robsblubot

He said United were “clinical”, but overvalued our first half performance, which was not clinical at all. i think it’s the right message to the young players and encouragement, but he likely knows better. Still weird why make a inexperienced lineup even greener with Tammy and mount.. and let me say I do see some pretty impressive things in mount. disagree on Tammy above... his level of play was nowhere good enough.

And it wasn’t just the lack k of scoring, but his overall play. What a strange thing to say given the shoreline. Also considering alonso was our best player last time there. And that’s usually my main disagreement with with some opinions. Football does not give you any points for good play. It only counts goals, which makes that final third quality so important and expensive. yes Emerson made good runs, but his shooting was poor and his crossing worse. Not a good game in my book. I consider alonso a technically far superior player, but he’s getting even slower, which makes me very pessimistic on that left back area going forward.

When that happens it usually is more than than one area. The system failed and you got to question the starting lineup subs. I agree with @Henrique that Barkley was the better player when subbed out. naive starting line up and strategy with a high defense line against stronger opposition in their turf. Hope this was down to circumstance and not what lampard thinks, because this was very poor game management.

United should sign Emerson for DeGea practice session wtf

Huge mistake thinking this is down to luck. Tammy is inapt at this level and his performance just reflected that. united were sharper in the final third because their players in that area are much better than ours. Thought kepa also had a pretty bad game to be honest. very disappointed with lampard today. Very naive starting lineup.

Starting zouma was inevitable, but also starting Tammy for his game is on lampard for me. Too many inexperienced players for this sort of game and it showed big time. mount looks like a good player in the making, but also not for this game and also on lamps for me. Gotta know the difference between this and friendlies. emerson made good runs, but no end product. Simply don’t see azpi as having the horrible game ppl are saying. It’s just the entire defense struggling. Lacked protection too esp on the stupid counters.

Having a bit o possession is not being dominant. We are creating nothing up front. Tammy is also out of his depth. pretty ugly stuff amazing pass by pogba... that’s quality right there.

Yes we looked good in a few moments, and some of he new players looked like they may become good players eventually, but football is about that final pass and that final touch, and that we did not have in the first half. zouma, I’m afraid, looks completely out of his depth as I, and some here were afraid of. Really worried by having to rely on him for the time being.

How can villa not lose this?! What a shitty team with very inapt players all over. Poor first touches by several players handing possession right back to Tottenham. Villa’s #10 (Grealish) in particular was a liability entire second half.

Bakayoko needs to go. We can recall Danny if we’re in a bind, but we actually have some cover in midfield.

Report is that he was sent home to sort out the move. he definitely had an issue with Lampard, so that just showcases his lack of discipline on and off the pitch. It mostly sucks because of the circumstances, which leaves us very thin in yet another area for the very busy upcoming season.

Kinda feels like a kick in the teeth no doubt. still can’t see any of this as positive thing for the club regardless however one rates him as a player. Very thin squad filled with unproven youngsters in an UCL season. Plus injuries... ongoing and possible. it was essentially replacing Luiz with Zouma, who atm belongs in a far lower tier professionally.

Yeah. The dictating tempo bit is often forgotten: in possession systems, it is defending. if we are going away from a possession system, I will see what the fuck will Jorginho do?

The solid England cbs rarely made mistakes in the many WCs I’ve watched. They were still beaten and goals scored against their teams. The importance of solidity is misrepresented esp these days where most teams employ a variation of total football of the past. Sorry, but I just can’t see how losing another important player during the window we can’t sign players as a positive esp considering we are in the UCL.

Not great timing tho. while he’s definitely on the finicky side, he’s also excellent on the ball which does help implement possession styles. This might indicate a real change in play style under Lampard, but even then it is a bit unnerving given Luiz importance in the last seasons. andreas would be only CB in the squad with any skill esp passing ability. Well he would still be in London, so the business with willian should remain about the same.

You are not wrong, but then I have to remind myself that both KDB AND Salah were at our club. IMO if City keeps KDB healthy, they are contenders for pretty much everything.

While preseason does not tell you what works, it does tell you what doesn’t. Eg if bakayoko can’t control the football in a preseason match...

There is no reset button regarding drive and dedication between preseason, practice sessions, and actual games. It’s the same individual. This is hardly the first time. Wasn’t it the same in the second Jose season? like I’ve written before, this will always hold him back, but now I’m wondering whether it may also shorten his career as a top player.

I'm not so sure he is (better than what we have). He's in a smaller team in a free role having the entire team play for him. He produces a lot because he gets a lot of touches, which is the team strategy. He also enjoys a lot of counter attacking with all that pace he has - reminds me of Lukaku at everton (remember pointing that out back then). His defensive game is pretty much a big zero: does not track back or tackle anyway. So, at the very least, both Willian and Pedro are better in that so important defensive side at the top level. I'm not saying he's bad player. He's got good technique, good dribbling, and finishing. But I'm also not sure at all how he'd fare against stronger opposition in Europe. One could say there is only one way to find out, but it's an expensive bet. You can accuse me of bias, and you might be right, but the other Arsenal target, Everton (Soares) looks more ready even though he's younger and cheaper. Now, just read the post below and as a striker/false 9, then it might actually work.

Don’t read too much into it. Friendlies, even against stronger opposition, are for preparation only. Tackles are very light (to nonexistent) and players have a lot more time on the ball. players who are doing ok now may struggle at the real thing. It serves well to show what does Not work tho.

agreed. Risky, but necessary. Begs to question were they asleep? I don't necessarily mean last season, but even before. If the kid is being considered for the first team, why hasn't someone approached him for a new deal? If they had, and they refused, then 1) it was done too late 2) if done early enough, just keep him away from the first team. Weird situation either way. On top of the blunder above, how much does the "ban effect" must have increased his wages?

Well that’s the result of going into a negotiation not only without any leverage, but also with a hint of desperation.

Has he signed? BBC says that, “he’s set to sign a new contract before the start of the season.” Dunno if it’s just poorly written, or bad info, but I don’t read that he has signed.

A giant who happens to drive a mini. underrated player considering how much of a fucking nightmare must be to play against him. Wouldn’t wish that to anyone ... ok that last bit was a lie.

These guys were a much stronger opponent esp for a friendly this early. Damião not long ago was starting for Brazil and rightfully so. However, echoing what has been said, it is disappointing to see DD and esp bakayoko, doubly esp together in our midfield. perhaps we think a buyer will show up if we play them, but why?!