I always thought that Jordan Stewart was a fantastic example of how you make it as a professional by having a very athletic body but next to no technical ability.
I remember Stewart very well. An awful defender and a very limited player overall but again nowhere near as awkward in controlling, passing, dribbling or striking a football as Gray. He just makes everything look so unbelievably difficult, unnatural and uncomfortable.
Federer makes tennis look easy as he has superb technique and fluid movement. Technical skill is essential but too many players these days seem more concerned with gym work. Having said that Istvan Bali tells us that technical ability needs to be in place by age 12 for an elite athlete to maximise their potential. I doubt Andre will be able to improve now!
I'm more COG than Bedwetter but I can't disagree. He is a truly awful player with the ball. The fee and salary involved make me want to vomit blood.
Devon White had tremendous comedic appeal in his time. But I've personally not seen such a ridiculous player. A former record signing to boot.
We all (I assume) played football when we were young, we all know how hard it is to even get to get paid anything to play football, let alone thousands a week.... he must have been very gifted at some point, what the hell happened??
Yes Devon White immediately sprang to mind. Obbi oulare looked like absolute dog droppings in his cameo but you have to give Gray the prize. What is also amazing is that he has not improved one single bit in all the time he's been with us. Incredible. Imagine if we'd invested that £18m in Gabbiadini like I suggested at the time. I genuinely think we'd now be where Leicester are these days.
Was Gray always this bad? I mean, he was never great, but I find it hard to believe that someone who can barely kick a football can have the level of success in the game he did before signing for us...
He scored some good goals for Brentford and Burnley. Beat goal he ever scored was away at Burnley in the 1-1:draw. He is known as a poacher, but my egg poacher gets more done than he does. His technical ability is laughable, some of his misses are almost inexcusable at times. He does have the odd goodish game, but overall I would seriously play Murray. Deeney has slimmed down but still as immobile as ever. Our entire strikeforce is a joke.
It's going back a bit now, but Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch has a good chapter on Gus Caesar and how it suddenly became apparent to Arsenal fans just how out of his depth he was in the (old) First Division. TLDR: all these "useless professional footballers" were easily the best players in their school, the best playing for their counties and probably the best at apprentice level. To then be found wanting on the big stage is a very difficult situation for them to be in.
Usually in sport you find your level. It is apparent that the Championship is not Andre's. What is remains uncertain.
A total fraud of a footballer The worst striker I can recall in a yellow shirt except perhaps Ellington Dyche must have laughed his socks off when we bought him
yeah makes sense but someone who has been signed as a striker for £18m like that person should be able to regularly score goals at this level. That or we over paid by £17.5m Same with Sarr, I honestly think we would be lucky to get £7m for him right now, and even that would only be based on his performance against Liverpool, other than that he has done nothing
Gray is by far the worst signing the club has ever made. Number one priority in this window is to get rid. I wouldn't care if we just cancel his contract and let him go for nothing. A major drain on finances and just offers zilch.
I'd go further and say this is the worst set of technical footballers we've had in many many years. Most of them can't pass, the wingers can't cross, we can't do anything from virtually any set piece situation and the strikers struggle to shoot let alone score. Most of our goals are penalties or scrappy messes.
Micky Quinn. Gray is up there as one of the worst. Adds exactly nothing at the moment. If we insist on playing 4-4-2 then play anybody except Gray.
The strongest argument for this is how much the Pozzo let it affect them subsequently - it scared them shitless, and they have refused to sanction the outlay required to adequately replace him to this very day, as well as desperately re-hanging their hat on an increasingly degraded facsimile of Troy Deeney - the current malaise we are in owes a great deal to the catastrophic decision to sign this rancid chancer. Total off the top of my head question - have we paid a transfer fee for a centre forward since we signed Gray? My instinct and memory is telling me 'no'... (Not saying this to you HB, I'm aware you're well aware of this, just following up/adding on.)
But unlike Gray, White's charming clumsiness actually had some discernable utility. He managed to clatter defenders left right and center, often leaving an open net for a teammate to pass into and rarely picked-up so much as a yellow card for his efforts.The referees seemed to enjoy the bumbling anarchy almost as much as the Watford fans. AG can only dream of having that level of ability.
We probably have. But they'll never play for us. Some player called Dembele was mentioned on the shoutbox but after the Cucho, Estupinan and Suarez debacles I refuse to pay any attention to these so-called signings for the future.
On the way up he went from non-league all the way to the PL, now hes on a downward trajectory in the footballing pyramid, whilst living in a mansion, flying in a private jet and marrying a popstar Couple that loss of hunger with him losing a yard of pace over the last few years and you can see exactly whats happened
Of course I have to put in a vote for Roger ‘Harry’ Willis. But then he only cost us £175,000. I do think Gray is now the worst value signing the club has ever made. Did he even come out for the second half today?
I don’t think it’s his technical ability as such, though he is often poor at the basics. It’s just he absolutely lacks commitment and application. His efforts are derisory and he never chases ‘lost causes’. We should give him away to anyone in the Premiership prepared to pay half his wages. The other half of his wages could attract a really good player.
Whilst accepting that anything is possible in football,who on earth in the PL will take him? I'm not sure a League 1 club would. Whoever suggested palming him and Deeney off to Udine had the right idea but that's putting a father and son relationship to the ultimate test!
