26 minutes ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

Worth every penny

He's not. 

If he's only able to play 10-15 games a season then we need a more reliable player. 

The reason I wouldn't sell is because I dream of him suddenly not becoming broken. 

1 hour ago, bisright1 said:

He's not. 

If he's only able to play 10-15 games a season then we need a more reliable player. 

The reason I wouldn't sell is because I dream of him suddenly not becoming broken. 

With Gusto here to pick up the slack and the tactical option of playing a defacto back 3 and Cucu inverted I'm more than happy to take the hit with Reece.

Some players are just that good that you simply put up with it, to casually come on after 5 months out and have that impact is not normal.

But like you said, let's pray this surgery works because that alone puts us back in the UCL next year regardless of who's incharge.

He shouldn't play at the Euros at all. The whole point is to prepare for a full season now, his injuries did hurt his career and to further risk it would be insane.

Having a nice rotation with Gusto is an ideal situation for James, so I hope he doesn't risk it now after recovering because if he decides to play the Euros it will have an impact on the next season.

43 minutes ago, Gol15 said:

He shouldn't play at the Euros at all. The whole point is to prepare for a full season now, his injuries did hurt his career and to further risk it would be insane.

Having a nice rotation with Gusto is an ideal situation for James, so I hope he doesn't risk it now after recovering because if he decides to play the Euros it will have an impact on the next season.

He was so devastated to miss the world cup I personally hope he does go to the euros. 

10 hours ago, bisright1 said:

He's not. 

If he's only able to play 10-15 games a season then we need a more reliable player. 

The reason I wouldn't sell is because I dream of him suddenly not becoming broken. 

We have Gusto to pick up the dead rubber games.

Under no circumstance should James and transfer be mentioned in the same sentence.

25 minutes ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

We have Gusto to pick up the dead rubber games.

Under no circumstance should James and transfer be mentioned in the same sentence.

They aren't dead rubbers though are they? James missed the league cup final and the fa cup semi. If we were in the champions league hed have missed every knock out game bar the final. 

We got tonked by arsenal, for many reasons,  but one of them was because we had Alfie Gilchrist at right back as Gusto was injured.

If we have James and Gusto as our two right backs next season, we are gambling. 

Edited May 13, 20242 yr by bisright1

1 minute ago, bisright1 said:

They aren't dead rubbers though are they? James missed the league cup final and the fa cup semi. If we were in the champions league hed have missed every knock out game bar the final. 

We got tonked by arsenal, for many reasons,  but one of them was because we had Alfie Gilchrist at right back as Gusto was injured.

If we have James and Gusto as our two right backs next season, we are gambling. 

Possibly one of the most controversial takes, given every fan of any other club would bite your hand off for RB options of James and Gusto

1 minute ago, timetowaste said:

Possibly one of the most controversial takes, given every fan of any other club would bite your hand off for RB options of James and Gusto

It's a gamble I'd take. But if Gusto has a serious injury on the 1st Feb next season, we're probably f**ked. 

1 hour ago, bisright1 said:

He was so devastated to miss the world cup I personally hope he does go to the euros. 

It wouldn't benefit him though, the next World Cup is just in 2 years anyway so if he has a full next season then he'll be ready for the World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada which is a much bigger event than this Euro.

4 minutes ago, Gol15 said:

It wouldn't benefit him though, the next World Cup is just in 2 years anyway so if he has a full next season then he'll be ready for the World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada which is a much bigger event than this Euro.

It's only a bigger event if you're able to go. 

Anyway it's his life. He's not going to turn down his first and potentially only international tournament. So it's a pointless conversation. 

Its probably not for this conversation as it is still too early for a year or two from now, but i have really high hopes for Josh Acheampong. I am hoping that these owners don't cash in early and prevent us from getting the benefit of developing this lad over the next two seasons. Even now, in some games and in certain atmospheres around the team, i would trust him to come in as cover during this season. That's is not throwing in him in a back line where the oldest player is like 22 and nobody has had any experience. But if we do have a better team and season, we could manage both James' and Gusto's minutes better by drawing on Josh to close games out which would help his growth as well.

Bit random i know. 😁

23 hours ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

Makes me sick to my stomach that there's actual Chelsea fans that want to see this man sold, he's the only player in our squad outside of Palmer that would be able to create Jackson's goal yesterday. 

Cream of the crop.

It is sickening though when you think of the amount of money you pay for someone that isn't in the team for most of the season. 

It also has a knock on effect on team morale, squad harmony, team building, and similar intangibles unlike the money aspect. 

No one wants to sell Reece because he can't play football. He offers us something when fit but he has played 25 games over the last two seasons and hasn't had more than 3 games in a row since 2021 due to injury issues. 

6 minutes ago, bisright1 said:

It's only a bigger event if you're able to go. 

