Gianluigi Donnarumma | Done deal according to Romano

[richards30]

Maybe Pep's system has changed. Teams have learnt how to deal with Pepball and maybe he is transitioning to a more traditional system.

 

[BlueMoonAcrossThePond]

Surely you can see the irony in your last paragraph, and espefially the final sentence?

Enlighten me.

There's zero irony in my post.

We dumped Hart because he wasn't good with the ball at his feet and got Bravo whom we dumped because he wasn't good with the ball at his feet and then we got Ederson - who isn't a great shot stopper but is extremely good with the ball at his feet.

And apparently it makes sense to you to dump Ederson for a keeper who is great at shot stopping (1st or 2nd best in the word) but who isn't great with the ball at his feet.

Yeah Ederson is apparently unhappy with the club and has expressed interest in leaving and yeah if we don't sell him now he'll go on a free - so from that perspective there's motivation to move Ederson on - but changing our tactics which depend on a keeper who is able to sweep and is comfortable with the ball - giving us a spare man at the back - to a keeper who is a far better shot stopper but whose on-the-ball ability and disinclination to sweep is going to cause problems unless we change systems - makes no sense.

 

[richards30]

Enlighten me.

There's zero irony in my post.

We dumped Hart because he wasn't good with the ball at his feet and got Bravo whom we dumped because he wasn't good with the ball at his feet and then we got Ederson - who isn't a great shot stopper but is extremely good with the ball at his feet.

And apparently it makes sense to you to dump Ederson for a keeper who is great at shot stopping (1st or 2nd best in the word) but who isn't great with the ball at his feet.

Yeah Ederson is apparently unhappy with the club and has expressed interest in leaving and yeah if we don't sell him now he'll go on a free - so from that perspective there's motivation to move Ederson on - but changing our tactics which depend on a keeper who is able to sweep and is comfortable with the ball - giving us a spare man at the back - to a keeper who is a far better shot stopper but who's on-the-ball ability and inclination to sweep is going to cause problems unless we change systems - makes no sense.

Bravo was fine with the ball at his feet, unfortunately he had a period where he didnt save fuck all and got replaced to the cup keeper role.

 

[Le Havre Oswald]

Why on Earth are we signing yet another goalkeeper when we need a proper right back? What was the point in buying Trafford?

You’re the 1st to bring up this point. I wonder if anyone has mentioned he’s shite with his feet?

 

[mexico1970]

You’re the 1st to bring up this point. I wonder if anyone has mentioned he’s shite with his feet?

SHOTS FIRED!!!!

;-)

 

[richards30]

You’re the 1st to bring up this point. I wonder if anyone has mentioned he’s shite with his feet?

 

[remember arthur mann]

What was the point in buying Trafford?

So we can charge the rags rent!

 

[OrigamiNinja]

View attachment 165947

I want to be a professional footballer. 12 million for standing on the line and saving some shots.

We’ve had keepers that didn’t even bother to do that.

 

[BlueMoonAcrossThePond]

Maybe Pep's system has changed. Teams have learnt how to deal with Pepball and maybe he is transitioning to a more traditional system.

That's a possibility. But I doubt it very much.

 

[decmancity]

Enlighten me.

There's zero irony in my post.

We dumped Hart because he wasn't good with the ball at his feet and got Bravo whom we dumped because he wasn't good with the ball at his feet and then we got Ederson - who isn't a great shot stopper but is extremely good with the ball at his feet.

And apparently it makes sense to you to dump Ederson for a keeper who is great at shot stopping (1st or 2nd best in the word) but who isn't great with the ball at his feet.

Yeah Ederson is apparently unhappy with the club and has expressed interest in leaving and yeah if we don't sell him now he'll go on a free - so from that perspective there's motivation to move Ederson on - but changing our tactics which depend on a keeper who is able to sweep and is comfortable with the ball - giving us a spare man at the back - to a keeper who is a far better shot stopper but whose on-the-ball ability and disinclination to sweep is going to cause problems unless we change systems - makes no sense.

