robsblubot

Snake is already having a monster game. Looks like he’s improved his passing a bit as well.

Interesting how much value real gives to keeping possession. Lots of risky passes from and in the back.

Dortmund are the better side so far, but the fact they are not translating that into goals is worrying.

“Elite force” rather (edit is gone).

Fair enough it is a point I usually make when reading too much into press confs. the “dominate” bit was a bit much tho.

Why would you think Conor would work in his system? mobility? I do think he has the mobility, but not the skill or passing ability. Disagreed on Noni and Mudryk. I've seen enough of Mudryk now and any expectations we (or Arsenal) might have had should no longer matter. Noni, I don't see the tight control for that type of style. Coming off the bench, sure, but not a player to rely on to retain possession. Sterling may be just too lazy now for that system. Could he be motivated back into fitness? Agreed on Enzo, but he must be available. Did not mention Cole because he's obviously a perfect fit. I haven't seen Lavia, but heard he's a very good player. Is it a one-time thing or is he just another injury-prone player we got? He's young enough that we may not know yet. Caicedo is no Mikel, thankfully, but I honestly don't see all that passing ability you guys talk about. Ugo is a pretty poor option for when Caicedo can't play -- remember he's Ecuador player. I actually think Jackson will work well in that system; and he might actually improve his game the most if he listens and adapts to the new philosophy. e.g. that system will naturally remove the quirks from his game. The main requirement for this system to work is that all players (including goalie) need to be at least good passers. A single Disasi in the mix and that play from the back goes down the drain. That includes the bench as well! It does a bit tho. That system relies on high intensity and a lot of sprinting. I do think the team is pretty poor esp considering the amount spent; we've overspent all other PL clubs with really nothing to show for it. It's definitely fixable, but reckon it will take more than the 2-3 signing people have been talking about. Midfield also needs a player -- perhaps 2 if Conor is sold. Hopefully signing players requested, or at least vetted, by the new manager too.

Fofana is a fad buddy... won't play. James has been struggling for what 2-3 full seasons now? Others like Nkunku are unknowns fitness wise, but Nkunku injury history isn't clean. We hope Lavia was a one-time thing. Chilwell is evidently injury-prone as well. Disasi won't go anywhere with his wages and contract. The Wingers who played more towards the end of the season, Mudryk and Noni, are extremely direct players. I'm not even going into good enough here, just characteristics. The midfield is where we will disagree the most about: how someone sees it as a possession oriented midfield is beyond me. I suspect we will see changes there too tho. I just see a drastic difference from the type o players we went after and the type of players City (and Arsenal) go after. 🤷‍♂️

yes and those type of managers, who have a clear philosophy and no plan B, need to play a part in building the squad. "passing from the back with Disasi" would make for very entertaining Netflix content. That, and the fact that he is a drastic change from the previous 2 managers in style, makes me think this is not really that well planned eh.

Is it a case of being delusional or pure arrogance based on the amount of money (mis)spent ?

Met expectations leading a club like Leicester city back to PL does not mean a whole lot in my book. 🤷‍♂️ And in the end not even Europe. 🤷‍♂️ You are probably counting on both United and Tottenham having a dodgy season too, to be fair. Are you seriously criticizing a prediction of mine that turned out to be right? 😆 I get plenty of stuff wrong... after all this is all entertainment. I've also said that we did have a top4 team before they decided to dismantled it; spending as much as we do it's not that fucking hard to get a top4 team unless you spend all that money on "projects", of course. Regarding injuries, it's only "an unsettled season with mass injuries" if the next one isn't the same.

