Leif

If we could master this it'd be the most fitting song for Kante. Listening to it had me seeing him walk onto the pitch in graceful slow motion.

I think it's worth the risk. When he's playing, everyone else on the field is a modern pistol, while he's a large cannon from the middle ages. The large cannon does have a higher chance of failing in its execution; its older; but it was also crafted in more delicate & creative times, so when that cannon does execute, it makes the pistols look like toys. It's worth taking the risk of having a lump of uselessness if half the time it'll blow everyone away.

Thank you for my temporary post restriction finally being lifted after 2 months blue children. It wasn't painful at all not slandering Cahill while my dinner fell on the floor.

He's been rather shit each time we've loaned him out (I mean, where's his motivation to perform?), but, while here I thought he wasn't great, but incredible. Not as a player, but as a stat-bloater. Against smaller sides, this is the guy you start the game with, or sub with Bats, while our main striker rests. No more of this 1 striker for the entire season foolishness.

Come on. It's usually the players you're NOT linked to that you sign. How long were papers linking us with Rudiger? Not for a fraction of how long they linked us to others (Manolas), who we didn't sign. (Unless we count previous season links - oh how nice that Conte planned for him 3 years in advance. How long were Milan linked to Bonucci? About 24 hours. Caballero? Out of nowhere. Our departures so far? Out of nowhere. It's almost shocking to me, that we actually did sign someone the papers kept linking us to. The papers didn't have us linked with Hazard, Costa (I think?), Fabregas, Luiz (either times), Torres, and more. Logically, it makes sense that Chelsea have surely made contact with Dortmund, considering we do go for high profile players, which there aren't many of left that are available currently. Trust logic, not papers.

Kenedy out there but no Christensen.

Seeing Boga and no Musonda was quite a big 'fuck sake' moment for a lot of us I bet.

Michael Emenalo: You think Emenalo started being shat on in 2015?

I love Aub/Nainggolan/Fabinho; now we have 3. Circle jerk.

I can't picture any other striker on earth we've been linked to in the past 5 years building as good chemistry with Hazard as Aub potentially could. They'd feed off eachother beautifully; Hazard already puts the ball where Aub would be, only to never have players of ours there.

The only strikers he remotely reminds me of are Suarez & prime Torres. Not the worst company. Thinking about it again, more prime Torres than prime Suarez. Less dribbling and more use of strength. More finishing, less creating. But he's shades of both.

I think when a midfielder like Fabinho does his job perfectly, most people tend not to notice. A bit like everyone raved about Xavi/Iniesta, when it was Busquets refining and mastering a role. Like when Makelele was absurdly talented, but nobody in the league talked about him, because he wasn't flashy like those around him. In fact it's hardly different from how nobody in the league but Chelsea/Leic fans appreciate Kante. I mean Kante is by far our most important midfielder, but we don't see highlight reels or 5 second Vines of him; the world instead, sees Matic score an amazing goal vs. Tottenham, push players to the ground with superior strength, and then they believe Matic is somehow equal to Kante. I couldn't stop gushing over Fabinho in this scenario if i tried. He's calmer, stronger, taller; he has a far more powerful shot; he's a penalty taking wiz; he's simply the 'smarter' footballer of the 2 in terms of football IQ...he's one of maybe 20 players in Europe who'd be able to kick it with any teams from any era. Bakayoko would be laughed out of most elite teams from history, based on his current level. Based on current level, Fabinho would've got into our original dominant side a decade ago; he would've been better than Gattuso for Milan; from way back then to today still, he'd look tailor-made for any United squad; he'd even be a very solid replacement for either Vidal or X. Alonso at Bayern; they'd retain their dominant, calm demeanor. Bakayoko though i'm sure, would be deemed too erratic by every top side, which we're not yet back to being. He isn't exciting to a lot of people, but it's hard to appreciate even the very best classical music when the rest of the world is playing average pop. We appreciate what we're familiar with more than we appreciate what's good for us. Without hoards of journalists & whatnot saying 'Fabinho's clearly better', we doubt ourselves and the player. But when thousands of teenagers on Twitter change their avi's to Bakayoko, and make Vines for the player, he's suddenly, perhaps, maybe... the next coming of Christ? It's really just the same as music. More people in this world will say Beyonce is a greater singer than Whitney Houston was, but that doesn't mean it's true. People rarely answer who is actually, technically, literally better, but instead just who they prefer. And more people prefer Bakayoko, because let's face it, he's more charismatic.

