As soon as I saw the link I thought of your Bozo Gene article.
That said, I also don’t mind it, though I am concerned about his deficiencies in build up given we don’t build up particularly well as a team as it is since Trent left.
I personally feel the lack of another permanent defender is because we are probably going to buy back Quansah next summer for what will be a pretty reasonable fee if he develops well this year.
We will then probably decide between giving Virg a new deal, or signing Araujo (or neither).
Slot refused to play him… and to develop Quansah needed game time… he wasn’t getting under slot.
Longterm, the Quansah scenario could be seen as a piece of Richard Hughes genius… you get back a player ready to step straight in.. used to the league, the club and a high intensity style.. who has played 80 games in 2 years, started every game, ironed out some mistakes.. all for about a 10-15m cost; and in a way that really helped cash flow.
However… right now that’s not what fans want to see as it’s not an immediate big signing.
Josh - Am I correct and saying this feels like push between Konate and Araujo from a player quality perspective. I thought Konate had a tough year Premier League win hangover + family issues. I was rooting for him to re-sign and see if he could grow after last year's challenges. Araujo seems be a similar enough player who will have to compete for his place in the team like Konate did.
At best he’ll be our third choice centre back (behind Jacquet and Van Dijk I’d guess) but could easily slip back to fourth or fifth if Gomez and/or Leoni have good seasons. Against that standard he’s insanely good.
I think it’s a good signing (or like you said Josh, one you don’t mind).
He fits a need, it’s a short term deal, which if it works out could be a good longer term option.
I am also hoping that his signing signals the end of Joe Gomez at fullback (provided Kerkez doesn’t get crocked and Tsimikas doesn’t get taken out by the manager). If he can stay fit I’d love for him to concentrate in backing up Virgil to give him a break occasionally, while Jacquet, Leoni and Araujo can try to partner Virgil. With Araujo as emergency cover on the right.
I’d still like us to sign Djed Spence as full back cover though. It would help to have another homegrown player in the squad too.
I don't know that he can be seen as an adequate RB option for anything else other than defending a specialist like Vini 1-on-1. Poor on the ball + bozo gene is a dangerous combo, plus he won't be providing any credible forward runs/overlaps, so the RW will have a lot of work to do.
IF he can just keep it simple... head the ball away, run down people on the break and stay in front of them, keep the passes short and crisp, clear the danger - we should finally have some cover at CB. However, the shithousery in the Premier League is awful high, so I am very worried about him keeping his cool.
Nearly stopped reading after that list of previous loanees 😂 As cover goes he’s fine and anything after that is a bonus, would of liked someone with premier league experience but he plugs a hole with hopefully the other boys getting back to fitness
Nice read, but when I clicked on listen I was (naively) expecting your dulcet tones, not those of a middle England AI bot referencing some poor git called Mankwillo 😆
Barca have over the last few years given out absolutely massive contracts.. then placed extraordinary pressure on those players to
Leave or take pay cuts due to their finical issues.
It’s worth remembering this - the reason Barca are willing to let him go.. and the fans are celebrating.. isn’t because he’s shit.. it’s because they considered him to be so good they gave him a massive contract, he struggled a little after, and they want to spend that money on someone else.
For all this bonzo gene stuff… the other options people were talking about to cover CB & RB were (IIRC) random players for feyenord on loan at Sunderland.
It’s also worth remembering that loads of fans consider konate to be a disaster (and he can be).. but we all know he can be incredible, and was when we won the league.
I am 100% with Josh here.. we have signed about 5 young centre backs and have potential to resign Quansah.. I think the plan is there, unfortunately it’s about patience and development, not buying an expensive player with a lower ceiling from a competitor..
I love listening to these articles and hearing the TTS voice pronounce all the players names funny. Van Dick always makes me laugh! Somehow it pronounces Jeremy Jacquet perfectly though 😂
A lot of positives on Araújo, so I’m going to ignore the negatives until I have to.
Liverpool with a desperate loan signing to cover a massive gap? As Jose Mourinho said, this is football heritage.
Jokes aside, this is basically as like for like as you can get on Konate without breaking the bank. Also leaves the door open for the next generation (and the one after in Ndukwe & Ndiaye) to bed in.
As soon as I saw the link I thought of your Bozo Gene article.
That said, I also don’t mind it, though I am concerned about his deficiencies in build up given we don’t build up particularly well as a team as it is since Trent left.
I personally feel the lack of another permanent defender is because we are probably going to buy back Quansah next summer for what will be a pretty reasonable fee if he develops well this year.
We will then probably decide between giving Virg a new deal, or signing Araujo (or neither).
Quansah next summer when his buy back is at its lowest makes perfect sense and frees up money this year for other areas of squad reinforcement.
A bit insane we sold him in the first place when he covered two positions and was homegrown.
