robsblubot

Great post! yeah the individual decisions make sense, but when you take them together, collectively though... not so much. I'd rather have kept Azpi than Silva; sometimes I think Silva is there just to raise the age average of the squad. 🙂 Azpi is more versatile, could cover for Gusto (since James is always injured), and also at the back. He's got so much history at the club as well.

Dire?! 7th place? Where do I sign?! 😅

he is and at the same time it is scary we have to rely on a 19yo. Even in the game he wasn't so hot, Liverpool, he did all the teamwork stuff to the dot.

yup in reality Osimhen is likely already unattainable. Lautaro is too inconsistent, yeah. Endrik is too small and way too green at 17yo. Been watching him at Palmeiras and he's been completely ineffective as #9. They will play Boca this week, so that might be interesting to watch.

By the time we complete the transition into Brighton, it will be too late; Brighton will be Chelsea by then, so Osimhen might as well just join Brighton... the new Chelsea. 😀

That was a great and succint read, thank you. 👆is a self-evident point that is so difficult to get across. It goes into "the real cost of business" which gets nuanced; more of your realm of your expertise perhaps. I sure hope so. 🤣

We had two clean sheets: one with Luton at home and another against Bournemouth w/ Solanke leading the line. Conceded in every other game, usually just enough to lose the match. Yet to see this defensive solidity people talk about, esp considering the team is setup to defend. Lampard does not really have a managerial career comparable to Pochettino's. We don't know what future holds, but that's the reality right now. Also aside from the Chilwell point, which I understand given Mudryk difficulties, I'm not really sure what else Poch might have done given what he has at his disposal atm.

it's the opposite--they welcome it. That's why money in politics has be growing steadily for a long time now. Citizens United ("corporations are people too") ruling just opened the floodgates even more; no need to even disclose the source of the moneys.

yup, that's exactly what was suggesting the obscenely wealthy and/or corporations do above; it's definitely not only by selecting candidates out of a pool. The oil industry is notorious for that (high operational cost and high liability). Evidently it's more subtly done, and at the same time not really; they also don't have to stay within the borders if going overseas can be beneficial (too may examples to give). Easier even if you go do your investing, hmm laundering, in countries which already have friendly legislation around that. 😉

True I just disagree w/ the right especially on the why. US most prosperous moment came during a period of high taxation and a large middle class; Scandinavian nations are prosperous with high taxation. US's representation right now is at all time low because corporations--who are people too lol--and wealthy donors' actions outweigh everything else by a very large margin. Who cares which clown we pick, if the moneys decide which clown is available for us to pick? It's quite obvious how extreme wealth concentration can work against democracy, as we have unelected world leaders prancing around and doing whatever the fuck they want (some are very visible while others not so much). There are great videos on YouTube which help visualize the wealth difference we are talking about; it's not easy to grasp without some tool. We are not talking about "the rich" here... need to throw the word "obscenely" in there.

This role is severely lacking in the roster right now. 😕 I know folks won't agree, but given the lack of options I'd have retained RLC for another season, if possible.

I see an opportunity here. 😅 On a more serious note, Japan is starting to produce pretty interesting players.

ah nm I misread your previous post. Fully agreed.

Sorry who did you mean? Mitoma? I thought he was a LW, and a hard-working at that, which is exactly what we need IMO. Don't disagree on the quality attacker bit tho.

Great writeup! 👍 I think I'd only replace #3 with "imbalanced roster" and I think Pochettino uses Colwill to protect Mudryk, not Thiago Silva. Agreed on Thiago Silva though... 39 is not an acceptable at this level I'm afraid. He could be playing back in Brazil, but not in the PL. Not discussing Mudryk's quality or potential, it's mostly about characteristics: a Mount on LW and we could employ an attacking LB np. That never goes into account when someone assesses players like Mount and Wenger (who do high defensive work). e.g. should we take into account what the attacking LB does when they play? it's a team sport after all. Perhaps Lavia back will alleviate that, but he's also 19yo 😕, but I just don't see a whole lot of options in midfield; like if Poch wanted to make it more creative. We don't even have a RLC right now, who could play in that midfield tip role. YES! looking at the situ, I'd have retained RLC.

