Foster

[boatshed bill]

We all thought, here we go, this is the guy that's going to absolutely demolish the Championship, we're still waiting.

Did we now?

[gandhisflipflop]

I, personally, can judge, yes by law, whenever I like and I have chosen to that be now.

Sorry equinox but the fact you have chosen to judge him so soon is wrong. He may be good he may not but if he turns out to be either it won’t vindicate your opinion because you have judged too soon.

[johnnyjones]

We all thought, here we go, this is the guy that's going to absolutely demolish the Championship, we're still waiting.

He's been here just over two weeks mate FFS

[Damo]

I'm getting Blackburn vibes from this guys username if you change the "ox" for an "e"

[wilks_bfc]

I'm getting Blackburn vibes from this guys username if you change the "ox" for an "e"

Don’t o & x mean “hugs & kisses” in text speak?

[Andreshotboots]

To me the lad just needs to relax and it will come for him. He seems to be trying so hard to impress, sometimes too hard on the equivalent of a new footballing planet from what he's used too.

The raw materials are there for sure.

[jtv]

I'm getting Blackburn vibes from this guys username if you change the "ox" for an "e"

In my native language "ox" phonetically means a cnut. An equine one perhaps?

[PremierLeagueClass]

I think it’s a new one for us on the sense we’ve never spent that kind of money of such a young player with minimal experience. The expectation rises when you pay big money.

To use Andre Gray as a comparison, he was able to hit the ground running because he knew the league. However, he quickly hit his ceiling and didn’t really establish himself in the premier league.

I believe we’ve identified Foster as someone with a very high ceiling, and whilst he is understandably a long way off it at the moment, you can certainly see glimpses of his potential already.

Once promotion is secured I imagine he will start most of the remaining games to give him a chance to bed in properly.

[superdimitri]

Assuming we can keep the form up and get promoted I'm most worried about Centre Forwards and Central Midfielders in the Premier League.

I know we've signed Foster and we are clearly planning on assessing if we think Obafemi is Premier League quality but I don't really feel at all confident with Barnes who I'm sure will end up signing a new contract on present form and Rodriguez who isn't standing out in The Championship this season.

Dervisoglu out of all these players seems to be the most promising to me but hasn't even had a chance and Tella, if we do end up signing him is clearly not a player who will be able to lead the line alone in tough fixtures.

As for Centre Midfield we already know that Cork and Brownhill will struggle in the Premier League and even with Cullen there's no guarantee he will make the step up.

I see other posters being really positive about our chances given our current season form but I feel like next year is going to be just as much of a struggle as it has been before, possibly as hard as our first Premier League stint with Dyche.

We have promise everywhere on the pitch right now but there's just a couple of positions where I think we will be very weak. I really hope that Foster can make it but it's a big step up compared to the level he's played at before now.

[Bullabill]

Dervisoglu out of all these players seems to be the most promising to me but hasn't even had a chance

Seems most promising but has hardly played ? How do you arrive at that assessment ?

[Tricky Trevor]

I am reserving judgement. New strikers have to get that first goal to settle them in. He hit the post, should have scored, Obafemi did score. Which of them wakes up the next morning ready for training?
Juke got MoM in a couple of his early games but just couldn’t get off the mark and he never did for us.

[Newcastleclaret93]

Assuming we can keep the form up and get promoted I'm most worried about Centre Forwards and Central Midfielders in the Premier League.

I know we've signed Foster and we are clearly planning on assessing if we think Obafemi is Premier League quality but I don't really feel at all confident with Barnes who I'm sure will end up signing a new contract on present form and Rodriguez who isn't standing out in The Championship this season.

Dervisoglu out of all these players seems to be the most promising to me but hasn't even had a chance and Tella, if we do end up signing him is clearly not a player who will be able to lead the line alone in tough fixtures.

As for Centre Midfield we already know that Cork and Brownhill will struggle in the Premier League and even with Cullen there's no guarantee he will make the step up.

I see other posters being really positive about our chances given our current season form but I feel like next year is going to be just as much of a struggle as it has been before, possibly as hard as our first Premier League stint with Dyche.

