect of him just yet.
Indeed, but when he wasn't he'd just run into the nearest defender and lose it.
The contrast with the lad that replaced him couldn't have been more stark.
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I think the problem is that him and the players around him aren't quite on the same wavelength yet. Last night he clearly wanted the ball in behind to run onto and the one time he got a really good pass to set him away it led to Sancho hitting the post.
Most of the time he was getting the ball into feet to either play a pass back or turn and run and he struggled with the latter a little because he wanted more time than he was getting. The premier league is, by a fair distance, the strongest league in the world and one thing defenders have to learn to survive is to not let attackers get turned without a challenge. This means forwards and wingers coming in then have to learn how to ride that early challenge. He's big enough and strong enough to get there, he just needs to work on it. A run of games will help him so I hope he gets given that chance before we dump him as not good enough.
Aside from that I thought Henry played excellently and was their best player by a long way, which made it tougher for Guessand to get into the game as well, and with them playing a back 5 there was less space to begin with.
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Early days. Seems to have the physical presence for the league as he is bogged down in a scrap most of the time. Got free in the second half when we should have scored, poked Cash through only for the bugger the check back.
He needs time, he'll get it from me.
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I don’t think it’s his fault. Our players rarely find themselves in any space. At times he was tripled up on and I still couldn’t see another player in space.
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Early days. Seems to have the physical presence for the league as he is bogged down in a scrap most of the time. Got free in the second half when we should have scored, poked Cash through only for the bugger the check back.
He needs time, he'll get it from me.
It'll never catch on.
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I don’t think it’s his fault. Our players rarely find themselves in any space. At times he was tripled up on and I still couldn’t see another player in space.
Sancho has the technical ability to get out of those tight spots quickly.
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I don’t think it’s his fault. Our players rarely find themselves in any space. At times he was tripled up on and I still couldn’t see another player in space.
Sancho has the technical ability to get out of those tight spots quickly.
And from what I recall, created less than Guessand.
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I don’t think it’s his fault. Our players rarely find themselves in any space. At times he was tripled up on and I still couldn’t see another player in space.
Sancho has the technical ability to get out of those tight spots quickly.
And from what I recall, created less than Guessand.
I'm not sure what that has to do with anything. If we keep losing the ball like Guessand did it's impossible to get any kind of forward momentum. He didn't exactly lay that one on for Sancho either. Kind of bunged it behind Malen, one of their defenders didn't clear it properly and Sancho ran onto it.
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I don’t think it’s his fault. Our players rarely find themselves in any space. At times he was tripled up on and I still couldn’t see another player in space.
Absolutely this. Our attacking players never get the ball in space, we're so slow moving it around that by the time they get it the opposition are always firmly back in shape. Its doing none of them any favours and needs changing asap.
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I'm not sure what that has to do with anything.
Well, it means that for all your praise of “Sancho getting out of tight spots”, nothing came from it. You brought up the comparison, not me.
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It’s hardly been the most conducive environment to settle in and play well. He needs way more time.
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He has an excellent attitude, decent pace and good strength. He definitely can make a success of his time in the PL. At times he does seem a bit flailing arms and legs, trying to bring the ball under control but in the short time I've been watching he's hardly ever afforded much time on the ball. Hopefully, he'll adapt.
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He's interested, searching for the ball, he's trying stuff and opponents are worried as they double mark him, as we had with Bailey we need to expose the gaps that are left.
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Don't think this fella has it.
Would rather have Bert out wide and who may, let's be honest, get 7 out of 10 things wrong (some of them comically). But would then cut in from an impossible angle and smash one in the top corner.
In fact I think I'd rather have Tres (2025 version) over this bloke.
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No pace, shit first touch, can’t shoot, other than that he looks decent.
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He looks like the shit American forward Saints bought from Bundesliga 2 in the summer
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Bert didn't get things wrong; he occasionally struggled to adjust to a lesser reality.
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How much have we wasted on him?
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This all seems pretty harsh to me and I'm not exactly the most optimistic bloke in the world.
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Looked rubbish. No better than a shit Bailey. Hopefully gets better but can't see it tbh.
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We have to play him into form, there's definitely enough to work on.
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Thing is Bailey, Bert, Tres and even Nigel Callaghan all showed glimpses at least in their first few games.
This guy has shown nowt.
Happy just to be there. Running around. Nuisance value.
Not the same as workrate.
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I’d rather have Berti back. Who in their wisdom thought this player was going to improve us? He’s not even Championship standard.
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He did ok and at least had a go. He’s been here 5 minutes and already he’s a target.
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I'm not writing him off yet.
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I can only go on the highlights but most of our best chances seemed to stem from him.
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This all seems pretty harsh to me and I'm not exactly the most optimistic bloke in the world.
It's way, way, OTT. I think some watched a different game. People on his back from day one
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Looks like a competition winner to me.
We’re having to watch every penny yet still opt to drop 20m on this dude.
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Fucking hell, we won folks.
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Have you noticed how many markers he has when he gets the ball? 2 or 3 most times. He's been here 5 minutes, not match fit by any means, you can see he's blowing out his arse around 60 minutes, I actually think he's doing ok considering. A lot better than Rogers.
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I didn't think that much of Rogers in his first few starts but he grew into it. Give the lad time, he's adjusting to everything right now.
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Fucking hell, we won folks.
This thread is about a particular player.
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A player who played in our greatest victory for four months and has been a vital part of our two match unbeaten "invincibles" run.
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Don't really understand the comments. He played well first half. He seems very physical, which should bode well. Second half we didn't progress the ball down the right very much and he drifted out of it.
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impressed with his work-rate and his willingness to take a player on - we need a player or two like that
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His performance last night was inconsistent, to say the least.
I was trying to think of who he reminds me of and then realised early this morning that it is Zaniolo - big, strong and enthusiastic but lacking pace and vision to see a pass. He may get better - he maybe should have been in the 9 role at the start of last night's game - but currently does not look like a top-flight game-changer. I'm happy to be proved wrong.
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Not a good use of resources. Wage or fee.
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Whilst I get he is isn't fit enough yet and is struggling with the pace and physicality, I have some doubts about his basic technique. Summed up by a moment in the 2nd where the ball was bouncing in front of him in space, he completely misjudged the bounce and then stood directly underneath the flight of the ball rather than shielding the area where it was then going to bounce, the defender then won the ball easily.
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I think he'll come good, but it'll take a bit of time. And he hasn't actually played badly in any of his appearances so far.
There's just something a bit ungainly about his running style that makes him look a tad clumsy.
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I'm just not sure where this guy fits in. What's his actual position?
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I like him, he’s a worker and that helps. I’m hoping as his confidence grows so does his technique.
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I can understand some of the reservations some have but others have written him off already. Baffling but not surprising.
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I can understand some of the reservations some have but others have written him off already. Baffling but not surprising.
Usually you'll get some inconsistencies with new signings but you see something that will excite you, but I'm having difficulty seeing it with this lad and I'm not alone.
Having said that, if you're not playing well you put yourself about a bit and he's at least doing that.
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He is, and he had a good attempt at goal that was well saved. He also beat his man and put a lovely ball across goal that was defended really well and that Watkins, on form would have got on the end of.
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Not seen anywhere near enough to convince me. Not an upgrade on Bailey so far, but let’s see, early days.
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What does £20m-£30m get you these days though? I think he is okay but as far as it goes. I think he has had his best two games on Sunday and last night.
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What does £20m-£30m get you these days though?
1/4 Antony.
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What does £20m-£30m get you these days though?
1/4 Antony.
A Chukwuemeka and his brother.
One and a half Kellymans.
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Yes I think we can discount the Manchester United Transfer School for the Permanently Insane.
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I think he looks promising, and will start showing his quality a bit more soon hopefully. There's definitely some good attributes for Unai to work on, and I'd say he agrees considering he's starting him every week.
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All the comments from those that had seen a lot of him in France were very excited about the signing but were very realistic in that he's still work in progress. He's going to need time to both adapt and improve. Looking at him you immediately think he's ready or at least should be. Sadly that's not the case but if we're patient and supportive his ceiling is very high and could be a great investment.
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All the comments from those that had seen a lot of him in France were very excited about the signing but were very realistic in that he's still work in progress. He's going to need time to both adapt and improve. Looking at him you immediately think he's ready or at least should be. Sadly that's not the case but if we're patient and supportive his ceiling is very high and could be a great investment.
Yep, I put him forward as a player I'd like us to go for before we were even linked but my thinking was for him to be a squad option covering for Watkins and the new winger I expected to see (so Sancho as it turns out). I think we're seeing him start more than expected because he's shown he'll put the work in and be part of the press (which was very good in the first half last night) and Emery clearly doesn't think Sancho is ready to start yet.
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Have you noticed how many markers he has when he gets the ball? 2 or 3 most times.
Every fucking time, Ive said it after every game so far. We never get the ball to any of our attacking players quickly enough when the opposition are out of shape. The one chap that tried to get the ball behind quickly then gets bollocked and dropped.
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Don't really understand the comments. He played well first half. He seems very physical, which should bode well. Second half we didn't progress the ball down the right very much and he drifted out of it.
I agree. I thought he was fine yesterday, especially given the levels the entire team has been playing at this season.
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I think he did ok.
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I think he is doing ok, especially bearing in mind we are misfiring. One big improvement over Leon is his tracking back.
