robsblubot

Heh seen that done about a thousand times before: players given a specific instruction by the manager, but adapting to what is happening on the pitch. And that’s an assumption being tossed around here too: that he was forbidden to drop back and create! The point of a false 9 is exactly that: he’s Not a 9.

That’s not the issue, really. I basically said that anyone else could’ve replaced hazard and done the same: nothing. and a lot cheaper too... see hazard costs more to Chelsea than a reg squad player (wages and free role mentioned by a number of players) so naturally it is expected more from him than other players. assuming that he is a top 5 player, I don’t think he is, I expected him to drop back and create plays or try to. He did neither. it is crazy that he ends up creating next to nothing in an important game and people are ok with it. and I am the one bashing though... I’d call expecting the bare minimum. i don’t like Neymar actually, but he’s better than hazard. Don’t like William or Fernandinho... so much for being Brazilian... not even that much a fan of Brazil (I’m from the south kinda Barca relation with Spain) still waiting for the odd Belgium to offer a single piece of criticism for hazard though. Looks like this forum will go quiet once hazard leaves.

suggest the mods create a ‘praising the little magician thread’ where all hazard and belgium fans can praise him without distractions, nonstop 24/7.

So... what’s your point then? Switch clubs? Become Real Madrid fans where hazard Will finally fulfill his potential and win games by himself like the other top5 players do? support city because they have more money and better players? Once again hazard is our key player on super high wages... if he needs more incentive than that then he can fuck off. players come and go, but the club stays. Even the scouts and coaches who don’t seem to understand the transfer market will leave one day.

He could have done literally anything, which would be more than he did... There is the top5 player folks here talk about, and there hazard who we see vanish in games quite often actually. anyway I’m looking forward for a definition. Either he signs a contract and commits or fuck off.

Yes and no. my point is that it does not matter that much. I feel that Eden can do no wrong here, while it should be the other way around: he is the key player on higher wages and enjoys more of a free role, and folks pit him as a top5 player. It’s just odd that those statements are usually followed by false9, poor tactics, or lack of overall quality of the squad. I fully understand these things can affect his performance, but using as an excuse for his disinterested showing against city does not work in my head.

With all the caveats out of the way, including the false 9 thing, it was a pretty poor performance against city. He was good against Barca, but not this time. contrary to others here, I don’t really give two fucks about whether he’s thinking about real or doesn’t like contes tactics, his performance was not good enough esp considering his importance and role in the team.

One more striker to sit on the bench... why not ?!

Agree on United (because of their weaknesses in defense), but not on city... for me they have 3+ players of hazard level - give or take form.

Nitpick, but technically you prob want to say it’s an average squad even with hazard. That hazard alone is not enough to bring the average side to being good. i slightly disagree though. I’d say it’s a good squad, but not great, and to compete with united and esp city you need great.

Disagree. Fernandinho is an OK/good player and the system makes him look better. Gundogan is a better player with better technique and better pass, which are the most important things in Guardiola's system. All players close down and defend in that system. Arsenal momentary impetus was just because they were at home, but for me City had a very easy time the entire game and at no moment Arsenal were in it. Concerning us, they destroyed Arsenal in the first half and had a training session in the second - giving a few minutes to returning players like Jesus. So,don't think they will be tired against us. However, there is no excuse for tackling like Arsenal did today, so I expect that we will defend a lot better. We will still probably lose though... just because they are the vastly superior team: better coached, and in better form.

City are playing fantastic football and Sane looks like a top top player in the making, but arsenal cannot defend to save their lives. Weak tackles and overall lack of aggression makes them easy prey for city.

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.