Nolito - 2016/17 performances

[domalino]

Whether or not he goes down as a bad buy will probably be determined by how much we get for him, if we get most of our money back then you could argue he did a job. If however we let him go for next to nothing, as we have done with others in the past he will be considered a poor purchase.

No. you might judge him as a bad buy based on that, but no one who matters at the club will.

He was bought to be a squad player until the young lads came through, he was bought to make an immediate impact as someone familiar with Pep and the style of play being brought in, he was bought at nearly 30 years old with no one expecting to recoup much of the fee.

He'll stay here at least a couple of seasons, if not the full 3, and if all we get for it is a 10 match winning streak to start the season, helping in the transition under Guardiola and a season or two of solid squad player service, he'll have been a shrewd purchase.

 

[blueinsa]

No. you might judge him as a bad buy based on that, but no one who matters at the club will.

He was bought to be a squad player until the young lads came through, he was bought to make an immediate impact as someone familiar with Pep and the style of play being brought in, he was bought at nearly 30 years old with no one expecting to recoup much of the fee.

He'll stay here at least a couple of seasons, if not the full 3, and if all we get for it is a 10 match winning streak to start the season, helping in the transition under Guardiola and a season or two of solid squad player service, he'll have been a shrewd purchase.

Spot on.

 

[Rolee]

No. you might judge him as a bad buy based on that, but no one who matters at the club will.

He was bought to be a squad player until the young lads came through, he was bought to make an immediate impact as someone familiar with Pep and the style of play being brought in, he was bought at nearly 30 years old with no one expecting to recoup much of the fee.

He'll stay here at least a couple of seasons, if not the full 3, and if all we get for it is a 10 match winning streak to start the season, helping in the transition under Guardiola and a season or two of solid squad player service, he'll have been a shrewd purchase.

It's as if you're inside my head but have that ability to express much more eloquently than I could muster. Another great post Domalino.

 

[MeatHunterrr]

No. you might judge him as a bad buy based on that, but no one who matters at the club will.

He was bought to be a squad player until the young lads came through, he was bought to make an immediate impact as someone familiar with Pep and the style of play being brought in, he was bought at nearly 30 years old with no one expecting to recoup much of the fee.

He'll stay here at least a couple of seasons, if not the full 3, and if all we get for it is a 10 match winning streak to start the season, helping in the transition under Guardiola and a season or two of solid squad player service, he'll have been a shrewd purchase.

Exactly.

 

[Blue Hefner]

If the young player do well out on loan then impress in pre-season training, I can see him being sold in the summer to make space for them

He looked good at the start of the season but has quite dramatically fallen out of favour for some reason

 

[OrigamiNinja]

No. you might judge him as a bad buy based on that, but no one who matters at the club will.

He was bought to be a squad player until the young lads came through, he was bought to make an immediate impact as someone familiar with Pep and the style of play being brought in, he was bought at nearly 30 years old with no one expecting to recoup much of the fee.

He'll stay here at least a couple of seasons, if not the full 3, and if all we get for it is a 10 match winning streak to start the season, helping in the transition under Guardiola and a season or two of solid squad player service, he'll have been a shrewd purchase.

Squad players play football, they don't play every week or every minute of every game but they are there when required as part of a squad rotation. Currently Nolito is not part of any squad rotation, he is practically an outcast. He has gone from playing most games to barely getting a sniff over the course of a third of a season. That is not the role of a squad player, that is the role of a player who has fallen completely out of favour with management. What club in the world pays £10m + on a player for a 10 game cameo? It is ludicrous to suggest the club will be content with his contribution and we can just write off the rest of his time at the club based on those 10 games.

 

[Rolee]

Squad players play football, they don't play every week or every minute of every game but they are there when required as part of a squad rotation. Currently Nolito is not part of any squad rotation, he is practically an outcast. He has gone from playing most games to barely getting a sniff over the course of a third of a season. That is not the role of a squad player, that is the role of a player who has fallen completely out of favour with management. What club in the world pays £10m + on a player for a 10 game cameo? It is ludicrous to suggest the club will be content with his contribution and we can just write off the rest of his time at the club based on those 10 games.

He's made 23 appearances so far mate.

And as Domalino has pointed out, part of the reason he was brought in was to help with transition. Looking at Sané now it seems that worked a treat.

 

[OrigamiNinja]

He's made 23 appearances so far mate.

And as Domalino has pointed out, part of the reason he was brought in was to help with transition. Looking at Sané now it seems that worked a treat.

I agree he was brought in as a squad player but are we seriously saying that there aren't issues when a player barely gets a kick, half a season after joining a new club? You don't give a 3 or 4 year contract to a player, if you only view him as a 6 month stop-gap while the younger players get up to speed. He was Peps guy and now can't get on the pitch for any meaningful length of time. I have been disappointed with his overall contribution and his Lord Lucan act suggests Pep isn't overly enamoured with him either.

 

[Rolee]

I agree he was brought in as a squad player but are we seriously saying that there aren't issues when a player barely gets a kick, half a season after joining a new club? You don't give a 3 or 4 year contract to a player, if you only view him as a 6 month stop-gap while the younger players get up to speed. He was Peps guy and now can't get on the pitch for any meaningful length of time. I have been disappointed with his overall contribution and his Lord Lucan act suggests Pep isn't overly enamoured with him either.

I didn't say he was a 6 month stop gap or that anyone viewed him as such, part of the reason he was bought was to help with transition, another part of the reason he was brought in was to be a squad player.

As for his Lord Lucan act, I'm sure I saw him come on at Palace on Saturday and also came on at West Ham in the cup game fulfilling his role as a squad player.

 

[OrigamiNinja]

I didn't say he was a 6 month stop gap or that anyone viewed him as such, part of the reason he was bought was to help with transition, another part of the reason he was brought in was to be a squad player.

As for his Lord Lucan act, I'm sure I saw him come on at Palace on Saturday and also came on at West Ham in the cup game fulfilling his role as a squad player.

Give over. He came on against West Ham at 4-0 and then came on for 6 minutes against Palace at 2-0. It is crazy to suggest Pep signed him thinking he would be good for 30 mins when winning 4-0 in a cup and 6 mins when winning 2-0 in the same cup almost a month later. Nolito was very much part of the squad rotation at the beginning of the season, now he isnt. I don't even know how anyone could argue this.