Armando Broja

[redkeith]

Has anyone else noticed that Broja is fantastic when the ball is played up the channels, but not very good on crosses, eg that one from Tino on Saturday and that tap in against Burnley (?) . Ostenstaad  was the same for us, as are Lukaku and Werner at Chelsea. Maybe he wont be the answer too all their prayers, as they don't see to be able to provide that service to the £160 million duo  that they already have .

[spyinthesky]

Great credit to whoever scouted him and to whoever arranged his loan.

Introducing him into the team has really transformed our style of play and, at the same time, increased his value as a player.

In the unlikely event of us keeping him next year, there is great importance in ensuring any replacement will provide the same attributes.

Whatever the outcome a significant portion of our next season budget will need to be spent on a striker

[waylander]

Should have had a hattrick last night

[TWar]

24 minutes ago, waylander said:

Should have had a hattrick last night

Finishing was uncharacteristicly off. One lovely goal but had 3 other chances where he probably should have done better (or put it on a plate for Adams in one case). Either way, gets in good positions and is scoring well. Hope we can retain him in the summer.

[Sheaf Saint]

38 minutes ago, TWar said:

Finishing was uncharacteristicly off. One lovely goal but had 3 other chances where he probably should have done better (or put it on a plate for Adams in one case). Either way, gets in good positions and is scoring well. Hope we can retain him in the summer.

I think this is getting more and more unlikely by the day. He's getting better and better and I just can't see us being able to get him permanently.

Either Chelsea will keep him and put him in their first team squad, or a richer club than us will offer much more for him than we can afford.

[TWar]

Just now, Sheaf Saint said:

I think this is getting more and more unlikely by the day. He's getting better and better and I just can't see us being able to get him permanently.

Either Chelsea will keep him and put him in their first team squad, or a richer club than us will offer much more for him than we can afford.

I think the players wishes will have some sway, or atleast I hope, and he is doing well here. I also don't know what our spending power is with new owners. Wouldn't rule out a £30m+ bid. Smaller teams than us like Sheffield united and Watford have spent such money.

[tajjuk]

The through ball chance probably shows the area of his game that needs work the most and that is composure, think he tends to rush a little bit and needs to slow down. First goal was instinctive and he executed it perfectly, showed those poachers instincts, but when he has a little more time to think about the chance he doesn't execute quite as well. The goal he scored against Brentford was similar though he did score, but he actually put it close to the keeper not quite executing the shot he wanted to. But should come with more game time and composure, the raw ingredients are all there for a top top striker. Was also a bit greedy when he did really well near the byline but tried to shoot from a really tight angle instead of pulling it back to someone. 

[Saint Troy]

18 minutes ago, tajjuk said:

The through ball chance probably shows the area of his game that needs work the most and that is composure, think he tends to rush a little bit and needs to slow down. First goal was instinctive and he executed it perfectly, showed those poachers instincts, but when he has a little more time to think about the chance he doesn't execute quite as well. The goal he scored against Brentford was similar though he did score, but he actually put it close to the keeper not quite executing the shot he wanted to. But should come with more game time and composure, the raw ingredients are all there for a top top striker. Was also a bit greedy when he did really well near the byline but tried to shoot from a really tight angle instead of pulling it back to someone. 

(if we're talking about the same one) the through ball chance is for sure a chance he should score but top top strikers dont score that every single time. The key thing is its his strength and movement that gets the chance. With other strikers at our disposal they dont get across the defenders, get a good touch in and create that chance half so easily as he did. He makes the ball look a great ball in that case - if it was another striker the ball would look like a bit of a lofted waste of a ball that the defenders can easily mop up. Think his ability really helps others raise their game 

[notnowcato]

1 hour ago, waylander said:

Should have had a hattrick last night

Agreed but in a way I'm glad he didn't.

No doubt he'll have options at the end of the season; we're a strong contender to have him for at least another season.

Come on Armando, you know it makes sense.

[woodsaint1]

1 hour ago, TWar said:

I think the players wishes will have some sway, or atleast I hope, and he is doing well here. I also don't know what our spending power is with new owners. Wouldn't rule out a £30m+ bid. Smaller teams than us like Sheffield united and Watford have spent such money.

Seems to really like it here. Was grabbing the badge and giving it the big one in front of the Spurs fans when he scored (although could have been a London thing being a Chelsea player). Ralph was asked about him by Crouchie after the game and he keeps saying 'he knows whats best for his development'. Perhaps theres some guarantee from Broja that he will commit once we're safe from relegation as I do remember some journo saying that we wouldnt look at any deal until that was confirmed. Who knows.

