Maguire is already halfway there, the Smalling fans are out in force now we no longer have his weekly performances to remind us of why we let him leave.
James will have a rough spell soon enough, he's only young. I actually worry with his style of play he could pick up a big injury and his pace is a big part of why he is so exciting.
AWB is probably the safest but people are already asking why he's not flying down the wing every 5 minutes.
Interesting I'm not the only one who fears for James getting an injury, I can see a late challenge on him causing a serious injury, or even a frustrated challenge on him, I hope I'm wrong but thought this from the Chelsea game
James: Pleased with how he has started so far, he is one of the first names on the team sheet despite being purchased to be developed and eased in. Think this is partly due to injury however on being pitched into a starting role due to this he has, through his performances, made him very hard to put back on the bench. Even if we do end up upgrading him, he will be a useful asset to have on the bench to bring on with say 20 minutes left to run at teams, he has a decent cross and shot power. Yes there are areas that need work however we knew that when we purchased him, he was never signed as the finished article. Yes I have my concerns whether the coaching set up is suitable and whether they have the coaching skills to improve players however that is a different question. Would we have these reservations if Klopp or Pep or SAF were coaching him? Very likeable attitude you sense he would be willing to listen to coaching and work hard to improve rather than feel he has already made it. Goes down too easily at times for my liking, yes sometimes its getting clipped at the sheer speed he runs at however would like to see less of him on the floor, surprised Ole hasnt spoken to him about it as it could actually lead to him getting less protection from the referees and genuine free kicks etc not given.
AWB: I like how he is doing so far- regarding getting forward I would like to see him improve in that area however this was one of the main issues raised when we were being linked with him- however we dont know what he is being told- if Ole wanted him to stay back and he was constantly bombing forward and being caught out of position, we would be criticising him for being reckless. I dont watch much of Palace to know how defensive they are- I was under the impression they are pretty old school type defense and like I stated we dont know what we are telling him- I cant remember for the life of me where I read it but I think it was an interview with Brandon Williams after the Partizan game and I think he said Ole gave him permission to go forward- we dont know what Ole's instructions are. Also we revert to the same question I raised with James- are the coaches able to improve his forward play? Are they actually focusing on this? We do not know. I think as well the likes of TAA are so good we use them as a benchmark however Liverpool's defence is leaky, AWB's main job is a defender, I am getting annoyed by the leaking at least a goal a game however if we had a better midfield would this protect the defence better? Also has TAA always been that good going forward or has he been coached to be like that? One thing that does make me gasp at time during games is while his tackling style is impressive I do see him potentially getting red cards as it can look quite wild at times.
Maguire: probably the least "impressive" of our signings so far. I'd say he has done ok. The corner routine of trying to place it on his head for him to head back in is driving me mad however this isnt him deciding said routine. Should have had a couple of goals for us, one chance he had recently forgotten who it was against, he really should have scored. Wonder if he is regretting leaving Leicester! I wonder if part of the reason hes looked a little shaky at times is due to what is going on around him eg the questionable midfield, Lindelof making him nervous, Young not being a natural defender etc. Yes as an 80m defender, being talked about as a potential captain, he should be able to Marshall them more efficiently but its potentially adding to his slightly shaky performances. It will be interesting to see him paired with Tuanzebe then either Shaw or Williams on the left. I wonder if the pressure of the price tag is also affecting him, however slightly. Due to the price tag he will also constantly be compared with VVD. Perhaps as well he is the opposite of James- with James we had low expectations due to him being from the championship and low cost- with both Maguire and AWB there were much higher expectations due to the cost and them knowing the league and having much higher benchmarks to compare them with eg TAA and VVD.
I think all of them will be fine, however I will continue to hold my reservations about our coaching staff's ability to improve them. If they start going backwards like so many players have here, wider questions need asking, especially if it is all 3 of them.