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Summer 2015 Transfer Window DISCUSSION Thread

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Juicy Sushi said:
The number of goals we coughed up due to specifically Mason being out of position were likely the difference between 5th and 4th.

The errors which killed us consistently followed the same pattern. Midfield out of position concedes ball to opposition forward/wing, leading to fast break against defence, leading to goals being conceded due to sheer number of occurrences.

It wasn't the forward line that went missing in the press, it was the midfield. Not to be unexpected when a 10 forced into the CM role and a 20-year old were being relied upon because the senior players dropped their collective bollocks, but still it was our main problem last year.
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^^THIS x several million. Football-wise I doubt Mason will develop any further into a CM. He repeated the same errors so many times last season, if he had the intelligence to learn from them he would have had it sorted by January. But he did not even look like he might get comfortable in that position. And if his 'real' position is 10, well he is probably 4th choice. Get rid.
 
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Look at the state of him, I don't think it's Spurs he's marketing himself for...

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Boysownstuff said:
^^THIS x several million. Football-wise I doubt Mason will develop any further into a CM. He repeated the same errors so many times last season, if he had the intelligence to learn from them he would have had it sorted by January. But he did not even look like he might get comfortable in that position. And if his 'real' position is 10, well he is probably 4th choice. Get rid.
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I should say, I really like Mason, his attitude and his willingness to learn (which was apparently legendary in the Academy). I don't think he's a CM. I would like to see him tried as the back-up 10 to ensure Eriksen doesn't get burned out, as I think he'd be really useful there.

If Pochettino persists with him as the CM that shows a faith in his ability to learn well beyond mine. But I will be happy to be proven wrong if it works out.
 
DeeGee said:
Yes, but I am picking a team based on the players we have.
Well I thought the worst time we over run in midfield was v Crystal Palace after we beat Chavs when Stambouli and Dembele were in midfield.
Everyone goes on about Mason being the weak link but when we were out done in midfield at Man U, which can happen, Bentaleb's was atrocious too and Walker was shit.

Just saying that imv that formation would be better suited to all. I don't think it would be so easily over run.
We played with Bentaleb and Mason for most of the season and did not get over run consistently.

Inexperience plays a part. You have a kid learning his game, yes he plays for Algeria but let's face it he wouldn't walk into the French team - and a EPL rookie in his first season who's getting used to it. I think Mason did very well. Fatigue also factored.
Look closely at Mason's stats and he's is not as bad defensively as everyone says. Compared to three mentioned for us: Slightly better than McCarthy defensively and better offensively. Far, far better than Nzonzi defensively (SN scored 2 more goals but 3 less assists ) makes more tackles than Sven Bender and is much better creatively.
If Mason upped his stats for interceptions by one a game, defensively he would be better than Bender ( statistically) and offensively is far superior with assists and goals anyway.
Mason makes more tackles per game than Bentaleb too, 1 less interception, but is far better offensively.
That tells me what we all know: Mason is naive positionally, but then he has to be in more places.
Maybe it will come with experience and can learn to be better at executing the cutting off of the passing lanes whilst not losing the other aspects of his game.
Yes we need a new midfielder, but be careful when asking for a CDM who is not able to be somewhat creative with his passing to play alongside Bentaleb.
I think we just need to bolster that area with an all rounder, like Mason but more experienced.
On both occasions v Woolwich we did not get over run in midfield.
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For all his faults about not fulfilling potential and not providing enough end-product, Dembele is amazing at retaining the ball and getting away from his marker or challengers. He may only give the ball sideways but generally doesn't give it away. This is a very calming and reliable presence in the middle of the park. Mason has stepped up a long way and definitely has some tenacity but, whether it's Poch's fault for running him into the ground or not, he has to kick-on even further again to really be what we need in the middle of the park for 30+ league games.

If Poch really wants Schneiderlin and thinks he is the missing link to kick us on then he is worth £25m to us - he has the experience in the league, knows what Poch wants in his system and can hit the ground running. If he's an absolute no-go then hopefully they have a quality, alternative target.
 
Simmo said:
For all his faults about not fulfilling potential and not providing enough end-product, Dembele is amazing at retaining the ball and getting away from his marker or challengers. He may only give the ball sideways but generally doesn't give it away. This is a very calming and reliable presence in the middle of the park. Mason has stepped up a long way and definitely has some tenacity but, whether it's Poch's fault for running him into the ground or not, he has to kick-on even further again to really be what we need in the middle of the park for 30+ league games.

If Poch really wants Schneiderlin and thinks he is the missing link to kick us on then he is worth £25m to us - he has the experience in the league, knows what Poch wants in his system and can hit the ground running. If he's an absolute no-go then hopefully they have a quality, alternative target.
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Agree with all of this, but a pretty trusthworthy (in my view) ITK source said we had an offer on the table for Schneiderlin, if the United deal didn't work then we had a shot. And also that Soton (the club itself) really do dislike us, and have since the Hoddle thing. But business is business.
 
Jayc1 said:
Statements like this can never be true. There's too many footballers, known and unknown, for there to be 'no options', other than 30 year old bloke in Italy. Not your fault as you're obviously not a professional scout, but it would be a surprise if you could predict who we're going to buy since we want to buy "hidden gems", which tend to be...well, hidden.

I have no idea about the talent in Holland, Belgium, Austria, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark etc, I doubt any of us do, but I'm sure they all have a few decent strikers in their respective leagues.
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:ossie: or are I?
 
The Dane said:
Give me some fecken rumours!!!
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ArcspacE has reportedly been granted a free transfer by thefightingcock. Numerous Chavs boards are fighting it out for his signature as he's seen as the perfect signing to take the idiocy to unseen levels.

In a late development, Juicy Sushi is considering offering a short term contract, as he may need the Lego expertise once he tries building that Lego green house with his daughter.
 
Kafkaesque said:
ArcspacE has reportedly been granted a free transfer by thefightingcock. Numerous Chavs boards are fighting it out for his signature as he's seen as the perfect signing to take the idiocy to unseen levels.

In a late development, Juicy Sushi is considering offering a short term contract, as he may need the Lego expertise once he tries building that Lego green house with his daughter.
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The offer was rescinded, he didn't fit the ethos we're trying to maintain at Sashimi FC, so we'll turn to our Academy instead.
 
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