Evan Ferguson F Brighton b.2004

[rebelmusic]

I think what everyone has hoped for is that he'd get a run of 2-3 games where the pressure is a little lower and he regains his confidence. Pre-season friendlies are probably the best place for that over loan moves or anything else. If he's going to be sold I hope it's this side of July.

If he has a solid pre-season I don't see why he wouldn't work his way into any managers thinking. If we wipe away all the noise, Brighton is still one of the most ideal places for him to be relative to fan expectations and the quality of opposition. Anyway, here's to the lad to have a decent season

[elatedscum]

Ekitike is a good example of how a reset can do wonders for a young player. He bombed out of PSG after getting a big move there, he had some mental health issues but he moved to Frankfurt and thrived. Now at 23 hes being liked with a move to all the big clubs again and Frankfurt want a 100 Million quid fee. Hes 3 years older than Ferguson and yet hes considered a young player with huge potential still.

If Ferguson was as quick as Ekitike, he'd be a top 3 striker in the premier league and be worth over £100m. He can hold the ball and link up play, he can head, he's a very natural finisher when confident. (At West Ham, he was taking an extra touch which he couldn't afford and spurning chances he'd normally score).

See his 12th goal here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI-d3lzCkFs (Clip starts at 2.57) - I've seen Evan in the situation probably more than half a dozen times. Virtually every time, he's either shot from outside the box or been caught by defenders or waited for a team mate to overlap, cause he just didn't quite have the pace. It's not like you can't be a great striker without great pace. Harry Kane isn't that quick and he's one the best goal scorers of his generation (Kane, Lewandowski, Salah, Haaland, Mbappe). Saying that, Kane is an absolute freak. Not really the archetype but the exception. On the other hand, at the same age Evan is now, Harry Kane had yet to score a premier league goal (just about, this stat is no longer true in 15 days) - so as people mention, he's still young enough to be anything he could dream of being.

[elatedscum]

Here's a video of Evan's last 20 shots across West Ham, Ireland and Brighton. Gives a decent sense of where he's at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9qs72qk39E

[pineapple stu]

Theres no doubt that Ferguson has to take personal responsibility for how things have gone in the last year or so, but that doesnt negate that other factors would also have a big influence. I like that we are seeing him working out before going back to preseason, he has to hit the ground running and hopefully his injuries are behind him. I do think the injury was a huge factor in why things went a bit pear shaped and the West Ham move was nothing but a disaster, so lets see.

No problems with any of that; all seems quite considered.

What I disagree with in the original post is this idea that if Hurlezer just picked him in his best position, everything would be fine. That's naive in the extreme for me.

The opening weeks of the season will be very interesting.