Super Joshy Sargent

[Dean Coneys boots 1,400]

We began the season like champions and sarge was on fire. His injury then saw us nosedive but now he is back and we are winning again. He is a huge benefit not only for his goals but for stretching the play and doing unseen good. Fast becoming my favourite player - really hope he stays for years to come and other teams don’t poach him. A canaries legend in the making 

[canarybubbles 1,915]

He's a lesson in not judging players too quickly. He looked utterly woeful in that first season, and I remember posting and suggesting he belonged in the National League. Blush. Now he's looking like the only good signing we made that summer (with the possible exception of Tzolis, who will probably never play another game for us anyway even if he does turn out to be a decent player).

[BroadstairsR 2,171]

31 minutes ago, canarybubbles said:

He's a lesson in not judging players too quickly. He looked utterly woeful in that first season, and I remember posting and suggesting he belonged in the National League. Blush. Now he's looking like the only good signing we made that summer (with the possible exception of Tzolis, who will probably never play another game for us anyway even if he does turn out to be a decent player).

Yep, but ironically the one who has turned out to be the biggest flop of the three "big" signings that Summer, Rashica, was the only one who impressed at Premier League level and initially looked very good. That was until he seemed to lose interest (despite his high wage level) and was hopeless during his brief spell in the Chumps.

Best rid of.

I'm hardly an expert when it comes to predicting things in football, but I do remember saying that Sargent would become a "fans' favourite" in the Championship (character, enthusiasm, work-rate.) Some of the criticism on this forum was outrages, unfair and quite ridiculous.

Too much was expected of the youngster too soon. Good signing and well worth the money paid, but probably the right signing at the wrong time. 

We'll likely never know if the same could be said of Tzolis.

Edited January 22 by BroadstairsR

[dylanisabaddog 4,929]

I mentioned on another thread that we have gained 20 points in the 8 games he's started. That's the equivalent of 115 points over a season. 

I'm no fan of Wagner but where would we be if Josh and Sainz had been available throughout? 

[Ulfotto 635]

Not bad for someone branded not a footballer less than 18 months ago.

[JonnyJonnyRowe 446]

39 minutes ago, canarybubbles said:

Now he's looking like the only good signing we made that summer (with the possible exception of Tzolis, who will probably never play another game for us anyway even if he does turn out to be a decent player).

Angus Gunn?

Edited January 22 by JonnyJonnyRowe

[Dean Coneys boots 1,400]

He had a terrible first touch when he arrived and made some real clangers- but I always liked him and felt he could become a cult hero. But I didn’t expect him to progress as he has - a very clever and hard working player. I fear the paucity of decent number 9s may lead to a lot of interest from elsewhere in the summer - but hope he stays to lead our line for years to come. 

[Nuff Said 5,142]

11 minutes ago, Ulfotto said:

Not bad for someone branded not a footballer less than 18 months ago.

It’s almost like the professionals at the club know more than the posters on this forum. Weird.

[Dean Coneys boots 1,400]

5 minutes ago, Nuff Said said:

It’s almost like the professionals at the club know more than the posters on this forum. Weird.

One swallow doth not a summer make… those professionals also signed some total dross. We haven’t had a great window in a very long time 

[canarydan23 4,060]

4 minutes ago, Nuff Said said:

It’s almost like the professionals at the club know more than the posters on this forum. Weird.

The professionals who signed Sargent to keep us in the Premier League and never intended for him to be playing for us at this level?

[BroadstairsR 2,171]

4 minutes ago, canarydan23 said:

The professionals who signed Sargent to keep us in the Premier League and never intended for him to be playing for us at this level?

Fair enough, but those professionals were probably as aware of the difficulty of that as us fans.

OK, those young signings gave some hope, but it was a fair gamble that failed to pay off.

It was just as much who we didn't sign (effective defensive midfielder) and who we sold as who we signed that contributed to our failure

[Monty13 2,234]

1 hour ago, canarybubbles said:

He's a lesson in not judging players too quickly. He looked utterly woeful in that first season, and I remember posting and suggesting he belonged in the National League. Blush. Now he's looking like the only good signing we made that summer (with the possible exception of Tzolis, who will probably never play another game for us anyway even if he does turn out to be a decent player).

