[Archived] N'zonzi Deal Agreed

[47er]

Nzonzi has made massive strides after being catapulted from the French lower leagues to a Premiership starter. He was a fantastic coup by the manager and has all the makings to be a world class player. All I'm hoping is that he keeps his feet on the ground and continues to develop, because many stars have left Ewood Park for new horizons and found their bubble burst.

Eddie's not going to go for that because it makes the manager look good.

yadda, yadda, yadda

sod the goals vs Arsenal & Everton

or the no. of games he has played in his debut season

or his consistency of performance

- surely he was man of the season for his slam dunk of Lucas

What is he 20/21?

Well done fella and long may he continue, one of the major positives of the season for me

Yep---------bang on! One of the first players picked for me-----with everyone fit!

[bennyboyt11]

[Amo]

Bloody hell eddie thats a massive contribution! And a very very necessary one. Cos no one did that is why we were so shaky and brittle earlier in the season. How about the likes of Makelele? Batty? Campo? Vierra? Other's might even suggest thats all Tugay did.

Which is why I don't understand why people are downplaying his achievement. What more do they expect? Trying taking a look how many goals & assists Makelele contributed over the years. It was his job to break up play and play it simple. Nzonzi has done all that - and more!

[thenodrog]

A couple seem to have think that I was making out he was a bad player, which I certainly wasn't, it's just that whenever a player has a run of five good games many on here seem to think that he is the second-coming. He's done well, but he's got a long way to go still, as do all of our young players. He isn't Viera yet.

I seem to rem that when Vierra made a MoM debut against us at Ewood that the press couldn't believe that Wenger had 'rescued' him from Juve's reserve side! As incredible as Souness plucking Tugay from Rangers stiffs!

[bellamy11]

I seem to rem that when Vierra made a MoM debut against us at Ewood that the press couldn't believe that Wenger had 'rescued' him from Juve's reserve side! As incredible as Souness plucking Tugay from Rangers stiffs!

Given the fact that Vieira came from AC Milan and made his debut against Sheff Wed I think your memory is letting you down a little!

[thenodrog]

Given the fact that Vieira came from AC Milan and made his debut against Sheff Wed I think your memory is letting you down a little!

OK statto! Tf I only said I 'seem' to rem! I do rem all the press raving about his performance.

btw How does 'his 1st start for the arsenal' sound?

[The Harwood Yankee]

Must be honest I was very surprised with N'Zonzi getting player of the year. Before they announced it I was expecting to hear David Dunn's name - the most MOTM awards, our highest goalscorer, injuries aside probably his best season for us for a long long time.

I hope N'Zonzi will take confidence from getting this award and continuing his consistent solid performances into next season. He really does need to improve the creativity of his passing though.

[Herbie6590]

Daily Telegraph today - best transfers of the season....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/7706152/Premier-Leagues-10-best-signings-of-the-season.html

9. Steven Nzonzi (Amiens to Blackburn, £1.5 million)

Feisty and powerful, the midfielder is the archetypal Allardyce player. Few noticed his arrival, but plenty of Premier League opponents are fully aware of his work.

Tevez number 1 in their opinion.

[alexanders]

Decent list, but I don't agree with this one though.

3. Luis Antonio Valencia (Wigan to Manchester United, £16 million)

Seen as a risk when he moved to Old Trafford – especially given his substantial price-tag – but the Ecuadorian international has grown into his role in recent months.

[HemelRover]

Daily Telegraph today - best transfers of the season....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/7706152/Premier-Leagues-10-best-signings-of-the-season.html

What a load of cobblers. If City had signed Tevez for anything less than 10mil then maybe. Spend 20m+ on a striker and the minimum he should be scoring is 15-20 goals.

Valencia has been average at best. Adam Johnson has had a couple of good games and then been anonomous for the rest, same for Krancjar. Hardly played since Modric has been back.

Dann and Johnson at Big Club have been great this year, especially coming from the Championship.

[Ricky]

Surely they have that fee wrong for N'Zonzi as well??

[HemelRover]

Surely they have that fee wrong for N'Zonzi as well??

Yep, it was about £400k. Unless there were add-ons based on appearances?

[Hughesy]

Surely they have that fee wrong for N'Zonzi as well??

Yep sure do - £400k fee.

[gumboots]

He really does need to improve the creativity of his passing though.

listening to praise for Fulham this morning - "All Fulham players get the ball and move it on to someone wearing the same team shirt as them." That's really all good players do, until it reaches the guy who puts it in the net. Sometimes simplicity works. Savage always said all he did was win the ball and give it to Tugay. Nzonzi isn't Tugay and doesn't need to be. He needs to do his own job well. what we need is someone who can play the Tugay type of role alongside him. Overcomplicating what Nzonzi does may take away his effectiveness. What we need and have needed for a while is a ew creative midfielder. We all know that.