We have promise everywhere on the pitch right now but there's just a couple of positions where I think we will be very weak. I really hope that Foster can make it but it's a big step up compared to the level he's played at before now.

I agree with a lot of what you said.

However I am adamant Foster will be more than adequate in the prem. people forgot he’s not been here long and it takes time to adjust.

The last 10-5 games should be where he starts regularly and makes an impact.

[TheFamilyCat]

Assuming we can keep the form up and get promoted I'm most worried about Centre Forwards and Central Midfielders in the Premier League.

I know we've signed Foster and we are clearly planning on assessing if we think Obafemi is Premier League quality but I don't really feel at all confident with Barnes who I'm sure will end up signing a new contract on present form and Rodriguez who isn't standing out in The Championship this season.

Dervisoglu out of all these players seems to be the most promising to me but hasn't even had a chance and Tella, if we do end up signing him is clearly not a player who will be able to lead the line alone in tough fixtures.

As for Centre Midfield we already know that Cork and Brownhill will struggle in the Premier League and even with Cullen there's no guarantee he will make the step up.

I see other posters being really positive about our chances given our current season form but I feel like next year is going to be just as much of a struggle as it has been before, possibly as hard as our first Premier League stint with Dyche.

We have promise everywhere on the pitch right now but there's just a couple of positions where I think we will be very weak. I really hope that Foster can make it but it's a big step up compared to the level he's played at before now.

There's another transfer window before next season starts.

[Burnley1989]

Seems most promising but has hardly played ? How do you arrive at that assessment ?

It’s actually laughable, this is the lad that can’t get a game but he’s the most promising striker we have?
VK will see him day in day out and let’s be honest, it appears he knows what he’s doing thus far!

[TheFamilyCat]

Slightly bigger problem for me is that we have a number of players (including Foster, for now) who have not established themselves at Championship level (admittedly due to injury in some cases): Egan-Riley, Churlinov, Twine, McNally, Bastien.

There's still time for them this season (particularly Foster, McNally and Twine) but next season they will need to step up to the PL or potentially need replacing in the squad.

[FeedTheArf]

I think the problem with Foster is that we've been pretty spoiled this season with the majority of our new signings hitting the ground running and making immediate impacts.

Especially given the fee involved in this one, a lot is expected of him. But we should remember that normally a new signing is afforded a bit of time to adapt. It's a new country, a new league, new teammates, there's a lot going on.

Fortunately we're in the position where there is virtually no pressure on him to deliver and he can use this period to adapt to hopefully benefit us and him for next season.

[CaptJohn]

As an older Claret I remember the days when we developed our own talent and you saw players come through the youth and reserve teams before gradually being introduced into the 1st team. Very often on their 1st team debuts they looked a little lost and were way off the pace but the coaches had seen something in the player and knew it would just take time. That's how we had players such as Willie Morgan, Ralph Coates, Dave Thomas, Steve Kindon etc. Every player is different and Foster has come into a very competitive and physical league. The good thing is we are in a strong position and can allow him the time to develop and become accustomed to the rigours of life in the English leagues. Hopefully next year with a full pre-season behind him, he can strut his stuff in the most competitive league in the world.
Patience everyone.

[tiger76]

Slightly bigger problem for me is that we have a number of players (including Foster, for now) who have not established themselves at Championship level (admittedly due to injury in some cases): Egan-Riley, Churlinov, Twine, McNally, Bastien.

There's still time for them this season (particularly Foster, McNally and Twine) but next season they will need to step up to the PL or potentially need replacing in the squad.

McNally is playing well at Coventry by all accounts, and not all our signings will work out, thankfully most of them have made the grade.

[boatshed bill]

McNally is playing well at Coventry by all accounts, and not all our signings will work out, thankfully most of them have made the grade.

McNally is indeed playing well, according to a Coventry supporting friend.

[Newcastleclaret93]

Slightly bigger problem for me is that we have a number of players (including Foster, for now) who have not established themselves at Championship level (admittedly due to injury in some cases): Egan-Riley, Churlinov, Twine, McNally, Bastien.

