Florent Sinama-Pongolle: opinions?

[Red Chilli]

Thats the worry, him or Gerrard getting injured would hurt us, that is why you need equally strong players in the squad and then Rafa can rotate as much as he wants.

If say both got injured we'd have to play Crouch and possibly Voronin up front

or Nemeth

[mersey86]

I would have liked to have seen him play in the formation that we play now. He would certainly be as good as Kuyt in that position.
I agree, though I'm not sure we would have got a similar work-rate

It wasn't a mistake to sell him but he should have been given more of a chance to see what he had to offer. The reasons we sold him have been stated. He wanted more first-team action than we were willing to offer. As such, it was not a mistake, but was a shame. As has been said previously, I hope we have a buy-back option (just in case he becomes really good)

I'm glad he is doing well in Spain and has got a French national team call up.

[Imy]

or Nemeth

Not sure Rafa would give him a chance in a worth while game, Rafa has bought a grand total of ZERO reserves/youngsters through. If they are not good enough then what the feck are we doing signing them, Rafa then really needs to talk with his scouts and tell them the types of attributes he is looking for.

Looking at both Wenger and to a point Fergie they both when needed throw in unproven youngsters, not sure Rafa has that trust in youth.

[Ron_Mexico]

i think we got rid of him too hastily

he has a good attitude in addition to being a talented player, and he's only going to improve

i think he could have done a job for us in the babel/kuyt positions, as well as being a change of pace up front when nando needs a rest

it's pretty clear rafa never rated him too highly

[Taffy]

I was also disappointed what Pongo left.

He'd be an ideal third/fourth choice striker for us, but whether he'd have been happy with just that I doubt very much - wasn't it the reason he left anyway?!

He has pace, is great coming off the bench, and CAN score goals. He looked like he'd beefed up a bit before he left, so he was getting stronger and with his pace (which is always a big threat) he'd be a great little asset for us at the moment. Shame he's left but he seems to be doing well in Spain anyway!

I liked the lad, and he seemed to have a good attitude on him, unlike his mate ALT.

[Fiddy]

Not sure Rafa would give him a chance in a worth while game, Rafa has bought a grand total of ZERO reserves/youngsters through. If they are not good enough then what the feck are we doing signing them, Rafa then really needs to talk with his scouts and tell them the types of attributes he is looking for.

Looking at both Wenger and to a point Fergie they both when needed throw in unproven youngsters, not sure Rafa has that trust in youth.

You're telling me you expect him to be playing kids that have been at the club less than a year already?!

The kids we've got are too young and not ready right now - which is why he's bought slightly older players like Agger & Skrtel who can go straight in the first team squad.

If none of these kids are cracking the first team squad in a couple of years, then yeah you can ask 'what the feck is he doing'

[andyinswinton]

You're telling me you expect him to be playing kids that have been at the club less than a year already?!

The kids we've got are too young and not ready right now - which is why he's bought slightly older players like Agger & Skrtel who can go straight in the first team squad.

If none of these kids are cracking the first team squad in a couple of years, then yeah you can ask 'what the feck is he doing'

When you look at some of the youth players that Rafa brought to the club, some have been at the club now a couple of years and none of them are even close to the first team squad.

Barragan has been and gone. Antwi is at Hartlepool, Roque is somewhere is Spains second division and Anderson is at Swansea. Hobbs has had a crack at the first team due to Aggers injury and he is now at Scunthorpe and El Zhar has disappeared all together.

Its probably to early for some of the ones brought in last January transfer window but since Rafa has been here not one player has graduated to the first team.

Having said that, we have two youth cup wins under our belts and the reserves are doing excellently this season. Perhaps the talent will start to come through very soon.

[Icon]

FSP with Torres would have been interesting had the guy been given a bloody chance.

I though he was very good and was pissed when we sold him.

[Slinky Skills]

He shouldn't have left, he seemed to have a better attitude than Le Tallec but in the end he proved that he wasn't any better than him.

If those two had knuckled down instead of thinking that they were better than everyone else then they would have made it, Pongolle more so than Le Tallec. They both have such potential but both believed their own hype which is a shame really.

Rafa saw that in both of them and that's why he got rid. Pongolle is a brilliant player and what he did for us en route to 2005 should never be forgotten, just wish he'd stayed.

[Reece]

I'm sure it's already been said but I'm not checking through the whole thread. That trick he did against Arsenal was genius.

[Joe King]

I'm sure it's already been said but I'm not checking through the whole thread. That trick he did against Arsenal was genius.

With Ljungberg and Lauren/Campbell? It was fantastic.

[DannyMan2006]

I'm sure it's already been said but I'm not checking through the whole thread. That trick he did against Arsenal was genius.

And then ****ed up the final ball if I remember correctly..........

[Johnny]

If he hadn`t mouthed off in the press he probably would have stayed just like ALT.

[Mr Tourette]

I think there is maybe more to see from Voronin. Not that I think he will become another Torres or anything but I think he is less poor than many people seem to believe. The thing is that he and Kuyt are to similar and we really don't need two of that sort of player in the squad.

On the FSP topic the only way he was going to improve was to play games. He has found it harder this year copared to last in Spain I have heard. Decent player but seeing as we got some money for him I'm not mourning his loss and I definitely think it was the right decision for his career.

I agree voronin isnt as bad as he is made out to be. He is a frighteningly easy target being a relatively unknown free transfer and some fans are just jumping on the fella when hes down - especially when he's injured and cant answer his critics for the majority of the second half of the season. How many people are applying this "he needs a season to settle in" (bollox in my view) argument to voronin just because he was a free, ukranian unknown, pony tailed footballer.

Pongolle however, did look a very very useful all round player when i saw him play against madrid a few weeks ago. He was quick, skillful, didnt waste the ball and threatened the goal. Exactly the sort of player that may serve the squad well for our new formation. If he wanted to play every game though - there was probably little rafa could have done to keep him.

[Mr Tourette]

We need a WC striker, Nino will get injured at some point

Im sure everyone agrees, but I feel whoever it is should be able to play in one of the three spaces behind torres when fernando is fit - while having the pace and intelligence to play up top when torres is injured.