Erling Haaland

[MoroccanBlue 5,385]

17 minutes ago, Atomiswave said:

No of course I cant prove they bribed but when 2 of the judges were in City's pocket then thats a possibility. From top to buttom they are shady as fuck. We all know how the likes of Qatar won the world cup election, the game is dirty.

I'm asking you to prove that or provide anything concrete that states as much. This screams conflict of interest and is very well a serious issue why this hasn't been investigated nor appealed. 

Edited March 24, 2021 by MoroccanBlue

[Jase 43,479]

1 hour ago, NikkiCFC said:

Aguero, Jesus, B. Silva, Torres, Mahrez, Foden, Sterling. If they can do it, we can do it.

I'd argue that we have more first starting XI players, players who want to be in the starting XI week in week out more than City. From the 6 that @MoroccanBlue named there, there are 2 already fully-fledged German internationals, 1 goalscoring freak, 1 main star or the face of a NT, 1 budding star(?) from our academy. Ziyech may be the most expendable one of the lot but I suspect he won't be happy if he just sits on the bench. 

Furthermore, City have made that work because they tend to win most of the time. No one is gonna question much at all if the manager or the team is winning every week. Are we able to do that? You only have to see some of the recent reactions, that even though we are on a good run, people are still asking why isn't this player in the starting XI, why that player isn't playing bla bla bla. 

[MoroccanBlue 5,385]

Yeah I personally can't see this working without pissing someone off. Not unless one of Ziyech, Werner, or Pulisic is sold. 

[NikkiCFC 8,337]

14 minutes ago, Jason said:

I'd argue that we have more first starting XI players, players who want to be in the starting XI week in week out more than City. From the 6 that @MoroccanBlue named there, there are 2 already fully-fledged German internationals, 1 goalscoring freak, 1 main star or the face of a NT, 1 budding star(?) from our academy. Ziyech may be the most expendable one of the lot but I suspect he won't be happy if he just sits on the bench. 

Furthermore, City have made that work because they tend to win most of the time. No one is gonna question much at all if the manager or the team is winning every week. Are we able to do that? You only have to see some of the recent reactions, that even though we are on a good run, people are still asking why isn't this player in the starting XI, why that player isn't playing bla bla bla. 

Why are you against signing Haaland? You made similar comments about Havertz last summer, like do we really need him after already signing Ziyech and Werner.  

When you get the opportunity to sign talent like Haaland and Havertz you have to try no matter who you have in the squad.

It is normal that every top team has 2 players fighting for every position.

For some fans this is problem but really we should not worry about that. Pulisic was not regular in Dortmund and why he has to be here? He should only if he is performing like last season. Mount is also not there yet.

Plus changing formation can easily this fighting for 3 places be like fighting for 4 places. 

I hear this talk of Giroud leaving last 2 years and he is still here. CHO was leaving 26 months ago and he is still here. Players with personality will stay and fight. We can start season with all them and what is the worst that can happen? After one season or two Puli, Hakim, Mason or Timo may ask to leave? This is normal, it is rare that players stay in one club for 6,7,8+ years.

[ZAPHOD2319 4,819]

Nobody has bothered to understand if Pulisic is even bothered coming off the bench? Growing up in the U.S., he is aware that in the NBA the 6th man that comes off the bench to give instant offense is held in high regard. The 6th man of the year is a pretty big award.

[MoroccanBlue 5,385]

Just to continue to entertain this idea we are signing him, Haaland and Havertz would undoubtedly be the spearhead of our attack. Neither will sit out for the other and in all likelihood both would play off each other. Their talent is far too great to sit on the bench and merely rotate. They will presumably play the majority of our games compared to the other attackers.  

Werner/Pulisic/Ziyech/Mount fighting for 1 spot in the 343.

Werner/Pulisic/Ziyech/CHO fighting for 2 spots in a 442 variation/4231 or 443. 

We are bound to see issues arising. 

 

[Atomiswave 6,118]

1 hour ago, MoroccanBlue said:

I'm asking you to prove that or provide anything concrete that states as much. This screams conflict of interest and is very well a serious issue why this hasn't been investigated nor appealed. 