Still think its a 50/50, but the more he scores and the more Lukaku/Werner etc struggle, the greater the chances that Chelsea keep him

[richardc]

Having a good song for him wouldnt do any harm - I remember in Tino's interview saying how personally emotional it was to him to hear the crowd singing his name

[S-Clarke]

He needed to calm down a bit yesterday, those two attempts were a bit erratic (the one he pulled wide was a bit glaring). But his physical presence and physical attributes get him into those situations so many times. The calmness in his game will come with experience and once that settles down he is going to be an absolute machine.

[pimpin4rizeal]

I have mixed feelings about our handling of him..

maybe we would have been better giving him more cameos off the bench then making him our number one striker in terms of keeping him?

the more he starts the more I think we ain’t getting him back to be honest very frustrating 

[Toadhall Saint]

3 minutes ago, pimpin4rizeal said:

I have mixed feelings about our handling of him..

maybe we would have been better giving him more cameos off the bench then making him our number one striker in terms of keeping him?

the more he starts the more I think we ain’t getting him back to be honest very frustrating 

Cest la vie. Enjoy it while you can.

[Turkish]

Another shit show from the Albanian Jordan Rhodes. Missed 3 sitters, collapsed on the floor like baby when someone finally actually put a challenge in on him. It's alright strutting around thinking you're gods gift when no defenders are near you but toughen up man FFS. Finally managed to score a tap in my nan couldn't miss and celebrated like he'd just scored to winner in a world cup final. The more he plays the more his many weaknesses are being exposed. Poor finisher, weak, crap in the air, deceptively slow, he was so bad i was pleased when Shane Long came on. 

[sfc4prem]

7 hours ago, pimpin4rizeal said:

I have mixed feelings about our handling of him..

maybe we would have been better giving him more cameos off the bench then making him our number one striker in terms of keeping him?

the more he starts the more I think we ain’t getting him back to be honest very frustrating 

I reckon this'll be the last season we have him. Not the finished product, which is actually scary considering how dangerous he is currently.

[Lighthouse]

8 hours ago, pimpin4rizeal said:

I have mixed feelings about our handling of him..

maybe we would have been better giving him more cameos off the bench then making him our number one striker in terms of keeping him?

the more he starts the more I think we ain’t getting him back to be honest very frustrating 

So he's so good that you'd prefer to NOT play him, have worse results and leave him feeling frustrated and unappreciated? Should drop our chances of keeping him next season from 1% to 0%.

FWIW he'll probably p*ss off to Spurs when they sell Kane to City.

[S-Clarke]

20 hours ago, Lighthouse said:

So he's so good that you'd prefer to NOT play him, have worse results and leave him feeling frustrated and unappreciated? Should drop our chances of keeping him next season from 1% to 0%.

FWIW he'll probably p*ss off to Spurs when they sell Kane to City.

Do you think Kane will leave? I think his chance was last summer and I don't think he'll get another opportunity for a 'big' move.

This summer has the likes of Mbappe and Halland floating around to be nabbed and I'm sure City will be aiming for one of those as opposed to Kane.

[waylander]

55 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Do you think Kane will leave? I think his chance was last summer and I don't think he'll get another opportunity for a 'big' move.

This summer has the likes of Mbappe and Halland floating around to be nabbed and I'm sure City will be aiming for one of those as opposed to Kane.

City will probably go direct for Broja

[Talker_CFC]

On 10/02/2022 at 12:01, TWar said:

I think the players wishes will have some sway, or atleast I hope, and he is doing well here. I also don't know what our spending power is with new owners. Wouldn't rule out a £30m+ bid. Smaller teams than us like Sheffield united and Watford have spent such money.

The thing is, that Broja has long term contract, so if Chelsea is decided to not sell, he will not be sold. 

I dont think 30m+ is interesting number anyway, we are talking about striker, who is young, is scoring and will keep developing, so there is no point selling him while under long-term contract. at best, one more year of loan.

[S-Clarke]

I love Broja, but today you saw the good and bad of him and why he's no where near the finished product just yet (Similar to Wednesday).

Physically immense, so much pace and power, but his finishing is erratic and he needs to calm that down. I have no doubt he will but being at a club like Southampton allows him the opportunity to be erratic and grow as we don't expect to win every game, at Chelsea he'd struggle to get a run of games without shouts for him to be dropped if he kept missing chances like that. Different world at the big clubs.

Definitely think his best option is to grow and develop his game here and then leave as a complete player to a top club a few years down the line.

[Toadhall Saint]

25 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

I love Broja, but today you saw the good and bad of him and why he's no where near the finished product just yet (Similar to Wednesday).