I don’t think he looked woeful. People were way too harsh on him that PL season. He was mainly played on the right wing, but given his age and the size of the challenge I always thought it was obvious he had good potential.

It wasn’t his fault he was bought to address a challenge he wasn’t ready for yet.

I always liked him and he’s been my favourite player for a while now. I’ll be gutted if we lose him in the summer (which seems possible with the current top flight lack of number 9s). He’s proven himself top class at this level.

[king canary 7,607]

25 minutes ago, canarydan23 said:

The professionals who signed Sargent to keep us in the Premier League and never intended for him to be playing for us at this level?

Yeah this drives me a bit nuts- I like Sargent but he was signed to make an impact in the Premier League. The fact he has turned out to be a very good Championship striker doesn't mean that window was suddenly a success. I'm hopeful he'll continue to improve but that window will remain a failure because nobody signed helped us in our objective to stay up.

[cambridgeshire canary 6,721]

30 minutes ago, canarydan23 said:

The professionals who signed Sargent to keep us in the Premier League and never intended for him to be playing for us at this level?

To be fair if the rumours were true it seems Webber was told to not sign Sargent and was warned against the signing.

Seems thankfuly he did not pay attention. Then again did Webber ever listen to anyone?

[Petriix 2,838]

1 hour ago, BroadstairsR said:

Rashica, was the only one who impressed at Premier League level and initially looked very good.

He really didn't. He was no better than Onel. Sure, he dribbled past a few players but had zero end product and, on numerous occasions, didn't see the simple ball to play Pukki in. 

In my opinion Rashica was the single worst signing in the club's history. Not the worst player but such an incredible waste of money and completely the wrong type of player for our team. His presence made it impossible to return to the previously successful system. 

[hogesar 9,676]

1 hour ago, king canary said:

Yeah this drives me a bit nuts- I like Sargent but he was signed to make an impact in the Premier League. The fact he has turned out to be a very good Championship striker doesn't mean that window was suddenly a success. I'm hopeful he'll continue to improve but that window will remain a failure because nobody signed helped us in our objective to stay up.

 

1 hour ago, canarydan23 said:

The professionals who signed Sargent to keep us in the Premier League and never intended for him to be playing for us at this level?

I thought those permanent signings were quite obviously made with the risk associated with us possibly being relegated and them 1) staying with us 2) being good at this level. I think all our signings were with one eye looking at the realistic prospect of relegation. 

Unlike the Naismith signing, for example.

[Nuff Said 5,142]

11 minutes ago, hogesar said:

 

I thought those permanent signings were quite obviously made with the risk associated with us possibly being relegated and them 1) staying with us 2) being good at this level. I think all our signings were with one eye looking at the realistic prospect of relegation. 

Unlike the Naismith signing, for example.

As ever, a decision to sign a player is a compromise because of many factors. A player whose sole job was to improve our chances of staying up would probably have been much more experienced, like our “over the hill” signings this season, who have been criticised as dead ends. Of course, the biggest compromise for us is budget, which just makes any investment more of a gamble.

[Worthy Nigelton 1,049]

2 hours ago, dylanisabaddog said:

I mentioned on another thread that we have gained 20 points in the 8 games he's started. That's the equivalent of 115 points over a season. 

I'm no fan of Wagner but where would we be if Josh and Sainz had been available throughout? 

He's only started 6 league games all season and we've amassed 16 points, which actually extrapolates out to 122 points in a season. He's an enormous player for us and gives us a real chance if he stays fit for the rest of the season. If he does, the play-offs is 100% on and I'd give us a chance of winning them (never thought I'd say that back in November).

[shefcanary 2,409]

I'm looking forward to his tussle with VVD at Anfield on Sunday. That should tell us a bit more how far he has progressed this season.

[splutcho 173]

I think people forget how young he was when he first joined. He's only 23 now.

I don't think he was ready for the PL but he was also a very young man finding his feet in a new country playing out of position. He's also filled out a lot in a couple of years and that physicality is a big part of his game. I think it's entirely possible he could be a consistent Premier League in the future, with us or someone else.

