robsblubot

causality is more difficult to establish than that... Are players actually *better* because their teams do better? Aren't just the better teams making their players look better as usual? Likewise, bad teams make their players look bad because defenders are left exposed and attackers less involved. And then we go back to my earlier point: since the money pool (tickets, merchandise, advertizement, etc) is more equally divided in England with more than one top club in London and Manchester, Real, Bayern, and Barca will always have this edge; hence better teams and better individual quality can be purchased (100m buys). Chelsea makes $50 buys, and so does Arsenal... perhaps a single London club would have been able to make 100m buys without much of a problem like Real can. This is really capitalism at work.

I don't think you got my point. Think about a hypothetical world where London had a single top club and Manchester another; those two clubs would be really powerful and compete with real and bayern for the absolutely top players. I don't disagree they have the edge right now, but that wasn't my point: there is really no other way with the number of clubs in London and Manchester. I can't make a better point than this; for actual numbers and better reasoning check out soccernomic book.

I couldn't disagree more. PL does not sign players, clubs do. And the pool of resources (money) in the EPL is more equally divided than in the other leagues. You have 4 big clubs who sign top players, plus 1-2 clubs which can on occasion be competitive. the PL is the best league for me because the money pool is more diluted, not despite of it. Look at Germany! It's a one club race! Where Dortmunt's best players leave for Bayern... Real Madrid and Barcelona in Spain, with Atletico once in a blue moon. Italy would be the only league with more contenders, but they are in a terrible crisis. No, the PL is indeed the best league in the world with the greatest concentration of top teams and quality players.

Good post. My understanding is that Luis is also a defensive fullback as he only has 2 assists in 30+ games in la liga... That also concerns me, because against smaller sides who play with 11-men behind the ball at the bridge, we will be attacking with only 6 players, while 4 are completely inapt in attacking positions. Yes, they are good in set pieces (spec Iva), but that's about it. Oscar's form is also a big question mark, and if Fabregas is moved up a bit we end up with the same Matic/Ramires which is a very defensive CM pairing - works in some situations not in others.

Spoiler alert - contains information about FM design and implementation...

well that's the theory, but reality doesn't seem to agree with it. Personally, I don't think Mikel is a good player at all. I've been in many discussions about many players around here and we all tend to pinpoint their virtues and weaknesses. However, with Mikel, I just can't see anything he does well. Mikel is considered to be "a good passer" who can't hit a long ball for his life and that makes no sense to me.

He's a very good defensive left-back, but that's essentially like every player we've got in the defense line: they can all defend but add nothing going forward. Luis has 2 assists in the league which is pretty low. Anyway, deal is done, so that's pretty much it. Now, we will see who is going to start and we happen to have 5 senior players for 4 positions. Not even counting Zouma if he produces something good in his first season, unlikely, but in the real of possibility. Interesting times ahead.

It's because of his high wages... because of some strange 5-year deal he got recently.

Just a bit of (the non-alcoholic kind) perspective: Torres, Ba, and (32+) Eto'o...

That's my point though as there are no guarantees he will perform at the same level. Cole's dipped in 1-2 seasons without warning. At 32 he was already insufficient according to Jose. I understand where you are coming from though, but my point was more about characteristics than current ability. He may be the finished product, but is he the guy who can push forward and be the "surprise" man in attack like I've seen the Dutch guy do over and over again in this world cup? That's what I'm concerned about... that we are going to be as solid against the strong sides and just as poor against the weaker ones.

I'm calling the way I see it and I liked what I saw from him. Yes, it would be a bet, but a club who pays 19m Euros for a 29yo leftback I reckon can afford a few "cheap" bets. I'm basing on the 5m price tag he's got. Fullbacks rely on pace... meybe he's going to be just a tad slower next season. And perhaps much slower int he following season... who knows?! Around 30 anything goes esp concerning pace and power. Look a torres... just as injury-prone and lost all his pace way before 29... I'm far less optimistic about the team and the current crop of players than most around here. I don't think the back line is good enough. It's very convenient to say we did not beat the weak (even lost some) sides because we did not have a proper striker, but it's a fantasy and the results IMO prove that. And I am not so sure Fabregas is going to be enough to push forward when we are facing teams who put 11 men behind the ball. What I don't see is anyone from the defense line capable of pushing forward. That push can come froma fullback, or even from a defender with a bit more care and cover, but we've got NOTHING attacking wise from the back line. They are excellent in defense and pretty poor going forward except set pieces. Azpi can pull a cross here and there, but is hardly attacking. Luis might provide that, but in the games I've seen from him he was more of a defensive fullback.

