Tosin Adarabioyo , what if ?

[Riversider]

Well we all know that finding centre halfs was seen as a priority this transfer window, we were certainly linked with enough, and in the final hours of the final day we duly signed two, so job done then, or is it ?
I had some free time yesterday , so I loaded YouTube up on my tv and entered Tosin Adarabioyo in to the search engine and got to work to see what I can find out,
There's a couple of things that I've found a little strange, firstly , why has he never ever been mentioned on this forum before ? We've been desperate for a decent centre half for a long while and yet nobody has ever mentioned him before even though we've come up against him before, Robinson had caught our eye playing for Wigan and had been mentioned numerous times on here but never Tosin, in fact I had never heard of him before he signed and I follow The Championship a lot,
Secondly, why didn't WBA or Leeds show any interest, especially at a cost of less than £2 million pounds, remember he had been on loan at WBA previously,  and Leeds had just lost out on Ben White and they had come up against Tosin four times over the last two seasons and yet they weren't tempted to make a move , seems very strange,
Thirdly , when Tosin went to Blackburn last season he was under the stewardship of Tony Mowbray a man who knows what it takes to become a centre half, bear in mind little Blackburn have just signed a player from Manchester City and yet 8 games had passed before Mowbray felt that Tosin was ready for The Championship,  and this was just a few months ago,
I'm not sure that Tosin was bought to go straight in , remember we were also signing Baumgartl until that move collapsed with minutes to go,
Marlon appears to have been the first choice, then Todibo, then Colley,  then Andersen, then Baumgartl then Tosin,
I've watched a number of games that he played in for Blackburn last season, not the full 90 minutes, but the 5 minutes hi light shows, my thoughts are that if supporters are thinking that we are now sorted at centre back then they are going to be disappointed,  Tosin isn't another Jim Hicks but then again he's certainly not another Chris Coleman either,
I will stick my neck on the block here and predict that one of MLM,  Odoi, Ream or Hector plays alongside Andersen against Sheff Utd,
Now before the usual suspects start hurling the abuse my way, please do one thing before replying , Google Blackburn Rovers v Bristol City and bear in mind this game was played just over 3 months ago in The Championship.
I think for the money involved he was a good signing, do I now think our problems are over in defence, sorry, but no I don't.

[Bassey the warrior]

It's optimistic to think he'll fix all our problems, but then again the bar isn't very high to improve us. Only MLM looks Premier League quality at the moment. I'd be interested to know how good his reading and positioning is, as well as his pace. Youtube can't show me that.

[RaySmith]

I appreciate your point Riversider, but we should give him a chance playing for us, before we judge him.

All signings are a bit of a gamble, whatever their reputation, while those  who people weren't so happy about,  can become  Fulham icons.

[Bronaldinho]

Tosin is a quality addition to this squad. The fee was astronomically low because he was in his last year of his contract and he told Man City he wanted to leave the club. With the deadline getting closer they were just happy to get a fee rather than see him leave in summer for free.

Go and read his interview about his future plans and how he wanted to be a Leader and captain at Man City, but didn't get the chances. Man City prioritised Eric Garcia's future over Tosin, and now Garcia is wanting to leave, and they've already lost Tosin.

6'5, ball playing centre-back who is actually blessed with speed is a rare thing to come by.

Also, off the pitch he's one of the nicest guys about, given all the references from his former clubs. Someone that genuinely wants to do well, and has made his move to us for that chance.

Why hasn't he been mentioned on this forum before? Mainly because he's probably been on loan at other clubs, and not one that's been on MOTD or making headlines. Goes about his job as you expect without any thrills or problems. No one had mentioned Brede or Dembele on this forum before they joined too I imagine.

This is a huge signing for us. Would expect him and Andersen to be starting CBs as the games go on. Maybe not first game as you said, but that's the longer-term partnership.

Also finally good to have a long term, highly rated defender in our side on a permanent deal. 3 years + 1 extension should we want.

[Lordedmundo]

It's optimistic to think he'll fix all our problems, but then again the bar isn't very high to improve us. Only MLM looks Premier League quality at the moment. I'd be interested to know how good his reading and positioning is, as well as his pace. Youtube can't show me that.

Obvously opinions differ - but MLM is far from Premier League quality in my opinion (too slow and physically weak for English football).  I think the game against Wolves was the first where has not made a serious mistake, but that does not suddeny make him a good player at this level.

Provided Hector recaptures his best form then I think he and Andersen will be first choice with Ream and Tosin as back up.  But let's wait and see - as long as two of the five are good enough, forge a good partnership and stay fit, then hopefully we can keep the goals against column down!

