anguissa

[LRCN]

be interested to know the opinion of any french football viewers on our new dm. i've found quite a decent article here - https://worldsportnews.club/news/soccer-he-wore-grandad-sweaters-meet-ligue-1-rising-star-andre-frank-zambo-anguissa.html - which seems to be the only in depth piece that exists

the sarcastic congratulations and declarations of mourning from marseille fans is genuinely quite funny (french humour is great) if not a little grounding, however the general consensus seems to be:
1 - we have overpaid for him, by how much will be determined by how he performs
2 - undoubtably strong, quick, aggressive, determined, hard worker, good in the tackle, on a steep learning trajectory ala Kamara (obviously at a higher level) and keen to take in information and improve (shows awareness of his own limitations)
3 - question marks over his stamina and tactical awareness (possibly because he was playing amateur youth football in cameroon until 4 years ago)
4 - inconsistent technique; can kill a ball, beat a man and ping a 50 yard pass ahead of a onrushing feedback but also produce inconceivable loose touches and other technical errors as in the europa league final last year
5 - confidence player, which means his form is patchy depending on where his head is at and one reason why he flourished at marseille and not reims
6 - addendum to point 5, reims let him go after a year because they didn't feel as if he had enough about him; marseille saw an unpolished gem and picked him up on a free and he has now played 90 games in the last 2 years for them at elite french elvel. hopefully we have seen something the marseille fans have not!

in summary: it seems as if he will either be phenonomonal or distinctly underwhelming.

i am really interested to see how he does. if he is a player that is particularly sensitive to coaching that bodes well for us, but also macdonald was so important because of his tactical nouse & discipline; whilst anguissa has the physical skillset to cover our back line as they go out of position, i wonder if he has the awareness to be there in the right position in the first place.

[Twig]

Well we have paid a great deal so I fervently hope this diamond polished up beautifully.

[Tabby]

He is one of those players I feel could go either way really. He could turn out to be the next Yaya Toure, or it could go to shambles.

Seeing that Joka seems to have gotten to Kamara, I have less doubts about it than I'd have otherwise. Feel both of them could turn out to be top class players once they're more drilled into the system. Both have all the attributes with technique and power, just need more tactical nous.

[Ordar]

Well he's only 22 so is still learning. He was also played as a box to box at Marseille at times and will benefit from being played in a set position in a system which should play to the strengths he has (the defensive side to the game). Point 2 in the above to me are the most important. Plus we've identified that he'll be a perfect fit for the system, which in reality is the most important thing. Most of the criticism above can be made to the vast majority of young players.

The potential he has, plus the raw attributes and and willingness to improve suggests to me that he's more likely to succeed than not. I'm very excited to see what he'll bring, especially playing behind Seri and Cairney!

[elgreenio]

What I got from a Marseille fan :

Basically he had a huge progression this year under Garcia management and he is a positive lad

He's a powerful midifielder but really lacks the offensive part of the game and tactically he needs to understand this game better

Will harrass your opponents and press 90 minutes but EPL is a huge step from Ligue 1 so he might be a struggle at first

For us this year he could not hold the midfield without Luiz Gustavo on his side who helped him a lot in positionning etc

Still young, but not sure about his ability to go really higher as he s not a "smart" player imo

You'll see pretty quickly what i'm talking about

Wont be the new Pogba or Kanté, was kind of amazed to read this kind of comments tbh, hope for you that he will do a great job

You'll be surprised by Seri who is a cracking player 

[fulhamben]

What I got from a Marseille fan :

Basically he had a huge progression this year under Garcia management and he is a positive lad

He's a powerful midifielder but really lacks the offensive part of the game and tactically he needs to understand this game better

Will harrass your opponents and press 90 minutes but EPL is a huge step from Ligue 1 so he might be a struggle at first

For us this year he could not hold the midfield without Luiz Gustavo on his side who helped him a lot in positionning etc

Still young, but not sure about his ability to go really higher as he s not a "smart" player imo

You'll see pretty quickly what i'm talking about

Wont be the new Pogba or Kanté, was kind of amazed to read this kind of comments tbh, hope for you that he will do a great job

You'll be surprised by Seri who is a cracking player 

does seem to get very mixed reviews on twitter, going from thanks for the money, to he will be the next viera

[toshes mate]

I am a fervent believer in the notion that coach(es)-player(s) relationships are the method by which all teams either come together or fall apart.  It is mental strength, attitude and team ethic that drives success.  We now have Parker on the coaching front and his history says he has a really good team ethic about him.  Alongside Jokanovic and the other coaches I believe Anguissa (and all the others) have a perfect opportunity to better themselves and their careers.  Whether the opportunity is taken or not remains to be seen but I am hopeful we will see some stunning growth in potential this season, perhaps not for everyone, but certainly for the key characters.

[Statto]

Don't care about the opinion of fans we buy players from. Johansen was an awful signing according to Celtic fans.

For context, this player is replacing McDonald who is, with all due respect to KMac, a limited player and not getting any younger (as it happens he's another whose previous clubs' fans told us was a bad signing at £1m - berks!).

And the most successful Fulham team I've watched had Dickson Etuhu in that position.

So Anguissa doesn't need to be Pele or Pirlo, just needs to be un upgrade on KMac and as good as Etuhu. And given his age, he doesn't even need to be that good now; it if takes him a year or two to get to that level it could still be a decent signing.

So there really should be no pressure.

[alfie]

Don't care about the opinion of fans we buy players from. Johansen was an awful signing according to Celtic fans.

