Erling Haaland

[Jase 43,479]

11 hours ago, Superblue_1986 said:

You'll always have patches in the season where some don't play as often as they'd like but I'm sure with 6 players, come the end of the season they'd have all started 30 games and probably played their part in 40 or more. It would be up to Tuchel to get them all aiming for one common goal, which is more trophies. I'd like to hope that the UCL has only given them a thirst for more and we've potentially got the squad to challenge on multiple fronts next season.

Mount, Havertz and Werner could all play big parts for their countries this summer, and as you mentioned Pulisic is playing in the Gold Cup. Add to that extra club games, international games, Ziyech at the Afcon and then the World Cup next summer, the fixture list this next year is going to be ridiculous. They will all need opportunities to be rotated and rested during the season and I think 6 is a good number for 3 positions.

I don't disagree but again, no one is gonna like moving in and out of the side. How can one gain any sort of consistency or see improvement by being in and out of the side?

And it doesn't seem like Pulisic will be playing the Gold Cup this summer.

11 hours ago, Superblue_1986 said:

I wouldn't necessarily say Mount is a certainty. I think he currently is in our "best XI" but we got a couple of good results/performances without him under Tuchel and the onus is on him to kick on again this coming season as he definitely needs to add more goals to his game to get to break into the highest level of players.

Are you sure about that? Tuchel has talked endlessly about the importance of Mount and Mount is the one player who has played the most minutes under Tuchel. I'd say Mount needs to be managed better in terms of his minutes to prevent a burnt out and I can also see him being a certainty again.

11 hours ago, Superblue_1986 said:

Haaland too, would likely be used more often than not but he's not a cast iron guarantee to hit the ground running. He may need next season to acclimatise himself, so the alternative options to him could end up being a blessing.

I don't think if we buy someone like Haaland, we would be rotating him a lot. Otherwise, we're gonna have Raiola making noises to the media!

[Vesper 29,008]

22 minutes ago, Jas said:

Because it's not sustainable? Because it could disrupt the dressing room? It's all good when we are winning, like we did most of the time this past season under Tuchel but it can be disruptive when the results start to go south, like we saw under Lampard and we know bad results are never far away when it comes to Chelsea FC. And before people throw in the City comparison again, I'd argue we have more high-profile players vying for starting positions than City. 

define high profile

here are the players we have, who (NOT counting injuries forcing them to start, like a Zouma)

who are good enough to start at least some of the time

Edouard Mendy 

Andreas Christensen 
Antonio Rüdiger
Thiago Silva

Ben Chilwell   

Reece James  
César Azpilicueta    

N'Golo Kanté   
Jorginho    

Mateo Kovacic    
Billy Gilmour   (will be loaned out)

Mason Mount    
Kai Havertz   

Hakim Ziyech    
Callum Hudson-Odoi   
Christian Pulisic   

Timo Werner   

 

there simply are not a lot of friction points there, especially as none other than the GK, the CB's (and Azpi is combo), and the DMF's are in a set position

we are seriously short at CF (as Tammy and Giroud are likely gone), DMF (we really need true DMF, athletic, etc to spell Kante, Jorginho is not up to the double pivot without Kante as partner), and CMF, plus LB (unless we are going to wring another season out of Alonso)

plus backup keeper is fucked (I do NOT trust Kepa for the month Mendy is gone)

and I would like a better CB to replace Zouma (we can get another next season to replace Thiago) just buy Lacroix if Bastoni or Varane are impossible

 

Edited June 8, 2021 by Vesper

[Jase 43,479]

2 minutes ago, Vesper said:

define high profile

here are the players we have, who (NOT counting injuries forcing them to start, like a Zouma)

who are good enough to start at least some of the time

Edouard Mendy 

Andreas Christensen 
Antonio Rüdiger
Thiago Silva

Ben Chilwell   

Reece James  
César Azpilicueta    

N'Golo Kanté   
Jorginho    

Mateo Kovacic    
Billy Gilmour   (will be loaned out)

Mason Mount    
Kai Havertz   

Hakim Ziyech    
Callum Hudson-Odoi   
Christian Pulisic   

Timo Werner   

there simply are not a lot of friction points there, especially as none other than the GK, the CB's (and Azpi is combo), and the DMF's are in a set position

we are seriously short at CF (as Tammy and Giroud are likely gone), DMF (we really need true DMF, athletic, etc to spell Kante, Jorginho is not up to the double pivot without Kante as partner), and CMF, plus LB (unless we are going to wring another season out of Alonso)

plus backup keeper is fucked (I do NOT trust Kepa for the month Mendy is gone)

and I would like a better CB to replace Zouma (we can get another next season to replace Thiago) just buy Lacroix if Bastoni or Varane are impossible

I'm talking about the attacking positions. Having Werner, Havertz, Mount, Pulisic, Ziyech, CHO and Haaland on top of that is A LOT. At least 5 of them there I consider to be high profile. 

