Tella

[MT03ALG]

First Bundesliga goal for Bayer today to help to keep them top of the Bundesliga.
Described on Kicker as 'einen blitzsauberen Konter' - basically a clinical finish to a counterattack

[dermotdermot]

We should have signed him. He scored eighteen last season. Big mistake.

[AGENT_CLARET]

A fantastic goal

https://youtu.be/VzStPZ0fwo8?si=3KQWfIgjL9rSza3t

[Anthonini]

Good player but so are Obafemi Tresor Koleosho Amdouni Odobert Ramsey Larsen and Redmond.

We can't complain.. You guys sound like little babies that got a whole bunch of Christmas presents but then cry because you didn't get that pokey man game.

If you can get Tresor or Amdouni for less then it's a no brainer for me. They are extremely talented.
Just a matter of time before they start carrying the team.


I do however it irritates me at this moment because we're in a tough time, appreciate the love you Burnley fans have for players that meant something to the club. It shows that it's not easy to win the hearts of Burnley fans, but once they accept you as one of them, it's a lifetime connection.

Hopefully our new players can show something soon to win the hearts of fans. I have no doubts in their abilities to do so. Winning a couple of games would definitely change the mood.

[CoolClaret]

Good player but so are Obafemi Tresor Koleosho Amdouni Odobert Ramsey Larsen and Redmond.

We can't complain.. You guys sound like little babies that got a whole bunch of Christmas presents but then cry because you didn't get that pokey man game.

If you can get Tresor or Amdouni for less then it's a no brainer for me. They are extremely talented.
Just a matter of time before they start carrying the team.


I do however it irritates me at this moment because we're in a tough time, appreciate the love you Burnley fans have for players that meant something to the club. It shows that it's not easy to win the hearts of Burnley fans, but once they accept you as one of them, it's a lifetime connection.

Hopefully our new players can show something soon to win the hearts of fans. I have no doubts in their abilities to do so. Winning a couple of games would definitely change the mood.

Did you even watch a game last season?

[Anthonini]

I did and I'm happy with the players they did buy. Apparently that's an opinion you're not supposed to have after losing a game against arsenal?

It's not hard for me to say tella and Maatsen are very good players. Apparently you can't say the same about our new faces. I agree they haven't shown their qualities up till now, that doesn't mean however that they are not there.

[StayingDown4Ever]

I did and I'm happy with the players they did buy. Apparently that's an opinion you're not supposed to have after losing a game against arsenal?

It's not hard for me to say tella and Maatsen are very good players. Apparently you can't say the same about our new faces. I agree they haven't shown their qualities up till now, that doesn't mean however that they are not there.

The majority of those you listed have been absolutely dross for us so far.

[claretonthecoast1882]

Tella has now moved on to level terms with Charlie Taylor for league goals this season

[Boss Hogg]

I’d swap Tresor and Ramsey for Tella in a heartbeat.

[CoolClaret]

Tella has now moved on to level terms with Charlie Taylor for league goals this season

& Amdouni, Odobert

Also playing for a team that's sat at the top of the Bundesliga!

[claretonthecoast1882]

& Amdouni, Odobert

Also playing for a team that's sat at the top of the Bundesliga!

The comparison was slightly tongue in cheek.

I think it is fair to agree that the Bundesliga as a whole is a weaker league than the Prem and he is managing to get less than 10 minutes per game and still hasn't started a league game. Hard to view those stats and have him down as the saviour some on here do.

[Swizzlestick]

Good to see you lads having some patience with some our new signings, some of whom have made only a few first team appearances. I seem to remember Tella being written off by quite a few early doors too.

[CoolClaret]

The comparison was slightly tongue in cheek.

I think it is fair to agree that the Bundesliga as a whole is a weaker league than the Prem and he is managing to get less than 10 minutes per game and still hasn't started a league game. Hard to view those stats and have him down as the saviour some on here do.

It certainly is - I agree on that.

We definitely miss his pace, goal scoring and pressing ability though - especially coming off the right.

We were notably weaker last season with him out of the side, and he seemed like a top, top lad. Big miss not signing him, imo.

[daveisaclaret]

Good to see you lads having some patience with some our new signings, some of whom have made only a few first team appearances. I seem to remember Tella being written off by quite a few early doors too.

