25 May 2022 23:55:03
Are there any plans for Lokonga to go on loan? He has good vision and you can see the talent, but he's a little sloppy on the ball and needs to get stronger to suit the bigger leagues. Really needs regular gametime and I don't think he'll get it when Partey, Xhaka, and whoever our new CM is are fit.
{Ed002's Note - Not that I am aware.}
26 May 2022 07:33:24
Im sure he will get plenty of game time in the europa league Wire mate.
26 May 2022 10:40:59
He will certainly get game time in the EL and the cup runs. I hope he gets a fair bit of game time because he is a talented young player and needs to be managed correctly. He drives the ball and always tries to beat the press which is so encouraging!
26 May 2022 13:01:04
Agree Glenn his main strength, in my opinion, is making himself an option to transition to beat the press.
Tho it’s been evident he actually gets caught in possession and has done numerous times this season and we’ve been punished.
I think missing out on CL, and Ed 002 has alluded to this, really puts us at a crossroads now in relation to recruitment. Clearly we can’t attract the calibre of player we need after missing out on the CL and even if we could we are susceptible to drawing interest of clubs who can offer CL or more appealing projects.
With that in mind, we need to look seriously at our options. Is Maitland Nile’s better than Lokonga in Lokongs role? Does he make any more mistakes than Lokonga has demonstrated and should age be considered when defending Lokonga?
I don’t see why it should be.
In my opinion Maitland Niles played better with the little time he was afforded than Lokonga did at any point and age is irrelevant as we are not in a position right now to be affording this type of ‘learning through error’ for any player.
The same applies for Reiss Nelson. He has showed more in less time than has been granted to Pepe, but he gets loaned out because the club and manager are desperately hoping Pepe can show enough in fleeting appearances to recoup some of that extraordinary €80M fee.
Lokonga, Pepe, Lacazette, Cedric, and Holding have shown they are not up to the standard of what we need next season.
Three of those group can be readily upgraded by players we already own in my opinion in Saliba, Nelson and AMN. Nketiah, if he sorted out his ego, could be a ready upgrade on Lacazette .
Then we could focus on three quality upgrades as in an No. 8, Gundogan or Wijlnidum types, one quality CF and an adaptable quality full back.
That would be progress in my opinion and the reintegration of those two loanees and resigning of Eddie as homegrown players give us stability long term but also scope in the short term to go after more lucrative signings.
Otherwise your looking at signing 7/ 8 players and lowering your targets to spread the budget, this will not yield success in relation to closing the gap on our League rivals, which is the aim of Artetas project.
26 May 2022 21:33:11
The thing with this whole, we missed out on the champions league, so we won’t get the same calibre of players rule. Does it also apply for Man Utd? I ask as they are also not in the CL, but not aware of people saying the same thing, and I suspect they will still sign top quality players?
{Ed014's Note - what, like all the top quality shite they signed when they were in the champions league? ?
26 May 2022 22:43:21
They have spent badly Ed, although we aren’t clean on that front either, with a certain Pepe on our books. However, my point is, players will come, despite no CL, as long as they are a) paid the money they expect, and b) to a lesser extent, they believe in the story/ ambition they are told when ‘interviewed’.
{Ed014's Note - no argument from me Epping they will, I think we have a better story to tell too.
We've for sure spent a few quid on some dross, thankfully nowhere near the billion quid they’ve spent since Fergie left so they’re out there on their own when it comes to buying duds.
26 May 2022 22:51:25
Nice post Shambo, I agree about Ainsley and with the Roma move falling through I think he can definitely give us a game or two at CM this season and be an easy upgrade on Cedric for Tomi's backup.
I say it quietly these days given the abuse you see online, but we weren't ready for the CL. Our core squad is a man or two short of top 4 without Europe - we need to show we can handle the EL demands before we hope to break top 4 and stay alive in the cups.
27 May 2022 16:27:44
I am a little concerned that AMN didn't get much game time at Roma Wire.
28 May 2022 12:19:15
Agree Wire, while the outcome would have been great financially for attracting certain types of players, we really are not ready to compete properly in the CL while making ground on our league rivals.