robsblubot

I reckon you are incorring into the (mostly) English mistake of assuming all defenders are alike in terms of characteristics. That, what they call "solid" is all that matters, even though evidence may tell you otherwise. Ignoring the overvaluation - (PSG) just assume DL was sold for the same amount we paid for him - the market is still giving us information about valuations as well as characteristics of the players who are sought after. That's what the article (I linked before) talks about... PSG again is a bad exemple as they have to overpay for every player they acquire for a number of reasons - I'd assume their wages are just as inflated.

I don't find Suarez that unpredictable. It's all due to animal-like aggression, not malice. Haven't seen a fantastic game by Ronaldo in a tough match just yet... perhaps against Sweden, but Sweden is hardly a tough opponent. Agree about Drogba and RVN, but no Raul was just a good player in my book. Henry botched in a CL final for Arsenal, but did well for France. Interesting... there is a article out on why defenders have become so expensive: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/11076666/David-Luiz-Luke-Shaw-Eliaquim-Mangala-Dejan-Lovren-why-are-defenders-becoming-more-expensive.html

He's also sure to vanish in tough games, while Surez thrives in those.

And in this particular case, her sig is right: Oscar's pass completion is skewed because he has beed dropping deep often. Nothing wrong with that though, just pointing out that such stats are indeed misleading. He does need to improve his pass completion in the final third for both Chelsea and Brazil. On the other hand, when and if he does complete those passes, he will be the best AM in the world.

I really don't think whether coutinho wants to track back really matters... He has no physical presence.I will be honest here: coutinho is absolutely 100% shit! The shittiest cam I've seen in a while. Yes he is young and that's really the only thing going for him - he needs to improve big time. I'm so glad he plays for that shitty club as they deserve each other.

Agree with the blacklisted names, with the question mark of hulk - if he improves as he's still fairly young. that's too weak defensively to face the likes of germany, holland, and argentina. Brazil has no rounded players for the midfield: Oscar is the only one really. Neymar is the only player who doesn't have to track back. Pato/Firmino and Ganso can't track back, same with Coutinho, who is a midget (also not good enough tbh). I also have my doubts about Gustavo who I think is way too DM for today's dynamic game. Regardless of names, it's still not a good team... at least not good enough. Agree with ^^ youngsters may have the answer unless Pato has a magic comeback.

Plus there was "the other Luis," whose name shall not be spoken, who had an outstanding performance, similar to what he's been doing at his club. Almost scored again from a free kick far far away. Our Luis helped the other Luis with his defensive solidity btw.

Oscar and Pogba are completely different players....

we've watched the very same game apparently. Still cannot believe Scolari did not take Luis and started him as a LB which would allow him to use Marcelo in the middle/wing too. Brazil defense was really good as Colombia were only able to threaten with long shots. Tardeli is just another Jo... local boy who has no business playing for Brazil.... Jefferson looked very solid, but only tested by those long shots. If Oscar scored the goal, he'd be MoTM, but he did not so he was subpar - sounds harsh but that's football. He had creative moments like you said, but his pass completion in the final third was not good enough. Has to work on that. IMO Brazil were not good enough simply because Colombia is an OK side - like I had said during the world cup. Chile for example are superior side and there are a handful who are way above this standard (of Brazil and Chile). You remove Neymar from the Brazil and there is little up front.

Please don't make it about the 50m paid by PSG-that's a technicality-but merely the options and interest that other players simply don't entice. The message is obvious, he has value. I personally don't ignore this information ymmv. I wasn't referring to kicking the pk or not - really couldn't care less about that.

No I hear but it gets complicated... It's all linked... muscles have to work harder or at least differently as joints lose flexibility. Way out of my niche though...

Kinda ironic we have threads of members praising the board for not overpaying for players and then a thread like this suggesting we lack English players…. The ideas are mutually exclusive. English talent is by definition overpriced – supply and demand. BTW, I agree with this not the other thread(s), but then again, it's not my money.

Suspect it was down to money... It's tricky to lower wages of players or at elast that's my understanding. Often times, it's easier for the employee to leave the company and then rejoin shortly after.

In principle I agree that knee problems are usually much more difficult to deal with. However, certain players have had numerous muscle problems and these niggling injuries do take a toll. Alexandre Pato for example used to (hopefully) suffer a lot from muscle issues exclusively. He hasn't had many injuries lately and is impeoving his game - hope he resumes his development. Also hope Remy was as good a bargain as people here seem to believe.

what a fucked up match! as much as a like the final score/goals scored, let's just not do that again?! I've learned not to take too much from these crazy games, the exceptions; hopefully that is what it was, and exception.

^^ yeah maybe he can flourish in a CDM position - he's a lot better than Gustavo, Paulinho as a CM. And it could free him from the positioning responsibilities he sure struggles with. I don't care about Silva's reaction when he did not play, when he was consoling his teammates after the trashing. I cared a lot about his reaction when it mattered most, at a crucial time against chile! The time we needed him most he failed as a leader. This is not just my opinion, but the entire country as well as Dunga's. Funny that I see David Luiz in a very different way: his technique is superb! that freeckick goal against colombia only VERY few players are capable of. His deficiencies all lie in the mental aspects of the game. I agree he has the attitute, the right determination and aggression, but that's about it. He's very poor in positioning, tactics, attention, which limits him as a defender. It's silly to call him a terrible defender though, because then we go into the "I know better than the transfer market/world/professionals" type of thing. I digress we should really be talking about our 22-year-old star who will very likely determine whether Brazil is a title contender or not in the coming years.