Think the big problem isn't having some patience with all the new wide players, it's looking at the situation that with so many of them realistically not all of them are even going to get a proper chance and we've spent so much on them. Whereas Tella feels to most of us like he would have been much more plug and play.

[Anthonini]

The majority of those you listed have been absolutely dross for us so far.

I agree but that doesn't make them bad players. Berge also needed a few games. Foster a few months... What are you actually expecting from these guys here? Buy a few 13-18 million players from lower leagues and suddenly beat arsenal and Tottenham after a few weeks?

You got to be realistic here. Tella just scored his first goal who cares tbh. He's not here anymore... Weghorst scored 3 and where's his topic about how the fans wanted him gone?

[Anthonini]

I’d swap Tresor and Ramsey for Tella in a heartbeat.

Glad you're not in charge of the club then.

[Florian]

We missed a trick there and should have signed him
Relying on jay etc when he proved how to score a goal
Should have invested

[quoonbeatz]

Think the big problem isn't having some patience with all the new wide players, it's looking at the situation that with so many of them realistically not all of them are even going to get a proper chance and we've spent so much on them. Whereas Tella feels to most of us like he would have been much more plug and play.

It's exactly this. When you get promoted, continuity is key. This isn't a new thing; everyone knows that ripping up your team for a load of new players doesn't work for that exact reason - you need time and patience, and you just don't get it at this level.

Would we have been better off spending money on Tella and Maatsen? Undoubtedly, yes. We had a specific way of playing and everyone knew what they were doing.

There was no need for Koleosho, odobert, tresor, ramsey and amdouni, when we already had zaroury and Benson. Two of them plus Berge, Tella and Maatsen and we'd be in a better place for a not too dissimilar outlay. It was only small additions that were needed, not wholesale changes.

[RVclaret]

It's exactly this. When you get promoted, continuity is key. This isn't a new thing; everyone knows that ripping up your team for a load of new players doesn't work for that exact reason - you need time and patience, and you just don't get it at this level.

Would we have been better off spending money on Tella and Maatsen? Undoubtedly, yes. We had a specific way of playing and everyone knew what they were doing.

There was no need for Koleosho, odobert, tresor, ramsey and amdouni, when we already had zaroury and Benson. Two of them plus Berge, Tella and Maatsen and we'd be in a better place for a not too dissimilar outlay. It was only small additions that were needed, not wholesale changes.

This argument has a slight hole in it as we tried signing Maatsen throughout the summer. Early in the summer Chelsea didn’t want to sell as he was performing in pre-season, later on we’d had a £20m+ bid accepted and he didn’t want to come. I’m not sure what the club could have done? We also tried signing Tella and no one knows what went on there, insights from Andy Jones in the Athletic made it sound like Saints messed us around and kept changing the fee. If they told us £10m would get him in July, we bid that, they changed their mind for whatever reason and said hang on it’s £20m now, do the club just pay it? Also do we know if he simply preferred a move to a far bigger club than us in Leverkusen? I guess the point is it’s never quite as simplistic as fans seem to think.

[Swizzlestick]

But we tried to sign Maatsen? The club turned us down, then the player turned us down. We don't know what went on with Tella - I imagine a club challenging for the Bundesliga title and playing in Europe is a tough gig to turn down. These players weren't all set just to sign for us at the right price.

I do think our approach was too scattergun, but I don't like the dismissive tone from some towards the players we did sign, particularly as they're just starting out.

[boatshed bill]

At no time did Tella express any interest in signing for Burnley.
Get over it.

[quoonbeatz]

This argument has a slight hole in it as we tried signing Maatsen throughout the summer. Early in the summer Chelsea didn’t want to sell as he was performing in pre-season, later on we’d had a £20m+ bid accepted and he didn’t want to come. I’m not sure what the club could have done? We also tried signing Tella and no one knows what went on there, insights from Andy Jones in the Athletic made it sound like Saints messed us around and kept changing the fee. If they told us £10m would get him in July, we bid that, they changed their mind for whatever reason and said hang on it’s £20m now, do the club just pay it? Also do we know if he simply preferred a move to a far bigger club than us in Leverkusen? I guess the point is it’s never quite as simplistic as fans seem to think.

