2018/19 Gylfi Sigurdsson

[Nyhus]

Why do you say that?

You came at me with your «when he’s not the player you obviously thought he was» comment. Seems like a weird reaction to me saying some of our fans are garbage people because they do nothing but whine and cry about bs all day, every day, unless I hurt your feelings by saying so.

 

[Billysgingham.]

You came at me with your «when he’s not the player you obviously thought he was» comment. Seems like a weird reaction to me saying some of our fans are garbage people because they do nothing but whine and cry about bs all day, every day, unless I hurt your feelings by saying so.

I didn't come at you at all,you went at some of the fans for correctly identifying him as an overrated player,which in my opinion i agree with and I assumed you didn't agree.

 

[mkrudden]

Goodness me this thread doesn't change, does it?

We overpaid for Gylfi. Massively. £45m was an insane price. I think we all agree on that. I have been a fan for several years, and remember some regulars on here suggesting he'd be a good signing even when he was at Reading. He has always been a player with obvious technical ability and I was an advocate of buying him if the chance arose. HOWEVER there is a point with every player where the quoted fee is simply above what he is worth to the buying club. Sadly, due to inept work by Steve Walsh, we left ourselves with very few options late in the window last year and a relatively inexperienced owner mistakenly felt that it was important to appease a noisy section of the fanbase with a "big money" signing. At £25m it was a no-brainer, but we should have just walked away when prices above £30m started getting thrown around.

Does that mean Gylfi is a crap player? No.
Does it mean fan expectations of him have been elevated? Yes.
Does it mean that it will be incredibly difficult for him to ever perform regularly at a high enough level to meet those expectations? Yes.
If he does not meet these raised expectations, is it likely that many fans will feel that he has failed to justify his fee? Yes.
Was he responsible for his transfer fee being that high? No.
Is this particularly fair on him? No.
Does he nonetheless have an opportunity, every time he is selected, to deliver a performance that will impress the fans? Yes.

Over to you Gylfi. A big part of "justifying the fee" will be achieved simply by being seen to obviously be trying to justify the fee... so start working on corner deliveries and racking up assists. Because believe me, once Silva has all the other pieces in place for his preferred 4-3-3, there is no starting spot in the lineup for Gylfi. He just doesn't fit. He's a 10 in a 4-2-3-1 or the tip of a midfield diamond - that's it. The only way this changes is if the team and Gylfi in particular start turning in consistently good performances in the 4-2-3-1, making Silva possibly review his preferences.

I really liked all of this apart from:

"once Silva has all the other pieces in place for his preferred 4-3-3, there is no starting spot in the lineup for Gylfi"

Simply because I don't think you, I or anyone knows that.

But the rest of it, spot on mate.

 

[mkrudden]

It means nothing, people are looking at him as a 45m player, whats that? Was John Stones a 3m player, or Gueye a 7m player? What is a 3m or a 7m player? You cant put an expectation level on a player based on a fee, its ridiculous to judge a player based solely on what was paid for him.
Besides we tried to get him for less then 45m and Swansea wouldnt budge, we didnt value him at 45m, they did and we no choice once we decided we wanted that player

What I think quite a few do is use the fee as a barometer of just ability, which just isn't right.

Signings - especially these perceived 'marquee' ones are made for all sorts of economical reasons, on top of ability.

Look at the very top end of the scale. Is Pogba an 89m player? If you compare what 89m used to get you in terms of quality- he isn't. There is no doubt that there are many players bought for less than 89m who are performing better than Paul Pogba which, again, brings scrutiny upon the justification of the fee.

Paul Pogba though is a celebrity. He's got his own hashtags / emojis. He is a renowned icon in world football. So through shirt sales, endorsements, just his name alone he is worth the 89m (when also of course factoring in he's pretty bloody good at togger).

Sigurdssen isn't Paul Pogba. But he is the captain of his country, a small one however one who recently beat England so they aren't mugs and have a decent fan following. He was also Swansea's star player, coming off the back of a season where he arguably single handedly kept them up.

Then there's the optimism snaring someone like that which positively affects the balance sheet. More shirt buys, yes, but in theory more season ticket sales (waiting list additions), more match day sales, more membership buys. It's all factored in when buying someone perceived to be 'marquee' as Sigurdssen was. And Swansea knew this AND didn't want to sell the player that without they would go down. And, crucially to my point, THEY DID.

Throw in the value of his ability- 25m to 30m and you've got your 40m rising to 45m.

No-one will ever convince me we overpaid because, in summary, it's not just his ability which a player is priced on.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

What I think quite a few do is use the fee as a barometer of just ability, which just isn't right.

Signings - especially these perceived 'marquee' ones are made for all sorts of economical reasons, on top of ability.

Look at the very top end of the scale. Is Pogba an 89m player? If you compare what 89m used to get you in terms of quality- he isn't. There is no doubt that there are many players bought for less than 89m who are performing better than Paul Pogba which, again, brings scrutiny upon the justification of the fee.

