robsblubot

I will just leave my 2 copper pieces here for posterity. Evidently, it's a great signing and a player who's sought after by a number of clubs. IMO, he shows enough potential to warrant the faith put in him, but it's also a bit of a gamble like almost all signing are, especially at this level. The sample we have is from the World Cup, which despite being very competitive and physical in most single-elimination matches, is also its own thing. Sometimes what we see in the World Cup does not translate well at club level... while other times it does (Kante for ex). The Portuguese league is also a notch or two easier than the PL, so it's also something to be taken with a grain of salt. With that out of the way, and once again, it's still a very exciting signing by the club!

Hate to be the critical one, but questionable technique on the flying kick. 😅 Welcome Enzo!

Was just reminded that City paid 100m for Grealish, which makes Enzo a freaking bargain. 😆

Thanks! That's Portugal though, so time on the ball would be working in his favor--still shows amazing vision and technique when striking the football tho. For that reason, I will assume what I saw in last tight games at the WC is what he deliver at this level, at least immediately, but this is reassuring that he can grow and become a key player indeed.

Interesting. I have to confess I haven't seen that much skill on the ball so far, nor the passing quality needed for a possession game, but I haven't seen enough of him. If that's the case, then he'd be an even better signing than I anticipated. 🤤

Dunno if right, but I see Enzo as a clear long-term replacement for Kante, not Jorginho, not in terms of quality, but in characteristics esp.

Jorginho is one of these odd players who managed the feat of being both overrated and underrated at the same time. For me, he's a good player with very specific characteristics, which means he'll excel in specific systems and struggle (mediocre) in others. unfortunately, I think he will thrive under Arteta's, which makes Arsenal a disappointing destination in my book. All in all, I think he had his moments for us, so thank you and (some) good luck! 😉

The Enzo deal will happen. There are a lot of ppl making money out of this, so they will all push through. Player would become extremely unsettled if it does not happen, which would be terrible for Benfica too. Regarding Endrik, I'll be the first to say it: he looks a bit too heavy/bulky for his age.

Vasco and Cruzeiro have been in Serie B for a bit, which was odd. Gremio (team I support in BR) dropped last year and came back alongside Vasco and Cruzeiro. For context, all these Brazilian sides are managed by amateurs -- as in the elected president selects the people he/she wants at the club. This invariably leads to quacks (I mean really incompetent almost in a funny way) people managing millions and millions of dollars worth. The result is that 3 years before Gremio was playing Real Madrid in the WCC and last year was in Serie B. Some of these clubs, like Cruzeiro (Ronaldo #9 owns it), now have owners, so they will prob get better organized. Vasco changed too, but dunno about how the ownership works there. With that out of the way, this was indeed a very odd signing. While everyone sees quality in him, he was yet to play Serie A! in Brazil. And Serie A is the league where washouts like Hulk become the leading goal scorers. Very likely Luis Suarez will score tons for Gremio. So, having done well in Brazil Serie B does not really mean a whole lot. Oh well, let's hope someone read his potential just right despite the weak opposition.

You are being nice. 🙂 We played like shit against Palace, but luckily they are shit and have been for years, so we found a goal, or rather Kai found a goal for us (it wasn't much of a chance).

blasphemy! Harry Kane is the more competent diver IMHO 😆

Often the main, and perhaps only, quality of a rich person is the money they have.

Agreed. He's young and has interesting qualities for an attacker. I don't particularly like him when he's employed in the wings and think the best position for him is really center FW even if he's allowed (even encouraged) to move about the pitch. He's 23 and no striker/CF can deliver without the team clicking. It's just not going to happen... he will botch the very few chances he will get and lose confidence as a result joining the rest in their struggle. Yes, someone can make the point that Haaland would likely do more, but those aren't available out there and it's a very difficult position to sign players for. It's time to be calm when analyzing individuals as this is a team sport and we don't currently have one (a team).

The big absences for me are the fullbacks, Kante, and Mendy (esp considering how poor Kepa is). I don't think the others make that much of an impact -- perhaps Sterling once once he starts clicking with the team, but it hasn't happened yet. And here's the issue: James, Chilwell, and Kante have all been injury prone of late.

While I am also not onboard with this bet on potter, there is a certain level of professionalism that I expect from footballers. I understand we are in an injury crisis and yet our starting XI is 10 times the value of most teams we play against in the PL. Some of the players aren't even attainable for those smaller clubs. Willian was considered "deadwood" years ago.

I hear you... I'm not saying I agree with that, but Imo it's the way the game has gone with millionaire players who can pick and choose where they play and who they play for.

unfortunately in today's game that's often due to not respecting the manager. That was what I was most afraid of. Would you be surprised if some of the injured players become available a few days after the sacking? Seen that one before too... but I'm older than most here 😉

makes sense yeah. Same here! I honestly don't understand how ppl can even compare the two: the difference in reach alone is absolutely massive.

For some reason we, as well as the press, have been nice to Kepa. I'm convinced he's one of the worst goalies I've seen play at a top club. He's Karius level and all he needs is the opportunity to do what Karius did. It's no accident that we had Mendy (in excellent form) during our CL run. There is no way to do that with Kepa on goal.

Don't forget the absences bring everyone down... the better/established players too. It's not tennis.

Agreed. Although I always thought both were a bit overrated esp Rodriguez who only had that one WC at top level. 🤷‍♂️ Regarding Kai and Felix, I feel Kai has the edge simply because he has the build to play striker, which is the better position for him too IMO.

While Kai has been poor of late, I've seen much more from him. Honestly, perhaps the first good 90min I see from Felix will happen while he's wearing blue. 🤞

yup. He was pretty much saying that given enough time Chelsea would turn into Brighton right and proper. 😉

Yeah this list looks strikingly bad. Now, regarding Christian Pulisic we know what that was all about: $$$ into the American market. I do wonder how many of those were pushed by agents (payback combo deals) and whether the club is keeping tabs on which agent pushed for who. Tiemoué Bakayoko - still on the books this is the best contract he will even get... will never leave.

No argument there. Why not a couple, maybe even a few (including other positions) bets instead of a marquee name with his recent history? and yet clubs do that all the time (hardly just us) because it's convenient and sells tickets.