You've misunderstood, it's hypothetical because obviously it didn't happen. It's not really about who we did and didn't sign, it's about the amount of change that has been made far too soon. New players need time and patience so you need to drip feed them into the team, especially when they are all significantly stepping up a level. It's not really fair on the player or the team to have so many of them come in at once and be expected to be any good. It's no coincidence that two of our better performances, in the last two games, have come when we've had more of the players from last season starting the game.

[Vino blanco]

I would sooner have used the £100 million or whatever it was on signing Tella, TBH and possibly Maatsen than signing half a dozen lightweighy, airy fairy wingers and supposed midfielders that we have.

[Vino blanco]

I would sooner have used the £100 million or whatever it was on signing Tella, TBH and possibly Maatsen than signing half a dozen lightweighy, airy fairy wingers and supposed midfielders that we have.

[jedi_master]

We should have gone Hell for leather on Tella - he was the OBVIOUS signing to make as a priority. We needed continuity as a base to build on and he was key to that. This messageboard inexplicably seemed split on the subject and were too busy getting themselves hot and bothered on the subject of Tresor to consider just what Tella gave us last season.

I have said it before and I will say it again - if we had signed Tella, THB and either signed Maatsen or moved on immediately to a replacement as opposed to signing Odobert, Tresor, Amdouni, Laarsen, Redmond, Koleosho etc (I am probably forgetting some) as a base priority and then added the likes of Berge we would have a slimmer, more motivated squad riding last seasons wave. Can that be proven? No, it cannot - but I believe it. Tella for £20m or Amdouni and Tresor for a combined £34m? It's early days but I would snap your hand off for the alternative to what we ended up with.

[ClaretTony]

We should have signed him. He scored eighteen last season. Big mistake.

Southampton's reluctance to sell him to us definitely increased after that hideous Free Nathan Tella video

[Big Vinny K]

Did you even watch a game last season?

How’s the posting far less and waiting till the half way point in the season going for you CC ?
5am in the morning to still be irked by those imaginary burnley fans who you think are happy with the season so far.

[CrosspoolClarets]

The Bundesliga is very poor defensively in comparison.

Kane has about double his PL rate last season. 17 in 11 I think.

So I’m not convinced Tella would bag many at this level. 5 a season I reckon.

[CoolClaret]

How’s the posting far less and waiting till the half way point in the season going for you CC ?
5am in the morning to still be irked by those imaginary burnley fans who you think are happy with the season so far.

What‘s your beef with me? Bit strange in all honesty; I’ve tried replying to some of your posts being amicable but you’ve ignored them.

In that post I said that no more can really be said about the players / approach that’s already been said really till half way through the season

Up early every day, check emails / and that and crack on with work.

Do I have your permission to post or is that not allowed?

[daveisaclaret]

The Bundesliga is very poor defensively in comparison.

Kane has about double his PL rate last season. 17 in 11 I think.

So I’m not convinced Tella would bag many at this level. 5 a season I reckon.

What logic is there in judging Tella on 54 minutes of Bundesliga football rather than a full season of actually seeing him play for Burnley?

[jedi_master]

If the Bundesliga is 'very poor', what tag are we putting against the Belgian and Swiss leagues?

[FCBurnley]

One aspect of Tella that nobody refers to is that he appeared to create a great atmosphere both on the pitch and in the dressing room. Always smiling and totally enjoyed playing for us. Not seeing that same team spirit and togetherness that he seemed to create this season. A BIG MISS

[Big Vinny K]

What‘s your beef with me? Bit strange in all honesty; I’ve tried replying to some of your posts being amicable but you’ve ignored them.

In that post I said that no more can really be said about the players / approach that’s already been said really till half way through the season

Up early every day, check emails / and that and crack on with work.

Do I have your permission to post or is that not allowed?

You post a hell of a lot of negative stuff on Burnley - and you repeat a lot of the same points.

You said recently that you would have a break from making the same points about the transfer business this summer, your never ending criticism of Trafford etc.

Within a day or so you are back with the same negative comments. Yesterday you try and justify it by saying you are “irked” by all those posters who are happy with this season. You can’t actually name them - because they don’t exist.

What does exist are posters and fans who are nowhere near as critical as you and clearly not as worried as you seem to be to the extent of repeating the same old points and arguments.

And if I do not reply to your responses it’s because I spend far less time on the board than you.

I really do not see the point of spending so much time and energy being as negative and critical as you are over something completely out of your control. What good is it doing you ?

