24 | Joško Gvardiol - 2025/26

Blue tiger said:
I'd argue our last 3 summer windows haven't been great, which includes the summer 23 when Gvardiol was brought in. So If you want to be pendantic the last 29 months or so haven't been great transfer wise.
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Not being pedantic, I was answering what you said. For what it’s worth, I agree.

But Gvardiol isn’t the same as Savinho, for example. It’s clear he’s not shit.
 
Blue tiger said:
He makes too many though. Seen a few comments like "He played well apart from the penalty." And that's precisely the point, there is no point playing well for 99% of a game if you are going to drop bollocks that potentially lead to goals. He also has a terrible habit of letting the ball bounce when the opposition play it long.
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I disagree, and I don't think there is a better young defender in the game. Yesterday was a poor decision though, I accept that.
 
I know loads are protective over him and/or think he is brilliant but I remain baffled. He isn't overly quick, his short range/quick passing isn't reliable, he doesn't respond or react to danger that well and has absolute brain farts that lead to full blown meltdowns. I think looking technically good and being left footed with the ability to hit a diag or a decent ball into Haaland goes a long way in convincing people that he is a world beater tbh - similar to Laporte. I've never seen a player have his errors skirted over or whitewashed as much in my life.
 
Blue tiger said:
I'd argue our last 3 summer windows haven't been great, which includes the summer 23 when Gvardiol was brought in. So If you want to be pendantic the last 29 months or so haven't been great transfer wise.
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We won’t know that for a few years to come yet.

If, by the time Gvardiol, Khusanov, Reis, Nico, Cherki, Savinho and Doku are in the 25-29 age bracket and aren’t top players by then, then we can say these last few years were poor in terms of recruitment.

However, these are all young men still (20-23). Young men with flaws and inconsistencies coming into a club in transition. There’s years of growth in them and in this team.

This is the biggest rebuild we’ve had since the first few years of the takeover, 15-17 years ago.

Not everything has to be immediate.

I happened to have Sky Sports News on randomly last week and Jamie O’Hara was on a video call with a Chelsea fan. O’Hara was saying Chelsea’s recent huge spending has been a failure because they haven’t challenged for the league and it’s odd that talk of Maresca getting the sack hasn’t surfaced, but the Chelsea fan was rightly saying that most of their signings are with the nod to them only starting to get in their true prime in about the 2027-28 season and it’s all about being patient.

O’Hara is an idiot, but he is an example of what millions of football fans think.

With us, even Haaland and Foden have only just got into about the first year of the prime age. And even they’ve both got things they need to improve on. Never mind younger players than them.

Add to that others like O’Reilly who are young lads coming through… we are a team in true transition.

Don’t get me wrong, seeing a 27 year old in Reijnders look like one of those young 21 year old new signings who needs a season to settle in, is disappointing. 27 year olds should be hitting the ground running and taking games by the scruff of the neck with confidence due to being bang in their prime. But most of the rest aren’t anywhere near being that sort of player yet.

Take Gvardiol, while it’s his thread; he was younger, at 21, when we signed him than all the main centre backs we’ve signed since the takeover; Stones was 22, Kompany 22, Dias 23, Aké 25, Akanji 27, Laporte 24, Otamendi 27, Demichelis 32, Lescott 27, Kolo 28… and even in his third season with us now he’s still only older than two in that list.
 
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I was a bit unsure how to take his recent TV interviews , didn't seem in a great frame of mind
Likeable lad and hope he has a great career but wouldn't be a huge shock if he went back to a European league, say Italy or Spain.
 
.db. said:
We won’t know that for a few years to come yet.

If, by the time Gvardiol, Khusanov, Reis, Nico, Cherki, Savinho and Doku are in the 25-29 age bracket and aren’t top players by then, then we can say these last few years were poor in terms of recruitment.

However, these are all young men still (20-23). Young men with flaws and inconsistencies coming into a club in transition. There’s years of growth in them and in this team.

This is the biggest rebuild we’ve had since the first few years of the takeover, 15-17 years ago.

Not everything has to be immediate.

I happened to have Sky Sports News on randomly last week and Jamie O’Hara was on a video call with a Chelsea fan. O’Hara was saying Chelsea’s recent huge spending has been a failure because they haven’t challenged for the league and it’s odd that talk of Maresca getting the sack hasn’t surfaced, but the Chelsea fan was rightly saying that most of their signings are with the nod to them only starting to get in their true prime in about the 2027-28 season and it’s all about being patient.

O’Hara is an idiot, but he is an example of what millions of football fans think.

With us, even Haaland and Foden have only just got into about the first year of the prime age. And even they’ve both got things they need to improve on. Never mind younger players than them.

Add to that others like O’Reilly who are young lads coming through… we are a team in true transition.

Don’t get me wrong, seeing a 27 year old in Reijnders look like one of those young 21 year old new signings who needs a season to settle in, is disappointing. 27 year olds should be hitting the ground running and taking games by the scruff of the neck with confidence due to being bang in their prime. But most of the rest aren’t anywhere near being that sort of player yet.

Take Gvardiol, while it’s his thread; he was younger, at 21, when we signed him than all the main centre backs we’ve signed since the takeover; Stones was 22, Kompany 22, Dias 23, Aké 25, Akanji 27, Laporte 24, Otamendi 27, Demichelis 32, Lescott 27, Kolo 28… and even in his third season with us now he’s still only older than two in that list.
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Listen mate I obviously hope you're right, but I honestly just don't and have never seen the fuss with the lad. For me he makes too many silly mistakes, is poor in the air and gets bullied too easy. I can understand that we are in a rebuild and things take time, but for me personally every player we've signed since the treble barring maybe Donnarumma have been inferior to the players we've let go or have grown old and left. I'll gladly eat humble pie if I'm wrong.
 
I like parts of his game and have stuck up for him in the past but this is his third season now so I'm starting to expect a bit more. He just seems a bit soft and takes too many chances. He's still 23 I suppose and he's doing well on the whole this season but I'm just not sure he'll ever have the bollocks.
 
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