robsblubot

Agreed... torres added close to nothing while Morata is a good player who's been very poor at finishing and struggling physically. However, it's easy to perceive physical inaptitude as lack of desire. It's very difficult to show desire and to fight when you don't have the tools and end up losing most 50/50s. When you are always in pain, and do go down easily, or at least more easily than your teammates. I disagree that it's all in his head and that a talk may do the trick. Shoot for next season... he might be physically stronger then, with the right preparation. Don't really think it matters that much though... bring any striker here and the team would still struggle. Our midfield is very weak.

that team was completely out of its depth playing that final, but Drogba was still was class... how the hell did he power that in!? Morata is a good player. We need a great player, so we need him to improve, but he did well considering that our team and esp the system fizzled out this season... nope, don't think Diego staying would've made any difference. People don't want to hear it, but losing MAtic was the biggest downgrade from last season. Midfield is where all things happen and I've always thought that these 3-CB systems put an additional strain on the midfield.

If he's to join us at 29, then he's not/no longer a top striker. So, if he does join Chelsea, then we probably didn't need him that badly and should have looked elsewhere for more adequate (longer term) options.

yup it was... esp to United. Many here warned that Matic was severely underrated, showcased by opinions as well as stats (including MotM performances in tight games). But folks thought it would be simple to replace him. It is definitely not simple to replace a player like Matic because he is a quality player. No, not a world beater, but to replace him you either have to lure one of the other quality midfielders out there, or make bets (like we did with Bakayoko). I'm glad their defense is poor and that they end up playing Ashley Young more often than not. That will limit them for a while... prob at least until a less conservative manager takes over.

heh you just cited 2... Ozil played many years at RM. Is Benzema any different? Alexis very similar in my mind - just a bit more decisive with his goals. I will give you one example of extreme quality and zero (on and off the pitch) desire: Ronaldinho And he was still a top top player for top teams. Maradona had the same quality and a hell LOT more desire, which made him the FAR superior player. Of course clubs try to find a balance between technique, work rate, desire, and leadership to have a competitive team, but the higher you go the more difficult it is to employ players without excellent technique, even defenders. That's what Guardiola has been showing us. Of course once in a while we see a player like R9 (before losing his knees), or nowadays (to a lesser degree) CR, who have it all: quality, desire, and physique.

Even in the example given, fight and desire alone lost that game like many others before. Despite having good players in Mata, Lampard, and Cole. Drogba's quality got the tie we needed. It's not only how much more important quality is over desire, but how much more difficult it is to find quality. Top teams never EVER sign players who do not have quality/technique. Medium and smaller sides do sign players who are essentially just pure desire and work rate, but that's why their are smaller. There is a lot of fight and desire in the lower leagues

heh always thought fans overplayed "fight" and "desire", and something that can be mixed up with overall quality. Lukaku's not a donkey, a terrible player, so he has moments that his descent technique, in conjunction with superior physique, give him an edge; that makes him a good striker, not a great one. Lukaku has one of the lowest work rate I've ever seen in a striker. When the football is not near him, he's not involved at all. IMO Morata's issues are related more to his lack of physicality, than his desire That's the easiest (by far) weakness to correct in a player. So much so that we've seen it done hundreds of times before. Whether Morata has the drive to go through it (long hours at the gym), that's a different story. Morata has the technique and creativity that Lukaku will never have, so it makes sense to bet on Morata.

But but United have lukaku! and he starts every match, in training, friendlies, cups, and PL.

Our defense and middle were shaky against united too. Just a bit pedantic at times giving up possession far too easily, which showcased the lack of creativity you referred to. Truth is that no matter who plays and what the starting line up is, we just don't have a great team. It's a good team, but just not good enough to compete against the top clubs.

Average players have good games too. he’s a good striker... will never be a great striker, but not mediocre/average either because of his physical attributes. Still takes a specific system to play a striker like him, and have my doubts United is it.