[daveisaclaret]

You post a hell of a lot of negative stuff on Burnley - and you repeat a lot of the same points.

You said recently that you would have a break from making the same points about the transfer business this summer, your never ending criticism of Trafford etc.

Within a day or so you are back with the same negative comments. Yesterday you try and justify it by saying you are “irked” by all those posters who are happy with this season. You can’t actually name them - because they don’t exist.

What does exist are posters and fans who are nowhere near as critical as you and clearly not as worried as you seem to be to the extent of repeating the same old points and arguments.

And if I do not reply to your responses it’s because I spend far less time on the board than you.

I really do not see the point of spending so much time and energy being as negative and critical as you are over something completely out of your control. What good is it doing you ?

The person who should really have their motives questioned is whoever is forcing you to read all his posts

[CrosspoolClarets]

What logic is there in judging Tella on 54 minutes of Bundesliga football rather than a full season of actually seeing him play for Burnley?

My judgement was based on last season, not this. Just saying the Bundesliga is a poor standard, which it is.

I like Nathan, but this level is way above, and he has struggled at this level before. I’d have signed him, but he isn’t the saviour, probably similar to all the others we signed.

[CrosspoolClarets]

If the Bundesliga is 'very poor', what tag are we putting against the Belgian and Swiss leagues?

Poorer. Obviously.

Great players can still come from them, and do, but we can’t expect stats to be replicated in the PL. again, very obvious.

[Boss Hogg]

Use the Foe button to avoid reading posts by certain posters if they annoy you. It’s really not difficult.

[Big Vinny K]

The person who should really have their motives questioned is whoever is forcing you to read all his posts

Yes you maybe correct but not that easy to find a thread that does not end up with the same negative comments these days.
I knew that Tella had scored yesterday and came on this thread to find out more about it, find the link for the goal etc.
But not surprised we end up with the same comments that exists on almost every other thread in the last few months.

[AGENT_CLARET]

Use the Foe button to avoid reading posts by certain posters if they annoy you. It’s really not difficult.

I love the foe button, I've currently got 15 on mine

[CoolClaret]

You post a hell of a lot of negative stuff on Burnley - and you repeat a lot of the same points.

You said recently that you would have a break from making the same points about the transfer business this summer, your never ending criticism of Trafford etc.

Within a day or so you are back with the same negative comments. Yesterday you try and justify it by saying you are “irked” by all those posters who are happy with this season. You can’t actually name them - because they don’t exist.

What does exist are posters and fans who are nowhere near as critical as you and clearly not as worried as you seem to be to the extent of repeating the same old points and arguments.

And if I do not reply to your responses it’s because I spend far less time on the board than you.

I really do not see the point of spending so much time and energy being as negative and critical as you are over something completely out of your control. What good is it doing you ?

1) Look at the player ratings - I have never gone ott on Traff criticism at all. Fair points

2) I have done on the transfer business in all honesty - just not into revisionism about players like Tella or other stand out players of our past

3) Everyone on here repeats themselves to some degree

4) Hard to be positive when we have one league win in 12 - though I did start a thread labelled 'positives' after (I believe) the bournemouth loss; no comment on that though?

5) You spend just as much time on here as anyone and you project a hell of a lot

6) You average 1.73 more posts than I do a day

[Carlos the Great]

Surely there would have been a conversation with Tella last season and VK about playing for us in premier league .. I don’t think 9million was anywhere near enough for him ..:let’s make no mistake .. he is a special talent .. we are below Luton and Sheff Utd now in league so something is not right with our new set of players

[Carlos the Great]

My judgement was based on last season, not this. Just saying the Bundesliga is a poor standard, which it is.

I like Nathan, but this level is way above, and he has struggled at this level before. I’d have signed him, but he isn’t the saviour, probably similar to all the others we signed.

Tella scored 19 goals last season in the championship … how many did Jay Rod score last season ? … he is still playing for us in the premier league

[KRBFC]

I think Amdouni is considerably more talented than Tella and Luca at £3m was better business. Id have loved Tella back but not at the expense of those two.

I actually think we’ve signed some excellent players, got the balance slightly wrong and now we need time to build cohesion so we’re no longer a team of strangers.

[CoolClaret]

I think Amdouni is considerably more talented than Tella and Luca at £3m was better business. Id have loved Tella back but not at the expense of those two.

