Txiki Begiristain

[Rascal]

Not getting a striker in has been a failure. No way anyone can believe otherwise.

Pep pulled off a miracle last season rotating false 9s. It won’t happen again. Especially when everyone else has improved their attacking options.

We needed a striker, have done for 2 years really. And we don’t have one. We were told X is the price and spent 3 months haggling over a fee that was set at the start and wasn’t there to be negotiated down. But we still did anyway. A Sisyphian exercise in futility & again, at best it’s naive from the board…

You are assuming we wanted a striker because the media is full of stories saying we need a striker. We may still buy one, but i was told months ago by a very good source that Pep was not concerned about getting a striker because false 9 is the way forward and ultimately its Foden who will play there because he is a natural at it and as he matures as a footballer it makes sense to have him as a central figure to our play, not on the periphery where he has played so far because we now have Grealish, Mahrez and Raheem who can fulfil that role.

If you are going to use words like Sisyphean at least spell it right, again though by using this word you are indicating it is a task that will never be completed, yet we have Torres who Pep is very happy with and who said has movement that is like Jaime Vardy , we have Delap who shows great promise and young Mcatee who scored a hat trick against the rags U23s at weekend. If a signing is not of the highest class, they will hamper the progression of these three players and maybe even reduce Foden's chances, plus if a signing was like Haaland we would have to change how we play, we would have one less midfielder, possibly less possession, meaning less control and you cant really get better than Champions. You believe a false 9 will not work again, yet two home games and 10 goals scored says it will.

 

[KS55]

For Messi and Ronaldo, it would be good to have them, but not at the wage they want.
Ronaldo is not bad at all and I was surprise when we couldn't get him, but no way I would give Ronaldo more than KDB's wage at this moment no matter how good he was in the past; he's good, but not that good at the current age.

Pep apparently didn't want Ronnie. He is quite the wrong type for us, for example he doesn't press or track back. For the rags, who play on the break, he will be ok.

 

[dad1971]

You are assuming we wanted a striker because the media is full of stories saying we need a striker. We may still buy one, but i was told months ago by a very good source that Pep was not concerned about getting a striker because false 9 is the way forward and ultimately its Foden who will play there because he is a natural at it and as he matures as a footballer it makes sense to have him as a central figure to our play, not on the periphery where he has played so far because we now have Grealish, Mahrez and Raheem who can fulfil that role.

If you are going to use words like Sisyphean at least spell it right, again though by using this word you are indicating it is a task that will never be completed, yet we have Torres who Pep is very happy with and who said has movement that is like Jaime Vardy , we have Delap who shows great promise and young Mcatee who scored a hat trick against the rags U23s at weekend. If a signing is not of the highest class, they will hamper the progression of these three players and maybe even reduce Foden's chances, plus if a signing was like Haaland we would have to change how we play, we would have one less midfielder, possibly less possession, meaning less control and you cant really get better than Champions. You believe a false 9 will not work again, yet two home games and 10 goals scored says it will.

That’s all very well beating the likes of Norwich and that horrendous showing from Arsenal however this “false 9” won’t work in the tight games.
The games when we only have 2 or 3 chances. These are the big big games we need that top table striker.
Are you honestly saying someone like Haaland would mean we totally have to change the blue print !! He would be on 7 goals already if he was here this season and I don’t think we lose against Spurs.
Just like Ronaldo won’t be the difference in the rags winning the league I don’t believe us signing a world class striker makes us change our game but I know one thing for sure he would score us bag fulls of goals in this current team.

 

[KS55]

I get what you're saying, but Torres is playing as close to a real 9 as it gets in play style. His only purpose in the team is to make runs to either score or create spaces behind him (on top of the usual defensive stuff any forward has in the team). He drops deep even less than Aguero did. I saw a pass map and he's barely involved in play.

A false 9 is essentially a midfielder shoehorned up front that can come deep and effectively shift the midfield 10 yards further up the pitch with standard midfield play of their own. That's not Torres.

The true false 9 system requires a genuine central attacker completely withdrawing into midfield (often wide) and leaving the defence with a conundrum: does the CB come out? Does he stick? The false 9 plays behind the ball arriving late into the box. See Don Revie 1956.
There are variations such as a winger moving late into the 9 position or working inwards interplaying with the other attackers. See Messi under Pep.

 

[Rascal]

however this “false 9” won’t work in the tight games.

How the fuck did we win the league if this system does not work.

 

[Father Ruben]

How the fuck did we win the league if this system does not work.

Not like others around us have gotten much stronger. Chelsea and rags with top strikers and Liverpool with injuries back. Completely different league this year.

 

[blueparrot]

The true false 9 system requires a genuine central attacker completely withdrawing into midfield (often wide) and leaving the defence with a conundrum: does the CB come out? Does he stick? The false 9 plays behind the ball arriving late into the box. See Don Revie 1956.
There are variations such as a winger moving late into the 9 position or working inwards interplaying with the other attackers. See Messi under Pep.

Torres is much closer to a Messi false 9 than anything we played last year , a no 9 with a midfielder shoved in.So he‘ll score more goals wouldn’t be surprised to see him hit 20. Not comparing Torres to Messi just to be clear.

 

[Stiff Little Wingers]

How the fuck did we win the league if this system does not work.

The system clearly does work and we/Pep are brilliant at it. However, last season was extra ordinary without crowds as well as COVID and everything else.
A key motivation for me in getting a top class striker is it is a good option when we need a plan B and it also helps get games won earlier (i.e. someone finished chances off) which in turn saves the legs of KDB and others

 

[samuelyeboah]

The system clearly does work and we/Pep are brilliant at it. However, last season was extra ordinary without crowds as well as COVID and everything else.
A key motivation for me in getting a top class striker is it is a good option when we need a plan B and it also helps get games won earlier (i.e. someone finished chances off) which in turn saves the legs of KDB and others

we're gonna look even better with crowds

 

[KS55]

Torres is much closer to a Messi false 9 than anything we played last year , a no 9 with a midfielder shoved in.So he‘ll score more goals wouldn’t be surprised to see him hit 20. Not comparing Torres to Messi just to be clear.

If you are right about 20 goals, that would be a great success. I'm quite optimistic about Torres' development. Here's hoping.