Allan Saint-Maximin

[PaddockLad 19307]

Might be Milan….

 

 

 

[Chaser 1393]

I was still hoping that we would get to see the best of Maxi, sorting his injury/personal problems out and being a threat for us either starting or off the bench. Be sad to see him go as he was the shining light in those dark Bruce days. Unplayable on his best days, unrecognisable on his worst. He'll have a cemented place in our history just as some of his compatriots have done over the years. 

[Andrew 5300]

Milan would suit ASM down to the ground.

 

Would be a shame for last season to be his last season here, ending with a whimper so to speak. 

Him and Wilson are basically responsible for keeping us up the season before we were taken over, which I'll always appreciate him for, but if he doesn't work for the manager now then off he goes.

[Polarboy 2317]

People in the comments are saying that clip is from January. Although I suppose if they were interested then they might still be interested now. Saying that Leao just signed a new contract and plays the same position. Italian teams don't exactly have the same money as PL teams in terms of paying tens of millions for players who aren't starting. 

[RobElliott 1867]

1 hour ago, PaddockLad said:

Might be Milan….

 

 

 

Have you ever seen a St Maximin in Milan?

[toonotl 3458]

Is it just me or is 30mill really low in the current market? Look at the Mudryk money, for example. There are surrounding circumstances, of course, but I don't see how they could equate for a difference of 3x in price between them. 

 

A contributing factor must be that Maxi is forcing his way out. The "Love yous all!" sentiment of his post would suggest that he wants to preserve his legacy in leaving amicably. And fair play to him. I don't doubt that (if he can stay fit) he could be a star player for some very reasonable teams around the world. I would've hoped, however, that ASM could have kept his ego in check and kept mum so that the club could seek the best price for him without letting the cat out of the bag that he so desperately wants to jump ship. The best way for ASM to 'thank the fans' would be to say nothing, be sold for absolutely the most we can get for him, then come out with the "Thank you everyone!" message to the fans. Doing it this way appears to give some leverage to his agent and potential buyers (and for that I think the answer to the question is presented to us in that ASM's message is self-serving). Again. Fair play to him. But I'd have preferred a different approach for the club's benefit (particularly if he truly believes he owes us his gratitude). Nevertheless, we undoubtedly owe him our gratitude, so I'm not sour about it or anything. It just seems the sentiment of the message doesn't quite cohere to the realities of the business of it.

 

As for the transfer business, we certainly will struggle to replace him like-for-like at the current price being touted. But with left-wing being a particular strong point in the squad it does seem that we may have already signed his replacement in Gordon (at least in Howe's summation). So, if we go into the market for a winger, then it'll likely be for a right winger to add quality and depth on that side of the pitch, too. Regardless, it definitely gives us more options to spend in other areas of the squad to make the team better overall without necessarily having to replace ASM, per se.

 

On an even brighter note, re: transfer fee, it is undoubtedly the case that ASM has really struggled for any consistent fitness, so perhaps selling a (soon-to-be) crock for 30mill is good business. It would seem plausible that his fitness issues will not get better over time. So, maybe getting rid now is the best time to do it, before his injuries and career decline further in subsequent seasons. And on the brightest note of all, LTA will now have to find redemption in learning to love our moustache donning left-wing maestro, one, Anthony Gordon -- or Flash, as I'm sure his friends and family call him. Same number of goals in half a season as ASM's full season tally, after all, so the replacement already looks like a wonderful success story.

[Dougle 3734]

You are, without a doubt, one of the most gentle people that I have ever met in the world of football. You have been a man of your word, a caring man and a fair man who never hesitated to protect us. I will never forget how you treated me, for that I will be forever grateful.

It has been an honour and a privilege to have you as a coach, thank you Steve

 

 

 

[toonotl 3458]

 

 

 

 

Did I miss? The rare triple post. Tell me you're rattled without telling me you're rattled.

 

Edited June 6, 2023 by toonotl

[RobinRobin 12647]

36 minutes ago, toonotl said:

 

 

 

 

Did I miss? The rare triple post. Tell me you're rattled without telling me you're rattled.

 

Basically

 

 

[Monkeys Fist 45798]

2 hours ago, LongTimeAdmirer said:

Absolute NONSENSE being spouted here.

 

ASM is going NOWHERE.

 

He's just an absolute GENT and sharing love with the fans.

 

Going NOWHERE.

 

 

 

 

 

Shut the fuck up carnts.

 

[Andrew 5300]

I wouldn't say anyone seemed particularly happy about the idea of ASM going, Dougles very good point about rimming Brucey when he left aside.