I actually think we’ve signed some excellent players, got the balance slightly wrong and now we need time to build cohesion so we’re no longer a team of strangers.

Now imagine Luca and Tella together! Would've been absolute havoc for fullbacks.

Amdouni is clearly talented but has to start sticking a few in the onion bag and getting himself into games

[Carlos the Great]

Makes me laugh when people say we don’t want overspend on Tella . We want him at right price .. then seem happy with all our other signings at eye watering fees who have yet to make much impact in this team ..

[boyyanno]

My judgement was based on last season, not this. Just saying the Bundesliga is a poor standard, which it is.

I like Nathan, but this level is way above, and he has struggled at this level before. I’d have signed him, but he isn’t the saviour, probably similar to all the others we signed.

Let's be completely honest, there is a massive difference between struggling at a level and finding your feet at an early age in the game.

It's almost as if you're trying to make things up to prove a point...

[spt_claret]

Everything with Tella is a bit of a hindsight one for me.

At the time, I felt 18-20m on a 24 year old who'd never impressed in his PL appearances before was excessive, as good as he'd been for us. I wanted to keep him but not for that price, which I felt could be better used elsewhere- either on an overseas like for like, a CM, or an LB (Not necessarily Maatsen, big questions over his defensive ability at this level, but we should have got one in. I wanted Quillindschy Hartmann when we were linked and he's way beyond us now).

But I also didn't anticipate Foster to have a reoccurrence of his troubles and Weghorst to jet off immediately again leaving us with only Jay as a striker. Plus, I believe Tella was played deeper in his previous PL appearances, at least in part.

The problem we've got is we didn't bring in a like for like for that money (goalscoring, pacy wide forward/inside forward who has speed, strength, good technique, good finisher, and could play centrally if short on bodies). We brought in an awful lot of orthodox wingers, some of whom like Tresor we're turning into inverted wingers.

I think the money spent on Tresor would have been better spent on Tella. Everything I've seen and heard about Tresor had him as a playmaking creative wide left/CAM, we're playing him mostly wide right, and he's looked miles off the pace. As others have alluded to, if we're doing Tella down for his Bundesliga competitors, what do we make of the Belgian league?

I think Koleosho was very very good business for the money. I think Amdouni has absolutely bags of talent but without an effective striker ahead of him he's not going to be nearly as effective unless we rethink formation and approach. Jury's out on Odobert, young, raw, glimpses of talent, much more expensive than Koleosho. Ramsey can't be judged as he's been injured, and seems too attacking to round out our CM contingent but who knows. Brun Larsen looks decent, but isn't getting much gametime. Tresor, still early but so far doesn't look up to it.

If we could go back in time, especially with how barren our striker contingent is currently, I'd take Tella for 20m over Tresor for 18m every time, and I'd probably take him over Odobert as a case of what we need NOW to stop up, rather than signing for the future and risking relegation, loss of the survival windfall, and exodus of several players. Likewise Brun Larsen if he's not going to get more matchtime. Ramsey's unfair to judge so early with his injuries. But overall, with hindsight, big mistake to not keep Tella, but that's hindsight for you.

[NickBFC]

I think Amdouni is considerably more talented than Tella and Luca at £3m was better business. Id have loved Tella back but not at the expense of those two.

I actually think we’ve signed some excellent players, got the balance slightly wrong and now we need time to build cohesion so we’re no longer a team of strangers.

I agree with this. Biggest mistakes for me were signing and playing an inexperienced keeper, not signing a left back nor a commanding more experienced centre back. We are so frail defensively that it's putting a lot of pressure on the forward players to perform/score.

[ClaretAL]

Draw a line under it and move on, there is no point spending time on something that you cant do anything about.

[boyyanno]

Tella's supposed failure at Saints was his first 30 games at senior level between the age of 19-22.

To suggest he failed or struggled at that level is nonsense.

Harry Kane was out on loan at league 1 clubs. Foster had scored about 3 goals in his first 40 apps playing at a level worse than league 1, and if you look at the current top scorers in the PL, Haaland aside, none of them had done anything in their first 30 apps as a youngster.

It's proper hogwash acting like Tella tried and failed at PL level, he was just a young lad adapting to football. If Tella was a failure than we've currently only got one success (Foster) and we mightaswell write everyone else off.