robsblubot

All of our players are good players. They don't get to this level by being bad. I'm questioning the characteristics of them and how they will work together. City, for example, always has a plan. They buy specific players who can play in a certain way with specific characteristics. Yes, they fuck up once in a while (prob a shirt-selling signing here and there), but there is always a plan.

well, you may think that and I think you don't seem to understand why and how we won the CL. You would prob describe a lot of our players as "making wind" then. In my book, football is a team sport. Halland does not get "numbers upfront." He's a special player -- best in the world in his position. They already had a strong side which consistently outplays the opposition. We beat them with high work rate, and Werner played a part in that. BTW, I'm totally making a prediction. We shall see whether that's right or wrong. I think we will struggle for several years and our moves in the transfer market are starting to look like United right now: no plan just marquee signings.

I am not happy he's leaving, but understand it's going to be hard for him with Sterling as a starter. I'd still rather keep Werner and let Pulisic go. Fans are weird sometimes: this guy came in improved work rate, team chemistry, and helped win the biggest silverware there is. Who cares about individual numbers? We can't compete with city as equals they will always outplay and outscore us esp with the best 9 there is today. The only way to compete at this level is via teamwork and hard working at that. I suspect the new owner does not understand this well enough and we will struggle for a few years.

I think CR7 is done for as en elite player. Yes, he will score goals here and there due to his quality, but the ball will have to be played to him most of the time and that can be very costly at this level. Vardy at 35 is just too old as well -- esp for a guy who relied on pace as much as he did. Personally I was hoping for signings in the mould of Werner and Kai. Fofana does fit that tho.

Skillful and yet overrated player who plays for himself and does not press to save his life. Tuchel strives with team players, so Auba would be a pretty odd signing tbh.

No brainer for me. It's not about getting someone to replace him - we already have that for both rb and cb - the issue is how to get a better squad player than him. Folks downplay how hard it is to get someone who delivers at this level. He's also super versatile, which is just another bonus. Now, evidently he will not start games as often and be prepared to see him struggle a bit early season esp. Thought he still had pretty good games last season, just needed a bit more time to get going, which is normal for footballers past 30.

Remember seeing a lot of Alex Telles on this thread some time ago. Massively overrated LB IMO and now an official PL flop.

Zaha for Werner would be a huge downgrade. Really don't see anything in Zaha's game tbh and a bit lazy at times.

I think Sterling deal blocks that move as we'd have too much of the same thing. Unless Puli and/or Werner go. Even then, I think whatever "hunger" Neymar once had is gone, and he's going to spend more time injured than on the pitch. He's just not professional enough for this level. I think Hazard was a bit like that too, and folks still loved him here, but I don't think that type of player fits well in Tuchel's system tbh.

I suppose Barcelona making a statement regarding that. We will see wether their scouts and coaches are right or not in a bit, but the fact they went all-in for him is also information. Raphinha has also done well for Brazil so far and got a few caps already.

that means he's going to fail that right? I mean every doctor will tell the club there are no guarantees he will be able to play at this level 3 years from now. 😄

completely different players in different positions/roles as well as different stages in their careers.

That's the thing, his experience in PL is for Bournemouth level not city, or ours. He was also *way* behind the pecking order for a reason. While I don't personally see any ball-playing skill in him, I think they made a bet (given their CB issues) that he would improve and would adapt well to their possession system -- neither really happened, so now they are trying to push us to make a similar bet, which makes no sense given that it's no longer the same bet. It's really a question of "why him?" and why pay this much if he's so unremarkable? Wouldn't surprise me if this was tied to the sterling deal tho.

heh, with a first touch like that no amount of mentality can make him a proper mid at this level. 😉

Agreed. People here making it sound like Sterling is a Van Nistelrooy (yeah I'm old 😅) who sits in front of the goal waiting for that tap in (tbh that was only in his final years). What I saw though was a highly intense player who would relentlessly chase down a defender for the opportunity to retake the football in a good position in attack, run with the ball at defenders without a break, and yes, occasionally scoring that tap in when in a position he worked his ass off to be in.

Great player with an excellent attitude on and off the pitch. Suspect we may be going back to a false 9 which is actually my preference given the squad we've got. I'm actually hopeful we may actually see his best years as a footballer.

Agreed. He's a very good footballer who relentlessly runs at defenses. Our midfield remains strong and I'm not really worried about the attack despite lacking a #9. We will have enough quality up front. Our D however... It's going to be hard to overcome such a loss in quality. I know Andreas is also polarizing, but I think his career speaks for itself and he did play a big role for us and was involved quite a bit of silverware. His move to Barca only corroborates that idea and I think he will do very well in that system. Rudiger, of course is a bigger issue: there is simply no replacement avail right now, so we will need to get creative here, like we discussed earlier on this thread.

Yeah that's fair. On the other hand, there is a question of system. In a possession system like City employs, as well as Barca, I think his weaknesses don't get exposed as much when the ball moves quickly and the CBs don't get into too many 50/50s.

I don't see a lot of skill in Ake tbh, but sure it's a matter of opinion. On the other hand, I think the transfer market values Andreas quite a bit higher than Ake... despite of what we end up paying for him. 😉

This transfer window is becoming very interesting. Our next moves will tell everyone what they need to know about our ambitions. Like it or not, we've lost a world class defender who will make an adversary even stronger. If we sign Ake as a replacement, then we are indeed a mid table team and are happy with that. being abundantly clear, Ake is nowhere good enough to replace Andreas! let alone Rudiger. If top targets aren't available, then get creative! get the less known targets with potential for growth and make a few bets.

You missing something here: City is saying you can only take Sterling if you take Ake as well. 😉 For the record, have a mind that does not belong anywhere near a top PL club (no, not even Spurs 😅).

Pertinent around the Dembele type and likely already posted somewhere (esp because of Demichelis Chelsea link), but super interesting article AC Milan's 'Mind Room': The story behind an innovative psychology lab

I don't think it's just talk. It's clear to see even when he's on the pitch and I also know a Barca fan. He will only work in a free role as oppose to Raphinha who's far more of a team player. They work differently too in different areas of the pitch. Personally, I'd not take Dembele esp for the type of high intensity system TT likes to employ.

Yes, I understand he's a bit polarizing (understatement), and can be predictable at times, as someone else pointed out here. In the end of the day tho, Sterling is a good player and one who would certainly add quality to any team in the PL. I just don't see his characteristics as something we lack; quite the opposite actually, I think we have an overabundance of players of his style and position. Lukaku's situ is hard to read. It could be the club trying to make him lower his wages, so we pay less during the loan. The club might think it's not worthwhile to pay a high percentage of his wages when he's playing elsewhere, so let's "see" how much Lukaku really wants to join Inter.

🤔who could have predicted that? about half of us here.