OneMoSalah

Yeah its hard to see where they are going. I think Carlo is the man to give them a real identity though and he has said he will have a bigger input with their technical director regarding transfers so I would imagine the players may be better suited than some of their previous signings like under Silva, Allardyce and Koeman.

I think they may have insisted on it but given us a bit off the original price to keep him to then. I dont know. Its hard to say until he’s officially announced. I mean its the same with Arthur at Barca hes signed for Juventus but will continue to the CL is done. Its not that big a deal IMO.

Tbf this is a generic thing and I would take it with a pinch of salt. Being realistic, which football wouldnt like to play for Real Madrid at some point? The club is seen alongside Barcelona, Bayern, Juventus, AC Milan and even Man United as one of the original European super clubs so to speak. Plus given he is a young German, who will have grown up watching Ozil, Khedira and Kroos among others who have been part of a successful German NT, it is clear to see why a young German footballer of his generation would be able to see themselves representing Madrid. Or aspire to at least. Same with Sane and his move to Bayern who will have seen so many young Germans his age make the move as well as guys he played with/grew up seeing at Schalke such as Neuer and then Goretzka. Bayern, Madrid, Barca, United these clubs will always have that lure to the big players or big talents because of their standing, stature and history. If he were to come here and repeatedly state it though throughout, like Courtois or Hazard did at times, it would be a different story. Might not necessarily happen thought, I still remember Victor Moses saying he wanted to play for Barcelona.... look how that turned out 😂

And today other than that moment with Martial I think Zouma was excellent in the game. Whole back 5 actually. Its the consistency though he needs to show as does Rudiger who played as if he was a man possessed today. Still with some needless fouls but the general performance was very good from him. I think as youve correctly said he has the physical and aerial attributes we lack perhaps but he still has faults and his pros obviously. For me his positional play is better in the middle of a back 3 because he has a bit more protection on the sides and he doesnt have to get dragged out there more often. He has had his good and bad moments. He is more a reactive CB than a proactive one still, as in he is better at recovering or making last ditch blocks or tackles as opposed to reading the game and sniffing the danger out early which the likes of Van Dijk and Laporte are so good at. I still think he has obviously improved that a bit in his time since he arrived under Jose as he has matured a bit and again his use of the ball is improving a bit - you seen him hit some long diagonals to Alonso today as well as to Giroud - but I dont think he will ever be the sort of ball playing CB that possession orientated teams such as City, Barcelona, PSG, Juventus etc (which we are obviously aspiring to be based on how we played with Sarri and now Frank) start every week who can play through the lines or dribble out under pressure (although the clip of his run v Ajax may be enough evidence for some to suggest he is a bit more proactive than I have described him as and more comfortable on the ball haha). He will never be fantastic on the ball and may have moments like the one with Martial today where him and Rudiger looked hesitant but I do feel he is a good squad player but he is probably the most sellable CB we have. Plus his camp is allegedly looking at options as they believe he will be sold/not first choice next season and with Jose really keen and Euro 2020 happening next year, you can see it happening. Also regarding Reece. I dont think his physicality has anything to do with how good he is or can be defensively, I think that naturally good defenders are good defenders regardless of if their stockily built or not. Look at Eric Garcia at City, young CB, looks very promising, thin and wirey but engages his opponents well and reads the game well. Even Wan-Bissaka, he isn’t necessarily a really strong player but he is very good at defending. Even Ngolo, he is smaller built but his energy and his defensive attributes are fantastic, if he had several pounds of more muscle I dont think it would make a real difference. Reece also engages his opponent well, we seen him v Zaha earlier in the season for instance. Maybe the physicality can help some players in many aspects of their game and in some cases more often than not but I do think good defenders are good defenders regardless of their really filled out or not so much. Pep used Joshua Kimmich and David Alaba as CBs at Bayern in big matches and both did very well in spells without getting bullied as such. Even Azpi he isnt the most physical player but he has been excellent defensively over the years. I mean physicality is a good thing to have but it doesnt necessarily define a player or make them good players. If they have other abilities and they also have this which they can use as a advantage, yes, it is a bonus, ie. Giroud, Adama Traore, van Dijk, Harry Kane but if your solely relying on this to be a top player you wont get far. As we would of seen of Adama Traores performances before adding real end product to his game under Tony Pulis. His pace and power didnt matter because he couldn’t beat the first man or see the pass early enough.

