OneMoSalah

Mbappe fantastic. Verratti also.

If you can post the article which says she has advised Tuchel to start him this would save a lot of time? If it even exists with those exact words... which I doubt it does.

You obviously didn’t read my first sentence then. I was saying with regards to Mount’s role in the team, I think Tomo meant his actual function, not stats. You brought the stats in to the conversation, not me, not Tomo but never mind.

True but again if we intend on moving him on at some point which if its financially doable for another team and acceptable for us, he will have to play sometimes to attract interest because when you had the season he had last season, cost what he did and are on what hes on, aint many clubs who can afford to take a gamble that big in the current situation. Cup games and the odd PL game is good enougu for me if he has no howlers. I think the 2 games in a row is good for him also as it gives him more minutes, those 2 clean sheets which would hopefully bring more confidence and maybe makes it a challenge for him to try start more now. Plus TT has spoken pretty well about him where as Lampard was maybe critical in the media with him regarding his save percentage at one point which maybe wasnt overly wise which we also seen with him throwing the team Under the bus a few times also. Although I still think Mendy will be number 1 as TT said but Kepa playing and doing decently, its not the worst thing because he will get sick of being a number 2 eventually and good performances will lead to interest from elsewhere. I still think the decision to sign Cech as a GK this summer would of shattered what little confidence he had left after last season also. I mean I know it didnt turn out that Cech has played or even made a squad yet but must be pretty detrimental if you see that happening considering the guy retired 2 years ago. Never mind him, Willy also got a raw deal, demoted to 3rd choice after the deal to get Mendy.

He didnt mean the stats, he meant his function more in a team, which I mean under Tuchel already you can see how important he is at linking the midfield and attack, bringing the likes of other players such Callum and Timo into the game. Even his stats last year, considering Lampard played him for about 7 or 8 weeks in a row when he was playing poorly and probably burnt him out a bit in terms of lack of rotation didn’t help, they aren’t that bad for a first season in the PL. I get there was a long period he didnt score or assist but again, overplayed and not taken out of the firing line which those games from that period has probably given the impression hes a “poor footballer” or “not good enough” to some people. And even then, I mean comparing someones stats who was arguably a world class player or as close to one without being one in his peak years (Pedro), in one of the best teams in football history full of genuine world class players, would be unfair to anyone. Yet alone Mason who’s only playing his second season of PL football. Would never stand a chance. Be may as well comparing him to Messi when he scored the 90 odd goals just to make it fairer...

Mate. Shes a businesswomen. At top level football clubs and even in businesses these things happen from time to time. They are called disagreements. Same with Frank and the board clashing over no signings last January and wanting to pursue Declan Rice. Thats by no means her laying down the law saying Lampard has to play Kepa or even have him on the bench. She doesn’t pick those things. Which is heavily what you implied by saying when shes involved in footballing decisions. Shes involved in business decisions, the clubs operations, the financial side of things (which player recruitment and sales come into but not to the extent where shes hand picking signings or making ultimatums about giving people a chance) etc. You’ve misconstrued that whole situation I think. Do you think she went to Lampard’s office and said you have got to give this guy a chance because if not we will look very stupid having spent 71m on him to be sitting on the bench? No. Do you think she went and said your not getting the funds to sign a new keeper you have a 71m one on the bench? Also no because they sanctioned a deal to bring in Mendy, who was signed on Cech’s recommendation. Do you think she went to Lmpards office last season when he was playing Caballero ahead of Kepa in certain games? Again, no. And even then if so, if you disagree with that, lets look at this from a business point of view. You have a race horse, it hasn’t raced well in a while but you try to sell it. Thing is the price you want for it is too unrealistic because it hasn’t raced in a while and in terms of what it would cost to maintain the horse, it is also a large amount of money. So how do you drum up interest in it? Also in a global pandemic, where expensive race horses with high maintenance costs are not what most people want to buy. Some people may want to loan it but aren’t in a financial position to do so due to the price and other costs. It was never going to be easy with the whole Kepa situation global pandemic or not but ultimately, I think if it came to it and we got an acceptable offer in the summer in the eyes of the club, Marina would of sanctioned it also if it suited all parties. But we didnt. So Kepa stayed and ultimately again, unlike Drinkwater, Moses, Alonso for a while and whoever else, if Frank didn’t actually fancy him he would of probably done something similar, left him out or tried to isolate him from the group but he didnt. Maybe in the financial side, Marina would be more inclined to see a return on the investment the club made considering it was a hefty one and she is a leading business women. I mean if there was any rumblings about Marina blocking any moves for Kepa because of that, then aye your point would make sense sort of, but there weren’t. So I really dont get it.