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I think he is doing ok, especially bearing in mind we are misfiring. One big improvement over Leon is his tracking back.
Yes, and another improvement over Leon is his physical strength.
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His best game so far without being anything special. He’s clearly not up to speed in terms of fitness or strength yet, you’d think a 6ft 2” 24 year old with his physique should be blowing away inferior defenders, he seems weak so far. In fairness to him, he kept at it.
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Very erratic at the mo but you can see there's a player in there. I reckon he'll be a Juan Pablo, take a bit of time to settle and once he's up and running, he'll be shit hot. Needs a bit of patience, especially as we move through this dodgy period.
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His best game so far without being anything special. He’s clearly not up to speed in terms of fitness or strength yet, you’d think a 6ft 2” 24 year old with his physique should be blowing away inferior defenders, he seems weak so far. In fairness to him, he kept at it.
Spot on Bren!
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I think he looks promising, and will start showing his quality a bit more soon hopefully. There's definitely some good attributes for Unai to work on, and I'd say he agrees considering he's starting him every week.
Think he'd probably be better coming on for short bursts at this stage while he finds his feet.
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I can understand some of the reservations some have but others have written him off already. Baffling but not surprising.
Usually you'll get some inconsistencies with new signings but you see something that will excite you, but I'm having difficulty seeing it with this lad and I'm not alone.
Having said that, if you're not playing well you put yourself about a bit and he's at least doing that.
This is pretty much where I am with Guessand. He reminds me a little of Zaniolo - big, strong, reasonably skilful but not making an impact. However I recall being unimpressed with Rogers at first and he came on massively so am hopng Guessand can do the same.
An obvious point but it hsows the value of getting transfer business done early to allow players to settle in, find a home, get up to speed, learn systems and formations and improve their language skills. And get used to English food.
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I can understand some of the reservations some have but others have written him off already. Baffling but not surprising.
Usually you'll get some inconsistencies with new signings but you see something that will excite you, but I'm having difficulty seeing it with this lad and I'm not alone.
Having said that, if you're not playing well you put yourself about a bit and he's at least doing that.
This is pretty much where I am with Guessand. He reminds me a little of Zaniolo - big, strong, reasonably skilful but not making an impact. However I recall being unimpressed with Rogers at first and he came on massively so am hopng Guessand can do the same.
An obvious point but it hsows the value of getting transfer business done early to allow players to settle in, find a home, get up to speed, learn systems and formations and improve their language skills. And get used to English food.
Exactly this. A lot has been made about us having a poor summer transfer window and it leading directly into our poor start but I reckon all the same in and out but all done by early July we'd have seen things play out very differently.
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I think he did ok the other night. Strikes me a player who once he gets a goal, will kick on. The one thing I think he’d benefit from is working on his upper body strength a bit.
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what I'm struggling to see at the moment - is the clear advantage of moving Bailey on and bringing Guessand in - hoping that will become obvious in the coming weeks.
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All the comments from those that had seen a lot of him in France were very excited about the signing but were very realistic in that he's still work in progress. He's going to need time to both adapt and improve. Looking at him you immediately think he's ready or at least should be. Sadly that's not the case but if we're patient and supportive his ceiling is very high and could be a great investment.
Yep, I put him forward as a player I'd like us to go for before we were even linked but my thinking was for him to be a squad option covering for Watkins and the new winger I expected to see (so Sancho as it turns out). I think we're seeing him start more than expected because he's shown he'll put the work in and be part of the press (which was very good in the first half last night) and Emery clearly doesn't think Sancho is ready to start yet.
I think both these comments are blob-on. I made some remark about him reminding me of Zaniolo (because he does!) but I also think he needs time; pity we got 3 midfield injuries soon after he got here, putting more pressure on UE to play Guessand.
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I do think diaby was a level above baileyand guessand tbh. But one thing i think guessand has over them os his work rate. Especially his defensive side. Been quite impressed with that.
He certainly doesnt look like a lazy player which is very welcome
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Improving with every game.
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He is not ultra precise like Diaby but works hard and has a very good game today.
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worked his arse off today - which upped Cash's performance.
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I agree. I felt he did the donkey work really well and looked to have the beating of his man a few times but didn’t always back himself. He and Cash were very good down the right and were much more solid than or left side.
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Did well today.
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Think he's playing himself into the team well. Would like to see more of a goal threat but I'm hoping that will come.
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I liked him today. He needs to get a bit stronger.
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His work rate is really impressing me. No one can criticise is energy he works bloody hard.
If he can be a bit more of a attacking force we will have a player here. At the moment he doesn't look much of a goal scorer
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I thought he was poor. He did his defensive duties though.
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Aston Villa Statto
@AVFCStatto
·
33m
Evann Guessand completed the most dribbles (4), won the most tackles (2) and won the most duels (8) during Aston Villa's win over Fulham today
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Aston Villa Statto
@AVFCStatto
·
33m
Evann Guessand completed the most dribbles (4), won the most tackles (2) and won the most duels (8) during Aston Villa's win over Fulham today
Not that poor then?
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A few glimpses today that there might be something there.
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A few glimpses today that there might be something there.
And the willingness to work suggests we'll eventually see it.
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I thought he was poor. He did his defensive duties though.
He is adapting and needs a finished product but he definitely was not poor today.
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He was definitely good today.
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I’d like to see his delivery improve, I’m sure it will, but he works very hard and did some nice bits and pieces.
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The workrate is the foundation, you can see his skills coming out a bit. He’s starting to look promising.
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I’d like to see his delivery improve, I’m sure it will, but he works very hard and did some nice bits and pieces.
A couple of times in the last he's wriggled free and got the ball into a really good area but the rest of team either didn't think he'd be able to get a cross in or made the wrong run. I think part of why Emery is sticking with a mostly unchanged group in attack is the build that familiarity.
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First time I saw Oadis was on Top of the PoPs and thought they were shite….:same seeing Guessand v Palace….things can change….looking better by the game……some nice interactions with Cash….
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Aston Villa Statto
@AVFCStatto
·
33m
Evann Guessand completed the most dribbles (4), won the most tackles (2) and won the most duels (8) during Aston Villa's win over Fulham today
Not that poor then?
I assume sunshades bracket still means 8.
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Grafter, getting there
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I thought he was poor. He did his defensive duties though.
I didn’t think he was poor but maybe like you I’m not convinced he will be a more than just alright
same for Malen, same for Bogarde
Sorry I wish I could be more positive but I’m just not seeing it right now
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I think he's starting to adapt to the Premier League which is very unforgiving. Plus having to get used to Emery's style and tactics - Harvey Elliot is still adapting and not a regular starter yet.
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Honestly think he has done fine so far other than the Palace game.
He is getting better but hasn't got stamina but a player in the making I think.
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I thought he was poor. He did his defensive duties though.
I didn’t think he was poor but maybe like you I’m not convinced he will be a more than just alright
same for Malen, same for Bogarde
Sorry I wish I could be more positive but I’m just not seeing it right now
I appreciated his work rate, but he’s a step down from Bailey (based on what I’ve seen so far). TBF we’ve had a fair few players playing below their standard this season, so there’s hope.
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I still think he will be more useful centrally but whether we will see that ?
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The problem is, when Bailey was playing at his highest level, I don’t think there was a better winger in the world at that time. He was incredible for just over half the season. To find a player as good as he was at that point in time would be extremely hard.
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He cost half a Diaby, and at first glance, has impressed me half as much as Diaby did. Hoping he goes on to be a full Diaby at half price.
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Early days yet. I think you can see that his main problem at the moment is getting used to the speed of thought needed, and the physicality.
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He starting to look better with each game he plays.
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I have no idea if he is striker, a winger, a double -up up RB or what, but we got a our pants proper pulled down for £30m
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I thought second half he played much better and was a good outlet, he worked hard and done a decent job for us.
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I have no idea if he is striker, a winger, a double -up up RB or what, but we got a our pants proper pulled down for £30m
I agree, he looked completely out of his depth.
At least on Sunday he got stuck in and helped out Cash. He looks a very poor buy.
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I think right now he's trying to do exactly what he's being asked by Emery. A few times you could see he looked up almost as if counting players and then realised we were a bit light to counter so turned back and recycled the ball.
He's clearly drifting inside to give us a 2nd target and, when he gets it out wide there seems to be a clear instruction to only put it into the box if we have options or he has no other choice.
For me it looks like he's playing on strings, and I don't mean that in a bad way, I reckon Emery probably fucking loves the guy right now, even though he clearly needs to add more end product to his game.
I think it'll come and he'll end up being a good buy.
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I'm trying to look for positives and the best I can come up with is...Park Ji-Sung.
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I thought he was decent. Would a fair few flick ons, played some decent one-twos, lots of defensive work. I still have faith he’ll be very useful.
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Unai likes a project player like a lot of lasses taken on a project boyfriend.
He'll shake-up and shake it off with that mane of hair.
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That goal goes in and confidence would be transformed. Technical skills do seem limited though.
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Built like a brick shit house but for me, nowhere near good enough in the position he's playing in.
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Unai certainly stuck with him.
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I like what I've seen so far, lots of potential.
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Fucking rubbish. Looks a £5m gamble from league one.
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Fucking rubbish. Looks a £5m gamble from league one.
Yep.
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I like what I've seen so far, lots of potential.
