Sargent is signed on

[ROBFLECK 132]

It's also a Farke "kind of player" . If anything I think DF will get the best out of Josh and he's got a work ethic this boy so I think he will blossom under DF.

Welcome to Norwich City,  Josh!

[KiwiScot 1,436]

Squad Number 24 for those interested. He counts as a youth player as well.

Edited August 10, 2021 by KiwiScot

[Van wink 2,994]

46 minutes ago, ROBFLECK said:

It's also a Farke "kind of player" . If anything I think DF will get the best out of Josh and he's got a work ethic this boy so I think he will blossom under DF.

Welcome to Norwich City,  Josh!

Absolutely, one of Farke’s many strengths is developing young players, Josh looks like a good fit for City, welcome 👍

Edited August 10, 2021 by Van wink

[Harry53 207]

As he has already played some games recently I think he could well get minutes against Liverpool. He looks an exciting prospect up front. Maybe not technically gifted like Todd but apparently his work rate is high and knows how to get in on goal

[Crabbycanary3 994]

Here's an interview with him

https://www.facebook.com/NorwichCityFootballClub/videos/362246002244576

 

I think he's excited.......

[Creedence Clearwater Couto 1,251]

Half the price of Armstrong. Let's hope it's another Weber masterclass. 

It does beg the question however, why did we not sign Sargent with Rashica? Does that suggest Armstrong (or another) was first choice? I read that Bayer Leverkusen we're ready to bid, so perhaps that forced our hand. 

Edited August 10, 2021 by Creedence Clearwater Couto

[norfolkngood 1,086]

Little Worried By his Goalscoring Stats but Trust Webber and Farke 

If they Turn him into a Goalscoring Machine he will be a Bargain 

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

Got to give him every chance to impress. No preconceived opinions on somebody who hasn't played for us yet.

Remember the bad press Iwan got to start and he became a legend.

[HazzaJet 252]

I’m very unconvinced by his statistics but there must be something about him that could make him a good signing, otherwise Webber wouldn’t have signed him. Hopefully I’ll be proven wrong

[Bonzo 198]

14 hours ago, Christoph Stiepermann said:

As much as I like and respect Bethnal..I disagree with his assessment of this player. We need a hard working forward who can link the midfield and attack and who can create chances for other players, he will get better and he will raise our profile in the USA. I remember Shearer was seen as a hard working support striker who didn't score many goals when he was young, then he matured and the rest is history, he's got an exception coach who turned Teemu Pukki into a dangerous PL lever striker so I'm excited to see how this guy develops with us. 

One of Teemu's lesser known stats is his pass completion - for a forward player it is very high. It is in the  low to mid 70's % wise compared to both Idah and Hugill who are in the 60's.

Well "so what?"  you might ask. It might be nice to have but who really cares about a forward's pass completion if he scores goals- surely the finishing is the only thing that really matters?

The point of course is well known, Pukki doesn't give the ball back to opponents. He keeps the move going. He recycles play and supports the move either by holding the ball or by making space for others by his movement. Shearer was doing the same thing.

But there is more to this subject.

Because we are talking about forward players we are largely also talking about retaining or conceding possession in the attacking third.

That's the real kicker.

Statistically with all things being equal any forward who has a 60% pass completion rate will  concede 33% more possession in the attacking third than will a forward with a 70% pass completion. 

What manager or team would not want more possession in the attacking third? 

Sargent has 70% plus pass completion which is high for a forward. Not far off Pukki.

 

 

 

 

[Ken Hairy 3,759]

5 hours ago, Crabbycanary3 said:

Here's an interview with him

https://www.facebook.com/NorwichCityFootballClub/videos/362246002244576

 

I think he's excited.......

He genuinely does look buzzing to be here, unlike...... 

[Ken Hairy 3,759]

2 hours ago, HazzaJet said:

I’m very unconvinced by his statistics but there must be something about him that could make him a good signing, otherwise Webber wouldn’t have signed him. Hopefully I’ll be proven wrong

Got better stats than either Shearer or the coverted Armstrong did at his age..... Just saying 🤷‍♂️

Edited August 10, 2021 by Ken Hairy

[Vazzza 62]

A little old now, but a good watch. Can see he’s definitely a ‘Farke player’

[The Great Mass Debater 1,078]

Interesting we have gone for club-mates in this window.

Rashica and Sargent. Giannoulis and Tzolis

 

[DirtyDishFC 12]

20 hours ago, Basel_NCFC said:

His goal output last season looks a little poor but he was playing in a struggling team, given our strong scouting network in Germany,  could be a steal.  Normally appears that Bayern Munich sweep up all the talent in Germany, hope they missed a trick here! 

 

The bigger clubs tried in Germany when he was just eligible to go abroad. Probably made the right choice in terms of playing time and to get experience. 