There's still time for them this season (particularly Foster, McNally and Twine) but next season they will need to step up to the PL or potentially need replacing in the squad.

Hasn’t Pace at some point said to expect a much larger turn around in players.

If they don’t make the grade they will just be moved on and replaced.

[JTClaret]

He looks very raw to me.
Potentially has all the pieces, but needs some serious coaching to develop.
If he's willing to learn, and they look to create a player like Bellamy was, it could be interesting.

He doesn't look like he's ready to me, I just hope that in time he will be.

[Petersa]

At 22 lets give him a chance. It doesn't seem too long ago that Burnleys promising 22 year olds went on loan to Hyde Utd or FC United of Manchester for experience and were never heard of again, well thats how it seemed to me

[Goalposts]

If you think chuba Akpom as a comparison in the first fourteen games this season he scored in two of those games. In the last 14 he’s scored in 8 of them. No one was thinking Akpom was quality in the first three months of the season, and that’s from someone who knew the league previously with WBA.

Give foster time. The coaching team believe in him so just needs time to adapt and get used to things

[jojomk1]

Assuming we can keep the form up and get promoted I'm most worried about Centre Forwards and Central Midfielders in the Premier League.

I know we've signed Foster and we are clearly planning on assessing if we think Obafemi is Premier League quality but I don't really feel at all confident with Barnes who I'm sure will end up signing a new contract on present form and Rodriguez who isn't standing out in The Championship this season.

Dervisoglu out of all these players seems to be the most promising to me but hasn't even had a chance and Tella, if we do end up signing him is clearly not a player who will be able to lead the line alone in tough fixtures.

As for Centre Midfield we already know that Cork and Brownhill will struggle in the Premier League and even with Cullen there's no guarantee he will make the step up.

I see other posters being really positive about our chances given our current season form but I feel like next year is going to be just as much of a struggle as it has been before, possibly as hard as our first Premier League stint with Dyche.

We have promise everywhere on the pitch right now but there's just a couple of positions where I think we will be very weak. I really hope that Foster can make it but it's a big step up compared to the level he's played at before now.

My thoughts exactly

Central midfield lacks any height, strength and pace

And Barnes is currently our main striker

We are doing a great job in the Championship but I ask myself, when looking at Premier League games, which of them are we at the same level as

We have a summer window to strengthen again and these two areas need to be improved on if we can hope to compete in the Premiership next season

[NewClaret]

Hasn’t Pace at some point said to expect a much larger turn around in players.

If they don’t make the grade they will just be moved on and replaced.

I get your point, I think there’s a separate option here which is that we should always be looking to develop (and retain) players that are of a high Championship standard.

If we go down, which will always be a risk in the PL (as it is to all but probably 8 clubs), we need to have players that have good experience of that league. I’d happily keep Bastien, CJER, McNally on our books and loan them out, even if we didn’t think they’d make a PL regular.

Obviously that’s not sustainable forever, there comes a time where you need to stick or twist, but I think we should aim for a very good number of our players to be out on loan to Championship clubs.

Re: Foster I have to say he’s looked out of his depth to me and not as fast as expected. I can’t see what caused us to spend quite so much. Hopefully it was heavily based on incentives. But as others have said, it’s early days and with the right coaching I hope he comes good. Usually when I say one thing, the opposite happens so let’s hope this message is the start of his record breaking goal scoring run

[NewClaret]

My thoughts exactly

Central midfield lacks any height, strength and pace

And Barnes is currently our main striker

We are doing a great job in the Championship but I ask myself, when looking at Premier League games, which of them are we at the same level as

We have a summer window to strengthen again and these two areas need to be improved on if we can hope to compete in the Premiership next season

I get why we’re playing Barnes at the moment and for the last run of games which has been tough and needed some experience. You make a fair point though, that he won’t be leading our line next season so we do need to start bringing in the likes of Obafemi and Foster to integrate those guys in the team now we have a more favourable run.

[superdimitri]

Seems most promising but has hardly played ? How do you arrive at that assessment ?

