Magic Lamps

Yeah he has a good record for us in shoot outs but so did barkley... Including shoot outs for us, RJ's has only taken 5 pens all career IICC (missing one at youth level in a decisive match vs City), so that is not really a good sample. Moreover RJ only plays every other game on average for us, so we would still need to find another reliable scorer. Kai only has this one miss yestereday in a friendly and the one that did not count vs Dortmund and has converted 16 all career all levels (excluding all shootouts this time, can't get comprehensive data for shoot outs on German youth level). That is still a very good record, so even though I still have reservations due to his sketchy technique, I expect him to keep his place.

Yup. He is not that good a finisher still and it shows on pens. Technique not convincing. Can’t think of an obvious candidate to replace him tho.

And the moment i write this, Havertz again hits the right post with a pen ffs Has been overall really good tho today agian. Heart and soul of the German offense

still has time on his side, his talent is obvious. What he needs is a bit more mental sharpness. Learn to play with a higher tempo and more decisiveness. Physically, he has all the tools. Let's see what he makes of it.

Maybe it is just me and it is another false dawn but has no one else noticed Havertz evolving a bit? He has demanded and collected more balls than usually, driven the team forward, has become slightly more physical. But most importantly he has begun to take on responsibility. Probably has todo with his revised role in the team but he clearly is our leader in attack now. Taking pens, scoring important goals and most importantly putting in his shift even when things are not going for him.

That is a speculative but plausible hypothesis. If their board really is backing a 37yo goalkeeper over a younger, up and coming coach, they are living in the past. Neuer's race is run while Nagelsmann has 30+ years in management left. If it is really bc of the GK debate tho, Nagelsmann's last interview from a few days ago would have been quite naive. Anyway, the way Bayern handled this was a massive own goal. The new of sacking Nagelsmann was leaked to Bild yesterday afternoon, more than 24hrs before the official confirmation. Nagelsmann allegedly was informed by a journalist. Some players like Cancelo were told in front of running cameras by reports while on intl duty. This was an absolute bottle job. Only 5 days ago, Bayern director Herbert Hainer made a strong public statement of support for Nagelsmann. Honestly I have never been a fan of the young coach, always considered him overrated but he was done really dirty here and with that chaotic board and unsettled squad of theirs. The writing is on the wall for him having his revenge.

Yup. As much as Southgate's inaptitude is costing England the better it is for us. The only Chelsea player he somehow rates is Sterling. Him and Chilwell returning well rested from those darn int breaks is a good thing esp when he uses Walker, Trippier, Shaw instead.

That's true. There was not too much wrong with Nagelsmann. But there were rumours he los tthe dressing room. But then agian the quesiton is, why do you hire young managers on 5y deals if the slightest resistance of the dressing room has them sacked. Could as well ask the players who should be coach at this point Moreover, Salihamidzic, Kahn, Tuchel are all three difficult characters. This constellation is a timebomb. Still there is almost a guarantee of short term success and they probably are looking to salvage this very season at first. No doubt Bayern will blowout Dortmund right after the int break. Not sure Nagelsmann is the best option for us either. If he really lost Bayern dressing room, he will lose ours in a matter of weeks. Can't be worse than Potter tho.

😂 Cracked me up a bit As it is widely known, Skegness, Lincolnshire has always been one of the hottest tourist destinations for German families since the 90ies. Just after Witts End, Bedfordshire and Rotten Bottom, Cumbria. Quirky locals with funny dialect and undefinable wet weather are exactly what we are not getting enough of at home 😂

On the one hand TT will win Bayern a CL this or next season for sure and absolutely decimate the rest of BuLi on the other hand he will alienate their players and disrupt their squad structure, buy guys like Julian Weigl with which Bayern will be stuck for years the.

