Agree. I remember how frustrating Nani was on bad day at his age (25) but feck me, I would have a 25yo Nani back in a heartbeat over playing Mata on the right wing. At least he was a threat you couldn't ignore and could produce magic on occasion too.
He was just as good the season before and mostly played as a winger, and also looks just as threatening as he does when he plays centrally. I feel like Palace mainly use him as a CF due to that pace in behind the defence (Benteke doesn't move so it's needed) but he's threatening when he plays anywhere across the front 3. Not a case of a player only thriving due to a positional change.
Yeah, exactly. I'm a fan of wide players who take risks, frustrating at times for sure but they can wreak havoc on opposition defenders and their unpredictability means that they're often the players who unlock tight packed, disciplined defences. The market is a total mess, so for a player proven in the premier league who has bags of talent and is pretty much often a one man act for Palace, you'd expect to pay a significant fee. Like I said, you have to think not 'what is he worth if all is fair and neutral' but 'what is he worth to Palace?' and the answer is a hell of a lot. They aren't going to risk losing him for 40 million or so, that's absolutely nothing in this market.
Fair enough
I think considering we sold him for £3 million we should have been able to get the buyback in there. Would be different if we sold him for something like what we paid for him, but at that price he was always going to work out for Palace.
Well we only got him for 10m in the first place and we sold him for 3m plus a sell on fee which by the sounds of it (it's been described as "massive") would result in a profit of multiple times the difference. Sounds like we did good business, so it seems over the top to criticise the club for that.
I think thats half of what he was worth at the time so I did think there would be the buyback option in there.
I've watched them too and Zaha is the perfect player for their level of teams. Despite all his good performances, you can still see moments of absolute stupidty and cluelessness in his football, moments that won't be as forgiven if playing for a much bigger team with bigger pressure.
A lot of those "perfect for this level", "not good enough for a big team" arguments were levelled at Mane too.
Fundamentally disagree. Like @MadMike says, these are the kind of arguments that are often used for key men at lower teams .. Mane being a good example. I think he's a fantastic player who is fully capable of making the step-up, think it will be next summer.
Strange comparison. Mirallas was never a talisman for Everton the way Zaha is for Palace. Lukaku was always the most talented forward in that team by a wide margin. Zaha carries the Palace attack on his own and has to play next to absolute dross like Benteke who was the butt of all the jokes for his missed chances last season. Neither did Mirallas ever have this X factor of great power/pace/dribbling that Zaha has. At his best, he was a very good cog in the Everton attack but he never stood out from his peers.
Just like there are just as many examples, if not more of players who failed when given the chance to join a bigger club. We're not talking about making the jump from a decent to a serious competitor here, but a relegation fodder to a serious competitor. The number of players who are able to make the jump is incredibly and nothing in Zaha makes me think he could do it.
I never said I was right, just gave my opinion that's all. There is a reason he's been playing at Palace for a while. Nowhere near good enough and for Mané there are many more who have failed when given the chance to play for a much bigger team.
Crystal Palace are a mid-table team with Zaha .. finished 11th last season. They're only 'relegation fodder' when they don't have him available.
He was 21 when he came and the club was in a shambolic state under Moyes. He is a class player today , he would be fantastic here.
He was a very young player coming to a United team managed by Moyes. Plenty of youngsters fail at that age because they aren't ready for a top side, go elsewhere and develop, and return. Mane was a 'mid table talisman' and now he's a key player for Liverpool. Personally I think he made a mature decision by getting out of United quickly, rather than staying and allowing his career to rot he was prepared to drop down and improve his game at an unglamorous team. He's since proved he's too good for them and is deserving of another chance at a big side.
Good post.
And he only played 2 games here anyway. Like you said, the club was in a mess and he was not ready himself then.
Some very good points made.
Honestly because a Palace fan would watch him more than me means jack shit as we all are avid PL viewers. When I think I shouldn't give my opinion on a matter because of lack of knowledge and information I just simply won't talk about it. I've seen enough of him to think he's perfect for the level he's playing at, I see nothing in his game that makes me think he could step up. That is how it is, either accept it or don't, it's your problem. Zaha carrying Crystal Palace doesn't impress me, they're fecking shit and he stands out among their rubbish squad.
I don't have a problem with that, we obviously just rate the player differently. I expect one of us will be proven right at some point. All I was refuting was the argument that people who have watched him enough all know he isn't good enough when it simply isn't true.
I know I didn't make that argument so not sure what to tell you. All I do is talk about my opinion, the rest doesn't matter to me.
Agreed.
Did we ever figure out what the clause entails? Do we just have first refusal at whatever price they accept from someone else or is there a set price? Surely if it were a set price, it would be a bargain fee by today's standards - although he seems like the antithesis of a Mourinho player.
Since you seem to be so certain of a buy-back can you link a source?
I believe we have a significant sell on clause, not a buy back clause.
Must be wrong.Transfer Talk: Spurs' Zaha chase shut down by Palace
kwese.espn.com
20 Jun 2018 · Crystal Palace will offer Wilfried Zaha more than £120000 a week to ... full-back who has an affordable buyout clause of "just" £5.2 million.
Googled and found this. No idea, if credible.
Even if that was true, that’s an agreement between the player and the club. It’s not an agreement between the two clubs, that we can purchase the player at a particular price (and no-one else can) - this is not a buy back agreement.Transfer Talk: Spurs' Zaha chase shut down by Palace
kwese.espn.com
20 Jun 2018 · Crystal Palace will offer Wilfried Zaha more than £120000 a week to ... full-back who has an affordable buyout clause of "just" £5.2 million
Googled and found this. No idea, if credible.
Guys, I didn't read it. I don't give a toss.
just showing he didn't pluck it from his imagination. Transfer Talk: Spurs' Zaha chase shut down by Palace
kwese.espn.com
20 Jun 2018 · Crystal Palace will offer Wilfried Zaha more than £120000 a week to ... full-back who has an affordable buyout clause of "just" £5.2 million.
Googled and found this. No idea, if credible.
