Joel Campbell?

[MmmmGravy 0]

Just a quick post about a name I haven''t seen on here yet!

Joel Campbell, was sensational at the World Cup the other year and can''t get a look in at Arsenal. Only 22 years old and the figures being thrown about for him is about £6million.

Worth a punt?

[Indy_Bones 444]

Campbell is a bit like a younger version of Lafferty - plays very well for his country and looks highly impressive, yet never gets anywhere near replicating that form and performance at club level.He''s scored a mere 3 in 43 whilst on loan in Spain, and still only managed 1 in 4 whilst in arguably the top team in the Greek league!For the suggested 6 mil that Arsenal are looking for I think we can do much better for the money, hell I''d rather pay Berbatov 50k a week for the next 2 years than I would sign Campbell for the same money...

[Lewis Esquire 0]

I''d recommend reading ''The Secret Footballer'' before signing Berbatov.

If you believe what is written in that book, you wouldn''t want to sign Berbatov.

If like, I say, you believe what you read he is an ego and very disruptive in the dressing room. He does not mix with other players, which is obviously key to bonding and team spirit.

[kick it off 2,062]

No chance. He''ll go to a big European team. Fenerbahce have been constantly linked with him this summer (Champions League football, 15% income tax and living in the wonderful city of Istanbul probably put them quite a long way ahead of us in the queue if indeed they are interested). He could take his pick of any team in La Liga outside of Real and Barca, or teams above us in the Prem pecking order will be after him if indeed he does want to stay in England.

[kick it off 2,062]

I should add that Galatasaray are also after him as well as Fenerbahce according to Turkish media

[djc 0]

Worth a punt? Send him to Cambridge....

[TheTetteyRole 0]

What about a little bit of Lukas Podolski? Unrealistic at best but Arsenal do want to off load him and inter don''t look like saying yes.

[chicken 0]

[quote user="Indy_Bones"]Campbell is a bit like a younger version of Lafferty - plays very well for his country and looks highly impressive, yet never gets anywhere near replicating that form and performance at club level.He''s scored a mere 3 in 43 whilst on loan in Spain, and still only managed 1 in 4 whilst in arguably the top team in the Greek league!For the suggested 6 mil that Arsenal are looking for I think we can do much better for the money, hell I''d rather pay Berbatov 50k a week for the next 2 years than I would sign Campbell for the same money...[/quote]

He''s mainly been played as a winger from what I have seen though. I wouldn''t say he was bad, and I really would have him over a 34 year old Berbatov.

[Indy_Bones 444]

[quote user="chicken"]He''s mainly been played as a winger from what I have seen though. I wouldn''t say he was bad, and I really would have him over a 34 year old Berbatov.[/quote]Even played as a winger that''s a pretty pi$$ poor return for a player in a good league who''s meant to be an international level striker.Campbell doesn''t fit ANY of the boxes that AN is currently using in regards to striker selection. He isn''t strong enough (or technically gifted enough) to play the lone striker role like Cam does, he could arguably do a similar role to Grabban by pulling out wide and running channels but is he really that much better at the job than LG would be?On a final note, whilst I can fully understand reservations about signing a player like

Berbatov, he''s a more than proven goalscorer in the league we''re

playing in, with an incredibly high level of natural talent and superb

technical ability, who''s never really relied on pace or strength to get

results and therefore his overall game is going to be affected much less

by age than a player like Walcott would, and his abilities will be ideal for helping to play our midfielders in as well.

[tricky974 63]

Would rather have poldolski

[chicken 0]

[quote user="Indy_Bones"][quote user="chicken"]He''s mainly been played as a winger from what I have seen though. I wouldn''t say he was bad, and I really would have him over a 34 year old Berbatov.[/quote]Even played as a winger that''s a pretty pi$$ poor return for a player in a good league who''s meant to be an international level striker.Campbell doesn''t fit ANY of the boxes that AN is currently using in regards to striker selection. He isn''t strong enough (or technically gifted enough) to play the lone striker role like Cam does, he could arguably do a similar role to Grabban by pulling out wide and running channels but is he really that much better at the job than LG would be?On a final note, whilst I can fully understand reservations about signing a player like

Berbatov, he''s a more than proven goalscorer in the league we''re

playing in, with an incredibly high level of natural talent and superb

technical ability, who''s never really relied on pace or strength to get

results and therefore his overall game is going to be affected much less

by age than a player like Walcott would, and his abilities will be ideal for helping to play our midfielders in as well.[/quote]

Firstly Campbell would play as one of the wider players, not as a lone striker, he has buckets of pace. Almost an alternative to Redmond.