They're different players, but question who offers the long term value. I have no bias here; I wouldn't be excited if we signed Fabinho; he's just a box-to-box player, but... Fabinho can fit into any formation. He has shown himself equally strong in defence, as midfield, in every role you can think of, from right back, to centre midfield, to centre back, to being a damn winger when the time calls. It's hard to define which is his number 1, best trait, because he's good at so much - nobody since Lampard could strike the ball from outside the box with such accuracy, so consistently. Nobody since Makelele, in our team, has shown the same level of awareness when facing threat from the other team, though I understand Kante could be argued as his equal. His actual tackling ability, once the 2 players are only 1cm from eachother, is simply other-wordly from both Matic & Bakayoko. Where both of the latter will use their body strength first, throwing themselves into a challenge, and releasing the ball later, Fabinho only enters a tackle once we knows with complete certainty, that he'll have at least 1 option once he's got the ball. Bakayoko and Matic, both of them, tackle the player first - figure out if it was worth it, 2nd. Fabinho has the foresight, and that's why Mourinho wanted him, where Emenalo wanted Bakayoko, probably under the guise that since he'd be snagged for up to 10m cheaper, his 'potential' is somehow increased. Not so, unfortunately. Fabinho has every trait Lampard had. Every trait any great midfielder had, and that is his best area to be deployed. Vision. Ultra-quick instinct. Aggression. Ability to soak up new tactics. Level-headed off the field. Bakayoko, to compare, I struggle to find anything he's great at. He's good at winning the ball, some of the time, by throwing himself into the tackle before the other player expects it (he tackles early), but that's barely a tick to his name, it's just his style, which fails as often as it succeeds. Neither player offers more pace or momentum than the other. I don't need to say that only 1 player out of these 2 is captain material... So you have a winner, who can fit in any formation, in any role, and play it better than any peer, vs. a limited player, who can only work in a 2-man defensive-midfield set-up so that his blunders can be covered. One reads the game like a master - the other thinks he can master the game by having more energy than his peers. It's literally, genuinely, so close, to a comparison of Lampard vs. post-injury Essien, or Ramires. If you want to do what's best for Conte, no question, you sign Bakayoko. If you want what's best for the club, especially in 2-3 years once our manager has changed, 100 times out of 100, you sign Fabinho, who once signed by any club, will be desired and loved for at least a decade. Bakayoko can't dream of such love, for good reason - he's an average footballer.

*Laughs like Mr Krabs*

Milan's idealism as opposed to realism hasn't changed with ownership. If a player is the 'best Italian striker in the league' (Belotti at Torino), he must surely be the best at Milan too. So they won't stop until they get him. Bonucci wasn't their biggest signing at all, at least in their mind, whoever 'they' is - lingering old legends, board members who've remained throughout the change of regime. Belotti's by far their most desired player. Which on the other side of the coin is silly since their latest striker is just like him in almost every way. A lot of Milan fans argue that Aub would suit them better. In the short term I agree, but in the long term, I doubt either striker will lead to European success; but Belotti has more in him to conquer Italy compared to Aub. It must've been 3 out of my last 10 or 15 posts to include this, but make it 4 - Serie A's revival is in full swing, and that's where the football lovers are. The passionate are in England; those looking to be entertained in Spain. Those who love dissecting the game at every level from player to the board, are in Serie A, where football will never die, thanks to the country being most steeped in tradition without rejecting it. They know what quality entertainment is; it's putting a cap on capitalism. Everyone from every club (bar 2), to every sport, will be interested in lending their energy to Milan so that Serie A is truly no longer a one-horse race. Just hope Choulo can take it

