robsblubot

French guys I know say he's extremely injury-prone, so I'd stay clear....

Interesting list to put things in perspective. As one who thinks Morata has good technique, I find that often the problem is not so much his finishing, as most folk complain, but rather his lack of intensity at times, which makes his work rate just not good enough at this level. Say, when he's in an off-day, he's just not participating enough to be an asset. All players in that list, with Lukaku being the obvious exception, do a hell lot more even when not scoring. Mo Salah would be a player who does not really need goals to make an impact, and the fact he is even in that list is pretty impressive. Sarri said it best: Morata's "fragile." While most people think mentally, I think also physically and they happen to be linked: if a player is physically weak and loses most physical disputes, he will naturally lose confidence as a result. I've seen players bulk up shortly after joining a PL club, but it does not look like Morata has been hitting the gym - hope I'm wrong.

never been a fan, but he was a good player and did work well under different managers and systems. Plenty of silverware as proof. The guy may be past prime, but he's also missing match fitness.

Which one did you not get? Ah the pressure against promising youngsters preventing them from getting minutes and showcase their talent? happens all the time during contract negotiations. Clubs have very little leverage these days, so they use whatever they can. You are reading as if I'm saying what's the best course of action. And what I am actually doing is trying to understand what the situation the club is in and why they are doing what they are doing. I tend to give paid (some very well) professionals the benefit of the doubt, esp when dealing with contracts. Anyway, I do hope they know what they are doing.

We do have a problem holding on to young players, no argument there. I did not say he's not that good, just that the coaches might (keyword here since I don't know) think he's not worth what he/his agent is asking to renew. Personally, I couldn't care less about preseason though - they don't tackle in preseason. Maybe he stinks in practice and cannot withstand the tackling of senior players. Someone who watches him in practice may shed some light. Once again, I did not say it's not a disaster, or that he's not great, just that we don't know what they, at the club, think of him. Nor do we Know the communication between the player and club. Is the agent asking for too much? Is he just hard to find? Unwilling to discuss a new deal? Some of these folks at the club, esp scouts, make a lot of money and are well connected.

I don't disagree, but you are both making an assumption that he may not leave, and thinking about him alone. Perhaps the club already knows he will leave, in which case he shouldn't really be getting minutes at all. That's the time the club must not be nice as any form of punishment can become a deterrent for similar actions by other players. Maybe he's asking for key player wages and the coaches are thinking he's not all that: good but not great. Again, I don't have the information about what's going on with him, but don't think it's that simple (give me minutes and he will stay).

Isn't CHO's deal running out soon? In such cases, it may not be in the club's best interest to give the player a lot of playing time. Yes, it (not giving him minutes) may make the player unhappy, but it may also diminish his value to potential buyers, which at the same time makes whatever the club is offering more appealing to him/agent. I'm not saying we do great with youth, far from it, just that things are a bit more complicated than than when you are dealing with contracts, agents, and individual career goals/ambition.

^^ that's because he is a striker. This ship has sailed. Whatever little chance we had when he was down, it's over now that he's on-form again.

RLC at the moment will never play in CM IMO. Sarri has already hinted that he needs to improve defensively. Even though Barkley does not defend or keep possession as well as Kovacic, he still has the dynamism that RLC lacks. I do like RLC because he's got the technique to become a very good player. Reckon that at this time he will only be given minutes in one of the advanced positions: CAM, RW, or LW.

good point. If KDb and Salah could not get a game, RLC chances don't look so good. On the other hand, things could change if we get CL for next season with a lot more important games in the schedule. The problem is that every manager is under pressure with little to no incentive to take chances with younger players. So, either these players show a lot in practice or they won't get minutes. I know that some players simply have that drive to impress the manager in practice sessions, while others don't. Don't see this changing until our managers last longer than a season or two.

Thanks and I also disagree with your opinion. And if he does not do that (justify hazard) what the hell will he write about?

I hear you and it seems many rate him, which is fine. I think he’s a good player, but not that impressed - don’t rate bundesliga highly either. I just don’t think these are easy comparisons to make. Arsenal is a team, and club, that favors attacking (historically) and its current starting line does too. Their style of play will make the life of attacking players easier, but will also make defending a nightmare. i hear opinions about slotting that player, here. Replacing his with that. They are ideas, or theories, and sometimes wishful thinking (that a reserve offers more than a starter). The fact is that we don’t know. Is it likely aubameyang would be done better than morata? Yes, in hindsight we do now know what did not work (morata).

Stand by what I said. they are good players, not great. We need great players to significantly improve our team. my point is that replacing a 5.5 with a 6.0, while an improvement, won’t cut it. couldnt care less about stats in different leagues, diff conditions. These things aren’t comparable. I see them at Arsenal and judge them by what I see.

