robsblubot

So, I ask again, if Bayern did not see him enough, why do they want him? For his nice smile? Because Odoi's agent convinced Bayern that Odoi is the next messi? Come on! They want him because Bayern scouts saw him play (senior and youth levels) and liked what they saw. My point remains that the club has control over that and could have made his appearances more difficult until he signed a new deal. While I know it has happened before, the players rarely stays once he hands in a transfer request. The relationship between player/agent and club becomes more difficult than before. You may have your opinion and I have mine: trusting that he will become happy with more appearances is naive. There is no guarantees and the club should not bend backwards for this little shit.

Bayern saw him play somewhere did they not? Or was it just agent talk? when a young player does not have much time left, it is very common practice to remove him from rotation in all fronts. thats literally the only power the clubs have these days, with the scale tipped heavily towards players and agents. Trusting loyalty or that he will sign a new deal if given enough minutes is naive at best imo.

Agreed. Also, imo the problem wasn’t that he did not play enough, but that he played too much given his contractual situation. had he been under the radar, there would be no England, no Bayern, and he’d be far more willing to sign a new deal. imo the fuckup wasn’t the lack of minutes. Do that with the other youngsters and watch them all go or cost a fortune to renew. It’s a no-win situation for the club: player does well, attracts buyers, making hard to renew; player does poorly and is willing to renew no prob yay!

So, basically you are saying lack of confidence will never be a problem?

Have to disagree with you: higuain first touch against Cardiff was embarrassing... something you’d expect from a retiree who’s way past his prime. i was never a fan, but this was way below his or this level.

Losers’ cry. He has a legitimate complaint about the goal, obviously, but that’s about it. And refs do miss that type of offside a lot because when alonso wins the header it’s a different check and refs might have been looking elsewhere. Of course it’s a bad mistake, but just pointing out it does happen. cardiff is stil a shitty side that prob deserved to lose, but we were very poor. higuain was the worst player on the pitch today and I am honestly missing morata.

heh always thought stones was going to become a great player: technique was always there and his poor decision making was normal for age I'm really not a fan of Coutinho as a footballer. He's got great technique in specific areas, and not so good in others. He's like the polar opposite of Eden as characteristics goes for an attacking mid... he's also super fragile which is a bigger problem in tough matches.

heh this is good news actually. Obviously Sarri is just parroting what the club told him to say.

And had s monster game against Malta. weak opposition changes everything doesn’t it?

"it's Montenegro but," well the most important thing is that it was against very weak opposition. While I do like Ross and agree he can still improve becoming an important player for us, this performance means very little. The same applies to Odoi, but CHO fans will have a meltdown as usual.

yeah I have a feeling a 3-year tenure plus a package would've been the goal. can't see that happening now tho.

Not sure credit with the fans will help sarri much. Reckon only results would appease the trigger-happy owner. Yes that’s the situation we are in... it made no sense to me that Odoi would have been out in the showroom with not enough time left on his contract... that’s very weird and suggests someone fucked up big time. now it is a bad situation for the club, having to convince him to stay. Odoi’s agent, and himself must be loving it... auction is On!

I could not care less about sarri myself, but what's in for him? How does Odoi's being so "promising" help him right now? What does he get by developing Odoi? that's the root problem with the club, not this particular manager. Have a feeling sarri is not really working "long term" at the moment.

8/10 as a footballer and 4/10 as a striker against Norway.

Usually when a regular has as bad of a game as alonso did (and I'm not even talking about the PK, which happens), he starts the next game. Just saying that's usually how it goes. Regarding Odoi, what's in for Sarri to start him? Will he outperform Pedro and Willian for sure? Or is he still a promising prospect (all agree on that)? If the latter why would a very much under pressure manager ever bother with him?

it's the nouveau riche effect...

Alonso might run like a turtle, but Eden is the only who looks the part.

please get back on topic It's been a long time since we last talked about alonso and he might be missing us dearly. We need to remind him how slow and tall he is, as well how much a liability in defense he can be... yes, he forgets.

Agreed, but they can't break the laws when the laws are written by them and for them, can they? Can you have democracy when billionaires (includes companies and groups) exert far more influence in the political system than the voting population?

The systems I know that worked well, with 4 in the back and attacking FBs, seamlessly switched between 4 and 3 in the back. So, Alonso or another attacking FB would not have to drop back that much -- possibly improving his attacking output -- while Azpi would not have to go up much, prob also improving his defense (less useless running). That's why Azpi did better as a 3rd CB... same with alonso as a wingback. There is also an option of adding DMs for cover, but it limits the midfield. I'm sure his system can work, but not sure with the players at his disposal.

the system Sarri is trying to implement relies on possession to defend. This is the same as Guardiola. That's why he has Jorginho as a DLP as opposed to a DM. It's a different way of thinking about defending. Now to your point, as soon as Everton started pressing our passing went down the drain. And you still need all of our players pressing the opposition when we don't have the ball... Eden does not do that at all, and others not enough...

disagree. A fullback is only a defender in very specific systems and formations: say in the very English and outdated 2-lines 442/4411. real won everything with the worst defender as a left back. Half the fbs listed here as options are attacking ones like telles. attacking fbs are not a new thing. I cannot go past the manager on this one: Seen about 10 different successful systems with 4 in the back and one very attacking fullback. Never w/ 2 attacking fullbacks tho. he plays Alonso and relies on him to defend: his own fault

Because it’s recurring with this club... Not mutually exclusive: he may be a bad manager and the players exert too much power.to your point, while the players may not believe in the manager, it’s also the managers job to sell his ideas to the players. regarding the post above, football would be a far less interesting game to me if formation and tactics were that static. while I agree that alonso is poor at defending — sample on Emerson is still small — the only one forcing him to defend is the current manager. a better manager would either produce a system in which Alonso does not have to defend, change formation, or play a better defender.

Yes, can’t imagine him being around next season. Player power and they are not playing for him. thats why I think squad discussions are premature esp around the ban.

Heh If he’s going to replace Marcelo, don’t think he will need to defend at all. btw, we don’t know how the next manager will play (here or there). We might go back to 3 in the back, which might be a better choice considering we have no fullback in the roster.