Is it just me...... cos I honestly have to say that I've been somewhat 'underwhelmed' by Zi Zi and have never really rated him 'that' much...plenty of endeavour and application but something is just lacking there IHMO.
i think he is the only player we have have currently that is at the right age and prime with the class that we need to be a class above this league, i hate the fact that we have to sell him this year because we only got him on a 2 year contract, i think if we can sell Thomas then keep him as Thomas is the only other saleable assit
By a country mile,how odd? I can only go by what I and other folk who analise every game and player with a fine tooth comb in The Con Club(the debate amongst about 10 of us goes on for hours after every match)....he's not disliked by any means and yes I'd keep him I guess but I'd also not be too bothered if he went...he's not exactly set the place on fire has he? Because of who we've sold recently I suppose he may well now fall into the category of being (if nothing else) our most 'prestigious' and valuable player....but whether or not that makes him our 'best' player is to say the least stronging it! I find he is full of good intent without much end product unfortunately for us and him, then again, we have a few that fall into that category don't we!
he can link attack and midfield by playing behind the striker and more forward than a standard midfielder, he can play in midfield as the centre midfielder that doesnt hold, he can see a pass like class used to but he is more offensive than class,
i think what i am trying to say is that imo he is a luxury player but one who actually fights and works hard for the team
the options he allows us if we have the supporting players in place in the starting 11 are huge and deffo what we need in this league
When has he ever made 'that much' of an impact and turned a game for us....honestly I'm struggling to think and certainly not on an 'ongoing' basis? Then again, I have seen him blow a few games for us with lack of poise in his finishing. Don't get me wrong, I'd keep him given the choice but he just seems to come up short more often than not and doesn't take the game by the scruff of the neck which one might expect for a player with his profile and status.
Undoubtedly his output suffered later in the season which I would attribute to the travelling he did and maybe also being forced to play at a higher temp than he was used to in China - I don't recall him scoring or getting good reviews in our last 10/12 games or so.
What concerns me is that since he originally signed for us in the Prem he's been playing more or less nonstop - first for us, then his Chinese team, then transferred to us full time and in the recent close season he was back in China playing for the national side in the run up to the Olympics. He must have collected a fair few air miles.
As to whether we should sell him or not, I'd rather he stayed, but if he won't sign a new contract then we are better off cashing in and using the money to buy a replacement.
I'm told (by someone I'd say was a reliable source within the club) that he is happy here, but his agent is pushing for him to move on.
If he's not going to sign an extension, then he either goes now for some £, or we lose him next year for nothing. The big question is whether or not he'll give us however many £m worth of boost to our promotion campaign to warrant keeping him and losing that cash.
9 goals from midfield and a number of assists from ZZ tells it's own story.
But that doesn't even begin to tell his contribution to teamwork, tracking back, covering other players, closing down, making the lungbursting runs forward, a decent touch on the ball, good vision and passing ability.
The same with Matt Holland, what has he ever brought to the team? If you're not seeing, then you'll never know.
Likewise 9 goals and many assists from midfield from another hugely under rated player, that many people say they don't see what he brings to the team.
The only problem with all 3 of these players, is they each appear physically lightweight - and fans love to see a swashbuckling ballwinner winning a crunching tackle, getting to his feet, beating his man and laying off a gem of a ball.
There's not many of them about with quality, you know. At least we can't afford them, unless we find a young diamond and polish him.
Spot on Oggy. ZZ, Holland & Ambrose are all good midfield players who seem to get more criticism from our supporters than their performances deserve. There are none so blind as those who will not see.
Oggy i slated Ambrose last season for some serious seemily poor attitude issues but when you compare the facts against ZZ i was potentially harsh,
I think that a midfield with Ambrose,Shelvey,ZZ, Racon, Bailey ?, Holland, Thomas, Bassey, Sam should be enough to cause a whole heap of pain in this division the problem is finding 4 that can play together
oh the joys of having a huge squad ;-)
ps sorry Sharon Ambrose i will not be critical this year
I love ZZ's contribution on the whole and I think his attitude is right for us. I would like to see him stay.
