It's Quiet 18 - Wanna ring the bell?

[blueparrot]

Anyone agree with Tolmie?

Not really and only a few days ago he was saying we were in for players so whatever.

 

[Sibierskii]

Looking like Arsenals year then - finally.

 

[simon23]

Not really and only a few days ago he was saying we were in for players so whatever.

he said we were in for maybe one or two more after Savio....

But if Ederson and or Alvarez leave that is two more we would have to replace......Ederson going would have a huge affect on us...Ortega is a the better shot stopper BUT his passing out from the back only adds pressure on the defence)

And that is sill not answering the biggest issue of all and that is the Rodri back up

We fucked up buying Nunes and Phillips...we need them two gone as they aint upto it and are taking squad places and wages and are of no use...yet no one is going to take them off our hands except at a considerable loss to our investment.

As it stands (and obviously the end of the window is a 5-6 weeks away) I wouldnt bet on us winning the prem - No way can Rodri continue to play every game but we know how we struggle if he aint there...Kovacic aint the answer (and he played well last season but was more a a gundo replacement (without the goals) than a rodri back up. Phillips is never going to be the answer either....And its clear that some players are just not as motivated and want to move on (alvarez, Walker, Ederson, maybe even Bernardo - though his options are clearly very limited so he will probably still be here)

 

[KennyG]

he said we were in for maybe one or two more after Savio....

But if Ederson and or Alvarez leave that is two more we would have to replace......Ederson going would have a huge affect on us...Ortega is a the better shot stopper BUT his passing out from the back only adds pressure on the defence)

And that is sill not answering the biggest issue of all and that is the Rodri back up

We fucked up buying Nunes and Phillips...we need them two gone as they aint upto it and are taking squad places and wages and are of no use...yet no one is going to take them off our hands except at a considerable loss to our investment.

As it stands (and obviously the end of the window is a 5-6 weeks away) I wouldnt bet on us winning the prem - No way can Rodri continue to play every game but we know how we struggle if he aint there...Kovacic aint the answer (and he played well last season but was more a a gundo replacement (without the goals) than a rodri back up. Phillips is never going to be the answer either....And its clear that some players are just not as motivated and want to move on (alvarez, Walker, Ederson, maybe even Bernardo - though his options are clearly very limited so he will probably still be here)

Shame I couldn’t like this post twice.

 

[Gabriel]

We spent heavily last summer and won the league with new players finding their feet, 6-7 first-team players having sub-par seasons, and allowing both Palmer and McAtee to leave. Anticipating a repeat of last summer is for those who still write to Santa.

This season, we have added another dynamic winger, can expect more from all of the established players, and can expect Bobb, Lewis, and McAtee to cover much more so as to allow the senior players to remain fitter through to April/May. It’s the only way we’ll be able to beat Real Madrid.

Until then, what I really want to see is a return of the 22-23 swagger and more teams dispatched ruthlessly.

 

[simon23]

We spent heavily last summer and won the league with new players finding their feet, 6-7 first-team players having sub-par seasons, and allowing both Palmer and McAtee to leave. Anticipating a repeat of last summer is for those who still write to Santa.

This season, we have added another dynamic winger, can expect more from all of the established players, and can expect Bobb, Lewis, and McAtee to cover much more so as to allow the senior players to remain fitter through to April/May. It’s the only way we’ll be able to beat Real Madrid.

Until then, what I really want to see is a return of the 22-23 swagger and more teams dispatched ruthlessly.

How does any of that solve the number 6 position and the possibilty of ederson leaving?

You also have an ageing KDB and you are therefore going to ask albeit two very good youngsters to step up and replace that (Bobb/Mcatee) - we have seem what no kdb means on the pitch even with Foden still on the pitch.

Last year Arsenal were very close to us (beat us on a number of occasions) -
Liverpool will be a bit of an unknown granted this season - Slotts first season and you just dont know how it will go - plus it looks like they are going to have trouble in the transfer market.
People dont like to hear it but UTD have already improved their squad and it looks like they are going to be ruthless and ship out some of the shit they have - they wont win the league but are taking steps forward and everyone saw how an unmotivated bunch of players in an FA cup final faired against that utd team (and its clear that some of our squad have lost that motivation and wanta change (Ederson, Walker, Alvarez)

 

[Gumzy97]

We have solved the biggest problem we had last season. If a team played a low block against us we struggled to break that down. For example Madrid, Most teams came to us and played a low block either got a result or took something away from the game Arsenal another example.