I’m clinging to the hope that he must have something our scouts spotted. At the moment whatever ever it was, they must’ve used a microscope to see it.
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I wasn't impressed again, although my stream was shite and kept stopping every 10 seconds so he might have had a blinder.
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at the weekend v Fulham - he was useful and worked hard - last night, he just wasn't involved at all.
However, we don't attack as much down that right hand side.
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He needs more time obviously to see if he's any good or not. Definitely helps out Cash more than someone like Bailey did but I'd expect to see greater spark in attacking positions.
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I think he’s doing the job Emery wants from him and you can see he’s improving bit by bit. I like him, and to be fair we don’t really have many standout options in that part of the pitch. He’s just not the type of player I’d personally want in that role. Bit unlucky not to get on the scoresheet last night too when he hit the post.
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He was decent second half, linked well and worked hard after a very anonymous first half. I like his work rate and he seems to have the right attitude. Cash has improved the last few weeks which tells me that although the right side isn’t very exciting, it’s become far more solid and they are working well as a pair.
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Think I’d rather have Philogene back, tbh.
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He's a step or two ahead of Elliott and Sancho just being picked in the team.
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He was decent second half, linked well and worked hard after a very anonymous first half. I like his work rate and he seems to have the right attitude. Cash has improved the last few weeks which tells me that although the right side isn’t very exciting, it’s become far more solid and they are working well as a pair.
Agreed, he seemed to play slightly more narrow in the second half and was able to get a bit more involved and looked better for it. He’s another Unai project that I’m sure will come good.
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I'm with those still waiting to see the elusive "thing" that he has, sadly.
Went to have a look what French tactical types were saying about him last year. They highlight his strength back to goal, close control, ability to drive on to backpedalling defences and passing – a Drogba who can do a passable No. 10, if you will. And that's what last year's Ligue 1 footage seems to show.
From what I have seen of him at Villa so far, he doesn't seem to want to go down the outside of his man when given the chance (not up to speed, not confident in his pace?), but nor does he want to come inside (not confident in his strength?), and he doesn't seem to totally understand our passing patterns yet (lots of quizzical looks between him and teammates, stepping on each other, etc.).
All that would be fine if you felt it was just a matter of physical conditioning. But at no point have I been struck by the potential of his pace or strength (Jesus, that lad's quick/strong).
I do hope he gets it together though. Maybe he just needs a goal? Come on Evann, UTV!
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Think I’d rather have Philogene back, tbh.
I didn't want to say it in my message above, but I was thinking something similar! He does look like he could go the way of Philogene, that lost look. But there's still time to turn it around.
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He was decent second half, linked well and worked hard after a very anonymous first half. I like his work rate and he seems to have the right attitude. Cash has improved the last few weeks which tells me that although the right side isn’t very exciting, it’s become far more solid and they are working well as a pair.
Agreed, he seemed to play slightly more narrow in the second half and was able to get a bit more involved and looked better for it. He’s another Unai project that I’m sure will come good.
Agreed. He's less than dazzling at teh moment, but they wouldn't have dropped so much money on a player who Unai didn't think could be moulded.
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All that would be fine if you felt it was just a matter of physical conditioning. But at no point have I been struck by the potential of his pace or strength (Jesus, that lad's quick/strong).
I do hope he gets it together though. Maybe he just needs a goal? Come on Evann, UTV!
It's a strange one, maybe it's due to the slow build up but one of his main traits is knocking the ball behind the defender into space and racing past him.
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All that would be fine if you felt it was just a matter of physical conditioning. But at no point have I been struck by the potential of his pace or strength (Jesus, that lad's quick/strong).
I do hope he gets it together though. Maybe he just needs a goal? Come on Evann, UTV!
It's a strange one, maybe it's due to the slow build up but one of his main traits is knocking the ball behind the defender into space and racing past him.
Absolutely, and that's all over his highlights reel.
Not sure the problem lies with the slow build up. He just doesn't look like he really believes he is quicker than his opponent.
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His defensive work is very good - there have been glimpses of his ability to find the space in the box - like last night.
I think he just needs one to go in - and maybe when we play against some better teams hell get a little more space. I think it is a confidence thing mostly and it is a big jump up but Uani is obviously seeing something he likes.
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I like the fact he sticks at it and doesn’t drop his head. If only that effort had gone in instead of hitting the post, it would have done him the world of good. It’s worrying that his team mates are choosing not to use him when he’s free and in a decent position. I get the feeling that some of them are less than convinced.
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Defensively & effort wise, I can't fault him. But going forward he looks a little lost & very apprehensive. I suppose the fact that he's doing the defensive side allows him the time to hopefully develop in the next few months.
It's a big step up from the level he was playing at, if he was the finished article he wouldn't be with us. I'd give him more than a handful of games before writing him off.
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Comes across in interview as a very humble lad, by the way; honest, hard worker, raised in the Marseille 'burbs. That will at least stand him in good stead.
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All that would be fine if you felt it was just a matter of physical conditioning. But at no point have I been struck by the potential of his pace or strength (Jesus, that lad's quick/strong).
I do hope he gets it together though. Maybe he just needs a goal? Come on Evann, UTV!
It's a strange one, maybe it's due to the slow build up but one of his main traits is knocking the ball behind the defender into space and racing past him.
Absolutely, and that's all over his highlights reel.
Not sure the problem lies with the slow build up. He just doesn't look like he really believes he is quicker than his opponent.
Let's see how he improves after he scores on Sunday.
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Let's see how he improves after he scores on Sunday.
;D
Indeed, UTV!
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Defensively & effort wise, I can't fault him. But going forward he looks a little lost & very apprehensive. I suppose the fact that he's doing the defensive side allows him the time to hopefully develop in the next few months.
It's a big step up from the level he was playing at, if he was the finished article he wouldn't be with us. I'd give him more than a handful of games before writing him off.
If you've got a player who needs time to get up to speed with a new league, and is struggling to replicate his form from his previous team, I think the best you can hope for is that they do a job for the team first and foremost. And I think that's what he's doing so far. If he was doing okay attacking wise, but regularly leaving Cash exposed, I suspect Sancho/Elliott would be ahead of him in the pecking order. But he's doing a perfectly okay job in that position. Not brilliant, but certainly not terrible.
If we were judging players based purely on this season so far, as if they'd arrived this summer, we'd all be insisting Boro pulled our pants down with Morgan Rogers. However, if the team's form continues to improve over the next dozen or so games, and the results stay mostly positive, and he STILL isn't looking like he's at home in the premier league, then I'll start to worry. But we do know Unai loves a project, and we've seen more than once how a player can thrive once they've had a few months to get used to his methods.
I'm still very hopeful!
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I reckon at some point he's going to twat one in from 25 yards Drogba-style and it'll be lift-off.
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Defensively & effort wise, I can't fault him. But going forward he looks a little lost & very apprehensive. I suppose the fact that he's doing the defensive side allows him the time to hopefully develop in the next few months.
It's a big step up from the level he was playing at, if he was the finished article he wouldn't be with us. I'd give him more than a handful of games before writing him off.
Good summation for me. To be honest, he's offered very little in attack so far and gas given the ball away too many times. Like you say though, he has contributed in the defensive side and I suppose that is an improvement on some of his predecessors.
Far from convinced so far, but let's give him time.
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He had a good bit of play in the second half where he went on a run and got us up the pitch, laid it off to McGinn. Was really tidy.
He needs a goal now. The longer it goes on the more he's gonna feel it. Just really needs to get off the mark.
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He's still adapting to the Premier League and Emery's style. One good attribute is his pace which we need. Malen looks really strong and pacy too.
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At least through that really strong run, he showed some of the x-factor that had been hard to identify before.
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Goal from our boy today
https://x.com/avfcstatto/status/1976644968799494381?s=46
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We should see if their set piece coach is available.
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That pitch is greener than the icing on your 10th birthday football-themed birthday cake.
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It's basically against a non league standard team.
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Cack player. Runs around a lot but no quality or composure.
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We have such a negative fan base.
So many players get written off. I mean It took Luiz a season and a half pretty much to find his mojo.
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Cack player. Runs around a lot but no quality or composure.
Bit of a weird obsession you've picked up here.
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Embarrassing performance tonight.
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With some players that took a while to settle you could see there was something there, but not with Guessand for me. He looks like someone a newly promoted side would take a punt on.
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This guy is dreadful, absolutely fucking dreadful.
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Looks like it'll probably be one of those seasons.
Win a few, lose a few more.
Not sure how it'll pan out exactly, but to do anything, this guy will need to play less.
Whether that means Watkins and Malen hitting red hot form or a new arrival in Jan offering more than this fella remains to be seen.
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He looks like a big, gangly league one player who would score 20 in that division for Peterboro and get promoted and look out of his depth the next season.
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He looks nowhere near a 30m player even with the goal. Hopefully there's something we aren't seeing yet.
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He looks nowhere near a 30m player even with the goal. Hopefully there's something we aren't seeing yet.
Weren't Palace after him as well?
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Oh well, hopefully he may come good, that's pretty much the most positive thing you can say. He can't say he's not getting enough chances but at the moment he's well and truly out of his depth.
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He looks nowhere near a 30m player even with the goal. Hopefully there's something we aren't seeing yet.
Weren't Palace after him as well?
Not for the price they were quoted and the wages. Deemed him poor value for money.