It doesn’t have to make sense to any of us. Pep gets paid 20m a year to make the decision and if that’s what he’s decided, let’s crack on.

You think Pep doesn’t have a clue about the lad?

 

[Coatigan]

On top of which, a keeper that doesn't fit our system.

Or our squad which is already 3 over the limit!

 

[hcblue95]

I would love nothing more than for Pep to come up with a new system we've not seen before to be fair.

 

[jamielowndes]

Bravo was fine with the ball at his feet, unfortunately he had a period where he didnt save fuck all and got replaced to the cup keeper role.

Exactly. Claudio Bravo was actually who people think Ederson is. Ederson had a rough year on a team where the defence struggled with form and injury.

Claudio Bravo couldn't catch Covid in America.

 

[Ryan Kinlon]

I think this would be a great signing for the club. In the modern game, the goalkeeper is one of the most crucial positions on the pitch. While Ederson is good, he makes too many mistakes and sometimes doesn’t even attempt a save. We need someone who’s at the top of his game, and Donnarumma isn’t far off being the best in his class.

 

[chris85mcfc]

Enlighten me.

There's zero irony in my post.

We dumped Hart because he wasn't good with the ball at his feet and got Bravo whom we dumped because he wasn't good with the ball at his feet and then we got Ederson - who isn't a great shot stopper but is extremely good with the ball at his feet.

And apparently it makes sense to you to dump Ederson for a keeper who is great at shot stopping (1st or 2nd best in the word) but who isn't great with the ball at his feet.

Yeah Ederson is apparently unhappy with the club and has expressed interest in leaving and yeah if we don't sell him now he'll go on a free - so from that perspective there's motivation to move Ederson on - but changing our tactics which depend on a keeper who is able to sweep and is comfortable with the ball - giving us a spare man at the back - to a keeper who is a far better shot stopper but whose on-the-ball ability and disinclination to sweep is going to cause problems unless we change systems - makes no sense.

Well there is, as plenty would argue (and have done in the past), that what Ederson does well, is offset with what he doesn't do well, and the same could be said for Donnarumma, and also for any keeper in the world.

What do you mean change our playing style? Ederson isn't the playmaker, what he is, is able to distribute the ball into the right areas at the right time, but a lot of this relies on the outfield players.

You could also argue that the keeper we've already signed isn't particularly great with his feet either, so if Ederson goes, which he clearly wants to, then we are left with Trafford, who may be slightly better with his feet than Donnarumma, but I know which one I'd rather see stood in the tunnel as the players walk out.

Evolving is part of life, and change has to be embraced; I'd quite like to go into the season knowing that my keeper might actually save the 1 shot on target that the opposition will have, and if that means he gives the ball away bit now and then, then so be it.

 

[BlueMoonAcrossThePond]

It doesn’t have to make sense to any of us. Pep gets paid 20m a year to make the decision and if that’s what he’s decided, let’s crack on.

You think Pep doesn’t have a clue about the lad?

Has Pep decided this?

Pep seems to have trouble directly saying "no" to a player and/or management. In interviews about Joe Hart, Pep consistently said that Hart could be first choice and that he could improve Hart's passing and so on.

Ibra at Barca was another situation in which Pep didn't come right out and say that he's moulding the team around Messi and Ibra had to deal with it.

There are other examples which don't come to mind at the moment - but Pep seems to be very adverse to direct confrontation.

So the director of football expresses keen interest in Donnarumma - is Pep going to say, "fuck no, he doesn't fit our system?" - or is he going to express doubt - but ultimately give his OK?

The above is of course 100% speculation - but that's my take on what might be going on.

