New players get less and less time to settle in these days.

[SarniaSaint]

I do get your point but if the fans are not willing to stay patient with a new coach (and new players) to build up a team that is able to compete than you're getting nowhere, especially when you don't have the funds to keep on buying. Would be nice when Saints stays an example of the traditional way between all the bull***** in the PL. As a Feyenoord fan it's hard to admit but I enjoyed to see Ajax finishing off ManC twice in the Champions League. They don't spend money like idiots (the total amount of salaries within Ajax is 20 million...), they just make their players better. In the long time it will pay off...

 

Yeah great post I know that Koeman will get it right (FM I hope so) just have a bad feeling that the board will F...U.

[david in sweden]

Its been good to see most on this forum are agreed that the small section of fans that booed and then ironically cheered Pelle yesterday are mindless morons. Yes he had a very poor game and has done little to catch the eye up to now but he must be given time to adjust and settle. The new year would be a good time to make a fuller appraisal.

 

I remember a young Mick Channon spending more time on his arse than on his feet in the early days and "Dockers Corner" cat calling him Doreen Channon whenever he ventured within hearing.

 

On the other hand big Ron Davies scored in his third game, again in his fourth, failed in his fifth but then scored in the next ten games. And speaking of Davies how about his namesake, Kevin, who debuted off the bench v Bolton in 1997, dipped a shoulder and went past two defenders within a minute of coming on. We knew we had a star and he was knocking them in with regularity until Irwin crocked him for half a season. Pahars was another who hit the ground running.

 

So some players settle quickly, others take longer, but the trouble is in the Premiership time is at a premium and a new breed of fan grows increasingly impatient at a quicker rate. You only have to look at Old Trafford in recent months to see that.

 

Right Duncan.

A quick look back at yr. copy of ITN will also show you that (above mentioned Channon) Shearer and MLT took more than one season even to get regular games let alone be regular goalscorers.

 

NOTE: James Beattie went almost 3 seasons before becoming a regular first choice, and his early goal tally was worse than some of our midfielders of the time.

[doddisalegend]

Right Duncan.

A quick look back at yr. copy of ITN will also show you that (above mentioned Channon) Shearer and MLT took more than one season even to get regular games let alone be regular goalscorers.

 

NOTE: James Beattie went almost 3 seasons before becoming a regular first choice, and his early goal tally was worse than some of our midfielders of the time.

 

Problem is for every example of a player who took time to come good impatient fans will point to players who came good straight away like Shaw or Lambert it's just in some peoples nature to want everything yesterday.

[VectisSaint]

Right Duncan.

A quick look back at yr. copy of ITN will also show you that (above mentioned Channon) Shearer and MLT took more than one season even to get regular games let alone be regular goalscorers.

 

NOTE: James Beattie went almost 3 seasons before becoming a regular first choice, and his early goal tally was worse than some of our midfielders of the time.

Hell of a difference between 3 players who have come through from the Youth/Academy and a player who has come from another League with many years of experience and 240 senior appearances.

[van Hanegem]

Good point. How long did it take Koeman to start to have an impact on Feyenoord? (and Pelle for that matter!)

 

... and by the way if you could have a word with Classie for us that would be appreciated! He looks very capable.

 

Koeman was great at Feyenoord but he also had some luck with great signings. We were going nowhere because of money problems and we had to play with our youngsters (Clasie, Martins Indi, de Vrij, Vilhena and so on). We weren't even able to buy a decent striker and so we got Guidetti on loan from ManC. Never heard of this dude but that changed really soon... Guidetti stupified our lot with his big mouth and his goals (hattricks against our arch enemy Ajax and against Twente). He was the winner the team needed to get the confidence and we finished second in the league. Koeman was also the right man in the right place, his career was also going nowhere after his echec at AZ Alkmaar but with Feyenoord he got a very young team that looked up to him and was willing to learn from such an experienced former player. He made his mark as a coach/manager by using remarkable tactics which payed off against better opponents. But in the end the success of every coach/manager depends on goals and Guidetti delivered them. Too bad his career is in the shambles now because of his health problems, we heard this weekend that Feyenoord believes the risk is too big to gamble with him.

At the start of the second season Koeman got Pelle on loan as a replacement for Guidetti and we couldn't believe our ears: "Pelle, that loser from AZ Alkmaar? What the hell is Koeman and the club doing?" Well, you know the result, more than 50 goals in two seasons and a transfer to Saints. Where Pelle needs time to adjust to the PL, he started to score for Feyenoord right away and just like Guidetti he had the mindset of a winner who inspired the team. Pelle wanted to leave after his first season because there was a club in some desert in the Middle East that would pay him top dollar (at Feyenoord he earned 1 million before taxes...) but Feyenoord had bought him in the meantime and he had to stay. His second season was just as incredible as his first but there was a negative point also: Feyenoord became too dependable on Pelle, without Pelle we looked poor and Koeman had no plan B. Later on Koeman tried a 5-3-2 system a couple of times and that fitted our young defenders better and Louis van Gaal used this for the World Cup. In hindsight: we should have done better in Koeman's third and last year. The players were more experienced now and had played together for many years and the title was up for grabs as Ajax didn't play too well. Alas, Koeman didn't succeed to get the players on the championship level allthough he did everything possible to achieve this. But Koeman and Pelle will be remembered with honour in our history, hopefully it will be the same with Saints...

 

I've mixed feelings about Clasie leaving. We lost so many players allready and he is the best midfielder we have. On the other hand I think he is ready for a move to the next level which would help him to become a better player. He deserves that too... He looks eager to leave Feyenoord and yesterday I read that Southampton is a serious option when Schneiderlin leaves. Porto is also running for him but their bid was too poor until now. Feyenoord wants at least 8 million for him and I think that's a fair price. But I have my doubts about Clasie in the PL, he is very small and considering the pace in the PL, I think he will be too tired after 30 minutes... Off course he has some nice qualities, he is able to play one touch football and he can create chances for attackers with his intelligent passing. It's just that I don't see him running after an opponent with his short legs, it would look like a toddler chasing after a balloon he lost... It would be better for him to move to Portugal first before entering the PL. That said: van Wolfswinkel did ok when he played for Sporting over there...

[van Hanegem]

... and by the way if you could have a word with Classie for us that would be appreciated! He looks very capable.

 

 

Still one day to go Robbie but it looks like Schneiderlin and Clasie are going to stay at their clubs. Fine with me!

[david in sweden]

Hell of a difference between 3 players who have come through from the Youth/Academy...

 

and a player who has come from another League with many years of experience and 240 senior appearances.

 

if this statement is referring to Pelle, then I think we might recall that many players who come from other leagues often NEVER make the same degree of success in the Prem.

Many clubs have a history of foreign internationals who have come to Prem. with enormous reputations and flopped badly. Spuds signed 2 or 3 very expensive flops last season in the wake of the Bale exit.

 

The " physicality " of the English game is something that many Latin players have seldom experienced prior to a move to England.

Used to closer ball play and more space, they obviously look good...whereas a few crunching tackles from tough defenders soon brings home the "facts of life " in our Leagues.

 

I think that the " Osvaldo experiment " was evidence of that, he really never settled and the Fonte " incident " was surely the proof.