I described Reid as a one season wonder, at this point in his career, because that is how I see him. It certainly doesn't mean that I don't rate him highly. Prior to last season he was generally played as a central midfielder where his slight stature wasn't ideal for the combative role, although his physique has improved noticeably. During that time he didn't exhibit any signs of developing into a very good premier league player.KRBFC wrote:Why is Bobby Reid a one season wonder? and where have you read Celtic are open to selling Armstrong? I think we missed the boat on Armstrong when we refused to pay the extra £200,000 transfer fee.
Last season he was shifted up the pitch into a forward role and the new position allowed him to play to his strengths, pace and trickery. That resulting in him registering his first wonder season and now that he has found a position that obviously suits his playing style it could be the first of many wonder years.
Prior to the window opening I posted my own pick list of desirable transfers. Armstrong and Reid where two of the five primary names that I put on it. Which is why I've been on the lookout for any transfer gossip relating to them as an idle source of interest.
http://www.uptheclarets.com/messageboar ... 87#p714187" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
So I noticed this
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/ ... al-palace/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and a lot of posts on the click bait sites.
Obviously, all of these articles should be taken with a large bucket full of salt. However, when you consider the will he won't he sign a new contract debacle of last season, the short one year contract that he eventually signed, his reduced playing time this season as Rogic and McGregor have been favoured after his return from surgery and the prospect of a repeat debacle regarding his contract I don't think a potential move away is entirely unrealistic.
I think that adding Armstrong and Reid to the squad could give us a very well rounded set of options for our slightly unorthodox no 10 position. Armstrong can also play as a central midfielder and Reid could operate as a secondary striker. Having players that can perform in multiple positions would further increase our strength in depth across the board and give them more possible opportunities for playing time.
To use a very simple and wholly unscientific appraisal system I see Hendrick as a 70 in central midfield and a 30 as an attacking midfielder (although he has improved in his new role and I expect him to improve further), Reid would give us 30 in central midfield and 70 as an attacking midfielder and Armstrong would be 50/50. If we had these three in our squad we could fine tune our 4-4-1-1 and field different players to emphasise midfield or attack. Barnes in the 4-4-2 would represent 10/90.
The three players also have different playing styles, Armstrong is very physical, Reid is pacey and tricky while Hendrick offers a bit of both. This would give us a variety options to unlock different defences. If we could avoid any bidding wars I suspect we could get Armstrong and Reid for the same amount that we might end up paying for Jay Rod. The only real downside is that neither of them have any premier league experience and Jay has that in abundance.
I would be very happy with Jay, but even happier with these two. We have enough dedicated strikers and unless we find new homes for one or two of them we don't really have any room in our small squad for another one.