Hoedt as part of the deal would be like Christmas. Koopmeiners can play LCB too, so makes vague sense for AZ.
Crikey JWP misses a couple and is no longer seen as reliable. Ings has only missed 1 for Saints as well it should be said.
Danny has only taken a handful I would guess but I was a bit spoiled by Peachie, Le Tiss, Beatts and SRL who never missed.
That’s the thing about Ralph’s press though. It’s about stamina, distance running and having the mental capacity to identify and stick to triggers. That’s why JWP and PEH did well for him. It’s why Smallbone will do very well there once he gains a bit of muscle.
Doesn't need to be if his positional sense is good. Looks like a real leader on the pitch and one that would also give Ralph more flexibility to play 3 centre backs (an option which has never really worked so far).
My other reason to be cheerful about Koopmeiners is that he can play the sort of passes that will get the best from Che Adams. Adams scored a ton of goals for Birmingham off of cute passes between the lines that gave him a first time shot just inside the box. He moved to us and none of our midfield play that. PEH was low risk all the way. JWP usually goes wide to the flanks and it’s not Romeu’s game at all. No wonder he struggled so much.
Could do although marauding forward is apparently one of his qualities. I'm really excited about this one. So excited (and backed by the lack of credible reports) that I think it is a non starter.
Based on what we've seen so far I agree but you need to have flexibility in shape to cope with different teams and different phases of the game.
I’d much rather have a CM who can drop back into a back 3 like Fernandinho than a 3rd CB who can’t defend at all.