Pizy

A lot of our fans just need to stop crying and get some perspective. That’s the best team in the world. They’ve had years and years of continuity and their players know one another so well their understanding is almost telepathic. If we went out today and lost (and looked lost) against some midtable side or relegation fodder I’d be melting down too. They’re the Champions, ffs! We’re nowhere near their level. We won’t be playing against Haaland, Kova, or Doku every week. We were ALWAYS going to struggle against world class opponents early on. And tbh, we performed better today than most would’ve expected. Many thought we’d get battered and concede 4 or 5.

Literally every comment I’m seeing on his video is “get Enzo out of Chelsea, Enzo doesn’t do anything well, Enzo is a disgrace” etc. Much of the same about “useless” Caicedo. I’m literally reading it right now. Kova was a 9 out of 10 today for me just like Lavia was for us in my opinion.

I feel like I’m taking crazy pills watching Younes’s match recap video and reading his comments section where everyone is shitting on Caicedo. Enzo I understand was really poor for much of that match some deserves the criticism. But I thought Caicedo was a very solid 7.5 or 8 out of 10 today. I feel like people were watching a different game than I was.

If he could finish reliably he’d be amongst the best strikers in Europe. He does almost everything you ask of a striker well except he isn’t clinical. So what he should be is our backup striker behind an Osimhen. He’ll still get lots of games and plenty of minutes but we won’t have to depend solely on him for goals. He can be exactly for us what Julian Alvarez was for City behind Haaland.

As much as people want to hate on him, I thought Enzo instantly looked more comfortable when he moved back deeper. When he’s got space and isn’t being constantly pressured he’s good. I’ll say again, PLAY HIM DEEP! Not against top teams of course, but against 80% of the PL opponents we should be playing him deep and letting him run the game like we did Jorginho.

You thought Caicedo was poor? I thought he was very solid up until the second goal. Quite a few important tackles/interceptions and looked comfortable moving the ball forward. Nothing like what he looked like when he first joined during that very poor spell he had. Gusto I agree with, though. That was pretty damned concerning from a defensive POV. Doku blasted past him repeatedly as if he wasn’t there. And Gusto has plenty of pace himself.

Elite #9 in this team and I am hugely confident we finish top 4 barring key injuries.

We just have to understand as a fanbase that we are still nowhere near City or Arse’s level yet. And I hope nobody thought we would be. But also, I’m encouraged by a lot of what I saw. Caicedo was excellent until that error on the goal, Lavia was the best midfielder on the pitch, the CB pairing today was relatively comfortable for the most part and not a shitshow like most expected. Neto I think will cook against most opponents with his directness. Cole was quiet but has barely trained with the team so he’ll get better and better. I think we’ll be just fine once the games start coming and we build confidence. Something that is also clear is that Jackson is still ultra frustrating. He gets into such good positions but always fluffs his lines. I was just saying the other day that we shouldn’t panic and sign someone but perhaps we should just for insurance in case Nico misses loads of chances again like last season.

The holes were there for us to exploit in City today if we were sharper and had an elite striker up top. We created some great opportunities and grew into the game. But silly individual errors and naïveté cost us yet again. City were basically in first gear cruise control the whole match and were pretty lax but we couldn’t capitalize because we weren’t sharp ourselves. They looked like they were playing another preseason match where they didn’t want to over do it physically so they just stroked it around.

Just allow him to waltz through our who,e midfield and defense and then a soft ass wrist from Sanchez. Losing this 0-1 would’ve been a positive we could’ve taken and built upon. Now it looks like the same old shit from last season in the end.

Why take off our best midfielder? Strange. Enzo has gotten better but I would’ve taken him off.

Lavia is fucking brilliant and Caicedo has been great today too.

Look at Enzo playing as the highest player still… 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

I would try Enzo as the deepest midfielder instead of Lavia. Use the super athleticism and energy of Lavia and Caicedo slightly higher up aggressively pressing to protect Enzo a bit. Basically what I’m saying is to treat Enzo EXACTLY like we did Jorginho to great effect. Super deep pinging the ball around and controlling the whole game with two super athletes beside him (Kante & Kova back then).

Disagree completely. When he’s deeper and acting as the fulcrum linking the attack and defense he plays those brilliant passes. That’s his specialty. We need him deeper where he can have time in the ball and have all the play in front of him. This continued experiment where he’s often the highest player in the attack is silly and making people think he’s shit. He’s not. He’s being used terribly. Him playing as the #10 where he’s got two CB right behind him and the midfield right in front of him contesting the space he clearly struggles.

Enzo, as I said before kickoff, is simply NOT an advanced attacking midfielder. He’s a Fabregas like deep sitter. A Busquets. A Xavi. Why we continue to think he’s some sort of #10 when he never looks good there is puzzling.

Nkunku keeps repeatedly getting Rico Lewis isolated in an acre of space and won’t take him on. I wonder if it’s because he knows he can’t cross it with just Nico Jackson in the box? If we had say….Osimhen the crosses would be flying in.

Thought we did well up until the goal. Then City switched their wingers and started getting much more joy. City basically just effortlessly winning the ball back and toying with us in midfield.

As I said, I figured he’d be introduced more slowly over time so he can knock the rust loose.

Also, the thing I’ve always liked best and was most excited about when we signed Enzo was his deep lying playmaking ability and sweeping passes. I really don’t like him playing as a more advanced player. With Lavia in there as a 6 I think we could have Enzo play deeper next to him and not worry as much about his defensive weakness. He seems a bit wasted up higher to me.

Btw, I’m genuinely surprised that Maresca has started Fofana on day 1 and especially against the best side in the league. Thought for sure Tosin would be favored due to his experience. If you had told me a month or two ago that Wes Fofana would even be fit to start the season I wouldn’t have believed you. I thought he’d be eased in over the course of a couple of months playing Conference League or League Cup matches only to build fitness. Throwing him straight into the fire is a massive call.

Of course the English press are going wild about Sterling being dropped. 🙄🙄🙄 And they also seem more offended at Enzo being named captain today than his actual teammates who voted for him to be so.

Unless the Saudi’s come in I can’t see where he can go unless he dramatically cuts his wages. And as I’ve said here before, Sterling doesn’t seem the type to uproot his huge family and move to Saudi. He still harbors England National team ambitions as well.

Yes lol, I meant Caicedo.

Oh yeah, I’m definitely not blaming Maresca at all. He’s perfectly within his right. I’m just saying it’s kind of messed up that Sterling apparently had no idea ahead of time that he wasn’t fancied. Judging by that statement he\is reps just released he was under the impression that he had a decent preseason and was all ready to be a key player this season.