The Pre-Season Thread

[Blue Armour 4,278]

9 hours ago, Vesper said:

which ones?

I am not stressing over any that have left

Havertz & Mount.

[Vesper 28,779]

6 minutes ago, Blue Armour said:

Havertz & Mount.

nah, glad they are gone

[Blue Armour 4,278]

8 minutes ago, Vesper said:

nah, glad they are gone

I'll be glad if their replacements outperform them next season.

Until then. In doubt.

[Vesper 28,779]

8 minutes ago, Blue Armour said:

I'll be glad if their replacements outperform them next season.

Until then. In doubt.

we got £125m for them with only 1 and 2 years left on their contracts and would had to pay around £150-160m in salary over the next 6 years to keep them

great business

[Blue Armour 4,278]

17 minutes ago, Vesper said:

we got £125m for them with only 1 and 2 years left on their contracts and would had to pay around £150-160m in salary over the next 6 years to keep them

great business

Oh, I'm not denying the savings aspect of it. 

But if the savings aren't going to help us be a top 4 side., it will all be for naught.

[Vesper 28,779]

Just now, Blue Armour said:

Oh, I'm not denying the savings aspect of it. 

But if the savings aren't going to help us be a top 4 side., it will all be for naught.

well, losing Mount on a free or in Havertz case half the cash would not help us get top 4

and those 2 were part of the reason we were 12th last season as I see it

[MoroccanBlue 5,296]

It'll be quite telling if player power + our horrid record against the Top 6 vanish in time. 

[DDA 9,690]

I wonder why there hasn't been any video footage of training sessions yet.

[YorkshireBlue 3,122]

10 minutes ago, DDA said:

I wonder why there hasn't been any video footage of training sessions yet.

I don't know why there has ever been footage of training sessions.

[ZAPHOD2319 4,477]

The only time I remember video of training in the past was when they invite the public to watch. Then it is just generic drills. I understand managers keeping their tactics close to the chest, but the part that would interest me is seeing them explaining to the players where they want them in their system and the options they have given situations by the opponent. 

[DH1988 1,273]

On 04/07/2023 at 17:53, ZAPHOD2319 said:

 

Love this side of the game, interested to see what happens with our work rate under Perez.

[MoroccanBlue 5,296]

Going to be nice watching a match where the players aren't knackered after 60mins. 

[Mhsc 876]

 

[ZAPHOD2319 4,477]

 

[Vegetable 830]

Watching the training clips from our official media I have a really hard time telling who even are more of those guys, so that's how massive change we've came through in short time.  Actually excited to watch the preseason and how much of a teambuilding Poch will be able to pull off. And I'm mentally ready we will see some comedy, hopefully no injuries at the same time.

[DH1988 1,273]

On 10/07/2023 at 15:03, MoroccanBlue said:

Going to be nice watching a match where the players aren't knackered after 60mins. 

100% 

Always frustrates me seeing us as a baseline not be pressing for the ball because they look spent.

[Magic Lamps 11,653]

On 05/07/2023 at 06:54, Vesper said:

which ones?

I am not stressing over any that have left

Kovacic most of all. A fit, injury free Kova would have been a weapon in Poch‘s fast transition system. His departure will hurt us most  I think. He will be like a fish in water in Peps system with his ball control and ability to beat a man. 
To a lesser degree Pulisic. Just remember other pace merchants like Moura looked completely changed under Poch (and then reverted back to norm after he left). 
As a wild card Kai could have been interesting in the Dele Alli role esp with his height and heading ability. Then again he would probably still be too wasteful and lightweight. 

 

The others not so much. K2 and Kante were spent forces already. Mount I think will never learn when to release the ball and how to weight it properly. RLC is probably also to set in his ways. 
 

But more than stressing about what could have been I am excited about what he can do with what we have. 
He made vertonghen and alderwireld look like WC cbs. Now imagine what he can do with the much more talented Colwill and Badiashile. 
For mids I am afraid Conor is a lost cause and not seen enough of Santos and Casadei yet but can definitely see him helping Hall with his defensive positioning and tackling skills. Our two best players by far, Enzo and RJ, I hope can just be kept fit all season and have their load managed smartly. similar Nkunku. Just needs to be kept fit, confident and close to goal (not the wing) and have someone to play off and he will score. Sterling is probably to mature to be impacted much by Poch. 
Mudryk and Madueke probably have the highest upside if developed properly. Just look at what Poch did with Son and Moura. Jackson and Broja obviously huge potential as well but possibly not even Poch can lift the striker curse so won’t hold my breath here. Will be interesting to see how much we will rely on them or if we try without a classic no 9 again which Poch sometimes did with spuds when Kane was injured. 

[robsblubot 3,502]

The current crop of players is not of top4 quality IMO. I don't even know what to expect of Sterling considering how little and poorly he performed last season. He did not look that fit to my eyes either.