EPL Talk: Transfer market roundup - Winners and Losers
wanderer_abroad
· 1 year ago
I don't agree with some of your opinions. Firstly how can Chelsea be considered losers?! Anelka is certainly not overpriced especially when you compare his pricetake with the likes of Darren Bent. He is proven goalscorer at every level and is at the peak of his career. And the comment that Chelsea could bring their scouting level up to those of United and Arsenal is also an exaggeration. Certainly Arsenal probably have the best scouting network in the world, only rivaled by that of Barca probably, but Chelsea have a better scouting network than Man Utd. Frank Arnesan is one of the best scouts in the world and United have hardly been spouting out the youngsters of late have they? To be honest I can't remember the last player since Nemanja Vidic who was actually a good bargain for Utd, and even then they paid around 8 million pounds for him, similar infact to that paid by Chelsea for Branislav Ivanovic who is tipped to be better than Vidic ;)
TheScout
· 1 year ago
wanderer, I can respect your thoughts on this and I appreciate your feedback. I don't profess to be the final word on this but meant it to be a bit of dialogue with the EPL Talk community so thank you for the feedback!
About Anelka, comparing the fee to Darren Bent is not the best analogy to my mind as Bent was woefully overpriced as well. Anelka does seem to have matured but what will happen when Drogba returns from ACN? Will Grant start both of them or will Anelka be a "squad" player...hard to say at this point.
In terms of signing players on the cheap, I agree with you that United has not always had the best record. I felt they overpaid for both Carrick and Hargreaves when it was questionable whether either player was really needed. Where I find they have been quite good is identifying young players to develop and then sell to other clubs for decent fees. I don't think that Chelsea have quite got their yet and while Arnesan has a good track record, it will take some time to turn the club structure around. Arsenal have overpaid for players as well but overall have been buying low and selling high.
wanderer_abroad
· 1 year ago
Thanks for the reply Scout and I agree my Bent example is stretching it a bit lol. I agree its going to be interesting to see how Chelsea are going to manage both Anelka and Drogba but that is only good for them. They now have more strength and two world class strikers is always better than one.
The point I was trying to make was how many Utd players have come through their academy in the last 6 or 7 years? Very few. Admittedly Chelsea's record is no better but I feel at this moment they've been sniffing around in better places than Utd. My friends son is a academy player there and he says that their training ground is out of this world. He says you wouldn't believe the sort of facilities and coaching quality that has arrived at the club, and this is coming from a guy who has been a fan of the club for over 25 years. It just seems harsh to me to downgrade Chelsea's youth + scouting setup over United's. I hope Chelsea can one day bring through a gem as that would mean that the club is moving in the right direction of buying young. Their new signing Di Santo looks like its a step in the right direction..
TheScout
· 1 year ago
I'd like to see Scott Sinclair make it in the Chelsea first team. He's one they picked up young from the Bristol Rovers system and looks like he has the potential to be a star. Chelsea also have Michael Mancienne, Ben Sahar and a couple of other promising players in their system. It would be nice to see some of these players break into the first-team but like at "big" clubs the pressure to win often overrides player development.
That's what happpens at United in my view. The pressure to keep the dynasty going prevents players from getting a shot at the first-team. MU have had a lot of good players come out of their academy...they just end up with other teams :) For example, Phil Bardsley. I thought he should have stayed and perhaps Wes Brown be sold on but it was not to be. Now Sunderland seem to be reaping the benefit of his development.
All Comments
About Anelka, comparing the fee to Darren Bent is not the best analogy to my mind as Bent was woefully overpriced as well. Anelka does seem to have matured but what will happen when Drogba returns from ACN? Will Grant start both of them or will Anelka be a "squad" player...hard to say at this point.
In terms of signing players on the cheap, I agree with you that United has not always had the best record. I felt they overpaid for both Carrick and Hargreaves when it was questionable whether either player was really needed. Where I find they have been quite good is identifying young players to develop and then sell to other clubs for decent fees. I don't think that Chelsea have quite got their yet and while Arnesan has a good track record, it will take some time to turn the club structure around. Arsenal have overpaid for players as well but overall have been buying low and selling high.
The point I was trying to make was how many Utd players have come through their academy in the last 6 or 7 years? Very few. Admittedly Chelsea's record is no better but I feel at this moment they've been sniffing around in better places than Utd. My friends son is a academy player there and he says that their training ground is out of this world. He says you wouldn't believe the sort of facilities and coaching quality that has arrived at the club, and this is coming from a guy who has been a fan of the club for over 25 years. It just seems harsh to me to downgrade Chelsea's youth + scouting setup over United's. I hope Chelsea can one day bring through a gem as that would mean that the club is moving in the right direction of buying young. Their new signing Di Santo looks like its a step in the right direction..
That's what happpens at United in my view. The pressure to keep the dynasty going prevents players from getting a shot at the first-team. MU have had a lot of good players come out of their academy...they just end up with other teams :) For example, Phil Bardsley. I thought he should have stayed and perhaps Wes Brown be sold on but it was not to be. Now Sunderland seem to be reaping the benefit of his development.