Antoine Griezmann

[We'llWinThePrem]

Pretty sure Chelsea were linked when Andre was there.

Must like him

 

[TEESSIDE1]

30 mill euros, but apparently that's a figure they put in all their player contracts, I don't recall a PL club making any definite offers but AM had a 7 mill euro bid and a couple of players rejected some time back. I think he has been happy to develop at Sociedad and iirc he was there from quite a young age, but he has really stepped up the last couple of seasons, has become a regular starter and I would imagine he would be thinking about the options available to him going forward

He was linked to several prem clubs but came out and said he didn't want to leave Sociedad anytime soon due them investing so much in him and he likes the club.

 

[Barry Mead]

He was linked to several prem clubs but came out and said he didn't want to leave Sociedad anytime soon due them investing so much in him and he likes the club.

Well I did read that he did say he was happy to continue developing where he was last summer but equally he made some comments on being attracted to AM when they were interested and reportedly bid for him.
I actually think he was wise to establish himself as a regular player and build up a bit of a reputation at Sociedad, but come summer he should be looking at the options he has and considering his next step. He blotted his copybook Internationally a while back with an out of curfew night out with a few of the other under 21 players and is banned till the end of the year so he probably should be seeing if he can step up to a higher profile club and possibly with CL football. He certainly looks capable of stepping up

 

[sim0n]

£8m Real Sociedad Winger Has All The Hallmarks Of A Levy Purchase

He is a France Under-21 International who plays in La Liga for Real Sociedad. He normally plys his trade as a winger but can be used as a striker and has a scored 24 goals for Real Sociedad in 126 appearances. He is known for his acceleration with the ball and his technical ability.

http://threeandin.com/2013/03/01/8m-real-sociedad-winger-has-all-the-hallmarks-of-a-levy-purchase/

 

[Dharmabum]

No he isn't he's started 20 La Liga games and came on as sub 2 times out of 25 games, allowing he missed three games in November with a hammy injury it hardly makes him "not even a regular starter", quite the contrary he's a key player for them

Ok, oh give you that one to some extent. I heard of him 2 seasons ago (even "recommended" him for Spurs a season ago) , so kept an eye (vaguely so) on him and then at the start of the season I noticed he's was kind of peripheral at his club and after that I didn't really "follow" him at Real S.
Now that Bale will play more as central MF it seem Spurs may have to be looking for a LMF rather than an OMF and I am not against the idea of Spurs acquiring Antoine Griezmann.

 

[Barry Mead]

Ok, oh give you that one to some extent. I heard of him 2 seasons ago (even "recommended" him for Spurs a season ago) , so kept an eye (vaguely so) on him and then at the start of the season I noticed he's was kind of peripheral at his club and after that I didn't really "follow" him at Real S.
Now that Bale will play more as central MF it seem Spurs may have to be looking for a LMF rather than an OMF and I am not against the idea of Spurs acquiring Antoine Griezmann.

Yeah I live in Spain and have seen quite a bit of him and in the last couple of seasons he has really stepped up and established himself as an important player in the team-not just out on the wing but more and more he is becoming a very good attacking player and has looked very good creatively when coming in and has at times played as a "second" striker. He is sharp, has good vision and an ability to find the cutting pass. Obviously he's never going to be a target man striker as he doesn't have the height or build, or for that matter I don't think you'd want to tie to a striker role as he offers so much more versatility as a winger who can play the am or striker role and so provide so much more flexibility. I think he would be a great addition

 

[Dharmabum]

Yeah I live in Spain and have seen quite a bit of him and in the last couple of seasons he has really stepped up and established himself as an important player in the team-not just out on the wing but more and more he is becoming a very good attacking player and has looked very good creatively when coming in and has at times played as a "second" striker. He is sharp, has good vision and an ability to find the cutting pass. Obviously he's never going to be a target man striker as he doesn't have the height or build, or for that matter I don't think you'd want to tie to a striker role as he offers so much more versatility as a winger who can play the am or striker role and so provide so much more flexibility. I think he would be a great addition

Gracias para la informacion.

 

[Grey Fox]

Apparently this has got legs, he is one of a few we are looking at for the summer, mainly for improving strength of the squad and not necessary seen as 1st 11

 

[mill]

Apparently this has got legs, he is one of a few we are looking at for the summer, mainly for improving strength of the squad and not necessary seen as 1st 11

Good but I'd like us to buy to improve the first 11

 

[Barry Mead]

Good but I'd like us to buy to improve the first 11

First 11 is a bit of a misnomer these days, with 7 possible subs a team wanting to seriously challenge need about 17/18 "first 11" quality players, obviously you need a nucleus of players that form the framework of a starting 11 and no doubt a manager will have preferred starting 11 if everyone is fit and he doesn't feel he needs the specific skills of one of the other players to counteract a threat or take better advantage of a perceived weakness in the opposition
From what I've seen of Griezmann he has plenty of quality despite still being only 21 but no doubt he would be better early on getting cameo playing time to adjust to the league and the team. If then he proves better than the others competing for a given role or proves good cover if a player is injured then proves serious competition to retain his place then that's fine.
There will always be a point where retaining quality becomes harder if those not starting get a bit frustrated, but if next season we have CL there should be plenty of games to keep a decent number of players happy especially younger players looking for opportunities to step up at a bigger club

 

[Hoopspur]

Has the guy git genuine pace? I just have the feeling that our great leader likes top athletes also. I'm convinced we are set up as a counter attacking team and will continue to be so.