Would be nice if football were such a level playing field. Unfortunately, the big winners are also the biggest spenders. So, if all that was required was repetition and good coaching, we'd see 1. less spending on players and 2. a more diverse set of winners both in league as well as CL. And yet we see the same ones, who again, are the big spenders. Yeah I'm not against making a bet on the manager, but I'd not overstate what he has done so far (very little). The same could be said of Arteta, so I guess we will see. I just don't see that reflected when building the squad tho. For the record, I get the expectation that he'd be able to do more with the better players we've got. However, he had *far superior* players compared to the opposition in the Championship. And my point has been that maybe "better" or "worse" is relative when we are discussing different ways to play football.

nice writeup and info! It's ironic that people were calling Pep an underachiever in the other thread, but "hitting the ground running" in the Championship managing freaking Leicester City was something impressive. 🤷‍♂️

Mudryk struggles in any system at this level. 🙂 Aside from Enzo, Cole, and James (when he plays), I don't consider the squad particularly skillful tbh. Jackson may have the skill to learn to slow down a bit with the runs tho. While I like Madueke as an option (a bit limiting as a starter), I think he would struggle in that system. Same with Conor... can't imagine City going for him, for ex. Yes, hard work is how you get there (play like that), but to excel? for that you need quality as in lots of skill on the ball from multiple players. The goal is to make those exchanges very quick, and quickness (not pace but quickness at executing tasks) demands skill. Some players have more than others, which is one of the variables to think about when you are signing players. I think our players are far more suited for a direct system, but that's me I guess. It could change with some action in the transfer window, so let's see what the club may be thinking. A ball-playing CB for the right side is a must as well as wingers and ST.

Yeah I don't agree with that. Not all players can be moulded into specific characteristics... much less drastically improve skill on the ball. e.g. Players who have pace and power as their defining characteristics won't turn into KDB via coaching. City forms very few players; they sign most of their starters based on a specific set of characteristics they look for.

I don’t disagree with the concept. Enzo Maresca (never heard of him before) is still a pretty big gamble tho… perhaps bigger than arteta. I look at the squad and ask a simple question: which players here would fit right in at City or Arsenal? Who would work well in that positional play with high press and possession? Not many.

The style he likes his teams to play matter absolutely nothing if he does not get the results. Besides, every time I ready about style it does not fool me one bit: they are thinking in repeating Arteta and mirror what City does. Nobody likes to play beautiful football and lose. 🙂

yup 😃 Look at potter on his extremely well-paid vacation... won't accept an offer from a club at his level because he'd then lose that fat paycheck. Kinda funny to have the same folks who liked the appointment of Potter, who tbf at least had managed in the PL, now defending this huge gamble, which is that it is.

Excellent if perhaps now we have a potential buyer in league 1.

For every KDB and Salah you have thousands of youth players who don't make it, at last not at this level. This is the hard part, but it's totally plausible he simply is not impressing anyone.

Maybe already talked here--thread rolls too fast. Vitor Roquem 19yo Brazilian striker, is reportedly unhappy at Barcelona. Maybe it's a temporary thing, but would definitely check with his agent heh. He's quick, powerful, and skillful (maybe not Endrik skillful but still). People talk about both Endrik and him leading Brazil in the next WC. Had a pretty nasty injury a few months before joining Barcelona.

It's yet another bizarre assignment any way you look at it. Whatever his ideas are, they've been implemented in the Championship, not the PL. Potter will be getting that sweet Boehly money for another 3.5 years. Enzo just hit the lottery.

Is it too much to ask for a manager who has actually managed a team in the Premiere League top division anywhere? Is Championship where the clubs finds its yes-men?

De Zerbi is a manger. 🙂 He does not "play" but rather he likes his teams to play more with possession and control. The players who actually play may not be suited for that, in which case he will have to either adapt or go to the market. Don't think many saw possession and control at Brighton this season; people will point to injuries, but it always goes back to players: the ones who played weren't as good at executing what the manager intended. I hope it's him considering the nobodies we've been linked to; at least he managed in the PL.

Considering the number injury-prone players we have in the squad, perhaps this is the strategy? Sign as many as you can to increase the odds of one being available for a given match. 😅

Agreed with everything except the bit about Nkunku in the middle; I think that even though he's got a A LOT more repertoire than Mudryk, he's still very much an attacker in my mind. I don't know if he can control tempo the way Palmer does -- w/o Enzo, Palmer is the only player int he squad capable of doing that IMO.