Gray, wonder what Brendan thinks?

[BenTheFox]

16 minutes ago, Fox85 said:

I think if we are playing with a lone striker we need much more than 5 goals and 7 assists.

 

We need wingers that are pushing double figures in both goals and assists.

 

This is difficult but that's what we need to be aiming for if the goals are not there we need the assists to be a lot higher.

 

I'd be happy with gray if he never scored I'd be happy if he produced 15 assists a season.

 

But gray will never achieve this as he is to greedy and not a team player 

Very much a tall order. 

 

I do believe that Barnes will have be effective for us next season. He gets himself into good positions and his interplay and touch is better than Gray's in my opinion. Still think that other than Tielemans, a winger is our top priority this summer. 

[Fox85]

4 minutes ago, BenTheFox said:

Very much a tall order. 

 

I do believe that Barnes will have be effective for us next season. He gets himself into good positions and his interplay and touch is better than Gray's in my opinion. Still think that other than Tielemans, a winger is our top priority this summer. 

Tall order is what we require to be establish as a top 6 team. A top 6 team which keeps getting branded around.

 

Harvey barnes will be a great winger he shows so much more than what gray does and has the ability to play as a team.

 

I think gray could be good if he didnt shoot and actually passed. His greedyness and instinct to hit it in row Z is ridiculous.

 

Loan gray out.

 

Get a decent winger in win/win. We have gazelle to come on from the bench who is actually statistically better than gray 

[Nod.E]

14 hours ago, Nicolo Barella said:

He left Birmingham too early.

Not a sentence I thought I'd ever agree with.

[Nod.E]

10 hours ago, MPH said:

He reminds me of Max Gradel in so much as he can turn a game, he clearly has it in him, but he’s just so inconsistent. there’s no point believing in yourself if you can’t bring it out of yourself.

 

id sell and get both of the young guys we have been linked with recently as it’s probable we are already going to get one of them.

Inconsistent would suggest that he is sometimes good.

[Slab Edd]

9 hours ago, Paddy. said:

I'm saying I don't agree at all that we should get rid. I think we should keep him in the first team squad as I genuinely think it'll click for him at some point. I think it's worth sticking with him. I fundamentally disagree with writing off such a young player. 

 

I also don't buy all this nonsense about his attitude. I think people are judging by his demeanour which isn't particularly fair. If he had this attitude problem which many fans are convinced he does then why do successive managers keep picking him? 

I mean I never spoke about his attitude

I don't mind being a bit of a c*nt as long as you play good.

 

 

And I get what you're saying but he'd be wasting space on the bench if he wasn't playing

And quite frankly be wasting time on the pitch if he does play.

 

Gray may kick on to become a great player. But I genuinely believe it won't be here

[Guest]

53 minutes ago, Fox85 said:

We need wingers that are pushing double figures in both goals and assists.

The only player in the league to do that this season is Hazard. The only ones last season were Salah, Sterling, Sane, Eriksen and Mahrez. I agree we need more goals and assists from our wingers but there's absolutely no chance our current wingers, or anyone we bring in, are going to be hitting those numbers. "Tall order" is a massive understatement.

[MPH]

2 hours ago, Nod.E said:

Inconsistent would suggest that he is sometimes good.

 

i swear i seen it with my own eyes!!!

[AjcW]

He must be very very good in training. You hardly ever see him on the bench under any of our managers recently, if he’s out the squad it’s because he’s injured. 

 

Ive defended him over and over again in the Gray thread but he’s got to me this season, just seems to be, a little like Nacho, a bit thick really. I think it’s underestimated how important a few brain cells can be for general understanding of the game. 

 

I don’t think we’ll ever get as much for him as Bournemouth were willing to pay a couple of years back though! 

[lfu]

7 hours ago, stillwater said:

If Brendan likes the look of Kaputska, when he comes back from loan, then maybe we can say goodbye to Gray!

Kapustka tore his cruciate ligaments, so don't expect that to be any time soon...

[car1os]

7 hours ago, AjcW said:

He must be very very good in training. You hardly ever see him on the bench under any of our managers recently, if he’s out the squad it’s because he’s injured. 

 

Ive defended him over and over again in the Gray thread but he’s got to me this season, just seems to be, a little like Nacho, a bit thick really. I think it’s underestimated how important a few brain cells can be for general understanding of the game. 

