Roughly half way through the season - rate our signings?

Scrug

Scrug

Well-known member
VDB - Class. Has had a couple of wobbly moments but for a young lad he looks like he’s going to go far.

Dieng - Love the guy. Commands his box and has made some great saves. His distribution is class too. Composed is the word I’d use to describe him.

Latte-Lath - Decent. Puts himself about, can’t criticise his work rate. I think he’ll get better the more he plays. Can see him getting double figures.

Rogers - Difficult one. I think there’s definitely a player in there and he’s shown moments of genuine quality. Just needs that consistency.

Silvera - Not convinced. He doesn’t look strong enough for this league. He’s quick, buzzes about, but I haven’t seen anything from him that’s convinced me he’s good enough at this level.

Engel - Decent. Thought it was curtains for him after that Sheff Wed game. I feel sorry for him sometimes as he takes up really good advanced positions and the ball doesn’t come to him.

Bangura - Really like him. I think his energy down the left is much needed. He’s always on the go, gets stuck in when needed too.

Gilbert/Glover - Cant say.
 
My ratings out of 10.

VDB - 9 - Dominant in the air and very comfortable with the ball at his feet. Reads the game remarkably well for one so young.

Dieng - 8 - Comands his box and is a good shot-stopper. Good with his feet and I like that he's prepared to go long at times, when he feels the long ball is on.

Latte-Lath - 7 - Definitely think there's more to come from him. Works hard and I can imagine he's awkward to play against. Finishing does need to improve when one on one but at least he's getting himself into those goalscoring positions.

Rogers - 5 - I do feel he has the attributes to develop into a decent player at this level but he needs to learn when is the right time to hold onto the ball, and when is the right time to try a little flick to a team-mate. He'll receive the ball to his feet and tries playing a quick first time pass to a team mate, but I don't think he actually knows who it is he's trying to pass to. Think he just gambles and hopes someone will be there.

Silvera - 4 - Looks well short of the required standard at the moment. Too lightweight and struggles to beat his man. Needs to be loaned out.

Engel - 7 - He's shown great character to recover from the Sheff Wed game. I had all but written him off as it was one of the worst individual performances I've ever seen from a Boro player. Can still look a bit suspect defensively but he's decent on the ball and will look to get into good positions to cross the ball.

Bangura - 7 - He's got a good turn of pace and will often look to overlap down the left side. Would like to see how he'd perform playing left wing.

Gilbert/Glover - Difficult to give a rating as haven't seen much of them.
 
lostinyorkshire said:
Engel 7?

He cant defend! lets hope he improves
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Giles wasn't much better defensively. Obviously Giles compensated for it by how effective he was going forward, but I actually think Engel is unlucky, in the sense that he can take up some great positions and his team-mates don't play him the ball.
 
RVDB - 8- promising start .
Dieng - 7 - concedes too many but those in front of him are poor.
Lath - 7 improving
Bangura - 6-better than Engel
Engel - 5-can't defend and makes mistakes .
Rogers -6- player in there , needs to step up quickly.
Silvera - 4-looks weak , send him on loan
Gilbert - 3-disappointing - send him on loan
Glover- 4- nothing is seen says he's good enough yet .
 
Scrug said:
VDB - Class. Has had a couple of wobbly moments but for a young lad he looks like he’s going to go far.

Dieng - Love the guy. Commands his box and has made some great saves. His distribution is class too. Composed is the word I’d use to describe him.

Latte-Lath - Decent. Puts himself about, can’t criticise his work rate. I think he’ll get better the more he plays. Can see him getting double figures.

Rogers - Difficult one. I think there’s definitely a player in there and he’s shown moments of genuine quality. Just needs that consistency.

Silvera - Not convinced. He doesn’t look strong enough for this league. He’s quick, buzzes about, but I haven’t seen anything from him that’s convinced me he’s good enough at this level.

Engel - Decent. Thought it was curtains for him after that Sheff Wed game. I feel sorry for him sometimes as he takes up really good advanced positions and the ball doesn’t come to him.

Bangura - Really like him. I think his energy down the left is much needed. He’s always on the go, gets stuck in when needed too.

Gilbert/Glover - Cant say.
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All fair assessments I'd say.

