robsblubot

Belgium played two top teams in the World Cup: beat Brazil when kdb was motm then lost to france when hazard was Belgium better player. In my opinion kdb is the more influential player... heh not really that controversial outside of these forums.

When KDB has a great game, Belgium or city always wins. when hazard has a great game, Belgium or Chelsea might win.

yeah he definitely is. Consider he’s a millionaire LB playing for a top club and, slow as a turtle...

Yeah, I get that folks here are obsessed with pace. myself I still prefer players with a lot of technique specially on passing: ball needs to move quick not the player. I can certainly see folks here having issues with an attacking FB regardless how quick... can almost hear the word "liability" appearing in many posts.

Like I said before, I know him well: played for Gremio in south of Brazil. I happened to be listening to a sport talk show and they spoke of him last week. He might get a call up for Brazil. Apparently he's a very cool and smart professional on and off the pitch. The one thing I do remember is that he's on the VERY attacking side of FBs, like a Marcelo type. Which means, if folks are expecting a more traditional FB, he's likely not it.

Nope, not saying that at all. You are the one talking as if the Manager did X, things would've been better. I'm just pointing out that neither one of us know that. Maybe they are, but there are plenty of players playing at high level way past 30. It still does not make CHO a solution at this level. Once again, developing a player who may be committed to leave is not in our best interest. I've seen Alonso play Very well in the past and I've never seen Emerson play well. Again, lets not rewrite history, Alonso had MoTM performances in the recent past. Emerson? My point remains we know nothing of Emerson, but managers (2 so far) and coaches there seem to think Alonso is vastly superior, since Emerson barely even rotates. Which makes a manager trying to recover the player not that crazy to me. These players are sought after by other big clubs. William has had good games recently. They are not as bad you make them. When the system is not working everything and everyone looks bad, throwing youngsters in the mix rarely works. Hardly a fan of Alonso (don't think I'm a fan of any player), just don't agree with the hate he gets around here. Us not seeing it in our heads can be very different from when things happen on the pitch. I'm sure some thought we'd defend better with a "proper" LB against Bournemouth, but then things were all the same. I'm not claiming that Alonso would've done better, I'm just questioning the *assumption* that Emerson is the better player without any evidence other than wishful thinking and a handful of games against the weakest opposition.

Fans usually have the very wrong idea that the only way to change things is to change personnel or formation; that's why they say Sarri changes little. Right, he has preferences as Conte did before him and the next manager will too. The next manager will play Pedro (and William) over CHO every day of the week and twice on sundays, despite what the vocal minority says here. Mostly because Pedro (also William) is like twice the player, and the manager's job is first to win games, develop his system (to play and win games in his way), and then as a distant third develop players. Should CHO be playing more in Cups? seems like it, but maybe he's leaving anyway, in which case developing a bayern player does not seem like a high priority to me. Sarri thinks Alonso is a lot better than Emerson. How do I know that? because he's trying to recover Alonso's form (personal and team) by playing him/them, tweaking, and repetition. I can't say whether I agree with that (much that will do), because I've hardly seen Emerson play, since he only faces these very weak sides, but did not do too well well last time in the PL. And other potential changes? I think he plays our best players most of the time - though rotates little. If the next manager picks Alonso and Pedro, like Sarri and Conte did, will that be a surprise to you? Would you then think that the said manager should be sacked too? What if the next manager (or even Sarri himself) gives both Emerson and CHO a run of games and our team tanks (yes it can always get worse) and ends in 10th, would that make folks here wrong? like when we gave Mikel a run of games because Matic was in bad form. For the record, the only time Mikel would play over Matic is if the latter was missing a leg.

both valid points. The squads are nothing alike either. I see some folks around here who bash a lot of our players, while also here bashing Sarri. So, which one is it? I'm not saying they are mutually exclusive, just that one point diminishes the other... If Sarri has such a terrible squad with so inapt FBs and (before Higuain) striker, and wingers, how come he's doing so terrible a job considering the lack of quality he has at his disposal? Could it be that Sarri is the same manager we originally signed: not a winner, not top tier, and his silverware count hasn't really changed since then. And we have a good/decent squad for a top team, which is only truly competitive when all players are giving 100% - and they are not at the moment.

That’s just an obsession with a player who is simply not that important in the grand scheme of things. The silly part is regardless what how one rates Alonso, pinning down everything on a left back makes no sense, and tactics should cover for his defensive shortcomings - the last part is a fact. I’ve seen plenty of successful teams win big with far weaker players on their squad (even CL ). And not even with one who not long ago actually had MoTM performances. we are not going to agree on this - I was hoping to move the discussion into tactics, but I guess it’s just hard around here.

"whether they are good enough is a diff discussion" don't think I missed it. Either way, Sandro is unavailable and so is Marcelo. While I agree that Alonso currently poses no attacking thread, he did once. No I don't buy it's the position because in my view those are not static things. Like a said a different discussion, but I just don't buy the idea that the FBs are the cause of all our problems. They are good players in specific areas and it's up to the manager to use them adequately. When Alonso leaves his side exposed, it is the system's fault, and in consequence, the manager's. Because either he's stupid in thinking Alonso is a good defender, or his system did not cover that side. The opposite on Azpi side, where other players can use the space to attack. Either way, I find the whole Alonso discussion (and Azpi) a bit silly. The whole defense looks bad because they are exposed, with some players looking worse than others, which is definitely on the system and manager. Probably because the players are no longer following Sarri's instructions. Hazard is definitely strolling about on the pitch, which is also helping overwhelm the system

I don’t have a problem with the roles of the fullbacks. Alex Sandro would have been called a liability within a month here. Can’t defend if they are not there... whether they are good enough is a diff discussion. aside from the weird subs, the one thing I don’t understand is why hasn’t he tried to move Kante to the left mid position? That would allow cover for the attacking fb and Luiz. It also allows the right mid to attack with more quality and freedom since he has azpi behind.

