It's Quiet the £250m return

Mi10 said:
IMO
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Kerkez a 10 but Haaland is just a 9? I think that speaks for itself.

Pep (3x treble winner, 4 PL titles in a row, 2nd most decorated manager of all time, behind someone who managed for double the time then the other has so far) just a 9 but Slot (who inherited a brilliant team and had to spend the third highest fee in any window ever) is a 10 after one year in the PL with 1 trophy?

Rodri (Ballon D’Or winner) is level with Gravenberch and Zubimendi who isn’t proven in the PL at all.

Just to start.
 
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Rodri’s ACL said:
Kerkez a 10 but Haaland is just a 9? I think that speaks for itself.

Pep (3x treble winner, 4 PL titles in a row, 2nd most decorated manager of all time, behind someone who managed for double the time then the other has so far) just a 9 but Slot (who inherited a brilliant team and had to spend the third highest fee in any window ever) is a 10 after one year in the PL with 1 trophy?

Rodri (Ballon D’Or winner) is level with Gravenberch and Zubimendi who isn’t proven in the PL at all.

Just to start.
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Hence my reply to him of surely not a City fan, lol.
 
Gumzy97 said:
I think one of the issues with our defence, which is why we are so weak to an over the top ball is some centre backs are not good in the air, I've watched the Palace game , Juve game other highlights from last season.

Dias and Akanji are not good at aerial battles, Gvardiol stats he is better at dealing with over the top balls and aerial challenges, Noticed when the camera pans to Pep he looks so frustrated he starts shouting at the defence. Because its something that Pep can't do anything about.

Genuinely Dias and Akanji for their height lose so many aerial challenges. Juve game in particular they play a ball over the top from their keeper and both centre backs go for the ball and miss it giving Vlahovic a 1v1 against Ederson.

Stats back it up

Akanji only wins 17 percent of his aerial duels
Dias wins 11 percent of his Aerials duels
Stones wins 84 percent of his aerial duels
Ake wins 50 percent of Aerial duels
Gvardiol 77 percent of Aerial duels.
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Good post.

I think Dias has good leadership qualities and at times does shepherd players well without diving in, but he’s not as good on the ball as any of the others you listed, isn’t fast, isn’t good in the air and overall I think he’s lacking a bit as a player.

The big one that’s always stuck with me about Akanji was when we lost to Brentford at home before that Winter World Cup in 2022. He can’t get off the ground when he jumps and I think he lost every single aerial duel with Toney, who Brentford just kept on playing up to.

My first choices would be a fit Stones (but he’s never fit), Gvardiol and a fit Aké (but he’s never fit) and then Khusanov who I think looks fucking mustard. Because of Stones and Aké’s fitness woes, I’d love to go into the new season with a CB pairing of Gvardiol and Khusanov let them build that partnership for the long term, but I can’t see that happening.
 
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simon23 said:
Great points...so why didn't hecreally play last year and why not much in the CWC? Also potential talk of a loan?
At present with what we know he is at the very best inexperienced and throwing a player in at the deep end is risky

I'd prefer yo see Stones and Ake leave, bring in one experienced centre half which gives us time to blood Reis and Khusonov at the right moments [ cip games, games where we are winning comfortably etc)

Do any of our senior centre half options ( not Stones and Ake) strike you as really top class.....
Gvardiol has the potential
Dias is one step below IMHO
Akanji is a no
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Problem is there's not many experienced top class centre backs out there that are available. Maybe Van Der Ven, but he's injured all the time. Bastoni? Is he attainable, and at what price?

I'd say Guehi and Zabarnyi are available but they aren't any better than Gvardiol right now. Even Pacho at PSG before he signed wasn't seen as a top class centre back and he's formed a great partnership with Marquinhos. You look at Barcelona, are Cubarsi, Araujo and Inigo Martinez top class defenders right now? I'd say no.

Liverpool and Arsenal have partnerships that are strong with Gabriel and Saliba and Van Dijk and Konate, but I'm not swapping Gvardiol for any of those defenders. Konate and Saliba will both probably end up at Real Madrid.

