Welcome Declan Rice

As we're unlikely to see terraces again at football, this is the virtual equivalent where you can chat to your hearts content about all football matters and, obviously, Arsenal in particular. This forum encourages all Gooners to visit and contribute so please keep it respectful, clean and topical.
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Do you want Rice at Arsenal

Poll ended at Sun Jul 02, 2023 5:51 pm

Yes
18
67%
No
9
33%
 
Total votes: 27

Retro Gunner
Posts: 4433
Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 3:37 pm
Location: Spitalfields

Re: Welcome Declan Rice

Post by Retro Gunner »

Stuart L (2) wrote:
Mon Aug 07, 2023 6:57 pm
nut flush gooner wrote:
Mon Aug 07, 2023 5:31 pm
https://twitter.com/DailyAFC/status/1688302308747059201

This one moment sums up why we spent so much on Rice, we have no one in the squad with this sort of engine/tenacity. Elite is a very appropriate description.

Rice is getting better with every game. I have no doubts about him being a big player for us this season.
That was the moment I was eluding to in my post above yours.

Rice has also had 2 weeks longer playing than our boys and came back later after the European triumph for wham, so is not yet up to speed, properly with fitness or his team mates.

I hope he is that missing cog, to push us on - from his talk, he is certainly excited and thinks we can go places.

I'm gonna need a lot of convincing that we haven't massively overpaid, but to see him in the team instead of the Albanian/Swiss clown is a huge bonus. Let's hope he can rise to the challenge of stepping up to the top level and can thereby raise us up too.

nut flush gooner
Posts: 4093
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 10:23 am

Re: Welcome Declan Rice

Post by nut flush gooner »

Retro Gunner wrote:
Mon Aug 07, 2023 8:42 pm
Stuart L (2) wrote:
Mon Aug 07, 2023 6:57 pm
nut flush gooner wrote:
Mon Aug 07, 2023 5:31 pm
https://twitter.com/DailyAFC/status/1688302308747059201

This one moment sums up why we spent so much on Rice, we have no one in the squad with this sort of engine/tenacity. Elite is a very appropriate description.

Rice is getting better with every game. I have no doubts about him being a big player for us this season.
That was the moment I was eluding to in my post above yours.

Rice has also had 2 weeks longer playing than our boys and came back later after the European triumph for wham, so is not yet up to speed, properly with fitness or his team mates.

I hope he is that missing cog, to push us on - from his talk, he is certainly excited and thinks we can go places.

I'm gonna need a lot of convincing that we haven't massively overpaid, but to see him in the team instead of the Albanian/Swiss clown is a huge bonus. Let's hope he can rise to the challenge of stepping up to the top level and can thereby raise us up too.
Why are you bothered if we have overpaid? I don't think that can be disputed, but by the same token so have a lot of other clubs on new signings. I mean £72m for Hojlund is ridiculous.

I have said this before and I will say it again, football commercially is about to explode, especially the PL. For many years NFL and the IPL has generated more revenues than the PL, which by an large has not tapped into the global market for our football. That is now changing. As a result of that, deals like Rice will become the norm rather than the exception.

The real question is does Rice improve our team/squad. Well I think in just a few games albeit friendlies you can see as he settles in, he definitely is going to improve us. You should be very excited with the current squad, we are maybe only a striker away from seriously competing with City.

Retro Gunner
Posts: 4433
Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 3:37 pm
Location: Spitalfields

Re: Welcome Declan Rice

Post by Retro Gunner »

nut flush gooner wrote:
Tue Aug 08, 2023 7:12 am
Retro Gunner wrote:
Mon Aug 07, 2023 8:42 pm
Stuart L (2) wrote:
Mon Aug 07, 2023 6:57 pm
nut flush gooner wrote:
Mon Aug 07, 2023 5:31 pm
https://twitter.com/DailyAFC/status/1688302308747059201

This one moment sums up why we spent so much on Rice, we have no one in the squad with this sort of engine/tenacity. Elite is a very appropriate description.

