Jordan Ayew - sold to Swansea

[andyh]

On the other hand, his (free transfer) brother seems to have settled remarkably well.

[Villa in Denmark]

On the other hand, his (free transfer) brother seems to have settled remarkably well.

Andre, his older, more experienced brother who was free because his brother wanted to move from Marseille and ran down his contract.

Not saying Andre's not a good player, he looks quite impressive from the snippets I've seen, but the free transfer is not relevant in judging his ability relative to Jordan.  Andre will almost certainly prove to be better value for money because of the free transfer, if he keeps up his form, unless Jordan turns into a bargain of Benteke proportions.

EDITED as when reading it back it was as clear as mud.  Hopefully makes sense now.

[old man villa fan]

People very quick to judge based on their knowledge of the game.  I think I will go with the judgement of the scouts and manager.  Not many had heard about him a month ago, let alone seen him play and now they are an expert on him.

I will reserve judgement until the end of the season.

[Toronto Villa]

He looks so off match fitness that he's making lots of mental errors. Veretout has made a number of mental errors too. Mainly in their control and distribution. Given that the PL is arguably the fastest paced league in the world they need to get used to that. All of this will come with experience, dedication and fitness. Some players just pick it up quicker and Gueye and Amavi by comparison look PL ready.

[Dave]

People very quick to judge based on their knowledge of the game. I think I will go with the judgement of the scouts and manager.

Did you go with the judgement of the scouts and the manager when we signed the likes of Harewood, Bowery, Luna, Cole et al?

[PaulWinch again]

People very quick to judge based on their knowledge of the game.  I think I will go with the judgement of the scouts and manager.  Not many had heard about him a month ago, let alone seen him play and now they are an expert on him.

I will reserve judgement until the end of the season.

I never subscribed to the belief that because fans aren't in the game they don't have a clue what they're talking about, it's nonsense. But it's true that we shouldn't judge any of our new players yet, just not for the reason you state.

[silhillvilla]

I guess the other thing to factor in is these young lads have been plucked out of a foreign country and rapidly deployed to the Midlands, are probably living in hotels etc so aswell as adjusting to the PL they have all the other domestic crap to deal with. It's going to take time.

[Dante Lavelli]

Swansea apparently paid the big brother a 5m signing on fee so the 'free' transfer tag needs to be qualified a tad.

[Dave]

Swansea apparently paid the big brother a 5m signing on fee so the 'free' transfer tag needs to be qualified a tad.

I'm pretty sure that the younger brother didn't join us just because of a smile and a cheeky wink from the manager.

[paul_e]

He looks so off match fitness that he's making lots of mental errors. Veretout has made a number of mental errors too. Mainly in their control and distribution. Given that the PL is arguably the fastest paced league in the world they need to get used to that. All of this will come with experience, dedication and fitness. Some players just pick it up quicker and Gueye and Amavi by comparison look PL ready.

This is the key.  I said a few years ago, when Delph was a walking yellow card, that the main problem was that he didn't have the awareness needed so his reactions and touch were slightly out and it meant he was always half a yard short of where he needed to be but that if he stayed fit and got a run of games he'd be a good player, I started to waver in the first season under Lambert but then in January it all suddenly clicked into place for him and he looked much better and from then on got far fewer bookings as well.

I think Ayew (and Veretout and Gueye this season and Sanchez last season) are all suffering with the same issue, things happen faster in the premier league, particularly in the middle of the pitch where players may have a yard more space in most other leagues.  Getting fit and adapting to that pacing difference isn't easy and it's very easy to look at a player who's struggling with that and think they're shit (look at the early performances from Ronaldo, Bale and Hazard all 3 of them looked ropey at times in their first season or so, this is also why I think LVG is a fucking idiot for letting Di Maria go for so much less than they paid so quickly and it's why Mourinho has gambled on Falcao after a poor season with Man Utd).

[ozzjim]

How old is he 23? Even if he scored 6-9 league goals this season and increased that year on year he will be worth what we paid for him in the current market. There was enough second half to suggest he has some fight, and he seemed to always be happy to take the ball. He also won a lot of flick ons first half, I think he has a decent leap which could be interesting in time.

[pauliewalnuts]

People very quick to judge based on their knowledge of the game.  I think I will go with the judgement of the scouts and manager.  Not many had heard about him a month ago, let alone seen him play and now they are an expert on him.

I will reserve judgement until the end of the season.

I never subscribed to the belief that because fans aren't in the game they don't have a clue what they're talking about, it's nonsense. But it's true that we shouldn't judge any of our new players yet, just not for the reason you state.

Indeed.

I agree with OMVF re giving Ayew time, but the suggestion it's because we need to trust in scouts, managers, other staff etc is nonsense, as you can look at any one of thousands of shit transfers anywhere you like, and they were all the result of the work of managers and scouts, too.

As well as which, it's not just about spotting the player, it is about knowing what to do with him when you get him.

We've got almost an entire new team. They will need time to gel and also to get used to this league.

I'd certainly think Ayew has far more time credit in the bank than, say, Gabby, who has played hundreds of games in the top flight and delivered next to fuck all for several seasons.

[edgysatsuma89]

This could just be me but am I right in thinking he looked very heavily right footed?

[Clampy]

I guess the other thing to factor in is these young lads have been plucked out of a foreign country and rapidly deployed to the Midlands, are probably living in hotels etc so aswell as adjusting to the PL they have all the other domestic crap to deal with. It's going to take time.

But you said that he looks a poor signing. Make your mind up.

[john e]

He needs a goal, like Gestede to get him going and put a bit of confidence into him