Personally, I think saying Tom slows the game down and doesn't suit our style is a bit off the mark. He often hit a pass directly from receiving one without taking an extra touch. Plus his ability to hit a ball accurately up the pitch can often relieve the back four who might be under pressure and sitting too deep.
He’s an older Championship version of Calvin - Philips. Without the legs. If you put players around him to do the running then I think he’ll do very well for us.
Don't you remember Hudds his last season for us in the championship.... He was too slow. Picking a pass is one thing, but we need more than that in our system.... Smallwood was left chasing too often in L1... We need Slater, or someone like him. Alfie was perfect there....
We didn’t have anyone else in that previous team that had legs really. Now we have quite a few players with pace. I think he’ll be a huge asset for the team - on and off the pitch.
If huddlestone is up for it and will accept the financials then what have we got to lose. Give it a go i say.
Quite happy to let Grant decide on Tom. More bothered about this EFL embargo, Ehab not noted for giving cash away. Would love to know the actual conditions.
I’m hoping it happens with Huddlestone as he provides that experience at a Premier League/Championship level. Not many of our other players have anywhere near his experience.
I agree , people forgetting what a long season it is, even if he takes to Oct / November to get sharp , what a player to be introduce to things . We are probably going to be towards the bottom of the league , he could be the difference between us and the others down there .
Having Tom around the club is an absolute no brainer for me. How much impact/time he had on the pitch would be a big question. But as GLP said... His experience would be priceless
I’d be happy with Smith or Doyle on loan. I think if it’s one of those two, we might tell Sheff Utd to go **** themselves regarding Slater after ****ing us about since the window opened.
Slater is all but done, like HT2 said, we're just waiting on them deciding on their squad. Might be this week, probably early next week.
I know, but it was all but done in June when we agreed a fee and terms, then Jokanović came in and put it on the back-burner. I mean, he is their player until he isn't so their new manager has every right to assess his squad, especially since our agreement was only a gentleman's agreement and no contract had been signed as far as I'm aware. Season starts on Saturday though. We can't wait for Sheffield Utd to get their targets before they allow Slater to go. It could be this week, next week or deadline day. I'd rather just sign Doyle or Smith from Man City or any other young, highly-rated defensive mid on loan this week then see where we're at with Slater after.
That being said, Olly Green impressed me in pre-season. Looks composed on the ball, can pick a pass and gets stuck in. Is he naturally a defensive mid? Or is he more box-to-box or a playmaker? I think this would be a good season to blood him in our first team. A loan to the lower divisions might not even be necessary.