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Indy_Bones

Pick of the Free

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Just been browsing the released players list in a bit more detail and alongside those already mentioned (e.g. Mulumbu) and those who we''d never even think of looking at, there was a name that seemed at odds with virtually every other name listed.A midfield player of superb close control, a good range of passing, who''s incredibly strong, is quick and skilful who isn''t afraid to shoot OR to get stuck in, and is still only 29, as well as having played for one of the best teams in the country for nearly a decade...

Abou Diaby.The master sicknote himself who makes Darren Anderton look like a picture of health by comparison has finally been released by Arsenal. Now I fully appreciate that 40 injuries over a 9 year period is NEVER going to be a gold star on a footballer''s CV and understandly it would represent a strong and genuine risk to think that we''d get anywhere near 38 games a season from him, yet it brings up the question of a possible ''pay as you play'' deal where it only costs us when he''s match fit.There were suggestions that Arsenal themselves were willing to consider making a similar offer yet eventually decided to release him (despite how highly Wenger thought of the player) because they didn''t want to take up the squad place when they can afford not to gamble on his fitness levels, we however need to take a couple more risks to guarantee our survival next season and a player of this calibre on a relatively cheap deal could be a major coup.He''ll only cost us strong wages if he''s fit and playing and then we get the benefit of his ability, whereas if he''s injured frequently we''re not paying 40k a week for him to warm the physio table.Thoughts?

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Would there be any point taking a space in our squad with a sicknote?

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[quote user="Herman "]Would there be any point taking a space in our squad with a sicknote?[/quote]That''s an impossible to answer question Herman because we simply don''t know how many games we''d get out of him, but here''s my thoughts on this:If we got only 1-8 games out of the player over the season due to injuries, then I''d argue that it probably isn''t worth him taking the squad place and should be discounted as a signing.If we got 9-15 games on a ''pay as you play'' deal and he performs well in those games (especially if another key player is missing) then I''d argue it''s worth a strong consideration just to give us that increased quality in the squad.Anything over 20 games at full fitness and I''d be driving him to CR myself if a deal could be done!The key question would then become - ''How many games do you think he''ll be fit for this season'', and that''s where the manager''s and board''s focus arguably would need to be in this case, inline with what potential contract offer/type is on the table to go with it.

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I simply don''t think he is a risk worth taking. He has an average of 19 games per season at Arsenal, and it''s only that high because he had one full season (out of ten). Hopefully the club has learned from the Vaughan saga and steer clear.

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You mean the same Vaughan that played 30 games for Palace before we signed him, got injured when he signed for us and then frozen out and loaned out despite when he was fully fit and looking our best striker in pre-season?The same Vaughan who has since racked up 81 games in the past 3 seasons for Huddersfield and scored consistently for them as well?Diaby is clearly a genuine risk signing, and if we were to just look at the past 2-3 years we''d have to argue that it''s a gamble too far, but there''s still that part of me that wonders if he can finally put his injury hell behind him (much like Vaughan has done) and get back to regular starts even if not full seasons.It''s that part of me that wants him here on a PAYP deal to mitigate the risk whilst giving us a chance of getting a top class player into our squad who would cost us 15 million or more if it wasn''t for those injuries...

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Yes,the same Vaughan who was a known sicknote and managed to get a whopping 6 games at City, and has only two full seasons in the whole of his career.

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Indy, if you are going to try and use stats to bash the rubbish out of people when trying to make your point, please do the same with your own arguments before putting them forward.

"Scored consistantly" (stats from soccerbase)

2014-15 - 7 goals in 28 appearances in all competitions.

2013-14 - 12 goals in 26 appearances in all competitions.

2012-13 - 14 goals in 37 appearances in all competitions.

It''s worth noting that he has a really poor disciplinary record having almost as many cards as goals in those seasons.

You compare that with our current crop of strikers and it doesn''t look good at all. And it looks like he is in decline.

He''s certainly not been amazing, and 26-28 games is just over half of all games a team will play minimum in a Championship season. 46 league games plus 2 cup games.

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[quote user="morty"]Still no...[/quote]

And it''s no from me too.

Sheesh Indy - I need to keep track.

So far you''d have Berbatov and Diaby?

Mulumbu is a better prospect than those put together and multiplied by a few.

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The sheer amount and variety of those injuries suggests his body is just not up to it. He would be a ludicrous signing.

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Not sure if the OP is being serious or not. If we''re going to go for a decent midfielder then I''d rather we went after a younger ex-Arsenal player, someone with prospects rather than someone who''s perpetually injured.How about Chuks Aneke at Zulte Waregem who''s a strong box-to-box midfielder in a similar mould to Diaby? From Wikipedia: "Aneke is a player not known for his pace, but the ability to see a pass and physical strength. He has been compared to former Arsenal teammate Abou Diaby. Arsène Wenger also compared his style of play as similar to that of Manchester City''s Yaya Touré".He''d cost, but I''d be happy to see us spend money on a decent young player, especially someone sensible who''s turned down Championship interest in favour of properly learning their trade.

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It is impossible to know whether Abou Diaby is still a good player or not - years of inactivity have almost certainly taken away the natural ability he had. It is a crying shame as he was brilliant when he first came through at Arsenal.

Wouldn''t touch him with a barge pole now though - two big gambles on whether he will stay fit and whether he is even any good any more.

Even if he is on a pay-as-you-play contract and Norwich had to pay him absolutely nothing if he was injured (which wouldn''t be the case as all pay-play contract still have a basic weekly and bonuses) he''d still take up a squad space in the 25.

