Albert Riera

[The_Adder]

For an £8m left winger (a position we needed to fill) he seems to be the most underwhelming signing I can remember costing anywhere near that much...

 

Now I cant say I'm excited, all I can think of is Nunez, but I'm waiting to be proven wrong by the rather tall fella... He just doesnt seem to have the attitributes to make hims anything but 'decent'.

 

Please help me and basically every fecker else in getting excited about this signing... Please?

[Bailo]

For an £8m left winger (a position we needed to fill) he seems to be the most underwhelming signing I can remember costing anywhere near that much...

 

Now I cant say I'm excited, all I can think of is Nunez, but I'm waiting to be proven wrong by the rather tall fella... He just doesnt seem to have the attitributes to make hims anything but 'decent'.

 

Please help me and basically every fecker else in getting excited about this signing... Please?

Reports today say he only cost £5.5m upfront, minus Finnan's small fee. Not a bad deal considering the price quoted and that Everton were willing to pay £15m for him.

[Flanders]

8M isn't a guarantee of anything these days. I think he'll be steady and provide us with a bit of shape, don't expect John Barnes Mk2 though.

[honourablegeorge]

He's a proper winger, he scores goals, he seems to have plenty of technical ability in terms of backheels and flicks and th elike, he's tall and supposedly good in the air, and Rafa reckons he's got pretty good delivery ... I dunno how good he is, but I'm happy to have that type of player in the squad at last..

 

If he changes the shape of the team by giveing us width, and creates more space in the middle for us as a result, then that alone could make a whole lot of difference.

[stonty]

We needed a left foot, any left foot, he hasn't got much of an act to follow so as he's less than half the cost of a GB and as long as he can whip in a decent cross he'll do for me

[McBain]

He can kick a ball with his left foot. This is a good thing

[blago]

He is a natural left midfielder, better suited to playing in that position than Babel or Benayoun. He is strong, has a few tricks and can score goals and has good game intelligence. He is not fast at all though.

[Hassony]

For an £8m left winger (a position we needed to fill) he seems to be the most underwhelming signing I can remember costing anywhere near that much...

 

Now I cant say I'm excited, all I can think of is Nunez, but I'm waiting to be proven wrong by the rather tall fella... He just doesnt seem to have the attitributes to make hims anything but 'decent'.

 

Please help me and basically every fecker else in getting excited about this signing... Please?

 

Nunez had about 10 games in all of his career when we signed him, Riera has played for Spain 5 times, and is a much better player than Nunez and will be an excellent addition to the team

[Flanders]

He is a natural left midfielder, better suited to playing in that position than Babel or Benayoun. He is strong, has a few tricks and can score goals and has good game intelligence. He is not fast at all though.

What does that actually mean? it sounds good admittedly.

[Romario]

What does that actually mean? it sounds good admittedly.

It means he'll be played out of position

[johngibo YPC]

I'm suprised by how many people have an opinion of him actually

I have no idea how good he is, and will, you know, wait and see him play

[richwilks]

Underwhelming maybe but I'm glad we have got him.

 

He's got good pace over 10-15 yards, he's got a trick in his locker, he has the ability to hit the front man regularly without the need of beating the full back and he is a winger which will force Rafa to either play with a winger or to admit he wasted money buying a winger.

 

Overall a decent bit of business for £5.5 million in my opinion.

 

Ignore his brief appearance in the Premier League with Man City, he's a much improved player since then and I'm sure with regular games and a front man of Torres' quality to aim at he'll be a Spanish regular as well over the next season or two.

 

Be optimistic.

[blago]

What does that actually mean? it sounds good admittedly.

 

 

 

He makes the right decisions, plays the right passes etc.

[D.Boon]

Be optimistic.

 

Absolutely.

 

Hardly anyone on here has any idea how good he is so lets get behind the lad and hope he turns out to be a steal

[Flasher]

He's a natural winger. This is key. We've not had one of those for a while (that we play anyway).

 

He's quicker than people think, but importantly tries to beat players one on one and often does. He's not afraid to try tricks, back heels etc as people pointed out earlier. Can even cut inside and score with his right when needed.

 

He's not Ronaldo, but he will give us balance.

[alias75]

I clearly remember thinking he looked decent at Man City, and from the little i saw of him in Spain he has improved since then. What he will give us is a proper left winger someone happy to hug the touchline and he won't be looking to come inside all the time. That should help with the balance of the team and create more space for our central players.

 

He has a very good left foot and i think he'll surprise a few people, hes no Ronaldo but he will definitely improve the first team.

[Anfield Fox]

8M isn't a guarantee of anything these days. I think he'll be steady and provide us with a bit of shape, don't expect John Barnes Mk2 though.

 

How true. It feels like yesterday we broke the British transfer record for £8.5m and we were going to win the title.

[D.Boon]

He's quicker than people think, but importantly tries to beat players one on one and often does. He's not afraid to try tricks, back heels etc as people pointed out earlier. Can even cut inside and score with his right when needed.

 

He's the new Figo

[Guest Ant]

Never seen him, never even heard of him if I'm being honest.

[Flasher]

He's the new Figo

 

 

No, he's better.

[Duncan Disorderly]

if I'm being honest.

Oh, but are you?

[larry31]

is he any good at set peices

[Hassony]

is he any good at set peices

 

Can't be any worse than we have already

[Mr Makaveli]

After lookin at some clips on youtube.... ya ya i know, you cant tell much from them but he does look rather quick. has good skill too but even from the few clips online, I wonder if his decision making is the best... before Im hounded have a look at this clip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6EOyiuTr8Y

 

he seems to carry on running or hold up when he should really be looking for a pass... there are a good few incidents of that there above, or so i think.... anyway though going by youtube only, he looks like he's decent for the money at least... explosive player.

[Guest GrandpaSimpson]

Can't be any worse than we have already

 

And therein lies the problem.

 

We haven't addressed the problems with our team over the summer.