Rice is getting better with every game. I have no doubts about him being a big player for us this season.
That was the moment I was eluding to in my post above yours.

Rice has also had 2 weeks longer playing than our boys and came back later after the European triumph for wham, so is not yet up to speed, properly with fitness or his team mates.

I hope he is that missing cog, to push us on - from his talk, he is certainly excited and thinks we can go places.

I'm gonna need a lot of convincing that we haven't massively overpaid, but to see him in the team instead of the Albanian/Swiss clown is a huge bonus. Let's hope he can rise to the challenge of stepping up to the top level and can thereby raise us up too.
Why are you bothered if we have overpaid? I don't think that can be disputed, but by the same token so have a lot of other clubs on new signings. I mean £72m for Hojlund is ridiculous.

I have said this before and I will say it again, football commercially is about to explode, especially the PL. For many years NFL and the IPL has generated more revenues than the PL, which by an large has not tapped into the global market for our football. That is now changing. As a result of that, deals like Rice will become the norm rather than the exception.

The real question is does Rice improve our team/squad. Well I think in just a few games albeit friendlies you can see as he settles in, he definitely is going to improve us. You should be very excited with the current squad, we are maybe only a striker away from seriously competing with City.

Why am I bothered if we’ve overpaid? What sort of a daft question is that? How about because it might stop us buying the top quality striker that you agree we need. I also think we need another centre mid because I don’t think Partey is good enough.

Do you think the club has a bottomless pit of money and that we can spend tens of millions over the top on a player and it doesn’t impact any other spend? Of course it does. If money is absolutely no object for us, why haven’t we offered 300m for Mbappe and offered to pay him 30 million a year?

I can’t believe what some people come out with on here. As for Hojlund, who gives a fuck? I hope other clubs do pay over the top.

I suspect you’re still pissed off because you were going to “remind” me when Ramsdale was vital in winning us the league. How’d that work out? I said nothing at the time because I didn’t want to be petty, but if you want to try to pick me up on bullshit like this, then fuck it.
Last edited by Retro Gunner on Tue Aug 08, 2023 3:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Retro Gunner
Posts: 4433
Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 3:37 pm
Location: Spitalfields

Re: Welcome Declan Rice

Post by Retro Gunner »

Oh and also importantly, £105 m ought to have got us a world class, proven central midfielder. A game changer who automatically lifts the team a level. While I hope Rice rises to the challenge, a world class game changer he isn’t and he won’t be.

For 105m I don’t expect a player that we’re hoping can make the step up. By his own admission, let alone many comments on here, that’s what is being hoped for.

As it stands, he’s a country mile in front of Xhaka, so I’ll take that all day long, but of course we overpaid and that stops money being spent elsewhere. Some of the kindergarten bollocks on here is staggering.

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augie
Posts: 31036
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:03 pm
Location: Ireland

Re: Welcome Declan Rice

Post by augie »

nut flush gooner wrote:
Tue Aug 08, 2023 7:12 am
Retro Gunner wrote:
Mon Aug 07, 2023 8:42 pm
Stuart L (2) wrote:
Mon Aug 07, 2023 6:57 pm
nut flush gooner wrote:
Mon Aug 07, 2023 5:31 pm
https://twitter.com/DailyAFC/status/1688302308747059201

This one moment sums up why we spent so much on Rice, we have no one in the squad with this sort of engine/tenacity. Elite is a very appropriate description.

Rice is getting better with every game. I have no doubts about him being a big player for us this season.
That was the moment I was eluding to in my post above yours.

Rice has also had 2 weeks longer playing than our boys and came back later after the European triumph for wham, so is not yet up to speed, properly with fitness or his team mates.

I hope he is that missing cog, to push us on - from his talk, he is certainly excited and thinks we can go places.

I'm gonna need a lot of convincing that we haven't massively overpaid, but to see him in the team instead of the Albanian/Swiss clown is a huge bonus. Let's hope he can rise to the challenge of stepping up to the top level and can thereby raise us up too.
Why are you bothered if we have overpaid? I don't think that can be disputed, but by the same token so have a lot of other clubs on new signings. I mean £72m for Hojlund is ridiculous.

