James Tarkowski

[Wurzel]

Not really the level of defender I was wanting or expecting.

The questions I ask myself are is he better than what we have? Not in my opinion.

Is he going to help us go to the next level? Not in my opinion.

We have an abundance of talent in attack, we need to be really going that extra mile to get genuine quality in defensive areas and for me this would be a backup signing for what we have, not an upgrade.

[NeilS]

Not every signing is going to be some exciting big money player or wonder kid from abroad, sometimes the signings that don't seem very exciting at the time end up being the most important ones for the team. If we sign Tarkowski, then I am hopeful we will then have added an intelligent footballer who reads the game well, and now have two good communicators and leaders in central defence that will add a bit of calm to the back line in Mings and Tarkowski. Hopefully the capitulations and brain farts in defence will become less commonplace in future.

[Made In Aston]

11 hours ago, striker said:

Why do you think Villa have just signed Kamara and if rumours are correct, chasing Bissouma? Would it be that they excel taking the ball from the CB and passing forward as well as being defensively sound?

Maybe I'm watching completely different games, but our CB often get pressured when receiving the ball from Emi. You need defenders who can get out off those situations. Mings does a reasonable job but I'm not convinced Tarkowski would be right for this. 

[Wurzel]

For me, we need that exciting defender signing. We have the steady eddies already, we don't need another. We don't need to spend big in attack, we have the quality up front to progress. We need a big time defender to solidify and bring dynamism to the defence. For me that is exactly what we need right now.

 

I might add I don't know who that defender is, I'm just a dumb armchair fan, but I'm sure we have the team that does.

Edited May 25, 2022 by Wurzel
add clarification

[His Name Is Death]

Chambers wasn't the most exciting signing but has really impressed me. I'm sure Tarkowski would do a great job for us.

[CVByrne]

6 minutes ago, Wurzel said:

For me, we need that exciting defender signing. We have the steady eddies already, we don't need another. We don't need to spend big in attack, we have the quality up front to progress. We need a big time defender to solidify and bring dynamism to the defence. For me that is exactly what we need right now.

 

I might add I don't know who that defender is, I'm just a dumb armchair fan, but I'm sure we have the team that does.

My view is the same. I'm sure we have targets and whoever we sign I trust will be who we need. 

[Demitri_C]

2 hours ago, Delphinho123 said:

Why would he sign for us on a 3yr deal when he might be able to get 4 or 5 somewhere else? 

Unless the signing on bonus is huge, I can’t see him wanting anything less than a 4yr deal at his age, and rightly so tbh. This is his big pay day and he’s using it to set his family up for the rest of their lives. 

If we sign him, I imagine it will cost us around £25m over 4 years (£125k a week) which isn’t bad at all considering you’d need to spend £30m on a transfer fee alone to bring in someone as good. And even then you’re gambling if it’s a player from abroad. 

Tarkowski will improve us a lot defensively and by all accounts, is decent with the ball at his feet. He’s a leader and he slots straight in without any time needed to get up to speed. 

There is a lot to like about this deal. 

I still maintain having him for 4-5 years is crazy. He will be 34 years old by then. No thanks if thats his demands. Mings is almost 30 too.  We need to be looking at building a team for the future not having aging squad. Digne is also 29. 

Id artehe go for one in their mid twenties with their best years agrad of them

[StanBalaban]

1 minute ago, Demitri_C said:

I still maintain having him for 4-5 years is crazy. He will be 34 years old by then. No thanks if thats his demands. Mings is almost 30 too.  We need to be looking at building a team for the future not having aging squad. Digne is also 29. 

Id artehe go for one in their mid twenties with their best years agrad of them

We're always building teams for the future, and it's not gone well. I get the impression that the board and manager want a team for now. If we don't make Europe immediately, we'll be worrying about our younger talent looking elsewhere. Football seems to have issues of sustainability beyond 2 years in many cases. 

An experienced and quality centre back that can hit the ground running on a free transfer is shrewd IMO. We also have to accept that decent PL players get paid these kinds of wages and, whilst we've shied away from it in many cases, I think we've firmly pulled up a chair to the table.

[sparrow1988]

6 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

artehe

 

[Demitri_C]

1 minute ago, StanBalaban said:

We're always building teams for the future, and it's not gone well. I get the impression that the board and manager want a team for now. If we don't make Europe immediately, we'll be worrying about our younger talent looking elsewhere. Football seems to have issues of sustainability beyond 2 years in many cases. 

An experienced and quality centre back that can hit the ground running on a free transfer is shrewd IMO. We also have to accept that decent PL players get paid these kinds of wages and, whilst we've shied away from it in many cases, I think we've firmly pulled up a chair to the table.

Yeah thats a valid point. Does seen the patience is running thin hence why we are signing older experienced players. Doesnt fit into the plan that purslow was harping on about when we first got promoted.

Seems like the strategy has changed a bit looking at the age of digne, coutinho and rumoured tarkowski signing. My concern is we are going to be left with aging squad with very little resale value if these moves dont work out. If tarko flops we are stuck with aging 30 year old on 125k wages that we can't flog off 

[mjmooney]

31 minutes ago, Wurzel said:

For me, we need that exciting defender signing. We have the steady eddies already, we don't need another

I totally disagree. Mings is anything but a steady eddie. 