Yeah was about to post this a day ago when the forum was dow Bayern now with possibly the best KO tournament coach will be clear favourites for the CL title. mind they fired a coach they paid 25m for who was on a 5 year deal while being a single point off 1st place and still in all competitions. That is what ambition looks like. Needless to say we linger on with a coach on similar parameters while being 10th and out of all but one competition. “Trust the process”

Great result to get away from home at one of the very best teams in Europe. Good finish for the goal and great tactical display to withstand the onslaught as well. Am confident they will see this through now. Even though this was the hardest possible game at this point, the field is still incredibly strong if they go through.

He is definitely more mobile than Lukaku and runs more off the ball, presses more (less is hardly possible tho). But he is not technically clean either. If we continue 3-4-3 and sacrifice Sterling/Felix/Kai playing in the middle of the three als false 9 and plug Osimhen we will indeed lose some technical ability in attack. Moreover, I do not think we should pay 150m for him esp if we still have Donkeykaku on the book who will continue to cost us almost that much in wages as well. But he is the best striker on the market and probably top 5-10 overall. However, like you say, we need to be aware of his limitations and consider what type of striker even fits us. He will not score as many goals as in Italy and he does not have the positional instincts and reliable finishing of a Haaland, so we should not expect him to become a wonder striker here. Osimhen is good but he is pretty much a finished product. He has improved his output gradually but not really developed his game this season anymore. IMO we need a striker who is fast but can also play with back to goal, is aerially competent and presses like mad but also at least reliably converts the easy chances. Tragically, the arguably best fit for this is our very own but possibly perma-wrecked Broja if only he was more clinical. Osimhen comes close enough, so I would not be mad at all if we bought him.

Shows Cucu is not only an average player but also struggles with concisely conveying information as well as fkin googling a players name.

I would pass on him as things stand. He is exactly what we don't need and already have plenty of, a technical but inefficient and wasteful player. If we intend to keep Havertz who is currently our best attacker, we have no place for the similar Felix esp when the superior Nkunku joins us. We have an abundance of AMs already.

If we keep Kova and Kante gets fully fit again we only need a GK and a CF in summer, that's it. Replacement for Mount? We have enough players to sit on the bench. Will be way more important to get rid of the deadwood than to make another acquisition wave in the market.

Even with the good old TT playbook and super conservative (or idiotic) subs, GP is having us underperforming massively. Was never convinced of this false dawn. Will return from the int break with maybe one decent or two decent games and then tbe same lack of energy and ideas will kick in again. Same for koulibaly, Cucurella and Kepa form. They will just go back to their usual shit selves

Tbf Naploi and Benfica have played amazing seasons so far and deserve to be where they are. The Milan teams are absolute dross and don’t belong into this competition anymore.

There go our chances. us vs real is somewhat 50-50 but can’t see us beat city or Bayern over two legs. The other half of the draw is a joke tho. i think we actually can outplay real like we always do but they will be clinical we won’t

Impressed with St Gilloise counter attacking football. Could take a leaf out of their book how you play out a counter with direct passing and timely clinical finishing.

It is indeed a recurring pattern. Still think we would be more solid at the back with Badi instead of Cucu in LCB

which I don't understand and is somewhat unfair. Badiashile barely put a foot wrong. Both have looked quality this year tho.

That's odd to say when Haaland scored 5 goals against a better opponent just yesterday. Osimhen is good. but Haaland is a goal guarantee.

I really don’t think Liverpool are still capable of big turnarounds anymore. Their squad looks rinsed, Klopp has exhausted his repertoire, salah is missing more chances than ever, Mane is gone, vvd getting old. They are not the force they once were and need a rebuild. would like them to do it anyway. They are easier to beat than the nuisance that is Madrid

Have we under potter tho? We have not beaten any real top team under him so far apart from Milan/Dortmund. only way to beat City, Real or Bayern is with a big slice of luck and the old TT playbooks we have however performed better vs less conservatively defending sides that leave spaces in behind. Even if did not win we played better vs City, owned Dortmund and Milan. the problem will remain our chance conversion. If we want to beat City or Bayern we need to be super clinical cos they sure as hell will be.