Physically immense, so much pace and power, but his finishing is erratic and he needs to calm that down. I have no doubt he will but being at a club like Southampton allows him the opportunity to be erratic and grow as we don't expect to win every game, at Chelsea he'd struggle to get a run of games without shouts for him to be dropped if he kept missing chances like that. Different world at the big clubs.

Definitely think his best option is to grow and develop his game here and then leave as a complete player to a top club a few years down the line.

Agreed.

[Teddeer]

29 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

I love Broja, but today you saw the good and bad of him and why he's no where near the finished product just yet (Similar to Wednesday).

Physically immense, so much pace and power, but his finishing is erratic and he needs to calm that down. I have no doubt he will but being at a club like Southampton allows him the opportunity to be erratic and grow as we don't expect to win every game, at Chelsea he'd struggle to get a run of games without shouts for him to be dropped if he kept missing chances like that. Different world at the big clubs.

Definitely think his best option is to grow and develop his game here and then leave as a complete player to a top club a few years down the line.

Some good points but let's not forget the best strikers like Salah, Jota, Kane, Lukaku, Vardy all miss plenty of gilt edged chances and they are far more experienced at this level. What sets them apart is that they keep getting in the positions to score and never shy away from taking shots on and I think Broja is in the same mould. Sure, he'll miss a few but he'll get chances every game and over a season will convert enough to make a top goal scorer.  The lad is very talented.

[S-Clarke]

6 minutes ago, Teddeer said:

Some good points but let's not forget the best strikers like Salah, Jota, Kane, Lukaku, Vardy all miss plenty of gilt edged chances and they are far more experienced at this level. What sets them apart is that they keep getting in the positions to score and never shy away from taking shots on and I think Broja is in the same mould. Sure, he'll miss a few but he'll get chances every game and over a season will convert enough to make a top goal scorer.  The lad is very talented.

He's super talented, but he is still a little raw around the edges. Just saying that's why I think he's best placed here for at least another year as this is a great environment for him to realise his potential.

[Teddeer]

1 minute ago, S-Clarke said:

He's super talented, but he is still a little raw around the edges. Just saying that's why I think he's best placed here for at least another year as this is a great environment for him to realise his potential.

Amen to that!

[Toadhall Saint]

3 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

He's super talented, but he is still a little raw around the edges. Just saying that's why I think he's best placed here for at least another year as this is a great environment for him to realise his potential.

Salah or Kane given the same chances in the last 2 games would have had a better return. That’s not a Criticism but shows AB is a little rough around the edges - if he improves tho - wow what a player he will be and that hopefully will be with us.

Edited 12 February, 2022 by Toadhall Saint

[Turkish]

I love how he draws centre backs out wide then just powers past them, did it several times tonight and midweek. It’s a real asset in pulling defences out of shape. Gave Maguire the run around today.

[Matthew Le God]

9 minutes ago, Turkish said:

 Gave Maguire the run around today.

This sums it up...

Edited 13 February, 2022 by Matthew Le God

[Chez]

15 hours ago, Matthew Le God said:

This sums it up...

took the piss out of him all game. 

Love watching him, but every game he plays he adds a million or so to his price tag. When WBA had Lukaku, they must have felt the same.

[Gingeletiss]

Arsenal sniffing around him, according to the BBC.

[Matthew Le God]

55 minutes ago, Gingeletiss said:

Arsenal sniffing around him, according to the BBC.

It is not 'according to the BBC'.

The BBC gossip page merely lists rumours from other websites. It is not the BBC making the claim.

https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/transfer-news/arsenal-armando-broja-transfer-martinelli-23085209?_ga=2.264847820.276700759.1644786310-2108179463.1643299921

 

[Gingeletiss]

5 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

It is not 'according to the BBC'.

The BBC gossip page merely lists rumours from other websites. It is not the BBC making the claim.

https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/transfer-news/arsenal-armando-broja-transfer-martinelli-23085209?_ga=2.264847820.276700759.1644786310-2108179463.1643299921

 

I knew I shouldn’t of made a post. Please forgive me for being in Australia.

[John B]

On 12/02/2022 at 16:02, S-Clarke said:

He's super talented, but he is still a little raw around the edges. Just saying that's why I think he's best placed here for at least another year as this is a great environment for him to realise his potential.

I would love him to stay here but for him to develop further I think he nedds to go to a bigger with better players and better coaching unfortunately.

I would really be interested in what the club are planning in the next window as it is imperative that we have a top class striker available if Broja is not here as one of the reasons we are playing better as a team is because of the automatic selection of him at the moment like we were when Ings was scoring goals sometime ago

[badgerx16]

35 minutes ago, Gingeletiss said:

I knew I shouldn’t of made a post. Please forgive me for being in Australia.