[Vesper 29,008]

1 minute ago, Jas said:

I'm talking about the attacking positions. Having Werner, Havertz, Mount, Pulisic, Ziyech, CHO and Haaland on top of that is A LOT. At least 5 of them there I consider to be high profile. 

you are talking about players who can play (other than Håland) in multiple positions

obviously not every single one in ALL of these positions, but many can play in multiple areas and some on either side if need be

tossing Håland in (and with Giroud and Tammy leaving) certainly is not an 'upset the apple cart' manoeuvre

RW

LW

CF

SS

False 9

AMF

and in CHO's case, RWB

 

same for Mbappe

in a perfect world I want them both by season start of 2022/23

 

screw Ziyech and potentially CHO, especially if they fail again this coming season

we have potentially 65 games coming up this season (the only game we deffo do not have is the CS, which would have made it 66, barring cup replays)

we need a massively deep bench

38 league games

The Super Cup

The FWCC (2 games, and then the next year (we have already qualified), potentially 4 or 5 I think, as the format changes)

League Cup (5 potential games)

FA Cup (6 potential games)

CL (13 games potentially)

[Jase 43,479]

7 minutes ago, Vesper said:

you are talking about players who can play (other than Håland) in multiple positions

obviously not every single one in ALL of these positions, but many can play in multiple areas and some on either side if need be

tossing Håland in (and with Giroud and Tammy leaving) certainly is not an 'upset the apple cart' manoeuvre

RW

LW

CF

SS

False 9

AMF

and in CHO's case, RWB

 

same for Mbappe

in a perfect world I want them both by season start of 2022/23

 

screw Ziyech and potentially CHO, especially if they fail again this coming season

we have potentially 65 games coming up this season (the only game we deffo do not have is the CS, which would have made it 66, barring cup replays)

we need a massively deep bench

38 league games

The Super Cup

The FWCC (2 games, and then the next year (we have already qualified), potentially 4 or 5 I think, as the format changes)

League Cup (5 potential games)

FA Cup (6 potential games)

CL (13 games potentially)

But it's 7 players for 3 positions, assuming we stick with the back 3. If 1-2 players become a certainty, then that leaves very little room for others to get in.

[Jase 43,479]

8 hours ago, Pizy said:

I agree that Haaland doesn’t seem like the sort of striker that Pep would normally fancy. He’s not really a guy who plays in intricate spaces and is heavily involved in the buildup. And he definitely isn’t a striker who likes standing around the box while City’s midfielders ping it around a hundred times.

For me the two clubs he would fit like a glove in the PL are ourselves and Liverpool. Teams that like to aggressively press, win the ball high, and blitz opponents with pace and athleticism. He’s a monster in open space and with the runners we’d have around him that space will be available to him constantly.

Saying all that, Haaland would of course score a boat load in the City team. But so would any top striker.

But Haaland is still very young, meaning Guardiola can fine tune or tweak his game to his liking. You think Tuchel wouldn't do something similar IF we get him? 

[Vesper 29,008]

1 minute ago, Jas said:

But it's 7 players for 3 positions, assuming we stick with the back 3. If 1-2 players become a certainty, then that leaves very little room for others to get in.

again you are locking those players into only a few positions, when they almost all can clearly play seeming other than 

LW

RW

CF

I am going to dig my feet in on this

there is ZERO chance bringing in a monster CF upsets the team

ffs, we all have been talking about a CF for ages

and lord knows we have a shedload of games to make sure all get playing time

plus

dare I say

injuries

[Jase 43,479]

2 minutes ago, Vesper said:

again you are locking those players into only a few positions, when they almost all can clearly play seeming other than 

LW

RW

CF

I am going to dig my feet in on this

there is ZERO chance bringing in a monster CF upsets the team

ffs, we all have been talking about a CF for ages

and lord knows we have a shedload of games to make sure all get playing time

plus

dare I say

injuries

Regardless of whether they can play multiple positions, it's still basically 7 players for 3 positions. Even if we take CHO out of that because of RWB, it's still 6 for 3. Not as if the others can suddenly play in midfield or defence. Mount can do the former but that's it.

And I'm not saying getting Haaland specifically will upset the team but rather having too many high profile options for so few positions. 

[Vesper 29,008]

Just now, Jas said:

Regardless of whether they can play multiple positions, it's still basically 7 players for 3 positions. Even if we take CHO out of that because of RWB, it's still 6 for 3. Not as if the others can suddenly play in midfield or defence. Mount can do the former but that's it.

And I'm not saying getting Haaland specifically will upset the team but rather having too many high profile options for so few positions. 

its more than just 3 positions

we are not going to play a rigid double pivot with just 2 wingers and one CF every game

I will be shocked if that happens

and even if we do, you know Mount will sometimes (for better or worse) be in that double pivot

we need a scorer, BADLY

Jorginho with SEVEN (and all were pens ffs) goals was our top league scorer

Werner had 6

Mount had 5 plus a PK for 6

Tammy had 6 but is 90% likely gone

Zouma had 5 and is likely gone

that is it for 5 or more goals in the league

 

[Jase 43,479]

4 minutes ago, Vesper said:

its more than just 3 positions

we are not going to play a rigid double pivot with just 2 wingers and one CF every game

I will be shocked if that happens

Based on what we have seen under Tuchel so far, it's 3 attackers upfront in a 3-4-3 or 2 attackers upfront in a 3-5-2. So, it's either 7 attackers for 3 positions or 6 attackers for 2 positions.

