Rousseau

I have just read about Davies' aerial ability in an Athletic article. It mentions how, at Preston, his aerial duel success rate was improved by working on his leap and aggression. Snippet: "When we arrived he wasn’t playing much, and he was being used as a left-back. He had a loan spell at Fleetwood in 2017 when he started playing centrally. “By our final season he was one of our best players along with Ben Pearson (who moved to Bournemouth). They were above the level of the Championship.” "Davies is not the tallest of centre-backs at just over 6ft (185cm) but Preston’s tracking of statistics saw his aerial duel success shoot up over the course of two years. It came from working on his leap and being more aggressive, but one area he has never needed much help with is his distribution." “If we’re talking about the modern defender who can play, then he is perfect for Rangers,” McAvoy [Frankie McAvoy, then-manager Alex Neil’s assistant at Preston] says. “You get defenders who can ping it, but Ben can see gaps and break lines by whipping it into the forwards." “He can bring the ball out comfortably too. When teams are sitting in, like they do against the Old Firm, that can be a big asset as he can drive forward and open teams up.” Also: "[Liverpool] felt that he was the best left-sided defender in the English second division, and was stylistically suited to playing in Jurgen Klopp’s system. In usual circumstances, Davies would not have been a target but Liverpool were working with a tight budget as they already had RB Leipzig defender Ibrahima Konate lined up for a summer move to Merseyside. They just needed a short-term fix for a few months who could be a sound financial investment if they opted to ‘flip’ him in the market soon after."

Those stats are on the poor side, but I wouldn't say they were 'poor'. It's just a bit off 1 goal in 2, which is pretty good for a striker. I made the point above that most of his games have been off the bench, which is not helpful. He's not started regularly - outwith his Empoli stint last season, where he only scored 3 in 29 (?); which is poor - since his good season with Milan.

Empoli were in Serie A last season. It was the season before they were in Serie B. He wasn't playing for them then.

Cutrone is an interesting one. He's a traditional #9. I remember when he came through at Milan, doing very well in Serie A for one so young (20 yrs). Then Gattuso gets appointed and he doesn't get any games. I was surprised when Wolves signed him, because I thought he was still well regarded, despite a poor season. I don't think Wolves overpaid at the time. He hasn't settled, though. He wasn't given game-time at Wolves, and was loaned out to Valencia and Fiorentina. I wonder if taking a step down to our level might suit him? As opposed to Serie A and PL. If we can get him for a reasonable price, give him game-time, get his confidence back up, he could do a job and then get sold back to Serie A in a couple of years.

Everton pumped 4-0 by Minnesota Utd, with Dele Alli missing an open goal from 4 yards. This could be another fun season for the Toffees...

I moved your post to this thread.

Not pre-season related, but: O Captain! My Captain!

Someone on Reddit made a Red Van joke and I can't unsee it...

Farewell, sweet prince...

I was thinking: If we have a back-three formation up our sleeves too (we did last season, and we've signed defenders that can be utilised in a back-three), we're well-set. And, we've got a manager that can get the best out of tinkering with formations, mid-match.

I think we still need a LB.

(LW) Kent / Sakala / Middleton - (ST) Morelos / Roofe / Colak - (RW) Wright / Matondo (#10) Hagi / Lowry / Lawrence / Tillman (CM) Davis / Kamara / Lundstram / Jack / Arfield / McCann (LB) Barisic / AN Other - (LCB) Sands / Davies / Helander / King - (RCB) Goldson / Souttar / Katic - (RB) Tavernier / Zukowski / Devine (GK) McLaughlin / McGregor / McCrorie

There's probably a time and a place for a 4-3-3 with the workmanlike midfield three (Lundstram, Jack and Kamara), like in Europe or a tough domestic fixture that requires more of a counter-attacking style. However, I think we need more creativity in our #8s in a 4-3-3. This could work in the league against the diddy teams, using Hagi, Lowry, Arfield, Tillman, Lawrence etc. as the #8s, giving us more creativity and penetration. The 4-2-3-1 gave us more balance.

I'm quite happy with this one. He's maybe a little older than I'd like, but if we have unearthed another Goldson, then it's a good investment. His versatility is an added bonus.

Union Saint-Gilloise's recent pre-season games saw them draw 0-0 with Brighton, draw 1-1 with Sporting and pump Feyenoord 0-4. This will be a tricky tie.

I love how we're all fudging the figures. Liverpool signed him for only 500k, as opposed to £1.6m. We're paying a whopping £4m, as opposed to £3m with add-ons.

I think Davies is a solid Championship player; he'll play the majority of games for any side in that league. Liverpool made a move for him - albeit as an emergency, that they ideally didn't want to make - so he must have some ability. He is a CB that can play LB, so he has some versatility to him. He's primarily a CB, though; he'll not be a rampaging FB. We probably need that? At 26, just coming into his peak, he could have a sell-on value. It won't be much, though. I see it as a Goldson-type situation: £3m for a solid CB, that can play the majority of games, represents decent value. He's a tad expensive at £4m, but we're maybe paying for the 2 years he has left on his contract and his versatility. If he plays a good number of games over the next 2-3 years, £3-4m is not a lot, IMO.

They were also angling for Sander Berge to be let go. Werder Bremen have recently made a £18m pound bid. Leeds also said to be interested. On the forum site I saw, they must have criticised every single player.

Sands often played in a back-three, too.

No, he was just an emergency signing. They had 1 fit CB (Nat Phillips, a youngster) during that period, but still preferred to play Phillips with Fabinho or Henderson in the back-four.