Frankly, I think we've reached a stage where we just have to trust Ten Hag's decision. He's earned it. Lots of questions on Martinez & Casemiro's transfers last year were easily put to rest & hell fire on Arnautovich's transfer which in hindsight would not have made us worse off given our options were Ronaldo, a crock Martial & Weghorst. There is a strategy in place and a clear plan to take us forward. If he thinks Mount will fit in it, I'm all for it.
Mason Mount | Confirmed
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He also signed Antony, never give a manager blind faith unless he’s won numerous trophies with us, this is a mistake this club has made over the past decade, let’s stop that now.
It is. I think people are worried for the inverse, about the midfield's ability to retain the ball under pressure. I can see why they think that, though I personally think it's a good midfield.
I mostly agree, although the choice to go for and persevere with Weghort has left a sour taste in my mouth. And also don't forget Rabiot. He was wanted too and people had doubts over him and he ended up being Juve's best player and among the top 4-5 midfielders in the league.
In fact I think him and Mount are a similar mould of midfielder. Not really playmakers as such, but players with a lot of energy, good ball carrying and a good mix of offensive and defensive contribution. Matter of fact, if McTominay is going to leave and considering VDB is a busted flush and likely to leave on loan again, bringing both Rabiot and Mount would be a significant midfield upgrade.
Imagine we go into the season with Case, Fred, Rabiot, Mount, Eriksen and Bruno. Now that's depth.
Quite sure we did not want to spend in Jan and he was the only striker option with the right attitude available. ETH's been vocal about us not spending while our opponents have invested during the winter recently.
That last paragraph is so true, suddenly our midfield is our strongest and most depthy part?
My only reservation like others is we don't have a metronome in there at all, but I trust the manager.
The price for Antony was indeed extortionate and over the top, but can we stop talking like he's a failure already? He did ok for his first season in the EPL and look at what strikers he had to play with.
He has a lot of room to improve and needs more time. When Salah got his transfer to Chelsea at the same age (22) back in 2014 he also looked overrated and nobody thought he would become the monster he did. If Antony ends up half the player he'll be good.
Probably pays better and there is no stress.
Not every footballer wants to go into management but that has nothing to do with how they gauge the ability of a player.
I know feck all about professional football management but I guarantee you if I had 85m quid to spend on a player I would get one better than Antony
By the way, I seriously rate Erik as a manager and am very happy he is at our club.
His one-footedness frustrates me as hell, but we do seem to be a better unit when he plays.
Of course we didn't want to spend in Jan and that meant our choices were limited, but he surely must have picked Weghorst from the choice of loan options we had. I don't think he was foisted on him, considering how much he liked to play him too.
If he didn't want him or like him, he wouldn't have been OT never mind starting every game. He could have played Rashford up top with 2 out of Garnacho, Antony and Sancho on the wings. He even played him at #10. Those were ETH's choices, he had other options.
Weghorst added a decent amount of balance in his initial few games (right till that league cup final) and was a permanent fixture when we went on that run of wins. Then he turned ineffective from then on.
Yeah most of us aren't as worried about Antony as some of you are.
I think he'll still prove himself to be a good signing, when all is said and done.
I think metronome type players are just a rare breed these days. Other than FDJ (who again said he doesn't want to leave Barca) is there even a second suggestion on who to buy to play this role?
On the other hand though, they are not the only way to achieve success. Liverpool's title winning midfield was Fabinho, Henderson and Wijnaldum. France's world cup winning midfield was Pogba, Kante. Matuidi. Argentina's was Fernandes, De Paul and Mac Allister. Etc. etc.
If we can't find a metronome, then building a midfield with a lot of energy and a lot of potential creative outlets will be hugely useful. We have seen how much output Fernandes has and what contribution Case can make with his goals. Add someone like Mount or Rabiot and that's not only a midfield with legs, but goals and assists too. Eriksen might have the passing skills but he doesn't really have the legs.
Very true, I just worry how this team will do if we need to put the ball 'in the fridge'. But there are many ways to win a football match.
To be fair Rabiot is an excellent player. We will have lots of legs and quality in the middle if all comes true.
We signed a long line of howlers under Fergies watch as well. There is of course no guarantees when it comes to new players but i sure hope the clubs scouting department is in agreement with the manager over any new transfers.
Did we have a run of wins? Our long run of wins was in the month after the world cup and until he arrived. From 19th of Dec 2022 till the 14th of Jan 2023, we went on 9 wins on the trot in all comps. We were touted as title challengers by pundits then.