I honestly think it is quite a normal situation. Differences in requirements, differences in league quality *especially pace*! Italy is a much slower league, so quick players with some acceleration would be able to create plays there, while here they would be more dependent on their finishing. I don't particularly rate Tammy's overall game too highly, but he's a good player and would've been a good buyback at this point considering the lack of options up front. Regarding Mudryk, I disagree with @Magic Lamps Mudryk's first touch is akin to Lukaku's and that's never a good sign regardless of age and level of development. Superb skill can help with mentality, and he does not have it, so his mentality, or the lack thereof, becomes more of a problem.

speaking of which, what an obvious good signing Mitoma was. 😕 @Vesper let us down on this one! 😅 @Blue Armour I'm not even sure how Poch can make drastic changes-don't have the players to make the middle more creative for ex; and I'm honestly more concerned about losing starters to injury than anything else. The danger is Brighton fielding too many youngsters, being Carabao and all, that might prove too irresistible for Chelsea club... we can only sympathize. OK I will stop now. 😅

When Chelsea play Brighton, think about a "mass interview" opportunity; we are pretty much watching the next 10 signings the club will make. Anyone under 21 is fair game.

Out of the CM trio, or triangle if one prefers to say Enzo plays forward, who among them can score? Enzo cannot even shoot on goal. So, say Poch would want to get a more attacking-minded mid (starting or as a sub), would would that be? I mean without employing another kid and out of position? (e.g. Palmer) Maybe Carney when he's back, which would make us rely on a 19yo in the PL. You just can't make this shit up.

I don't disagree that it's a potential outcome. I think you got cause and consequence inverted there; Poch does not play the way he plays because he wants to, but because he believes he has to. Same way a new manager would arrive, take one look at this pitiful squad lacking in all areas, full of children and do exactly the same thing. For example, I think Chilwell does not play because of Mudryk.

It's fair to just point out that Azpi played 25 min; and I would point out that his presence in our children's squad alone, plus perhaps coming on after Gusto got a red yesterday might have made a difference. 🤷‍♂️ Please ignore details, that's my point: just take where the players play. Players who are at top clubs under big wages earned that. It's a very competitive market... almost auction-like. That helps removing bias. It's hard for me to respond to your post because I don't agree a whole lot with some of the premisses there; nor do I think speaking about Pochettino is very important right now. Lampard's career speaks for itself. For example, statements like, "We are very solid defensively now" make no sense to me in a fluid sport like football. If that's truly the case for us, that D and A are completely different things, then indeed we are light years from City and Arsenal. There is no doubt in my mind that Tammy is a better striker than Jackson right now. Would I want Tammy back? if you asked me before the window, nope lets go for better targets (multiple! better targets), like Jackson himself and 1-2 more experienced players for rotation/support. Right now, hell yeah Tammy would definitely help esp considering the absurd lack of options up front. We miss A LOT of the players who left. I totally understand that some could not be retained--forced exit and all that, so that's besides the point. I still think the club, esp new ownership isn't blameless for that.

This is a pretty non-debatable statement tbh. Young players demand an already built team to develop to their potential. I'd add leaders... we are also missing players with a strong competitive streak who would fight nonstop. As quoted from the post above, there is a clear confusion here around current ability vs potential ability. They are NOT the same thing. Real life is not Football Manager -- the most unrealistic aspect of FM is regarding how easy and quick young players develop. Personally I think one very easy way to assess players is merely see where they where, and where they went after their stint with us. With the exception of Zouma, they were all better (Willian just got old), yeah. Kepa is a tossup. This removes some of our personal bias. Alonso is a funny one; I was one of the few praising his *game winning* ability; players who can score goals need to be praised. Very few players are capable of doing that, so they need to be valued. Azpi (for Aleti) just had a strong game against Real yesterday... 🤷‍♂️

Agreed on Mudryk, but couldn't disagree more about the comparison w/ Salah. Salah always had quick feet, which allows him to dribble in tight spaces; mudryk can only dribble long at pace. no, he will never be a top footballer... at this point we only hope to save a PL player, but it does not look good.

Agree he did well against Bournemouth, but not today. I expect my goalie to stop that shot, esp from that angle; or at least react quicker, by lowering his hands and body to prepare for a low shot.

Azpi had a strong defensive game; he operates well as a defending RB in a low block, which is how Atleti plays.