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You’d think the goal would have gave him some confidence, although it was hardly clinical or convincing. He was shite tonight.
I was doing something else wgen the sunscreen made so I was surprised to still see him on. Puzzling by UE.
Didn’t notice this babbling before I posted. Was meant to say I didn’t see all the subs come on!
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On the pitch for 90+ minutes. Words fail me.
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He looks nowhere near a 30m player even with the goal. Hopefully there's something we aren't seeing yet.
Weren't Palace after him as well?
Apparently we beat Palace to sign Guessand - they went and signed Spanish international Yeremy Pino instead, for less money.
The only thing we’ve beaten Palace at in ages ,and it’s that.
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Not seeing it at all with this bloke.
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I got to the pub after about 10 mins. My mates were saying ibe missed goal of the season.
With poor signal , I’m searching X ( formally known as Twitter ) to find it. No Luck.
Half time I almost sprint from the bar as the highlights cone up.
30 seconds later about 20 people burst out laughing at my disappointment.
But as I said then. A goal is a goal.
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We have such a negative fan base.
So many players get written off. I mean It took Luiz a season and a half pretty much to find his mojo.
Luiz technical ability stood out from his first five minutes. This guy is a defensive forward. Touch, weight of pass, decision making....
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Yeah, Luiz clearly had ability. He was up and down as you'd expect from a young player. I think I posted about it, but I was seriously concerned on day one. It's the lack of technique. He is a winger. You don't need 20 games to see that.
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Thought he was really involved first half although lacked quality when it mattered. Tough night for him second half, ust doesn't look confident. Hopefully he comes good. So odd that Elliott didn't come on for him....
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Apart from bungling the ball over line, contributed absolutely nothing tonight. How the hell he remained on the pitch when we swapped out the full compliment of subs is beyond me.
He's fucking useless.
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Weird that he doesn’t even look like a winger (or even a forward of any kind).
Maybe he’ll end up like Joelinton, we’ll move him into midfield and he’ll be an absolute beast.
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More likely he'll end up like Ivor Linton.
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I'm not writing him off until next season.
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He's deceptively paced, he's slower than he looks.
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Have not yet been impressed by Guessand, but I don’t think an off game like tonight (among off games from other players) means it’s fatal.
He had been improving and does have a bit of pedigree from Ligue 1 last season, among the league’s top forwards and player of the season at Nice.
Interestingly, he was considered a revelation last season after a long period where nobody really rated him, so I’m clinging on to the hope that it will come good!
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Or reverting to type?
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Oh man, don’t hex me!
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I've seen absolutely nothing in him to date that says he's a player at this level & I think he knows it.
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Looks like a temu version of diaby. Would be sUprised if he gets more than 5 league goals this year.
His work rates good, and defensively good. But going forward is god awful
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Looks like a temu version of diaby. Would be sUprised if he gets more than 5 league goals this year.
His work rates good, and defensively good. But going forward is god awful
So, the complete opposite of Diaby then?
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I'm more worried he's a Temu Heskey.
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I think his team mates think he’s shite too. We have more deserving players in the squad who should be getting a go. It happens with most clubs, purchase a player for a decent fee and they perform worse than what you already have.
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Looks like a temu version of diaby. Would be sUprised if he gets more than 5 league goals this year.
His work rates good, and defensively good. But going forward is god awful
So, the complete opposite of Diaby then?
Well not complete opposite as diaby did some good defensive work for us. He use to stay back sometimes and run back when we had the high line use his pace to help us defend when we went up for corners late in the game.
.attacking wise yeah they are opposite as diaby was actually good
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Looks like a temu version of diaby. Would be sUprised if he gets more than 5 league goals this year.
His work rates good, and defensively good. But going forward is god awful
Diaby? Poundland Rudy Gestede more like.
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He needs to be much better.
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He needs to be much better.
You expect too much for £30m!
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Looks like a temu version of diaby. Would be sUprised if he gets more than 5 league goals this year.
His work rates good, and defensively good. But going forward is god awful
Diaby? Poundland Rudy Gestede more like.
Haha. I forgot about good old rudy. What the hell ever happened to him?
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He needs to be much better.
You expect too much for £30m!
Can't believe we sold Ramsay and bought this guy. His wages must be a pittance compared to Ramsay.
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He was awful tonight - really has a long way to go. His work rate is great - but he is a massive step down from Bailey and Ramsey
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I hoped his goal might give him confidence but he got worse as the game went on!
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I hate the way we write players off. Everyone was saying the same thing when Sticks Ormondroyd arrived. Look how that turned out.
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Wank
£30m worth of wank.
Why do so many of our expensive signings need 12 months to bed in ?
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I hate the way we write players off. Everyone was saying the same thing when Sticks Ormondroyd arrived. Look how that turned out.
Yeh and Tonev.
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I hate the way we write players off. Everyone was saying the same thing when Sticks Ormondroyd arrived. Look how that turned out.
I know. Simon Dawkins was never given a chance either.
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We've had absolutely loads of players who have had inconsistent starts and gone on to be excellent for us, mind.
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We've had absolutely loads of players who have had inconsistent starts and gone on to be excellent for us, mind.
This bloke won’t be one of them.
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Wank
£30m worth of wank.
Why do so many of our expensive signings need 12 months to bed in ?
Always puzzled me as well. Other teams sign players and they go straight into the team and start performing to a decent standard.
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Give him a break, he’s been decent in the league and him and Cash have played well together.
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Looks like a temu version of diaby. Would be sUprised if he gets more than 5 league goals this year.
His work rates good, and defensively good. But going forward is god awful
Diaby? Poundland Rudy Gestede more like.
Haha. I forgot about good old rudy. What the hell ever happened to him?
Rudy cant fail. Head of Football Ops at Blackburn Rovers FC.
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Give him a break, he’s been decent in the league and him and Cash have played well together.
I like to give all players a fair crack of the whip, so it’s probably a bit early to judge him but the signs aren’t very encouraging. If we bought him to be a defensive forward then fine but we could have found better value. All players need to put a shift in but the things which must have attracted us to him, speed, crossing, finishing etc look way off.
UE certainly sees something and I hope we get to see a lot more in the future. I think it makes it more frustrating for us when we have a good player in Elliot on the bench who’s hardly had a sniff.
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We’ve overpaid massively for this fellah. Whoever scouted him and thought he was any good, needs shooting.
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Give him a break, he’s been decent in the league and him and Cash have played well together.
I like to give all players a fair crack of the whip, so it’s probably a bit early to judge him but the signs aren’t very encouraging. If we bought him to be a defensive forward then fine but we could have found better value. All players need to put a shift in but the things which must have attracted us to him, speed, crossing, finishing etc look way off.
UE certainly sees something and I hope we get to see a lot more in the future. I think it makes it more frustrating for us when we have a good player in Elliot on the bench who’s hardly had a sniff.
Elliot must be sitting on the bench thinking wtf.
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Or maybe Emery doesn’t trust him yet. We know what’s he’s like with some new signings.
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I remember thinking how shit Juan Pablo was back in the day when he'd hasd a few games and he became an absolute star so hoping this is his difficult bedding in period. Time will tell.
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I think Guessand has been getting progressively better game by game and, after he scored last night, I said to my Dad this could be the kick start he needs to get even better. Only for him to morph into prime Tonev for the next 85 mins!
He's young, he has raw attributes and will only get better. But in the here and now, it is baffling how he is getting so many minutes when Elliott hasn't played for weeks.
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Absolutely nothing he does has any real conviction to it, that's what's stood out for me.
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He's a Temu Trez.
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Absolutely nothing he does has any real conviction to it, that's what's stood out for me.
Yup, he looks like he thinks he shouldn't be out there playing. To be fair, on this showing, he's right.
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I think Guessand has been getting progressively better game by game and, after he scored last night, I said to my Dad this could be the kick start he needs to get even better. Only for him to morph into prime Tonev for the next 85 mins!
He's young, he has raw attributes and will only get better. But in the here and now, it is baffling how he is getting so many minutes when Elliott hasn't played for weeks.
Hes not 16.
He’s 24 and an international footballer for gods sake.
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Perhaps I'm being harsh but I think he's been utterly woeful 90% of the time he's been on the pitch for us and I don't understand in what world he's going to be a better option for us than Bailey was at any point soon. Having said that, Unai obviously thinks he is and he knows a tiny bit more about football than I do.
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Absolutely nothing he does has any real conviction to it, that's what's stood out for me.
Yep. It's like he doesn't think he's up to it and as such appears out of his depth. Every transfer is a gamble of sorts, but when you're confined as we are, £30m is a lot to waste. Perhaps he'll come good once he settles down a bit, and maybe that's why Emery left him on for the whole game (because I can't see why he'd have done so on the performance). Perhaps, maybe.
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It's confidence. New country x system, manager etc. as others have said, it sometimes takes a while to fully get Emery's system. There are signs.
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When the only attribute you have appears to be work rate then it's a little more than confidence.
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When the only attribute you have appears to be work rate then it's a little more than confidence.
Maybe it's the assessor.
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Has he ever been a touchline winger? Everything we've seen of him in France or everything we've seen him do well is when he has freedom to explore the space on the righthand side of the pitch, not stuck out on the wing with a defender tight on him. His strength appeared to be receiving the ball and knocking it past the defender before waltzing past them. By tactically restricting his space we don't appear to be doing him any favours.