I have said this before and I will say it again, football commercially is about to explode, especially the PL. For many years NFL and the IPL has generated more revenues than the PL, which by an large has not tapped into the global market for our football. That is now changing. As a result of that, deals like Rice will become the norm rather than the exception.

The real question is does Rice improve our team/squad. Well I think in just a few games albeit friendlies you can see as he settles in, he definitely is going to improve us. You should be very excited with the current squad, we are maybe only a striker away from seriously competing with City.



It isnt a hard argument to make that overspending on rice is depriving us of much needed strengthening elsewhere (mainly a quality number 9) - of course it can be argued that el basque doesnt seem to think that we need to sign a striker, but that will be the rock in which he'll perish imo. Whether you agree with the rice signing or not, surely you have questions on the role in which he is going to be used, and especially considering that he also spunked £65m of havertz supposedly for that same role ? To me, if he see's a need for a better DM and values rice at £105m and plays him there then so be it, or if he see's him more suited to xhaka's advanced midfielder role then that is ok too, but then he doesnt piss away £65m on havertz too - I said in jest when we were negotiating to buy both players that the "rose timters" (to coin an old phrase) were using upgrading xhaka as an excuse for every questionable buy we were making, but it now does seem like we bought rice and havertz for that one position and that is ridiculous waste of resources imo

You point out to other clubs overspending as justification for us doing it, but we can just as easy point to pepe as a reason not to do it - anyone who argues that the price tag is irrelvent is deluded imo. Yes if a signing works out then the cost is a non issue, but that can only be determined down the line, and that is regardless of whether the cost is 10m or 100m

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OneBardGooner
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Location: Close To The Edge

Re: Welcome Declan Rice

Post by OneBardGooner »

All this Ohhh! We Overpaid :blah: :blah: :blah: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: Compared to the £72 Million We Paid For Pepe - Now THAT is What I Call Over Paying.

nut flush gooner
Posts: 4093
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 10:23 am

Re: Welcome Declan Rice

Post by nut flush gooner »

augie wrote:
Tue Aug 08, 2023 10:38 am
nut flush gooner wrote:
Tue Aug 08, 2023 7:12 am
Retro Gunner wrote:
Mon Aug 07, 2023 8:42 pm
Stuart L (2) wrote:
Mon Aug 07, 2023 6:57 pm
nut flush gooner wrote:
Mon Aug 07, 2023 5:31 pm
https://twitter.com/DailyAFC/status/1688302308747059201

This one moment sums up why we spent so much on Rice, we have no one in the squad with this sort of engine/tenacity. Elite is a very appropriate description.

Rice is getting better with every game. I have no doubts about him being a big player for us this season.
That was the moment I was eluding to in my post above yours.

Rice has also had 2 weeks longer playing than our boys and came back later after the European triumph for wham, so is not yet up to speed, properly with fitness or his team mates.

I hope he is that missing cog, to push us on - from his talk, he is certainly excited and thinks we can go places.

I'm gonna need a lot of convincing that we haven't massively overpaid, but to see him in the team instead of the Albanian/Swiss clown is a huge bonus. Let's hope he can rise to the challenge of stepping up to the top level and can thereby raise us up too.
Why are you bothered if we have overpaid? I don't think that can be disputed, but by the same token so have a lot of other clubs on new signings. I mean £72m for Hojlund is ridiculous.

I have said this before and I will say it again, football commercially is about to explode, especially the PL. For many years NFL and the IPL has generated more revenues than the PL, which by an large has not tapped into the global market for our football. That is now changing. As a result of that, deals like Rice will become the norm rather than the exception.

The real question is does Rice improve our team/squad. Well I think in just a few games albeit friendlies you can see as he settles in, he definitely is going to improve us. You should be very excited with the current squad, we are maybe only a striker away from seriously competing with City.