[Majiball]

listening to praise for Fulham this morning - "All Fulham players get the ball and move it on to someone wearing the same team shirt as them." That's really all good players do, until it reaches the guy who puts it in the net. Sometimes simplicity works. Savage always said all he did was win the ball and give it to Tugay. Nzonzi isn't Tugay and doesn't need to be. He needs to do his own job well. what we need is someone who can play the Tugay type of role alongside him. Overcomplicating what Nzonzi does may take away his effectiveness. What we need and have needed for a while is a ew creative midfielder. We all know that.

Well said Gumboots.

N'zonzi doesn't need to be more expansive with his passing. I'd rather see work done on his anticipation and reading of the game, so he's more often than not in the right place at the right time first. The best water carrier in recent history never really made a pass over 20 yards, Makalele. But he was always where the ball dropped. With us playing effectively 3 central players he'd be far better off giving it simple to one of them and covering the back line. If he could improve this aspect our full backs could push that little bit further up increasing our creativity from wide positions.

[patrickvalery]

Well said Gumboots.

..... If he could improve this aspect our full backs could push that little bit further up increasing our creativity from wide positions.

Maji, spot on. This is my thoughts on where to improve this summer. People talk about our need for a central midfielder oozing creativity. I disagree. Well certainly for the time being. Our need is out wide. For our formation to work we need better outlets out wide who can offer support to the lonely Kalinic. Dunn is ample in the centre. When the time comes to replace him then yes we need the creative type through the middle. The encouraging thing is we may have Hoilett and Ollson who can do the wide jobs next season. If they continue their development as they have this year then its money saved.If not i'd like to see someone brought in who can make a difference to our attacking dimesion out wide.

[Hughesy]

I agree with what your saying too. Leave NZonzi to the hard work, anticipating the knock-downs and where the ball will drop, lets just get him in the right areas to break up play.

He can clearly hit a ball too which is always a good sign....perhaps a French version of Huddlestone?

What we need next is possibly a right winger (although we do have the potential of Hoilett - and Diouf), A striker to partner Kalinic & possibly a midfielder who can pick a pass (perhaps Ledley if Cardiff fail).

Olsson is fine for the left wing/ full back role.

[Eddie]

His shooting is actually pretty poor. Sure, he scored that great goal against Everton, but the majority of his shots from distance this year have been way off target....and perhaps more importantly and tellingly have also been poorly hit and weak.

[Hughesy]

His shooting is actually pretty poor. Sure, he scored that great goal against Everton, but the majority of his shots from distance this year have been way off target....and perhaps more importantly and tellingly have also been poorly hit and weak.

Cant say iv noticed him take too many shots to be honest....he will get better im sure

[slough_rover]

His shooting is actually pretty poor. Sure, he scored that great goal against Everton, but the majority of his shots from distance this year have been way off target....and perhaps more importantly and tellingly have also been poorly hit and weak.

FFS whats wrong with some people. He is not in the team to score goals or hit great shots. He is a defensive midfielder and his job is to break up the play and provide the defence with cover. Its not his fault he plays in such a ###### poor midfield who apart from Dunn will barely score a goal. Hes scored 2 goals this season in 33 appearances, and If im not mistaken Makelele the man who pioneered the position scored 2 goals in his 144 appearances for Chelsea. Yet I dont seem to remember people slagging him off for his lack of goal prowess...

[Hughesy]

FFS whats wrong with some people. He is not in the team to score goals or hit great shots. He is a defensive midfielder and his job is to break up the play and provide the defence with cover. Its not his fault he plays in such a ###### poor midfield who apart from Dunn will barely score a goal. Hes scored 2 goals this season in 33 appearances, and If im not mistaken Makelele the man who pioneered the position scored 2 goals in his 144 appearances for Chelsea. Yet I dont seem to remember people slagging him off for his lack of goal prowess...

Spot on....and whilst its not his job, he showed against Everton he clearly knows how to hit a ball! For even attempting that shot he deserves credit.

[Amo]

His shooting is actually pretty poor. Sure, he scored that great goal against Everton, but the majority of his shots from distance this year have been way off target....and perhaps more importantly and tellingly have also been poorly hit and weak.

Remind me how many screamers Claude Makelele scored in his day.

[Majiball]

Remind me how many screamers Claude Makelele scored in his day.

I'd wager quiet a few, he does get around.

[Amo]

I'd wager quiet a few, he does get around.

[begresko]

Saw Mr N'Zonzi in House of Frasier in Manchester today, all I have to say, his missus is FIT