Spudulike Posted 1 July 2021 Share Posted 1 July 2021 2 hours ago, Hollyfox said: Maybe the saints fans are just a bit bitter? They were certainly a very good and a very bad side, in equal measures last season. From being top at one point and a match for anyone, to going on a horrendous run. Would have been very frustrating for players and fans alike. 41 minutes ago, HitchinFox said: Yeah, saw that too. But I'd be pretty upset as a defender, getting hammered 0-9 at least once a season, every season. Also the standard 'his legs have gone' type of comments but bitter fans always say that. I s'pose we'll find out soon enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoxinNotts Posted 1 July 2021 Share Posted 1 July 2021 22 minutes ago, foxoffderby said: Yeah totally get the experience thing.. could be like C Fuchs for us or do we go for Gossens the perfect full back in his prime (expensive) might not want to come us or even a Nuno Mendes. Understand young Luke Thomas is player were trying to develop also. Yeah, it’s clear we’re not going to be able to tempt a player of the quality of Gossens, especially without the draw of champions League footy to offer. Being free, it gives us a position filled with options, so we can now concentrate funds on other positions on the pitch. It’s a win win scenario tbh. Good business imo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duquesne Whistle Posted 1 July 2021 Share Posted 1 July 2021 8 hours ago, Molson Canadian said: Were those 4 crosses blocked from our corners, at the front post, by any chance? Pleased this is over the line. All clubs need sensible signings now and again, and this seems as sensible a signing as it gets. Good luck to Bertrand, hopefully he'll bag a trophy with us and the move will work for all parties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerard Posted 1 July 2021 Share Posted 1 July 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, foxoffderby said: Other than the 9-0 he's always had a good game against LCFC when I've seen him. Having said that i'm not 100%. I'm undecided. He's just here because there is so much uncertainty about our current FB's, he's been given a two year contract to hold the fort whilst Thomas and JJ surpass him. A cheap option that allows us to maybe make one more big purchase like Trinicao. JJ - long term injury Ricardo - Still not 100% after long term injury Castagne - just got an injury Thomas - young lad He comes here to give us options in a position we're well stacked in but too many uncertainties. He'll give us options but if everything went 100% to plan then the four above players are back to their best soon enough and he becomes our 5th best FB but can also play in a three if needed at CB. Edited 1 July 2021 by Gerard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerblod Posted 2 July 2021 Share Posted 2 July 2021 19 hours ago, Deeg67 said: You must have missed a couple matches, then. Your assessment and mine must differ significantly then, and I rate mine more than yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UHDrive Posted 2 July 2021 Share Posted 2 July 2021 5 hours ago, Gerard said: He's just here because there is so much uncertainty about our current FB's, he's been given a two year contract to hold the fort whilst Thomas and JJ surpass him. A cheap option that allows us to maybe make one more big purchase like Trinicao. JJ - long term injury Ricardo - Still not 100% after long term injury Castagne - just got an injury Thomas - young lad He comes here to give us options in a position we're well stacked in but too many uncertainties. He'll give us options but if everything went 100% to plan then the four above players are back to their best soon enough and he becomes our 5th best FB but can also play in a three if needed at CB. I think with those players coming back online (RP and Castagna already are) then he'd become 4th choice ahead of Thomas with a view to mentoring him. Bertrand I think is too small for a back 3 CB (at only 10 and a half feet tall) which was our achilles heel at set peices and crosses into the box last season. Now Soumare is here I'd rather ndidi drop back into the CB role if needed although not ideal, with his experience and height. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerblod Posted 2 July 2021 Share Posted 2 July 2021 14 hours ago, UHDrive said: Some people are clembering for Thomas as a starter almost, and that's a definite no from me. No way he's ready. If Thomas can be patient and the club beleive in him, then we should be looking at a Chilwell situation type career evolution. I think he needs 2 years with progressive subs appearances (and fill ins, cup games etc), after that we'll know. Clamouring for Thomas as a starter - hmmm - thing is that he's already been there for a good proportion of last season and done the business. Some people aren't looking at his ability - they cannot see beyond his age. I see the words 'trust' and 'naive' used in relation to him so frequently, yet all I see is an extremely talented player who has outperformed a number of his older and more expensive team mates in critical matches. It appears that the barrier to being a trustworthy player is fixed at 23 years old - unless your name is Fofana of course - who's not been entirely blame free in the naivety area. 1 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deeg67 Posted 2 July 2021 Share Posted 2 July 2021 (edited) 14 minutes ago, gerblod said: Clamouring for Thomas as a starter - hmmm - thing is that he's already been there for a good proportion of last season and done the business. Some people aren't looking at his ability - they cannot see beyond his age. I see the words 'trust' and 'naive' used in relation to him so frequently, yet all I see is an extremely talented player who has outperformed a number of his older and more expensive team mates in critical matches. It appears that the barrier to being a trustworthy player is fixed at 23 years old - unless your name is Fofana of course - who's not been entirely blame free in the naivety area. That, and being lit up like a Christmas tree so badly on more than one occasion that the manager had to sub him off at halftime. Edited 2 July 2021 by Deeg67 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhillippaT Posted 2 July 2021 Share Posted 2 July 2021 27 minutes ago, UHDrive said: Bertrand I think is too small for a back 3 CB (at only 10 and a half feet tall) which was our achilles heel at set pieces and crosses into the box last season. Really? