robsblubot

not sure I follow, which part are you referring to? not "They [Portugal] will prob find a way to win this match" I'm sure. did you watch the game? Fluke goal (goalie mistake) and a very questionable PK call. Meanwhile Uruguay hit the post and Suarez missed a sitter. Uruguay is hardly a strong team even in SA, BTW. I stand by what I said.... Portugal is shit and has no shot in this WC.

I think a lot of these Portuguese players are overrated as fuck. The NT is weak and their big name players are really only good players... while others not even that good tbh. They will prob find a way to win this match, but honestly, Portugal is fair game to anyone in the single elimination stages.

Fair enough, but that was meant as a general comment esp when you go into younger (than 20) and youth systems. It gets progressively more difficult to assess "talent." I was one of the few people here who thought Salah was a top player -- wrote here too, but in the end it's all opinions and guesswork. Regarding Pato, precisely, it show how much physique affects "talent" (skill, technique) esp in the footballing elite. Some of the players who we deem not good enough at Chelsea would absolute dominate a tier lower. It's that split second decision and time on the ball that you don't get at this level. And that's why I think Mount can indeed improve: a slight improvement in that split-second decision making could make him a much more influential player. I do see plenty of skill in his game too: good first touch, passing, very quick feet. He has good technique striking the football, and for that reason I think he can do better than he does atm. Salary discussion is more about the market than a perceived quality. Wages in football are crazy these days... City one of the worst offenders, so it's hard to criticize players/agents and clubs with so much investment in the sport.

Not taking away Morocco's win -- an important win for sure, but while KDB shouldn't have said what he said, he's right: Belgium missed their chance (if they had any) and now are an old beat up team past their prime. It's really only KDB pulling strings and Courtois at the back... the rest is the rest. It should get a bit better with Lukaku back -- nothing worse than bats lol -- but not enough to go far. Argentina should be banned from the WC for having Otamendi as their starting CB. 😅

Heh, as a Brazilian, KDB was my biggest fear in that game. Not only did he pull all strings, but also actually scored from afar pretty much winning the match with that second goal. While I've always thought he was overrated here, evidently Eden was once a word class player. He's just a joke today and there is zero excuse for him to be playing at this level at 31.

it’s extremely difficult to determine ceiling of young players — how much talent they have. If it were easy salah and KDB would be our top players right now. Paid professionals get this wrong all the time! I’m still not sure what you define as talent. This is odd because ability isn’t even the defining characteristic of player like Messi to me: he just thinks and acts half a second faster than his opponents. I’ve seen very talented young players fail because they were lost in a football pitch—great first touch, passing ability, dribbling and still no career. Very young players like you said, don’t even have their physique developed yet. Sometimes that final change makes or breaks a player alexandre pato had all the talent in the world and diminished as a player once he grew older. Happens with many players. Also, physique definitely has an affect on players technique: it can affect response time which in turn can be the difference between skipping past a player versus losing the ball to that same player. suppose we can agree to disagree here, even if we are talking about slightly different things eh.

Cry me a river. Lol He’s a player who does not let the opposition play. Now, you may think that’s not that important that anyone can do that, but I disagree. I think having players who can both 1. Not let the opposition play and 2. Make his team click is a rare thing… but that’s just me. I agree that this is definitely something that the numbers you posted don’t show. So, can we agree that you are the oddball here? We are going into the 3rd manager with mount as a key player—no to mention England. So, either you are right and everybody else is wrong or, more likely, most coaches and managers see something you don’t, something your numbers don’t show. Sorry, but I think the latter is far more likely. Finally, regarding the perceived lack of creativity in the starting XII fiz that in a different position! Plenty of spots to get a creative player for. Really don’t see what mount has to do with building the squad to be honest.

That's exactly my point: blaming Mount for us not being competitive in the league does not make sense to me. I rate what he does even when he's not influencing games with a pass, or a goal. I do not rate a loved player in this forum, Mata, exactly because he was a zero when not clicking. Personally I think Mount is a typical big game player... My point remains, if the team lacks creativity add that in a different position. Mount if fine and a strong player in his own right and his own characteristics. Some suggested moving to a CM position, perhaps then fans will stop whining? 🤷‍♂️

I strongly disagree that 23yo don’t improve. Maybe you are referring to skill alone, but don't think I can agree with that either. to my eyes mount possesses good technique on the ball, quick feet and good control. Therefore a slight improvement in, say decisions, could make him a much more influential player. Come to think of it, I’ve seen players improve much later than that. Luka Modric being the most obvious example, but there are many others. regarding fans… lol they also love grealish who is shit. Stick Mount in City's starting XI and they win the league all the same. 😉

Sure, but I did not really mean that it was a premediated strategy, an idea proposed by the headcoach, but rather that that was the motivation level of each team. USA matched England by working harder than they were. I was expecting the young USA team to tire and reduce their intensity in the second half, but that never happened--to my surprise.

