[Archived] Transfers Part 3

[JBiz]

  On 21/12/2017 at 08:09, Dreams of 1995 said:

Leeds Utd let him go because he didn't perform at that level. He is 26 now and he has found "his level". He is an average player that has benefited from some poor defending.

I'm happy with his contribution to the goals scored but in general his play, from holding it up, to taking players on, passing the ball etc has all been disappointing. If we are looking at the future we need better quality in that area. Championship defenders won't be so easily lost at the back post week in week out.

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There is no such thing as a definitive “level” for a player in my opinion, I don’t write people/players off in such way. For instance, he looked a complete different player before getting amongst the goals, and the confidence moved him forward.

I wouldn’t call him a priority of transfer, but I’d certainly want us to keep hold.

[Dreams of 1995]

  On 21/12/2017 at 08:57, Biz said:

There is no such thing as a definitive “level” for a player in my opinion, I don’t write people/players off in such way. For instance, he looked a complete different player before getting amongst the goals, and the confidence moved him forward.

I wouldn’t call him a priority of transfer, but I’d certainly want us to keep hold.

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It's not writing him off. It's looking at the talent he has at his disposal and allowing him to remain at a level he can be competitive. On our budget we can't take passengers and I am firmly of the opinion there would be better players out there that will be cheaper and younger.

I still don't think he looks a different player as when he isn't scoring. He has a great ability to finish, the hallmark of a good striker, but can't be trusted to lead the line. He's certainly made the left side of a front 4 his own but the Championship is a huge step up and when I see him struggling to break down teams at this level I can just imagine what it will be like at a team like Derby or Villa away next season.

I'd personally be happy if we thanked him for his year here, looked back on him with fondness and spent money elsewhere rather than spend a limited budget on a player that hasn't shown the ability to "step up", like players like Dack/Downing have for example.

[blueboy3333]

  On 21/12/2017 at 08:09, Dreams of 1995 said:

I'm happy with his contribution to the goals scored but in general his play, from holding it up, to taking players on, passing the ball etc has all been disappointing. If we are looking at the future we need better quality in that area. Championship defenders won't be so easily lost at the back post week in week out.

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Agreed. What I would say about him is that he appears a natural goalscorer. Unfortunately he has none of the other ingredients needed to be a striker. His hold up play is laughable. He's invisible some games.

He's the League 1 Swedish Rhodes!

[Dreams of 1995]

  On 21/12/2017 at 10:11, blueboy3333 said:

Agreed. What I would say about him is that he appears a natural goalscorer. Unfortunately he has none of the other ingredients needed to be a striker. His hold up play is laughable. He's invisible some games.

He's the League 1 Swedish Rhodes!

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I wouldn't quite put him in the bracket with Rhodes because, simply put, Jordan Rhodes is twice the player of Antonsson. Rhodes didn't have the pace that Antonsson has but was acutely aware of where the ball was going to end up. His movement off the defender and into the yard of space was at times mesmerising to watch. 

The only real similarities between the two are that neither can pass the ball very well but I'd rather have one Rhodes to two Antonsson's. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Yeah there are similarities with Rhodes. Antonnson is a bit quicker and is more two footed than Rhodes was. He's probably his equal at heading for goal. Neither of them are physical players that can knock defenders around. You wouldn't expect either of them to lead the attack on their own with any degree of success. Rhodes was much better at getting into shooting positions inside the penalty area. He was almost in a league of his own in this respect.

[Stuart]

Jordan Rhodes was a sniper rifle in a world of blunderbusses.

[Sparks Rover]

I'd get Shane Ferguson and Ben Whiteman 

[Bigdoggsteel]

  On 20/12/2017 at 20:02, blueboy3333 said:

I've never seen them play in the Championship so obviously not. How often have you seen both play?

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So you can only decide if a player can play at a certain level after watching them play at that level? You wouldn't make a very good scout 

[blueboy3333]

  On 21/12/2017 at 11:53, Bigdoggsteel said:

So you can only decide if a player can play at a certain level after watching them play at that level? You wouldn't make a very good scout 

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Probably not.

You didn't answer the question about how often you'd seen them play?

[Dreams of 1995]

  On 21/12/2017 at 11:53, Bigdoggsteel said:

So you can only decide if a player can play at a certain level after watching them play at that level? You wouldn't make a very good scout 

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Having seen the level of Championship players over a 5 year period and then having seen the qualities of Antonsson at this level I'd say you can make a fairly accurate assessment of whether or not he'd succeed.

