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I basically said: is Sarri, in your opinion, selecting the wrong players? simple question.

So, basically you are saying that the person who not only conceived such system, implements the system, watches these players every day, has a number of paid professionals helping him accessing these players, is a quack? Because I was assuming that Sarri knows what he is doing and he's fairly capable of selecting the best players for *his* system. And yet Willian starts...

Well, it’s diffcult to detect any nuance when one defines a number of players as shit. I used similar hyperbole there to make a point, because in general youngster are all shit. They are not yet ready to play full time hence your point of getting minutes, which I have nothing against. He lacks in other areas though and will struggle which is normal. my point remains that if you call Willian, who has been average for a long time, shit then it’s difficult to rate the aspiring substitute any different.

heh you seem to have a very binary way to define players, one which I strongly disagree with. Not sure why you mentioned Robinho and Pato since they were never really good players (Willian has done more than either). Cesc's legs were gone long ago. Most players are not merely good or bad, or better or worse. They are above all different in what they do. Most of our players are at least decent and would easily play elsewhere. If we play City or Pool and we start CHO instead of Willian (something no sane manager would ever do), we'd be more likely to lose the game. Not because Willian will produce more in attack, but because he would not do so many things that Willian does, which would hurt the team and our chances against such opposition. Willian is a good team player even if lacks in the final third. Now if the discussion is around finding a better player than Willian in the market, one who does what Willian does and also has an end product, then that would be a far more interesting one to have. @scargo Well for me CHO is utter shit right now. He's a fucking youngster who has not done anything yet, literally. He's naive in his game, does not track back at all (low work rate), has no physicality and therefore will likely vanish in any remotely competitive match. He's got potential but that does not make him ready for us. Will he become a good player in a couple/few years? Probably, but maybe not. He will likely never reach Eden's level (few do). If he does not sign a new deal I honestly couldn't care less.

Sorry, another comparison I strongly disagree with. There are players who do well against stronger opposition and players who do poorly against stronger opposition. In general, younger players do poorly against stronger opposition, which is why you don't see a whole lot of them starting for the top clubs. The physical and mental aspects of the game play a very big part in tough matches. Willian has had really good single-elimination CL games (more than Eden for ex). Willian does well against stronger opposition because he is a team player, regardless of his end product. There is a reason many top clubs and managers rate him - don't really understand why folks choose to ignore this fact. Odoi was very poor against Watford. Eden has had poor games against smaller sides where he's contained by physicality. The same would happen to Odoi, but far more often. He's an 18yo player who will get opportunities as he should. Now, if folks here think he is right now better than Willian, then it's really a discussion that does not interest me. And I'm far from a WIllian fan.

Good for him, but people are disregarding the opposition, which is something fans often do. Please don’t compare completely unequal things... it’s silly. otherwise, to be consistent, we’d have to say morata is great too! The quality of the opposition is basically everything.

Careful here... only recall if there is a solid pl club interested. Take morata’s 2 goals against weaker opposition when considering Tammy’s goal tally. He looked very green last time playing for us.

He's just good enough for a top club IMO - not even for free. Lacks work rate and concentration - very inconsistent player, even if got better lately.

out of respect for people in certain countries, wish folks would refrain from using anything "great again." I hate Diego. I really do... fucking nutcase. Had everything and started forcing a move first to china then back to madrid. End of the day, the guy did not adapt to life in london and there is really no reason to expect it will be any different if back.

He has. I've always thought DL would fit a possession side like a glove. I've been involved in numerous arguments about that over the years... many on this very thread. It's a interesting way of thinking about defending, which can be a bit counter-intuitive. It applies to other players too who are considered "bad defenders" and yet work well in a possession system, because they can pass the ball well, even under pressure. You cannot be attacked and therefore don't have to chase and tackle the opponent as much if you keep the football most of the time. And the weird part of it is that much superior defenders, at reading the game and tackling, would not work at all in possession systems. Godin from Atletico for ex, or even our great Carvalho. I remember Terry (when he still had legs) playing a high line under AVB... something to forget actually. Cahill at his peak would still be a terrible player in this system.

I honestly do NOT get the the outrage about him no getting minutes. OK maybe there is a point about Cups, but not PL. He's 18 and not nearly at the level of the senior players at a club like Chelsea. If he has indeed already agreed with Bayern and is not going to sign an extension, then do NOT sell him. Drop him to the youth team and let him rot there for an year and a half. Sometimes it's more important to show to the other players and the next CHOs that the club can play hardball. There are a lot of players at his age that show as much potential as he does, or more. The development from now on will determine what he will do in football... forcing an exit at 18 is definitely NOT a good start.