[Segura 84]

Surprised that Sarge is seldom linked with bigger clubs, unless I've missed it.

He's developing into a real beast of a striker for us and also seems like a lovely lad, it's great to see him doing so well.

[norfolkngood 1,087]

3 minutes ago, Segura said:

Surprised that Sarge is seldom linked with bigger clubs, unless I've missed it.

He's developing into a real beast of a striker for us and also seems like a lovely lad, it's great to see him doing so well.

     i have thought that maybe just coming back from a injury is putting people off for the time being ? 

[Google Bot 3,278]

5 minutes ago, Segura said:

Surprised that Sarge is seldom linked with bigger clubs, unless I've missed it.

I think a lot of these links come from the agents getting their players name out there to publicise them.   In the case of Sarge, he seems very happy here, signed an extended contract, and made it to world cup with USMT.  I just don't think there's a need to push his name out there vs someone like Rowe who is very raw and seeking to build a reputation.

[norfolkngood 1,087]

2 minutes ago, Google Bot said:

I think a lot of these links come from the agents getting their players name out there to publicise them.   In the case of Sarge, he seems very happy here, signed an extended contract, and made it to world cup with USMT.  I just don't think there's a need to push his name out there vs someone like Rowe who is very raw and seeking to build a reputation.

he does seem very settled here 

i wonder if he ever sees friends maybe based at mildenhall / lakenheath USAF bases  

[canarybubbles 1,915]

3 hours ago, JonnyJonnyRowe said:

Angus Gunn?

Sorry. I didn't even realise Gunn was in that summer group.

[canarydan23 4,060]

1 hour ago, hogesar said:

 

I thought those permanent signings were quite obviously made with the risk associated with us possibly being relegated and them 1) staying with us 2) being good at this level. I think all our signings were with one eye looking at the realistic prospect of relegation. 

Unlike the Naismith signing, for example.

Even if you're right, spending the best part of £10 million on a player who turns out to do well in the Championship isn't something particularly worthy of praise. Whilst spending 8 or 9 million on a player is far from guaranteed to get you a player who will perform in the EPL, spending that amount on a player who flops in the Championship would be a pretty catastrophic failure.

[Worthy Nigelton 1,049]

4 minutes ago, canarydan23 said:

Even if you're right, spending the best part of £10 million on a player who turns out to do well in the Championship isn't something particularly worthy of praise. Whilst spending 8 or 9 million on a player is far from guaranteed to get you a player who will perform in the EPL, spending that amount on a player who flops in the Championship would be a pretty catastrophic failure.

RvW was also rubbish in the Championship and that was getting on for 10 years ago that we spent 8 million on him (or whatever it was). Ditto Hooper. Naismith went on to do completely average for Hearts, which is arguably a lower level than the Championship. 

I agree you'd expect a player of that value to do well in the Chumps but there's plenty who wouldn't/haven't over the years.

[Thirsty Lizard 3,165]

2 hours ago, Petriix said:

He really didn't. He was no better than Onel. Sure, he dribbled past a few players but had zero end product and, on numerous occasions, didn't see the simple ball to play Pukki in. 

In my opinion Rashica was the single worst signing in the club's history. Not the worst player but such an incredible waste of money and completely the wrong type of player for our team. His presence made it impossible to return to the previously successful system. 

Okay, it's your opinion, but VanWolfswinkel and Naismith were far, far, far worse in terms of how much money they cost us overall. 

[TheGunnShow 5,940]

The best tribute you can pay Sargent is that whilst no-one's saying he's filled Pukki's boots yet, we don't tend to moan that Pukki's gone. He had a very tough gig coming after a striker like Teemu, but he's making the shirt his.

Edited January 22 by TheGunnShow

[Google Bot 3,278]

20 minutes ago, canarydan23 said:

Even if you're right, spending the best part of £10 million on a player who turns out to do well in the Championship isn't something particularly worthy of praise.

This isn't the end of his journey though, he's doing well in the Championship and would likely be top scorer if it weren't for a freak injury.  He's still got 4 years on his contract here, we're still seeing what we will get for that £10m outlay.

If he scores in a playoff final that sends us up, would you think it's worthy of praise then?