blueparrot
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Nothing, there to say anything either way.
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Kalidou Koulibaly
- Thread starter Matt Diablo
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richards30
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Nothing, there to say anything either way.
didnt ornstein, Sam lee and @BillyShears say that his terms were all agreed with us?
blueparrot
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- Joined
- 7 Jun 2012
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- 27,512
Don't know, I know they said he wants to play for Pep, can't remember what they said about how far along it was.didnt ornstein, Sam lee and @BillyShears say that his terms were all agreed with us?
Alaba doesn‘t wanna play LB anyway. And he‘s been average at that position since 2017. He wants to be a CB or a CM. That‘s another reason why he is probably gonna switch teams since Kimmich went from being a RB to a CM and they didn‘t do the same with Alaba. I‘m fine with Koulibaly and Laporte with Garcia and Otamendi/Stones as backup. Koulibaly is rarely injured I believe. There‘s also a potential LW and CM we need to get.It would still be a huge risk to go with just 2 senior CB's. Alaba would be a fantastic signing at left back, and covering CB if needs be, with Mendy as backup.
tolmie's hairdoo
Well-Known Member
It's not as though the club hasn't tried to avoid being in this situation?
Mangala and Stones, in particular, were both bought for huge sums with the sole intention of replacing the eventual void which would always be left by Vinny.
Both had big reputations and were highly coveted, so poor scouting can't have been the issue.
If we also throw in the £28m for Otamendi, there is no way we should still be having to pay £70m for a 29-year-old central defender to help us move forward again.
We need Koulibaly, but we also need to couch the fact that most players we do try to sign already come with a highly-regarded reputation.
Pep's system will always expose the central defenders - Van Dijk would find himself running back towards his goal more often than not from a counter and then let's see how quick he is over 30 yards rather than 15.
Ederson has always been the insurance policy for us in that shortcoming, sweeping the space in behind.
What Koulibaly would defo give us is more aggression in the tackle and in the air.
Arguably, also take a lot of responsibility away from Walker trying to join up play in the midfield, when the central midfielders are playing hide and seek.
Mangala and Stones, in particular, were both bought for huge sums with the sole intention of replacing the eventual void which would always be left by Vinny.
Both had big reputations and were highly coveted, so poor scouting can't have been the issue.
If we also throw in the £28m for Otamendi, there is no way we should still be having to pay £70m for a 29-year-old central defender to help us move forward again.
We need Koulibaly, but we also need to couch the fact that most players we do try to sign already come with a highly-regarded reputation.
Pep's system will always expose the central defenders - Van Dijk would find himself running back towards his goal more often than not from a counter and then let's see how quick he is over 30 yards rather than 15.
Ederson has always been the insurance policy for us in that shortcoming, sweeping the space in behind.
What Koulibaly would defo give us is more aggression in the tackle and in the air.
Arguably, also take a lot of responsibility away from Walker trying to join up play in the midfield, when the central midfielders are playing hide and seek.
It's not as though the club hasn't tried to avoid being in this situation?
Mangala and Stones, in particular, were both bought for huge sums with the sole intention of replacing the eventual void which would always be left by Vinny.
Both had big reputations and were highly coveted, so poor scouting can't have been the issue.
If we also throw in the £28m for Otamendi, there is no way we should still be having to pay £70m for a 29-year-old central defender to help us move forward again.
We need Koulibaly, but we also need to couch the fact that most players we do try to sign already come with a highly-regarded reputation.
Pep's system will always expose the central defenders - Van Dijk would find himself running back towards his goal more often than not from a counter and then let's see how quick he is over 30 yards rather than 15.
Ederson has always been the insurance policy for us in that shortcoming.
There are very few defenders in the world who are both technically good enough to play for Pep and physically capable of playing the exceptionally high line. Even fewer of them are for sale.
Laporte is the only one we have had really. Mangala had the physicality but not the technique, Otamendi the technique but not the pace.
Stones had both, but not the mentality and he's been shafted with injuries.
I think we are going to start producing our own more and more. Tosin could be perfect, Eric Garcia is going to be top class, Taylor Harwood-Bellis has all the tools.
There are very few defenders in the world who are both technically good enough to play for Pep and physically capable of playing the exceptionally high line. Even fewer of them are for sale.
Laporte is the only one we have had really. Mangala had the physicality but not the technique, Otamendi the technique but not the pace.
Stones had both, but not the mentality and he's been shafted with injuries.
I think we are going to start producing our own more and more. Tosin could be perfect, Eric Garcia is going to be top class, Taylor Harwood-Bellis has all the tools.
Interestingly though (and I agree Garcia is a great prospect) Garcia doesn't really actually have the physicality.
Interestingly though (and I agree Garcia is a great prospect) Garcia doesn't really actually have the physicality.
I think he's borderline. He's not quick but he isnt that slow, I think it's been exaggerated a bit. He matched Mané over 5-10 yards at one point vs. Liverpool and he reads the game well enough to make up for it.
I think he's borderline. He's not quick but he isnt that slow, I think it's been exaggerated a bit. He matched Mané over 5-10 yards at one point vs. Liverpool and he reads the game well enough to make up for it.
I don't think he's faster than Otamendi. Think they're both quite slow personally. Guess we'll see though in time.
Tugay One Cup
Well-Known Member
I don't think he's faster than Otamendi. Think they're both quite slow personally. Guess we'll see though in time.
Knowing your limits is a strength and not one Otamendi has ever had. Hopefully Eric can make up for his lack of pace with a better sense of timing and positioning.