[SIGNED perm] Ashley Fletcher

Ooh, good one! What's the story there, was he initially more of a winger or deep-lying forward who moved more centrally, or was he signed by Muff as cheap backup but who just happened to explode? I do remember Callum Wilson picking up a nasty injury early on in the 15/16 season, I suppose he was supposed to be their main man that season

So it took a season in the Prem for King to really emerge, but even so, I'd be surprised if Fletcher gets 6 goals next season even if he's a regular

 

My post said:

"In 2019/20 he got near enough 1 goal every 3 games in the Championship"

3244 minutes, 11 goals = 1 goal per 295 minutes = 1 goal per 3.28 games.

It appears you failed to learn how to both do sums and read in pre-school. Probably you were spending too long in the sand-pit as it seems you just love to keep digging.

 

But the reason neither got an extended run is because they're ****. You earn your right for starting by delivering in training and it's plain to see that none have. Apart from Cucho obviously.
Success who had come back from injury was even preferred to that excuse of a footballer Gray.

 

Josh King who has stated on my occasions that his best position is CF has backed it up too. His best season for Muff was when Wilson was out injured and he played down the middle. He's more than capable of scoring goals in that position and has the experience to help out our younger forwards. He's far better than anything we have.

 

I wouldn't take him now as he's nearly 30, and is coming off of 2 poor seasons, and will almost certainly want big wages. Where did he play at Blackburn, I get he prefers playing centrally, but was he shunted out wide then?

 

@a19tgg pictured here contemplating our signing of Ashley Fletcher:

 

I accept that there are other parts to a modern strikers game than just scoring goals, and Fletcher might well be an improvement on Gray on those aspects, but there is nothing to suggest he is a better goalscorer than Gray. As I said earlier - Gray scored more goals in one season than Fletcher has done in his championship career to date. Gray got a move to a PL club on the back of finishing top scorer in the division. Fletcher is somehow doing it on the back of one goal from open play all season.

Gray is a rancid footballer, and his finishing is far from great, but his movement is still very good. Even this season when we would all agree Gray was awful, he still got himself into more goalscoring opportunities per 90 minutes than any other striker in the division.

 

Riiight, that’s how you work out a strikers record, by picking their best spell only and basing it on that. Got you.

 

I haven't claimed my opinion is right. It's just my opinion and I certainly wasn't waving my length around. I was merely pointing out that I have learned during my time watching, that we can't really know what we are going to get.

 

People still trying to shine up this turd. Lol.

 

Seeing A19 completely confuse himself about this in 3 posts was like watching a car crash. I couldn't look away

 

I posted it as a simple illustration of what they are capable of, or to use the words in your original post, the "level he has previously" reached. It was never discussed as being their full record.

And it was their last full Championship season, which is a perfectly reasonable thing to consider with a striker of his age.

It appears you're incapable of both reading your own posts, as well as mine.

I think it's time for you to get out the sand-pit.

 

I have a ‘Boro supporting mate who works as an analyst/coach for Wycombe. He said: “He’s a good player with good potential but has been injured for a fair bit of the season!! So it is a strange one!!”

Which is a lot more positive than most of what we’ve read from their fans. But he never seems to criticise any players since he started working in football and is an exceptionally positive person. And even this isn’t effusive by any means. So maybe not quite the reassurance we need, but still, thought I’d share a slightly more upbeat take.

 

Yeah but how do you know who is being sold and who isn't? I don't think anyone is arguing that Fletcher is a great signing, just that people need to wait until the window is closed and then see how the striking department looks before judging our business.

 

That kind of talk won't be tolerated around here. You should be ashamed of yourself.

 

Depends on what you mean by 'preferred'. Success was given an opportunity to see if he could challenge Pedro for a starting spot (or at least be a 'capable deputy'), as Gray wasn't able to do it when he had his opportunity earlier in the season. Success didn't take his opportunity either really, and overall looked worse than Gray from what I saw.

 

I haven't seen much of this Fletcher guy play, and whilst I may be in the minority when I say this I'll say it anyway....I would like to see him play for us for a bit before passing judgement on whether he is any good.

At least he's not one of the "cheap 32+ with the best days behind him" signings.

 

It might be that he’s not great but COVID will have a big say in this

 

Well, you've already seen a player be utterly useless for 3 years for us anyway and still haven't managed to reach a judgement.

 

Perhaps Boro hadn't thought of our strategy of offering lower wages but a longer contract.
#pozzomodel

 

Spot on.

I think everyone agreed that this was the most important transfer window for years, possibly since the Pozzos took over.

We got relegated with a poor squad, sold the remaining quality apart from Sarr and now need 5-6 astute, first team signings to have a chance of not being humiliated. Our squad at present is a bottom place, sub 20 points type of mob.

Signing punts and wheeling and dealing is Gino's MO, but I'm ******* sick of it.

I want to see some pragmatism with regards to our actual playing side for once. I won't though, so we will be **** and still people will defend it, as we witness the evidence week in and out, as Gino's bargains get humiliated in our name.

 

Right, but this Fletcher is also ****, so what does signing him solve?

 

Perhaps we going to sign him to stop Bournemouth getting their claws into him.

 

West Ham supporting friend says he was universally considered awful by their fans and thinks it's hilarious that we're trying to sign him.

 

One thing this has made me consider is just how many players sign 5yr deals with us.

How many decent players have we potentially missed out on in talks etc because we insist they sign up for 5yrs and they won’t do so. Maybe I’m overstating it - but it’s a possibility.

 

To be fair, West Ham say that type of thing about all their players.

 

Funnily enough, it’s to a club like Bournemouth where he should go - a side that should be fighting at the top end of the Championship and see if he can score regularly.

 

Yeah, but it's also hardly surprising when he's since gone on to do next to nothing in the division below.

I'll continue to laugh at anyone defending it. It's an utterly baffling signing.

 

Hopefully the start of some exiting **** forwards.

 

Swap for Danjuma. Sorted.

 

They’ve obviously been negotiating with the wrong Ashley....

 

The longer it goes without an official announcement, the more nervous I get something has fallen through. Fingers crossed we get this over the line.