His only real impact so far this season has been his defensive work supporting Cash. As a forward he may as well not be there.
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I can see him having more success as a right wing back.
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Been reading a bit around French forums from last season. What I can glean is that over several years, he was perceived as having a lot of unfulfilled potential and needed to work on his touch, finishing and chance-creating. This time last year, he went on a bit of a run, starting with en eyecatching performance against PSG. Found a funny quote from a French pundit (https://rmcsport.bfmtv.com/football/ligue-1/nice-il-est-dans-le-top-3-des-attaquants-de-ligue-1-riolo-conquis-par-evann-guessand_AV-202501270403.html): "Have you ever heard anyone talk about Guessand and instinctively say, ‘I think this bloke's good, I really believe he's on the verge of something’? But since last year, last winter, he's gone up a level."
We can only hope...
Somebody mentioned Palace wanting him earlier in the thread. Canvot (who we were trying to sign at CB) started for them, and gifted the winner to Larnaca.
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Looks like a temu version of diaby. Would be sUprised if he gets more than 5 league goals this year.
His work rates good, and defensively good. But going forward is god awful
Diaby? Poundland Rudy Gestede more like.
Haha. I forgot about good old rudy. What the hell ever happened to him?
Boiled down to make Bostik, most likely.
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Looks like a temu version of diaby. Would be sUprised if he gets more than 5 league goals this year.
His work rates good, and defensively good. But going forward is god awful
Diaby? Poundland Rudy Gestede more like.
Haha. I forgot about good old rudy. What the hell ever happened to him?
Boiled down to make Bostik, most likely.
Gestede is head of football at Blackburn, so not doing so well.
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After some of the stick he got the other night, it's only fair to mention how well he did when he came on. Really helped us see the game out.
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Didn't score though.
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Didn't score though.
Neither did Konsa.
The thing they both have in common is that neither of them are strikers.
Also you are every bit as bad as I get accused of being with pushing an agenda because I've seen numerous of these sly comments outside of the Watkins thread from you now. Stop dragging it onto other threads.
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Guessand is a forward.
And they aren't sly, they are blatantly taking the piss.
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Guessand is a forward.
And they aren't sly, they are blatantly taking the piss.
You're referencing my posts on the Watkins thread again, if you're upset that I criticise Watkins and want to keep having digs at me for it at least keep it to one thread.
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He did the job we needed him to do really well today.
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He did the job we needed him to do really well today.
He has done that in most of his appearances to be fair, which is why he's playing more than Malen, Sancho and Elliott. It's not spectacular and we all want more creativity from him but if that's not coming then the next best thing to do is follow instructions and make life difficult for the opposition. He failed to do that on Thursday and got 3-4 pages of shit on this thread but it's only the 2nd time where I think it's been fair to say he wasn't doing what he was there to do.
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Yep, good cameo.
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He did the job we needed him to do really well today.
Battled well when he came on. Just needs to add that final product to his game.
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Yep, good cameo.
Word up.
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Did nicely today.
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Got a good feel for Guessand.
He's fast and skillful, did alright today.
I'm wondering if he'll have a big impact in his second season like Leon Bailey did, and in the same way Moussa Diaby might've done had we not sold him after a season.
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Great cameo, yesterday.
He’s strange, and I like it.
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Great cameo, yesterday.
He’s strange, and I like it.
I like him to he goes back and forth down the wing.
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He was very strong on the ball, almost Rogers-esque at times with players climbing all over him and winning us the foul.
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Shite on thursday, excellent cameo yesterday.
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Though he did really well when he came on. Held the ball really well, and seemed much stronger than previously
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He did the job we needed him to do really well today.
PeterWithesShin or Guessand?
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Given the referee was waving Guardiol on to pull, push and foul at will, I thought Guessand picked up rather well from where McGinn left off. He battles and tries hard and has shown glimpses of skill too, I think he's already an asset, and given time, he'll be lauded on here.
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Philogene was very good in the lunchtime KO on Saturday. Some great crosses.
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His best showing in our colours so far. Offered strength and pace and got himself involved. I’m more encouraged than after Thursday’s showing.
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Well I was certainly shaking my pants at the end with this cameo.
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When he came on, he was fast, fierce and, funny right at the end, with Foden hanging on his shirt tails.
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Great cameo, yesterday.
He’s strange, and I like it.
He turned and faced the strange.
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Got a good feel for Guessand.
He's fast and skillful, did alright today.
I'm wondering if he'll have a big impact in his second season like Leon Bailey did, and in the same way Moussa Diaby might've done had we not sold him after a season.
Bailey’s purple patch was his third season. First two, not so much.
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Didier Dome said Guessand was quick and strong before the game tonight on Bien Sports.
He looks neither to me.
I dont know what his strenghtns are. He seems to just run with it until he loses it.
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He may come good but presently looks completely out of his depth. Looks far better when he comes on as sub than when he starts.
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Guessand starting tonight wasn't a surprise. With Buendia injured and after Sancho flopping the last day, McGinn was always likely to switch over. But after conceding the goal at half time then we don't need a defensive forward. We also needed to get McGinn into the game, swapping over to the right up against Robertson surely would have done that. Emery was too slow there.
Not really seeing what our scouts did. Guessand just doesn't have the technical ability to play for us.
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Maybe he’ll come good, but it looks a long way off as he’s been diabolical so far.
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I think he looks like a squad player, which probably reflects the fee. But even accounting for that he needs to be better.
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Seemed to have a decent chance going through on goal first half. Couldn't see from the away end if it was good defending or another wasted opportunity on his part. He does help Cash a lot though. Hopefully he comes good...
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He's Blues. Has no real attributes.
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Far too slow.
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Shouldn't be starting games. Not sure why he still is.
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Literally don't understand the hate this guy gets, like at all. He's had better games and worse games but it's incredibly obvious what he's good at, i.e. what Emery hoped Philogene would do - tactically sound and able to turn defensive situations into counters. He didn't do it tonight but he's definitely down he's capable at performing in his role.
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I’m with you Monty. He’s sound, maybe not electrifying like a in form Bailey, but we’re far more compact, organised and a better shape with him in front of Cash.
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I’m with you Monty. He’s sound, maybe not electrifying like a in form Bailey, but we’re far more compact, organised and a better shape with him in front of Cash.
He was not offering Cash much protection last night and his contribution in an attacking sense was woefull, he looked completely out of his depth.
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Do we want to be a top 6 team? He isn't a top 6 player, nowhere near. It's not hard to see why we are struggling to score goals or create chances when we have a wide attacker who isn't capable of offering any threat.
You're just making excuses up for him. He's pants, and we've had ours pulled down. There's no masterstroke or tactical genius going on, he's just very very limited and we need an attacking player in an attacking position who can threaten the opposition.
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He has his ups and downs but when he’s poor, he really stinks. That said, he contributed well against C115ty. He is always marked by a couple of players and needs time and support to bed in.
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He was a 15 minute sub against Man City in a winning position.
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He was a 15 minute sub against Man City in a winning position.
And made a solid contribution. I think he’s been largely useless so far, but he clearly is not the finished article in the Premier division. He’s been here a few months.
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Do we want to be a top 6 team? He isn't a top 6 player, nowhere near. It's not hard to see why we are struggling to score goals or create chances when we have a wide attacker who isn't capable of offering any threat.
You're just making excuses up for him. He's pants, and we've had ours pulled down. There's no masterstroke or tactical genius going on, he's just very very limited and we need an attacking player in an attacking position who can threaten the opposition.
You're right, he's my son, and this is clouding my judgement. The fact that he stole your wife is, you have to admit, clouding yours too though.
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We're starting to become what we slate Arsenal and Tottenham fans for being.
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We're starting to become what we slate Arsenal and Tottenham fans for being.
Cockney scum?
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Well some of you might think I'm telling a Cherry, but I don't think he's Dot Cotton.
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He’s awful, him and Sancho have actually made us worse out wide. Terrible summer transfer window IMO
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Do we want to be a top 6 team? He isn't a top 6 player, nowhere near. It's not hard to see why we are struggling to score goals or create chances when we have a wide attacker who isn't capable of offering any threat.
You're just making excuses up for him. He's pants, and we've had ours pulled down. There's no masterstroke or tactical genius going on, he's just very very limited and we need an attacking player in an attacking position who can threaten the opposition.
You're right, he's my son, and this is clouding my judgement. The fact that he stole your wife is, you have to admit, clouding yours too though.
Your Son is shit at football but works hard. He'd make a good hod carrier. You guided him down the wrong path in life.
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Far too slow.
In the head rather than running, and seems to play with blinkers on and can't see people in his peripheral vision.
He's shite, we'll be no doubt sending him on a series of loans going forward.
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if he'd come in for £5mil then I could understand it - not seen muuc, if anything so far to suggest he's worth £30mil - still time to adapt and get more from him obviously.
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I dunno, people slate Emery for not putting players in the moment we’ve signed them, but the one time he does the player gets slated for not being good enough - when in reality he’s just moved to a new country and playing in a more physically demanding league so it’s not overly surprising that he might not be in the form of his life.
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I dunno, people slate Emery for not putting players in the moment we’ve signed them, but the one time he does the player gets slated for not being good enough - when in reality he’s just moved to a new country and playing in a more physically demanding league so it’s not overly surprising that he might not be in the form of his life.
so far - the evidence is that he doesn't appear good enough - like I said above, still plenty of time. But, fair play to Emery for chucking him in.
