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So far, so good.
Zabaletta is a quality signing, Byram, Cresswell, Ogbonna and Reid can all learn so much from him. He still has so much to offer. I don't expect to see him running the wing, I do expect him to be marshalling the right side of the defence though.
Hart. Never been a big fan. Always felt he flapped at crosses & made poor decisions at set pieces. Superb reaction shot stopper and very vocal towards his defence. Lets hope that's a positive and helps to gel them into a unit. Certainly an improvement on Randolph, (he'll do well at the Smoggies), in my opinion, not much in it over Adrian. Last season I believe that Adrian became complacent until dropped. Then Randolph had a good run and was rightly first choice. Then, when it started to unravel for him, Adrian should have been brought back quicker than he was. The difference he made when he did come back, it was obvious he'd had a stern word with himself and sorted himself out. Perhaps now there is stiff competition from Hart for the position it will fire him on even further.
Arnautovic. Was a beast of a player initially at Stoke. Big, strong, good feet & an eye for goal. When ever I've seen him play, which isn't often and lots of highlights, most of the time he's had a positive impact on the game. He can be anonymous but I think that's usually him being marked heavily and taken out of the game. Even then, because so much attention has been put upon him, it's left gaps for others to exploit. I don't expect him to be a midfield general or a goal machine. I expect him to be a good work horse who'll put a shift in either making life very difficult for the opposition or drawing them out & making gaps.
Hernandez. I know very little about him as I've not really seen him too much. I do know that he has a sharp eye for goal, especially inside the 18 yard box. Has an uncanny knack of right place, right time, right shot. If the ball is pinging about after a corner / free kick, it's him you want in there to tap / toe punt / smash / head it into the net.
With Antonio one side & Arnautovic the other, Lanzini in the middle, Hernandez up front, Kouyate & Obiang behind them, we do look a threat going forward. I am struggling to see where Mark "Mr Sideways" Noble will fit in though. Perhaps it's time for him to move on. Perhaps not now but come January, who knows.
Cresswell, in my opinion, needs to up his game. He is being fought by Masuaku for the Left Back position and in the preseason games so far, Masuaku is winning.
I would like to see another striker brought in. Carroll is a spent force. Sakho, who remembers him? If his injuries continue as they have, I expect to see his contract terminated by mutual consent. Fletcher is still rough around the edges and needs to spend more time with the first team to hone his skills, especially in the not shooting straight at the keeper department.
Reid's injury is a blow. It would have been helpful for him to play alongside Ogbonna preseason to get the relationship working again.
Overall, I think our signings have been improvements, not massively but they will improve the squad. I don't think there are any prima donna's there which is what we need after the Payet affair.
It's certainly looking a lot more positive now than it was this time last week. And with time to make some more additions, who knows.
Zabaletta is a quality signing, Byram, Cresswell, Ogbonna and Reid can all learn so much from him. He still has so much to offer. I don't expect to see him running the wing, I do expect him to be marshalling the right side of the defence though.
Hart. Never been a big fan. Always felt he flapped at crosses & made poor decisions at set pieces. Superb reaction shot stopper and very vocal towards his defence. Lets hope that's a positive and helps to gel them into a unit. Certainly an improvement on Randolph, (he'll do well at the Smoggies), in my opinion, not much in it over Adrian. Last season I believe that Adrian became complacent until dropped. Then Randolph had a good run and was rightly first choice. Then, when it started to unravel for him, Adrian should have been brought back quicker than he was. The difference he made when he did come back, it was obvious he'd had a stern word with himself and sorted himself out. Perhaps now there is stiff competition from Hart for the position it will fire him on even further.
Arnautovic. Was a beast of a player initially at Stoke. Big, strong, good feet & an eye for goal. When ever I've seen him play, which isn't often and lots of highlights, most of the time he's had a positive impact on the game. He can be anonymous but I think that's usually him being marked heavily and taken out of the game. Even then, because so much attention has been put upon him, it's left gaps for others to exploit. I don't expect him to be a midfield general or a goal machine. I expect him to be a good work horse who'll put a shift in either making life very difficult for the opposition or drawing them out & making gaps.
Hernandez. I know very little about him as I've not really seen him too much. I do know that he has a sharp eye for goal, especially inside the 18 yard box. Has an uncanny knack of right place, right time, right shot. If the ball is pinging about after a corner / free kick, it's him you want in there to tap / toe punt / smash / head it into the net.
With Antonio one side & Arnautovic the other, Lanzini in the middle, Hernandez up front, Kouyate & Obiang behind them, we do look a threat going forward. I am struggling to see where Mark "Mr Sideways" Noble will fit in though. Perhaps it's time for him to move on. Perhaps not now but come January, who knows.
Cresswell, in my opinion, needs to up his game. He is being fought by Masuaku for the Left Back position and in the preseason games so far, Masuaku is winning.
I would like to see another striker brought in. Carroll is a spent force. Sakho, who remembers him? If his injuries continue as they have, I expect to see his contract terminated by mutual consent. Fletcher is still rough around the edges and needs to spend more time with the first team to hone his skills, especially in the not shooting straight at the keeper department.
Reid's injury is a blow. It would have been helpful for him to play alongside Ogbonna preseason to get the relationship working again.
Overall, I think our signings have been improvements, not massively but they will improve the squad. I don't think there are any prima donna's there which is what we need after the Payet affair.
It's certainly looking a lot more positive now than it was this time last week. And with time to make some more additions, who knows.