It's the blood rushkng to your head, being upside down.

[S-Clarke]

27 minutes ago, John B said:

I would love him to stay here but for him to develop further I think he nedds to go to a bigger with better players and better coaching unfortunately.

I would really be interested in what the club are planning in the next window as it is imperative that we have a top class striker available if Broja is not here as one of the reasons we are playing better as a team is because of the automatic selection of him at the moment like we were when Ings was scoring goals sometime ago

I think that's incredibly harsh on us, I feel we have top class coaching here. Would you say the coaching is better at Man Utd or Arsenal? I wouldn't. 

This is the best place for him to develop without an enormous spotlight on him, whilst surrounded by good coaches and good players. The worst thing for him right now is to be plonked on the bench at a 'big club' and be restricted to sub appearances when they're chasing games.

He will get game time here and an environment to allow him to make mistakes and then learn from them.

[Lighthouse]

26 minutes ago, John B said:

for him to develop further I think he needs to go to a bigger with better players and better coaching unfortunately

I don't see that at all and I think it's a bit of a slap in the face to our coaches. Walcott, when he left in 2006, is the perfect example of that kind of thinking going wrong. He went to Arsenal, Champions League finalists and a season or two after their 'invincibles' so he could train with Theirry Henry. He went from developing well, playing regular football at a competitive level, to sitting on the bench for the best part of a year. The net result being he just never quite got there and even as a 32 year old, he looks like large chunks of his game are lacking.

Even taking my Saints fan hat off, I think a club like ours is the best place from him to play for the next couple of years. Somewhere he can miss the chances he missed at OT and not get immediately slated by the fans for being sh*t and dropped by a manager whose job hinges on achieving Champions league football. Sadly I doubt he and his agent will see it that way and money invariably talks. 

[SW5 SAINT]

2 hours ago, Gingeletiss said:

Arsenal sniffing around him, according to the BBC.

I think Chelsea are unlikely to sell him to one of their big six rivals. With a five year contract signed, Chelsea hold all the cards….

Edited 14 February, 2022 by SW5 SAINT
Edit

[coalman]

4 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

Even taking my Saints fan hat off, I think a club like ours is the best place from him to play for the next couple of years. Somewhere he can miss the chances he missed at OT and not get immediately slated by the fans for being sh*t and dropped by a manager whose job hinges on achieving Champions league football. Sadly I doubt he and his agent will see it that way and money invariably talks. 

This.

It's going to go one of three ways:

1. He stays at Saints and we build our attack around him. He has the chance to be the main man in a team on the up (hopefully).

2. He goes back to Chelsea to fight for his place and risks going into limbo when the next 100 million pound striker arrives.

3. Somebody else offers a big pile of cash as the hype train picks up speed. Chelsea may be tempted with this but we seem to be doing ok with buybacks.

I agree with Lighthouse that he's in a great place to develop into a top class striker with us. Historically 3 has been the dominant choice so it kay be wishful thinking on my part to think we have a chance. It's going to come down to what the player wants.

[Gingeletiss]

2 minutes ago, SW5 SAINT said:

I think Chelsea are unlikely to sell him to one of their big six rivals. With a five year contract signed, Chelsea hold all the cards….

I think the new rules on loans, may be a factor here.

[Dman]

6 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

I don't see that at all and I think it's a bit of a slap in the face to our coaches. Walcott, when he left in 2006, is the perfect example of that kind of thinking going wrong. He went to Arsenal, Champions League finalists and a season or two after their 'invincibles' so he could train with Theirry Henry. He went from developing well, playing regular football at a competitive level, to sitting on the bench for the best part of a year. The net result being he just never quite got there and even as a 32 year old, he looks like large chunks of his game are lacking.

Even taking my Saints fan hat off, I think a club like ours is the best place from him to play for the next couple of years. Somewhere he can miss the chances he missed at OT and not get immediately slated by the fans for being sh*t and dropped by a manager whose job hinges on achieving Champions league football. Sadly I doubt he and his agent will see it that way and money invariably talks. 

I think Walcott issues is that technically he just was never any good. Quick, very quick, but not a huge amount of ability. That being said, he still had a decent enough career at the top level for club and country. 
 

I think the biggest thing to hold him back was being played as a winger. For me, he’d have been better deployed as a striker, like Henry. 
 

Completely agree with the second point though. Us, Brighton, Palace would be ideal for him for the next year or 2. Well ran (which I’d include us in now with new ownership) and unlikely to go down but don’t have unrealistic expectations such as Villa, Everton, West Ham. That being said, I do think he’s got the ability to go into these, probably better sides, and excel. He’s that good. 
 