Anyway it's his life. He's not going to turn down his first and potentially only international tournament. So it's a pointless conversation. 

He's still only 24-25 years old, he can definitely focus on his body and after a full season he will look like the top pick for England in 2026 World Cup.

2 minutes ago, abister1 said:

It is sickening though when you think of the amount of money you pay for someone that isn't in the team for most of the season. 

It also has a knock on effect on team morale, squad harmony, team building, and similar intangibles unlike the money aspect. 

No one wants to sell Reece because he can't play football. He offers us something when fit but he has played 25 games over the last two seasons and hasn't had more than 3 games in a row since 2021 due to injury issues. 

As distasteful as we might all find selling Reece James to be, there is no denying this and @bisright1 logic.

Whether we like it or not, the impact Reece had on Saturday was significantly noticeable. If he has a solid end to this season and a decent and fit Euros, I could easily see a scenario where Bayern, PSG or Real come knocking. If he commands a top FFP free hit price and we replace with an amortized Dumfries, for example, then i can definitely see these owner going for it especially if Ornstein is right and we don't need to do anything in this reporting year but do in next. A James and Gallagher sale at their peak popularity could square the books for this lot next season.  Whether we like it or not, yeah i can see them justifying these as sales that help our growth and don't hurt us with what we already have.

11 minutes ago, bisright1 said:

They aren't dead rubbers though are they? James missed the league cup final and the fa cup semi. If we were in the champions league hed have missed every knock out game bar the final. 

We got tonked by arsenal, for many reasons,  but one of them was because we had Alfie Gilchrist at right back as Gusto was injured.

If we have James and Gusto as our two right backs next season, we are gambling. 

And if we sell Reece James we can't replace him with quality anywhere near as good and we confirm our fears that we're now an average selling club with no aspirations of the big trophies. 

 

24 minutes ago, abister1 said:

It is sickening though when you think of the amount of money you pay for someone that isn't in the team for most of the season. 

It also has a knock on effect on team morale, squad harmony, team building, and similar intangibles unlike the money aspect. 

No one wants to sell Reece because he can't play football. He offers us something when fit but he has played 25 games over the last two seasons and hasn't had more than 3 games in a row since 2021 due to injury issues. 

You mean those injuries he's just had surgery to fix?

1 hour ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

Under no circumstance should James and transfer be mentioned in the same sentence.

Well... this is awkward 😳

29 minutes ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

You mean those injuries he's just had surgery to fix?

Well that's what we are all waiting on to see its outcome isn't it? 

I don't think Southgate will pick him, he got funny about taking him to the WC becuase Reece pulled out a squad previously to protect himself from injury and Gareth seems to hold onto stuff like that. 

However, I'd love him to go. The Euro's are a month away, he's already back playing for us. A month should be more than enough to build up to fitness. If he is going to break playing for England this summer then he would have broken for us next season anyway. We supposedly delayed his return to make sure he was fully recovered. It will be a good test for if this surgery has been effective.

Plus I don't see him starting every game for England either. Walker seems to very much be Southgates choice, I think Reece would come off the bench when needed and maybe start a group game if we had already qualified. 

Edited May 13, 20242 yr by Niall1905

1 hour ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

And if we sell Reece James we can't replace him with quality anywhere near as good and we confirm our fears that we're now an average selling club with no aspirations of the big trophies. 

 

Personally I'd take the gamble for next season. But if James can only manage to be fit for 10-15 league games next season then he's getting sold. 

I wouldn't want him to be risked for Euros, 3 days in about a week even the fit ones will break down, let alone James. We won the CL when he was fit, we lost the lead in the league next season as soon as he's off, and past 2 years we were dismal when he's not there. From a club point of view, last thing we want is for him to go to a tournament unfit, get injured and be ruled out again. He probably won't be picked due to the fitness concern, but potentially a trump card so Southgate will think about it before picking someone else.

We should not sell James if we have any intention of returning to the top 4. Plus the amount of running full backs, particularly right backs will do for us, I can see a lot of playing time for James and Gusto. 

Plus let’s not be hasty - this is about the first time both have been fit and we’re at game 37 of 38. 

The fact that people are saying don't want him to be risked for the Euros speaks a lot about his reliability in being fit.

I really like the guy and hopes he can stay fit but like @bisright1says, if he can't give us more than half a season of being fit we should look to sell at first opportunity. 

Just now, abister1 said:

The fact that people are saying don't want him to be risked for the Euros speaks a lot about his reliability in being fit.

I really like the guy and hopes he can stay fit but like @bisright1says, if he can't give us more than half a season of being fit we should look to sell at first opportunity. 

To be fair, we can feel slightly optimistic about his surgery.

Kante seems to be thriving since. 

I'm hopeful. He is perfect for the current inverted wingback system Poch has used Cucurella to good effect with. His energy and strength in the middle of the park is very underrated as he doesn't get deployed there a lot.