Fabian Delph

[meeesh]

Yes, because I don't rate Delph I only want 11 world class players. Solid reasoning there. It's not as if I've constantly berated those who say "Would x get into Barca/Madrid's squad", oh wait I have because I fully understand the idea of a squad. Still doesn't mean I can't view Delph as bang average at best.

Townsend is an England international and HG, wouldn't touch him with a barge pole though. So is Lambert, Cleverly hell even Jamie Vardy. It's hardly a merit badge these days that makes them better than they are.

Villa's best player last season,and been England's best player in recent games be a useful addition surely ?

 

[pudge]

Yes but as RM have proven over the years, having 11 galactico's doesn't mean you have the best team.

You need your water carriers dotted about to be the glue of the team

Remember Utds sucessful Champs league squad? that had Ronnie Johnson in there, he didn't get much prem time, but was ideal for a certain job. He wasn't a mega star, he did the right job needed

That was my point and I fully agree. If our first XI range from 8/10 players and the rest of the squad from 6/10, I see Delph, again, as bang average at 5/10.

If he's willing to give up Villa's captaincy, a spot in the England team and sit behind Yaya, Dinho and possibly Pogba then fair enough but I think that the aforementioned points will hit home soon enough for him.

 

[Damien10]

He's a great buy for 8 million. He's an improvement on both Lampard and Fernando. *Energy*

 

[Calv_from_the_frog]

Delph a shrewd move for a few reasons.



IIRC he is not only English, but a northerner (started at Dirty Leeds, no ?)

Can share suspensions with the Fernands

Decent enough player, and adds the grit and persistence that we lost with the departure of Milner to Liverpool

Speaking of Liverpool, it forces them to be realistic regarding Sterling as the 'home-grown' factor reduces as we'd have 4 anyway (Hart, Wright, Clichy, Delph).



This last one is the key.

 

[pudge]

Villa's best player last season,and been England's best player in recent games be a useful addition surely ?

Being Villa's best player is akin to being the least fattest kid at fat camp tbf.

 

[crystal_mais]

good addition if it happens

 

[valleyblue]

good addition if it happens

At £8 million - its a no brainer, brings work ethic, good ability, good retention of the ball, he can tackle, create and has fantastic energy.
A really good addition to the squad.

 

[.A.]

Darren Fletcher and Park Ji-Sung were crucial for the Rags in Europe; no English team is ever going to dominate Europe with a tiki-taka style of play.

An English team in Europe has to be dynamic, decisive and defensively synchronised; you can't out-pass Barcelona, so why bother trying? Our quickest route to the pinnacle of the European game is the Atletico/Dortmund way; with dynamism and a team of compatible players who all maximise and neutralise each other's strengths/weaknesses. In that regard, Delph can do the graft that Toure and Silva can't, allowing them to focus on making an impact in the attacking phase. The role Gareth Barry used to play, and one we haven't been able to properly fill since.

The signing Barry in 2009 wouldn't have excited too many either, but he proved to be a fantastic buy; the parallels between the two players are there to be observed. Barry had just established himself as an England regular, as Delph has. Both were Villa captain at the time of purchase and both have a similar simplistic passing game that keeps play ticking over. Only difference (beyond race) is that Delph is a bit more tenacious.

We've tried bringing the likes of Garcia and Fernando in, highly regarded midfield anchors from abroad, and they've both been unable to cope with the physicality of this league. Delph ticks every box and will hopefully provide a long-term solution to that problem.

 

[Taylor]

For £8m we really can't go wrong, homegrown and easily a better option than Fernando.

Not a stellar signing by any means but as pointed out we need grafters to accommodate the world class players.

He's a bargain for that price. Money well spent if true.

 

[Sergio Picasso Aguero]

8m is a steal for a HG player these days but it makes you realise how stupid the rules are in the first place. We are spending 8m + wages on a player *mainly* due to his nationality who will be on the bench most of the time. The FA's rules are there to benefit English players but enforcing a rule that says "You must have this many homegrown players" is doing the opposite in this case because he will get virtually no playing time. Clubs should be able to have as many homegrown players as they want rather than just forcing them to buy players that they wouldn't normally be interested in. I wish the lad well but we all know why we're buying him and he will go the same way as Sinclair and once again we will be given the label of "City ruin English players" when if the ridiculous rules weren't there in the first place we wouldn't have even bought him.