 

[mill]

Has the guy git genuine pace? I just have the feeling that our great leader likes top athletes also. I'm convinced we are set up as a counter attacking team and will continue to be so.

I think the counter attacking is borne out of necessity and playing to our strengths, against arsenal it was clear we were never gonna out play them

 

[Barry Mead]

Has the guy git genuine pace? I just have the feeling that our great leader likes top athletes also. I'm convinced we are set up as a counter attacking team and will continue to be so.

I don't think you can play a high line and be a counter attacking team, not I grant you, that we always play a high line, but it's what I think AVB likes to play. What we are now is far more reliant on Bale and Lennon for the bulk of our creativity rather than the midfield and so the ball gets moved to them quickly making us that much more direct in our approach play making us maybe appear more a counter attacking team, but I think we always like being an attacking rather than a counter attacking team. Of course having a decent few attacking players with pace does enable a team to quickly turn from winning the ball or intercepting a ball and getting forward quickly rather than spreading play back and forth across the pitch as we advance. I guess all teams are counter attacking teams in some ways but I think these days we face so many teams that themselves want to defend deep and hit us occasionally on the counter that we have to consider ourselves far more an out and out attacking team even if we don't always play like that

 

[Hoopspur]

I think the counter attacking is borne out of necessity and playing to our strengths, against arsenal it was clear we were never gonna out play them

Possibly you are correct, but to out play them there is the basic necessity to be able to pass the ball to each other I guess, which for the first 30 minutes we were unable to do. Still, who cares this time?

I don't think you can play a high line and be a counter attacking team, not I grant you, that we always play a high line, but it's what I think AVB likes to play. What we are now is far more reliant on Bale and Lennon for the bulk of our creativity rather than the midfield and so the ball gets moved to them quickly making us that much more direct in our approach play making us maybe appear more a counter attacking team, but I think we always like being an attacking rather than a counter attacking team. Of course having a decent few attacking players with pace does enable a team to quickly turn from winning the ball or intercepting a ball and getting forward quickly rather than spreading play back and forth across the pitch as we advance. I guess all teams are counter attacking teams in some ways but I think these days we face so many teams that themselves want to defend deep and hit us occasionally on the counter that we have to consider ourselves far more an out and out attacking team even if we don't always play like that

Back to the point above I guess. You are right, we do like to retain the ball, but also to move it on quickly (I don't think this is a contradiction in footballing terms). No, maybe we are not a counter attacking team as such, but there are 2 ways to clearly effectively get at the opposition - to hit them with pace or trickery/skill. I guess then we are happier when we do a combination of the both but still with absolute pace. I, like you, think we rely heavily on the speed of our front 3 for example.

I can think of numerous times where the speed of our play right from back to front has led to goals that some other teams just wouldn't score.

All I wanted to know - and you are probably in the best position to tell us, being in Spain and being able to see more coverage, is has this guy also got that extra little bit of pace? It's clear that the other chap Botta or whatever he's called, without looking, has. I just think that Andre will be looking for a player that also does. Maybe Falque doesn't for example?

Can he skin 'em and the run away for example?

 

[Barry Mead]

Possibly you are correct, but to out play them there is the basic necessity to be able to pass the ball to each other I guess, which for the first 30 minutes we were unable to do. Still, who cares this time?



Back to the point above I guess. You are right, we do like to retain the ball, but also to move it on quickly (I don't think this is a contradiction in footballing terms). No, maybe we are not a counter attacking team as such, but there are 2 ways to clearly effectively get at the opposition - to hit them with pace or trickery/skill. I guess then we are happier when we do a combination of the both but still with absolute pace. I, like you, think we rely heavily on the speed of our front 3 for example.

I can think of numerous times where the speed of our play right from back to front has led to goals that some other teams just wouldn't score.

All I wanted to know - and you are probably in the best position to tell us, being in Spain and being able to see more coverage, is has this guy also got that extra little bit of pace? It's clear that the other chap Botta or whatever he's called, without looking, has. I just think that Andre will be looking for a player that also does. Maybe Falque doesn't for example?

Can he skin 'em and the run away for example?

Yeah he's pacy, how pacy is a bit tougher, is he quicker than Lennon or Bale with the ball at his feet? I'm not convinced that he's as fast as either running at players with the ball but both are very fast and this lad is pretty pacy, but what I really like about him is that he seems to have speed of sight and thought, so that he'll see a runner or an opening and play the ball quickly and imo that makes him an excellent addition because even if he's not quite as quick as two of the fastest players in the PL he can still run with the ball at pace and yet see and play a good pass quickly when it's there, no dithering, thinking about it and the chance is gone, he'll go for it. It may not always be the perfect pass or the best shot but players won't be frustrated by making a run and not getting a pass or getting flagged offside because he held the ball a fraction too long. Of course we need players who are prepared to make the runs but that's a catch 22 players are not so prepared to make the runs if they don't feel they will get the passes where and when they want them

As for skinning them and running away, he has the whole Freund vs Keane video so he that might help him develop the latter

 

[Partizan]

Take a look at this goal he scored today

 

[Snarfalicious]

Man, that was beautiful.

 

[CJMurray]

Take a look at this goal he scored today

That is an incredible first touch. Wow.

 

[Misfit]

Yep. I was spot fucking on - AS USUAL - about liking the look of this guy a few months back when we were linked to some OAP RS were looking to offload.

Not that I'm one for tooting my own horn.

 

[Huddlestone22]

At a reasonable price (under £10mill) he could be well worth the purchase, has a lot of ability from what I've seen.