I think with modern day fullbacks in the PL bar a few: Azpi, Wan Bissaka, Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson for instance, their always going to be much stronger offensively than defensively. Particularly at clubs such as us, United, City or Liverpool. Its just the way football has gone. Reece is decent defensively and today he was very solid as well as a continuous outlet but like all modern day fullbacks he is probably better in the other half. Thats just how it is. Everything now a days is with the ball, how can you affect the game with the ball, from the GK to the CBs to the FBs. Hence why GKs and CBs with good distribution is probably seen as more important than actually how solid they are because everyone is building from the back (Otamendi, Stones, Maguire, David Luiz, Mustafi etc)... hence why fullbacks who are more effective and comfortable playing in the opposition half are important because everyones utilising having their fullbacks high and wide or some are even having inverted fullbacks like Pep does to create these spaces that David Silva and Kevin de Bruyne find so seamlessly in these almost half positions between the wing and central midfield (Walker, Mendy, Alexander Arnold, Alonso). 20+ years ago people weren't worried so much about how good fullbacks were particularly with the ball or how good CBs were with it to the extent they are now. I know its a stereotype but people wanted CBs who could read it, head it, block it and clear it without fucking around trying to be these ball playing CBs. Obviously there were exceptions to this but generally I dont think people cared that much for how good the CBs were on the ball if they could do the basics and defend properly. Same with fullbacks, it wasnt more can he affect the game in the other half as much it was can he contain the opposition winger? Will he tuck in when the balls in the other side? Again obviously there were exceptions but there werent many who were as equally good defensively aa they were offensively. Plus the quality of these CBs or FBs who are very good defensively and with the ball, again, are hard to find in the PL. Van Dijk and Laporte are the 2 best CBs 100% then a huge drop off. Alexander-Arnold is considered the best fullback but he is average defensively, that shows you everything about modern day football.

If Havertz does even play wide here he will be one of 4 options, Pulisic, Callum, himself and Ziyech. Possibly 5 including Werner but I think he will play more through the middle. You need 4 wingers in a squad these days. I think Werner will likely be more through the middle as I said and can see one of Ziyech or Havertz also featuring more centrally. I dont think he has much to worry about. I think in midfield, shifting Ross might be necessary as we already have Kovacic, Mount, Kante and Ruben on top of him and potentially Ziyech and Havertz who could play those roles in a 433 also. I dont think it will happen but if the club convinces Willian to stay and also gets Havertz, ok, then Callum should be worried. And after this season, where he hasnt done much of note (although the injury wasnt kind but still the big wage put more expectations on him imo), yes he should be worried. I honestly think if we get those signings and possibly retain Willian, he may need to go out on loan.

Even after today, its obvious the season hasnt gone as well as we would all want it to but a cup final and a top 4 finish would be a step for Frank and this squad. Need to win more games next season though and address a few glaring issues we have had over the course of the season but beating Arsenal in a cup final is always a good way to end a season.

Top performance. No passengers. Midfield battled well and controlled the game. Both Jorginho and Kovacic really didnt have any issues. The pressure on the ball by the team set by Mount, Willian and Giroud throughout was also very good. Alonso also another very decent performance offensively and defensively. Same team v Liverpool bar change the GK and include Christian. Game management also very good, wouldnt say they had any big big chances and despite getting a penalty it was very comfortable. Who said we shouldn’t put out a strong team? Final is an excellent opportunity for these guys particular the new players and academy graduates to buy into the big winning culture the club has had when Frank was here as a player.

No chance the guy got the ball first and it hit CHO then went out. Was risky but was a good tackle imo.

87th minute Jorginho excellent harrying. Lot of quiet on here regarding his performance has been really good today too.

No need CHO. Azpi was basically touch tight showing him outside...

Great ball from Alonso. Get in. Fantastic play beforehand by Kovacic too before the corner. Own goal?

Him and Jorgi have done everything well so far. Proper midfield performance. Third goal would be nice. Mason has to hit the target with that chance that Willian pulled back for him. United still have 30 mins to do something. Just takes one goal for them to be right back in this.

Rudiger whats the need? Youve done everything right there, matched the run, got close, why fucking push him over?

Roy Keane more than likely “Taxi home for De Gea, dont let him on the bus” 😂

Shit dnt know why this is in this thread 😂😂😂 woops

Incredible 🤣 De Gea horrendous. Well done Mount good anticipation and gifts us a real foothold now.

Great interplay between Azpilicueta and Willian then a fantastic centre. Well deserved goal.

I know we've made a recurring joke about United and fouls I think Zouma got away with one there. Jesus Christ. No idea wtf him and Rudiger were doing.

Martial on. Shit. also forgot to say before KO why did they refer to OGS as a young/up and coming manager? Hes been a manager since like 2008 or 2011 if you dont consider Utd reserves.... he may only he later 40s but hes been coaching for over 10 years....

Yeah hasnt been in the game. Hasnt been all too bad this season though but not top top quality.

Fernandes and Fred going down for nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Decent start. Need a bit more cutting edge in final third. Azpi having a bit of joy on the right when we push up.

Despite him playing for Arsenal I am delighted he has shaken off the injury issues at the start of the season and beginning to cement himself as one of the top fullbacks in his age bracket. Having seen him make it through from a kid at Celtic to playing there, for Scotland and now looking very comfortable at Arsenal, it is exciting to see how far he can go. He has huge talent and his mentality and leadership which was developed at Celtic is the sort all top top players have and any young player should aspire to have. He is almost an old school footballer in that sense. Trains hard, plays hard, a real man in comparison to some of these other modern day youngsters. He will turn out a real bargain if he can keep going on top of what hes done with Arteta. He is a player with so much experience and leadership skills for such a young age and you can see he is becoming more influential at Arsenal now as well in that regard imo. His workrate is also fantastic as it has always been. If Guendouzi had this mentality and work ethic he would be a great player for them too. But he has been slowly walking down the wrong path since Arteta walked in there.

Chinese shareholders bought a 20% (I think?) share in Atletico few years back before selling them after IIRC. They made Simeone is one of highest paid managers and gave bumper deals to Oblak and a few others at the time.