Football seems to be stuck in a bit of identity crisis which in my opinion is a good thing. As we're starting to see a bit more variety in different methods rather than just attempts at total Guardiola football. A lot of the big boys have built reputations on being the best at this type of football but look at the trend now, they're all looking for a big physical centre forward and are slowly conceeding to the reality of how effective having a player like that up front really is. It was unfashionable a few years ago, now it's becoming a bit of a blueprint. My point being... We have that sort of player in Gueye, like those teams, you need to be making the most out of him by playing to his abilities. Get early balls in the box, have pace out wide and have a pacier option on the bench in case it doesn't work. I really think Makhtar is that sort of player that could bang in 15 goals+ if he can get off to a good start.

His body is clearly failing him now, its been another season where he has constantly been injured. He was never a natural goalscorer and was always average (and overpriced) but he was nowhere near as bad as you made out. But back to Gueye. His performances and goal return last season do not compare favourably to most of Gallagher's seasons here and as I said before, he started exactly half of our games. We won 6 he started and 13 that he didnt. That tells you quite a lot.

I don't like players who swing the lead for season after season, therefore I'd have a similarly dim view of Corry Evans. Gallagher was half decent during his initial loan spell under Coyle (although never worth spending anywhere near £5m on) but following his return on a permanent basis he turned being invisible and avoiding getting into scoring positions into an art form. Opinions vary on how much effort Gallagher put in but for me he was only ever going through the motions for that reason. Incidentally, he only scored 3 League goals for Stoke this season as well so that looks like it's a "standard Gallagher season" now. Bet Stoke are delighted they're paying him £15k - £20k p.w.

Closest player we've ever had to Gueye that I can recall is Shefki Kuqi. Big, Clumsy, bit of a handful, not incredibly prolific but scores a few. Infectious enthusiasm and extremely likeable.

Gueye is as good as we have got, players from the past mean absolutely nothing for the present team.

Poor finisher, poor tactically but wears his heart on his sleeve and can be unplayable on his day. We need better, but a valuable squad member.

His Knees were a major issue and you are correct he just played and never trained when he entered his 30s,

Agree with all of that. Gueye had some tough times last season but he showed in certain games that he is capable. WBA away springs to mind. Although perhaps lucky to be given a couple of those assists (e.g. the 'backheel' against Luton), he still contributed a good amount. It'll be interesting to see how things develop with him and Ismael considering he was benched during the good end of season run.

Same here with England, that is my first memory of watching them. Although I don't remember watching any of the 1994 World Cup games live on TV due to the time difference, I vividly remember waking up the day after the final and finding out Baggio had missed his penalty. Also fond memories of playing the official USA 94 video game on the Sega Game Gear. It was like a poor imitation of Sensible Soccer but I loved every second of it 🥲. On Gazza...yeah, the goal against Scotland is iconic.

We obviously have different opinions on what makes him so good in the air. For me the timing of his Jump and connection on the ball is the worst part, closely followed by his direction. Just being a big lump that occasionally manages to get his head on the ball means very little. How many headers has he scored since he’s been here? I genuinely don’t know but doubt it’s very many. Good headers from the past? Absolutely loads of them. He doesn’t come close IMO.

Well he's nowhere near the poorest header of a ball I can remember. In fact he's nowhere near the poorest header of the ball in this team.

You'd like to think that both Gueye and Ohashi will be better coming into this season, after their first one in the Championship and a full pre-season but I wouldn't expect either to be hitting more than 10 goals. Assuming VI sticks with 4-2-3-1, having better attackers in the 3 positions behind them might add more goals to their games. I assume we are looking to sign another striker though?

The problem may be that refs have a tendency to penalise big aggressive athletes. If he is on from the start, he will be a red card waiting to happen.

He wasnt putting in much of a shift when he was coming on towards the end of the season. Half arsed and constantly waving his arms around. Gallagher was below average but so was Gueye last season, problem is that people like yourself and RevidgeBlue lost all balance in judging Gallagher. Gueye got only 6 goals and we won significantly less when he started compared to when he didnt.

Apart from when he shoots, then he becomes my nan

I remember writing after a few games that Gaye was already 27, should be at his peak and we shouldn't expect him to improve much. Yet at various points he did! Does seem Ismael doesn't rate him though.

Had to happen. Gary Croft standing in for T20’s. The problems run deeper though. This is a poor squad. As David Loyd said a bowling squad needs real pace and quality leg spin. Hartley apart it’s full of medium pacers. On the batting front Lancs have been scoring at just over two runs per over. That’s no good, that’s just standing there and letting sides bowl at you. There are also rumours of club debt running too high not helped by being banned from staging concerts at the ground. I also dont think we have enough involvement from real cricket men in the boardroom. Chilton comes across as weak. It’s primarily short on cricketing knowledge.

Gueye seems better with the ball at his feet than in the air. Similar to Peter crouch

I think he's Plan A. A 6'5" aggressive, athletic CF who wins the vast majority of contested balls and brings others into play. You build around that and let the others (Cantwell, Winger, Winger) start taking over the game.

Easy enough to resolve, fire Ismael.

The Jam - Non-Stop Dancing

Benkenstein gone!

Gueye is ideal as a plan B.

If we can get him into positions where he can get on the end of Brittain's crosses, he would be lethal. As others have alluded to, he's showing a lot more than Gallagher ever did for us.

Personally think Gueye is really good if utilised correctly. Wins everything, finishing not great granted, puts in a shift. Got a hell of a lot of assists. The comparison to Gallagher is mental to me, different levels.