I see what I can dig up, we shouldnt be shocked either, connections and money go hand in hand.

[MoroccanBlue 5,385]

6 minutes ago, Atomiswave said:

I see what I can dig up, we shouldnt be shocked either, connections and money go hand in hand.

As far as I'm concerned, every trophy City won or will win 2012 and onwards is illegitimate. It was already proved they were cheating. Statute of limitations should mean fuck all. 

Nobody cares about City. 

Edited March 24, 2021 by MoroccanBlue

[Jase 43,479]

7 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

Why are you against signing Haaland? You made similar comments about Havertz last summer, like do we really need him after already signing Ziyech and Werner.  

When you get the opportunity to sign talent like Haaland and Havertz you have to try no matter who you have in the squad.

Have I explicitly said that I am against signing Haaland? 

Am just stating the problems that could potentially occur when we have so many players that would want to play week in week out. Am I wrong to question that? I don't subscribe to this idea that if there's a chance to sign a big talent like A, B, C, you have to absolutely take it. This isn't Football Manager or FIFA. I want a world class team, just like everyone else, but I also want to see a cohesive team, a team filled with players that can work together and make a team. I don't want to see us just buy all the "shiny toys" out there but have no clue how to fit all the pieces together into an actual, cohesive team, which is what we seem to be doing.

I didn't mind the Havertz signing last summer but the reason I questioned it back then was because while people keep on saying he's a generational talent and all that, I don't see him as a player who can bring that X factor to a team, someone who can do something out of nothing - e.g. someone like Hazard. Maybe he might grow into one such player in the future but right now, I don't see it. Plus, I also questioned the signing then because we have a more urgent to sort out the midfield and we still do, IMO. It wouldn't have covered his flaws as a manager but for example, if we had used the Havertz money to buy Rice last summer, would it have been better in making Lampard's plan for the team work?

Moreover compared to Havertz, I can totally understand the signing of Haaland because we desperately need a clinical striker upfront and there's also a clarity in Haaland's position in that he's a clear striker, not someone who can play in various positions but always have that potential question mark over his best position like Havertz.

19 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

It is normal that every top team has 2 players fighting for every position.

But not every team have 2 top players for every position. There's an argument to be made about having consistency in the selection, a clear hierarchy of the players in the squad. 

24 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

For some fans this is problem but really we should not worry about that. Pulisic was not regular in Dortmund and why he has to be here? He should only if he is performing like last season. Mount is also not there yet.

This mindset is like what most governments had when first faced with the COVID-19 pandemic...

Just because it is not a problem now, it doesn't mean we shouldn't be talking about it because it is a potential problem. And are you really comparing this current Pulisic with the Pulisic that was still in his teen years at Dortmund? Of course he wasn't going to be a regular then. But it's a different case now that he's in his early 20s and developing to a potential world class player. 

[Jase 43,479]

15 minutes ago, ZAPHOD2319 said:

Nobody has bothered to understand if Pulisic is even bothered coming off the bench? Growing up in the U.S., he is aware that in the NBA the 6th man that comes off the bench to give instant offense is held in high regard. The 6th man of the year is a pretty big award.

Are you saying that he should be happy with a sub role? This isn't NBA. 

[ZAPHOD2319 4,819]

Just now, Jason said:

Are you saying that he should be happy with a sub role? This isn't NBA. 

It doesn't matter if it is the NBA or not. It is the culture he grew up with. He may be perfectly happy coming off the bench. I have not read a complaint from him yet.

[MoroccanBlue 5,385]

2 minutes ago, ZAPHOD2319 said:

It doesn't matter if it is the NBA or not. It is the culture he grew up with. He may be perfectly happy coming off the bench. I have not read a complaint from him yet.

He's the face of American football and has the potential to become a more direct Hazard. I sincerely doubt he's contempt with being a bit player when he could certainly start elsewhere. Mane's replacement at Liverpool for example.

[Jase 43,479]

4 minutes ago, ZAPHOD2319 said:

It doesn't matter if it is the NBA or not. It is the culture he grew up with. He may be perfectly happy coming off the bench. I have not read a complaint from him yet.