It’s not usual, but certainly doable. It can also be set as a goal tied to addons.

"Remember De Bruyne telling me: “We only train tactically 15 mins per day. But we learn to switch between different systems: 3-4-3, 4-3-3, 4-4-2, 3-6-1...” You mean that a LB would seamlessly switch to WB role and back to LB?!? shocking!

Heh every time I read that I cringe to myself. It's akin to saying that Hazard is a liability defensively and therefore should be dropped and sold. Or that Azpi is a liability in attack and therefore needs to be dropped or sold. Players have different characteristics and roles and the system should support them in those roles. If Alonso is not adding enough given his attacking role, sure, let's get someone better... who does not seem to be Emerson. The liability word is a bit overused here tbh... all players appear a liability when exposed even an excellent defender like Azpi.

Ah in this game, sure. Never been a big fan of Napoli style of play, so have no problem criticizing sarri, but I honestly think people are overly blaming him for losing the locker room. It's not about wanting him out - perhaps the players just don't believe in him or in his system enough to make it work. Seems to happen a lot with these players.... Just be ready that the next manager will use CHO sparingly too. Expect the same if the team is struggling. My 2-cent prediction. Unless CHO is killing it in practice sessions, which I don't believe. When that happens coaches and management would usually step in.

Hmm while that can indeed negatively affect confidence, many GK have thrived and used the team in poor form to do really well and catch the attention of bigger clubs. I'm sure Kepa himself had such opportunity playing for a smaller team in Spain and attracting a Chelsea. Goes both ways too: perhaps the defense is not confident with their goalie either. I don't like his GK style and think he's too short for a top GK. Wish we had gone a diff direction, but oh well. Now I hope he improves.

Never seen a manager turning to a young player, who hasn't yet shown anything, to *fix* a failing team. People are expecting CHO to get minutes because the team is not working, but it's exactly the other way around: manager and coaches will try to preserve him from the criticism and the stench of failure. Next manager will come in and do exactly the same, at least initially.

Determination to score, unfortunately, does not count. Not American football... perhaps the quality of the balls that did us in wouldn't be so good if the rest of the team was defending better... This same defense line was better early season, or were they just as average, but better protected? Where has hazard been?

Lost cause to speak well of alonso with this crowd. He's the cause of all our problems... In a working system, it wouldn't really matter if it's a back 4 or 3, but the issue is that the system is not working very well just yet. So, players, like Alonso and luiz are exposed and look bad. The CHO thing is just as tiring. It's going to be very funny if the next manager starts the same players, changing little. @MoroccanBlue Alonso is not there to primarily defend, Azpi is. Emerson defended as poorly when he was on against City -- yes they scored after alonso left too.

This is going to be a statement by the players. Either they are behind Sarri and and will run for him - you know chasing the opposition, tackling, not letting them become comfortable - or they will do what they did against City. Of course, we may still lose even if the players show up, but then it won't be that ridiculous thing that happened against city. Not too bothered by who plays, since I think City was a collective thing, but would prefer Kovacic is fit for the extra steel and retention in the middle.

Bullshit! If they cared enough about youth development that would have been in the managers contract... not hearsay...

Thanks, but no thanks. I see that you enjoy this game. the thing is when you are wrong, and I can guarantee that you will be wrong in some of your predictions (someone will breakdown either physically or mentally and won’t develop). And then neither you, nor I, will care one bit... unless we have money in it.

I don't know which CL finals you watch, but the ones I do have a lot 30s who seem to handle all wingers just fine. Out of the list, Mbappe is the only one at prime... Again, the only player in this list dominating in CL is Mbappe, the others have not faced the the strongest opposition, which is always in CL. How can you list those other players along with Mbappe, who won a freaking World Cup as the MoTM is beyond me. My VERY personal opinion is that Bundesliga is pretty much unwatchable for the most part. Disorganized, open, and pretty poor technique esp in the mid tier teams. However, I do know there are good players there, and I'm sure you've spotted some of them. But only when they move to a top club, probably at CL, they will be truly tested. That's how it works: bigger club, bigger wages, and more pressure. Some will make it others won't. Maybe you haven't seen enough promising players fail, but I have... not pretty. And by disorganized, I say players enjoy too much time on the ball, which is not the case in strongest leagues. See Bakayoko for example.

Perhaps.. some will, some won't. Either you make money off of it, perhaps as a scout, in which case you wouldn't be wasting time posting here (nor sharing your knowledge base), or you merely have an opinion like everyone else here. Interesting... now you use valuation as a variable... but when talking about Alonso and Willian, whatever they are sold for, is irrelevant because they are "shite."

how can't you see that is subjective and merely one's opinion is beyond me.