When has she ever been involved in the actual football side of things? This is absolute nonsense if I am honest. She doesnt pick the team or pick the transfer targets or pick who marks who at set plays etc contrary to belief 🤣 Emenalo was also accused of the same.

He played well but this is why I am concerned that he was struggling to put those sort of performances out under Frank. His role has changed a good bit but he is still predominantly playing from the left side and the amount of times he was on the outside whilst Alonso was inside the box shows this. His assist for Giroud’s goal was the sort of thing I was expecting more when he played under Frank as a winger also which is what I had meant in previous discussions we have had about affecting games in other ways and adapting to his position. Not as if he wasn’t capable of that months ago, taking people on, slowing them down and then accelerating past them. Although confidence maybe didn’t help him but still felt he could have done more (most could have though to be fair). Its not exactly unfair to have expected more when you see his performances in the last few games where he still has a lot of actions coming in from the left hand side. There is more of a structure in place to get the ball from our defence into attacking positions so I hope this is the kick start of his season for him now and fingers crossed it is as his goals and other contributions will be vital to how our season goes I feel. Still needs to be more clinical though he could have scored before his goal from Alonso’s header, he should be anticipating where that is going better and being much better positioned, the likes of Kane, Aguero, Cavani, Salah, Mane etc if they were in the same situation they’d of been in a slightly better position where they didnt have to stretch and it would of been a goal IMO. Now, with Tammy injured by the looks of it, perhaps he will play more centrally for a while as I cant see us relying on Giroud every week. Also Timo needs to be a bit more street smart physically he isn’t necessarily going to get every little foul like the Lewis one where he’s taken the ball off him and caught him by accident with his arm but I would imagine next season he will be more used to it. Last night not the first game, he needs to get on with it at times when he doesn’t get the decision. And aye anyone calling him Morata/Torres its a lazy comparison, although he has missed big chances but unlike them he has constantly been trying to keep getting into good positions and doing other things.

Meh I think Southampton pressing us is a blessing in all honesty, the space it will leave for guys like Werner, Mount, CHO... nobody has considered that. Can play better as I said but wouldn’t be panicking yet. We are capable of playing through a press also. Just need to maintain it for a full game.

Worried? It would be 4 or 5-0 if we were more clinical or our final ball was better.... jeez. Aye didnt play anywhere near as well second half but were solid enough.

Another guy who if he added goals to his game, would be a frightening player. Busy in between both boxes, wins the ball back and has quality on the ball under pressure but not enough goals and assists to go with that skill set.

True most would save it but I mean is it really the point now where even if he makes a decent save people will just go ah anyone could of saved that, or that it wasn’t a decent save? I do suppose thats just peoples feelings on him now after last season and its fair to not get too carried anyway but nobody is saying hes playing like a world class GK or that... just that he made a decent save...

It was a save though and a good one regardless... and he held it, some GKs might of palmed it out for a corner.

I think half the battle for Jorginho has always been players moving off the ball. Be it in behind teams, dropping into spaces or showing for it, you see him when he has the ball gesturing to Kovacic or Rudiger or Christensen or others who are too slow to make angles to receive it or to push up a lot. There has been times where he has taken the safe option but I think after the first 6 months with Sarri we became very much an individualistic team where we didnt have coordinated attacks or patterns or great movement off the ball to get it into positions where we can hurt teams. Its still an issue but Tuchel is meticulous enough to address this I feel. Or I hope so.

