SteveO 35 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 29, 2023 12:45 pm
rodders999 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 28, 2023 11:57 am
SteveO 35 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 28, 2023 11:45 am
Here's a stat
Xhaka had 300 games to consistently prove he was utter shite
Havertz has had 3 - shall we give him a wee bit more time?
Amen brother.
Not sure he's going to get it though, there were Eboue level groans in the ground when he misplaced that pass second half Saturday. I think a lot of fans have already made up their mind about him, saw that he was unconvincing at chelsea, weren't on board with the signing in the first place and are unwilling to see how it plays out. I said on the transfer thread that I'm waiting until he's played 10 league games before passing judgment, I think at that stage he'll have had plenty of time to settle in to his new surroundings/position to make a proper evaluation on him.
He badly needs a standout performance to buy him the luxury of that time with the decent section of the fanbase though and Sunday would be a good time to start.
The Chavs have been utterly chaotic and that's another reason why I'm giving him time. Remember that Sterling bloke that everyone thought was going to be a world beater - suddenly looked shit for 2 years and now looks good again. The manager merry go round, the ridiculous squad size, Lumpard the Chump. Lets give the lad till Xmas before we write him off.
If we'd judged Pires and Henry on the evidence of their first 3 games we'd be having those posts dragged up now and laughed at! Our style of play is totally different to what theirs was/is, it takes time. I actually think he's a decent footballer who is low on confidence - and confidence can turn very quickly in football as we know.
This all smacks of an element of revisionism tbh SteveO. From a personal point of view (and I can include quite a few Gooner mates), I liked Pires from day one. I seem to remember him picking up an injury in his second or third game...right on the touchline by the Highbury dug outs if I remember correctly...but he instantly looked like a quality footballer to me. Henry was a different prospect, because he looked to have everything, but couldn't convert a chance for love nor money and I can remember after it went on for weeks on end, that I wondered if it was simply never gonna happen for him. I even wondered if we'd bought a dud.
The difference here though, is that it was clear that he was a talented footballer, but the only doubt is whether a vital ingredient was lacking. Happily, he lashed one in at Soton and never looked back. With Havertz, we've seen him for 3 years at the chavs and for me, there's never been a hint that there's a real talent here, just waiting to blossom. For me, he's just a poor footballer.
As for people bringing up Bergkamp, all I'd say is that I didn't come across one Arsenal supporter that thought we'd made a mistake by signing him. He'd been a star in Holland and for the Dutch national team, so we knew what we were getting. Was it seven games before he scored? Even so, his quality was evident in all those games.
You really didn't need to have a great idea about the game to see that those three were proper talents. Nothing about Havertz has ever suggested to me that he's a top quality player. I've yet to come across a supporter that was happy with this signing (I'm sure there's some...there always is, just like some rated Xhaka) and the most you hear is your line about giving the bloke a chance. If I bring me boots on Sunday can I have a chance?
not saying Kai will reach those levels but even those high level technical players took time to settle.
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