It isnt a hard argument to make that overspending on rice is depriving us of much needed strengthening elsewhere (mainly a quality number 9) - of course it can be argued that el basque doesnt seem to think that we need to sign a striker, but that will be the rock in which he'll perish imo. Whether you agree with the rice signing or not, surely you have questions on the role in which he is going to be used, and especially considering that he also spunked £65m of havertz supposedly for that same role ? To me, if he see's a need for a better DM and values rice at £105m and plays him there then so be it, or if he see's him more suited to xhaka's advanced midfielder role then that is ok too, but then he doesnt piss away £65m on havertz too - I said in jest when we were negotiating to buy both players that the "rose timters" (to coin an old phrase) were using upgrading xhaka as an excuse for every questionable buy we were making, but it now does seem like we bought rice and havertz for that one position and that is ridiculous waste of resources imo

You point out to other clubs overspending as justification for us doing it, but we can just as easy point to pepe as a reason not to do it - anyone who argues that the price tag is irrelvent is deluded imo. Yes if a signing works out then the cost is a non issue, but that can only be determined down the line, and that is regardless of whether the cost is 10m or 100m
Why does it matter? Kroenke as billionaires go is stinking rich, much more wealthy than Boehly who needs hedge funds to help with his spending.

During COVID alone, he added $2bn to his net worth. That's about half the value of Arsenal Football Club.

Augie, you need to take a serious chill pill rather than question everything that is going on right now. This squad is the best we have had in years. I think you will find you are eating your words over Rice and Havertz in the months to come.

And FFP, which is really the only thing we need to worry about isn't on the radar for us, mainly because our revenues are just about to explode with CL footy and PL prize money.

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OneBardGooner
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Location: Close To The Edge

Re: Welcome Declan Rice

Post by OneBardGooner »

We'll also be boosting our finds by selling off the deadwood etc... At least I hope we do... Just getting the likes of Pepe and Lakonga off the wage bill is a bonus as they were never going to make it at Arsenal.

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augie
Posts: 31036
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:03 pm
Location: Ireland

Re: Welcome Declan Rice

Post by augie »

nut flush gooner wrote:
Tue Aug 08, 2023 5:45 pm
augie wrote:
Tue Aug 08, 2023 10:38 am
nut flush gooner wrote:
Tue Aug 08, 2023 7:12 am
Retro Gunner wrote:
Mon Aug 07, 2023 8:42 pm
Stuart L (2) wrote:
Mon Aug 07, 2023 6:57 pm


That was the moment I was eluding to in my post above yours.

Rice has also had 2 weeks longer playing than our boys and came back later after the European triumph for wham, so is not yet up to speed, properly with fitness or his team mates.

I hope he is that missing cog, to push us on - from his talk, he is certainly excited and thinks we can go places.

I'm gonna need a lot of convincing that we haven't massively overpaid, but to see him in the team instead of the Albanian/Swiss clown is a huge bonus. Let's hope he can rise to the challenge of stepping up to the top level and can thereby raise us up too.
Why are you bothered if we have overpaid? I don't think that can be disputed, but by the same token so have a lot of other clubs on new signings. I mean £72m for Hojlund is ridiculous.

I have said this before and I will say it again, football commercially is about to explode, especially the PL. For many years NFL and the IPL has generated more revenues than the PL, which by an large has not tapped into the global market for our football. That is now changing. As a result of that, deals like Rice will become the norm rather than the exception.

The real question is does Rice improve our team/squad. Well I think in just a few games albeit friendlies you can see as he settles in, he definitely is going to improve us. You should be very excited with the current squad, we are maybe only a striker away from seriously competing with City.



