Dwight McNeil

[Aidan]

 

[Aidan]

Looks like the club are really pushing for wide players. McNeil and Townsend accomplished crossers of the ball, DCL will be happy enough.

[Aidan]

As far as I can see this is the first tweet on McNeil, which seemed to come from nowhere, I haven't seen his name mentioned much this summer.

Looks like we're really looking to add depth to the team more than anything else. I can't see many marquee signings this summer.

Apologies for the spam

[StevO]

McNeill is a decent one for me. Like the look of him. 

[Sibdane]

18 minutes ago, StevO said:

McNeill is a decent one for me. Like the look of him. 

He’s young too, which is an added bonus. 

[Bailey]

McNeil is anything but a natural winger though!

I like him as a footballer, good technique, works hard and has a good head on his shoulders. I just don't know where he fits into this squad at the moment. I see him as a Gylfi type player, receiving the ball between the lines on the turn but actually doing something with it.

[Hafnia]

I'd love him here. Exactly the type of signing we need 

 

Was brilliant against us last season.  Good feet, hard worker, great shot.

 

£25m could be a snip.  He's international quality. 

[Shukes]

Biggest difference I can see between him and players like Gylfi, is that turn of pace on the turn. He receives the ball and Instantly  wants to turn forward and get up the pitch.

Would he mildly excited for this one. 

[chicagoblue]

Fuck no, he's slow as shit.  Just a younger left footed gylfi.  No chance we are giving Burnley 30m for this type of player. 

 

Pace, pace and more pace is what we need.

[Hafnia]

10 minutes ago, chicagoblue said:

Fuck no, he's slow as shit.  Just a younger left footed gylfi.  No chance we are giving Burnley 30m for this type of player. 

 

Pace, pace and more pace is what we need.

He's not slow at all. He's not fast but he beats players for fun 

Hes far better than Gylfi. 

[SpartyBlue]

5 hours ago, Bailey said:

McNeil is anything but a natural winger though!

I like him as a footballer, good technique, works hard and has a good head on his shoulders. I just don't know where he fits into this squad at the moment. I see him as a Gylfi type player, receiving the ball between the lines on the turn but actually doing something with it.

But aren’t you saying then that he’s a replacement for an aging Gylfi?

[RuffRob]

I have been reading he's a very good crosser of the ball. Can whip the ball in 'up and down' with a lot of pace on it. So something the likes of DCL would thrive upon. 

Can't say I have watched a great deal of Burnley. 

At 21 he has got plenty of Prem experience and potential, but at £25m you expect this potential to be delivered as paying top doller for it. 

The more exciting transfer than Townsend and Grey, but equally the most risky considering the Iwobi/kean esqe fee. 

[SpartyBlue]

29 minutes ago, RuffRob said:

I have been reading he's a very good crosser of the ball. Can whip the ball in 'up and down' with a lot of pace on it. So something the likes of DCL would thrive upon. 

Can't say I have watched a great deal of Burnley. 

At 21 he has got plenty of Prem experience and potential, but at £25m you expect this potential to be delivered as paying top doller for it. 

The more exciting transfer than Townsend and Grey, but equally the most risky considering the Iwobi/kean esqe fee. 

It’s quite an accomplishment to command a fee around there for a 21 year old but it’s not top dollar. We have many players on our current roster that have gone or would go for far more. Crazy as it is that’s a pretty average free for an upper half premier league club to spend. 

[Shukes]

2 hours ago, chicagoblue said:

Fuck no, he's slow as shit.  Just a younger left footed gylfi.  No chance we are giving Burnley 30m for this type of player. 

 

Pace, pace and more pace is what we need.

He may not run fast, but he does turn the ball fast from defence to attack. This is what our team needs, direct, attacking players that can create.

[dunlopp9987]

3 minutes ago, Shukes said:

He may not run fast, but he does turn the ball fast from defence to attack. This is what our team needs, direct, attacking players that can create.

And if Rafa is intent on playing his wingers a little more narrow, allowing the fullbacks to be the ones creating width, someone who is direct like McNeil might fit perfectly

[RuffRob]

1 hour ago, SpartyBlue said:

It’s quite an accomplishment to command a fee around there for a 21 year old but it’s not top dollar. We have many players on our current roster that have gone or would go for far more. Crazy as it is that’s a pretty average free for an upper half premier league club to spend. 

