robsblubot

Thought Argentina played well actually. Enzo was decent, but his performance would worry most who expect him to be/become an elite player. Alvarez was really good and for me one of the players who were in-synch with Messi, which is no small feat; his finishing let him down tho. Argentina played like the favorite tho; they can play physical when needed and do a really good job passing the football around when allowed.

Vini is a great player, and likes the big matches too, but boy he's just not that skillful. That tight control Neymar have? had, Eden had, is nowhere to be found in his game, for ex. Rodrygo has been the best Brazil player for a while now. The midfield is lacking big time; don't know what Paqueta is doing there. His head can't be right as he will likely stop playing football very soon. A lot of criticism about the number of CM/DMs against Costa Rica, but there is a strategy that applies to both Brazil manager as well as Southgate: in big tourneys, prep your team to face the big guns. Southgate also has the issue of some players being very used to the positional play (Rice, Saka, and Fodden, Walker, Stone). Ah the field was very weird too apparently. Don't think that's an excuse against CR, but its narrow shape definitely favors D. Just to reiterate that it is one of the worst Brazilian sides I've seen. The saving grace is that we do have some very talented youngsters coming through.

Striker and winger. Keeping one of those you listed would change things, but that's a decision the club is yet to make. Nkunku hasn't started 2 matches in a row... for a whole season! and based on his recent hinjury history, rather wait and see here.

That was some first touch. It's literally a requirement to become an Elite attacking player, and he's got it.. Hope he succeeds! Similar to Endrik's amazing goal against Botafogo where he manages to "quiet" the ball because it was a bit bouncy before he took the shot. 🙂

Bolivia is very simple: they win most of the their home games at 11,975 ft (3600m) above sea level -- at La Paz where visiting players can barely run. They lose all games away from home usually conceding a lot of goals. But playing at 3.6km high is totally fine. 🙄

Nitpick: experience remains low. Aside from the Fofana strong disagree (hope Nkunku and James aren't on the same boat) already addressed by others, my point here is that at this level, it's not about weaknesses anymore. The bar for top 4 in the PL is so high that not having weaknesses just isn't good enough IMO. The tricky part is to find ways to have a competitive advantage against the few teams who spend as much as (or more than) we do. Yeah, nobody said this was easy. That's one of the reasons I was never against making some bets in attack and in mid, but I don't really grok the self-inflicted wound regarding lack of experience in a contact sport where intimidation runs rampant on the pitch esp in away games.

At least they've been using an updated database. 😆 We've been linked with every freaking wonderkid out there.

Fine I will take it; and you are a Pollyanna. 😆

yeah that'd make more sense if international football contracts were respected the same as in American sports; they aren't tho. Still the same question: why not improve the chances of CL football meanwhile -- also does not apply to AM sports as they don't qualify for international comps. I dread the day that our top player, say Cole, says that either we take whatever RM offers or he will leave as a free agent like Mbappe just did. And Mbappe was on comparable wages at PSG--imagine the bitching his agent would've been doing otherwise.

Let's not forget United had a very off season, which may not be the case come next--same for Tottenham. From what I saw, I honestly suspect Villa's season has more to do with United and Tottenham than their own quality. I don't understand why this club is OK with these risks; a smaller club can place all bets on promising youngsters and hope for the best, because they don't have any other choice. In our case though, it seems to be very much a choice.

yeah. Reminder that we did not even get Europa. So, we have a choice of expecting things regarding injuries to be better next season and hope that's good enough for CL, or help the team a bit with a couple of ready players to assure we get CL. In my mind, the choice is a very obvious one, but that's me.

You may be right about Nico, but it did sound like you were describing Mudryk in a nutshell there.

It is one of the worst no doubt. Tbf pretty sure Paqueta would've been at City now if not for the betting thing -- now he will prob be banned for life.

So, if you have better players, more consistent players as you suggest, then would we have better "focal point." 😉 I'm absolutely suggesting we both are talking about *quality* here.

Well we all hope Reece can remain fit; different if we have leaders actually on the pitch for a change. Were we *super* competitive? Every time it counted we lost and we are talking about cups here. Twice! To a depleted mostly reserves Liverpool and a visibly tired City missing their main striker (who was just tired as well). I'd agree we were competitive (could've won esp against City), but is that really that much an achievement considering the amount spent? I disagree on the reason we did not beat the smaller teams; for me it's mainly due to lack of quality. The better teams well they "find a way to win" those matches through sheer quality.

With the departure of Silva, and the fact that our sole leader, Conor, is on a short deal (1y), and doesn't want to talk about any of it, does not worry you? I understand that we did not get any Europe, my point exactly, but don't we want to improve our chances of getting better results when facing more experienced and quality sides? I personally think we were a signing way from getting silverware last season; yes, a small cup, that'd be a great start as opposed to what some here think -- we did NOT have a great start.

Agreed. It's really the part I disagree with about the strategy. You have to make bets esp up front, but boy they incur into unnecessary risk by the lack of experience. Disagree. Contrary to Baseball, football is a contact sport, much more so than Basketball, for example. The bigger the challenge, more contact and more intimidation, being technical, physical, or mental comes into play. Yes, given time some players will raise to the challenge, but why a club like Chelsea is OK waiting? Why not help out by getting, like @Pizy suggested above a couple of players to expedite the process? It's very worrying that the one leader we've got is on a short deal and there is talks about him leaving. It's also a bit wishful thinking to imagine that all players that have been unavailable last season will become available for the whole season, esp considering some of these players injury history.

at 17yo and considering his inexperience, I'm not sure he knows what he is yet.

Agreed. Although given his age and inexperience even at Brasil Serie A (he plays in Serie B), can't imagine the club would be counting on him for the immediate future.

Not super relevant given that Pulisic is NOT playing on our left wing, but Mudryk is. Any of the players listed above would be a MASSIVE upgrade over Mudryk... including Pulisic (with the caveat of his injury-proneness). To be fair, I'd not break the bank for any of the players listed above (not a fan of Leao either), for one reason or another, but would definitely try to upgrade on Mudryk, and even try really hard to move him. I think his lack of teamwork/work rate alone will cost us points in the PL.

makes sense given that it's a FIFA regulation.

yeah I think it's officially a loan back to Palmeiras. Pretty much what happened with Endrik, and Pato before them. I'm not really sure because I don't know how they go around FIFA regulation on this.

Players don't really develop the skill side of their game a whole lot. First touch being the most obvious one, but that tight control, which some players have and others don't, is really hard to "develop" even as an academy player. Even some aspects in their mental side is hard to change: aggression is the most common example. Never seen a player drastically change their temperament. The most common case is players stagnating, or even regressing. It's that we don't get to know, or don't remember the ones who never make it.

that's right. He can't leave Brazil until he turns 18, which means Summer 2025.

Agreed. I like him as a sub, but can't imagine him becoming an elite big club winger with. his toolset. Same applies to mudryk: what you see is what you get.