Well I'm not like that at all. So no, you're wrong there.
I don't care how much we pay for player or which clubs they come from. I look at the players qualities and see what they can offer. I have also been one of the defenders of Milner on here, so I didn't expect a Mendy type signing for LB. I wanted competition and someone ideally left footed.
He just never stood out to me when I watched Hull, but then again I wasn't looing out for him or anyone in particular when I did watch them and I don't watch Hull too often.
I watched some of those every touch compilations on YouTube and I was not impressed. I saw some stats on twitter - they didn't show him in a good light. So I wasn't sure of the signing when we were initially linked.
But doing some further research. I have since watched different every touch compilations on YouTube and he performed much better (for example his match vs Arsenal last season, compared to the Man u one - he looks like a completely different player). I have read more on him, watched a lot and I have changed my tune.
I'm not going to expect fireworks. But I don't want fireworks from a LB. I hope he can be solid defensively and contribute to our attack. I feel more confident he can do that having watched him more.
It was nothing to do with the reasons you suggest. I merely hadn't seen enough of him and what I had seen were probably some of his weaker performances it seems. Like you did with Cavani.
Apologies, I was more talking generally about why a fan base shifts from an underwhelmed feeling to one of hope rather than singling out anybody in particular. I know it doesnīt seem like that when you reply to specific person but Iīm not a mind reader, itīs just my perception of things having seen a lot of similar transfers across a variety of clubs. I think a fan base has itīs hopes on certain players (Sessegnon / Mendy) up until the moment that becomes impossible and we sign someone else. At that point most of them seem to switch their focus to the player we are getting rather than who else we could have got. Most do anyway.
I think I saw the match you are talking about with Arsenal btw and itīs one of the games I remember where he wasnīt beaten by pace despite coming up against some very quick,agile players who cause problems to most, like Bellarin.
For defenders you cannot tell much until you watch them in games over a period of time. Compilations donīt really show you when full backs just go missing on the pitch and it costs you goals. This is something I noticed with Moreno when he signed. You would watch compilations and see him killing it up and down that left flank and winning every 1-v-1 race and physical battle. He looks great. You watch him live though and notice his positioning, awareness, decision making and composure are all off. He gets lost up the pitch sometimes when a player drifts into a dangerous space behind him and doesnīt seem to spot him. This indicates he isnīt scanning enough. Compare to someone like Xabi Alonso whose head never stops moving. Nobody will ever drift in behind him unnoticed.
So there are lots of red flags that I would probably have picked up on Moreno if I sat down and watched him 10 straight games that you donīt get from youtube videos. All his problems were coachable though so it doesnīt mean we shouldnīt have signed him. The most surprising thing is all these problems he has persist and in some cases worsen the longer he is here. Shame.
Robertson though seems something very different. When you step up a level or to a new league itīs easy to feel out of your depth. You have a few bad moments where a typical player of that level/league makes you look stupid and then you go into your shell a little. Question yourself, your ability, can you be the same player here. Before you know it you are playing safe, stop taking risks, go missing in games because thatīs better than demanding the ball and then fucking up, right? Yet Robertson seems to be stepping up to a new challenge year on year. From semi-pro scottish football to scottish premiership football. From Scotland to England. Then International level. Then Championship to Premiership. This will be another big step for him again but Iīve no doubt that wonīt be a problem. Some people donīt let those doubts seep into their mind. Karius is another who just have that unwavering confidence in himself that I like.
For those reasons I think Robertson will be a solid player for us. Who knows what level who could step up to also. Throughout his career he has gone from "heīll be out of his depth at this level" to "heīs a cut above everyone else at this level" in a short space of time. Thatīs a big ask at a club like Liverpool but he clearly sets the bar for himself very very high. He wonīt be happy with just getting into the team for sure. He wonīt rest on his laurels. He has all the signs of being a real player.