Regarding his agent, pretty sure he’s with the same bloke who is with Siemu and a few other young Chelsea players, so seems to be fairly switched on and has a relationship with the club. 

[John Boy Saint]

If we can get him to look up when charging through on goal to see who is else in on, rather than trying to score the sometimes impossible on his own, some team could get a proper thumping. As he ploughs into the box he becomes a defender magnet opening up space for others to run into, becoming the better option. At the end of the day he is a young man with plenty to learn. Make the most of him while he is here - but learn how to shut him down for when we have to play against him in the future.

[waylander]

1 hour ago, John B said:

I would love him to stay here but for him to develop further I think he needs to go to a bigger with better players and better coaching unfortunately.

 

I wonder who you think offers that.

[saintadjg]

If he wants to win the league/champs league  then he needs to go to Chelsea Liverpool or City , none of the others look even remotely close to doing either for quite some time.

If he goes to any of those at 5he moment there's a very good chance he becomes a squad player and lost in the system. 

If I was him I'd be asking Chelsea if I could stay for another year. If he keeps his progression up by end of next he'll be a top club starter for sure.

[angelman]

He's young and got a decade and half ahead of him, so IMO, there's no rush for him at all, not least as he has that long term contract, and CFC seem pretty keen to keep him. You look at what they have now, and their supporters are rather keener to have Broja than the £97m Lukaku,  which seems to be an unmitigated failure and he wants out. To me the main question is, will Lukaku leave this season and if so, will Broja replace him? Or will CFC think he needs a bit more development?

[ErwinK1961]

2 hours ago, John B said:

I would love him to stay here but for him to develop further I think he nedds to go to a bigger with better players and better coaching unfortunately.

I would really be interested in what the club are planning in the next window as it is imperative that we have a top class striker available if Broja is not here as one of the reasons we are playing better as a team is because of the automatic selection of him at the moment like we were when Ings was scoring goals sometime ago

By that logic, how are we meant to attract a top class striker when the coaches and players aren’t good enough for our existing top class striker?

[Teddeer]

1 hour ago, John Boy Saint said:

If we can get him to look up when charging through on goal to see who is else in on, rather than trying to score the sometimes impossible on his own, some team could get a proper thumping. As he ploughs into the box he becomes a defender magnet opening up space for others to run into, becoming the better option. At the end of the day he is a young man with plenty to learn. Make the most of him while he is here - but learn how to shut him down for when we have to play against him in the future.

I think he is one of those single minded strikers who is always going to take the shot on and try to add to his goal tally regardless of who is in a better position. I actually like this attitude and maybe he'd lose something if we try to coach it out of him. It's a fine line.

[S-Clarke]

4 minutes ago, Teddeer said:

I think he is one of those single minded strikers who is always going to take the shot on and try to add to his goal tally regardless of who is in a better position. I actually like this attitude and maybe he'd lose something if we try to coach it out of him. It's a fine line.

I don't think it's a case of coaching it out of him, I just think he needs to be coached to calm down a little bit in those situations. His power and pace gets him into great situations and at times he gets a little over excited at that point for me, a little bit more composure and calmness once he gets into that situation and he'll be in a similar realm to some of the best strikers in Europe. It must be exciting for the coaches to work with someone who has so much raw potential.

[Teddeer]

24 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

I don't think it's a case of coaching it out of him, I just think he needs to be coached to calm down a little bit in those situations. His power and pace gets him into great situations and at times he gets a little over excited at that point for me, a little bit more composure and calmness once he gets into that situation and he'll be in a similar realm to some of the best strikers in Europe. It must be exciting for the coaches to work with someone who has so much raw potential.

Yes I can see that and it would potentially improve his conversion rate. Funnily enough I've said the exact same thing about Adam Armstrong - I just think he does everything at 100mph and would improve if he took his time a bit.

[waylander]

Big article in today's Telegraph about Chelsea's plans for next season. Conor Gallagher is expected to be in the first team squad challenging for a place in midfield. They might listen to offers for Werner and Pulisic. Lukaku is expected to stay and improve. Kounde and Rice named as main transfer targets. No mention at all of Broja in their plans.

[Toadhall Saint]

4 minutes ago, waylander said:

Big article in today's Telegraph about Chelsea's plans for next season. Conor Gallagher is expected to be in the first team squad challenging for a place in midfield. They might listen to offers for Werner and Pulisic. Lukaku is expected to stay and improve. Kounde and Rice named as main transfer targets. No mention at all of Broja in their plans.

I hope Broja reads the Telegraph then. 😉