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babylon Posted 2 July 2021 Share Posted 2 July 2021 1 hour ago, gerblod said: Clamouring for Thomas as a starter - hmmm - thing is that he's already been there for a good proportion of last season and done the business. Some people aren't looking at his ability - they cannot see beyond his age. I see the words 'trust' and 'naive' used in relation to him so frequently, yet all I see is an extremely talented player who has outperformed a number of his older and more expensive team mates in critical matches. It appears that the barrier to being a trustworthy player is fixed at 23 years old - unless your name is Fofana of course - who's not been entirely blame free in the naivety area. Maybe it has something to do with Fofana's performances being far more consistent and of a generally higher quality. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesterlad Posted 2 July 2021 Share Posted 2 July 2021 3 hours ago, UHDrive said: I think with those players coming back online (RP and Castagna already are) then he'd become 4th choice ahead of Thomas with a view to mentoring him. Bertrand I think is too small for a back 3 CB (at only 10 and a half feet tall) which was our achilles heel at set peices and crosses into the box last season. Now Soumare is here I'd rather ndidi drop back into the CB role if needed although not ideal, with his experience and height. Think that is rather tall for a fall back 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UHDrive Posted 2 July 2021 Share Posted 2 July 2021 3 hours ago, gerblod said: Clamouring for Thomas as a starter - hmmm - thing is that he's already been there for a good proportion of last season and done the business. Some people aren't looking at his ability - they cannot see beyond his age. I see the words 'trust' and 'naive' used in relation to him so frequently, yet all I see is an extremely talented player who has outperformed a number of his older and more expensive team mates in critical matches. It appears that the barrier to being a trustworthy player is fixed at 23 years old - unless your name is Fofana of course - who's not been entirely blame free in the naivety area. He is not yet of an ilk of a top 6 LB player. He is composed on the ball but errorstewn with it on occasion. He isn't pacey enough for the typical wingbacks our club use. His decision making in the mid/final 3rd isn't as good as it good be. I've followed him for long enough to know that his basic play isn't at our level. For sure, his all round play is fantastic and he's done a good cover job while our 1st teamers have been out, and if he's happy being a backup player behind JJ and Bertrand then for me that's great. He also lacks significant height which has no doubt attributed to our high goals conceded from balls into the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UHDrive Posted 2 July 2021 Share Posted 2 July 2021 41 minutes ago, Lesterlad said: Think that is rather tall for a fall back Was supposed to read 10 and a half feet tall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UHDrive Posted 2 July 2021 Share Posted 2 July 2021 3 hours ago, PhillippaT said: Really? Haha well I wouldn't day Bertrand the big is that tall a really, perhaps 5 feet 10 and a half... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moore_94 Posted 2 July 2021 Share Posted 2 July 2021 (edited) 14 minutes ago, UHDrive said: He is not yet of an ilk of a top 6 LB player. He is composed on the ball but errorstewn with it on occasion. He isn't pacey enough for the typical wingbacks our club use. His decision making in the mid/final 3rd isn't as good as it good be. I've followed him for long enough to know that his basic play isn't at our level. For sure, his all round play is fantastic and he's done a good cover job while our 1st teamers have been out, and if he's happy being a backup player behind JJ and Bertrand then for me that's great. He also lacks significant height which has no doubt attributed to our high goals conceded from balls into the box. Thomas is 5ft10, same as Bertrand and taller than Ricardo who is 5ft9 Castagne is 5ft11, JJ is 6ft JJ is the tallest however he has also been guilty of being beaten to the ball at the back post. Our defence and team in general is just pretty short, that and the weird zonal marking we do all contribute to how many headers we concede. Edited 2 July 2021 by moore_94 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Sol thewall Bamba Posted 2 July 2021 Popular Post Share Posted 2 July 2021 Surprised people are at all worried about this. Our homegrown left back played in one of the biggest games of the club's history a couple of months back, and was absolutely fine. Another pre season under Thomas' belt and he'll be that much quicker and stronger, he'll be our first choice left back until we have all our options back again, and even then it might be that he gets the nod. Bertrand will be a great option to take the pressure off around the EL group stages, especially seeing as the teams we face immediately after the 6 group stage games aren't the strongest. 