It isnt a hard argument to make that overspending on rice is depriving us of much needed strengthening elsewhere (mainly a quality number 9) - of course it can be argued that el basque doesnt seem to think that we need to sign a striker, but that will be the rock in which he'll perish imo. Whether you agree with the rice signing or not, surely you have questions on the role in which he is going to be used, and especially considering that he also spunked £65m of havertz supposedly for that same role ? To me, if he see's a need for a better DM and values rice at £105m and plays him there then so be it, or if he see's him more suited to xhaka's advanced midfielder role then that is ok too, but then he doesnt piss away £65m on havertz too - I said in jest when we were negotiating to buy both players that the "rose timters" (to coin an old phrase) were using upgrading xhaka as an excuse for every questionable buy we were making, but it now does seem like we bought rice and havertz for that one position and that is ridiculous waste of resources imo

You point out to other clubs overspending as justification for us doing it, but we can just as easy point to pepe as a reason not to do it - anyone who argues that the price tag is irrelvent is deluded imo. Yes if a signing works out then the cost is a non issue, but that can only be determined down the line, and that is regardless of whether the cost is 10m or 100m
Why does it matter? Kroenke as billionaires go is stinking rich, much more wealthy than Boehly who needs hedge funds to help with his spending.

During COVID alone, he added $2bn to his net worth. That's about half the value of Arsenal Football Club.

Augie, you need to take a serious chill pill rather than question everything that is going on right now. This squad is the best we have had in years. I think you will find you are eating your words over Rice and Havertz in the months to come.

And FFP, which is really the only thing we need to worry about isn't on the radar for us, mainly because our revenues are just about to explode with CL footy and PL prize money.



I honestly dont give two fcuks about wiggy's net worth and only care in so much as it affects AFC, and again I will make the point that overspending on rice matters in that the extra 40m or so we paid, could and should have gone towards a top quality first choice striker - do you see us buying a top striker in this transfer window now, and if not do you think that will adversely affect how far this team can go ?

I agree we have a good squad now, but it also feels a bit deja vu to some of wenger's latter years when we always seemed to be 2 or 3 quality additions away from being top dogs again - imo jesus is a quality footballer but not a consistant top quality goal scorer, and to win at the top level you need that top quality goal scorer. Football has moved on since wenger's latter years though, cos back then he really only had 1 or 2 rival clubs to contend with, these days we have 2 manc teams, the victims, the cash rich geordies and free spending chavs, so those 2 or 3 players short can have bigger consequences now than in years gone by. You can make a bold prediction about rice and havertz proving me wrong (and I pray to god you are right), but you dont address my questions about where they are going to play in this team, and I'm not sure how both play in our first 11

nut flush gooner
Posts: 4093
Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 10:23 am

Re: Welcome Declan Rice

Post by nut flush gooner »

augie wrote:
Tue Aug 08, 2023 6:43 pm
nut flush gooner wrote:
Tue Aug 08, 2023 5:45 pm
augie wrote:
Tue Aug 08, 2023 10:38 am
nut flush gooner wrote:
Tue Aug 08, 2023 7:12 am
Retro Gunner wrote:
Mon Aug 07, 2023 8:42 pm



I'm gonna need a lot of convincing that we haven't massively overpaid, but to see him in the team instead of the Albanian/Swiss clown is a huge bonus. Let's hope he can rise to the challenge of stepping up to the top level and can thereby raise us up too.
Why are you bothered if we have overpaid? I don't think that can be disputed, but by the same token so have a lot of other clubs on new signings. I mean £72m for Hojlund is ridiculous.

I have said this before and I will say it again, football commercially is about to explode, especially the PL. For many years NFL and the IPL has generated more revenues than the PL, which by an large has not tapped into the global market for our football. That is now changing. As a result of that, deals like Rice will become the norm rather than the exception.

The real question is does Rice improve our team/squad. Well I think in just a few games albeit friendlies you can see as he settles in, he definitely is going to improve us. You should be very excited with the current squad, we are maybe only a striker away from seriously competing with City.
This squad is one player away from being the finished article. A 20 PL goal a season striker. Wenger in the Emirates era, never got that close.