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It's not just the newness, some players struggle but you can see signs of life, this lad just looks like he's out of his depth entirely.
Even the goal he scored might be the least convincing I've ever seen.
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Sancho and Elliot must train appallingly if he's getting the nod. He looks thick.
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You see snippets that make you think there’s something there. The rest of it, what is he doing there. We should have saved our money and kept Philogene.
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Sancho and Elliot must train appallingly if he's getting the nod. He looks thick.
I think it's the physicality alone, maybe they should take turned standing on each others shoulders whilst wearing a mac, they might get picked then.
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Against Burnley, our attack looked far more potent with twin strikers Watkins and Malen starting and Donyell bagging two superb goals. I fully expected Emery to give this partnership more mileage, but, Malen in particular has had very limited minutes since....why??
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I think they see similarities to Roger’s - a lot of the right attributes but raw. There are flashes but he doesn’t seem to have much vision.
He’s been largely awful and the biggest issue we have is we can’t afford for transfers to not come off. Unfortunately we seem to be up with a weaker squad after each transfer window. I know a lot is FFP type stuff but sangho, Elliot and guessard just looking like sizeable backwards steps from Ramsey and Bailey
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He might have been useful in the league he came from but, the Prem is beyond him. A complete waste of money.
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Lots of positive comments after our win last week, lots of comments saying he's shit and will never make it after defeat this week.
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Lots of positive comments after our win last week, lots of comments saying he's shit and will never make it after defeat this week.
Maybe David O Leary was right.
(Runs and hides)
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For £30m I was expecting a bit more than nuisance value as an attribute and I'm not sure he's that convincing even in the nuisance department. Agree he needs time to settle but so far he's reminding me of Martin Carruthers.
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Lots of positive comments after our win last week, lots of comments saying he's shit and will never make it after defeat this week.
Maybe David O Leary was right.
(Runs and hides)
Your going on an adventure
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I really want him to succeed.
I refuse to believe he's as bad as people think he is considering Unai persists with him, we have options to replace him so why keep playing him? Unai must have seen something.
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You see snippets that make you think there’s something there. The rest of it, what is he doing there. We should have saved our money and kept Philogene.
Philogene was miles off it in the PL. Combine Guessand's physicality with Philogene's skills and you would have a PL standard player.
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The positive is that he does the defensive side well
But other than that I see nothing. He looks like he's never played in the position we're asking him to play. It's noticeable that the other players seem a bit reluctant to give him the ball.
Anyway, let's give him 12 months before we write him off completely.
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£30m doesn’t get you much these days.
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I think Guessand is struggling partly because he was the only money signing, had he been one of 3 £30m players in the window he would have had time to settle.
Think he definitely has ability & will be coached to use his strength more, but he certainly doesn’t appear to have much pace which particularly in games like last night when the recent recipe to beat them has been long ball, channels and pace was an issue.
Sancho and Elliott have also been a huge disappointment thus far to be fair to Guessand.
Rashford, Asensio and Bailey vs Elliott, Sancho & Guessand is so far a big big downgrade without even considering Ramsey! but all 3 have time to come good.
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Elliott being a disappointment what for not being given a chance?
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Elliott being a disappointment what for not being given a chance?
No, his dodgy hair.
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I'm prepared to stick with Guessand because he's handsome enough to play for us. I will not entertain people called Harvey who look like squashed mobile phone salesmen.
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Elliott being a disappointment what for not being given a chance?
Perhaps he hasn’t earnt it? Or perhaps Unai hasn’t picked him because he doesn’t want him? who knows but the short times he has been on the field he has been no better than Guessand
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I'm prepared to stick with Guessand because he's handsome enough to play for us. I will not entertain people called Harvey who look like squashed mobile phone salesmen.
I wouldn't buy a squashed mobile phone from any one.....
well, maybe Sydney Sweeney....
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Elliott being a disappointment what for not being given a chance?
Perhaps he hasn’t earnt it? Or perhaps Unai hasn’t picked him because he doesn’t want him? who knows but the short times he has been on the field he has been no better than Guessand
What games in particular are you talking about?
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For £30m I was expecting a bit more than nuisance value as an attribute and I'm not sure he's that convincing even in the nuisance department. Agree he needs time to settle but so far he's reminding me of Martin Carruthers.
Oh, God...really? That's bad :(
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I'm prepared to stick with Guessand because he's handsome enough to play for us. I will not entertain people called Harvey who look like squashed mobile phone salesmen.
You have a thing for black, erratic wingers with good hair.
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If you know any, pass on my number.
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Now you can tell some lies about the good times that you've had
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I know a lot is FFP type stuff but sangho, Elliot and guessard just looking like sizeable backwards steps from Ramsey and Bailey
And yet, last season’s versions of Ramsey (form and fitness) and Bailey (form) were not up to much at all.
Didn’t see the game last night, but recognise the description of his performance from other games.
All looks a bit Philogene-esque to me - expect him to be given opportunities through to Christmas, and if he fails to turn the tide, out on loan.
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I know a lot is FFP type stuff but sangho, Elliot and guessard just looking like sizeable backwards steps from Ramsey and Bailey
And yet, last season’s versions of Ramsey (form and fitness) and Bailey (form) were not up to much at all.
Didn’t see the game last night, but recognise the description of his performance from other games.
All looks a bit Philogene-esque to me - expect him to be given opportunities through to Christmas, and if he fails to turn the tide, out on loan.
I doubt he will be sent out on loan as we can't really bring anyone else in yet without selling a player or two to keep plus transfer balance.
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Against Liverpool, he apparently attempted five passes, one of which was successful.
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It's correct, he helped defensively though with his 0 tackles.
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I know a lot is FFP type stuff but sangho, Elliot and guessard just looking like sizeable backwards steps from Ramsey and Bailey
And yet, last season’s versions of Ramsey (form and fitness) and Bailey (form) were not up to much at all.
Didn’t see the game last night, but recognise the description of his performance from other games.
All looks a bit Philogene-esque to me - expect him to be given opportunities through to Christmas, and if he fails to turn the tide, out on loan.
I doubt he will be sent out on loan as we can't really bring anyone else in yet without selling a player or two to keep plus transfer balance.
I think he's a bit of a project. He's physically imposing and has lots of raw ability; you could see that in the City game, where he took the ball on and held it up really well a couple of times towards the end, against a more-than-decent City side. But then so did Keinan Davis, from time to time.
Given Unai's track record in spotting something the rest of us might have missed, I wouldn't write him off until he's had at least a full season here. In Youri's first season under Unai, many of us worried we'd signed a turkey until his performances started improving in November, and he had plenty of Premier League experience already. It just took a few months to acclimatise, then he thrived.
I'm hoping Evann is similar.
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It's correct, he helped defensively though with his 0 tackles.
"If I have to make a tackle then I have already made a mistake." - Paolo Maldini.
As long as he's getting back to do his defensive work, covering the space, tracking runnuers and forcing the opposition backwards or sideways, I'm not too worried about him not diving into tackles. If he's AWOL entirely, that's an entirely different matter!
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I am yet to see anything to suggest he's not crap.
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Maldini must have been shit with how many tackles he did.
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He was probably better going forward then Evann too.
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He is so so out of his depth. I wish he wasn’t, I wish he was the £30 odd million pound winger or whatever he should be, but he isn’t. No idea what we might get for him but I cannot imagine it’s anywhere near that sum.
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The £30m figure has been thrown around a lot. I've seen the actual price quoted as low as £23.5m rising to £28m with add-ons. The BBC reported it as £26m plus £4.3m in extras. Which may not be met, judging by the, er, judgement of him, thus far...
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I want it all and I want it right now.
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It's correct, he helped defensively though with his 0 tackles.
"If I have to make a tackle then I have already made a mistake." - Paolo Maldini.
As long as he's getting back to do his defensive work, covering the space, tracking runnuers and forcing the opposition backwards or sideways, I'm not too worried about him not diving into tackles. If he's AWOL entirely, that's an entirely different matter!
Smithy you are one of the most considered posters on here, but in whatever context having Maldini and Big Evan in the same paragraph is a bit wrong…i am laughing btw
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Smithy you are one of the most considered posters on here, but in whatever context having Maldini and Big Evan in the same paragraph is a bit wrong…i am laughing btw
Good point, Evann's not as handsome as Paolo was (SE may disagree).
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There are handsome men on both sides.
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I really hope he kicks on, because he tries hard, but at the moment the best you can say is he’s a useful defensive player.
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Could we turn him into a right back? He does seem to track back and tackle quite well.
He sure as hell ain’t never making a top level winger.
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Cuellar was a bigger attacking threat out wide.
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to be honest I find him and sancho equally frustrating.
Evan has the physical attributes - but it whether he can be coached to not be shit.
Sancho - just looks a little lost - think its confidence
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It isn't looking good now unfortunately. If we are going two play with two relatively defensive midfielders then we can't afford for one of our front four to be completely void of goals and assists. He does try but he looks utterly blunt as an attacking force.
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A complete dud. Sometimes it happens. Loan back to France in Jan if we can rustle up something else.
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He's way too big and ungainly to be an effective wide man. I'd still like to see him up front for a bit.
But I'm definitely getting Rudy Gestede vibes.
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I’d say more Jordan Bowery. And that’s being generous.