[colinwhite]

agree that hes not a soe in starter for Sheff utd and is seen as one with lots of potential. He is quick strong and tall with a fair amount of skill. For me he looked class when we played Blackburn at home and Mowbray sasid as much and that they had no chance of signing him.
You highlighted possible negatives but here are some more possible positives just to provide balance. English trained and schooled ,so will be fighting for the shirt and wanting to work hard . Provides us with pace and height at the back. Could be a very shrewd buy . The ifs and buts about prioritised targets is all speculation and to me irrelevant. It is what it is ,and I dont expect him to start against sh utd, but if Hector doesnt get his act together could well take his place.Lets hope so .

abigger concern for me is that we only have Reed as a central d m and the question is wether or not he can cut it physically. That could be a big concern defensively

[Dr Quinzel]

I think it's fair to say he may not be ready immediately; part of the reason I was concerned that any of these three may be judged on their first few games. It just won't be fair on them due to the situation we are in. Crossing my fingers to be pleasantly surprised though.

[copthornemike]

I was also wondered why WBA were not interested - however looking into his history it appears that when on loan to WBA they played him as a RB, unusual for a 6' 5" player.
The OP is correct, he may not be a starter. However with training could he make the same impact as Hector did for us in the second half of the season which has just passed?
One thing I was interested to pick up on is that supporters of the teams he has been with have opined he is a leader type and captain material. In addition to technical and physical qualities this is something our back line has missed.
Even at their best Ream & MLM appear to be characters who are very quiet on the pitch and not ones who try to dominate opponents, more cope with them. Hopefully a rejuvenated Hector and our two new CBs can provide leadership at the back and actually dominate our opponents.
Often this game appears to be as much about the mind as the feet and head!

[SuffolkWhite]

Manure signed Sanchez for loads and that didn't work out, theres always an element of luck with all signings.

[fulhamben]

If you research the Blackburn and city fan sites,  both clubs have extremely high opinions of him. Lots of city fans wanted him in their team now and are gutted he left. He will be starting for us very soon and will be an upgrade.

[Tabby]

You could look at Denayer for a 1:1 comparison I guess. Both dubbed as the "new Kompany", had mixed reviews from loan spells and left for a fairly cheap fee at the age of 23. Denayer is now 25, captain at Lyon and also one of the main reasons that Andersen was available for loan.

I don't expect him to walk into the team, but from everything I've heard about him he seems comitted and down to earth. Hope he does well, he has the attributes needed.

[Statto]

From my own review, both of Rovers fans' comments and statistics, he seemed to be performing around the same level that Hector was for us last season (back when most of us thought he was good enough for the PL) and that's the same level Mings was performing at for Villa the season before. He's certainly a very solid top 6 CB in the Championship. Whether he can step up to the PL remains to be seen. Clearly ut's possible (see Mings) but not guaranteed (see Hector so far this season)

[Carborundum]

The Antonee Robinson enthusiasm on here stemmed from two things.  He played startlingly well at the Cottage - the "Just got back" threads that night were full of references. Second, you don't need to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out that our owner is really rather keen to have a USA player in the team.  Given that particular constraint, it seemed best to point the way, somewhat repeatedly.  Add to that a strong display in the return fixture and a fire sale of Wigan players and there's forum traffic served up on a plate.

TA can't claim to have dazzled us at the Cottage or play for USA.  Fine by me and I look forward to the day I can watch him in person.

[Lighthouse]

New signing may not be answer shocker. Well no he may not be. Just like any of the other signings have proved to be not the answer either. Arguably many not any better as what we had but then I know that is open to debate and argument.

But our centre half signings have in general been poor. While I am sure some fans will think any signing is better than none. I think it only fair to wait and see before doing what many are good at and writing players and the club off before a ball was kicked.

Besides we once had a centre half who became a legend who managed to be injured in his first game and miss many early games. Time will tell. But neither the answer nor a problem be before a header is missed or won. As the saying doesn't say.

[Carborundum]

You could look at Denayer for a 1:1 comparison I guess. Both dubbed as the "new Kompany", had mixed reviews from loan spells and left for a fairly cheap fee at the age of 23. Denayer is now 25, captain at Lyon and also one of the main reasons that Andersen was available for loan.

Great point that shows how good a centre back can be without making it at Man City.  Carborundum Jnr and I always focus on the centre backs and watching him play in the Champions league was a treat.  He also has one of the best names for a centre back ever.  As far as we are concerned, Mr Denayer's rightful first name is "The".

[Radiowhite]

He's young as English, has good pedigree and generally good reviews from playing two seasons in the champ, so definitely worth a punt at 2 million. No point judging him yet as no one has seen him play for us so let's just give him some time

[Statto]

Also worth pointing out that he's comfortable on the left.

So really, all he needs to do to represent a good signing is be an upgrade on our existing LCB, Tim Ream.

Which is an incredibly low benchmark.

[Lyle from Hangeland]

If he's any good, he'll move on to a bigger club. Fulham isn't the type of squad that can hold on to the best cb's.  We have to hope for decent international players like Hangeland and Hughes wanting to play for us... the kind who aren't quite up to starting at bigger clubs.

[FulhamStu]

A leader at the back and 6 ft 5 inches is a bloody good start.   With Andersen 6 ft 4 and RLC 6 ft 3, Mitro and Frank as well do you think we may have a chance from corners ?

[Middlesexclub]

Reminds me of a Young Chris Smalling starting out with us. A few mistakes at first
but gradually improved with game time in the Euros. Has all the attributes to be a future star  🌟