Brits vs Foreign Players..

[montymole]

Don't know about anyone else but what little attention I have paid to the friendlies so far has been focused on the foreign players. It's almost like I've taken for granted that Pennant and Bellamy have already settled in and we already know what they can and can't do (though I must say both have looked decent so far)..

There's this weird feeling that should the foreign lads either fail to break through this season, suffer ongoing injury problems (Aurelio) or just be plain pants, the scenario of Pennant and Bellamy being hits will be nothing more than a side topic...

Or am I just talking b0llocks?

It's like, we already know that Pennant and Bellamy will offer something, because the're 'Premiership ready', it's almost taken for granted, the main issue is how much quality and contribution we get from the rest..

[Ryan]

Good point mate, and I have to agree with you that the likes of Pennant are certainly more adapted and ready to hit the ground running this month than Gonzalez may be.

What's more of interest may be whom out of the 4/5 signings we're relying on the most come the crux of the season in March, April of next year.

[montymole]

I've been impressed with Aurelio, and apart from Paletta's catastrophic school boy error, he hasnt looked bad either.

The problem is, Paletta doesnt look ready, Aurelio is and has been injury prone and Gonzalez looks like a fish out of water (at the moment)..

[Red_Polo]

It makes a big difference if new signings are well suited to the EPL or better still have already played in it for a number of years. So Pennant and Bellamy fit it that little bit easier as there isn't the dramatic change in style of play, whilst Paletta is also better placed to adapt quickly.

I think Rafa realised after his first season here just how important this was, and it's wise that he's tempered signings from foreign leagues with players who have already played in the EPL like Crouch, Zenden etc as well as looking for players with the right attributes to make the adjustments like Sissoko, Paletta etc