robsblubot

Mudryk does not look like a world class player even if you consider potential. At this point, it's hard to be sure he'll become a serviceable member of the squad, let alone starter material.

That was some great defending right there... 🤣 ball watching until the very end!

Arsenal midfield vanished without a trace... Might actually switch back to watching this shit now since that other game is done and dusted.

Saka is young and all, but he needs to stop with the vanishing act in big games. Pretty poor from him today. At one point I thought I may have been wrong about Xhaka, but nope he's just not good enough at this level. Pretty easy first half for City. KDB and Haaland are destroying Arsenal.

yup what a depressing starting lineup... wow

Yeah maybe raw pace, no. I think his quickness + good technique on the ball was all he got. While he was never Kante for running and covering, he's always been pretty mobile for that role and could find a pass under pressure, which demands quickness.

☝️ That and perhaps he's not as good as he used to be. While 31yo is a good age for a footballer these days, the loss of pace that takes place at around 30yo may affect players very differently; sometimes it's not as pronounced, or other times the player did not rely on it so much anyway. Jorginho tho, he's not a particularly powerful player, esp for that position, so he does rely on pace and quickness, which may not be the same anymore. He may still be a good player, but perhaps he's just past his best? it happens to everyone.

really worrying if true, https://www.yardbarker.com/soccer/articles/uncovered_chelsea_owner_boehly_sacked_tuchel_after_being_denied_locker_room_entry/s1_17172_38720662 I hope folks understand what the issue is: owners have zero sway with players, because they have no knowledge of the game, and can't really control players wages (contracts!). All they can do is tweak bonuses and whatnot, which can be tricky to do (counter-productive to say the least). At this level players can move on to a different club earning comparable wages on a whim. The power is with the players... even against owners.

2 real managers with different footballing ideas -- nothing wrong with that. No qualms having and implementing a long-term project, just pick someone players can listen to and trust for starters. It's not that hard. 😅

😅 we are football's cash cow after all.

yeah this is something that I feel escapes some folks as I see names mentioned as if players could just replicate what they've done in different circumstances (often against far weaker opposition) after moving to a top club. Chelsea club is an elite club! it does not matter what people may think, esp fans of other teams, numbers alone prove who is elite and who's not. Alonso WAS already an elite player. A player with glaring weaknesses (defensive, pace) and also pretty important strengths (skill on the ball, finishing, and aerial). Alonso now plays for Barca, not Fulham. Cucurella may still become a serviceable defensive LB yet, but it just shows how hard this jump can be. How different it is when you play on a more compact defensive-minded system as a defender, and then you move to a big club and suddenly you've got a lot more individual responsibility, not to mention facing much superior opposition esp in CL.

I Personally think that Potter was the really odd hire. I couldn't care less if he's English or not, but he just did not do enough to warrant the bet. If you are in tech, or any other jobs really, the sad reality is that you get hired for the things you've done before: once you pick a field/area of expertise, or that field picks you, it's hard to shake it off. I look back at bets, right or wrong, and I see something done before that was worth duplicating (barring those ex-player tampons). With Potter, I saw nothing worth replicating... not at this level. There is NOTHING in Brighton's play that I see that makes me think, "hmm Real should pay attention here." While I agree it is short-term thinking, I don't think that's what they originally wanted. I do think they had a plan, which was probably a pipe dream as the owners are clearly learning on the job.

That's now, but they win it every season. Don't know they all seem fairly interchangeable. It's like they work with a specific set of skills, and almost any player who fit that mould can get the job done -- some better than others. The mould pertains lots of skill on the ball, an absurd amount of pace, work rate, and tactical discipline. Power isn't really a thing they absolute need. Back to my point Chalobah isn't good enough however tall he may be.

not too long ago, I was the one person suggesting that he did not look good enough at this level. There is a PL bias towards power, strength, tall players, but that does not align with the current state of affairs with City's midgets winning the league every season.

The team is disjointed. Be aware of drawing too many conclusions from this. Players would be playing well below their norm under these conditions.

we hope, but it's not a sure thing. Maybe he won't grow the tactical and mental aspect, which is about non-existent at this time. This last step is the hardest one yet.

no 😅 🤫 it's supposed to be a secret.

yes, when all that is needed is a bit motivation, and a tweak here and there. Do you really think we are there right now? For me the players don't even "run" right. 😅

Under Potter?! This IS Potter's team. You don't flip a switch once you change the manager. Yes, the pre-game talk is a bit different, as is the starting lineup, but players don't just flip a switch and start playing differently because the manager changed. I'm always baffled by this notion, tbh. Lampard has little to do with this shit. He's not a good manager for us, but that's a different discussion.

I understand Lampard: the team cannot defend, so he wants to block Madrid first, so we don't concede and end our chances early on. On the other hand, it is indeed a depressing starting lineup.

I never seen presidents, owners, routinely visiting the locker room. It is really odd and can undermine the power, as well as the message managers may have. But yeah, it's their play toy and they will do whatever they want with it--running it into the ground included as an option. The type of manager they pick will tell much about whether the micromanaging will continue, or whether the manager will have enough independence to implement his own methodology.

I was one of the few here who wasn't crazy about the switch from Timo to Sterling, and also thought Sterling was the case of too much of a good thing--had a lot of cover for left wing. Still, I don't think much of players acting out, being disillusioned, or just unhappy when things are in the shitter. I'm far more concerned with players who may think it's all business as usual and go collect they fat paychecks like nothing.

Yup and that's another problem of having a yes-man, like Potter likely was, as a manger. This will only get sorted once a top manager comes in and demands owners to stay clear.

Players are usually a very united group--they have their own private chat and talk among themselves quite a bit. The locker room in football can be a bit of a sacred place, and people who don't belong shouldn't be there often. At a special moment, like before a big game, sure, but not on a regular basis. What happens is that players can become detached, rolling eyes, and that can even hurt the sway managers can have with the group, like "how can the manager work with these clowns? is he a part of it?"

Players must have experienced some real ted lasso moments I'm sure. 🙄