Now Peps solved that Doku and Savio. Two explosive wingers who take their man on and run at defenders break the shape. Doku the main reason for the equaliser against madrid as he ran at his man

 

[RayCTID]

Not much quality is available and rather rush to spend it is better to take a back seat in the search of cover for the number 6 position. An extra defender is the only thing we could do with extra cover for. Although the likes of Chalobah and Guehi are better than our current EDS players and possibly Branthwaite we should aim a little higher than that. Either that or another full back (either side).

 

[supercity88]

he said we were in for maybe one or two more after Savio....

But if Ederson and or Alvarez leave that is two more we would have to replace......Ederson going would have a huge affect on us...Ortega is a the better shot stopper BUT his passing out from the back only adds pressure on the defence)

And that is sill not answering the biggest issue of all and that is the Rodri back up

We fucked up buying Nunes and Phillips...we need them two gone as they aint upto it and are taking squad places and wages and are of no use...yet no one is going to take them off our hands except at a considerable loss to our investment.

As it stands (and obviously the end of the window is a 5-6 weeks away) I wouldnt bet on us winning the prem - No way can Rodri continue to play every game but we know how we struggle if he aint there...Kovacic aint the answer (and he played well last season but was more a a gundo replacement (without the goals) than a rodri back up. Phillips is never going to be the answer either....And its clear that some players are just not as motivated and want to move on (alvarez, Walker, Ederson, maybe even Bernardo - though his options are clearly very limited so he will probably still be here)

No one can replace or cover Rodri to the same level. But I think we're in a better place to rest him than we were. Wolves away we should have won. There's no way Pep would have wanted Nunes and Kovacic, new to the system, to be starting that early on as a combination but we had no choice. We then went to Arsenal and Bernardo was fit again and came in alongside Kovacic and Rico. It was probably too defensive and we didn't threaten much, but a late deflected goal was the difference. Then Villa away was a car crash. I'm not sure what Pep was thinking for that one. Foden and Bernardo wide, with Rico, Stones and Akanji in the middle. Bizarre!

We beat Luton 5-1 without Rodri and that was Kovacic and Nunes. De Bruyne was back then too. I think with an otherwise full squad to pick from, we can cope without Rodri against 90% of the teams we play. Especially given the players have had at least a season under Pep and understand the system. He's a vital cog, but we should be able to manage him better this time around.

 

[simon23]

No one can replace or cover Rodri to the same level. But I think we're in a better place to rest him than we were. Wolves away we should have won. There's no way Pep would have wanted Nunes and Kovacic, new to the system, to be starting that early on as a combination but we had no choice. We then went to Arsenal and Bernardo was fit again and came in alongside Kovacic and Rico. It was probably too defensive and we didn't threaten much, but a late deflected goal was the difference. Then Villa away was a car crash. I'm not sure what Pep was thinking for that one. Foden and Bernardo wide, with Rico, Stones and Akanji in the middle. Bizarre!

We beat Luton 5-1 without Rodri and that was Kovacic and Nunes. De Bruyne was back then too. I think with an otherwise full squad to pick from, we can cope without Rodri against 90% of the teams we play. Especially given the players have had at least a season under Pep and understand the system. He's a vital cog, but we should be able to manage him better this time around.

Agree on not replacing Rodri at the same level

But how are we better placed than we were?

None of those combinations there are any where near Rodri level...Nunes could even get a game ahead of some of the kid when we were winning games comfortably. Time is one thing and I think Kovacic was a good short term purchase but Nunes like Phillips doesnt have the quality level needed (and i think he is avery decent footballer btw) - just not city level

Ageing is not controlable.....KDB's legs wont last and just because of his age (and dynamic style fo play) he is more prone to injury...he is not a natural athlete like for instance a Sterling (and i refer to him as Pep referred to Stirling many times in this way as he was rarely if ever injured despite the harsh treatment he got from defenders). KDB will pick up injuries through fatigue as well as impact more and more.