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Perhaps he’ll come good, it’s still relatively early days but it’s hard to judge our summer business as anything but woeful based on what we’ve seen so far (Bizot the exception).
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From the clips I saw when we signed him, he played more central in France, drifting wide when needed.
It’s baffling that Unai keeps starting him wide right, other than tracking back, which he does okay to be fair, he offers next to fuck all as an attacking threat for the team.
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A complete dud. Sometimes it happens. Loan back to France in Jan if we can rustle up something else.
Sounds good in theory, but under this government he'd probably be back in the UK within a month.
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Ba-dum, and furthermore, tish.
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Total Blues. Not a Premier League footballer.
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Let's face it, he's crap and it's another crap buy. Emery could start him for the next 10 seasons and he'll still be crap. The bloke looks completely lost and miles out of his depth, I was hoping it was a case of a period of adjustment but you can't see any improvement, most of the time the ball bounces off him.
Hopefully has a good African nations and we can move him on soon after.
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I do think the comparisons with Elliott in terms of game time do look weird. It’s not all about stats and there is some value in how his efforts have helped Cash in being really good this year.
But, he’s played 14 games for us and has 1 goal and no assists, and being honest if you’ve watched most of his games those stats look fairly reasonable. He hasn’t created a load of chances that have been missed. That is obviously nowhere near good enough and I’m pretty sure had Elliott been given an opportunity his output would have been better - even in the right forward role. It might have had an impact defensively, but there are some games, like last night, where it could have been tried.
Now, hopefully it’s all about settling in and there’s much more to come. But at the moment his output is way short of what is needed.
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No attacking output at all from him. A downgrade on last season's Bailey.
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Guessand was Nice player of the year for 2024/25. 12 goals and 7 assists as Nice finished 4th in Ligue 1. He looks so good on his highlights reel. I don't understand how he's looked so poor aside from the occasional defensive contribution. I know the PL is a big step up in intensity, but why??
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Guessand was Nice player of the year for 2024/25. 12 goals and 7 assists as Nice finished 4th in Ligue 1. He looks so good on his highlights reel. I don't understand how he's looked so poor aside from the occasional defensive contribution. I know the PL is a big step up in intensity, but why??
Because that's what happens when you move to a level beyond your capabilities.
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Well its early days and he could come good but, one of the positives reported, that he works hard to get the ball back, is only true because he's given it away in the first place.
I remain to be convinced.
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We should have brought Bert back and saved £27.5 million. At least he looks like he can play football.
The Ali Dia of 2025.
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^^Yes.
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Every attempt to go past his man last night was a half hearted one, and failed. What was even more noticeable was the total lack of understanding between him and Rogers, as to where to go, when to go, and when and where to pass. That he's getting so many minutes right now is utterly baffling, especially given the situation with Elliot.
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He also looks totally uninterested and disconnected.
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He also looks totally uninterested and disconnected.
I'm not so sure about that, rather he looks like he's playing with a lack of confidence borne of thinking he's out of his depth, and being right.
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I think its pointless bringing Elliot into it. We clearly dont want to buy Elliot. We've bought Guessand - so I can see why Emery is sticking with him, 1 shit player for 30m is better than 2 shit players for 70m.
Hopefully we still a step change in the recruitment - as too often it has left us short. To think 2 years ago we had Diaby and Bailey as options on the right - this is a serious downgrade.
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Bailey was pretty ineffectual in that position last season and he’s not even reached those levels yet. However, he’s very tactically disciplined, he’s just shown nothing to suggest he can layer on the next bit to contribute to our attacking play. He certainly wasn’t helped having bloody Lindelof behind him who isn’t a right back and is too slow to play RB in an Emery team.
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Guessand looks like a competition winner - I just don't see the potential for improvement; he seems to be running through treacle and when the ball is at his feet he treats it like a bag of cement.
Sancho seems like an utter waste of space too; no value whatsoever in that deal.
And I pride myself on giving everyone a chance to demonstrate their capability!
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Guessand was Nice player of the year for 2024/25. 12 goals and 7 assists as Nice finished 4th in Ligue 1. He looks so good on his highlights reel. I don't understand how he's looked so poor aside from the occasional defensive contribution. I know the PL is a big step up in intensity, but why??
This is the same Nice who are bottom of the Europa League, on a par with Rangers and behind Celtic.
That sort of comparison makes Nice a Championship level outfit and we know it’s a massive step up from there to the PL.
Although Guessand works hard and is good defensively, I don’t see what he has that can be built on to develop as an attacking option. No pace, no McGinnesque trick of turning a player, iffy touch, no apparent instinct for timing a run into the box. Even the one goal hes scored was a fluke.
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Temu Trezeguet so far.
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He tries, but even against limited sides like the one last night, he looks like he doesn't quite know what he's doing. Work rate aside, he's been a bit of a liability.
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He tries, but even against limited sides like the one last night, he looks like he doesn't quite know what he's doing. Work rate aside, he's been a bit of a liability.
He's not been great but in what way exactly has he been a liability?
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He tries, but even against limited sides like the one last night, he looks like he doesn't quite know what he's doing. Work rate aside, he's been a bit of a liability.
He's not been great but in what way exactly has he been a liability?
I mean from an attacking perspective. He offers next to nothing, hence liability.
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Last night was an opportunity for him to show what he can do. He did nothing of note.
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Might as well swap Cash and him round as the former is in good form and more likely to score.
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In the footage I saw of him when he was at his previous club he looked like he had a bit of trickery about him and more than a little pace….Was this CGI because he’s shown neither with us.
In fact with regard pace he looks quite slow and ponderous, there’s no way he’s beating any player on the wing to whip a cross in.
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Guessand was Nice player of the year for 2024/25. 12 goals and 7 assists as Nice finished 4th in Ligue 1. He looks so good on his highlights reel. I don't understand how he's looked so poor aside from the occasional defensive contribution. I know the PL is a big step up in intensity, but why??
The sporting wing of the IDF are in football terms a pub team. Far away eagles the same. Guessand was hopeless against both. Playing on the sides of our midfield is a tough gig tactically and technically you have to be able to manage the ball in tight situations. It's not a good fit for EG.
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Seems we bought him on the basis of a breakthrough season. Maybe there wasn't enough of a body of work to realise how good or bad he was.
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I do wonder if we need to see him more central with either Watkins or Malen. He certainly looks a lost soul as an attacker wide right, although he is doing a great job protecting Cash.
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I still don’t think he’s as bad as everyone makes out. He’s pretty solid and unspectacular and offers a sound resistance on the right. He’s just not playing with any flair or having an impact going forward. Obviously we’re lacking somewhat in making chances, but with Tielemans fit that may change.
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Well it depends what you mean by bad. I think most people acknowledge the defensive work, but being honest I think it’s hard to remember a less effective attacking player at actual attacking. Hopefully that’ll change but his attacking output to date is about as bad as it could have been.
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Seems we bought him on the basis of a breakthrough season. Maybe there wasn't enough of a body of work to realise how good or bad he was.
That's what the raw data suggests anyway. Nice obviously weren't convinced by him for a long time with two season long loans elsewhere. Evidence increasingly suggests we were had. In fairness to the guy you can't fault his application.
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Temu Trezeguet so far.
He's miles off Trez. Left for 4m didn't he? How much was Guessand?
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He also looks totally uninterested and disconnected.
I'm not so sure about that, rather he looks like he's playing with a lack of confidence borne of thinking he's out of his depth, and being right.
A bit concerning that he's still looked out of his depth against opponents of the calibre of Go Ahead Eagles and that lot last night. Aside from a plum draw in the FA Cup 3rd round, he won't be facing too many easier sides than that.
Being the best player on the pitch wouldn't have told a whole lot when the opposition are Championship/League One level.
But when he's having 'mares against those sort of sides as well it's not great at all.
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The defensive stuff is great but we could have bought Matt Doherty to perform a similar task and saved ourselves the best part of £30m.
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You saying that led me to thinking about Mings being out there and if he'd have done any worse. I'm genuinely not sure. Mings' defensive work would be better and I'm not sure he's much worse technically.
The fact I spent more than one second considering it is damning as fuck. He needs carting off in January. What are Ipswich up to?
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Mings as a marauding right winger, I like it!!
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I don't think Guessand is as terrible as many here seem to. He works hard, and he is young enough to improve the parts of his game that need work. Hopefully he will just click at some point.
Having him in the team has improved the form of Cash too.
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It does seem very strange, in a summer when we were counting every penny in and out, that we ended up paying so much for apparently so little. Having quickly offloaded Philogene (in the previous summer), sold Bailey, ignored Barrie and loaned out Redmond and Rowe we bring in this unproven guy for c.£25m. We as might as well have given one of our young guys a run-out for the first half of this season to see how it went.
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It does seem very strange, in a summer when we were counting every penny in and out, that we ended up paying so much for apparently so little. Having quickly offloaded Philogene (in the previous summer), sold Bailey, ignored Barrie and loaned out Redmond and Rowe we bring in this unproven guy for c.£25m. We as might as well have given one of our young guys a run-out for the first half of this season to see how it went.
I thought that when we signed Duran too though, and he ended up being a good player (if a tad nutty). Emery obviously sees something in him.
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Everyone makes mistakes and in this case, Emery has dropped a right clanger.
