gunnersaurus

He hasn’t taken off like we’d hope, that’s for sure. But I do see more talent with him than I ever did with Lokonga. While Vieira can get bullied out of games, I do see good flashes when he comes on as a sub and doesn’t overthink things. (He’s more aggressive and progressive in those instances, especially when we’re losing or tied with a lesser side.) To be honest, I think Vieira is also a level below what we want from our backups now (given our ambition and investments), but I see him as more likely to come good. At least he’s probably retained more of his value than Sambi if we were to sell him – though I would be surprised if we did this window.

Agreed on all counts!

I’m pretty sure that’s what happened. City really spooked us, and we may have been surprised by Rice’s level of interest in them.

It’s just that of late we seemed to have a Plan B ready to go if a team played hardball with us (like with the Mudryk saga). This deal feels very different: we’re letting West Ham kind of run the show here. Arteta clearly values Rice exceptionally high, but it feels like a real divergence from our recent deal-making.

It’s a bummer he hasn’t worked out, but I wouldn’t slate him. The move to us might have come too early for him. I never really saw the talent – he seems tidy at times but also has a lot of difficulty with positioning and plays timidly – but it was a low-risk gamble and he’s been professional to my knowledge. Things can of course change, but I would be fine with him seeking opportunities elsewhere. Hopefully we can get a fee that’s not too much lower than what we paid!

That seems rather quick for such a high fee. I’d have to think that will make more transfers difficult this year and next (esp. getting another midfielder). We really wanted to get this one over the line.

I still have mixed feelings about this deal. Great player, no doubt, but this does feel like a win-now move with a lot of backfire potential, rather than the steady, shrewd, long-term squad building that has produced great results the past couple of years. Maybe we are at that level now where this is what it takes to continue moving forward, but I guess I just really enjoyed this past season and don’t want to be hurt again by misplaced hope and expectation. :P

Linux Mint may look a bit outdated and doesn’t benefit from the Latest and Greatest version of some programs (ala Arch), but it still provides an excellent out of the box experience. It’s been my daily driver for a production environment for years, and I’ve converted older family members to use it as their daily driver without issues. (They prefer it over Windows!)

I did recently encounter a bug where it would fail to install the latest version if Secure Boot was enabled at the time of installation, but that was due to a key signing issue/expiration from upstream (Ubuntu) and the developers have already promised a new approach that would address and future-proof that in the upcoming version. It was my first time in years I hit a stumbling block on installation.

That aside, the onboarding process has only gotten better and is now outstanding. (It has a little Welcome program that walks you through setting up system snapshots, proprietary drivers, and even enable automatic security updates. It’s accessible and actually helpful to newcomers.) The distribution upgrade utility is simple, works well, and does a good job of nudging when it’s time to upgrade (without making you feel forced). It also anchors to Ubuntu LTS releases, which means you actually don’t need to upgrade often if the feature set does the job for you. In terms of usability, I think we hit the Year of the Linux Desktop a while ago (for general productivity users).

In short, I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Mint to someone who is either new or willing to give up some of the bleeding edge opportunities for stability, and I think it has been able to consistently deliver an excellent out of box experience for years now.

Okay, I’m not a fan of sportswashing, but…

Congrats to our lads on the USMNT!

But also, thanks to you all on the thread. It’s been fun and I really like the friendliness on here. We might be few in numbers right now but I appreciate you all!

I wouldn’t argue with that, but I don’t see Eddie getting anywhere close to the same fee. And as Ron reminds us below, we can’t lose sight of the midfield as our biggest need. Gotta fund those transfers somehow!

Very good point about midfield being our greatest need, and how funds need to be raised from somewhere to pay for that. Important not to lose sight of that!

If Balogun is willing to battle for his place, I wouldn’t.

He’s got a lot of natural ability, a good feel for the game, and the right athleticism. He’ll be worth more if he’s given the chance to contribute. (This is a case where I’d much rather see him loaned out again if management doesn’t see him at least being able to work his way past Eddie.)

I say this as someone who was fine with us selling Willock, Iwobi, and the Ox. All talented players, but not ones I saw being able to carry us over the top.

