NipHolmes
Well-Known Member
Real cannot fit Kroos, Modric, Isco, James into the same team behind Bale Ronaldo and Benzema. Trying to fit them all in is basically the root of all their problems.
They need a proper defensive midfielder like Casemiro too or they are completely hapless in defence - That's what cost Benitez his job, he bottled it and dropped Casemiro for the star names in the clasico and got spanked.
So Casemiro has to play, Modric has to play because he's by far their best central midfield option, probably their best player this season after the Keeper, and that leaves 1 spot for Kroos, Isco or James.
Recently the fans have been getting a bit pissed off with him, in their system he's seen as a luxury player, he's not as good as an attacking force as the real number 10's and he can't defend like Modric or Casemiro, so he's just an imbetween guy.
He's not a luxury player for Pep though because of how smart he is on the ball. No one played more games than Kroos in Pep's first season at Bayern, and he raves and raves about him in Pep Confidential.
His Ideal formation in that first year seemed to be Lahm as pivot, with Kroos and Thiago ahead.
Good post but one crucial mistake, Benitez was told to start the big names in the Clasico and when they got trumped he let the blowback reach the upper floors. He was absolutely correct for letting it happen but he was a political pawn for Perez.
Thry should never have sacked Carlo, especially to replace with inferior. They have gone from Carlo to Rafa to Zidane. Basically gone from elite to very good to unroven. Terrible management from Perez.