Silva was one of the crying babies against Chile. Sat on the football all by himself while others rallied the players. That's never a capitain in my book. David Luiz we know well... He can barely position himself let alone instruct others about what to do and how to proceed. He needs to be instructed, not instruct. He's better than the other Brazil CMs so I reckon he should be play there as well. However, Neymar also does not have the personality of a leader/captain. This's just yet another area this Brazil team lacks: leadership. The list itself is slightly better than the WC one... No Fred, Jo, Dante, and Bernard, but also other local players who have no business at this level. ----- Unsurprisingly, Brazil is still believing in the 22-year-old star. He's got all the attributes to become a dominant player in the position. While people see his defensive abiliity as a merely "nice" albeit unnecessary trait, I think it's huge and makes him a far more rounded player in that position.

Top GK for 10+ years.... Almost feel bad for the other clubs...

I have to disagree with the majority here on blaming individuals when the team fails at some specific task such as defending. As pointed out already by some, Matic had a good technical game: produced his usual tackles, pressurised opponents, but could not - alone - contain Everton. This happens a lot to midfielders and defenders: the sector gets exposed/overwhelmed and then players struggle because they literally cannot find the opponent - when they are about to apply the tackle ball the has moved. We were wide open and that was a concern for Jose during and after the match. I thought William was very poor esp defending, while Fabregas was poor when defending... We really miss Oscar work rate and movement esp playing away from home.

Why do you try so hard to make it as a bad thing that Alexis can also play out wide and that City has Dzeko and Aguero as options? Over the last 2 season Dzeko has sat on the bench for VERY LONG stretches and has become delusioned at times... Last season Aguero was injured for a long time and even now isn't that fit. Dzeko will sit on the bench like he has before. We can wage on that. I know what liverpool did and I hope they keep on doing the very same thing.

That has been repeated here until believed to be true... Giroud was on the bench for Sanchez.... When Aguero is fit, Dzeko sits on the bench. When RVP is fit, Falcao will sit on the bench. If Liverpool plays both Daniel and Balotelli at the same time - well then they are fucking crazy!

Have nothing to say about your rant on City, Rules, and people who compare one play with another?! Cheaper signings are riskier by definition... that's how the market works. No it doesn't sound silly to me at all because like I said, in my very personal opinion, all other top clubs in England have better options to replace their lead striker. Our lead striker is as good as anyone's, but not our subs.

I am not disagreeing he can do what you say above; what I am pointing out is that come Feb/March and Costa is unavailable for a long stretch - it could cost us silverware. First City won the league having their own problems - like their best striker missing for most of the season?! All of the above aplied to Demba Ba as well. Do City care about cheap or not? While I also find commendable that the club is abiding by the FFP, FFP rules only work if all abide by them. Otherwise it could give a competitive advantage to who doesn't. It's not a horrible signing by any stretch and I am not against it. However, I just don't see reason to be as enthusastic about it as most here are. Well, perhaps this is just my way to cope with the possibility of disappointment.

Why are you so sure Remy was a bargain?! Was he a bargain or it was just his valuation? Remember Demba Ba? People called him a bargain and I was never as enthusiastic about him - decent player just like Remy. About the same price too... There would be too many alternatives to list... City lost Aguero for most of last season and won it with Dzeko playing a pivotal role in their title win. Some have argued we cannot have a top striker on the bench, but Dzeko spent a lot of time on the bench when Aguero was fit, and it's up to the manager to earn his fat paycheck and keep the stars happy. We will be 100% reliant on Costa as I don't think Remy can remotely come close to him and Drogba is not looking sharp at all. Hey if Costa plays regularly throughout the season, then Remy can indeed become a good signing, a cover like you say, but that's a bet other teams aren't willing to make. If Costa picks up a long-term injury, say a couple of months, then Remy automatically becomes our lead striker... I don't rate Welbeck that highly either, just realize he is still 23. BTW, they are all bets, Remy as well. Arsenal already have Sanchez and Giroud, so there won;t be that much pressure on Welbeck. Remy's shots go in more often than Welbeck's, which is what the stats show. However, as Welbeck develops, his finishing may improve, and he may become a better attacker. He's still 23 and there is time for him to improve. He's not a quack and seems to be able to play footy; has nice physique and pace. I owuldn't rule him out as easily as others here have. Oh well, all left now is to hope our bet works out for us and/or Costa remains fit.

I was referring to posts on this thread - such as the one immediately above mine. It's clear some here are suddenly (or not) big fans of Remy. Well, I am not! He's a decent player who vanished one too many times while I watched. It's really a binary thing: either he provides cover for costa or he does not - we shall see. However, if he manages to provide competition for Costa, again, like some here have suggested, then I'd be very disappointed in Costa.