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Talented youngster. He's a bit too raw/young to provide backup for Chilwell esp considering Chilwell's aforementioned injury record. I'm not even sure what his best position may be, so it's something he will figure out playing, which I hope happens at palace.

Saudi Pro League seems to be providing a much needed football purge. It will be complete once Neymar leaves competitive football... I mean officially that is.

hehe skill wise, Voller >> Klinsmann >>>>> Klose 😉 To your point, all excellent strikers.

Agreed. Heh, Makele for sure. Matic to a lesser degree. Mikel, nope never a leader I think. Very passive "do a job" player. Wouldn't mind a Lampard type one bit tho. 😁 Yeah Casemiro was underrated even after all that he had accomplished at real... weird. BTW, I really think the senior players were the reason Arsenal did not win the league. So, you can develop youth and they can help with squad quality as well as roster if you do it right. With all that said and done, you will still need to get those few players who will make everything connect; the ones you are missing. Arsenal just did not have the right ones--they weren't good enough. Jesus injury did not help them either. They are stronger now tho, esp with Rice in midfield.

BTW, speaking of young players, ☝️ this one looks really promising! Lots of pace, quick feet, and not afraid to make plays. Yes, he's still a bit raw, so the loan might do him good.

Well that was my concern earlier when we are selling everybody. One can assume it's just the way they are, but I think what I talked about earlier is exactly what happened to them. They felt frustrated at the club and left. It's hard to say it's more about them vs us, but the club sale and the newbie football club owners kinda suggest the "us" part has played a part. We know it's hard to find and attract leaders who can really make a difference on the pitch, but that's why they make the big bucks. I look at City and for every Foden, there is a Gundogan. That's the right balance. Yeah me neither; I'm usually the one saying that you cannot attract a star because the star player is already done for playing for a big club. On the other hand there is a case of too much of a good thing. Good point on Arsenal too; that's exactly what I'm afraid of.

I disagree the players you listed is the reason they have a competitive advantage. I also think it's VERY wrong to assume young players can develop without support of more senior players. They have to be competitive from the get go. The last thing you want in 3-4 years is a bunch of players who are used to lose. If they don't jump ship much earlier than that. The better one, the competitive types won't be sitting around waiting for competitive teammates to arrive.

Oh great let's watch City, United, and Arsenal collect all the silverware for years and then hope they are also not a powerhouse by then. man... 🙄

Feels like most of our signings come with a disclaimer: "For his age and experience in pro football,..."

Home game against a big club... Some players will be nervy anyway, given this is going to be the biggest game they ever played, so little can be done here. We will find out the level of competition we can expect from the players. Really big game for a number of reasons, but even more important for the new signings. Crap way too soon to be thinking about that--still a week+ away.

I'd say that the CL team was loaded with will and determination. Timo "ran like a dog" and Mount was relentless applying pressure. It was nice to see. Kai was the one a bit more on a free role, but still wasn't the lazy player he's been in the last couple of seasons. We had Kante too! Rudiger had tons of energy esp making runs. Tactical knowledge is quality too... do these player have it already? Honestly, I even expect some of these players to drop form at some point during the season... it's normal. We will see very soon, but I sincerely do not see enough quality in the squad to warrant such optimism. Won't be complaining one bit for being wrong here, but that's what I see.

Yes, they really wanted to be here as they signed their best contracts yet. For some, this will be their first and only stint at an elite club. "that's halfway to success." No, it really isn't. It's far easier to find will and determination than quality in football. The PL itself should be evidence enough. A lot of the smaller teams show the biggest heart and dedication you see in the league, and yet that does not help them into top6. What allows you to win when competing against the best there is, is to have players of comparable quality. This season, we simply don't know the level of the newly acquired players; they may not even know themselves. It will be the first big challenge in their careers. I totally understand that the unknown, having a young squad hungry players can be exciting, but I reckon the odds are that not all players will come good. Some will be found out this season, and we will have to quickly replace them. There are many possible scenarios, some pretty bad, but it seems folks are optimistic. So let's see if they can at least hold their own.

Quite on the contrary. I think the main point is that it's not my money, so I don't care. Tbf, the club is owned by billionaires, so not sure we should really be worrying a whole lot about money. Yup are are now funding Brighton club. That ship has sailed though: lukaku, Enzo, Mudryk... they are all watching what we do.

that looks about right--as to the most likely starting XI, but I think perhaps Mudryk as CAM? I don't like Mudryk as I've said before, but his passing (esp thruballs) is good. Perhaps that's the place for him. Not sure about the pecking order in CB. Either way, it's not that strong a team I'm afraid. 😕

As someone who does not share the conviction that Caicedo is that much of, or is about to become, that key player we need, I too think that at this point just go for it. I mean, evidently my opinion does not matter (nor should it), so it's really about whether the people at the club have that conviction or not. If they do, then they should make it happen and not wait until there is an auction around him. Now, if the conviction isn't absolute, then maybe it's time to be creative, and at the same point make a point which could affect future deals. I think he makes a very young squad even younger. That makes me nervous for the season, but if he's good enough then he's good enough.

not sure if that's what you referred to, but pressing is not only required when defending with a high line and keeping possession. Regardless where you defend, it's a numbers game. If you don't have enough players involved in defending, the opposition will eventually overwhelm certain areas of your team. That's the part we don't get to test in friendlies, unfortunately.

I partially agree. We don't even know yet how the attacking players press (or not). We don't know how overwhelmed the CMs would be with the current players. I know Sterling once did a good job pressing, and tbh I thought his energy was good yesterday against Dortmund, but we need to see the same when it matters, and from all attacking players; especially when the opposition is body checking in competitive matches. We will find out very soon tho.

He will. That's why he started with that lineup. You don't train what you are not going to do.

It's not sterling (he's doing well)... lol it's the movement or the lack thereof. Players aren't yet moving into position to receive the pass, which makes it harder for someone to find that pass. It's normal and even more so with the number of changes in the squad, which will make the first few matches in the PL all the more challenging. It's a friendly tho--don't read too much into it.

Feel dirty getting any money and/or player for Lukaku. 😅 Like you know the car your are selling has a dodgy motor, but you take the money anyway.

There is no loss in football; the whole point is to make the club bigger by winning and collecting silverware. Timo, as limited as he was, was important in acquiring the biggest silverware in club football. Honestly, I think sometimes we make things more complicated than they need to be.

To this day, I don't understand what happened with Mendy. I suspect some serious off-pitch issue, but don't really know.

here in the US I always trust what https://livesoccertv.com tells me. 😆

That's a good team to make things really easy for Liverpool. Only way Sterling does not start that game, as one of the few senior players left in the squad, is if he breaks his leg.

Yeah and reckon signing Mount had that angle in the mix. Same when we signed Pulisic... football is a lot more complex these days.