Forget about Hackney, RVB, McGree

Duffman said:
You really think Latte Lath is going to attract a £30m bid. That is very much wishful thinking.
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Well then he stays where he is. We can’t just sell anyone with any talent. The aim is promotion. If we sell him we’re back to needing two quality strikers in the summer window. We’re back at square one. I’d be very annoyed and disappointed if he was sold.
 
viv_andersons_nana said:
Well then he stays where he is. We can’t just sell anyone with any talent. The aim is promotion. If we sell him we’re back to needing two quality strikers in the summer window. We’re back at square one. I’d be very annoyed and disappointed if he was sold.
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I reckon we are good for another season, Gyokeres at Coventry is a good example of that, he didn't go after just 1 good season it was his 2nd one and if they had hung on against Luton he would still be with them now.
 
He's the type of striker we should always sign. Like Hamilton Richard (not in style) but a bit rusty round the edges but strong physical attributes and the ability to make their own goals.
 
Air Resistance said:
I’ve resisted the urge to make a separate thread for this, but Latte Lathe has now equalled Assombalonga’s best ever scoring season for us!
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In all competitions.

He still needs another goal to equal his best league tally.

On current form you wouldn't bet against it, and he's played far less.
 
Two goals tonight but what impressed me most was the shift he put in for the team. I loved how he kept coming deep to receive the ball with his back to goal and then brought others into play.

I get that we're always going to be a selling club whilst we're in the Championship but I think the club really need to resist the temptation to sell him if some big offers come in this summer. This guy could be the difference between getting in the play-offs and just missing out next season.
 
Duffman said:
We do sell our best players - that is our model that keeps us afloat.


But we do sell our best players. That is our model. We are a poor mans Southampton. If Gibson can get circa £35m for Latte Lath, Hackney and RVB they are gone. That takes the financial pressure off Gibson balancing the books. There is nothing I would like more from a Boro perspective than to keep those three but I think it is highly likely Latte Lath and RVB will go in the summer. Hackney I am more unsure about as he is looking a bit ‘made of glass’ for some teams.
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I would think one of the sticking points of Carrick signing a new contract is exactly this kind of thing. You can't build a promotion winning team if the rug is constantly pulled from under you. I guess Carrick is seeking assurances from Gibson on this before committing.
 
he has the magic touch in front of goal ...even speculative shots are hitting the back of the net ... the header was something else ... Boro Goal of the Season for sure
 
UTB70 said:
Big test is can he do it in his second srason now he is not a surprise to defenders.
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I'm not sure if the element of surprise is anything to worry about with a player who has LL's attributes. He's so hardworking, tricky, pacy and unpredictable. He chases everything no matter what end of the pitch it's at and he looks like he has unbelievable stamina, he put in an incredible shift last night and was still chasing every ball by the end.

Even if opposition teams watch him more closely next season and have him singled out as a danger man there is nothing they can do about how explosive he is.
 
Manu has put 4 past Leeds this season, wouldn’t surprise me if they don’t come knocking. I hope we keep him, it’s like watching Action Man, he is brilliant.
 
TeaCider said:
If we try to sell him in the summer, we may as well pack in.

A model doesn't work if you sell any players that perform well for you as soon as you can, we're just left with the duds and scrambling to find replacements for the players who were actually performing well for us, on top of the strengthening we already need.

Injuries have played a huge part, but this could still end up being the 2nd lowest points tally we've had in the last 10 seasons in the Championship.
Even if we win both of our remaining games, it's the 4th lowest.
We need to improve on our weaknesses, not sell our strengths.
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I don't think we TRY to sell any of our good players, we just accept that good players will be sought after so we try to turn cheap players into good players so when they inevitably do leave then we are quids in. The idea being that the extra money allows us to buy a better quality of cheap player with a higher ceiling and repeat the process so we end up with a better team and money in the bank. I am certain that we didn't try and sell Rogers in Jan, they forced our hand but we were in the driving seat and got some decent cash for him.

It's a good strategy but a tough one to take at times because it's a long-term strategy and football is generally very short-term in it's thinking - both in terms of what the fans want/expect and from a consistency point of view... this time next year Carrick might have been sacked, or poached by a bigger team. It's then up to the club to keep the strategy going during a period of turmoil and not throw the baby out with the bathwater. I'm convinced if we keep it going over the next 5 or so seasons we'll be in a much stronger position and will have had some degree of success.

Personally, I think this is Gibson trying to make us more self-sustainable for his inevitable departure - but I don't think that will be for another 10 years or so.
 
I said to my seat neighbour after his first game that he’d be a great replacement for Chuba, it’s took him a season to get into his stride but boy has he got into it..
Imagine a full uninterrupted season where we might’ve been 🫣
I hope he feels he is still developing and stays for next season..
 
It was only a month ago people were saying we could probably fetch our £4m back for him.

I've said for ages that a striker who consistently gets into goal scoring positions is so important even if they miss a few as he was early on in the season. The chances will keep coming and we would find out if he could eventually settle down and not do everything at 100mph. He seems to have unlocked that now a bit like Akpom did last season.

It's also no coincidence that under Carrick we've had players scoring goals for fun with Akpom, Archer and now Latte Lath, we create so many chances that they know another one will come and that takes all the pressure off. As much as I thought Assombalonga was crap, he'd get one chance per game under Pulis and Warnock, it's no surprise that he fluffed them a lot of the time when he probably knows that's the only one he's gonna get.

Balogun, Sporar, Braithwaite etc would have scored for fun under Carrick as well.
 
breakthewallsdown said:
I don’t think he’s a better striker than Archer was for us last year but he’s bloody great to watch isn’t he? His work rate is unbelievable and the amount of tackles he makes around our box is unreal
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He’s not as clinical but he’s much better out of possession and back to goal. I think he’s potentially better than archer
 
RenzoRosso said:
Not obsessed just that’s been our situation for the last 5 seasons or so. We sell when players values are met and strikers are the most likely for clubs to take punts on. I’d rather we kept him, I’d rather we’d kept Gary Pallister,
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Striker values are higher. We sold Akpom because it was last year of contract, that doesn’t apply. We sold Spence because he was an ass that doesn’t apply here, we sold Traore because his buy out was met, that doesn’t seem to apply here.
 
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