£25M will be around top doller for what we will be looking to spend on players. And what I mean by that is that we would be paying price for a player with plenty of years on his contract from a club that will only sell him at the premium of what he might be worth. 

[SpartyBlue]

43 minutes ago, RuffRob said:

£25M will be around top doller for what we will be looking to spend on players. And what I mean by that is that we would be paying price for a player with plenty of years on his contract from a club that will only sell him at the premium of what he might be worth. 

I take your point but you’re being pretty speculative here. Do we know what our budget is? Do we know if guys like Kean and James are staying and what fees they will command if they leave? I certainly don’t. My point was simply that for what he is, a 21 year old with ability and 100 premier league caps, 25m is not that much in today’s market. It’s also on par with or less then we’ve paid for most of our current starting 11.
 

If you’re saying that you think that with our likely budget and needs  we should be getting the finished article for 25m then fair enough. But in general 25m is usually not buying you the finished article. We spent far more on Iwobi and Richie, to name two, and they weren’t anywhere near having reached their potential. For that price I’d expect a player with good ability who can start for us right away if need be but also has plenty of room to grow into a top player. Sort of like Godfrey was when he came, though unfair to expect any young player to take to it as quickly as he did. 

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/rafael-benitez-wants-bring-dwight-21089312

[Bailey]

18 hours ago, SpartyBlue said:

But aren’t you saying then that he’s a replacement for an aging Gylfi?

That depends on whether you think there is a position in the squad for Gylfi!

We have a lot of competition in those three spots behind the striker and we have been linked with three more (including McNeil).

 

[SpartyBlue]

3 minutes ago, Bailey said:

That depends on whether you think there is a position in the squad for Gylfi!

We have a lot of competition in those three spots behind the striker and we have been linked with three more (including McNeil).

 

Yea, current circumstances notwithstanding I was happy to keep Gylfi as a veteran squad player. He works hard and has ability when given time on the ball. I suppose McNeil is more of a winger than a central player . Nunes is probably the rumored transfer that would fill that role. I also imagine James might play in that position under Rafa if we get a more traditional winger out right (and if he stays). Guess we will just have to see how it all shakes out.

[Bailey]

8 hours ago, SpartyBlue said:

Yea, current circumstances notwithstanding I was happy to keep Gylfi as a veteran squad player. He works hard and has ability when given time on the ball. I suppose McNeil is more of a winger than a central player . Nunes is probably the rumored transfer that would fill that role. I also imagine James might play in that position under Rafa if we get a more traditional winger out right (and if he stays). Guess we will just have to see how it all shakes out.

He definitely isn't a traditional winger in my opinion. He doesn't have standout pace, he isn't tricky and I don't think he is really a goalscorer either but I imagine that will improve as he matures. 

He is more of a Pienaar type. Someone that plays in an inside midfield position or like James did in those early games under Carlo. I also think he has the footballing brain of someone like Pienaar to link up with the full back and form a partnership.

[SpartyBlue]

10 minutes ago, Bailey said:

He definitely isn't a traditional winger in my opinion. He doesn't have standout pace, he isn't tricky and I don't think he is really a goalscorer either but I imagine that will improve as he matures. 

He is more of a Pienaar type. Someone that plays in an inside midfield position or like James did in those early games under Carlo. I also think he has the footballing brain of someone like Pienaar to link up with the full back and form a partnership.

Yeah, I haven’t seen enough of him to know. I thought that I read he plays on the left more often than not which would make him a bit of an odd fit for us 

[Romey 1878]

2 minutes ago, SpartyBlue said:

Yeah, I haven’t seen enough of him to know. I thought that I read he plays on the left more often than not which would make him a bit of an odd fit for us 

Odd is what we do best these days tbf.

[markjazzbassist]

23 minutes ago, Bailey said:

He definitely isn't a traditional winger in my opinion. He doesn't have standout pace, he isn't tricky and I don't think he is really a goalscorer either but I imagine that will improve as he matures. 

