As a relatively recent viewer of the site I have finally bitten the bullet to sign up to have my say.
Firstly, whilst the need for signings is evident to all, some of the names and opinions surprise me greatly.
Maupay is an unpleasant character to play against, but his finishing is generally way off the mark and with our lack of creativity I do not long to watch him spurn our only 2 good chances a game. The reason he is not starting at BHA is presumably something to do with his lack of killer instinct in the box, and the reason that he should be swerved. The past couple of seasons BHA have created so many chances (really good chances) but their finishing has been severely lacking and Maupay is one of the major culprits in this, although the rest of his game is not terrible.
Che Adams? Seriously? I do not understand how this massively uninspiring choice would do anything other than be a stop gap. Workmanlike maybe, but massively good I fear not, and another to add to the list of people who later we will struggle to get off the wage bill.
Garner looks a decent prospect and worth a punt, definitely has potential to become something more than the vast majority of the current squad if managed correctly.
Gallagher… I cannot understand how some people think he will be a make weight in any deal for Gordon, he is a better player currently than Gordon, and he is still learning too, and if we have any chance to get him then I think we should, although not sure Chelsea will want him to leave permanently or that we are an attractive enough proposition to secure his services for the season (hope I am wrong though).
Gilmour had a few great games for Chelsea at the beginning of his career and has pretty much stalled ever since. He did little at Norwich and I am not sure he would be a great acquisition but he has age on his side and Lampard apparently likes and rates him, so maybe is worth a shot, but definitely not at the expense of any of the other people we may be able to get from Chelsea.
Pulisic is a cracking player when fit but do not see any world where he thinks a move to Everton is a good one for him, and his injury record means we are just as likely to need another couch in the treatment room as we are to see him shine and a signing such as him would mean huge wages which, coupled with his injury record, make this way too much of a risk even if it was in the slightest bit likely.
Morgan Gibbs White again is a decent prospect but definitely not worth anything like Wolves seem to want for him and I see little point in moving Gordon out and then utilising the vast majority of the money coming in on a player I feel is less of a prospect than Gordon is.
Broja I have not seen a massive amount of, but is a decent age and relatively highly rated at Chelsea it seems, so possibly worth a punt, as we need to be looking for a long term replacement for DCL as along with his injury record I do not think he will be signing a new contract with us if he gets back to his best form and if he never gets that form back we need a better option than him anyway.
Gordon’s potential transfer to Chelsea - now whilst I accept the money is probably too good to turn down, some of the players we are being linked with make me fear that any money brought in will be wasted on 2/3 players who will never be anything special. He is fast, direct and maybe does lack the final ball, or shot, but let’s look who he is playing with. His assists will be low as we do not create masses of chances or score many goals as we do not have forwards who score a lot, or a midfield who create a lot, this means he is often going to be a focus of defences as teams are not too worried by the other ‘threats’ we possess. Talking to a Villa fan before the match on Saturday and he was so worried about how they would fail to deal with Gordon, but that was their only worry. To lose him from the side is something which can only be done if the right replacements are lined up.
Now, having said all of that I have no idea who the right forwards are to bring in, but unless we add creativity into the mix I am not sure it is going to matter. If we create a lot of chances then even poor strikers will score goals for us so I say get Garner, Gallagher (although I do not rate our chances with this one) and then a couple of forwards and then we can let Gordon go, but if we are only going to get the likes of MGW, Maupay or Adams then we need to keep hold of Gordon, in my opinion anyway.
It is a critical time for the club and I just hope those in charge make the right decisions but whoever pulls on the shirt I will support them as long as they are putting in the required effort. even if it is from behind the sofa as another horror season unfolds!