What we need is continuity. If we had fit Centre Backs who play consistently they could form a partnership together like Stones Dias have done over the years. On paper our defensive options are strong, one season of injuries and bad form doesn't change that. A fully fit John Stones is up there with the best around. It also helps if you have protection and legs Infront of your defence. Gundogan and Kovacic together was a recipe for disaster last season and the defence didn't get any sort of protection at all.
 
Aerial dual % are interesting thanks for posting. How on earth are Akanji and Dias so bad at them? That basically confirms that those two should never play together. The other team can easily exploit if so and if pep plays them together it’s a massive red flag. They obviously know and have that information.
 
lol yank said:
Aerial dual % are interesting thanks for posting. How on earth are Akanji and Dias so bad at them? That basically confirms that those two should never play together. The other team can easily exploit if so and if pep plays them together it’s a massive red flag. They obviously know and have that information.
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Ofc they know. Top teams have every available statistics possible all the time.
 
lol yank said:
Aerial dual % are interesting thanks for posting. How on earth are Akanji and Dias so bad at them? That basically confirms that those two should never play together. The other team can easily exploit if so and if pep plays them together it’s a massive red flag. They obviously know and have that information.
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None of them are particularly tall.

Dias is 6’ 2” and doesn’t jump particularly high and Akanji is 6’ 2” and barely gets off the ground at all when he jumps.

Aké is only 5’ 11” but uses his body better and times his jumps better with a bigger leap. Both Gvardiol and Stones are also 6’ 2” but have great leaps and get off the ground well.
 
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Juma Bah reminds me of when Arsenal loaned Saliba out to St Etienne. Bah is an aerial monster and on the clips he looks absolutely massive, Gvardiol is a good all rounder, Reis is John Stones 5-8 years ago and Khusanov is an aggressive duel winner. All 4 have all the qualities needed and on paper we have a good future ahead with those lads. There's no need to panic imo.

We just desperately need a RB.
 
Berti No Show said:
Juma Bah reminds me of when Arsenal loaned Saliba out to St Etienne. Bah is an aerial monster and on the clips he looks absolutely massive, Gvardiol is a good all rounder, Reis is John Stones 5-8 years ago and Khusanov is an aggressive duel winner. All 4 have all the qualities needed and on paper we have a good future ahead with those lads. There's no need to panic imo.

We just desperately need a RB.
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Well they need game time and the only one out of those 3 currently is Bah and he is the weakest ON THE BALL.
I seriously think that pep has to start Khusanov and gvardiol but it sadly won’t happen. Can’t build good partnerships if they are either out of form or always injured. Pep is supposed to talk to some players and hopefully 2/3 out of akanji, ake and Stones. Can’t keep the same defenders with the same flaws.
 
Berti No Show said:
Juma Bah reminds me of when Arsenal loaned Saliba out to St Etienne. Bah is an aerial monster and on the clips he looks absolutely massive, Gvardiol is a good all rounder, Reis is John Stones 5-8 years ago and Khusanov is an aggressive duel winner. All 4 have all the qualities needed and on paper we have a good future ahead with those lads. There's no need to panic imo.

We just desperately need a RB.
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Edit: Might be surprising but Khusanov wins 80% of his duels on the ground but he's underatted in the aierial duel success rate of 62 percent and a 92% pass accuracy.
 
Does anyone know when Viana comes back from his months long vacation after that one week of working? The season starts in 3 weeks and we have about 15 deals (ins + outs) to sort out.
 
Vester said:
Does anyone know when Viana comes back from his months long vacation after that one week of working? The season starts in 3 weeks and we have about 15 deals (ins + outs) to sort out.
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Think he can’t be bothered anymore cause Liverpool signed Kerkez.
 
Vester said:
Does anyone know when Viana comes back from his months long vacation after that one week of working? The season starts in 3 weeks and we have about 15 deals (ins + outs) to sort out.
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Do you honestly believe he`s sitting on his arse doing fuck all ? Get a fucking life you daft sod.
 
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