And look at Berbatov''s recent record - Monaco 2014-15, 38 appearances, 9 goals. Do we really want to go down the Elmander path again? No.

Really not a good option. He wouldn''t offer much from the bench and he''d be an absolute waste of money. Past it, had it and will probably be retired come next summer. As for talent and technical ability - all very well and good but his attitude is the real question. Couldn''t be arsed for Fulham. Has hardly ripped up trees at Monaco, and flounced about a bit when not selected at Man Utd. One of those players who has promised to be something big in the past but never quite lived up to it. And at 34 is not the sort of player I expect to care enough to really battle for a side.

You can slate Joel Campbell all you like but he is only 22, soon to be 23. His best years are ahead of him. Could you imagine him on one side and Redmond on the other? Buckets of pace and ability.

If I was to choose between the two - and going on what they offer now, and not 5 years ago. It would be Campbell every time because he is still mould-able, shape-able and still growing and improving as a player. With Berbatov you get what you see, which is a player that has promised more than he has ever lived up to. And out of the two, the younger, more enthusiastic would appear to be more of an AN signing than an over the hill has-been.

[Indy_Bones 444]

I don''t think we''re going to agree on this one Chicken.You are advocating paying good money for a guy who managed a single goal and ZERO assists in 27 games, supposedly in order to improve our attacking options whilst then refusing the guy who scored 9 in 35 (with 1 assist) who can also perfectly play the lone striker role and help bring our other players into the game....just lolCampbell is fast and that''s about it. Redmond has been criticised for somewhat wayward crossing and a lack of end product pretty much since we signed him, and yet you want a guy who manages only a third of the crosses Redmond does per game, has much lower passing accuracy and doesn''t seem able to provide the ammunition for the strikers like Redmond does either...but hey - he''s quick....I''d rather buy a 9 year old throughbred with only a year or two of racing left in them, then a 3 year old nag who will never be as good as the 9 year old is now...

[chicken 0]

That''s where you are wrong. I would much rather take a player that has youth and hunger for the game than one that is lazy and is only interested in the pay check. When was the last time Berbatov had a good season? And he is the last player I would want bringing younger players through.

In all honesty I''d rather have better than the pair of them but you seem happy to go down the route we did last time we were in the prem and get relegated. Jerome and Grabban are better optikns than Berbatov now who would stuggle to play every game at this level.

If you wanted an experienced striker of that ilk I would look at Ricky Lambert who will at least put a shift in and get stuck in. And not be a 50k a week bench warmer.

If we don''t agree it''s because you are overating a has been whilst I am advocating for a young player that could yet still be a success.

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 2,424]

Monaco were very happy with Berbatov''s season but are looking to refresh their strike force and decided against offering a years extension which they were considering.

Did you not see him in the two games against Arsenal? He scored in one of them and played very well. He has also added work rate into his game (strangely for a 33/34 year old).

I don''t think he''s right for Norwich (not that it was ever likely to happen).

Joel Campbell is also a good player, had a tough season but has a lot of ability just needs to settle somewhere. He has been shifted around in several different positions over the season at Villarreal and stuck out on the wing in a 4-4-2 that didn''t really suit him. Much better as one of a 3 in a 4-3-3.

He is yet to produce his international form at club level, although had a very good moments in his season at Olympiacos. I expect he''ll move to Spain this summer.

[Legend Iwan 30]

If you think Berbatov has been ''lazy'' while at Monaco, Chicken, I''d recommend you rewatch their Champions League campaign, in particular when he played against Arsenal and Juve.

[Indy_Bones 444]