Slot refused to play him… and to develop Quansah needed game time… he wasn’t getting under slot.
Longterm, the Quansah scenario could be seen as a piece of Richard Hughes genius… you get back a player ready to step straight in.. used to the league, the club and a high intensity style.. who has played 80 games in 2 years, started every game, ironed out some mistakes.. all for about a 10-15m cost; and in a way that really helped cash flow.
However… right now that’s not what fans want to see as it’s not an immediate big signing.
Josh - Am I correct and saying this feels like push between Konate and Araujo from a player quality perspective. I thought Konate had a tough year Premier League win hangover + family issues. I was rooting for him to re-sign and see if he could grow after last year's challenges. Araujo seems be a similar enough player who will have to compete for his place in the team like Konate did.
At best he’ll be our third choice centre back (behind Jacquet and Van Dijk I’d guess) but could easily slip back to fourth or fifth if Gomez and/or Leoni have good seasons. Against that standard he’s insanely good.
He’ll either be a massive success or massive mistake. Either an Anelka or a Caulker.
Started reading this waiting to see the words "Bozo Gene" and I was not disappointed.
I think it’s a good signing (or like you said Josh, one you don’t mind).
He fits a need, it’s a short term deal, which if it works out could be a good longer term option.
I am also hoping that his signing signals the end of Joe Gomez at fullback (provided Kerkez doesn’t get crocked and Tsimikas doesn’t get taken out by the manager). If he can stay fit I’d love for him to concentrate in backing up Virgil to give him a break occasionally, while Jacquet, Leoni and Araujo can try to partner Virgil. With Araujo as emergency cover on the right.
I’d still like us to sign Djed Spence as full back cover though. It would help to have another homegrown player in the squad too.
I don't know that he can be seen as an adequate RB option for anything else other than defending a specialist like Vini 1-on-1. Poor on the ball + bozo gene is a dangerous combo, plus he won't be providing any credible forward runs/overlaps, so the RW will have a lot of work to do.
IF he can just keep it simple... head the ball away, run down people on the break and stay in front of them, keep the passes short and crisp, clear the danger - we should finally have some cover at CB. However, the shithousery in the Premier League is awful high, so I am very worried about him keeping his cool.
Nearly stopped reading after that list of previous loanees 😂 As cover goes he’s fine and anything after that is a bonus, would of liked someone with premier league experience but he plugs a hole with hopefully the other boys getting back to fitness
Nice read, but when I clicked on listen I was (naively) expecting your dulcet tones, not those of a middle England AI bot referencing some poor git called Mankwillo 😆
Barca have over the last few years given out absolutely massive contracts.. then placed extraordinary pressure on those players to
Leave or take pay cuts due to their finical issues.
It’s worth remembering this - the reason Barca are willing to let him go.. and the fans are celebrating.. isn’t because he’s shit.. it’s because they considered him to be so good they gave him a massive contract, he struggled a little after, and they want to spend that money on someone else.
For all this bonzo gene stuff… the other options people were talking about to cover CB & RB were (IIRC) random players for feyenord on loan at Sunderland.
It’s also worth remembering that loads of fans consider konate to be a disaster (and he can be).. but we all know he can be incredible, and was when we won the league.
I am 100% with Josh here.. we have signed about 5 young centre backs and have potential to resign Quansah.. I think the plan is there, unfortunately it’s about patience and development, not buying an expensive player with a lower ceiling from a competitor..
I love listening to these articles and hearing the TTS voice pronounce all the players names funny. Van Dick always makes me laugh! Somehow it pronounces Jeremy Jacquet perfectly though 😂
A lot of positives on Araújo, so I’m going to ignore the negatives until I have to.
Liverpool with a desperate loan signing to cover a massive gap? As Jose Mourinho said, this is football heritage.
Jokes aside, this is basically as like for like as you can get on Konate without breaking the bank. Also leaves the door open for the next generation (and the one after in Ndukwe & Ndiaye) to bed in.
A penny for Virgil’s thoughts though.
If he's fit and available i think he'll be exactly what we need right now. However I fear we've just signed Barcelona's version of Gomez injury wise.
Fringe looks fine. Enjoy it while it lasts.
Lfchistory reckon Araujo is our 31st loan player, with the vast majority in the last 30 years
8 GK
13 DEF
7 MF
3 FW
Ian Rush from Juve was a technicality so doesn't really count
2 out and out successes: Ronnie rosenthal, Javier mascherano
Anelka and Emiliano Insua qualified successes
After that, in terms of not teenagers you're talking victor moses, aly cissoko, nuri sahin, Javier manquillo under Brendan
Caulker, Kabak and Arthur under Jurgen.
I feel like Rosenthal is remembered for his legendary miss (the sitter of all sitters) against Aston Villa in 1992 more than anything else.
Crazy how that overrides him being the momentum in a title win