Sorry just concerned about you chief. You do seem to always go to a negative very quickly, that might just be you and I know not everyone is the same but it can be a sign of depression etc. Just wanted to check your ok. I’ll keep my nose out!
No problem if it's genuinely coming from a good place, but I can promise you nothing I ever post on here about football has any reflection on my general mood lol.
it was genuine and that’s good to hear. certainly wasn’t having a dig, never would where mental health is involved.
Can see wolves liking him as hes similar-ish to Jimenez. Doubt the other two would go for him, especially Lazio.
They've all come in the last year though, which suggests that he's improved recently. And CF is one area where Bosnia have had some talent.
I think the Pozzo’s recent record of striker signings tend to put most of us in a negative mood, not just Nath.
We're probably the highest calibre of club where Yaremchuk would be the first choice. Not as compelling being behind the likes of Immobile or Jimenez.
Totally agree. Us men are horrendous at opening up usually so it's good you asked if you were concerned. Fair play to @NathWFC for replying honestly. I personally suffered for years with depression after failed surgeries and it's only been recently that I can look back and be horrified by my actions.
Prevljak got 13 open play goals in 1955 minutes, so 1 goal every 150 minutes. For a comparison, Ugbo got 16 open play goals in 2738 minutes, so 1 goal every 171 minutes. He doesn't seem terrible based on the clips below, but as with Ugbo I'd be concerned if we were going with a relatively unproven striker from the Belgian league to be our first choice; but if he was coming in as an inexpensive bench option then it'd be fine. Couldn't find any highlights vids, but he gets the 2nd and 3rd goals here. The no.3 goal is a good first touch and tidy finish. This is from last month, he gets their first 2 goals, the 1st goal a rebound after him taking a crap penalty: He gets their 2 goals in this game earlier in the season as well. Fairly basic finishes.
We definitely could do with a better striker, but I don't think it's our #1 priority this summer. We almost stayed up with Deeney our main striker in 19/20, Deulofeu and Sarr were at the heart of almost everything good we did that season. If we get this guy as our main striker, and then sign a quality left-sided forward, I'd be happy enough with that, but if we rely on Cucho/Sema as our left-sided threat, we'd probably an Iggy 15/16 style performance from our striker, and that'll be very difficult to come by
International football is a bit of a crapshoot though tbf, it's hard to really get a rhythm when you're not playing with the same players you train with week in week out. I'd be concerned if he had one goal from like 20 games, but 1 goal from 9 caps where he's played less than 300 minutes as understudy to a genuinely class striker is not a major issue
One of the problems with this, though, in terms of Prevljak, is that we're basically taking two gambles - that he has the quality/pedigree to play and score at all in the Prem, but also that he will be capable at all of adapting to a league of its pedigree, as well as its complexion. 'Adapting to the Prem' is something of cliché, but it's also often borne out, and there are plenty of players we can recall who eventually ended up surviving or thriving, even - but at first seemed a bit useless. If we're recruiting our intended starting striker from a not-even-top team in a league that far below ours qualitatively, it's that much more possible that he will barely be able to contribute in this upcoming season, which is obviously the most integral, whether he fundamentally turns out to be a good/good-enough player or not. I do also note that in that data thread LouOrns linked, the guy's final comment is: So he sees him moving either to a better Belgian team, or midtable Ligue 1. To be being assessed as stepping up to that level at the age of 26 doesn't necessarily seem to bode incredibly well for then, instead, stepping up basically as far as you can go in football, not to mention assuming a great weight of a club's responsibility whilst doing so.
We won’t be signing any strikers with prem pedigree this summer. We can’t afford to. We will only ever sign punts that we hope will come good. Maybe this guy will come good maybe he won’t. Luckily we already have 2 prem league pedigree strikers
I get you, but a solid 1/4 striker could do us, it's not as though everyone else will have guaranteed 15 goal strikers in their team (and of course if others chip in that'd help immensely). When that guy says he reckons he'll be off to a top Belgian or mid-table Ligue 1 side, is that an indictment of his quality, or merely that it is indeed a risk to step up to Prem level? As I say, a good left-sided forward as well as this guy, and I'll be fairly happy, if we don't get a player there, I think we'd be struggling anyway
We also had Capoue and Doucoure in CM in 19/20 though, and it'd be surprising if we got the same level of quality in there again as well, so we might still be a weaker team. The extent to which both WBA and Fulham struggled last season also suggests that the PL was tougher overall last season than when we got relegated. Complacent thinking such as this will guarantee we get relegated again imo.
We will certainly be a weaker team than 19/20 as we are today. Hopefully a better attitude but 4th bottom would be an achievement.
If we are going to go for strikers who have done well in lower class foreign leagues, we would probably be better off going for players who have done well in lower league teams here in the UK. As those who come from our own domestic lower leagues would at least be more familiar with the British style of play and would not need to adapt to playing in a foreign country as well as a step up in class. Whereas those coming from abroad will have the double whammy of adapting to a foreign country as well as a step up in class.
Hughes and Chalobah are decent enough though, if not quite as good as Capoue and Doucoure (the latter who didn't have a good season in a more advanced role in 19/20). Our defence looks stronger if anything, if we can get a quality left-sided forward who can stay fit and even a semi-competent striker (the bar being Deeney with 5 open play goals in 19/20), I don't see why we can't stay up. I agree the league looks a bit stronger than last time we were in it, although the main reason WBA and Fulham struggled so badly was because they were hopelessly out of their depth at the start, when they got reinforcements part way through the season, they looked more competitive
How much would Kieffer Moore go for? You'd think at least £15m, and that's taking into account he's nearly 29. Armstrong probably a similar amount, maybe even more, and though he's younger, I think Moore is a much better player and a much better fit for a team like us right now
Honestly, I think we stand a chance as long as we have a more balanced team and a better attitude. We had some of the best wingers (one of whom is still here thankfully) and midfielders outside the top 6 in 19/20, yet also probably the worst starting striker in the whole league, and Mariappa pretty regularly at CB (with the others not exactly a huge step up on him). When it comes to attitude, well, it's always hard to know isn't it? The lads looked like they had such spirit about them during the good run of form last season, but what about when they go on the inevitable slump next season?
I can't see us finishing above any of the teams in the prem last season with the squad we have now. I think a very good chance that the 3 promoted teams go down as I doubt any will strengthen significantly given the risky football finance environment at present.