robsblubot

I dislike this squad and think it's extremely imbalanced, overly young, and lacks skill (like there was an over emphasis on physicality in detriment of skill). That does not apply to the post you quoted tho, because that's specifically talking about one characteristic: possession. You can have good players, a good squad, which would be better or worse at passing and retaining possession. Colwill is a decent/good passer and may become a quality one in the future; it once again goes into "right now" vs potential. I'm really talking about numbers/the roster here, not so much individuals. How many good passers our squad have vs any other of the top teams for example. Heck we don't even have attackers like Diaz who can spin around, dribble and retain possession. 🤷‍♂️ Like I said above, I'm talking about the collective characteristics of the squad, not of a single player. Heh, Caicedo and Rodri have nothing in common to my eyes. Also, what Caicedo did at Brighton may have mattered at the time we were signing him, but not anymore. He now has enough games for us already to know what to expect from him, at least short term. He can, and should, improve as he gains experience, but my analysis of him is from what I see on the pitch, and his passing has been laborious to say the least.

To be fair to Jackson, it's quite hard to spot an open teammate when you run with your head down all the time.

Possession style with this squad? That has to be the least possession-able roster I've seen in a long time. Jorginho was a master passer, Kova was really good at avoiding the steal by dribbling and then at short passing. Then we had players on the wings who were good at joining the midfield for exactly that: provide passing opportunity. I know, unsexy, but not everything in the game is solved by a direct run at the opposition. So, who would do the passing? I'm going to assume that it's quite obvious to all that it's not just the CMs who pass the ball in midfield--suffice to watch a football match once. So, we have Caicedo (average passer at best), Gallagher (average passer), Enzo (good passer perhaps not enough quality around him?), then Muddy & Madueke who are long range runners/poor passers very direct. Sterling is fairly direct as well, and passing was never his strongest suit. No ball-playing CB other than the aging Thiago. Chilwell is a good passer when on form tho -- Cuccu not so much. The only attacking player who's an excellent passer is Palmer; he has both the timing of the pass as well as vision to find the right one. Sorry, but it's just not enough to build a team around it.

You just posted the "American way" which is super weird tbh. 😅 I've been told it's natural like Chiefs (at) Ravens or the Chiefs (in) Baltimore. Though apparently it comes from Baseball where the home team always bats last.

Is he wrong considering the age and imbalance of the squad? He shouldn't say it, and he's not the guy to run that project. Now, f this squad isn't a long-term project, I don't know what it is. Poch is the quick and easy fix... hardly all that is required.

Pre-season is a different sport (no-contact football), but it's not surprising our mid looked better with a skillful player in in. Santos might end up being subpar, but I like to think of characteristics and what we are missing in midfield. I think it's abundantly clear esp given Enzo's current form. We basically have a rounded player, Enzo, whos been average at best. A good b2b who moves a lot, and can join the attack, but is limited on the skill side of the game. And then we have a pure ball-playing mid who has zero contribution in attack -- I fail to see any other big club in the PL employing such a player/role.

I really can't remember a case of a goalie as young as he is succeeding at a big club. He's not that young heh. Still, GK is the position where experience matters most, which is why we usually see older, not younger goalies at the big clubs. Looks like he's got potential, but once again, potential does not get you points.

Agreed on Cuccu -- good game on D, which made his sub a bit more baffling today. Also agree on Enzo... very disappointing. I'm not a fan of Caicedo, but he's a good ball-winning mid (not a fan of the role for a big club). Gallagher has been our best mid, and he's far from being a super skillful player. We need more skill esp around passing in midfield. Wouldn't mind someone like Kova who can dribble and retain the ball tho. I get that Poch should be in the discussion here as well, but our mids should be able to pass the ball a bit quicker and better esp against poor opposition like today. Yeah Jackson was very poor today... selfish at times. I really dislike that ball hogging side of his game.

Yeah definitely, but bads was already in, so a bit redundant. Mudryk is nonexistent in the air, so perhaps not a game for him? not a fan of madueke but his confidence was high after the nice goal and he’s tall and strong. cuccu is average but at least he’s aggressive on D. 🤷‍♂️

Agreed. Our midfield shouldn’t get a pass either tho esp today. That was very poor. Casadei for cuccu was definitely a head scratcher eh.

I get the cb in for the high balls tho. casadei is ball watching all the time and let them make the play. Too green for this. and Mudryk losing the high ball dispute isn’t really surprising.

We need to upgrade in several positions to become competitive again. some of these players will make good options going forward, while others will need to go elsewhere. hope we have the people to make the right assessment in the summer.

I’d go for carney replacing madueke moving Palmer back to right wing. dunno how long carney can play tho.

Gusto prob scored poor numbers in the exams they do these days like CK and whatnot. These things shouldn’t be questioned anymore. We will prob find a way to win this, but s. United are so poor… and we are playing at their level atm. Team lacks skill esp midfield. Very disappointed with Enzo tbh. Expected more from him.

Sorry for the DP, but I'd say the midfield is still a bigger concern than the D for me. And although the goalie has been doing well for his age and experience, we should do without such qualifiers every time we talk about our starters. There is a reason both Chelsea and United can't control matches.

Second part is fair, but first could be said about pretty much any winning side (Drogba, lamps, Eden...). Even if Tuchel did not have that one game winner, he did have a number of WC players who just turned up for that run (Rudiger and Kante to name 2). Even the worst Chelsea teams I can remember (this one is right there for me), had some good players in it.

Yeah I hope you are right. I just wish he were able to influence more games than he does; reckon he has the skill for that, so I was afraid perhaps not the mentality. A simpler explanation is that he's lacking help around him, which matches what I think about our midfield as written in -- was surprised Mount even got minutes (another mistake from "The Hag"): I'd not be so keen on getting rid of Poch without a solid target... "The Hag" may be available in the summer. 😅

Nah if that were a consistent trait in his (Enzo's) game, then sure cool, but to me this was for the cameras and/or crowd as well. It's the cynical in me talking.

good point. Could we perhaps put this guy in a Time Machine and send him back to a time where we had a good squad? just curious as to what he'd be able to do. Or perhaps keep him in a freezer until we do? might be a while tho. 😅

I'm far from a fan (think he should've been on loan), but have to agree that considering the lack of options, he should be used more often. Mudryk's game is way too inconsistent within the same match: he makes good moves and a minute later switches off, or has a poor touch cheaply losing possession. Sterling is a bizarre case... I don't get it. Still suspect something physical, but could be mentality -- retirement mode? bit of both perhaps? Carney is far superior to all 3 for me atm, so he should prob be starting on the left when fully fit.

He is an OK passer. It honestly does not look like it's something he will ever excel at. He also hasn't been nearly consistent enough at that. He had what? 3-4 absolute stinkers since joining, which were all caused by poor passing. We can be optimistic and consider it's his first season, and that he's young, but it's just too many passing mistakes to be "fine" with it.

Nah 1. played with professional footballers in Brazil 2. my work involves math 3. I also know how to disagree with someone They were both dives in my book, and shall remain as that. Thank you.

😅 don't know how to respond to this... sorry? Madueke did not look off balance on the replay -- announcers also saw the same. 🤷‍♂️

There is a saying in Brazil which goes like, a very energetic poor player allowed to freely roam everywhere on the pitch only means that your better players will see less of the football. I also don't see quality enough there for him to get more responsibilities. He looks like a limited player to me. At least he's young, so we can hope this is not all he is.

agree to disagree. That extra step defies logic to me.