The Summer 2018 Transfer Window Rumours and Deals

[der Berliner 3,246]

28 minutes ago, Bill said:

There seems to be an argument emerging that excuses Morelos simply by blaming Windass. That's a dangerous path to go down.

 

People lack sharpness in pre-season. That's nothing new. What we saw of Morelos AND Windass was exactly the type of performance that we witnessed ever since mid-January though.

 

In a few ways, Windass is similar to Lövenkrands, i.e. someone you do not envisage to be an out and out striker or winger. "Shadow striker" or attacking, free roving midfielder perhaps. They pop up with the odd goal and some assists. But in essence, they are a bit of luxury folk you utilize to hit people with pace on the counter, not as your main tool to open up teams or to score the vital amount of goals in game. It is good to have them, but it speaks volumes that Arfield was a vital tool and did exactly what I expected from Windass these last two games and he was sorely missed. Darting runs from midfield into open spaces up front - stuff we know a chap called Jason Holt did in his first season. But even if they did not get these opportunities, you would know that Holt and Arfield were on the park, as they chased people, won balls, spread passes. Had he not been subbed and had those two shots all game, I wouldn't have noted that Windass was in Macedonia. He will be a useful tool and weapon to have, but he is not what we need up front right now from the off.

 

Re Morelos ... I think I made my points clear above. Misused.

Edited July 18, 2018 by der Berliner

[craig 5,195]

20 minutes ago, Bill said:

Out of interest, how does a striker work on his finishing? 

 

Morelos could "finish" when he first arrived so he clearly knows what's required. Has he forgotten what to do? 

I'm not so sure that he could "finish", though I suppose it depends on what that actually means.  If you mean scoring then yep, you are right.  I don't consider tap-ins as finishing though   Finishing, for me, would be someone who not only gets the easy ones but also scores goals where you go "Wow, how did he finish that".  McCoist scored more than his fair share of tap-ins but also was capable of the utterly sublime.  The best finisher I have witnessed for Rangers is, probably, Mols - he was definitely a finisher.

 

Morelos is one of those players where he gets chances and you think "this is either goal or row z" - no middle ground

 

But he scored his fair share last season - maybe it is just that he is a confidence player and is badly lacking that right now ?  Desperate to get on the scoresheet which sees his technique blown as he continually snatches at chances ??

 

There is definitely potential there - as we saw last season - but if things continue as they are we will struggle badly as we can't afford passengers - or players passing up gilt-edged scoring opportunities.

[craig 5,195]

21 minutes ago, Bill said:

It's all about opinions and I'm frequently wrong but as I see it, Morelos has been shite since Xmas and those transfer bids in January. I thought he cut a forlorn figure on Tuesday while Windass looked energised. 

I would agree.

 

However, we need someone to elbow Windass in the face before each game - his energy levels shot up after his perceived injustice at getting an elbow in the face yesterday

[craig 5,195]

12 minutes ago, JFK-1 said:

Some people just can't be happy away from where they grew up and there may be a bit of that going on with Morelos. Davie Cooper was a classic example of it. Souness once said that Davie could have been a millionaire many times over in Italy and was good enough to play there but Davie just couldn't go anywhere that was any more than an hour or so from Hamilton. 

How does that explain away his apparent desire to leave to go to China ??

[Darthter 542]

14 minutes ago, JFK-1 said:

Some people just can't be happy away from where they grew up and there may be a bit of that going on with Morelos.

Morelos is from Columbia....yet was banging them in for fun in Finland!!!!

[Gonzo79 13,616]

12 minutes ago, craig said:

we need someone to elbow Windass in the face before each game

That's exactly what I said when that happened.  He went in for two tackles straight after it and looked like a man possessed.

 

Mind you, I have often said he could do with a slap too.  ?

[der Berliner 3,246]

Well, wondering about Morelos, I checked what system HJK Helsinki played when he was there. I was expecting a 2-striker one, but no, they apparently played 4-2-3-1 all season, with Alfredo up top:

 

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/hjk-helsinki/spielplandatum/verein/1008/saison_id/2016/wettbewerb_id//day//heim_gast//punkte//datum_von/-/datum_bis/-/plus/0

 

Obviously, it all depends on how his fellow attackers worked with him, but system-wise, he should be okay with his role. Might be that their middle-attacking midfielder was really more a shadow STRIKER than the SHADOW striker that we have?

[Gonzo79 13,616]

Just now, der Berliner said:

Might be that their middle-attacking midfielder was really more a shadow STRIKER than the SHADOW striker that we have

The standard of defenders and goalkeepers would have to be taken into account too.

[rbr 1,247]

Morelos is  a 21 year old with absolutely no emotional attachment to us , it's no wonder he's all over the place , as much as I wanted him kept , we should have and probably will sell him .

[Uilleam 5,429]

1 hour ago, Bill said:

Out of interest, how does a striker work on his finishing? 

 

Morelos could "finish" when he first arrived so he clearly knows what's required. Has he forgotten what to do? 

He has lost that "scoring is 2nd nature" characteristic that he had.

Maybe just confidence.

May be a man management or psychology (writ small) issue.

Maybe he needs to work on runs, positioning, and to practice taking the ball early and hitting the target.