5 minutes ago, Vesper said:

we need a scorer, BADLY

Maybe but I'd also like to believe that there is more to come in terms of finishing from the current group of players that we have. 

[Vesper 29,008]

14 minutes ago, Jas said:

Based on what we have seen under Tuchel so far, it's 3 attackers upfront in a 3-4-3 or 2 attackers upfront in a 3-5-2. So, it's either 7 attackers for 3 positions or 6 attackers for 2 positions.

Maybe but I'd also like to believe that there is more to come in terms of finishing from the current group of players that we have. 

so (and this is not a trick or a gotcha question)

who and what positions should we be addressing via an inbound transfer(s)?

[Jase 43,479]

13 minutes ago, Vesper said:

so (and this is not a trick or a gotcha question)

who and what positions should we be addressing via an inbound transfer(s)?

The midfield and defence.

As for the offence, have long said it that I don't think we necessarily need a big name striker - we need one if only because both Abraham and Giroud are likely to leave - but someone low key, reliable and can work with the rotation. Basically, am in a similar train of thought with Tomo here...

16 hours ago, Tomo said:

I'm not as fixated on a striker as many despite the records of our players last season.

I think there's a lot of mitigating circumstances. Havertz with very bad Covid then returning when we were at the meltdown period under Frank, Werner having a few weeks of bad misses which then escalated, Pulisic injured for most of the early part of the season and then returning in the Frank meltdown period, Ziyech losing his momentum he was building before injury, and not to mention three were in their first season and before Tuchel arrived weren't getting coaching to the required level they needed at this level. I don't think it's unreasonable to think those four and Mount (possibly CHO too) will all improve by atleast 4/5 league goals next season which will effectively be new striker numbers.

I have enjoyed the fluidity that's been building with Kai as the false 9 and I think we are onto something going forward. An out and out striker could potentially put us backwards in our evolution even if he offers impressive numbers, ofcourse the main person I'm referring too is Lukaku but even with Haaland I can't help but look at the fact BVB have got worse despite his unbelievable personal numbers.

 

[Artandur 939]

I still can't see it, just feels like everybody jumping on the bandwagon atm. Romano has been completely quiet on it so far, so i'll be very interested to see what he has to say about the situation.

Edited June 8, 2021 by Artandur

[LAM09 6,777]

I can only see this being feasible, if a number of first teamers are on their way out. 

[Rekin 835]

I know the usual argument is "It's not your money", but I can't help but feel that a transfer this gigantic would have a strong impact on future transfer windows.
Haaland is a brilliant player with heaps of potential, but do we really want to make such an enormous investment should the opportunity be there? 

For this kind of money you would expect basically the next coming of Messi, and is Haaland that? He is an amazing goalscorer, but I am personally not 100% convinced he would do well against the very packed defenses we often encounter in the league. 

I think that if the question is put as "Would you like Haaland?", it is easy to say "Yes, big time".
If the question instead was "Would you like Haaland, but then not get other players such as Varane, Rice etc" it would be a bit tougher (at least for me).  
 

A big question for me is also what this transfer would entail for how we play. What would the formation be, which of our more regular starters would become rotational players etc. 

This is even not considering the almost guaranteed drama a few years from now where the flirting with other clubs begin so that Mino can get his latest cut. 
 

 

 

 

[R2D2 368]

 

[Superblue 6,371]

3 hours ago, Jas said:

The midfield and defence.

As for the offence, have long said it that I don't think we necessarily need a big name striker - we need one if only because both Abraham and Giroud are likely to leave - but someone low key, reliable and can work with the rotation. Basically, am in a similar train of thought with Tomo here...

I too agree with this. I believe that Werner and Havertz could be significantly better next season, especially Havertz. I wouldn't write Ziyech off either, he's in the same boat as Havertz and Werner having to adapt to a new league and he arguably had things worse as the Eredivisie closed down after Covid and then he got injured so he effectively missed 6 months of football. Pulisic and Mount are both young and there's plenty of space for both to improve also.

The issue here though is there may be an opportunity to buy one of the absolute top young talents in world football and somebody who looks primed to be one of the best strikers of this generation for the next decade or longer. With the current situation we're in compared to almost all other clubs we could really set ourselves up for another period of dominance.

People questioned in the same way buying Havertz last season as we'd already signed Werner and Ziyech and had the likes of Pulisic and Mount, but I think it was a big and correct call to identify him as a superstar in the making and to get him when we had effectively a free run at him. If Haaland represents a similar opportunity this summer then I think we should try and get him. 

However if Haaland doesn't materialise, then I'd rather run with what we have then just buying any striker for the sake of it.

[King Kante 1,500]

17 minutes ago, R2D2 said:

 

Another person that knows nothing