Bamford at Boro last season?

 

He won the POTY in the Champioship, for the whole league. No mean feat.

 

Ake is now proven in the Prem. Probably an even better accomplishment.

Hope we bring him back and give him a go, hes a classy player

He's still only 21, I thought he was older than that. I really hope Conte gives all these youngsters and loaned players a proper assessment when he comes in.

To be honest, i wasn't that impressed with him at Watford, i thought he would be better. I don't think he defended or got forward all that well as a LB, i thought he looked pretty average. If he is to return then i don't think he will be good enough as a regular starter. He may need to go out on loan once again.

On loan again? If he's not considered ready or good enough then none of our youths stand a chance. 

On loan again? If he's not considered ready or good enough then none of our youths stand a chance. 

 

Well it's either that or he plays as a back up to Azpilicueta or get's sold. I have seen nothing from him this season that deserves a place in our first 11.

To be honest, i wasn't that impressed with him at Watford, i thought he would be better. I don't think he defended or got forward all that well as a LB, i thought he looked pretty average. If he is to return then i don't think he will be good enough as a regular starter. He may need to go out on loan once again.

 

I'd prefer if we signed Van Der Wiel or Elmohamady on a free tbh... he's done well but for me isn't top 6 starting LB. Another year at Watford.

Edited May 19, 201610 yr by the special one

At minimum he deserves to be on our bench with his versatility he would be a great asset to the squad.

He has proven he is a very good LB at BPL level, he would also be able to slot in as a CB if Conte wants to go 3 at the back and actually had one of his best performances I saw from him at CB this season, but for me he always looked better as a CDM which would be a very useful asset to have if we were to go with a 4-1-2-3 or a 3-5-2 next season.
So why not at least give him a squad role and some minutes at worst he is more defensively solid than Baba which would mean Azpi can play RB and I would imagine a lot of people will be wanting to see less game time for Ivanovic there so surely that is a win.

What I would like to see is him being rotated with Baba depending on the type of game, but only time and Conte (or for the more synical among you Emanolo or Abramovich) will be able to tell whether that will happen or not.   

I'd prefer if we signed Van Der Wiel or Elmohamady on a free tbh... he's done well but for me isn't top 6 starting LB. Another year at Watford.

That's a terrible idea.

Think he would be good ideal for central midfield. He always seemed to play well there.

I think this kid is real quality, about time we gave him a proper go...

He's absolutely cleaned up at any loan he's been sent on and has proved himself once again, if he doesn't come back and play a part in the squad then there's no hope for anyone.

That's a terrible idea.

 

Each to their own. Perhaps it is a terrible idea as you say. But imho so is taking a risk on a player who for me hasn't excelled as a LB at Watford... he's simply achieved the bare minimum of what should be expected (24 appearances 1 goal 0 assists).

 

Although I suggested he should stay at Watford I hope he stays with us but only if the PL increase the number of allowed subs... as PedroMendez suggests his versatility may be beneficial and 9 subs would increase the likelihood of a place in the matchday squad. If the number of allowed subs remains at 7 however I think the squad would benefit more with proven experience (so a fit Asamoah, Rodriguez, Van Der Wiel, Caceres, Elmohamady etc) and Ake may as well gain more experience on loan/at Watford.

Edited May 19, 201610 yr by the special one

I understand your point to but honestly he performed in my view better than Baba this season. I'd prefer we signed a new left back a Ghoulam or a Hector and kept Ake as our backup.

Should be part of the squad. And probably should be our starting LB since I cant see us going into the market to buy another 20 million LB after buying Baba last season. We have far more glaring deficiencies in the Cm and CB positions.

 

I think Ake was very good at Watford. Can easily see Conte making him our starting LB.

Think he would be good ideal for central midfield. He always seemed to play well there.

I agree with this. I haven't really been all that impressed with him playing LB at Watford and thought there was more to get excited about when we played him as a DM. I'll be very surprised if he goes on to play for a top 10 Premier League side playing as a LB.

Edited May 20, 201610 yr by Scott Harris

i think he could definitely be moulded into a defensive mid. i would prefer we give baba a real go and let him develop in that left back role otherwise it's 21 million wasted on a potentially quality young lb. 

Each to their own. Perhaps it is a terrible idea as you say. But imho so is taking a risk on a player who for me hasn't excelled as a LB at Watford... he's simply achieved the bare minimum of what should be expected (24 appearances 1 goal 0 assists).

Although I suggested he should stay at Watford I hope he stays with us but only if the PL increase the number of allowed subs... as PedroMendez suggests his versatility may be beneficial and 9 subs would increase the likelihood of a place in the matchday squad. If the number of allowed subs remains at 7 however I think the squad would benefit more with proven experience (so a fit Asamoah, Rodriguez, Van Der Wiel, Caceres, Elmohamady etc) and Ake may as well gain more experience on loan/at Watford.

Although I somewhat agree with you're saying. I'd rather take a risk on one of our own players than players who we already know aren't very good (I.e van der wiel or el mohamady).

He's absolutely cleaned up at any loan he's been sent on and has proved himself once again, if he doesn't come back and play a part in the squad then there's no hope for anyone.

 

He's only really been on one proper loan. His loan to Reading he was only there a couple of months and played like 5 games so can't class that as 'cleaning up'. 

This makes me miss Ryan Bertrand even more.  I think we handled that poorly, but I know Berty wanted 1st team football.  He's done pretty well at Southampton 

This makes me miss Ryan Bertrand even more.  I think we handled that poorly, but I know Berty wanted 1st team football.  He's done pretty well at Southampton 

 

I think Bertrand has gone from strength to strength at Southampton. If he was our regular LB right now then i would have been very happy with that.

I don't think he would be the same player if he stayed here.

He was never going to get the same game time he got there at Chelsea.

I don't think he would be the same player if he stayed here.

He was never going to get the same game time he got there at Chelsea.

 

that's the sad reality, I am afraid.  Glad to see him develop into a decent player.  Just a shame he was forced to look elsewhere because of people playing out of position 

i miss felipe luis even more. 

I agree with this. I haven't really been all that impressed with him playing LB at Watford and thought there was more to get excited about when we played him as a DM. I'll be very surprised if he goes on to play for a top 10 Premier League side playing as a LB.

I wouldn't say I've been impressed by Ake at Watford (although that United game was the best I've seen him play at left back), not because I think he's been poor, but because he's doing things and putting in good performances that were already clearly apparent during his time with us. I'm glad he's getting regular gametime but all the loan has done is made me go "I told you so" and annoy me as he should be in the squad already. 

 

I've always said when discussing Ake that he is wasted at left back, it's clearly his weakest position, so I agree that I would be very surprised if he developed into a top class left back. His versatility is useful but his best position is center back, if there's no space there then he's a very good midfielder. 

 

He's only really been on one proper loan. His loan to Reading he was only there a couple of months and played like 5 games so can't class that as 'cleaning up'. 

Won MOTM twice during his five appearances, maybe not "cleaning up" but doing very well regardless.

 

I think Bertrand has gone from strength to strength at Southampton. If he was our regular LB right now then i would have been very happy with that.

Funny thing with Bertrand is that he has barely improved. Only reason it looks that way is because he's been given regular game time he never got with us. 

 

Nothing he's doing at Southampton should come as a surprise, he's always had that ability.