robsblubot

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 😅).

If the US does break up in the future, many conservatives will finally discover where all that money was coming from. Florida will be very ironic: many migrants fled their countries for a better life, but IMO many do not understand what in the US makes life better. They may end up where they started. @Sir Mikel OBE that's the case every time a country breaks up. It's never perfect, but things adjust over time.

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.

Could be worse, like "Rice and repeat." 🤭 Seriously tho, coming from Lukaku I'm just happy that we are merely linked with players like Richarlison and Jesus. It's really not about quality (whether they are good enough or not), but characteristics and what type of squad we are trying to build. On the same token, hope Dembele isn't coming... really dislike his antics and would stay clear.

I know right! As a Brazil fan I would very much like Grealish to start every game... would make them a lot softer for the taking.

A bit embarrassing for him not to be part of it though. And yet, not that surprising to some of us who have pointed out he had been letting himself go in the past years and that's risky at this level. He's only 31 and already not the key player he once was.

Indeed. Which made Klopp's delay in changing the formation and introducing more attacking players all the more puzzling (Diaz was having a poor game too). When you are facing a goalie who is clearly having a monster game you have to produce 2x1s against him... and pool never attacked with enough players for that (maybe a couple of times with Firmino but that was too late).

Pool were controlled to some extent -- do not take take away what Real did in the middle and defense. Liverpool were resumed to Mane and Salah, the latter had an excellent game creating several chances out of nothing, but Real robustness made it just a bit easier for the best goalie in the world (by far) to produce the magic. (that loan in Spain was Chelsea's biggest mistake with the youth) Thought Liverpool were not attacking with enough numbers in the second half after conceding and waited a bit too long to introduce Firmino. It was a bit too reactive for me. Liverpool midfield is their weakness and it's a bad place to have one. No, none of them are bad players, but at this level, they were just facing better players... every single Real midfielder was/is better than his pool counterpart IMO of course.

Indeed. It was one of the club's biggest blunders. Assessing player's fitness is the most important aspects in the signing process. They should have investigated to find out whether he was an athlete or not--clearly not. That's the least that I expect at this level.

There was good football at times, but finishing was simply not there. Pulisic's miss was something for the history books. On the other hand, it seems that we are no longer able to win games by 1x0 because we always concede (at last) a goal.

Conte was a such an obviously good fit for them -- called it at the time they hired him. Everything hinges on whether Kane is there and remains motivated. He's such a good player and reckon he's even better now moving about the pitch and not strictly as a positioned striker. TBH, I think more as a replacement for Kova, but yeah if we stick 2 mobile rounded mids, then it works for sure. I like Jorgi, but I think Guimaraes has the potential to be better than him. Started following him in Brazil still when he bossed the midfield against Internacional in the Copa do Brasil final in Porto Alegre. Inter were all pressure with 60K ppl but could not handle Guimaraes who bossed the midfield and was 19/20 then?

I'm a big fan of Bruno Guimaraes and I think he will start for Brazil at the World Cup. He's super rounded which makes him a tough one to go against in midfield. Suppose he's Newcastle's big signing once they got the money -- heard Arsenal were after him.

Fair, but I think it was a matched change, so that he can also bring Grealish in. Fernandinho is joke though... does not belong at this level and never did. He was a good league player, but has always choked in decisive moments. I think Liverpool will win it again, unfortunately.

heh not sure how one can go defensive by employing Grealish. They defend as a block and a defensively inapt player like him stands out. Sterling was working A LOT harder for the team.

At some point someone has to ask Pep why he likes to lose so much. I mean, he puts Grealish and Fernandinho on the pitch... what did he expect?! They don't belong at this level. Fernandinho was a decent player once, while the other is shit. The untold truth is that City roster isn't that good.