I have no idea
21
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 44
- Goals
- 8
- Assists
- 3
- Yellow cards
- 8
- Status
it’s not a leap, those are the facts, we could have kept Dialo let him compete with Sancho and bought two players one Young CFW and one attacking midfielder
This is what I highlighted as a leap by the way. Someone getting a couple of injuries to player x has a brittle mentality is a leap
He’s actually not even that young. He’s 23 years old with over 170 professional appearances for club and country. We’re not talking about some raw teenager here with years worth of development ahead of him. He’s older then the likes of Saka, Martinelli, Vinicius & Rodrygo for example. Players that are currently lightyears ahead of him in both ability and output. Those are the level of players we need and he’s shown nothing in his career thus far to indicate he’ll ever reach those levels. And yes, that includes his time at Ajax & Sao Paulo which are good indicators to the level of talent he actually has. Because if you’re not able to stand out in the Brazilian or Dutch leagues then you’re very unlikely to stand out in the PL.
The only silver lining in all of this is that ETH is betting that Antony will develop in a year or two. Otherwise, this would've been a calamitous squandering of money that could've easily been applied elsewhere.
Good points.
Players develop at different rates. He just turned 23, which is obviously young. It's his first season in the Prem. Mahrez at his age was playing in the 2nd french league for Le Havre and then was signed by Leicester in the Championship. 2e all expect improvements, and he has shown plenty of encouraging signs. Let's not pretend like he's the finished article because Saka and Vini Jr are already top players.
i'd like to see him have a go down the left. Get some dangerous crosses in on his natural side, beat his man and get to the byline. Inverted wingers are great when they have a lot of end product (Arjen Robben) One thing Antony has shown is that he does have excellent delivery and we need to make more use of it.
I don't think he's the finished article either, but there are some ominous warning sings that his ceiling isn't too far from where he already is now. Much will obviously depend on his own attitude and work ethic.
Yeah think you are spot on
One thing that amazes me is how Ajax did not sell at 50mil...whoever is responsible for their transfer dealings must be one hell of a poker player.
Excellent delivery? He's got one assist all season. The two things can't co-exist.
Quick question - for how many of the other top 9 was it their first season in the PL?
How many cost nearly 90 million?
None but us being a terribly run club doesn’t change the facts on the ground.
What were Saka’s numbers like in his first season in the PL? And Salah’s?
It’s going to be interesting to see him in his second season. I think he’ll be better next season with a year experience under his belt.
Saka was 17 years old 1 goal and 5 assists in 26 matches.
Salah was 21 years old 2 goals and 1 assists in 10 matches (of which he only started in 6)
Martinelli was 18 years old with 3 goals and 0 assists in 14 matches (of which he only started in 6)
Antony at 22 years old has 4 goals and 1 assist in 22 matches.
Very similar to Salah then, albeit Antony obviously started more.
I was like this when we bidded 60million for Maguire. I was firstly stunned that we bid so much and then taken aback they had the gall to reject it
Well yes, in fact Antony has started 20 of those 22 so there is quite a difference.
Mahrez had 4 goals and 3 assists in 30 apps (25 starts) at age 23/24 (they almost share a birthday, so he was exactly a year older than Antony is now).
Of course there are zero guarantees that Antony develops into a player even remotely as good as someone like Mahrez, but to write him off already is obviously daft.
Of course there are zero guarantees that Antony develops into a player even remotely as good as someone like Mahrez, but to write him off already is obviously daft.
Antony is/was more experienced than Mahrez at that stage having played more than double the first team games. it is not a correct comparison
Expecting players to consistently thrive in a team that is going through yet another transitional period is bizarre. If he demonstrates the same level of output next season then obviously questions need to be asked, but it's far too early. Nobody in our team has consistently performed throughout the season and that's because we are still very much a work in progress.
Mahrez is a weird one. Looking at his season history he usually jumps between a mediocre and monster season regularly.
2014 / 2015 season = 30 matches - 4 goals - 3 assists
2015 / 2016 season = 37 matches - 17 goals - 11 assists
2016 / 2017 season = 36 matches - 6 goals - 4 assists
2017 / 2018 season = 36 matches - 12 goals - 10 assists
There's obviously no like for like comparison so disregarding any correlation on the basis that the factors aren't identical is silly. It's just to help illustrate the point that development isn't linear.
Same as me, I wanted us to look at other options as soon as we went over 50.
We must be the most milked club in fees and wages in world football
That's exactly the point. Players develop at different rates and different ages. There are no "perfect" comparisons.
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I tend to not look at a persons age I always look at their senior appearances to gauge how far along they are or should be. For Antony to be so raw after 200 odd appearances is a bit of a concern as almost no part of his game is polished as of yet.
How many of them cost over €35m, no make that €70m, no make that €95m, how many of them get paid over £200k per week?
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Lads played one season in a new league, his decision making is terrible at times and he loses possession too much at key moments. He has talent. He just needs to channel it in the right places. A lot is expected of him, I believe he will be better next season providing he works hard on the areas that are obvious he needs to work hard on.
None of which changes the fact that players develop at different rates. And having more performances than many of his peers at a young age is really just evidence that he's better than most other footballers.
the cost outlay is rising week by week. Now earns a transfer kitty as a weekly wagenot necessarily. Depends on many factors. How good or established his competition in his position is. Whether there is a gap in the team. The league/team he plays in. Depay at 21 at similar apps to Rashford and more apps than Greenwood but both the English lads were superior players.
He boarded a plane for medicals near the start of campaign, he didn't have pre-season with United, he arrived in Manchester to move to the new enviroment and few days later bagged a goal vs Arsenal.
Zero preparations whatsoever. If understanding these circumstances are too difficult for someone, then on that logic we should sell half of the squad who had every bit of preparations and failed harder than Antony.
This whole team needs solid kick in the arse, not just Anto.
Zero preparations whatsoever. If understanding these circumstances are too difficult for someone, then on that logic we should sell half of the squad who had every bit of preparations and failed harder than Antony.
This whole team needs solid kick in the arse, not just Anto.
And all three of those players you mention are better than most other footballers in their position. Which was my point.
why people keep bringing up his transfer fee is beyond me. has absolutely nothing to do with the player himself.
Because it’s relevant to expectations. We’ve spent money that left us with nothing left to spend when we needed a striker and is eating into our budget for this summer. When you spend that sun of money they have to make a bigger impact than Antony has.
that's on the club though, you can't blame the player for the price the club chose to spend on him. that's unfair on him.
Of course we could go for cheaper options like we've been linked to Ziyech and Pulisić just before Antony arrived. I presume this would not make people any happier too.
indeed it is
- Status