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It does seem very strange, in a summer when we were counting every penny in and out, that we ended up paying so much for apparently so little. Having quickly offloaded Philogene (in the previous summer), sold Bailey, ignored Barrie and loaned out Redmond and Rowe we bring in this unproven guy for c.£25m. We as might as well have given one of our young guys a run-out for the first half of this season to see how it went.
I thought that when we signed Duran too though, and he ended up being a good player (if a tad nutty). Emery obviously sees something in him.
Big difference here, though, is that Guessand is showing none of the innate attributes that Duran had - the combination of physique, pace and instincts: I can't really see what there is to work with in Guessand's case, unless behind the scenes they are trying to turn him into a target man, utilising his physique, as a long-term replacement for Watkins; but that seems like a big stretch to me (and when Cotcher and Wilson are coming through anyway).
Above people have referred to Bowery, Gestede and Harewood; all journeymen who wouldn't attract the equivalent in price of what we paid for Guessand.
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Duran showed there was something there pretty early on even if it was raw, plus he was 5 or 6 years younger.
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Duran showed there was something there pretty early on even if it was raw, plus he was 5 or 6 years younger.
That shot against the bar at Man City a few minutes into his debut made me sit up.
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Duran is an incredibly brave talent. A maverick and completely bonkers. I do miss him.
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I like crazy. Even in a team as well drilled as ours there should always be space for a Duran or Bert-style maverick.
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Duran is an incredibly brave talent. A maverick and completely bonkers. I do miss him.
I know what you mean although being at his 5th club at the age of 21 says a lot as well.
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Emery obviously sees something, perhaps he's doing the business in training but we haven't seen anything in matches.
There was a chance for him to break behind Liverpool last week, but he took that long to get going that the defender got back & simply took the ball off him. Hopefully it will click soon & he won't look back. But the initial signs aren't great.
Duran could be brilliant as a sub but was mostly ineffective when he started. We did well to get the money we did.
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Duran only started 17 games, he scored in a bunch of them.
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Just had another look at this https://youtu.be/GXYM6Ud4tSg?si=Mr3hmvV6sNJUxz5N I we sure we didn’t buy his brother instead?
What is noticeable though is that he is mostly central not stuck out wide, and there is a bit of Eze about him
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Duran is an incredibly brave talent. A maverick and completely bonkers. I do miss him.
I know what you mean although being at his 5th club at the age of 21 says a lot as well.
I’m sure we’ve made the right choice in selling him. We need to find the next young talent. Hopefully a more grounded one though.
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Hoping for some Saudi interest I’m afraid.
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Hoping for some Saudi interest I’m afraid.
Yeah I’m hoping for something along those lines too…..He isn’t going to come good.
He’s way, way out of his depth at this level. He’s doesn’t seem to have a single attribute that would contribute to any form of attacking play.
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Hoping for some Saudi interest I’m afraid.
A forlorn hope, riba is haram.
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Hoping for some Saudi interest I’m afraid.
A forlorn hope, riba is haram.
But riba can be halal if we don’t zina them many times over.
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Ribena is kosher.
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Ribery is a mosher.
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Duran only started 17 games, he scored in a bunch of them.
it was right to sell him - but strangly we miss him (or another good striker)
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Hoping for some Saudi interest I’m afraid.
Thought about that the other day and someone mentioned Toney in either this thread last night or Watkins thread. Swap deal could be decent although Toney not a long term replacement for Watkins and we’d still need a right side replacement.
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Just had another look at this https://youtu.be/GXYM6Ud4tSg?si=Mr3hmvV6sNJUxz5N I we sure we didn’t buy his brother instead?
What is noticeable though is that he is mostly central not stuck out wide, and there is a bit of Eze about him
I keep saying play him centrally, he will come good
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I don’t see the Eze comparison at all.
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Saudis tend to spend the petrodollars on 'name' players.
Unless you're intertwined with the deplorable Wahhabi head choppers to the extent Newcastle are, why would they want to take damaged goods off us just to do us a favour.
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For those who think he won't come good and have already given up on him, why do you think Unai keeps starting him?
Surely there has to be a reason, and I don't think it's because he cost a decent amount of money.
Do you really think Unai would persist with him if he was really as shit as you lot believe he is? We've got several players who could replace him so I don't see why he wouldn't just drop him.
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Saudis tend to spend the petrodollars on 'name' players.
Unless you're intertwined with the deplorable Wahhabi head choppers to the extent Newcastle are, why would they want to take damaged goods off us just to do us a favour.
Wasn't he heading there before we stepping in?
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He'll come good. Currently playing out of position to fill a gap.
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For those who think he won't come good and have already given up on him, why do you think Unai keeps starting him?
Surely there has to be a reason, and I don't think it's because he cost a decent amount of money.
Do you really think Unai would persist with him if he was really as shit as you lot believe he is? We've got several players who could replace him so I don't see why he wouldn't just drop him.
Your logic does seem to fluctuate a bit.
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For those who think he won't come good and have already given up on him, why do you think Unai keeps starting him?
Surely there has to be a reason, and I don't think it's because he cost a decent amount of money.
Do you really think Unai would persist with him if he was really as shit as you lot believe he is? We've got several players who could replace him so I don't see why he wouldn't just drop him.
Your logic does seem to fluctuate a bit.
It doesn't, you just didn't bother to read my post.
Unai has almost no choice but to play Watkins so there is no other striker to drop him for.
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For those who think he won't come good and have already given up on him, why do you think Unai keeps starting him?
Surely there has to be a reason, and I don't think it's because he cost a decent amount of money.
Do you really think Unai would persist with him if he was really as shit as you lot believe he is? We've got several players who could replace him so I don't see why he wouldn't just drop him.
Who would play out there in place of him?
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Me neither. They're both black with good hair, one is a baller, the other's a bad cover version.
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For those who think he won't come good and have already given up on him, why do you think Unai keeps starting him?
Surely there has to be a reason, and I don't think it's because he cost a decent amount of money.
Do you really think Unai would persist with him if he was really as shit as you lot believe he is? We've got several players who could replace him so I don't see why he wouldn't just drop him.
Your logic does seem to fluctuate a bit.
It doesn't, you just didn't bother to read my post.
Unai has almost no choice but to play Watkins so there is no other striker to drop him for.
Yes, and I’m sure Unai has had zero input to the building of the squad in the last 3 years.
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For those who think he won't come good and have already given up on him, why do you think Unai keeps starting him?
Surely there has to be a reason, and I don't think it's because he cost a decent amount of money.
Do you really think Unai would persist with him if he was really as shit as you lot believe he is? We've got several players who could replace him so I don't see why he wouldn't just drop him.
We didn’t have several players who could replace him though.
He was dropped when Onana came back and allowed McGinn to play in his position. He would have remained out of the team if Buendia didn’t get injured.
He might come good, although I don’t think he’s got the attributes needed to play in his current position. Perhaps it might be an option to try him in the centre for one of the Euro games and swap him and Malen around?
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He isn't quick enough to play the position. Hope he comes good but i'm not hopeful.
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For those who think he won't come good and have already given up on him, why do you think Unai keeps starting him?
Surely there has to be a reason, and I don't think it's because he cost a decent amount of money.
Do you really think Unai would persist with him if he was really as shit as you lot believe he is? We've got several players who could replace him so I don't see why he wouldn't just drop him.
Your logic does seem to fluctuate a bit.
It doesn't, you just didn't bother to read my post.
Unai has almost no choice but to play Watkins so there is no other striker to drop him for.
Yes, and I’m sure Unai has had zero input to the building of the squad in the last 3 years.
Good point! We have also been totally unrestricted in who we can buy and how much we can spend and Unai has never mentioned this before.
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For those who think he won't come good and have already given up on him, why do you think Unai keeps starting him?
Surely there has to be a reason, and I don't think it's because he cost a decent amount of money.
Do you really think Unai would persist with him if he was really as shit as you lot believe he is? We've got several players who could replace him so I don't see why he wouldn't just drop him.
We didn’t have several players who could replace him though.
He was dropped when Onana came back and allowed McGinn to play in his position. He would have remained out of the team if Buendia didn’t get injured.
He might come good, although I don’t think he’s got the attributes needed to play in his current position. Perhaps it might be an option to try him in the centre for one of the Euro games and swap him and Malen around?
Sancho, Buendia and Malen can all play on the wing.
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For those who think he won't come good and have already given up on him, why do you think Unai keeps starting him?
Surely there has to be a reason, and I don't think it's because he cost a decent amount of money.
Do you really think Unai would persist with him if he was really as shit as you lot believe he is? We've got several players who could replace him so I don't see why he wouldn't just drop him.
Your logic does seem to fluctuate a bit.
It doesn't, you just didn't bother to read my post.
Unai has almost no choice but to play Watkins so there is no other striker to drop him for.
Yes, and I’m sure Unai has had zero input to the building of the squad in the last 3 years.
Good point! We have also been totally unrestricted in who we can buy and how much we can spend and Unai has never mentioned this before.
We’ve had other forwards, and currently do. Like I say, your argument on Guessand might have merit, but it does rather expose your stance on Watkins.
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We don't have anyone who can play CF. We have one striker. Anyone else would be playing out of position. That's not the case with the wing.
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He'll come good. Currently playing out of position to fill a gap.
seems that way .
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A very good last 10 mins or so today. Maybe its the best way to get him in order to integrated to the style of play. Looked composed.
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Came on as sub for Ivory Coast.