For context, this player is replacing McDonald who is, with all due respect to KMac, a limited player and not getting any younger (as it happens he's another whose previous clubs' fans told us was a bad signing at £1m - berks!).

And the most successful Fulham team I've watched had Dickson Etuhu in that position.

So Anguissa doesn't need to be Pele or Pirlo, just needs to be un upgrade on KMac and as good as Etuhu. And given his age, he doesn't even need to be that good now; it if takes him a year or two to get to that level it could still be a decent signing.

So there really should be no pressure.

:plus one:

[amoens]

It seems incredible from France that Andre-Franck Zambo-Anguissa has cost the same price than Seri.

Zambo-Anguissa has started his career in Marseille about two and a half years ago thanks to many injuries at the time in their midfield. He wasn't considered as a great potential at the time but still became a regular player player in Marseille's rotation last year, especially when Luiz Gustavo had to move back to a CB position.

Last year he really made some improvements in his game, but still has some weaknesses which make me think he's not ready yet to play a major role in the EPL. His blooper in the Europa League final while missing a control and giving Griezmann's first goal in the most known example.

Apart from that, he's not able to kick 25 metres shots, but at least he knows that so he won't try too much. At the other end he always puts great intensity into his game which is important in the Premier League.

Here are some reactions from Marseille fans yesterday :

- "Declining a 35 M EUR offer for Anguissa is not hard, it's criminal",
- "If the amount of 35 M EUR is confirmed, then we have to drive him to the airport to make sure he's in London tonight"

To end this post, I would say that Anguissa is a player still under development, and that the Premier League style could suit him more than the French style because his main qualities will be more required in England.

[Bassey the warrior]

Only saw him in one game but he looked very good in Europa Cup final, albeit he made a bad error that led to conceding a goal.
Good at winning the ball back, strong and quick and keeps ball well.

[JOND999]

this one feels wrong to me.  Our window has been TREMENDOUS. 

think about it:
Seri
Mitro
Schurrle
Chambers
Mawson
Bryan (Joe, not Ruiz)

unfortunately, for 30m quid, Anguissa seems like a bad fit all around.  also, KMac was the heart and soul of the team last year.  i worry this one signing could tip the character and spirit of last year's run the wrong way.

[Statto]

this one feels wrong to me.  Our window has been TREMENDOUS. 

think about it:
Seri
Mitro
Schurrle
Chambers
Mawson
Bryan (Joe, not Ruiz)

unfortunately, for 30m quid, Anguissa seems like a bad fit all around.  also, KMac was the heart and soul of the team last year.  i worry this one signing could tip the character and spirit of last year's run the wrong way.

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[JoelH5]

Seems those who are not keen say it was 30 mill and everyone else accepts the reported amount of 22.3

[Bassey the warrior]

this one feels wrong to me.  Our window has been TREMENDOUS. 

think about it:
Seri
Mitro
Schurrle
Chambers
Mawson
Bryan (Joe, not Ruiz)

unfortunately, for 30m quid, Anguissa seems like a bad fit all around.  also, KMac was the heart and soul of the team last year.  i worry this one signing could tip the character and spirit of last year's run the wrong way.

Why does he feel a bad fit?

[spikey norman]

Read somewhere that West Ham tried to highjack the deal for Anguissa at the last minute so they must have seen something in him like our scouts did and probably match our bid.

[Jamie88]

Don't quite get some of the negativity regarding Anguissa - I've seen him play several times and he has stood out to me as a really good player. The Europa League final mishap keeps getting mentioned but all players make mistakes. In my opinion he is certainly an upgrade on KMac

[Barrett487]

be interested to know the opinion of any french football viewers on our new dm. i've found quite a decent article here - https://worldsportnews.club/news/soccer-he-wore-grandad-sweaters-meet-ligue-1-rising-star-andre-frank-zambo-anguissa.html - which seems to be the only in depth piece that exists

the sarcastic congratulations and declarations of mourning from marseille fans is genuinely quite funny (french humour is great) if not a little grounding, however the general consensus seems to be:
1 - we have overpaid for him, by how much will be determined by how he performs
2 - undoubtably strong, quick, aggressive, determined, hard worker, good in the tackle, on a steep learning trajectory ala Kamara (obviously at a higher level) and keen to take in information and improve (shows awareness of his own limitations)
3 - question marks over his stamina and tactical awareness (possibly because he was playing amateur youth football in cameroon until 4 years ago)
4 - inconsistent technique; can kill a ball, beat a man and ping a 50 yard pass ahead of a onrushing feedback but also produce inconceivable loose touches and other technical errors as in the europa league final last year
5 - confidence player, which means his form is patchy depending on where his head is at and one reason why he flourished at marseille and not reims
6 - addendum to point 5, reims let him go after a year because they didn't feel as if he had enough about him; marseille saw an unpolished gem and picked him up on a free and he has now played 90 games in the last 2 years for them at elite french elvel. hopefully we have seen something the marseille fans have not!

in summary: it seems as if he will either be phenonomonal or distinctly underwhelming.

i am really interested to see how he does. if he is a player that is particularly sensitive to coaching that bodes well for us, but also macdonald was so important because of his tactical nouse & discipline; whilst anguissa has the physical skillset to cover our back line as they go out of position, i wonder if he has the awareness to be there in the right position in the first place.

.     Good post, interesting replies.

[Stoneleigh Loyalist]

Many of the transfers these days are expressed in Euros rather than £Sterling
That can cause confusion with some of our readers and even the press reporters who do not make this clear.

[Skatzoffc]

From what I've seen on YouTube he could be, under the right coach, the new Dembele. He just needs to keep it simple.


Young and a long way to go, but it's all possible.

COYW!