Janmaat was a bit better than decent in this world cup... and he's only 25 which means he may still be improving as a player. Yep... I don't think the difference between him and Filipe is 15m Euros worth. I'd love to be proven wrong once/if he signs for us. Yes, I think Chelsea goes either too young or two "ready", but misses on the "good buys" territory... like Andre for example.

Disagree on Filipe being a sure bet. And I think we are overpaying for him by a wide margin. Rather have 2-3 5m bets than a 20m bet. Wasn't he injury-prone at some point too? Filipe Luis has had his best season ever and it was only a season when surrounded by talented others. The worst time to acquire a player is after his best season ever, or immediately after some important achievement, like the Spanish title. The best player they got is Godin, who's better than both our CBs.

Janmaat on the right, azpi on the left and Iva in CB. that's a 5m for a 25-year-old international. As opposed to 20m+ for a 29-yo left back.

Janmaat is too good for Newcastle!!! Hijack the deal?

Reckon he's no longer good enough to be second striker though. He can be 3rd and more coach than player, but not second. The way Costa plays, very physical, he's bound to pick up injuries.

We’ve learned nothing new about David Luiz this World Cup What’s that? He’s a bit error-prone? His positioning’s all over the place? It’s true that Luiz had two truly abysmal games, but previously he’d been enjoying a fine tournament. PSG are a laughing stock for shelling out £50m to bring him in from Chelsea – but they knew all about his strengths and weaknesses when they signed him. Laurent Blanc won’t be doing cartwheels, but he’s seen nothing from Luiz that he didn’t already know. https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/the-rio-report/seven-truths-david-luiz-jo-brazil-picked-222003177.html

Khedira is a lot better than Ramires going forward, but Ramires is better defensively. Ramires can be a pretty good ball-winning cm when instructed to do that dirty job.

Same about his game. Reckon his heat map from Benfica time and his heat map today should look very similar too. Did PSG buy him despite of his heat map or because of it? I have to assume we don't know better than professional scouts and coaches who do this 24/7 and get well paid for it. Like Benitez said, David is a peculiar CB with virtues and weaknesses, it's up to the coach to deal with it, or not. Now, one thing we can all agree about is that it makes no sense to name him the skipper: it exacerbates his weakness, which is concentration. He can barely stay focused on his own shit, much less organize a defense. On the same token, Thiago Silva is also not captain Material, for different reasons.

Brazil historically plays with attacking fullbacks... and occasionally with flamboyant CBs, but it's obvious the defense lacked balance esp with the 2-men midfield sitting in front. This has only worked when playing with 3 defenders and/or 3 sitting CMs (like in 02 which had both). Once again, not saying it's the right way to play... just one way to play. Balance is always needed though. Ramires can be sold, but I doubt Mikel will want to leave, unless we cover part of his wages for a long time (until his current deal runs out). Dudes, I didn't say he is no good because Scolari did not pick him... Just his call up wasn't that obvious that pundits and analysts did not fight for him... even freaking Maxwell went. Brazil Played 4231 with 2 attacking fullbacks! How crazy is that?

20m for a 29yo left back who didn't make this Brazilian squad. 50m for a 21yo star of France and Juventus who's prob not even playing at his personal best... Sounds about right to me. Plus, signing Pogba, may put pressure on the other CMs to go look for greener pastures elsewhere.

Great player - just have my doubts about the price, when considering his position and age. Still can't believe Scolari did not take him.

Honestly the only reason some are lenient with him, and rightly so IMO, is because he's 22. Of course he's expected to improve... that's expected by Chelsea and Jose (as he has alluded to already).

yeah Gary is also cheering on every goal from the comfort of his couch.

There is nothing to defend. Was he man marking? How do you know? Did you know he played the entire world cup on the left and then swapped with Dante because Thiago did not play? Did you ignore that bit too? So, again, it's his mistake, so it's one down... now what?! That's 1x0 in my book, but I guess you see the game differently. Defenders do make mistake... you know that right? Gary did too. Whatever you guys should really make some money out of your knowledge. You could've saved PSG millions... even if you get a small percentage of that money.