How is Berbatov a ''has been'' when he''s just finished a perfectly good season at Monaco averaging a goal every 2.7 games (taking into account total minutes played)?That would equate to 14 a season by that ratio in the prem, hardly $hit is it?Let me also point out his peformance in Fulham''s 12/13 squad where he outscored every other player by at least a 3:1 ratio weighing in with 15 goals in 32 games = a goal every 2.13 games! He also won more aerial duels in that side bar everyone apart from Fulham''s 2 main centre halves which is why he''s well suited to a lone striker role where he can bring the ball down and play it onto a teammate, which is exactly what AN has been wanting Jerome to do.Berbatov has basically scored a goal every two games over the past 5 years, and he''s scored well at every single club beyond that as well (1.88 gpg for CSKA, 2.2 gpg for Bayer, 2.6 gpg for Spurs, 2.25 gpg for Man U, 2.68 for Fulham and 2.92 for Monaco). He is a completely and utterly proven asset at this level.Now compare this to Campell who in the past 5 years has managed 8 goals in 90 games = 11.25 gpg, and even his latest season at Villareal he''s managed a shockingly poor 13.45 gpg ratio. However, as you point out, he''s often been utilised as a winger, so how about his passing and creativity stats then?90 games player, 5 assists = an assist every 18 games (so two a season in a 38 game season), passing accuracy of 73.3% (which is lower than the much criticised Bradley Johnson''s pass accuracy!), and 0.3 succesful crosses per game (compared to say Redmond''s of 1.5) and 0.7 key passes per game (lower than Berbatov''s 1.2, Johnson''s 0.8 and Redmond''s 1.8).Basically Campbell is a very quick winger who can''t pass, can''t cross, gets tackled too easily and can''t finish for toffee, and whilst he clearly has the time to improve, he''s not even close to the performance and ability level of even Redmond or Johnson, never mind an experienced maestro like Berbatov ffs!It''s quite obvious that you have some personal belief that Berbatov is simply a lazy player who only wants a fat paycheck, but you don''t have a career like he has with the clubs that he''s played for if that''s the case.In the end the stats don''t lie, Berbatov pi$$es all over Campbell despite being 10 years his senior and I''d rather take a chance on Berbatov playing at even 2/3rd''s of his previous performance levels because that''s still better than Campbell playing 3 times better than he is now...

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 2,424]

Stats do lie Indy, especially in football, where context is key.

[Indy_Bones 444]

[quote user="Bethnal Yellow and Green"]Stats do lie Indy, especially in football, where context is key.[/quote]What context is incorrect here Bethnal?Berbatov has scored between 10-25 goals a season when playing in the prem over the past 9 years (even his last season in an apalling Fulham side, he got 5 in 19 which is 10 over a full season), this is relative context, he''s performed consistently well in the very league we will be playing in, compared to Campbell who''s performed consistently worse in easier leagues!

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 2,424]

Comparing scoring rates of players in different teams, in different leagues and who play in different positions is redundant.

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 2,424]

Oh, and in different time frames.

Trying to say that there is any relevance between the goal ratio of Berbatov and Campbell over the past 9 seasons and their abilities would see you booted out of any statistical class I''ve ever attended.

[Hoola Han Solo 448]

Exactly, stats can always be bent to fit an agenda.

Now say one striker had scored 15 goals is the Scottish Premiership and another striker had scored 15 goals in the Premier League. I''m sure most would agree the Premier League striker has more of an achievement. This is why the recent rumour John Guidetti''s goal return of 8 in 24 games in Scotland looks pretty poor.

[Indy_Bones 444]

[quote user="Wes Hooly Fan"]Exactly, stats can always be bent to fit an agenda.

Now say one striker had scored 15 goals is the Scottish Premiership and another striker had scored 15 goals in the Premier League. I''m sure most would agree the Premier League striker has more of an achievement. This is why the recent rumour John Guidetti''s goal return of 8 in 24 games in Scotland looks pretty poor.[/quote]And this is also why I''d rather have Berbatov than Campbell.Berbatov has REPEATEDLY scored double figures (sometimes 20+) pretty much every season he''s played in the prem, whereas Campbell has struggled to score and assist REPEATEDLY regardless of the league he''s been playing in.This isn''t fitting stats to an agenda, it''s pointing out the bleeding obvious - in that Berbatov has been, and likely always will have been a much better player than Campbell, who is a player that has done nothing in the past couple of seasons of club football to suggest he''s anywhere near good enough for regular games in the prem, and certainly nothing to suggest he''ll ever get close to Berbatov''s historical performance levels or even current performance level...

[chicken 0]

"Now compare this to Campell who in the past 5 years has managed 8 goals in 90 games = 11.25 gpg, and even his latest season at Villareal he''s managed a shockingly poor 13.45 gpg ratio. However, as you point out, he''s often been utilised as a winger, so how about his passing and creativity stats then?"

Five years ago Campell was 17. So your entire argument is utter fail.

[kick it off 2,062]

Irrelevant argument as Berbatov ain''t coming here whether we want him or not, and neither is Joel Campbell.

Turkish press reckon he''s on the verge of signing for Fenerbahce which would be a good signing for them as he would excel at that level (Colin Kazim-Richards was a starter for both Fener and Gala for a while ffs!). I still think he goes to Spain but wouldn''t be shocked to see him sign for Fenerbahce. Either way, he won''t be signing for us, so we can send the thread to Dignitas now.

[lappinitup 629]

[quote user="Indy_Bones"]In the end the stats don''t lie.....[/quote]

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Signed for Fenerbahce. Awaiting official confirmation but journos are confident it''s a done deal pending formalities.