[Bigdoggsteel]

  On 21/12/2017 at 11:57, blueboy3333 said:

Probably not.

You didn't answer the question about how often you'd seen them play?

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I have seen them play every game this season. 

[Bigdoggsteel]

  On 21/12/2017 at 12:14, Dreams of 1995 said:

Having seen the level of Championship players over a 5 year period and then having seen the qualities of Antonsson at this level I'd say you can make a fairly accurate assessment of whether or not he'd succeed.

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Well,come on then and don't keep us in suspense 

[Madon]

My friend is a grassroots coach and is at Brockhall today, tells me that he's just seen Tony Watt pull up... Chinese Whispers obviously but that's what I've been told!

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I don't like knocking a guy who's doing his level best out on the field, especially when we 've had so many recently who were obviously just going through the motions. You can't say the lad isn't a trier and he's definitely a team player. I like that a lot.  It's just that unless he puts on a yard of pace or finds a nasty side to his game I don't think he's got what it takes to hold down a place at the next level. I really hope I'm wrong because we need players who'll put in a shift and who'll be a credit to Blackburn Rovers.

[blueboy3333]

  On 21/12/2017 at 12:23, Madon said:

tells me that he's just seen Tony Watt pull up

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Injured already. Waste of space.

[Dreams of 1995]

  On 21/12/2017 at 12:21, Bigdoggsteel said:

Well,come on then and don't keep us in suspense 

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I've made my thoughts clear on Antonsson since day 1 and even on this page of the thread. He's a runner, a "gives it a good go-er" but I don't have any confidence in him going into the Championship.

If you have seen him in every game this season you'll know that he sometimes disappears for entire periods of the match. You'd have seen his touch, hold up play and passing simply isn't good enough.

I'm happy with his contribution to the team but I wouldn't be paying a fee for him, certainly

[DE.]

Antonsson's contract with Leeds is up in June 2019, so he's still got a little while to run yet. We aren't sure if they even want to sell him, or whether they just wanted him to go out and get first team football in a slightly rougher league to improve his physicality. Basically what we should have done with Adam Henley. 

[Bigdoggsteel]

  On 21/12/2017 at 12:23, Madon said:

My friend is a grassroots coach and is at Brockhall today, tells me that he's just seen Tony Watt pull up... Chinese Whispers obviously but that's what I've been told!

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Tony did say he was looking for players with individuality ,so Watt would make sense. He does have talent,he just seems to get distracted 

[blueboy3333]

  On 21/12/2017 at 12:21, Bigdoggsteel said:

I have seen them play every game this season. 

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So what qualities do they each bring to the team and why do you think we should sign them bearing in mind there is a possibility we could be a league higher next season?

[Bigdoggsteel]

  On 21/12/2017 at 12:28, blueboy3333 said:

So what qualities do they each bring to the team and why do you think we should sign them bearing in mind there is a possibility we could be a league higher next season?

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He works hard for the team and scores goals. Is adapting well to English football. A good age too at 26. 

Obviously it depends on the fee though,which may be an issue as I think Leeds paid over 2 million for him. I would pay around 500,000 - 750,000 

On Downing ,I wouldn't be as enthusiastic in signing him. On a free or 150,000-200,000 I would sign him as back-up instead of Ward. He is a good age too,I'm just not as sore if he would make the step up. 

[Giant]

Charlie Boy will have tapped Watt up, ex team mates remember. I’d definitely take him on, Charlie won’t let him mess about.

[blueboy3333]

Tony Watt eh? Hardly a goalscorer, bit of a maverick. Are we not well stocked in the striker department already considering we only play one up front? Maybe he's cover/competition for Dack/Antonsson/Conway? But with Tom's tweet-spotting  and Madon's mates sighting this deal is Nixon-proof!

[Bigdoggsteel]

I'd say Watt could play on the wing in the place of Antonnsson or Conway/Bennett. My god,just checked there, he is only 23. Surprised by that. 

[Admiral Nelsen]

Keep hearing that Watt has a bad attitude. Maybe he does, but taking as we find, I thought he looked very hungry when he was here last time. 

 

I'd be very happy if we signed him in January. Clearly has too much quality for this league, and we know he'd be able to contribute in the league above, unlike Antonsson who I fear will get bullied out of games when we don't dominate as much as we have been doing.

[Stuart]

It’s not so much signing Tony Watt as it is who he is replacing. If Chapman isn’t returning then it kind of fits (as a poor second) but if someone else is on the way then it’s not great.

A satisfactory transfer window will be keeping hold of what we have. A successful one will be adding to it with a little quality.