Adding to this, should we sign Donnarumma we won't change our system much. We'll expect Donnarumma to mostly play out from the back and sweep - and yes, I get it that long balls over the top are more frequent now than in the past - but that's when the defense is vulnerable (Haaland or someone makes a run that's not covered well) or there's no other good option - for the most part. If the press is on top of us and we're consistently turning it over, we'll take the occasional long ball goal kick more often now than in the past too. Nonetheless, our current system is play out from the back, and utilize the keeper as an extra man on defense.

 

[Coatigan]

Has Pep decided this?

Pep seems to have trouble directly saying "no" to a player and/or management. In interviews about Joe Hart, Pep consistently said that Hart could be first choice and that he could improve Hart's passing and so on.

Ibra at Barca was another situation in which Pep didn't come right out and say that he's moulding the team around Messi and Ibra had to deal with it.

There are other examples which don't come to mind at the moment - but Pep seems to be very adverse to direct confrontation.

So the director of football expresses keen interest in Donnarumma - is Pep going to say, "fuck no, he doesn't fit our system?" - or is he going to express doubt - but ultimately give his OK?

The above is of course 100% speculation - but that's my take on what might be going on.

You are literally listing examples where Pep has been ruthlessly decisive and had the final say.

Despite not publicly saying as much.

Not a chance in hell Viana two months into his role signs players Pep 9 years here doesn't want. That power dynamic is not even close to being tested.

 

[simon23]

It doesn’t have to make sense to any of us. Pep gets paid 20m a year to make the decision and if that’s what he’s decided, let’s crack on.

You think Pep doesn’t have a clue about the lad?

I'm really interested to actually see how we feel play with Donarumma in goal.

If we try to play as we always do it's going to be a very exciting season as we are going to have to score 3 or 4 a game

 

[BlueMoonAcrossThePond]

You are literally listing examples where Pep has been ruthlessly decisive and had the final say.

Despite not publicly saying as much.

Not a chance in hell Viana two months into his role signs players Pep 9 years here doesn't want. That power dynamic is not even close to being tested.

You're assuming that Pep is clear when expressing his thoughts in controversial situations. It's likely that the DOF rates Donnarumma and is likely pushing hard for this. Hugo Vianna has never worked with Pep before and may be misreading Pep.

Again, 100% speculation - but that's my take.

 

[Nicholas van Whatsisface]

Enlighten me.

There's zero irony in my post.

We dumped Hart because he wasn't good with the ball at his feet and got Bravo whom we dumped because he wasn't good with the ball at his feet and then we got Ederson - who isn't a great shot stopper but is extremely good with the ball at his feet.

And apparently it makes sense to you to dump Ederson for a keeper who is great at shot stopping (1st or 2nd best in the word) but who isn't great with the ball at his feet.

Yeah Ederson is apparently unhappy with the club and has expressed interest in leaving and yeah if we don't sell him now he'll go on a free - so from that perspective there's motivation to move Ederson on - but changing our tactics which depend on a keeper who is able to sweep and is comfortable with the ball - giving us a spare man at the back - to a keeper who is a far better shot stopper but whose on-the-ball ability and disinclination to sweep is going to cause problems unless we change systems - makes no sense.

What you fail to include in your narrative is the timescales for each of these moves.

We got rid of Joe Hart for Bravo nine years ago, and Bravo for Ederson eight years ago.

A lot of time has passed since then, during which the entire style of playing out from the keeper that Pep brought in to revolutionise the role in the PL has become the norm.

Everyone plays that way now, and there isn’t the same unique, transformational advantage to playing counter to the accepted archetype anymore.

Teams evolve, and with Ederson clearly leaving either this summer or next, there is an opportunity for us to tweak our approach to cement the advantage again.

Like Kun to Haaland and Fernandinho to Rodri, this is an opportunity to bring in a game changing player and mix our style up a bit to recreate the unpredictability that makes a team difficult to work out.

It’s clear other teams have worked out how to play against us over the last couple of years - so we mix it up again.

Change is a necessary, even vital, component of evolution.

And we need to evolve to avoid a repeat of last season.