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UHDrive Posted 2 July 2021 Share Posted 2 July 2021 16 minutes ago, moore_94 said: Thomas is 5ft10, same as Bertrand and taller than Ricardo who is 5ft9 Castagne is 5ft11, JJ is 6ft JJ is the tallest however he has also been guilty of being beaten to the ball at the back post. Our defence and team in general is just pretty short, that and the weird zonal marking we do all contribute to how many headers we concede. Exactly and thats all true. I'm hoping heavily that we can bring a CB and RW in in this window still. I still have hope for Tarkowski as him and Evans could control that penalty area such as Maguire used to do and our goals conceded ratio was a lot lower than it is now. Ideally I'd like Berardi but that would most likely mean selling players and loaning the CB (unless we can take Tarkowski in staggered installments with a slightly higher bid to prize him away) We'll see I guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerblod Posted 2 July 2021 Share Posted 2 July 2021 4 hours ago, Deeg67 said: That, and being lit up like a Christmas tree so badly on more than one occasion that the manager had to sub him off at halftime. I was going to write "on balance", but I won't even throw you that bone. Objective assessment of any performance, in any walk of life, is taken over the course of the endeavour - you infer that one game somehow makes his overall contribution less meaningful. For me he's been outstanding - I'll leave it at that. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whys it always me Posted 2 July 2021 Share Posted 2 July 2021 27 minutes ago, UHDrive said: He is not yet of an ilk of a top 6 LB player. He is composed on the ball but errorstewn with it on occasion. He isn't pacey enough for the typical wingbacks our club use. His decision making in the mid/final 3rd isn't as good as it good be. I've followed him for long enough to know that his basic play isn't at our level. For sure, his all round play is fantastic and he's done a good cover job while our 1st teamers have been out, and if he's happy being a backup player behind JJ and Bertrand then for me that's great. He also lacks significant height which has no doubt attributed to our high goals conceded from balls into the box. It’s an interesting viewpoint and I too have watched Thomas for a long time. Thomas was outstanding in the u18s and very creative and was training with the first team at 17 under puel. Each to their own I suppose which is why football is great as we all have differing views. My opinion is that he will play for England in the next few years and I’m happy to be proven wrong. He was outstanding in the FA cup final at only 19 and very good against spurs at the end of the season. There is some discussion about Rodgers trusting Thomas yet he played him in the FA cup final the biggest game of the season if that isn’t trust I don’t know what is. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhYesNdidi Posted 2 July 2021 Share Posted 2 July 2021 (edited) 33 minutes ago, moore_94 said: Thomas is 5ft10, same as Bertrand and taller than Ricardo who is 5ft9 Castagne is 5ft11, JJ is 6ft JJ is the tallest however he has also been guilty of being beaten to the ball at the back post. Our defence and team in general is just pretty short, that and the weird zonal marking we do all contribute to how many headers we concede. Justin 6ft? / I’d say Castagne is 6ft 1 or 2 and Justin is 5ft 9… EDB4BD3B-88BC-417E-A2CE-9F3D8B312967.webp Edited 2 July 2021 by OhYesNdidi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerblod Posted 2 July 2021 Share Posted 2 July 2021 2 hours ago, Babylon said: Maybe it has something to do with Fofana's performances being far more consistent and of a generally higher quality. Fofana has made some real howlers - misplaced or short passes in particular. I've not seen Thomas being anything other than focused. The game where Evans had to go off at short notice and both Fofana and Soyuncu looked as if their strings had been cut, demonstrates that neither are 100% reliable. Thomas might be the lesser player, yet I've not seen him lose his concentration like Fofana has. Please don't infer from that comment that I have anything less than the highest regard for Little Wes. BR chose Thomas over Fuchs to fill the gaps in the ranks and, given his lack of experience I believe he has been an exceptional find. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moore_94 Posted 2 July 2021 Share Posted 2 July 2021 9 minutes ago, OhYesNdidi said: Justin 6ft? / I’d say Castagne is 6ft 1 or 2 and Justin is 5ft 9… EDB4BD3B-88BC-417E-A2CE-9F3D8B312967.webp 305.02 kB · 5 downloads Everywhere I have seen says that JJ is 6ft, I have just seen that Castagne is 6ft, so only an inch out haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UHDrive Posted 2 July 2021 Share Posted 2 July 2021 17 minutes ago, Whys it always me said: It’s an interesting viewpoint and I too have watched Thomas for a long time. Thomas was outstanding in the u18s and very creative and was training with the first team at 17 under puel. Each to their own I suppose which is why football is great as we all have differing views. My opinion is that he will play for England in the next few years and I’m happy to be proven wrong. He was outstanding in the FA cup final at only 19 and very good against spurs at the end of the season. There is some discussion about Rodgers trusting Thomas yet he played him in the FA cup final the biggest game of the season if that isn’t trust I don’t know what is. True, it's great that fans can get along with differing views yet to have differing opinions. My own opinion is that Thomas was played in the final because frankly their wasn't anyone else to cover that position. RP couldve gone on the right with Castagna on the left except RP has been rusty since coming back and giving the ball away etc especially in midfield with players taking the ball and running through the lines (which Thomas did quite a few times). Fuchs didn't have the legs or stamina for the game. There wasn't anyone else to put in that position. With chelseas incessant pressing game management and pace then essentially we protected Thomas with Soyuncu and Ndidi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhYesNdidi Posted 2 July 2021 Share Posted 2 July 2021 15 minutes ago, moore_94 said: Everywhere I have seen says that JJ is 6ft, I have just seen that Castagne is 6ft, so only an inch out haha That photo suggest different Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moore_94 Posted 2 July 2021 Share Posted 2 July 2021 2 minutes ago, OhYesNdidi said: That photo suggest different In any case, still a bunch of short arses for defenders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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