I say this as an outsider but I hope he gets time to integrate into the side. Maybe play some sub minutes and cup games early on. He will work hard and I think that might be part of why he was targeted. For those matches that maybe Pukki wasting his legs for 60 minutes against certain teams that hold the ball and play at high levels. He can work his socks off, hopefully score for you guys in those games, but tactically allow for a more clinical player to come on with fresh legs to nick results and gain points where most would say the other team is the favorite. 

https://www.bundesliga.com/en/bundesliga/news/josh-sargent-turned-down-bayern-munich-borussia-dortmund-for-werder-bremen-2807-1340

[Christoph Stiepermann 1,131]

On 10/08/2021 at 12:48, Bonzo said:

One of Teemu's lesser known stats is his pass completion - for a forward player it is very high. It is in the  low to mid 70's % wise compared to both Idah and Hugill who are in the 60's.

Well "so what?"  you might ask. It might be nice to have but who really cares about a forward's pass completion if he scores goals- surely the finishing is the only thing that really matters?

The point of course is well known, Pukki doesn't give the ball back to opponents. He keeps the move going. He recycles play and supports the move either by holding the ball or by making space for others by his movement. Shearer was doing the same thing.

But there is more to this subject.

Because we are talking about forward players we are largely also talking about retaining or conceding possession in the attacking third.

That's the real kicker.

Statistically with all things being equal any forward who has a 60% pass completion rate will  concede 33% more possession in the attacking third than will a forward with a 70% pass completion. 

What manager or team would not want more possession in the attacking third? 

Sargent has 70% plus pass completion which is high for a forward. Not far off Pukki.

 

 

 

 

Which is encouraging because it means we might have another player who can contribute to the team in the same way Pukki does. I'm not one of those fans who gets on the clubs back all the time, but I've often been frustrated with the profile of striker we've chosen to pursue for a long time. Basically the opposite of what Sargent is supposed to offer, a pure poacher who's actually a rubbish footballer who offers nothing outside the penalty box like RVW, Hooper, Cureton, Earnshaw, Rhodes etc. I don't like players like that.

We have so much talent in attacking midfield areas and instead of having them work to put chances on a plate for a poacher I like the idea of a hard working striker who plays others in and does the dirty work to make us more effective in attack. So what if he misses chances, so does every striker, but forwards like Sargent and Pukki who have something to their game besides just scoring goals will always end up getting better results over time than a Rhodes like poacher. 

[Danke bitte 965]

Just read an interesting piece on the EDP about Sergent. 

What I find paradoxical however is this notion that Sergent isn’t the finished article, which is fair enough. But what I’m struggling with is the noise coming out of Carrow Road about making a fist of things to stay up. 

Surely buying an unproven, unfinished article in Sergent to support Pukki is a massive punt when the clamour has been “we want to stay up.” 

Fair enough, get Sergent in, but given how much we struggled last time for goals when Drmic was our chief support to Pukki I’m not really sure this is much different. 

It’s like “give him time” but realistically, we don’t have that time to give. 

What also seems strange now is the EDP journos, who had suggested for a long time Idah was ready, are now backtracking a little and suggesting it’s up to him to grab his chance. 

At this point, I can’t say I’m feeling particularly confident with the up front alternatives to Pukki. Thoughts?
 

 

 

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,777]

1 hour ago, Danke bitte said:

Just read an interesting piece on the EDP about Sergent. 

What I find paradoxical however is this notion that Sergent isn’t the finished article, which is fair enough. But what I’m struggling with is the noise coming out of Carrow Road about making a fist of things to stay up. 

Just because he's not the finished article, doesn't mean he's not useful now. It could just be that he has a high ceiling.

You could easily argue than Aarons and Cantwell are not the finished articles, yet they're still plenty good enough for us right now.

[TheGunnShow 5,932]

5 minutes ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

Just because he's not the finished article, doesn't mean he's not useful now. It could just be that he has a high ceiling.

You could easily argue than Aarons and Cantwell are not the finished articles, yet they're still plenty good enough for us right now.

Exactly that. They may well be good enough to help us now, but with room to develop so they could also develop with us as we become settled. That's the clear aim.

[Haus 259]

On 10/08/2021 at 09:42, Crabbycanary3 said:

Here's an interview with him

https://www.facebook.com/NorwichCityFootballClub/videos/362246002244576

 

I think he's excited.......

I hate the way he pronounces Premier League though haha

[Danke bitte 965]

17 minutes ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

Just because he's not the finished article, doesn't mean he's not useful now. It could just be that he has a high ceiling.

You could easily argue than Aarons and Cantwell are not the finished articles, yet they're still plenty good enough for us right now.

 

11 minutes ago, TheGunnShow said:

Exactly that. They may well be good enough to help us now, but with room to develop so they could also develop with us as we become settled. That's the clear aim.