But if we are looking at Nicky Bailey and we can get a pretty penny for ZZ then I guess Pardew will get a similar player (maybe without the deft touches) and the board might have some money left over and it won't be so bad all round. Not forgetting that Ambrose can play in that hole behind the forwards role as well, if not with a slightly better shot.
I love ZZ's contribution on the whole and I think his attitude is right for us. I would like to see him stay.
But if we are looking at Nicky Bailey and we can get a pretty penny for ZZ then I guess Pardew will get a similar player (maybe without the deft touches) and the board might have some money left over and it won't be so bad all round. Not forgetting that Ambrose can play in that hole behind the forwards role as well, if not with a slightly better shot.
Comments
If we do sell then I'm not sure why when we got him for £2m and he has only a year left on his contract he is now worth £3m+
Players are worth what someone else will pay. If we get the same amount back then, IMHO, Mr Waggott will have done well
I can only go by what I and other folk who analise every game and player with a fine tooth comb in The Con Club(the debate amongst about 10 of us goes on for hours after every match)....he's not disliked by any means and yes I'd keep him I guess but I'd also not be too bothered if he went...he's not exactly set the place on fire has he?
Because of who we've sold recently I suppose he may well now fall into the category of being (if nothing else) our most 'prestigious' and valuable player....but whether or not that makes him our 'best' player is to say the least stronging it!
I find he is full of good intent without much end product unfortunately for us and him, then again, we have a few that fall into that category don't we!
i think what i am trying to say is that imo he is a luxury player but one who actually fights and works hard for the team
the options he allows us if we have the supporting players in place in the starting 11 are huge and deffo what we need in this league
Then again, I have seen him blow a few games for us with lack of poise in his finishing.
Don't get me wrong, I'd keep him given the choice but he just seems to come up short more often than not and doesn't take the game by the scruff of the neck which one might expect for a player with his profile and status.
Zheng's League Stats: This Season Club Total
League Starts: 38
League Sub Apps: 4
League Goals: 7
What concerns me is that since he originally signed for us in the Prem he's been playing more or less nonstop - first for us, then his Chinese team, then transferred to us full time and in the recent close season he was back in China playing for the national side in the run up to the Olympics. He must have collected a fair few air miles.
If he's not going to sign an extension, then he either goes now for some £, or we lose him next year for nothing. The big question is whether or not he'll give us however many £m worth of boost to our promotion campaign to warrant keeping him and losing that cash.
But that doesn't even begin to tell his contribution to teamwork, tracking back, covering other players, closing down, making the lungbursting runs forward, a decent touch on the ball, good vision and passing ability.
The same with Matt Holland, what has he ever brought to the team? If you're not seeing, then you'll never know.
Likewise 9 goals and many assists from midfield from another hugely under rated player, that many people say they don't see what he brings to the team.
The only problem with all 3 of these players, is they each appear physically lightweight - and fans love to see a swashbuckling ballwinner winning a crunching tackle, getting to his feet, beating his man and laying off a gem of a ball.
There's not many of them about with quality, you know.
At least we can't afford them, unless we find a young diamond and polish him.
I think that a midfield with Ambrose,Shelvey,ZZ, Racon, Bailey ?, Holland, Thomas, Bassey, Sam should be enough to cause a whole heap of pain in this division the problem is finding 4 that can play together
oh the joys of having a huge squad ;-)
ps sorry Sharon Ambrose i will not be critical this year
But if we are looking at Nicky Bailey and we can get a pretty penny for ZZ then I guess Pardew will get a similar player (maybe without the deft touches) and the board might have some money left over and it won't be so bad all round. Not forgetting that Ambrose can play in that hole behind the forwards role as well, if not with a slightly better shot.
But if we are looking at Nicky Bailey and we can get a pretty penny for ZZ then I guess Pardew will get a similar player (maybe without the deft touches) and the board might have some money left over and it won't be so bad all round. Not forgetting that Ambrose can play in that hole behind the forwards role as well, if not with a slightly better shot.