It’s actually laughable, this is the lad that can’t get a game but he’s the most promising striker we have?
VK will see him day in day out and let’s be honest, it appears he knows what he’s doing thus far!

Not sure why you think it's laughable unless you're only looking at his time with us. Before now he was signed and played for much more reputable clubs than Foster (when he was younger than Foster too) which clearly means he has a lot of potential. Brentford themselves have signed some very good players as we've seen in the past. Kompany has already said that it's hard for him because people are ahead of him in the pecking order but that doesn't mean he hasn't shown what he's capable of. Barnes is just playing well at the moment, which is fine for us currently, but not in the long term.

There's another transfer window before next season starts.

Sure, there's still time.

Slightly bigger problem for me is that we have a number of players (including Foster, for now) who have not established themselves at Championship level (admittedly due to injury in some cases): Egan-Riley, Churlinov, Twine, McNally, Bastien.

There's still time for them this season (particularly Foster, McNally and Twine) but next season they will need to step up to the PL or potentially need replacing in the squad.

True, if these players aren't making the grade in the Championship, I doubt we can rely on them in the Premier League. The gap in quality is massive.

My thoughts exactly

Central midfield lacks any height, strength and pace

And Barnes is currently our main striker

We are doing a great job in the Championship but I ask myself, when looking at Premier League games, which of them are we at the same level as

We have a summer window to strengthen again and these two areas need to be improved on if we can hope to compete in the Premiership next season

In the Premier League we are going to be playing teams most of the time who are a lot better than us, or who are closer to our quality. We will have a lot less of the ball and will concede a lot more goals. Given the system we play right now I feel like it's going to be all or nothing. I expect it's realistic to look at our more difficult games this season as a measure.

[boatshed bill]

This thread is a tad depressing.

[jojomk1]

I get why we’re playing Barnes at the moment and for the last run of games which has been tough and needed some experience. You make a fair point though, that he won’t be leading our line next season so we do need to start bringing in the likes of Obafemi and Foster to integrate those guys in the team now we have a more favourable run.

My cause for concern is that Barnes could be leading our line next season
He has played decent these last few games and, given VK is watching Foster and Obafemi everyday, he seems to prefer Barnes to both of them and quite frankly I can see why even just in their small cameo's so far

[jojomk1]

True, if these players aren't making the grade in the Championship, I doubt we can rely on them in the Premier League. The gap in quality is massive.
In the Premier League we are going to be playing teams most of the time who are a lot better than us, or who are closer to our quality. We will have a lot less of the ball and will concede a lot more goals. Given the system we play right now I feel like it's going to be all or nothing. I expect it's realistic to look at our more difficult games this season as a measure.

Easter weekend games will tell us a lot

Sheff Utd will come with their same tactics and try to bully the game - which, to be fair, they did well at earlier in the season

Boro away will be a tough ask and Carrick will have them playing much better football than at our place

Both will also struggle next season if promoted

[boatshed bill]

Easter weekend games will tell us a lot

Sheff Utd will come with their same tactics and try to bully the game - which, to be fair, they did well at earlier in the season

Boro away will be a tough ask and Carrick will have them playing much better football than at our place

Both will also struggle next season if promoted

Just about every newly promoted team struggles. It's to be expected.

[spt_claret]

He's got a lot to show he can step up but I'm happy to be patient.
Not every player can be an instant hit and even those who are can dip and wobble for form before really hitting their stride. And some players weirdly do better at a level above than a level below.
I would like to see him ahead of Obafemi in the pecking order though, for several reasons:
-he's already permanent, Obafemi isn't yet
-the club spent a big sum on him, want to see what we got
-the more he plays the more chance he has of bedding in ahead of next season hopefully in the Prem.

[Ampth7]

I’m not worrying at all about next season. We’re not up yet, mathematically speaking, and if we go up I have no doubt that we will bring in several new players to build on what we have already got. I also don’t see any of our current better players being sold either for several reasons.

Clearly, we won’t be running away with the league next season assuming we are in the prem, but I think we will hold our own just fine. For now though, I’m going to savour the remainder of this season, incredible as it has been so far!

[Elizabeth]

Any opinion on Foster is premature at the moment