 

I don’t think we’ll ever get as much for him as Bournemouth were willing to pay a couple of years back though! 

I think we need to give him a pre-season with Rodgers and his coaching staff... he has speed, carries the ball well, and can contribute with assists/goals. He needs to stop running with his head down, be more aware of who’s around him, and improve decision making. Maybe some proper coaching will help... if not, then bring someone else in and we’ll still make a great profit from the £3.75M we spent on him

[Charl91]

He passes well, and carries the ball well up the pitch on the counter. Much better defensively too.

 

End product still not there though. Shows flashes of promise one game, then frustrating the next. Really hope it works out for him (and us).

Edited 22 April 2019 by Charl91

[LestaAl]

Have said it before... time to move him on.. he could thrive at a new club but he has had long enough here and has not learnt from his mistakes.

Pity really, but there you go, not every player is a success 

[oadby.fox]

8 hours ago, AjcW said:

He must be very very good in training. You hardly ever see him on the bench under any of our managers recently, if he’s out the squad it’s because he’s injured. 

 

Ive defended him over and over again in the Gray thread but he’s got to me this season, just seems to be, a little like Nacho, a bit thick really. I think it’s underestimated how important a few brain cells can be for general understanding of the game. 

 

I don’t think we’ll ever get as much for him as Bournemouth were willing to pay a couple of years back though! 

I honestly think that this is because there just aren't that many options for us up front. We only really have one recognised striker (Vardy) and out wide we began the season with Albrighton, Ghezzal and Gray.   That is three players in the squad to fill two positions. It was clear from the moment that we signed Ghezzal that he was never good enough for the premier league, and this was also demonstrated by the fact that he wasn't even favoured by the manager who clearly must've pushed to sign him! He also hasn't figured under Brendan. 

 

It'll be interesting to see whether Barnes now starts with Albrighton ahead of Gray- although I also think like others have said, that there is a feeling towards Gray that "This season will be his season, he just needs more game time" etc. Unfortunately, following the departure of Mahrez and so lots of opportunities to impress, Gray hasn't really pushed on. I still think Brendan will keep him around next season because of how light we are in attacking options and with the hope that he might eventually turn a corner.

 

After Tielemans, a wide player/forward really is a top priority though. Players like Maddison, Barnes and Ndidi have all shown that adapting to the premier league should not take years and years when you have the talent and ability. Likewise homegrown talent such as Chilly and Hamza have also acclimatised faster with the former now being a regular for England.

[Bazly]

Gray runs out of ideas and that usually means he surrenders possession which is never ideal with a slow back line like we have at our disposal. I'm struggling to see any improvement over last year or two years ago. We need a midfielder capable of scoring 15 goals a season if we are ever to challenge anywhere near the top of the league again. A top side usually relies on one prolific attacking midfield player in their starting 11, for me Frank Lampard was always the best in that role for club regularly contributing 20 goals a season for Chelsea..

 

I cannot ever see Gray being a shadow of the likes of Lampard in terms of contribution to goal scoring.

[damolcfc]

Could you imagine the tantrums if man city bought him for £10m as 1 for the future and takes mahrez place on the bench...??

[Captain...]

I kinda feel sorry for Gray, he was signed as we were cruising to the title, it’s been pretty choppy since then. Ranieri lost the plot, Shakespeare took us backwards and Puel was just clueless and seemed to want to turn him into a striker in a team that was slow to attack. He’s been in and out the team and left to pick up the pieces of Mahrez’s sulk and inevitable, if somewhat protracted, departure. He’s had a good little run under Rodgers and sometimes the best thing is to be dropped, see what happened with Barnes, give a few run outs from the bench, rotate Barnes, Gray and Albrighton until the end of the season. 

 

There is a talented player in there he’s just a little slow to adapt to changes, if Schlupp can be coached into an effective premier league footballer than Gray can.

[PaulW]

The England management team seem to think that he figures amongst the best English players in his age group in the country.....

[st albans fox]

22 minutes ago, PaulW said:

The England management team seem to think that he figures amongst the best English players in his age group in the country.....

And with Hudson-odoi now out, dimi is next on the call list .........  

[mancunianfox]

Given that a squad player costs at least £15m nowadays I am not sure what the benefit would be of getting rid. If we are going to finish in the top 7 we will need to upgrade but he can be a quality backup.