[SIGNED perm] Ismaila Sarr - club record fee

"L’Equipe then labels Sarr as one of the flops in the squad"

I'm shocked. Just like Dennis, I'm sure when the moon and the sun align and the weather is between 12.4 and 12.5 degrees and he's fit and it's a 3pm kick off and lots of other excuses he will be good...

 

Another career we utterly destroyed. Sad to see.

 

Is there even a story here? L'Equipe, a newspaper, say they don't like him. The rest is made up.

 

Sorry guys have to disagree. Fantastic player. If we could pick him up for 5 mil rip their hands off and get him back. Build a team and style that gets the best out of him

 

He was a huge disappointment because we were understandably hoping for a £40m player to propel us up the Premier League, and we ended up with a decent yet inconsistent Championship player, but in this day and age we would kill for a player who can hit double figures two Championship seasons in a row (from the wing no least). Probably will command a pretty penny in fees and wages, so I'd say it's a non-starter

 

Seen a lot of people question his attitude, and I can understand why as he was supposedly a key player at a time when we were failing, but I don't think he's a 'bad egg', just lacking in that confidence which can turn good players (which he undoubtedly is) into great players

 

Perhaps Clevs could convert him to a wingback or a centre half.

 

Goalkeeper ?

 

I’ve heard from itk people that he wasn’t very liked within the squad, and thought he was way too good for us, even when his form was rubbish.

 

He's ****. We got rid too late.

 

Didn't Gerrard say no to him after a deal had been agreed?

 

I don't think his attitude or motivation was the issue, more likely the problem was lack of confidence which can sadly affect many people in many walks of life. Similarly if he couldn't wait to get out of here he could have forced a move much earlier. Indeed Goldenorn, one of the seemingly better informed people on this forum, said something to this effect previously.

 

I don’t seriously claim I’m itk much on this forum, as most of my itk info is unrelated youth team news.

And it surprised me, as he came across as shy to me. But on this I’m sure.

Sarr was the most arrogant player this squad member has ever played with and thought, till the day he left, that he was a champions league player being let down by cloggers.

Dennis is also very arrogant apparently. But at least backs it up with hard work.

 

Could be wrong but i thought it was Sarr who rejected the move ?

 

I don't have any inside knowledge whatsoever. I've dug out the post I remembered previously from Goldenorn who said this:

Just like to clarify that Sarr was never an attitude issue, was one of the hardest working members of the squad and absolutely loved Watford. His issue was confidence and confidence alone

https://wfcforums.com/index.php?threads/emmanuel-dennis.60754/page-7#post-3307750​

I've no idea which view point is correct so im definitely not saying you are wrong just pointing out a different itk perspective. Thinking about it i guess both perspectives could be correct as they are simply points of view and people see people differently. I like to believe people are good but I'm probably naiive.

 

Not everything comes off for him (basically nothing since Leeds), but Dennis at least gets about the pitch and shows some emotion, Sarr was always pretty emotionless and rarely got himself about even when he had an opportunity to get at his full-back, it struck me as though he didn't have the confidence that he could do it, so personally I'd be inclined to believe Goldenorn, but I'm not going to die on that hill over arguably our biggest ever flop

 

Do you think that's likely, though, Tim?

 

I thought Sarr was the signing that proved the Pozzos had lost all rational thought on how to retain premier league stability.

So was delighted when he left.

On the other hand we have Sema, Ince and Chakvetadze.

 

This is nonsense from whoever told you this.

Was loved around the club as he was genuinely decent man. To a fault. Because the environment is built around people who have everything done for them and Sarr was just a quiet character who didn’t need that - but that crept onto the pitch.

And for his faults on the pitch, he still scored goals and turned games (not enough for his transfer fee). Anyone saying they wouldn’t take him back at an affordable price (it isn’t happening) is absolutely crackers. I’d have him back in an instant.

 

Without saying too much, it was a direct quote from a player currently at the club.

But it genuinely surprised me too and if you’ve been told differently then fair enough. Maybe the person who said had a particular problem with him and the view wasn’t widely held.

 

If I were a teammate of Sarr’s, I would be irritated with him that he didn’t use his main asset - his speed - to its fullest extent. I do think it was a failure of self confidence, but the baffling thing was that none of the many managers he played for could convince him of what he should be doing.

 

It's true and frustrating that he didn't use his speed to its fullest extent but I blame Deeney for this. When he first started playing for us Sarr used his speed but I remember him bombimg down the line and getting crosses in but Deeney couldn't keep up with the play and was still on the halfway line. Sarr had to slow down his game to accommodate Troy and he never recovered it.

It's always Deeneys fault.

 

I don’t actually know if this is a serious post or not because of your last line, but if that were remotely true, then it would still be complySarr’s fault. We’re literally talking about running fast with the ball, and he managed it fine post Deeney in that first game against Villa. If he was incapable of adapting his game because he once played with a slow forward nearing the end of their career, he never would’ve made it as pro athlete in the first place.

 

Deeney, and Edwards too,

 

He will always remain an enigma. So brilliant, but so rarely.

 

I agree. My best guess is he lost confidence or something affected his mental attitude. He was brilliant in that first game vs Villa i had seat on the side of the pitch for that game and he just tore Villa open at will in that first half.

 

That pesky Edwards bloke is solely to blame for Sarr losing his pace and for Ngakia being injured so often. His gruelling pre-season has truly ruined us as a club - I bet he knew he was going to Bedfordshire all along