Weghorst arrived on the 14th of Jan and got his first game and start in the draw against Palace on the 18th of Jan. His second game and start, came in the defeat to Arsenal. From then on, we never got a run of more than 4 wins in a row. And we had extremely easy cup runs with home ties and against rubbish teams which also padded the results a bit. Our league form in February and March wasn't particularly great.
Edit: I appreciate he made an effort and tried his best, but to say he has had a positive influence on the season is frankly a bit nonsense. What little he did could be replicated and exceeded by a host of other players and different team selections. We ended up where we did in spite of him, not thanks to him.
Questions really need to be asked if we blow £50-£60 million on fecking Mount!
such as ?
How did a man, who sat outside in the rain without an umbrella, hat or hooded jacket... not get a single hair on his head wet?
Couldn't we have spent that money on buying him instead?
What are the people making transfer decisions smoking?
National teams and clubs teams are not comparable at all. If we are going to be a pressing team like Liverpool then it's okay to have a work horse style midfield with technique added on top.
. that was goodI'm not saying he had a positive influence - I'm saying he didn't have a negative influence. After the Ronaldo fiasco, it didn't seem like a worse swap to me.
I think he'll end up at Liverpool.
One factor that doesn't seem to have been taken in to account is that ideally Chelsea need to sell by the end of June for FFP purposes. If the takeover is still ongoing I can't see any transfer business being done in the next four weeks?
You don't trust ETH ?
Do you after Antony?
I do, but he's not infallible. Mason Mount is not a player I rate particularly highly, and with one year left on his deal, I think we'd be paying overprice at £55-60m. I also don't really see the fit into the system. There has to be better value out there for that price, and we don't have unlimited funds. We have to get 2-3 key signings right to progress this summer.
You think that was a good deal?
What are you talking about man
So you don't trust ETH based on the Antony transfer...let's agree to disagree if that's your barometer.This thread is about Mount and yes I trust ETH based on what he delivered this season on the pitch, off the pitch and the other signing's he's made.
So going by your logic, all a manager needs is one transfer that the jury is still out on and you lose all trust in him.
Feck me, even fergy had some stinkers.
I think after one season in a new league, some nice goals and a few assists (I don’t know the exact stats) the jury should still be out.
Far to sensible
What are you talking about man
This thread is about Mount and yes I trust ETH based on what he delivered this season on the pitch, off the pitch and the other signing's he's made.
So going by your logic, all a manager needs is one transfer that the jury is still out on and you lose all trust in him.
Feck me, even fergy had some stinkers.
I don't think £90m for Antony was a good deal and I don't think anyone who thought about it for more than a second instead of hanging off the man's nuts would disagree.
I'm not slating Ten Hag or Antony, I'm saying it was a bad deal and shouldn't have happened at that valuation. It was so bad that we were done with transfers at that point, there was nothing left to spend, then we got hammered in the two opening games and he had to go back to the board and beg for a midfielder, which is where Casemiro came in.
So by my logic, I'm saying that Ten Hag shouldn't get whoever he wants at whatever the cost. There should be some questions rightly asked if he wants to blow a large chunk of the budget on one player when there are multiple areas we need to address this window.
I'm coming round to it a bit. I still don't completely understand where he majorly upgrades our starting XI. I'd need a lot of convincing he does. The only conceivable position he can is Eriksen, but I remain to be convinced he's that kind of player. Then again, I didn't think Eriksen himself was that player so who knows.
But when I look at his pressing, adaptability, his best season which gives some baseline of what he could be capable of if we get the best from him, of course you can make a good argument for him. I think a lot does depend on what you get him for. I mean, the top clubs that like him can't all be mugs, he must be valued by managers.
But when I look at his pressing, adaptability, his best season which gives some baseline of what he could be capable of if we get the best from him, of course you can make a good argument for him. I think a lot does depend on what you get him for. I mean, the top clubs that like him can't all be mugs, he must be valued by managers.
Casemiro transfer was before Antony.
If our plan is to partner him with Casemiro with Bruno as a 10 then we’re in for a treat when we face the same problems against strong opposition. One of him or Bruno will end up getting pushed onto the right (the joy) and we’ll still end up needing a top centre midfielder to partner Casemiro.
Yes it is but as me and many others in this thread have said where is that player to pick it up from deep who will retain the ball easily and dictate the tempo of the game
I am starting to think we are trying to go for more of that energetic midfield that as you say we have seen from scousers in recent seasons. Whether or not that's going to work for us remains to be seen.
With the news that Felix isn’t staying on at Chelsea who would people prefer, Mount or Felix?
Assuming rough prices for them were Mount £50m and Felix £70m.
Assuming rough prices for them were Mount £50m and Felix £70m.
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