It's Quiet thread 14 - 'do one' edition

[Neville Kneville]

His passing became more conservative once Fernandinho vacated our midfield, which again tells us all we need to know about where the problem really lies.

The midfield issue has caused all our defenders to lose confidence, they are no longer convinced to play the ball into the area it needs to go, because Gundo and Rodri aren't brave enough to come into the hole and receive it.

Laporte is an excellent passer, no doubt, but Stones is easily on a par when his confidence is high.

United and Spurs play much close to their own goal, their own teams are crying out for a passer out of defence.

Put it this way, if a fit and confident Stones played next to Van Dijk, they would be the best pairing in the league as a combo.

I agree with a lot of what you are saying, but Stones is not reliable, therefore we need another player, irrespective of his form.

 

[RayCTID]

Seems the baker's been slacking off.

Light a fire under the said baker or use a different recipe

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

Can we get whoever is in charge of recruitment for the Women’s team to take over the rest of the club? So far the women’s team have signed 2 World Cup winning US stars and 2 English stars of the Champions League winning Lyon team.

Ripping up trees then aren’t they! Not so good on the men’s side!

 

[Coatigan]

Would you rather eat that fudge cake in the fridge, even though it's close to its use-by date or would you continue munching on the turd you've been nibbling on for years in the hope that you'll get to a chocolate centre?

If the fudge cake costs more than the fridge itself, probay the chocolate centred turd.

 

[Carlos- the- jackal]

Think because we still have Fernandinho and Gundogan, another year at villa and if he's looking good bring him back to replace Ferna and Gundogan.

Think he’s ready now personally

 

[Gumzy97]

Iv been saying this our defence yes its an issue but without fernandinho there in CDM, defence will always be an issue Rodri is to slow Pep likes a regista that is what Rodri is in NFL terms a quarterback, breaks the lines from midfield to attack. It worked at Barca due to Busquets who could do that role very well but also could win the ball back as well when barca were under threat. We need a CDM that can be a Regista but also tackle hard, have a bit of aggression. Honestly I believe if fernandinho couldn't pass like he can I don't think Pep would've played him, Peps got an obsession with a regista.

 

[Tugay One Cup]

What have Upamecano or De Ligt proved or won more to be considered better? They are potential still at this stage.

Stones is still potential at 26.

 

[Easy]

We first need to protect out initial investment. He is on big wages and has entered the final two years of his deal.

Giving him a new deal works two-fold, it protects the above, in a marketplace where offers will be low-ball at best, coupled with a massive confidence boost to the player.

He needs to stay fit, but that's the risk for most players. He also needs to stay in the North West because of continuing access arrangements with his little girl.

I genuinely believe he is one of the best central defenders in the world at what he does and showing patience now could see us reap the dividends for years to come.

You’re too invested in the idea that Stones will come good. He’s missing the basics of being a defender.

He’s not aggressive and doesn’t defend on the front foot but tends to back off until the opposition reach the box. He’s soft and isn’t the type that is up for a real fight. A contract extension would be mental, does he really deserve an increase in wages? For what exactly? Being injured all the time, coming back then making mistakes.

I really thought Stones would become top class but can’t see it anymore. He’s had too many chances.

 

[blueparrot]

Ok. How about the wisdom in spending £40m, on what most would agree is a Laporte/LB back up, when we finished the season with a 19 year old kid playing RCB who doesn't want to be here?

I have nothing against Ake but his signing gives me the same bad feelings that signing Rodri did. We didn't need a CDM, we had Fern and Gundog, who was in his best ever City form at the end of the 18/19 season. We needed a Vinny replacement and instead we signed Rodri and Cancelo. Fast forward 12 months and we still need that Vinny replacement, so what do we do? We sign Ake and then baulk at the asking price of the guy we had identified as our number 1 target for the RCB position. Ake is only a decent signing if we sign our main target as well.

Did the window close. We'll get a right sided centreback.

 

[twosips]

Need a CDM who is mobile, Kante is apparently available for 60 mil

Apparently he's not quite as mobile as he once was. I follow a few Chelsea fans on Twitter and they seem to indicate he's not quite what he was.