[duke313]

9 minutes ago, StanBalaban said:

We're always building teams for the future, and it's not gone well. I get the impression that the board and manager want a team for now. If we don't make Europe immediately, we'll be worrying about our younger talent looking elsewhere. Football seems to have issues of sustainability beyond 2 years in many cases. 

An experienced and quality centre back that can hit the ground running on a free transfer is shrewd IMO. We also have to accept that decent PL players get paid these kinds of wages and, whilst we've shied away from it in many cases, I think we've firmly pulled up a chair to the table.

There is a difference in signing players for the future and signing young players who are good enough now.  Look at Konate at Liverpool, he's 22 and one of the best defenders in the league, Ruben Dias is 25.

We need to be signing players in the 22-25 age bracket, who are good enough to go straight into first team (Kamara for example), that's how you future proof your squad. Not signing two 29 year old defenders to replace your 29 year old.

[The Fun Factory]

44 minutes ago, sparrow1988 said:

 

Don't you blaspheme in here! Don't you blaspheme in here! This is my team, this is my club, and you two are just gonna walk right out that door without your 3 year  contract, without your 120 grand a week, and without James Tarkowski.

Edited May 25, 2022 by The Fun Factory

[StanBalaban]

7 minutes ago, Demitri_C said:

Yeah thats a valid point. Does seen the patience is running thin hence why we are signing older experienced players. Doesnt fit into the plan that purslow was harping on about when we first got promoted.

Seems like the strategy has changed a bit looking at the age of digne, coutinho and rumoured tarkowski signing. My concern is we are going to be left with aging squad with very little resale value if these moves dont work out. If tarko flops we are stuck with aging 30 year old on 125k wages that we can't flog off 

I think there's definitely a shift, but it's not without balance. Coutinho is just a crazy deal, but Chambers and Digne are definitely more experienced. If Tarkowski arrives, he's be in his peak for the next 2 years too.

However, we've also just signed 22 year old Kamara, so I think recruitment is on a case-by-case basis, rather than a rigid strategy.

I think the manager can ill afford another season of transition and build, so we'll look at the immediate needs of the next year or two, along with an overriding arc for the club overseen by Purslow and Lange.

[StanBalaban]

5 minutes ago, duke313 said:

There is a difference in signing players for the future and signing young players who are good enough now.  Look at Konate at Liverpool, he's 22 and one of the best defenders in the league, Ruben Dias is 25.

We need to be signing players in the 22-25 age bracket, who are good enough to go straight into first team (Kamara for example), that's how you future proof your squad. Not signing two 29 year old defenders to replace your 29 year old.

But you can't have a team of 22-25 promising players. Tarkowski on a free to replace Hause is good business IMO, and leaves funds for other players to come in. 

The fact we've signed Kamara shows we're not just looking at older players. 

FWIW, composure and experience at CB is just fine by me, and hopefully alleviates some of the pressure on Mings.

[Tomaszk]

Isaak Toure could be an alternative.

[mjmooney]

2 minutes ago, StanBalaban said:

FWIW, composure and experience at CB is just fine by me, and hopefully alleviates some of the pressure on Mings.

I agree. Goalkeeper and centre back are the two areas where it makes sense give priority to experience, over youth and promise. 

[gwi1890]

Similar successful signings that were probably deemed unfashionable or unwanted by fans initially, Jonny Evans and Craig Dawson, Tarkowski can defend and lead, I think he instantly takes pressure off Mings, Burnley may have gone down but they’ve conceded less than us Newcastle and Brentford, and only 2 more than West Ham. It’s a balancing act , Kamara will take time to adapt, so bringing a mix of exciting talent from abroad and proven Premier League players is sensible .    

Edited May 25, 2022 by gwi1890

[duke313]

9 minutes ago, StanBalaban said:

But you can't have a team of 22-25 promising players. Tarkowski on a free to replace Hause is good business IMO, and leaves funds for other players to come in. 

The fact we've signed Kamara shows we're not just looking at older players. 

FWIW, composure and experience at CB is just fine by me, and hopefully alleviates some of the pressure on Mings.

I get that, but you equally can't have a team of 29-30 year olds.  If we sign a 29 year old defender, weather it's Tarkowski or Carlos, we need to sign a 22-23 year old preferably Lacroix or Botman to keep the balance.

[turvontour]

3 minutes ago, gwi1890 said:

Similar successful signings that were probably deemed unfashionable or unwanted by fans initially, Jonny Evans and Craig Dawson, Tarkowski can defend and lead, I think he instantly takes pressure off Mings, Burnley may have gone down but they’ve conceded less than us Newcastle and Brentford, and only 2 more than West Ham. It’s a balancing act , Kamara will take time to adapt, so bringing a mix of exciting talent from abroad and proven Premier League players is sensible .    

This is what I was thinking, Burnley are pretty good defensively for a team that doesn't score many goals and has a poor midfield. Tarkowski has been at the heart of that defence for the last few years. On a free there doesnt appear too much downside to it.