 

But it would be good for the meltdown

 

 

[ewerk 33608]

From a FFP POV it would make sense. His book value is around £6m so we could bank a £24m profit if he goes for £30m. Though that figure does seem a bit low to me but isn't helped by his injury record.

[Dr Gloom 23941]

I would give him another season personally. He’s coming into his prime years and was v unlucky last season with injuries but showed signs he was adapting to Howe’s system. His chances created stats per 90 are along the best in Europe. 
 

We’re going to need a much bigger squad for champions league and he tends to raise his game for the bigger opposition. 
 

However, if we do need the balance the books ahead of a summer splurge he is one of the few Ashley legacy players we could get £30-40m for. 
 

I’d probably let him go next summer if he spends another season in the treatment room. Whatever you think about him as a player, his injury record is a concern. There’s also the fact he isn’t really an Eddie Howe player. He has to curb the things that make him brilliant to fit into Howe’s system.
 

In fact, there were times last season when I wanted him to be more like the old maxi and beat his man instead of playing the percentages. He might just be better suited to playing for a different team. 

[Holden McGroin 7743]

I'm not fussed either way. He sticks out as not being an Eddie Howe player so if we can get decent money then im okay with it.

 

 

[ewerk 33608]

33 minutes ago, Dr Gloom said:

I would give him another season personally. He’s coming into his prime years and was v unlucky last season with injuries

 

He wasn't unlucky last season, he generally misses 10+ matches through injury most seasons. And another problem is that when he comes back from injury it takes him a while to get up to speed.

[Dr Gloom 23941]

7 minutes ago, ewerk said:

 

He wasn't unlucky last season, he generally misses 10+ matches through injury most seasons. And another problem is that when he comes back from injury it takes him a while to get up to speed.

I haven’t got his appearance stats to hand but it felt like he missed many more games than in previous seasons 

[Ayatollah Hermione 14774]

That IG post is a classic drunken ramble

[Alex 37242]

11 minutes ago, ewerk said:

 

He wasn't unlucky last season, he generally misses 10+ matches through injury most seasons. And another problem is that when he comes back from injury it takes him a while to get up to speed.

Yeah. Not saying it’s his fault but him being unavailable for a large chunk of the season is standard

[ewerk 33608]

6 minutes ago, Dr Gloom said:

I haven’t got his appearance stats to hand but it felt like he missed many more games than in previous seasons 

 

19/20 - 11 games injured

20/21 - 13 games injured

21/22 - 3 games injured

22/23 - 12 games injured

[Andrew 5300]

14 minutes ago, Dr Gloom said:

I haven’t got his appearance stats to hand but it felt like he missed many more games than in previous seasons 

 

Youre right, but it's because he wasnt an autotmatic pick when fit this season, so he missed more games than he would have before.

[Dr Gloom 23941]

He appeared in 25 games last season. 10 fewer than the previous one 

 

12 games “injured” isn’t that bad but then he isn’t being picked when he returns straight away because he still isn’t fit enough (or good enough) to play the way Howe wants them to play. 

[Gemmill 51094]

Either injured or not good enough. Sounds like someone we should sell.

[Dr Gloom 23941]

when he has played this season, he has been effective. this is supported up by his stats , which are good, despite the lack of game time.

 

 

 

 

 

[Dr Gloom 23941]

1 minute ago, Gemmill said:

Either injured or not good enough. Sounds like someone we should sell.

 

i think he has been good enough, when selected. the problem is his lack of fitness, and howe not trusting him to play his way when he's been returning from injury. 

 

i can see arguments for keeping and for letting him go. i think he'd be a good wild card squad option for a champions league campaign. he will relish playing in those games, but it wouldn't surprise me if he's the one we cash in on. 

 

the other one could be miggy. i'd also like him to stay, but are we ever going to get a better price for him at 29 after the season he just had? he was instrumental in leading the press last season but if someone came in with 20-30m for him, it would be hard to turn down

[Gemmill 51094]

The way I look at it, if we've got saleable assets that we aren't sure about, we have to just be ruthless and they have to go. We'll never progress to the next level if we have a policy of giving people another season. It's obviously not as black and white as that, some players will require longer bedding in time, but I think Howe now knows bother the upper and lower limits of ASM's abilities.

 

Miggy is a different story, cos whilst he's horribly one footed and doesn't score much outside of insane purple patches, he can put in game changing / points-protecting shifts because of his insane energy and ability to disrupt the opposition. Even when he's not scoring or having a particularly good day.

 

With ASM, if he isn't having a good day, you're borderline a man down and that will cost us points. I'll be sad to see him go and I hope he's a huge success as long as he moves outside the PL.