It isnt a hard argument to make that overspending on rice is depriving us of much needed strengthening elsewhere (mainly a quality number 9) - of course it can be argued that el basque doesnt seem to think that we need to sign a striker, but that will be the rock in which he'll perish imo. Whether you agree with the rice signing or not, surely you have questions on the role in which he is going to be used, and especially considering that he also spunked £65m of havertz supposedly for that same role ? To me, if he see's a need for a better DM and values rice at £105m and plays him there then so be it, or if he see's him more suited to xhaka's advanced midfielder role then that is ok too, but then he doesnt piss away £65m on havertz too - I said in jest when we were negotiating to buy both players that the "rose timters" (to coin an old phrase) were using upgrading xhaka as an excuse for every questionable buy we were making, but it now does seem like we bought rice and havertz for that one position and that is ridiculous waste of resources imo

You point out to other clubs overspending as justification for us doing it, but we can just as easy point to pepe as a reason not to do it - anyone who argues that the price tag is irrelvent is deluded imo. Yes if a signing works out then the cost is a non issue, but that can only be determined down the line, and that is regardless of whether the cost is 10m or 100m
Why does it matter? Kroenke as billionaires go is stinking rich, much more wealthy than Boehly who needs hedge funds to help with his spending.

During COVID alone, he added $2bn to his net worth. That's about half the value of Arsenal Football Club.

Augie, you need to take a serious chill pill rather than question everything that is going on right now. This squad is the best we have had in years. I think you will find you are eating your words over Rice and Havertz in the months to come.

And FFP, which is really the only thing we need to worry about isn't on the radar for us, mainly because our revenues are just about to explode with CL footy and PL prize money.



I honestly dont give two fcuks about wiggy's net worth and only care in so much as it affects AFC, and again I will make the point that overspending on rice matters in that the extra 40m or so we paid, could and should have gone towards a top quality first choice striker - do you see us buying a top striker in this transfer window now, and if not do you think that will adversely affect how far this team can go ?

I agree we have a good squad now, but it also feels a bit deja vu to some of wenger's latter years when we always seemed to be 2 or 3 quality additions away from being top dogs again - imo jesus is a quality footballer but not a consistant top quality goal scorer, and to win at the top level you need that top quality goal scorer. Football has moved on since wenger's latter years though, cos back then he really only had 1 or 2 rival clubs to contend with, these days we have 2 manc teams, the victims, the cash rich geordies and free spending chavs, so those 2 or 3 players short can have bigger consequences now than in years gone by. You can make a bold prediction about rice and havertz proving me wrong (and I pray to god you are right), but you dont address my questions about where they are going to play in this team, and I'm not sure how both play in our first 11

A11M11
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Re: Welcome Declan Rice

Post by A11M11 »

There's something about Havertz that reminds me of when Alan Smith joined us . Not prolific in his first season but led the line held the ball and gave us a focal point in the penalty area. Smith blew hot and cold going through periods of drought but always gave a target for our wingers . At 6 foot 4 Havertz is fractionally taller than Smith . If he makes runs into the box he could create confusion in defences and will need marking as opposed to Jesus spending half the game about 30 yards from the goal.

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OneBardGooner
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Re: Welcome Declan Rice

Post by OneBardGooner »

:shock: Wow! I hadn't thought of him like that, but I think you could well be right... Good One! :high5:

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rodders999
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Re: Welcome Declan Rice

Post by rodders999 »

Thing is that 70-100 million is no longer revolutionary money when it comes to making a signing - look at the list of players who’ve gone for that kind of cash over the last few seasons - Pepe, Fat-kaku, Kepa, Sancho, Fernandez (chav version), Hammer Head Harry, Pogba, Nunez, Show Pony Antony, Mudryk and Belieber Grealish.

A huge outlay and for what return? None of those players moved the dial and most of them were massive flops.

If a player has a half decent season or starts to show the slightest signs of potential these days he’s value becomes 100 million - sad fact of the way the game has gone unfortunately.

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OneBardGooner
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Re: Welcome Declan Rice

Post by OneBardGooner »

If you can handle Fish Lips...?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDUFd6kjMVU

nut flush gooner
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Re: Welcome Declan Rice

Post by nut flush gooner »

One word to describe Declan last night, Elite.

Totally managed the back line when we went down to 10 men. And he can only get better.

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