That's the thing (goals) Ross and RLC can bring to the Cm trio. Nothing is for free, so we lose solidity to get more attacking minded players in CM. Kante has been doing that pretty well and he has the dynamism to make those runs and get into position to score. While I agree that the starting trio does not have many goals in them, I think Kovacic can potentailly play the Jorginho role well enough. He's got very similar characteristics and excellent short passing. Yes, he's more nimble and dynamic, but you never get the exact same player when rotating.

Agreed Ross is superior in the cm atm. Unless we really want to open up in which case RLC would provide those extra runs from the back. kinda ironic how we are now fine in the CM department. Great options for sarri there.

Perhaps that's what you meant, but I don't know how else to interpret this: I was replying to the bolded points. My point remains that he cannot be flexible with the squad he has: he's using the players who can best carry out his ideas. Some of the players folks here want him to give minutes to just don't have the technique (as in passing) to play in that system. Possession is working. It provides defensive solidity and is still improving making us more difficult to break. The team lacks attacking quality and there is little Sarri can do about that. Short of moving Alonso to striker position, which would be a huge gamble on its own (and then buying a new technical LB), the club needs to go shopping.

Think you are implicitly making an assumption about the squad. By suggesting that a diff manager, like guardiola, would rotate more and tweak things by using more of the players in the squad even players with different characteristics. I am merely suggesting that sarri may think this, what he’s been doing, is as much tweaking he can possibly do with the squad at his disposal. That he may think, for example, that some players are just not good enough at passing to play for him. Something that would be akin to guardiolas thinking. besides sarri has already tweaked plenty esp defensively. We are far more difficult to break these days. attacking is a different matter because we just lack quality up front and I consider hazard not the fittest of players, but that’s just my take on his inconsistency.

How is he more inflexible than guardiola? Because he does not start Emerson ? how do you know guardiola would start him or even have him in the roster? Maybe sarri thinks very little of Emerson (not his player) and so would guardiola. because he does not give minutes to CHO? Again how do you know guardiola would give minutes to a 18yo who does not impress him in practice and in the few minutes he plays? sorry I don’t think the squads are remotely comparable.

Possession football is as much about defending as it is about attacking. Both Luiz and Alonso are great for that style because of their passing (their passing at CP was top notch). Our defense has been looking much better lately, but people will complain. we do know the attack is lacking and eden gets tired, and therefore more easily contained.

Haven’t and likely will not watch the game but a small squad has been an issue for a long time and it will always become a problem at this time of the year. Heck we’ve gone though CL with a small squad before... I know it’s another intangible, but players do get tired esp without rotation. And the coach will only use players he trusts.

Totally understand why they did that tho. Makes life a lot easier in the USA, by not having to deal with letters with accents. welcome to the club!!! Great to have promising youngsters in the squad. What they do an how much they play is entirely up to them. And a very good problem for the manager.

That sums it up nicely

Sure, but players gel at their own time and I did not say you aren’t allowed to improve here and there esp when a quality player becomes available, like vvd. still a bit early to call it tho. City is in a slump, but they are recovering their best player, so they will come out stronger. and then there is the real target: Europe which Liverpool is def more ready with quality subs this time around. Yet the teams who win are always the ones playing together for a long time. not sure I understand your point about bakayoko. He’s a bad player (for us) and needed going - our midfield is 10x stronger without him.

Every fantastic side is a side with the mostly the same players over 2-3 seasons. fans simply don’t value chemistry that highly. Prob too intangible, but it’s evidently important.

Willian does not assist, he shoots... wide.

Think more about the nerves and he still does not know how to deal with certain situations which happen in a PL game. I'd downplay the injury/discomfort because all players often play with niggling injuries - they are rarely 100% during a long season. It's just part of life as a pro footballer. He's just not ready yet. He's only 18... need to be patient here.

Disagree. Shit players, like Bertrand for example, all play for those smaller clubs. None play for Spain. another terrible player beloved here, Ake. it’s a very competitive market. Truly shit players don’t make it here. Even the ones that look terrible, like bakayoko, are still employable elsewhere and would even be stars in certain leagues. It’s all relative...Willian would be he very best player at Leicester for ex.