I hope he can rebuild his career, and still has even half the talent he once did. I imagine he''ll head back to France, possibly even Ligue 2.

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[quote user="93vintage"]Not sure if the OP is being serious or not. If we''re going to go for a decent midfielder then I''d rather we went after a younger ex-Arsenal player, someone with prospects rather than someone who''s perpetually injured.How about Chuks Aneke at Zulte Waregem who''s a strong box-to-box midfielder in a similar mould to Diaby? From Wikipedia: "Aneke is a player not known for his pace, but the ability to see a pass and physical strength. He has been compared to former Arsenal teammate Abou Diaby. Arsène Wenger also compared his style of play as similar to that of Manchester City''s Yaya Touré".He''d cost, but I''d be happy to see us spend money on a decent young player, especially someone sensible who''s turned down Championship interest in favour of properly learning their trade.[/quote]

Admittedly I don''t know much about him IRL but check out his pace on FIFA 15! I think he might be the slowest player in the game!

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He''s spent far too long on the sidelines, I doubt he''s got the hunger anymore. Nevermind the ability.

Shame because he had potential. The Arsenal physio team have a lot to answer for IMO. So many decent players ruined.

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Out of what I''ve seen I would take any other the following:

Any of the following - Stephen Harper, Ben Amos, Thomas Sorensen, Gerhard Tremmel as 2/3 choice goalkeeper.

Micah Richards would be a quality signing, could play right back or centre back, definately an upgrade of what we have in my opinion, just needs to stay fit. Whether or not would come here is a different matter and wages too but on a free would be excellent.

Youssouf Mulumbu would be another good solid signing with no fee attached, Premier League experience, definitely a decent option

John Guidetti, maybe worth while, probably similar to Hooper so depends on whether he stays, should be better options out there for us though.

 

 

 

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[quote user="Eadies Left Hucks Right Iwans Heed Holts Laugh"]

Out of what I''ve seen I would take any other the following:

Any of the following - Stephen Harper, Ben Amos, Thomas Sorensen, Gerhard Tremmel as 2/3 choice goalkeeper.

Micah Richards would be a quality signing, could play right back or centre back, definately an upgrade of what we have in my opinion, just needs to stay fit. Whether or not would come here is a different matter and wages too but on a free would be excellent.

Youssouf Mulumbu would be another good solid signing with no fee attached, Premier League experience, definitely a decent option

John Guidetti, maybe worth while, probably similar to Hooper so depends on whether he stays, should be better options out there for us though.[/quote]

And WTF does ANY of that have to do with signing Diaby???

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[quote user="Tetteys Jig"][quote user="93vintage"]Not sure if the OP is being serious or not. If we''re going to go for a decent midfielder then I''d rather we went after a younger ex-Arsenal player, someone with prospects rather than someone who''s perpetually injured.How about Chuks Aneke at Zulte Waregem who''s a strong box-to-box midfielder in a similar mould to Diaby? From Wikipedia: "Aneke is a player not known for his pace, but the ability to see a pass and physical strength. He has been compared to former Arsenal teammate Abou Diaby. Arsène Wenger also compared his style of play as similar to that of Manchester City''s Yaya Touré".He''d cost, but I''d be happy to see us spend money on a decent young player, especially someone sensible who''s turned down Championship interest in favour of properly learning their trade.[/quote]

Admittedly I don''t know much about him IRL but check out his pace on FIFA 15! I think he might be the slowest player in the game![/quote]Pace is a weak spot but he''s strong, has good passing and control, and can score goals. He''s apparently better in attack and can play the same kind of role as Hoolahan where pace isn''t such an issue. Youth and inexperience would be bigger concerns than pace.According to Parma Ham''s thread we need someone to deputise for Wes, and Aneke wouldn''t be a bad shout imho.

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[quote user="Indy_Bones"][quote user="Eadies Left Hucks Right Iwans Heed Holts Laugh"]

Out of what I''ve seen I would take any other the following:

Any of the following - Stephen Harper, Ben Amos, Thomas Sorensen, Gerhard Tremmel as 2/3 choice goalkeeper.

Micah Richards would be a quality signing, could play right back or centre back, definately an upgrade of what we have in my opinion, just needs to stay fit. Whether or not would come here is a different matter and wages too but on a free would be excellent.

Youssouf Mulumbu would be another good solid signing with no fee attached, Premier League experience, definitely a decent option

John Guidetti, maybe worth while, probably similar to Hooper so depends on whether he stays, should be better options out there for us though.[/quote]


And WTF does ANY of that have to do with signing Diaby???

[/quote]

Alright Tiger calm down, I love the way fellow Norwich fans just wanna argue!!!

They are my pick of the frees, compared to your injury prone pick, thats all it has to do with Diaby, thank you!!!

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[quote user="Eadies Left Hucks Right Iwans Heed Holts Laugh"]They are my pick of the frees, compared to your injury prone pick, thats all it has to do with Diaby, thank you!!![/quote]Then go post them on the ''Freebies'' thread instead of hijacking a thread which is deliberately discussing a specific player..

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[quote user="mrs miggins"]Don''t worry Eadie, he''s just on his period because everyone has said his suggestion is sh!t. nothing to see here.[/quote]

Think you''ve hit the nail of the head miggins, good job wasn''t Diaby trying it would have probably missed and hit himself on the toe and been out for season!

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