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Archie Gray

I watched that vid last night and I don't think that is coached, it's outstanding natural situational awareness. I'm excited about this kid.

I worked as a FA coach and to be honest its a bit of both, he seems to have that natural awareness as you say but he has also been coached to use it to the best of his ability.
 
No doubt a fair amount is natural ability. There's definitely a bit of coaching in there though too . I would compare it to Zidane's style of control, very similar imho.
Him and Bergvall are very similar in being comfortably two footed in tight areas and close control situations.

It really is a beautiful part of the game when done well.

And like Bergvall plays with his head up.
 
Do we expect him in and around the first team then? 52 apps last season at 17/18 years old so he's equipped at his age, wonder if he's going straight in.
 
It's not necessarily fair to hold it against Archie Gray but I was hoping we'd just buy the finished product in this position.

For the 2nd half of the season it barely mattered who started in midfield, they'd end up playing badly and Ange would shift things around at half time, then the following game he'd start the one he left out and they'd have a poor 1st half etc etc

I don't think anyone at that time was screaming "If only we a flashy hot prospect from the Swedish league or an up and coming championship player, that'd immediately solve our midfield woes". Both look like excellent additions in the long term but do we expect either to steady the ship for next season? If the only movement is losing PEH and gaining these two then we're looking a bit short still imo. Between the trio of Biss, Bentancur and Sarr, reliable and consistent are not adjectives that would come up a lot going by last season; that's possibly unfair on Sarr but age isn't an excuse of we buy young players, it's our choice to do so.

The hope is that Gray can make the step up a la Dele and like a fair few others I haven't seen enough of him to make a prediction on that. Plenty to like about this signing, English and able to cover (possibly thrive) in our RB hybrid position as well so my concerns above aren't bitching about him but we are looking a bit bereft of quality combined with experience imo. Players like Sarr and Gray should probably be learning from the best and who we have currently aren't the best.
 
It's not necessarily fair to hold it against Archie Gray but I was hoping we'd just buy the finished product in this position.

For the 2nd half of the season it barely mattered who started in midfield, they'd end up playing badly and Ange would shift things around at half time, then the following game he'd start the one he left out and they'd have a poor 1st half etc etc

I don't think anyone at that time was screaming "If only we a flashy hot prospect from the Swedish league or an up and coming championship player, that'd immediately solve our midfield woes". Both look like excellent additions in the long term but do we expect either to steady the ship for next season? If the only movement is losing PEH and gaining these two then we're looking a bit short still imo. Between the trio of Biss, Bentancur and Sarr, reliable and consistent are not adjectives that would come up a lot going by last season; that's possibly unfair on Sarr but age isn't an excuse of we buy young players, it's our choice to do so.

The hope is that Gray can make the step up a la Dele and like a fair few others I haven't seen enough of him to make a prediction on that. Plenty to like about this signing, English and able to cover (possibly thrive) in our RB hybrid position as well so my concerns above aren't bitching about him but we are looking a bit bereft of quality combined with experience imo. Players like Sarr and Gray should probably be learning from the best and who we have currently aren't the best.
I disagree heartily with this post until the transfer window shuts and we can fully take stock of our position
 
I disagree heartily with this post until the transfer window shuts and we can fully take stock of our position

To which part of it? I said there's plenty to like about the transfer but also multiple points probably more suited to a squad thread rather than Gray's.

Of course we don't know the grand context until the end of the window but I don't see us spending big on this position after laying down 30m + but I could be wrong, I'd absolutely love to be wrong in this case.


Kimmich and Rodri are too expensive, and Bosquettes too old. Im not sure who else would be the finished product for that role?

Money isn't the main problem with the first two, I think they'd both genuinely chuckle at the prospect of coming here.

But yeah I'm not sure who that readymade player is, United thought they'd gone and done it with Casimero but he was truly quite bad in his second year so that hasn't gone to plan.

If this is who Ange truly wants and thinks he can take us to the next level I'm all for it. If it's just signing players who will potentially come good in a few years so we can achieve fudge all in the meantime and say "hey what can you expect, we're a young team" then I'm not so sure. We sure love a preloaded excuse.
 
I have to say this one feels like one of paratici's "have a list for each position and if one comes up for a good price, act"

I'm not saying we didn't want him but I suspect it was all a bit last ditch as Leeds realised they couldn't shift enough debt via other players. Let's be honest ignoring Rodon going the other way, this is a steal for someone so highly rated.
 
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