But it's not the culture of the sport he is playing in. He's also THE star of the USMNT. 

Moreover given the nature of his character, would you expect him to come out and complain right now and potentially destabilize the team? 

He knows he's got the talent and it's clear that he wants to play week in week out. He's not someone who's going to just be happy be a sub player. Otherwise, we wouldn't have heard/seen reports about him potentially considering his future in the summer if he continues to be a sub player under Tuchel. 

[ZAPHOD2319 4,819]

6 minutes ago, MoroccanBlue said:

He's the face of American football and has the potential to become a more direct Hazard. I sincerely doubt he's contempt with being a bit player when he could certainly start elsewhere. Mane's replacement at Liverpool for example.

He is not as much Captain America as you would believe. That is a media thing. His teammates do not look at him as team leader. I think people are making assumptions about him. He might be perfectly happy with where he is right now.

[Atomiswave 6,118]

19 minutes ago, MoroccanBlue said:

As far as I'm concerned, every trophy City won or will win 2012 and onwards is illegitimate. It was already proved they were cheating. Statute of limitations should mean fuck all. 

Nobody cares about City. 

Im the same MB.......btw I just saw that FFP has been scrapped. Its finished.

[ZAPHOD2319 4,819]

Another thing Pulisic would have grown up with is the Closer in MLB. It is a prestigious position, often overshadowing the starting pitchers. He might be more comfortable with coming off the bench as people might think.

[NikkiCFC 8,337]

We all need to put Chelsea first and trust Tuchel. He knows the best.

Lamps was worried about stuff like that to make everyone happy and what happened? He played Kai and Mount as number 8s so we had 5 players on the pitch that are now fighting for 3 spots. But we had zero balance and are now incomparably better team. Do you want that? 

And I still think he can make everyone happy.

Last 4 games for example: 

Pulisic 165 mins from possible 360.

Ziyech 164

Havertz 288

Werner 194

Mount 193 (and was suspended for one game)

CHO 156

 Pretty sure they are all fine with this.

[NikkiCFC 8,337]

And how much is Haaland going to score against Gibraltar tonight?

[Jase 43,479]

32 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

Lamps was worried about stuff like that to make everyone happy and what happened? He played Kai and Mount as number 8s so we had 5 players on the pitch that are now fighting for 3 spots. But we had zero balance and are now incomparably better team. Do you want that? 

The thing with Lampard is he supposedly only wanted Chilwell out of the summer signings. Did he really want Werner, Havertz and Ziyech or were they really the club signings? Assuming it's the latter, it's clear that he didn't seem to have a clue how to fit Werner and Havertz in especially, even though he may have bought into those signings. He might have had a plan for the team but had to change to something completely different because he was given players that he perhaps wasn't looking for.

Moreover, Lampard's main issue wasn't that he tried to keep everyone happy but rather how he was using them tactically. Ziyech and Pulisic were always seemingly injured at one point or another while Havertz also got COVID-19. So, his decision to select the team wasn't really complicated. 

32 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

And I still think he can make everyone happy.

Last 4 games for example: 

Pulisic 165 mins from possible 360.

Ziyech 164

Havertz 288

Werner 194

Mount 193 (and was suspended for one game)

CHO 156

Pretty sure they are all fine with this.

Rotation this season is fine. We can get away with it because of the congested schedule. But next season, in a normal season?

At some point, I believe we need to settle on a consistent selection and not try to change it every game, every week. Constantly chopping and changing is not going to be helpful at all and it's arguably a reason why our attack has been rather disjointed because it's a different front 3 in almost every game. 

And as I said before, it's easy to keep everyone happy when the team is doing well. Nobody wants to be that arsehole and try to destabilize the team. The problem usually comes when the results start to go south. The same thing has happened with every manager at this club, for example. 

[Jase 43,479]

It's bloody obvious that the club want to sign Haaland but I asked this before, what is the club's backup plan if we don't get Haaland?

Do they want Haaland because they feel we need a top striker and Haaland is that OR do they only want Haaland because he's the shiny toy right now?