USA played at 110% and England at 70% -- at least that was my feeling watching the game. England felt comfortable with a draw and to not stress/risk their players in group stage considering they will be first in group anyway.

The fullbacks are indeed a weakness and some even have suggested moving militao to RB as a defensive minded rb. the strength in depth is there, but I think Neymar is still too frail at this level and struggles in physical games like today… same in CL. not taking anything away from that Richarlison goal—incredible technique!

Netherlands was and is the far better side... normal result for me. Mendy is also just showcasing his current poor form. Pulisic is definitely carrying his poor Chelsea form over to the WC. I have a hard time criticizing him though, because he's one of the few lucid players in that team. Watching commentary here in the US is funny: they talk about players with energy "who are all over the place" as if that was the key to win... and yet they can't do simple one twos with Pulisic. Also, not a word on that ridiculous penalty on Bale... the US defender clearly does not know what sport he's playing. 🙂 Second half showcases how important strength in depth is.

For the competing sides, and I consider England to be one of them, the tournament begins in the single-elimination stages. And for that, it's far more important to have a defensively solid side than one which can put on a show against the weak sides in group states. That's one of the notorious pitfalls of the World Cup where many sides playing top football were knockout by defensively built lesser teams. This is time for adjustments, but yeah they will scrutinize the 2 goals conceded against such a weak side... despite the big win.

Maybe it is indeed time for South America once again. Both Brazil and Argentina have a clean bill of health going in. France lost all their best players while England lost their FBs and tbh, they are weak in the middle and defense. Think the winner will be one of the ones above... even the extreme heat may benefit them I suppose.

What you guys at? 😅 Mount is about to sign a huge contract and will remain the centre of the team for years to come. Don't worry -- he will play. Sometimes I forget Mount is only 23. I for one am excited to see how he improves and becomes a better player.

I can agree with that esp regarding the hole that Kante leaves when he's out. While a skillful player, Kovacic's game can be a bit... unclean. It's all relative though. City plays with lots of midgets, skillful (and not particularly physical) players in midfield and dominate the league. Liverpool's CMs are only good players at best, but they do strength. So, while I agree, it really depends on what type of football we are planning to play.

With the possible exception of Madrid and then only because of modric, really don’t see us lacking that much in that specific position. Other top sides play and win with equal or even lesser CMs. However, I do agree with lack in strength in depth esp with kante clearly past his prime and RLC never been the same since the horrific injury. honestly, unless we are talking about ppl like casemiro or Bruno I go aren’t avail, just don’t see a cm signing helping that much atm.

You are right that "nobodies" may have been a bit strong, but my point was the at the very least the contacts they used to work with aren't the same they will now have to work with. They will not necessarily have relationships with the top agents and scouts... something that Marina certainly had. I think it's easy to disregard what they accomplished, I can easily criticize a good number of their signings, but there was quite a bit of silverware in the mix as well. The players you cited (from Brighton guys) are more suited for a team like Brighton IMO... including our own Cucurella (though too early to pass judgement). Thank you for the information... while it does not make optimistic about the future, it does provide some reassurance that it's not a bunch of quacks. it's also good to know some of them have experience with scouting youth, which is IMO the only way we can compete at this level.

what type? they are nobodies 🤷‍♂️😕

May? It’s a huge change for him. The lists he worked with at Brighton aren’t the same he will be working with at Chelsea. Same goes with agents and scouts. another huge bet and immediate downgrade from what we had not long ago. silver lining is that at least it will be a paid professional doing this work once again. Are we turning into Brighton? 😆

Also works for me. Honestly, I don't think it matters much where he plays, but his role is mostly unchanged. We passengers in the team, Mount isn't one of them.

that's where he plays... moves higher up when applying pressure, or lower to fend off pressure. The midfield is where everything happens, but it's not a place governed by (usually) 2 lowly CMs.

If anyone can have regrets here is Real Madrid. Not only did they play top money for Eden at the time, but offered him top player wages, which he clearly isn't anymore... and hasn't been for a while. Eden Hazard will never leave Madrid -- he's just following Bale's retirement advice.

We agree to disagree on whether Potter deserves the shot he's been given, which is absolutely fine. I hope to be 100% wrong here and that he turns things around. I have a harder time with discussing club's sizes, because that's measurable and fairly obvious. You can take wages, club estimated (or factual in our case) value, which include facilities, brand value, revenue, etc... lots of information on this subject. The same, to a lesser degree, applies to players. It gets a little more difficult because we get age and resale value, which may or may not be important. It's easier to measure market demand though: like if our player would've been given free agency, where would he go and for how much money. It's a different discussion tho... the point was about club size.