He's toilet, a complete waste of a squad place. Really wanted him to succeed, as when he first got into the team it looked like there was something there but he's gone backwards if anything. Dreadful attitude when coming on as a sub too.
Gray has been poor on many occasions but at least he has had the right attitude, also last spring he popped up and scored a few vital goals. Success on the other hand has had a very poor attitude and despite a few glimpses of strength and holding a ball has been much worse than Gray in terms of total contribution to the club since he joined. We know that Gray can't play as a lone striker but Success has constantly wasted his opportunities in the squad such that it can't be a coincidence that multiple managers choose a technically poorer player over Success.
I appreciate your comments and you make a good argument. I however don't hold the 'what Defoe has shown in the past 2 years vs the vital goals Gray has scored in this past year' as my deciding factor for who is the upgrade. I look at Defoe's body of work for teams in the prem and the goals he scored and believe that Defoe would score more for us by the end of the season than Gray would (if such a test was plausible) and thus believe he would be an upgrade. Nonetheless, happy to be wrong and for Gray to go get a hat-trick later today and score those vital goals, as you say, for us in what is left of the season. Edit: Interestingly enough, as per Defoe's wikipedia, Bournemouth, in regards to their deal with Rangers, had 'two recall clauses inserted into the deal, which can be activated in July 2019 and January 2020' I wonder if Bournemouth, who find themselves in a similar predicament to us and have strikers failing to score, would choose to exercise the recall.
Ha! He actually seems like a lovely guy in interviews and I'm glad he's made a very comfortable living from football after a pretty impoverished childhood. Having said that, he's still crap and seems far too laid back/not bothered to ever channel whatever talent he has.
I see Man Utd are prepared to let Rojo leave. I was always quite impressed with him, and at the very least a backup option
Muff must also be of the opinion that he's just not up to it if they're not exercising that option to recall and instead persisting with Don(solan)key instead, while also only recalling Surridge.
They're trying to, but I saw an article somewhere that supposedly Utd may end up having to just pay cash as Sporting are low-balling Rojo on wages, meaning he might prefer to go to Fenerbahce who also are meant to currently have a concrete offer in for him. His future still seems up in the air, and I'm surprised no PL clubs have come in for him. It seems highly unlikely we suddenly will, but it's not set in stone yet that his future will be in Lisbon.
According to a quick google search, he’s also on 80k a week which would make him one of, if not our top earner, should he not take a wage drop. Fairly sure he’s not worth that?
Youre making an assumption that just coz he's Deeney's pal he wont be asking the manager about starting. Id be surprised if Gray doesnt ask the question.
I referenced his wage in my post you quoted. It'd make him pretty much joint top with a few others. He'd be our best defender I'm sure, a definite improvement over Cathcart, and marginally better than Kabasele. The main question mark with him is over his mixed injury record, though somehow Utd seems kryptonite for a CB's fitness in recent years.
Still to this day baffles me why Udinese sold Bruno Fernandes for £8m. The quality was there to see when he was at Udinese (I watched him numerous times there and for Portugal U20 at the Toulon tournament). Same goes for Zielinski who moved for a similar fee to Napoli.
If you are talking 10 - 20 minute cameo's off the bench then Defoe is the better option over Gray in my opinion. Give him a half decent chance and he's a better shout that Gray. But fitness may not be good based on age and wages would mean a very expensive sub.
Bournemouth needed a back-up striker and chose to recall Surridge who was playing modestly for Swansea but gaining vital experience over recalling Defoe who isn’t playing for Rangers. This is a pretty decent sign towards the decline of Defoe.
Haha yes I know, often thought I’d get 10 or so playing for Celtic! But that aside, think of most scenarios where a striker has a chance to score and I’d argue in most of them Defoe is more likely to score. That’s my opinion anyway
Idiotic to not try and secure a defender on loan even if it's just another body. We are too short there with Prodl and Holebas shot and Janmaat injury prone.
We’ve been linked to a number of LB’s in this window already. Could be just agents of players playing stories in the media - but if not, I’d say it’s clear we are after one. Leventhal said at the start of the window that it was unlikely we’d sign anyone and we already have... That being said, it wouldn’t surprise me if the club looked to get people out the door before any more incomings. Prodl, Zeegelaar should either be paid off or given away. Either of the young GL’s should go on loan. Success should be let go. Not sure what’s happening with Penaranda but he needs a decent loan for once - or even sold if he’s going to amount to nothing. Dele-Bashiru could be loaned as well. All of the above can happen before it even really effects first team matters.
What about Gino demonstrating his real negotiating skills - with a straight swap - Gray to Bournemouth - Brook coming to us the other way.
Andre Gray: 28 years old Shockingly out of form Out of his depth at this level David Brooks: 22 years old An excellent first season in the Premier League (scoring 7, two less than Gray's best despite playing midfield) Expected to move on to Bournemouth to an 'elite' club in the future No chance. That's before we even get to the fact he is unlikely to play this season due to injury so wouldn't add anything to our relegation battle.
Exactly - If Gino can pull the deal off - we do not strengthen a rival, and have a ready made player for next season - his reputation will recover from the Oulare incident
We've shown interest before. Not the quickest but he's more than capable. An option behind Deeney. Better option than Pereyra that I e given up on now.
My best friend is a Brighton fan and apparently Mooy has spoken a number of times about how he loves it down there and his family have settled already. I’d say zero chance of gazumping that deal. Also, he’s been playing on the left for them this season according to my pal.
You're probably right. But 5m is an excellent price imo. The bright lights of the Meridian could seal the deal.