I think he'll go to Milan. A lot of clubs bullshit their way through transfers, but Milan have already put the proof in the pudding, and so I'd be salivating as a player to go there. It seems to slip from our minds too easily that Milan are a much larger club than United, or even Barcelona. Madrid are their only equals, at least in Europe. I would need 5+ hands to count all the top class, legends, which have worn the Milan crest. I'd only need 2-3 hands to count all the United/Madrid/Chelsea/Juventus/Bayern legends. No other club has the same romance; the same ups and downs, the passion and distaste, the anger and joy. They're truly a different class, no small thanks to their ultras.

If you combined Bats + Lukaku into one player...

And it was just posted yesterday, too, so all up to date. Enjoy. http://www.espn.co.uk/football/nigeria/story/3157665/michael-emenalo-is-most-influential-african-in-europe-says-kanu

I think we're just waiting for him to put his value back up; we must've bought him for around 5m or so, which was loads for a youth player at the time. Right now, he's basically worth that, but we've paid a chunk of wages. So, we're probably praying for an elite season from him next year, and then finally, sell him for a measly 8m or so to break even, and fool some of us into thinking we're making a profit from the loan policy.

You add a lot of words without substance, and a lot of posts aiming for likes instead of sharing your actual insight. Come back with real opinions, and not essays based off of 2 days of research, my guy. Walls of text fool most into thinking there's substance in there, but not me, & a few others.

Thanks to you, I know someone I've had on ignore for a year, finally wants me on ignore. Thank you Footballover.

A great point from a Juventus forum, since we should be as informed about the footballing world as much as our own club IMO - "One thing to note as well,Under Conte no major players left "voluntarily"Under Allegri - Pirlo, Vidal, Tevez, Bonucci, Alves, Evra, Pogba, ComanAllegri might be a great tactician but there's something iffy about his man management skills. If the incident at Cardiff was true, then the coach needs to step up in these kind of situations and try to defuse. He needs a tougher character IMO"

I don't know how being 2 years older changes the fact a player is far more impressive. If that's a criteria we carry forward, nobody can say Mata's better than Oscar, or that Musonda's better than an average bloke playing for the youth team. "But he's 2 years older!!!!" I hear you cry. And I don't know why. 5x better. *Waste of a post. I just read that in around 33 days, they're the same age. So... what?

Forget me - listen to the club. The club themselves have released statements & articles about Emenalo's Technical Director role. Now, what is a technical director for? They're for when a manager lacks trust, from the owner or 'board', and thus, every idea the manager has, is filtered through the TD, considered, and then either given a 'No', or, a 'We can consider this.' But don't let that paint the picture like Emenalo's only had that role. He hasn't. If i remember correctly, a year or so ago, we created an entirely new role for him, just so he could stay in a job. And now he gives as much input regarding our youth policy as he does our transfer policy. And on that note, I don't think I said he negotiates our transfers. If I did, I misspoke. He is the face of our club during transfers, is what I meant to say. He meets the agents, he talks, he persuades, he challenges, he asks, he ponders - Marina does the final, quiet conversation & paperwork - After Emenalo has signed off on the entire thing. After Emenalo has either made/broken ground under whoever he's making the club's first impressions on. After Emenalo has indeed confirmed we should chase that target. She, like a secretary, signs whoever she's told to - she is a machine. He, has more say in who we scout than the manager (I'd like to know which scout has the most say). He has more say in, out of those we scout, who we should make formal moves for. He leads our entire recruiting and selling policies. He is the face of both of those. When those departments are under-par, he is responsible. I'm sounding awfully racist, and it's only getting worse as I edit & add more on, I should stop.

Nah forget that, it might make me racist I've made it clear many times what it's most likely he does. You haven't. So, what do you think he does? If you can't define what he does, that's more worrying than anything.