So in that way, do you think we're signing these players with one eye on the future but attempting to keep the squad as tight as it can be for the now i.e. Tzolis and Sergent having minutes in fits and starts where required?  

(In that vein I do wonder if we've left ourselves short with relying on Idah to cover for Pukki as I mentioned above, there seems to be some back peddling in the EDP as to his ability to fit in right now.)

I recall there being some chat about us replicating the Burnley model, a tight first team but with focus on tech to help improve and prevent injuries to keep our best starting 11 on pitch? 

Just for the record, I'm not being negative here, I'm just tempering my expectations with the new signings. 

[Bonzo 198]

1 hour ago, Danke bitte said:

Just read an interesting piece on the EDP about Sergent. 

What I find paradoxical however is this notion that Sergent isn’t the finished article, which is fair enough. But what I’m struggling with is the noise coming out of Carrow Road about making a fist of things to stay up. 

Surely buying an unproven, unfinished article in Sergent to support Pukki is a massive punt when the clamour has been “we want to stay up.” 

Fair enough, get Sergent in, but given how much we struggled last time for goals when Drmic was our chief support to Pukki I’m not really sure this is much different. 

It’s like “give him time” but realistically, we don’t have that time to give. 

What also seems strange now is the EDP journos, who had suggested for a long time Idah was ready, are now backtracking a little and suggesting it’s up to him to grab his chance. 

At this point, I can’t say I’m feeling particularly confident with the up front alternatives to Pukki. Thoughts?
 

 

 

Maybe we should have gone for someone like Mbappe. Delia would have to knock out quite a few more cook books over her summer holidays for us to afford him though (come on Delia what are you waiting for?).  I do agree with the OP, signing Sargent is a risk. But signing anyone is a risk.

Of course a proven Premiership goal scorer, even if we could afford one, would be ideal but even if we could sign one there is no guarantee that they could replicate their goal scoring feats with us. Fernando Torres was prolific at Liverpool and fitted their system perfectly but after his big money move to Chelsea his results were muted at best.

Harry Kane was the same in reverse when he played for us Meh, then suddenly he's the next big thing but only when he goes back to Spurs?

Signing a proven goal scorer isn't the universal panacea that many imagine it to be.

Football is a team game. That is the thinking (I believe) behind the signing of Sargent.

The second aspect of this season's plan is that it looks as though we will play a different system- it will still have the elements of "Farkeball" but it seems that "Farkeball" is evolving. It will no longer be the dogmatic 4231 despite how well this system has served us.

In it's new guise "Farkeball" looks to have added 3421 and 532 to the mix and what the heck in all probability 343 too. 

Players who can move between the lines is the added feature. Farke has added a new ingredient to "Farkeball" and that ingredient is "total football". This system demands smart players. 

If this new approach works we will not be reliant wholly on Pukki's goals as we'll have goals from a multitude of players and a greater counter attacking threat than we've had in years.

Farke's real challenge as a manger is about making the team greater than the sum of it's parts and it is on this basis that we should judge the success of his strategy and the signing of players like Sargent and the potential change in formation.  

Farke is on record as saying that we need to be brave this season. 

 

 

 

 

 

[TheGunnShow 5,932]

Just now, Danke bitte said:

 

So in that way, do you think we're signing these players with one eye on the future but attempting to keep the squad as tight as it can be for the now i.e. Tzolis and Sergent having minutes in fits and starts where required?  

(In that vein I do wonder if we've left ourselves short with relying on Idah to cover for Pukki as I mentioned above, there seems to be some back peddling in the EDP as to his ability to fit in right now.)

I recall there being some chat about us replicating the Burnley model, a tight first team but with focus on tech to help improve and prevent injuries to keep our best starting 11 on pitch? 

Just for the record, I'm not being negative here, I'm just tempering my expectations with the new signings. 

That's precisely how I see it - our model is very much about finding young talent, developing it and selling on for loadsa lolly. At the same time, there's room for better-quality and more experienced heads to come in to act as a framework on which the whole team can be built. Furthermore, if we do stay up this time, you'd also hope the youngsters learn from the experience on top of the quality coaching Farke and his team will invariably provide.

Put it this way, selling Maddison didn't just result in Buendia coming in from a playing perspective. It also saw Lukas Rupp come along a little bit later. A proven veteran in the Bundesliga who settled excellently in the Championship and showed his class and then some in there when fit. Godfrey's departure heralded Ben Gibson's arrival - another more experienced head with some top-flight experience and was close to an England call-up. Lewis's departure saw a far more experienced head in Giannoulis, who's still young enough to develop a while.

Selling Buendia's given us an overhaul in attacking midfield and also given us greater depth in theory. One proven experienced head in Lees-Melou (who is more of an all-rounder), and three exciting younger talents in Tzolis, Rashica, and Sargent. Consider it a combination of a tight first team with youth development.