We don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes and the club cannot disclose, but he could and should be working on bulking up a bit - done a thousand times before. either way Giroud and morata must not be feeling full of confidence at the moment. had Diego been here and he would have started against barca. So much for the false nine BS when you have an in form striker...

It’s good information and detail but somewhat poor implied conclusion. it was a terrible mistake by Andreas - a bad decision compunded by poor execution and technique. of course there were other collective mistakes, but the worst mistake, by far, was andreas’. with that out of the way, not too worried about it. It was such a bad and uncharacteristic mistake that he will correct that naturally as he progresses as a footballer.

Hah difficult to judge at this point. They both might end up becoming quality cbs in their own right and a bit different too. I think stones might have an edge bc ball-playing cbs are more difficult to find, but Andreas is better in the air and has better composure, which is really something else, esp considering his age.

ah so true! and some (most?) of us want a bye year/season where the right manager can build a squad, and most importantly, a style of play. The club will never be OK with that.

I don't particularly like Conte's tactics, but like his man management. I was pretty upset we missed out on Stones, mistakes and all, but Christensen is similar (less technical but more composed), so I am very happy he's become a key member of the squad. One of my fav players already.

First, I am not playing, so however I might feel is very unlikely to affect the outcome of the game. Second, 1x1 in the first leg at home against strong opposition is never ever a good result. I find it intriguing that folks here are so positive. Of course we have a chance, but it's just not a very good one. BTW, it's NOT bad luck when you play zero strikers, and as a result, have a harder time scoring goals...

If he does stay, and goes ask for a striker in the summer what would the board's response be? Perhaps they should ask, "if we buy a 3rd striker will you play them?" Oldest trick in the book and completely inexcusable when playing at home IMO. Populate the midfield which provides volume of play sacrificing your ability to score. 1x1 at home against a better team in a single-elimination comp is never a good result. Sorry, but he chose to go out in style - by not losing by much - thinking about his resume and next job.

great points esp concerning the youngsters... but I think Stones was good against Hull (and Wigan too despite pundits thinking he was walker ) I disagree about the tactics though: these are cowardly small team tactics IMO. Yes, we had volume of play esp first half, which came with the hefty price of not employing strikers. That's what strikers can help with: they increase your odds of scoring with a specialist in the team, so not playing one at home regardless of opposition is just inexcusable to me. It's also in games like these that I think Hazard is less special than folks here make him out to be - expected more from him.

Nah we are out. Decent performance, but poor result. barcelona are much stronger at home, so expect a much more difficult game.

Nah I got your point - was just pulling your leg. though in terms of characteristics alone I agree with MoSalah above in that he’s far more like a b2b which is toure, not vieira. tbf as good a toure was, vieira was prob one the best holding mids I ever seen play the game.

TC going the extra mile... like insulting Toure just wasn’t enough was it?

The only thing that can get us a goal against Barcelona is pace. Giroud has none whatsoever. (IMO morata is also twice the player but that’s imo). dont think we will get to see much of the football even at SB. At least Baka not playing helps too as he’d be handing the ball back to Barca way too often.

I think it's the other way around: Alonso is described around here as a terrible player, who can't defend and can't attack. So, people like me are just saying he's actually a good (to very good) player, who can attack (unless scoring goals is not attacking) and can defend (unless winning several aerial headers in our box is not defending). I posted a video showcasing his long range passing and overall good technique in his thread a while back. If people think it's not consistent enough, or still not good enough, that's absolutely fair. Just denying his obvious and numerous attributes is silly in my eyes. Anyway, Palmieri looks good indeed. (still need to consider the level of the opposition though)

That’s 3 angles actually, counting the confused one. not really.. sometimes numbers and eyeballs tell different stories.Like he can score goals like a lot of other strikers out there. And he is just isn’t good enough. difficult to know whether Belgium will make due with either, but my money is on that neither will be good enough for them.

he def should! they are similar players: not really great footballers, but competent goal scorers. And Michy is scoring a lot more than Lukaku.