Gazza M wrote:

somehow we seem allergic to recruiting players that can dribble. it kills me

and before anyone starts - this guy is not a dribbler. he can kick and chase, scamper onto the end of through-balls, and cause problems for a back-pedalling defense. he doesn't beat his man, and will generally opt for whipping in crosses around the fullback rather than taking him on

and while his stats are good ask yourselves 2 questions

1. would you be satisfied if he was the only wide player we signed?
2. while his stats look good, would he be as productive in our system? emery is a fullback merchant as we've seen. fraser doesn't come inside to take advantage of those overlaps. the most i could see him doing is sending in crosses becks style when the oppo fullback is pulled away by the overlap

for 15-20m i'll take him, but i'd want another wide player that offers something different

I think that is exactly what he be bright in for. And it's incredibly one-dimensional but it's a big part of how we play. So I don't see any reason why he'd be any less productive in our side (other than the fact he may not be our designated set-piece taker).

He'd be a pragmatic signing for a pragmatic manager, so I can see the sense in it. Just can't get excited though because he is just that.

Gazza M wrote:

somehow we seem allergic to recruiting players that can dribble. it kills me

and before anyone starts - this guy is not a dribbler. he can kick and chase, scamper onto the end of through-balls, and cause problems for a back-pedalling defense. he doesn't beat his man, and will generally opt for whipping in crosses around the fullback rather than taking him on

and while his stats are good ask yourselves 2 questions

1. would you be satisfied if he was the only wide player we signed?

That question depends on so much. Would I be happy if we signed Fraser, Ziyech, a CM and a great CB? Yes. 

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

If he had the skill og Insigne and was the same height, he would be Insigne, cost like £80m and not want to come here.

Don Pacifico wrote:

Gazza M wrote:

somehow we seem allergic to recruiting players that can dribble. it kills me

and before anyone starts - this guy is not a dribbler. he can kick and chase, scamper onto the end of through-balls, and cause problems for a back-pedalling defense. he doesn't beat his man, and will generally opt for whipping in crosses around the fullback rather than taking him on

and while his stats are good ask yourselves 2 questions

1. would you be satisfied if he was the only wide player we signed?
2. while his stats look good, would he be as productive in our system? emery is a fullback merchant as we've seen. fraser doesn't come inside to take advantage of those overlaps. the most i could see him doing is sending in crosses becks style when the oppo fullback is pulled away by the overlap

for 15-20m i'll take him, but i'd want another wide player that offers something different

I think that is exactly what he be bright in for. And it's incredibly one-dimensional but it's a big part of how we play. So I don't see any reason why he'd be any less productive in our side (other than the fact he may not be our designated set-piece taker).

He'd be a pragmatic signing for a pragmatic manager, so I can see the sense in it. Just can't get excited though because he is just that.

Your last paragraph is what I alluded to on the previous page or so.

Why are we focusing on Emery signings instead of "plug and play" signings to suit our club's philosophy no matter who the head coach is?

I guess we need our tech director quite desperately.

Gazza M wrote:

somehow we seem allergic to recruiting players that can dribble. it kills me

and before anyone starts - this guy is not a dribbler. he can kick and chase, scamper onto the end of through-balls, and cause problems for a back-pedalling defense. he doesn't beat his man, and will generally opt for whipping in crosses around the fullback rather than taking him on

and while his stats are good ask yourselves 2 questions

1. would you be satisfied if he was the only wide player we signed?
2. while his stats look good, would he be as productive in our system? emery is a fullback merchant as we've seen. fraser doesn't come inside to take advantage of those overlaps. the most i could see him doing is sending in crosses becks style when the oppo fullback is pulled away by the overlap

for 15-20m i'll take him, but i'd want another wide player that offers something different

No mate this is all wrong, you're racist and biased against him because his name isn't Mesut Fraser.

Really don’t want Fraser

jones wrote:

Gazza M wrote:

somehow we seem allergic to recruiting players that can dribble. it kills me

and before anyone starts - this guy is not a dribbler. he can kick and chase, scamper onto the end of through-balls, and cause problems for a back-pedalling defense. he doesn't beat his man, and will generally opt for whipping in crosses around the fullback rather than taking him on

and while his stats are good ask yourselves 2 questions

1. would you be satisfied if he was the only wide player we signed?
2. while his stats look good, would he be as productive in our system? emery is a fullback merchant as we've seen. fraser doesn't come inside to take advantage of those overlaps. the most i could see him doing is sending in crosses becks style when the oppo fullback is pulled away by the overlap

for 15-20m i'll take him, but i'd want another wide player that offers something different

No mate this is all wrong, you're racist and biased against him because his name isn't Mesut Fraser.

Although I think Fraser is pretty decent I did laugh at the notion that British talents aren't hyped enough.

Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert wrote:

Don Pacifico wrote:

I think that is exactly what he be bright in for. And it's incredibly one-dimensional but it's a big part of how we play. So I don't see any reason why he'd be any less productive in our side (other than the fact he may not be our designated set-piece taker).

He'd be a pragmatic signing for a pragmatic manager, so I can see the sense in it. Just can't get excited though because he is just that.

Your last paragraph is what I alluded to on the previous page or so.

Why are we focusing on Emery signings instead of "plug and play" signings to suit our club's philosophy no matter who the head coach is?

I guess we need our tech director quite desperately.

Maybe. Appreciate a technical director has a role in the footballing culture of a club by ultimately, Emery will have a system he wants to employ and he needs the right players to fulfil that system.

So I'm not sure whether having a TD would necessarily change the end result.

It depends with this guy. It depends on whether we make more exciting signings at CM and CB. If we promote Nelson. If we sign another wide player with more flair.

His signing would be absolutely fine, as long as it isn't the highest profile signing we make. We do need to prioritize, and I'm willing to accept this if it means a much higher priority is being afforded to the CB and CM situations.

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

Although I think Fraser is pretty decent I did laugh at the notion that British talents aren't hyped enough.

How often do Scottish players get hyped? The idea that British players are hyped seems to be entirely based on the English players. Imagine the difference in hype around Ramsey if he'd been English.

Anyway £30m is too much for Fraser with one year left on his contract. If the new suits want to show what they're made of they should be able to get him for around £20m and get it done quickly.

I think Fraser is a kind of player we should be willing to try. Not sure what way he'll go but he's done well for Bournemouth and we have to accept that we aren't at that elite level anymore. The reality is there are lots of players at Watford, wolves, Leicester and other clubs below is so have recruited well and would benefit us.

Another point I've seen raised re Fraser is that whilst he is not a dribbler he does have serious pace and work rate. As such he looks more like a potential replacement for Welbeck as a wide man, with the added bonus of being able to provide quality delivery.

IMO we lack pace in transition which is key with both MC & LFC to get the ball forward quickly and retain possession. Similarly I'm not sure dribbling ability from wide is key to the style we saw in the first half of last season where we looked to create an overload on one side before switching to the other.

He's so average. Might as well go for Nathan Redmond or Andros Townsend while we're at it.

if we're looking at bournemouth players, i like david brooks.

Anzac wrote:

Another point I've seen raised re Fraser is that whilst he is not a dribbler he does have serious pace and work rate.  As such he looks more like a potential replacement for Welbeck as a wide man, with the added bonus of being able to provide quality delivery.  

IMO we lack pace in transition which is key with both MC & LFC to get the ball forward quickly and retain possession.  Similarly I'm not sure dribbling ability from wide is key to the style we saw in the first half of last season where we looked to create an overload on one side before switching to the other.

That tactic "worked" when we were on the 20 game unbeaten streak. I put worked in inverted commas as we were often very poor in the first half of several games with Iwobi (a dribbler) often being subbed in to turn the game in our favour. After November, our luck run out and, for a month or two, we produced several dire performances with no midfield control as there was nobody proficient at protecting the ball especially away from home.

I would rather risk part of the Fraser money in the Maurice fund.

If we could get both for £25m ish it'd be great.

Qwiss! wrote:

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

Although I think Fraser is pretty decent I did laugh at the notion that British talents aren't hyped enough.

How often do Scottish players get hyped? The idea that British players are hyped seems to be entirely based on the English players. Imagine the difference in hype around Ramsey if he'd been English.

That's a fair point actually, although Ramsey would probably be much more hyped if he played for United or Liverpool.

Qwiss! wrote:

If we could get both for £25m ish it'd be great.

That's be nice. One who improves us instantly and one for the future.

Bold Tone wrote:

Anzac wrote:

Another point I've seen raised re Fraser is that whilst he is not a dribbler he does have serious pace and work rate.  As such he looks more like a potential replacement for Welbeck as a wide man, with the added bonus of being able to provide quality delivery.  

IMO we lack pace in transition which is key with both MC & LFC to get the ball forward quickly and retain possession.  Similarly I'm not sure dribbling ability from wide is key to the style we saw in the first half of last season where we looked to create an overload on one side before switching to the other.

That tactic "worked" when we were on the 20 game unbeaten streak. I put worked in inverted commas as we were often very poor in the first half of several games with Iwobi (a dribbler) often being subbed in to turn the game in our favour. After November, our luck run out and, for a month or two, we produced several dire performances with no midfield control as there was nobody proficient at protecting the ball especially away from home.

Point being that in Dec we had 3 season ending injuries and effectively needed to find another shape and style without having to play the same stating players into the ground.