Particularly true of Engel, he's wide open in great positions and sometimes just doesn't get the ball. Happened a few times against Hull. Do his teammates not trust him yet, or is it more a lack of natural left footers in the team at the moment so it's easier to look to play the ball down the right?
 
VDB - Played well when in his own position, will prove to be excellent at this level and go higher, hopefully with us.

Dieng - Could argue one of the best keepers in the division. Excellent signing

Latte-Lath - Works hard, bags of pace and athleticism, could turn out to be excellent with a little refinement, could also end up in league 1! would like to see him play with a more incisive number 10 than Crooks, or even a 2nd striker up top, think he would do even better.

Rogers - Poor, has all the physical attributes players need, has undoubted quality on the ball at times, but has a lack of understanding of those around him, leading to losing possession and poor passes. No intensity when out of possession either. However one bought for development so hopefully he kicks on

Silvera - huge step up from the A league, looks like a fish up a tree but was always about the long game, needs time.

Engel - Had some poor games and had some good games, although within those good games does suffer from lapses of concentration. Another who isn't at the level we need him to be at right now if we want play off positions this season

Bangura - Not seen too much of him, looks quick and another moneyball signing that might turn out well in a season or two!

Gilbert/Glover - N/A
 
Some of these scores are shockingly generous.

VDB - 7 - Potentially the best of the bunch but he's played 3 games in the position we've bought him to play. Looks promising but that's all it is so far.
Dieng - 8 - He's very good at the sweeper keeper role and is good at the keeper part as well.
Lath - 6 - Scored goals in recent games otherwise it would be a 4. At £5m you want someone who will hit the ground running. Running is what he is best at. Needs to work out direction and finishing.
Bangura - 4 - Not seen much of him and considering we've struggled that can't be a good thing. Glimpses of quality. Bit headless chicken.
Engel - 5 - Can't defend and makes mistakes. No amount of being open out wide is going to improve this score until he starts doing something.
Rogers - 5 - Nowhere near ready. Still young and very raw but potential to improve.
Silvera - 3 - Dreadful. Not even close to a championship player
Gilbert - 3 - Looks several years behind Rogers. Same age. Can't see this one going anywhere.
Glover - 5 - Back-up keeper. Should be seen and not heard and so far that's the case.

O'Brien - N/A - Obviously unlucky with injury but will be costing us a fair bit still. No judgement.
Greenwood - 5 - Some good (excellent even) goals but all round play is really poor.

As a group it's really poor and the recruitment team should be nervous. There is some potential there but too much of it is potential and not enough are having a positive impact on this season. Dieng is the only one that isn't a downgrade on what we had last year. Due to the recruitment being so poor we are also relying on players like Crooks to play 10 which he isn't very good at and Coburn to lead the line and I don't think he's ready.
 
Dieng - 8 Not really missed Steffen if he has a weak link he doesn't catch the ball enough.

Glover - 4 Haven't seen anything in cup games and friendlies to think he could ever hold down a first team place at Boro

VDB - 8 Looks like we could have a top player on our hands here although he has had a few poor games.

Latte-Lath - 7.5 Great work rate, very unpredictable, good in the air for a small guy. Needs to convert a higher percentage of the chances he makes but so far so good.

Rogers - 6 Now and again and thats only now and again he looks a good player. Two great poachers goals spring to mind. Not sure where he fits in though.

Silvera - 4 As Scrug says "He doesn’t look strong enough for this league. He’s quick, buzzes about, but I haven’t seen anything from him that’s convinced me he’s good enough at this level".

Engel - 7 After a shaky start he has done well. Makes great forward runs but defending needs to improve(but that goes for all our defence).

Bangura - 6.5 but only because of his lack of game time. Think he will eventually hold the L.B spot down.

Gilbert - 4.5 so far but not really seen anything of him yet to properly judge him.
 
RVDB - 9 - Looks the real deal.

Dieng - 7 - Great with his feet and decent shot stopping skills. Could command his area better and sometimes plays defenders into trouble.

Lath - 7 - A decent Championship striker but would hope for a bit more if we want a promotion push.

Bangura - 6 - Athletic but slightly erratic.