Once Mount learns to shoot into the goal, he will easily score 10+ goals every season. Crazy how someone who has shown a huge improvement in all the other facets of his game cannot seem to do better at shooting though.... lets get a few more, probably our best 45 bar v Spurs but we’ve actually created much more.

You see them in multiple games and they aren’t given. Its a contact sport, hes brushed him after taking the ball off of him, its hardly as if hes laid him out with a punch. Good job he didnt sit rolling around like a fanny though, would of been embarrassing. Great play on the left wing, sort of thing he is capable of doing for sure.

Timo to be doing better with that chance. He’s on the stretch fair enough but surely he’s got to anticipate Alonso putting that in that area and get himself set?

Personally think that would be soft to get for a pen but modern day football. Also looks like hes put his right leg there for contact. If Tammy had taken a better first touch or wasnt so ponderous he would of had the chance to shoot. Some pass from Kovacic, Tuchel’s really put the emphasis on him trying to play those sort of progressive passes by the looks of it. Tammy coming off now also.

I think saying she wants him to be starting GK is clouding the truth a bit. Or anyone suggesting she picked the team (hope its sarcasm but have seen it and her picking transfer targets on here before so not surprised). I think it was more along the lines of the club still believe in him and want the investment they made to pay off (what business doesnt want a hefty investment to pay off never mind a football club) .... as well as a personal 1 to 1 meeting/phone call about the club still believing in him despite the last season but yeah Marina picking the signings and team? As mentioned above, nothing strange was mentioned on here before 😂 typical kneejerk reaction and the games only 10 mins in.

Kepa, Abraham and Alonso. Big calls. Lets see how we get on. Wasnt too bothered with Kepa’s performance midweek and I think his distribution is a big plus for us really. Newcastle arent really a big side so a bit surprised Alonso’s starting but lets see how he does.

Not much for criticising Lampard for being short sighted with youngsters more so after most of last season but he and club really made a mistake on Fikayo in my eyes. I thought when it was confirmed we were bringing in Thiago Silva, that this would mean Tomori would become much more prominent in the starting 11 again and that playing with him would bring him on. I couldnt think of anything better for a young CB, both him and Andreas, than learning every week off of a modern day great CB. I mean seeing the effect it had on Kurt originally also I felt very positive and though that those two would also be picking up things and learning but we rarely seen them play or he rarely gave them minutes to see how they’d fair. Aye I agree, it looks like Milan will probably end up making it a permanent deal for that price. I think most clubs in the same position with such an arrangement would be fools not to. I hope theres an issue or Tuchel makes it clear to him hes part of his plans because he has a unique skill set in terms of being comfortable on the ball and has good athleticism. Hes also shown improvements in reading the play and as a young CB he will still improve on that with the more games he plays. Plus Serie A and centre backs is a match made in heaven, look at how de Ligt kicked on after a tricky period at Juve at first. Then boys like Koulibaly, Manolas, De Vrij, Skriniar, Romagnoli are very good established CBs. Demiral and Bastoni also are good prospects but still got a bit to go. They learn so much as there is a huge emphasis on being hard to beat, having good tactical understanding and the defensive phase of the game over there. Even some of the older CBs the likes of Bonucci, Chielleni, Acebri, Kjaer, all at reasonably good levels.

Going to end up a mistake not keeping him here I feel. Was a poor decision not to make him Silva’s partner more frequently I felt in the first place as he would probably managed to do as well as Zouma did at the start whilst also being more proficient on the ball. Plus if he stayed, when TT arrived he would be a good option for LCB in the back 3 to rotate/challenge Rudiger. Plus his profile in terms of his athleticism and pace, it seems even more strange considering we play a high line. Just hope 25m plus add ons is too much but really think he will continue to thrive in Serie A.