Paul Pogba though is a celebrity. He's got his own hashtags / emojis. He is a renowned icon in world football. So through shirt sales, endorsements, just his name alone he is worth the 89m (when also of course factoring in he's pretty bloody good at togger).

Sigurdssen isn't Paul Pogba. But he is the captain of his country, a small one however one who recently beat England so they aren't mugs and have a decent fan following. He was also Swansea's star player, coming off the back of a season where he arguably single handedly kept them up.

Then there's the optimism snaring someone like that which positively affects the balance sheet. More shirt buys, yes, but in theory more season ticket sales (waiting list additions), more match day sales, more membership buys. It's all factored in when buying someone perceived to be 'marquee' as Sigurdssen was. And Swansea knew this AND didn't want to sell the player that without they would go down. And, crucially to my point, THEY DID.

Throw in the value of his ability- 25m to 30m and you've got your 40m rising to 45m.

No-one will ever convince me we overpaid because, in summary, it's not just his ability which a player is priced on.

Superb post.

 

[mkrudden]

Superb post.

Thanks matey

 

[Nyhus]

I didn't come at you at all,you went at some of the fans for correctly identifying him as an overrated player,which in my opinion i agree with and I assumed you didn't agree.

He isnt overrated, but he did cost too much.

 

[Billysgingham.]

He isnt overrated, but he did cost too much.

In your opinion he is not,in mine vastly.

 

[COYBL25]

I reckon if we boo him he'll get even better

Count me in.

 

[Carlito]

It may be the fee, but there is a general trend by a few who may or may not be Everton fans, to criticize Everton players regardless. I can't explain it. Coleman is copping it now, aside from Sigurdsson and several others. A little further back, Lukaku, who is a world class player, was hammered on here for lack of effort, he does not care about Everton etc. It's the way it is.

I'll never get over how people can watch him attempt to bring a ball under control and feel as though they're watching a world-class footballer.

 

[Nyhus]

In your opinion he is not,in mine vastly.

I didnt go after fans for thinking he’s overrated, I went after people alway moaning and whining like children whatever the reason. Not liking a player is fine, spamming hatefull bs everyday isnt.

 

[Mikey_Fitzgerald]

I think he's been playing well recently

 

[riddick]

Then there's the optimism snaring someone like that which positively affects the balance sheet. More shirt buys, yes, but in theory more season ticket sales (waiting list additions), more match day sales, more membership buys. It's all factored in when buying someone perceived to be 'marquee' as Sigurdssen was. And Swansea knew this AND didn't want to sell the player that without they would go down. And, crucially to my point, THEY DID.

But almost none of that fits for Sigurdsson. He was never "perceived" as a marquee signing, I sincerely doubt that purchasing him led to even the slightest upticks in both season tickets and normal match day revenue.

He's, on his day, a below average to above average football player that we overpaid massively for in both terms of wages and transfer fee.

 

[Billysgingham.]

I didnt go after fans for thinking he’s overrated, I went after people alway moaning and whining like children whatever the reason. Not liking a player is fine, spamming hatefull bs everyday isnt.

Isn't that what happens on forums like this?Don't some people come on here just to wind people up?I don't see the point myself how do you know if people are winding you up unless you can see them or they are well known for it.

 

[kenada_blue]

What I think quite a few do is use the fee as a barometer of just ability, which just isn't right.

Signings - especially these perceived 'marquee' ones are made for all sorts of economical reasons, on top of ability.

Look at the very top end of the scale. Is Pogba an 89m player? If you compare what 89m used to get you in terms of quality- he isn't. There is no doubt that there are many players bought for less than 89m who are performing better than Paul Pogba which, again, brings scrutiny upon the justification of the fee.

Paul Pogba though is a celebrity. He's got his own hashtags / emojis. He is a renowned icon in world football. So through shirt sales, endorsements, just his name alone he is worth the 89m (when also of course factoring in he's pretty bloody good at togger).

Sigurdssen isn't Paul Pogba. But he is the captain of his country, a small one however one who recently beat England so they aren't mugs and have a decent fan following. He was also Swansea's star player, coming off the back of a season where he arguably single handedly kept them up.

Then there's the optimism snaring someone like that which positively affects the balance sheet. More shirt buys, yes, but in theory more season ticket sales (waiting list additions), more match day sales, more membership buys. It's all factored in when buying someone perceived to be 'marquee' as Sigurdssen was. And Swansea knew this AND didn't want to sell the player that without they would go down. And, crucially to my point, THEY DID.

Throw in the value of his ability- 25m to 30m and you've got your 40m rising to 45m.

No-one will ever convince me we overpaid because, in summary, it's not just his ability which a player is priced on.

I wouldn't say so. We paid that because the last regime wanted him at all costs. At that price we broke the bank because he was going to be a key player to a new Everton and replacing Ross Barkley, ready to hit the ground running.

So even removing the price tag, he was brought in to be a big game star player for us just like, as compared to, Paul Pogba.

Thing is, Pogba is younger and has actually dominated games (see against us last season). He's also just won a world cup as a key member of the squad. So price tag wise, it's very justified.

Siggurdson hasn't and struggled to be that. What he is, is okay