Engel - 2 - very poor footballer. Has a couple of mistakes in him every game. He does give us an energy and delivers the odd decent ball but the negatives outweigh the positives

Rogers - 6 - Not ready yet and looks too lacklustre but out of the attacking development signings, he's the one with the most potential.

Silvera - 3 - Poor. Wasteful and makes poor decisions

Gilbert - TBC - Hardly seen him, but assume he's behind Silvera which is worrying

Glover- TBC - Hardly seen him
 
Rvdb 8
Dieng 7
Lath 7

Bangura 6
Rogers 5

ENgel 2
Silvera 1
Gilbert 0
Glover 0


Very poor like i said from the start from the recruitment.
 
The problem isn't so much the signings we have made as the ones we didn't.

As a group I think the signings we've made have been pretty decent for what they are. Most are low cost, low risk, high potential and that's what they've looked like.

Injuries aside we've always been a striker light (Coburn was never the plan, credit to him for making the impact he has though).

If Carrick didn't fancy Dijksteel we should've had another right back anyway.

And a proper number 10 to replace Akpom. Again, Crooks has largely done well but if we're serious about promotion next season we need a specialist in there.

Feels like we didn't want to spend the money though.
 
Whats that saying quality over quantity bit like a parmo ...

they could have all paid off, but we've seen what injuries have done to the side left us with massively inferior players to fill the gaps. We gambled it didnt work, our summer budget probably led us down this route

Top sides have 3-4 strikers to choose from to freshen things up when players lose form, fall out of favour or get injured. We had no back up what so ever this season (rogers and Greenwood are not forwards despite what their wikipeida pages read)

I think Forss would have led the line had he not been injured. We know Hoppe isnt the answer either
 
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We need some cracking signings in jan to have a chance of making play offs. Auto have long gone, I have a feeling we won't sign anybody of note though and maybe another few duds that cannot play simple passing.
 
By and large I agree with most assessments. The one I don't agree with is silvera who, whilst he has some problems with the physical side of the game that will improve. He may turn out to be the best of the new forwards.
 
festa5 said:
The problem isn't so much the signings we have made as the ones we didn't.

As a group I think the signings we've made have been pretty decent for what they are. Most are low cost, low risk, high potential and that's what they've looked like.

Injuries aside we've always been a striker light (Coburn was never the plan, credit to him for making the impact he has though).

If Carrick didn't fancy Dijksteel we should've had another right back anyway.

And a proper number 10 to replace Akpom. Again, Crooks has largely done well but if we're serious about promotion next season we need a specialist in there.

Feels like we didn't want to spend the money though.
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Agree with most of:

I do think Tommy Smith was seen as the first choice RB going into the season and Dijk was the back up with McNair also as an option.

I would also say that we have failed at getting a proper starting LB. Engel definitely isn't good enough. Bangura looks better but still have my worries.

It seemed as if we were trying to get another striker but for whatever reason it didn't come off and therefore cancelled the loan move for Coburn.

I'm guessing we hoped one of Rogers / Greenwood would come good to start in the no10 role but in reality neither really look to be at the level we need to challenge for promotion.
 
Dieng 8 Consistent, reliable, makes good saves and distributes well.
VdB 8. At CB he looks to have made a very encouraging start. A starter for me, with real potential.

O'Brien 7. Only seen him at LB where he did very well. I think he would have been an 8 plus in CM.

Greenwood 6 Has some class, doesn't use it nearly enough. No fee sunk yet.

Lath 5 For the fee a disappointment. Doesn't lead the line well, seems difficult to link with. Misses lots of easy chances.
Rogers 5. Has ability, doesn't show it enough, hopeless out of possession. Is not remotely improving.
Bangoura 5. If Engel is preferred then there is an issue. I think he needs a run to give him an opportunity. Liked him at Leeds.

Engel 4. Defensively appalling, worse than Giles. With the ball a pale shadow of Giles.
Gilbert 4. The invisible man. Whether he is in the team or not. Seen so little, it is still very early days.

Silvera 2 Absolutely clueless.

Glover and Jones N/A

(Barlaser 4 Really poor without the ball. One paced and ponderous.)

Hats off.
 
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