Quote Originally Posted by whitestomper45 View Post
Players with injuries aside (thats always a risk and up to now we have had to shop many times at that "take a chance/unearth a gem shop" to try unearth a bargain, the finished article has been out of our reach for a while.

You hone in on forwards scoring records, using Bamford's ratios as a reference. Why is a CF with the facts, as you say you go by, being that he has a record of 1 in 20 Championship games OK to you? He may well prove great but like the other signings he's never played PL nor as a full international as Rodrigo has. The Spanish league is ranked No1 in the club co-efficient table. The championship is not better than La Liga, yet 1 in 20 you seem happy with on this occasion.. it just seems strange
We may have had to shop in the bargain tubs instead of the top end delicatessen in the past, and there's nothing wrong with that, provided you pick and choose carefully. JKA is an example of where we didn't, same for Casilla (couldn't get a game with Barcelona but was still held up as the next big thing just because he was on their books). as both have already cost us big money (and the JKA thing still isn't settled, by a long way) it tells me that there are still way too many flaws in Ortas scouting selection, and either he isn't being overruled by Bielsa or he (Bielsa) is also capable of making a mistake or two (yes, he is!).

I don't "hone in" on any particular area of the park, I look at the characteristics of each player and the position they are expected to take up and comment accordingly. In the case of Gelhardt, he is 18, not 28, and performed well in the Championship as a squad player, admittedly his strike rate needs to improve. Its worth noting, as the international aspect is oft referred to, that despite needing to improve at club level, he has scored in internationals against Brazil (U16), Norway & Belgium, USA, Russia, Denmark and Sweden (all in U17 competitions), and played for England U18 against Australia. (Btw, I think criticising Gelhardt for not having played as "full international" is a low blow, very, he's just 19 ffs!). All the above at youth international levels hints/shows that with the right service, he knows where the net is. (Only a half a dozen or so clubs scored fewer goals that Wigan last season, so perhaps a youngster who knows how to find the net in internationals wasn't best serve at club level). As I said in the last post, if he turns out to be a dud (which I hope he doesn't as with ALL those who come to the club), the we have spent £1m finding out. If any of the players signed from Valencia, Freiburg or Udinese end up that way, we've spent a good deal more.

And where did I say the Championship was better than La Liga? I said that the PL is superior to just about ALL the European divisions and the success of English teams from all parts of the PL table in European competitions would suggest that is the case.

We are not going to agree, so I see little point in continuing this particular "back and forth". You have your opinion, I have mine, you have your reasons, I have mine. We will see whose evaluation is closest to the truth in a relatively short period of time (as long as they all get game time and stay healthy!)