Leonardo and him clashed over signings and I think he maybe had less say than he would of wanted. Also renewals for players such as Cavani and Thiago Silva. I suppose but tbf its nothing suprising either, Bayern are arguably miles ahead of most top teams in Europe also not just Bundesliga teams. Even losing Thiago and next season Boateng and Alaba they will still be one of the best teams in Europe comfortably. Serie A will be interesting more now but still think this goes on cycles, in a few seasons likely one team will be a dominant force again and then La Liga will be great for neutrals as its a mix up of a few good teams going the title, cant see past Atletico this season who have 2 games in hand but they will probably sell/Barca and Real will invest heavily. Then the PL or other leagues. Bundesliga maybe not but Klopp showed it could be done with Dortmund and Hasenhuttl also had Leipzig running Bayern when Carlo was there but changed when they got Rid of him. Nagglesmann potentially if they kept their best players could of been one that may have disrupted them but doesnt fit Leipzigs business model to keep their top players.

Maybe it is boring but it doesn't mean the quality of the other teams isn’t there or that Bayern aren’t a very good team either. Also, the whole Milan challenging thing right now is more to do with how Juventus are decreasing in quality as opposed to anything else. No doubt Milan are a good side and now they have consistency but Juventus have been pretty poor by their standards for the last 18 months and cannot maintain any sort of consistency in their performances. If Inter were better last season they’d have won the league also but they choked. When I said about being competitive, reaching the final was not what I meant and I am surprised you jumped straight to that, but the likes of Leipzig, Dortmund, Mochengladbach also this season all still got through the groups containing clubs with bigger budgets and better squads - Mochengladbach went through ahead of Inter for instance and Shakhtar who surprised everyone and Leipzig qualified ahead of Man United. Okay Dortmund you’d of expected to go through their group but the other 2 not so much. Its also not as if anyone is expecting a club like this to reach a CL final or even a semi final. Thats not the point I am making. They still remain reasonably competitive and manage to reach the 1st or some the 2nd rounds of knockouts which seems to be the new norm for clubs now a days, particularly these sort or clubs that are used as stepping stones and have high turnovers of their best players every 2 seasons or so. Leipzig last season reached the quarters IIRC and have a tough tie this season v Liverpool but they are competitive enough to make a real go of that and the way Liverpool are playing also, know whos? Dortmund again play Seville which is a match you’d think they have the players to beat despite competitively struggling in the Bundesliga, although Mochengladbach will struggle v City. Im not saying any of these should reach the final or are good enough absolutely not but they are still good teams. The fact most of these teams sell their best players domestically or to clubs abroad is an indication of this. Why would so many people sign players from German clubs if not?

Its only because they dominate the Bundesliga its different. In a matter of fact, they’ve always traditionally signed good players from the other teams in the Bundesliga and probably get better value for money than most teams in Europe. Its a successful business model and if it works why would they change it? It may degrade the quality of other teams but at the same time the money involved, that cash is huge for some of these clubs who run a sustainable business model which is fixed on buy cheap sell high. Clubs like Leipzig, like Leverkusen, like Dortmund. That model is also part of the problem because some of these sort of clubs will have a really good season and then think wow we can make €100m + for 3/4 players. Aye its shite for the fans maybe but don’t think Bayern or there fans will really be bothered if they keep winning trophies. Or the other clubs if they make money from it using that sort of business model. Also it shows how good these German youth and scouting systems are that these clubs can somehow keep producing/buying youngsters of a reasonable level when they sell these players. Also if the other clubs were financially as well off as Bayern it would be different, which is why it is less common in the PL but personally don’t see why people get so annoyed by this. Its not as if despite this the overhaul quality of the Bundesliga is decreasing either, they still produce strong teams, talented players, who are more than competitive enough which shows in Europe in the CL and Europa. Its not as if its the Portuguese league or Scottish league either. Juventus have always done it in previous years and particularly more recently, Dybala, Chiesa, Demiral, Bernadeschi, Kulusevski. Barcelona did it before with guys like Dani Alves, Samuel Eto’o, Jordi Alba, David Villa... more recently also with many players. This is a common thing in football, don’t see the huge upset...