robsblubot

you keep reading things I did not write... 'in the same fashion' wtf? it is very easy to dismiss someone's point by saying ' don't give a rats ass about...' Kinda childish too. when did I say, in my original post that you disputed, that kante is not pacey, that he does not read the game well ... That he is not a great player?! what I said and maintain is that he cannot do certain things that taller and bigger players can, esp in tight spaces where his running won't help much. Such as aerial game ! that matic and kante are complementary because they have different virtues and deficiencies.

That's called an analogy. To make a point weight and height play a big part in sports like it or not. Dunno how you got the idea of changing the game from it... Yes the players I lost the football to were indeed better than I Because they were stronger! I got outmuscle out of plays by bigger fellas.... Not that hard to believe is it? Now if you think that can't happen, nothing else to say really. yes had I had better technique I might have been able to avoid that, but that's the compensating part-given same technique physically wins. really don't understand why you are going on an on kante tbh.

The fact that you found my point funny suggests we should stop discussing as we strongly disagree on this one. And you conveniently ignored the other points I made, about height and aerial disputes. there are infinite types of disputes that lead to no foul that favor the stronger/taller player, depending on refereeing style and league. I've lost the football countless times to players who were not more technical or faster than I, just taller and stronger. YMMV. PL is also known to be a league where power plays more of a part than in other leagues. Yes, you can compensate with a lot of technique. That's what Barcelona and Bayern do, but we are as far from them as Leicester is from us. Leicester city will come again and again as example to be followed, and I strongly believe it should not be.

he does and so did Ramires.... while Yaya looked mostly bored, he still came out with the football most often than not. I get that Kante is fearless just like Ramires was, and Kante can play football too (unlike Ramires)! Look there is a reason Boxing has divisions by weight. And then there is the aerial game which cannot be compensated by will alone - NFL prob proves that point well enough. clubs are well aware of these details and make sure they have a squad that has few limitations, being power, pace, or height. The PL is especially affected by virtues other than technique, or at least that's the rumor. We are already on the short side, so letting Matic go would only made sense if we had adequate replacement.

I don't disagree with your assessment of Kante's virtues. However, he is short and he will lose on the aerial duels and power, however an athlete he may be. Mass has little to do with athleticism: it's physics. We are talking about a 6'4" vs a 5'7"... a potential 20lb make it 30lb weight difference (matic is not skinny either). Sometimes the game won't allow Kante to get there first.... So, I do disagree concerning tight spaces and decisive games: I've seen yaya destroy our players too many times to not understand how power works in tight spaces. Until David Luiz was put in midfield and then Matic and Luiz together, we got overrun over and over again. Also, your general opinion of matic does not match the data: according to most here he's neither skilful, pacey, nor athletic. So, how on earth did he manage all those MotM for us? Reckon you are using, like many here do, last season too much when remembering what he does and did. Some players are forgiven for last season, others aren't. I have no problem with matic leaving if we get a proper replacement for him. Otherwise we will end up 10th again (give or take a few positions).

Imo little to do with athleticism. matic is a big fella with a lot of power while kante is short and lightweight. matic has a lot more chance to come out with the football in a dispute with yaya in tight spaces for example. btw in highly contested finals/decisive games - in all team sports actually - power > pace. different players that should complement each other really well.

people make it out to be a lot less dynamic than it actually is. Fabregas would be moved up but not that much... same as what they've tried to do with Oscar, but failed for one reason or another. Yes, on paper it is a pivot, but if a team only has 2 midfielders they'd get destroyed every time. Our best moments in the winning season were when everyone was pulling their weight - even oscar, so that opponents had no space and were allowed no time on the ball. Kante is far more technically gifted than Ramires was, so I think we are going to be a lot stronger in that area - matic staying or replaced by someone of the same caliber. However, I am a firm believer of the weakest link in football. As an (mediocre but pacey) attacker, I used to seek out weaker players (not that hard just move to where they are) and avoid the good ones: ex guy has a poor first touch, stay close; he's slow? run past him; can't read the game? movement... and unfortunately our squad has still just too many weak links that will be found whenever we face tough opponents - so no, not contenders yet.

Ramires with technique - both short and long passing range. fantastic signing even if far from enough to become contenders.

Matic did not have a good season for us - he had an amazing season and a very good half season. imo if mikel plays we are fucked - does not matter if it's a few minutes or an hour; good players will seek him out and skip past him. Not to mention our overall play against good sides gets too slow. with kante we still need a powerful player and matic has delivered before so he certainly can do it again. If not, we need a replacement in he same mould as kante is pretty small and lightweight - he needs space and does not do s well in tight spaces.

Slowness especially of movement is the only characteristic they share, but strangely enough it's what everybody talks about.

^^ not quite enough. I hope Conte is just being political as he ought to be by not dissing his own squad. If all we sign is Kante and a defender, the 2 he says, we are not top 4 contenders in my book. OK better to say we are questionable top4 contenders - depending on form and injure-free runs.

Only wished Mikel could tackle the way Oscar does... Big fan of Kante myself - need 1-2 more CM (1 if RLC is played there).

he seems to be one of the top coaches out there. Professional and tactically sound! However, none of this matters one bit if he doesn't get the players.

heh as good as they were, they won't pass first round with their high-tempo PL-built style. Anyway, Kante is a very good player but not the only B2b out there and certainly not the cheapest buy atm after the season they had. A club looking for a bargain should always stay clear of winning sides.

I'd go for Blind in a heartbeat if the rumors - that Jose isn't a fan - are true. He's the typical player Jose doesn't appreciate: very technical. This would be the perfect squad player (the 13th player)! TBH still don't understand how Jose ended up at united - never seen United employ the bulldozer style Jose is known for.

Matic is too slow for b2b Reckon they complement each other very well as kante is the far more mobile player - even more so than ramires

H come on! Pelle is 30, so it kinda makes sense for him to prioritize money at this time - perhaps his last contract? i was actually surprised by our interest in him.

agreed, but we don't do that and haven't had adequate cover forever. The top clubs have no mikels in their rosters: only we, liverpool, and united do. Matic had a poor season, did mikel provide adequate cover? How did we play? Hazard was subpar, so who stepped up? My point is that if we say we are ok with mikel coming on, and often like last season, then anything goes: ginkel and others could do such a role. I'd prefer we had 2 similar players for every position (or at least cover) but that's not how the club is run.

disagree with the reasons above as I hardly think Mikel is a chelsea or any remotely top club player. However, the problem isn't so much quality, but characteristics. Ginkel looks like a player who does better a bit up in the field, unless he's been doing what asked and can play a more defensive role, in which case then he should def replace mikel.

because 10 clubs thought the same are in talks with him over the move. He's negotiating the best deal for him: all that bargain is going to go into the wages and bonuses in the winning bid. good players are expensive.

100x better than Mikel, so a pretty good rotation/first team option. One more CM if we keep Matic, or two more if not.

what bothers me isn't so much the fact that we don't acquire our targets, but the fact we seem clueless in finding out whether they are acquirable or not. I did reply earlier that the club should be indeed working on multiple fronts at the same time, but each takes time and money, so focusing on attainable targets is a must. Not that surprising with the folks there to be honest.

I'd just take a larger stack of cash thank you. mediocre #9

It's not sequential... they don't have to wait for the answer before they move on. I'm not confident we are getting our players because I think our people aren't really that great in the window, but they should be working on multiple deals at the same time fully knowing that the majority won't go though.

(the goal) that's why you do business before the Euros or not at all.