And originally I said most wingers, but I didnt the 2nd time round as I didnt think I'd need to clarify that point again. But still awaiting reasons why you think wingers get better with age.
My latest reply is fairly clear that I don’t think all wingers get better with age. I just don’t they all get worse either. To put it back to the context of the player in question - do you not think Zaha is of sufficient talent to warrant a 4-5yr deal seeing as he would only be 30/31yrs old at the end of it? My apologies for not seeing the post above the one I replied to where you said ‘most’ - I only saw the one I responded to hence why I thought you were taking a generic line but I accept you clearly weren’t.
Ok so we're basically in agreement. I'm unsure, theres an element of risk in whichever (Zaha or Pepe) deal they opt for. Whilst I'm sure Zaha would be a good signing and easily capable of playing until the end of that contract, there will be 0 resale value for Arsenal once he's got a year or so left on that deal - which is why Arsenal don't have the budgets of the other clubs in the top 6. And for Pepe, he's a class player but who knows how he'll adapt to the PL? Pros and cons for both, but my brain is saying Pepe is probably the smarter option if they'll both cost the same.
I’m really not sure about Nicolas Pepe. He’s had a good couple of seasons and I don’t think you have this many too clubs after you if you’re not worth it - reminds me a bit of when Hazard has his pick of clubs leaving Lille as well. But the French League is a pretty poor standard below PSG. And I’m really not sure it’s that hard for a striker to score goals there. I think Watford would be knocking on the door of CL spots in that league or certainly Europa League. Personally I’d prefer Pepe if I was certain he’s the ‘generational’ talent that some are proclaiming. If not, I’d take Zaha. He knows the PL and suits Arsenal’s style. I’m also quite shocked that Pepe has his pick of clubs and has chosen Arsenal.
On the whole it's a poor league I agree, but the elite stick out and France in general is a fantastic place to pick talent from. It's just ensuring that who you're buying is indeed talented. The players that stick out and are a cut above the rest are usually safe bets, but by that time they have half of Europe after them and the fee has risen (Ndombele, Pepe etc). If you're willing to gamble on an unproven talent it can go either way and you can get gems such as Kante and Doucoure for less than 10m....or you can end up with duds like Njie and Nkoudou
Thing is - were N’jie and Nkoudou duds? Or did they just sign for a big club who they were never to play regular football for at a time when they needed it most? Doucoure and Kante has been undoubted success stories - but you feel going to clubs that allowed them to play regular football was key in their progression. Would they have made the same impact if they went straight to a Top 6 club? As I say, there’s likely stuff about Pepe that I haven’t seen that make him worth £80m - but 4 or 5 times better than Sarr and Lukebakio?
You liked a post from mine 6 weeks ago in which I posted a link to this article which pointed out that wingers typically peak the earliest out of all positions: https://www.espn.com/soccer/blog/ta...goalkeepers-and-central-defenders-peak-latest (Ranked from the most to the least "age-sensitive" positions: Wide attacking midfielder, central attacking midfielder, full-back, central midfielder, striker, center-back, goalkeeper.) Based on the above article (though unfortunately the chart seems to be missing) and this one below, wingers tend to peak at about 26. One worrying measure in the second article is the one which shows that number of successful dribbles for wingers tends to decline year-on-year, a concern for Zaha as that's the attribute he is most reliant on. https://statsbomb.com/2016/07/player-aging-attacking-players/ Of course there can be exceptions, but from the players you mentioned Ronaldo over his late 20s increasingly stopped playing like a more traditional winger a while shifting to a more centre-forward style of play - less likely to be setting up attacks through running with the ball, more likely to be finishing attacks with runs off the ball. Giggs also moved in to a more central midfield type role in his early 30s as he lost some of his pace, instead using his ball-playing skills more (a bit like Will Hughes, but good). I'm not sure Zaha has the tools to adapt in similar ways as he pace starts to drop (he also doesn't have the long-range shooting ability of Robben, which helped maintain his effectiveness).
I think so,I've not asked them you understand but I will today. Ford is currently eating the bird food in an effort to limit the population. Arthur is asleep upstairs,rolling around on his back,which you could say is very Mr Tumble-like?
Everton say they won't increase their bid for Zaha. They wanted him, but didn't get him. Are there no certainties in life any more?
Seems like the ‘Silva saga’ we dragged them through has stung their fingers a little when it comes to being told ‘no’.
Silva is always going to say he didn't get the many signings he wanted so he can blame someone else if it all goes **** up
Arthur currently inactive in his chair,ignoring Lucy Worsley and 'The Georgians'. Mind you,he's probably traumatized as is Paul the builder. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong,from mice gnawing cables to tiles that fit as well as a bikini on Micky Quinn!
Arthur's changed sleeping places but says Mr Tumble is linked to Napoli now for 55m. He says he does his own washing!
This made me chuckle Zaha thing seems very odd. If I'm honest I don't want him. Not that I think he's a bad player, far from it, he's one of the best players outside the top 6 but the money Palace would want is astronomical and what you see now is Zaha at his peak. He isn't getting any better at nearly 27 and Everton have got to be smarter about the money they spend - if you're paying big fees, make sure they're on younger players who have room to improve and potential to increase in value. Richarlison is a classic example - huge fee, but you could see that there was room for improvement. The lad we are about to sign from Juve fits this criteria too. Zaha, as good as he is right now, is effectively dead money as there's practically no chance you can ever make a trading profit on him, he already earns £130k per week too, so the package is eye-watering. We would be sensible to steer clear at the sort of price Palace want. I'd be tempted to suggest that I'm confident we will since we've been far more astute in the transfer market since the new regime took over last summer, but the fact we attempted to get Zaha at all makes me slightly nervous.
If we’re cashing in on Maguire, which it looks like we are then I’d love a bit of Zaha here. **** the cost, at this point Premier League clubs may as well be playing with Monopoly money.
Mr Tumble, I think. To understand IBB you need an encyclopaedic knowledge of 70s and 80s popular culture (with special reference to British sitcoms), a good working knowledge of football and tennis and an appreciation of the terrible life choice that Mr IBB once made (I refer of course to his football allegiance)
And here’s me thinking she meant that Rodgers could drug Zaha with a glass of milk and bundle him on a plane to East Mids airport.
