robsblubot

The main issue I see with him is our own system: similar to azpi, he's just not good enough in attack to play WB, so he ends up being more effective in the back 3. That limits his usability, but yeah let's see what Poch does with him.

hmm did we try to offload him, or is it more like a personal opinion? I did not see any indication that the club wanted to sell him.

heard Inter Miami is having trouble juggling too many players and MLS limits. Suarez already has an agreement with Gremio to join them (Inter) by Jan too.

I'd be careful here--they are pretty young still. 😉 I was the one warning about Salah's quick feet when we let him go. It's also ironic since one of our very Eden used to show up as fat as a donut for pre-season.

I'm not a fan of Joao, but there would be no competition. Nkunku because of injury, and Madueke because he's nowhere near being good enough.

nonsense playing for Brighton makes anyone WC apparently.

colleague who's a liverpool fan, commented about losing out on Caicedo, "we just need a warm body in midfield." 😅

Shamelessly self-replying here. 😅 Sorry, I did not want to sound definitive with the above point given it's just my opinion. Don't like the idea of moving a deep-lying mid, who has passing as his main virtue, up the pitch to be closer to the attackers. I typically see this going the other way around; like Fabregas, who moved from CAM to deep-lying mid. Of course, it can and does happen in specific circumstances, like in a particular game where the opposition allows your midfield line to step up (at times against Liverpool). I'm referring to actually making his position a CAM as some of the proposed lineups posted here might suggest. That I'm not a fan of--rarely (never?) seen it work: you don't gain the CAM you need, and you lose the quality deep-lying mid you had.

I did watch the pool game. I did watch the pool game. 😄 Now if you want Enzo in a CAM position... then I'm out of the discussion, sorry.

That goes down to personal preference, and age too: never rated Auba--way too lazy for the PL--and had already lost some of hit pace when he left Arsenal. I was 100% against signing him from day 1. Sterling made some sense, and I still expect him to deliver in a working system. He already took his much needed break from Pep's demanding system. With Nkunku playing on the left, Sterling would need to close down and do what Mount used to do. My issue is cover. I think the alternatives are either (so far) complete flops or complete unknowns.

Elite goal scorers? who? 😅 Last one I remember was Diego Costa. Partially agree with the second: not enough options on the wings. Completely dependent on Sterling to regain some kind of form, or it will be a long season.

behind: he's always facing the opposition goal. (helps with his best quality: passing as he has full view of movements in attack) Ahead: has his back to the opposition goal often. (he will have to often deal with pressure at his back and will need to turn to make a pass/assist). Different characteristics. Enzo is Enzo, not KDB.

What's the midfield? or are you too talking about the CM pairing? Now if you say the CM pairing *is* the midfield, then perhaps we see the game very differently. Balanced teams always have 5 midfield players at all times. They move a lot, in and out of position. Always thought Mount was particularly good at being more of a CM, and also moving out wide when possible. The very BEST teams pack the midfield with even more players: Guardiola's system is basically the art of having almost the entire team in midfield. "on paper" the 2 CMs seem to have the potential to become the best pairing in the league... silly to say that until they actually perform both individually and teamwork. They may do well individually, for ex, and still not work so well with the rest of the players--not unheard of.

These starting lineups look unbalanced to me; OK to use in away games against the top teams, or City, but just not enough attacking players against smaller outfits. Enzo is quality coming from behind. You move him up and you run a risk of making him ineffective. Lavia never caught my attention as someone I should be watching, but we need a player who can linkup and/or join the attack, otherwise we will struggle with goals. Now for the love of me, please get it through your thick heads! 😆 STERLING WILL PLAY! It's easier if you just accept that reality. I mean it will save you a lot of useless posts listing players who will never start.

I think you meant CM pairing, because the midfield bit is a bit funny. 😉

that does not include some players who are still at the club and who are presumably going to be sold or loaned out. Ugochukwu for example... isn't he staying?

You are right that he played PL last season, and got relegated--is it better? It's also a fact he's now a championship player and as such should entertain a lower market value. We did not see any of the top clubs chasing him immediately after the drop, did we? I think what the club is doing is very clear and obvious, and I, for one, would have zero expectation for Lavia this season. I personally, for a number of reasons, do not like signing players who show potential in very poor sides; it could be misleading. 🤷‍♂️

Lavia is as unproven as it gets esp coming from championship. Odd considering that Poch said no long ago, "Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that he does not want any more than 25 players in his Chelsea squad for the 2023-24 campaign."

Partially agreed. The game today against Wolves was mostly about fitness; wolves players were simply running past United players as if they were cones for 90+. They also won most 50/50 disputes. It was quite an achievement for United and the officials to pick up the 3 points. Yeah Wolves finishing wasn't there. Fans will always see what they want to see.

Yup... that's the level we need him at. You are talking about accomplishments tho, not quality of play; much is not under his control unless he forces an exit in a couple of years in case we continue struggling. I've watched plenty of that ream play and Valencia was a cracking player at times, but there was plenty of quality all around.

my point exactly. 😉

Welcome to the club! Kid, you just need to become the best Ecuador player in history to be the player we need, but no pressure. 😄

haha took me a second to remember him... now I'm trying to forget. Yeah these super long contracts are a new thing... it shows a lot of confidence in the scouting, but it's scary as any player could have his career changed by injuries and whatnot. Especially younger players, because they are still developing physically--some still bulking up--and it's difficult to predict how the joints/muscles will adapt. R9 at inter was the extreme case of that.

that's a VERY low bar for a 100m+ player 😆