He is more of a Pienaar type. Someone that plays in an inside midfield position or like James did in those early games under Carlo. I also think he has the footballing brain of someone like Pienaar to link up with the full back and form a partnership.

I know nothing about him but If he is the second coming of pienaar I’m all in, I loved Stevie.  He was not fast, but he was excellent with the ball, his vision, link up play, and one often forgotten quality, his tactical fouls.  He was excellent at knowing when to leave a little extra to stop an attack. 

[Bailey]

15 hours ago, SpartyBlue said:

Yeah, I haven’t seen enough of him to know. I thought that I read he plays on the left more often than not which would make him a bit of an odd fit for us 

Here is a clip of the goals they scored against us last season.

Watching some of these videos back he actually beats his man more than I remember. He has this knack of just getting the ball out of the defenders reach and then running past them. He lures them in like a matador. The way he just completely rinses Allan is actually quite embarrassing for the little Brazilian!

He is actually left footed and doesn't look to use his right that much. I think he is ultimately going to be best when he can pick up the ball in positions like he did for that second goal, but he has enough pace and enough skill to beat a man and whip in a quality ball from the left as well. I could see him and a quality full back linking up all day long and causing so many problems.

He is certainly the quality of footballer that we should be looking at and to be fair, I would pick him ahead of most of our others in those type of positions as it is. Hopefully we can shift some of the deadwood to bring him in.

[Shukes]

He’s not actually slow at all is he. He is the type of player that we have been calling out for.

A player can beat a man and get a ball in, rather than check back to retain possession. 

[chicagoblue]

18 hours ago, Bailey said:

He definitely isn't a traditional winger in my opinion. He doesn't have standout pace, he isn't tricky and I don't think he is really a goalscorer either but I imagine that will improve as he matures. 

He is more of a Pienaar type. Someone that plays in an inside midfield position or like James did in those early games under Carlo. I also think he has the footballing brain of someone like Pienaar to link up with the full back and form a partnership.

 

Could be good, but we're just not spending that kind of money.  He's vital to Burnley. Would be like Gylfi and Swansea all over again, worth so much more to them than to us and not worth the money.

 

If he were in the last year or last 6 months and available for 5-10M then sure.

[Aidan]

4 hours ago, chicagoblue said:

 

Could be good, but we're just not spending that kind of money.  He's vital to Burnley. Would be like Gylfi and Swansea all over again, worth so much more to them than to us and not worth the money.

 

If he were in the last year or last 6 months and available for 5-10M then sure.

I'm not sure how much Burnley would need the money in the current climate. Possibly drive down his price a little bit? £25m seems like a reasonable fee for a player of his quality.

[Bailey]

4 hours ago, chicagoblue said:

 

Could be good, but we're just not spending that kind of money.  He's vital to Burnley. Would be like Gylfi and Swansea all over again, worth so much more to them than to us and not worth the money.

 

If he were in the last year or last 6 months and available for 5-10M then sure.

While I think they are somewhat comparable players in their style, I think McNeil is a much better player. He is also younger and isn't as reliant on set pieces. Gylfi also had a much larger reputation and McNeil is a lot more under the radar. 

When we bought Gylfi his price was never going to go up, whereas McNeil still has the world at his feet.

[Matt]

On 21/07/2021 at 14:31, Bailey said:

Here is a clip of the goals they scored against us last season.

Watching some of these videos back he actually beats his man more than I remember. He has this knack of just getting the ball out of the defenders reach and then running past them. He lures them in like a matador. The way he just completely rinses Allan is actually quite embarrassing for the little Brazilian!

He is actually left footed and doesn't look to use his right that much. I think he is ultimately going to be best when he can pick up the ball in positions like he did for that second goal, but he has enough pace and enough skill to beat a man and whip in a quality ball from the left as well. I could see him and a quality full back linking up all day long and causing so many problems.

He is certainly the quality of footballer that we should be looking at and to be fair, I would pick him ahead of most of our others in those type of positions as it is. Hopefully we can shift some of the deadwood to bring him in.

Matador  you copy pasting that from somewhere else?

 

Does seem to have a good left foot mind you