Exactly my point. He’s not dedicated enough to turn it around. He should’ve been hitting the gym hard and getting stronger and stronger, and yet we see the very same player a year later. he doesn’t not seem to care.

I don’t deny they were poor touches. He was under pressure at all times, with a guy breathing down his neck. Lukaku imo has much inferior technique, but because he’s stronger, he manages to find spaces more easily (not lying on the ground as much either). In empty spaces it is easier to pick a pass or take shot. either way, it does not look like morata has the drive to turn it around. He looks the same as before and a bit disinterested at that.

If that happens we are fucked. We would still be strikerless, and lose the key player. Mostly disagree with many of the criticisms here. United is a very strong team, who seem to be starting to play better as a team. Getting “the other guy” here who’s virtue is merely not being “the one” we dislike isn’t going to cut it. We have nothing close to pogba in midfield. Our star player is not a big game winner. Willian is innefective and the striker is struggling: looks defeated accepting the situation, so he needs to go. luiz does the usual great play followed by a mistake, but I thought United midfield with matic and esp pogba were too much for us. Matic strted poorly, but grew into the game and was better than Jorginho.

I disagree. I think he has very good technique. It’s his physique that lets him down esp in tough games. I was expecting him to work hard and bulk up a bit. I mean he is young enough to do that, but it does not seem is very dedicated guy either. Does not look like he can turn it around here. He needs to move to a less physical league.

Morata should,d thank Willian today against United. Out of the two glaring subpar performances of the team, Willian managed to be the worst chelsea player on the pitch.

Morata could not link up with anyone today - very poor. They weren’t really in the same areas of the pitch most of the time, which was worrying to me. Still eden was also pretty poor on his own against united today. This is the type of game where he has to mix it up a bit. He can’t expect that his dribbling will be as effective against tight marking and quality opposition.

Think I'd still call it unprofessional, especially considering all clubs are rivals in nature. I cannot imagine employees lasting a day in their jobs if they start talking, or say tweeting, about joining a diff company - let alone a rival company. Being professional also involves respecting your current employer publicly, which I personally don't think Hazard does when he makes those frequent comments. Perhaps he's lacking professional support around him. An agent can make some noise, and they usually do that behind the scenes, not to the public. I would say that KDB is a more professional football player than Hazard (and Lukaku), just to keep it between the Belgians.

heh wanting to go somewhere is totally OK, but of course these players can't stop talking about it. It's not just unprofessional in football; it's also unprofessional in the corporate world. Was hoping Eden would take clues from KDB, not Courtois on how to deal with the media...

Heh Torres had no pace left when he joined us. Every time he started to show something of his former self, he'd pick up one of his niggling injuries and turn into a snail. Morata is all pace, good runs, link up play, and poor finishing. He's really good in the air - better than Torres ever was. The most important difference is that Morata can be sold. It's funny how perceptions go, I think aubameyang and Lacazette are essentially at the same level of Morata: good players, not great players.

Heh a lot other players handle those questions 100x better. Yes stay polite, but say you cannot comment on transfer talk. Let the agents talk. It really isn't his place to answer these question while he is well employed by Chelsea. Chelsea is being very nice here. About the contract, that's not how footballers think about their careers: they (and their agents) fully understand that their time to earn money (esp high wages) is limited, so they rarely refuse bumps the clubs offer. Contracts may even contain certain clauses such as minimum fee, a percentage of the fee, and so on. For me, the fact he has waited this long can only mean he does not want to sign. I have a hard time believing any other explanation -- it just does not make sense in my head. Like we've discussed here, the market may change and RM may not be so interested, but I think Eden has made abundantly clear - by actions as well as talk - what he wants.

Right but why should we “take away” his blatant and constant flirting with another club? That’s unprofessional to say the least. besides, his actions, by being unwilling to negotiate a new deal, perfectly match what he says, esp lately.

^^ That's how I feel when folks compare Eden with other players, who led their sides in CL and to trophies. I'm not saying Hazard is incapable of doing that, just that he hasn't done that. I personally consider his CL performances, in general, VERY subpar for the player he is. @Jason IMO Sarri is speaking TO Hazard, not about him. He's telling him what he needs to do to get to the next level. Lift his head up and play to the strength of the team. Football is a collective game, and there is really very little a single player can do if the team does not work. That side, the vision - seeing the game and the best way to influence it - is what I think KDB had an edge over Eden. On the contract situation, if Eden wanted to stay he'd have already signed a new deal long before and would be one of the highest paid players in the word. IMO the only reason he has not is because he does want to leave and go to RM. Yes, there is a chance they won't move for him, but I think they will esp because he won't be that expensive being in the last year of his contract. RM can get Neymar AND Eden, or Eden AND Mbappe... yes they are that rich and all players want to go there.