If Balogun wants promises we can’t make, I’d say push for a lower fee but include that buy-back clause.

And, if we find ourselves in a scenario where a buy-back isn’t a possibility, then take the 40m. I still think that’s too low for him but we’re still at a phase in our team development arc where team cohesion is too important and fragile to not be affected by a disgruntled player. (Although maybe I’m just scarred from our not-so-distant experiences with that!)

Agreed. I don’t think the fact he hasn’t had much playing time is indicative of how management feels about him. I think the goal is to have him ready to hit the ground running instead of having lots of stops and starts. Arteta and company have shown their willingness to be patient, especially with players coming back from serious injury. ESR’s profile matches what we seem to be working toward and the talent (and demonstrated productivity) is clearly there, so I would be surprised if he’s shipped off or left to rot.

I actually wonder if Balogun choosing to represent USMNT might change our plans for him. Jesus is clearly still ahead, but if he continues to progress, he’ll be a nailed on starter for the US (who are thin up top). I wonder if KSE will see that as too big an opportunity to not explore.

I don’t think they’d push Edu or Arteta to make Balogun a bigger part of the team – I sure as heck hope they continue to keep their distance on playing decisions – but they might be willing to get more creative to ensure Balo stays in the loop. Like poorly says, we’re clearly trying to grow the brand in the US, and he could certainly figure into those plans.

I think the issue is that Balogun wants to start regularly. Arsenal don’t want to sell, but they might feel they have to to avoid having a disgruntled player in the locker room. (They might also not want to risk creating the perception that we’ll hold promising young players against their will. We’re finally back up as a very desirable destination.)

Balogun might simply not be willing to accept a role where he starts irregularly – even if promised some game time – or depends on Jesus getting hurt. (Eddie is also currently ahead of him, but I think that could change by training well.)

I think the best case scenario is that we sell below market value to a team willing to accept a buy-back clause. Even though his stock is high right now, the prices bandied around him don’t reflect what I think he’s worth. He’s still young but he does look the part. I don’t think the good season was a purple patch.

Looking pretty good, too. Intelligent runs, good work rate. Basically, helping create opportunities for himself. The Canadian defense isn’t quite Newcastle shutting up shop, but still impressive considering he’s only had a couple of weeks to bed in.

I’ll never understand the need for expensive scouting networks and advanced analytics when we have YouTube compilations with catchy titles and curious music choices. Everything we need is right there! :P

How are folks here rating Lavia? I haven’t seen enough of him, so not sure how polished he looks, how he’d fit into our midfield, and how much of a probable step down this would be from Caicedo.

It might hurt us on the pitch but I think selling him for a reasonable fee this year is the way to go. When he’s on, he moves our team up a level in a way that will be hard to replace. But the mix of his injury record with us, periods where his levels dropped quite noticeably last season, and the legal troubles that will continue to hang over him mean that this might be a good time to cash out on him, especially if we’re trying to overhaul our midfield and if there’s a market for him. We might lose out on the short term (experienced player and his fee probably won’t match his worth) but it could make it a forward-looking move if we get someone young with strong potential.

Chelsea are more ruthless with their personal actions. I can certainly think of more Chelsea players who were deemed surplus to requirements at the time and went on to have good careers elsewhere. Chelsea have also enjoyed many periods of success over the past 20 years, so their players often come with championship experience. Chelsea generally quotes reasonable prices and is willing to move quickly. And, there’s the possibility you can get a better price if they/their family feel settled in London.

Don’t get me wrong, I hesitate when I see those links and am personally lukewarm on Havertz (especially with the fees being thrown around) and Jorginho (had a couple of great games for us but seems like a short-term gamble that will come out to a small loss). But I can see why we’ve targeted their players, more so than other teams. I see Luiz as a success and Willian as an avoidable mistake, so our record is decidedly mixed.

I think focusing on the “reject” label is misguided (with any team). Better fits can unlock talent, which is almost always there. But I definitely understand why people have paused over the specific Chelsea players we’ve been linked with (and followed through on) in recent years.