Football: Silly season

[Consigliere]

Yeah, Madrid is a world class outfit and well settled team. This game just highlights that there is still a big gulf in class between United and Europe's best. It is certainly playing out as the Spanish, European and World champions vs. the sixth best team in England.

[Jordan La Cabra]

What is most ominous is the fact this is Real Madrid with Ronaldo on the bench...

[Philokles]

1 hour ago, JordanJH1993 said:

I agree, as a Chelsea fan that there are much more important areas that we need to strengthen. In particular, centre mid after the ridiculous sale of Matic to Man United and both wing back areas as we only have Moses and Alonso and Azpilicueta to cover for the two of them. That, however, doesn't mean if a quality player like VVD becomes available at CB we should go for him.

Yes, he would likely be best placed in the centre of our back three, which would be incredibly tough for him as David Luiz has been brilliant there, but I feel Chelsea need to change things up. They need to be able to go to a back four some games, because 343 won't work forever. 

Christensen had a great two years on loan in Germany, but I get the feeling from preseason that Conte doesn't rank him as highly as Luiz, Azpilicueta, Cahill and Rudiger. It will be interesting to see what becomes of him, for I had high hopes for him, especially after his first year in Germany when teams like Barca and Bayern became linked with him.

If I were Conte I'd move Azpilicueta to RWB and bring Christensen in at CB. Having seen quite a bit of both, I cannot see what Rudiger brings ahead of Christensen. Last year was probably better than the first given that Gladbach were weaker as a whole and he was one of the defensive leaders with Stranzl and Dominguez gone for good.

[Mark Antony]

Does Martial have a future at United?

[Jordan La Cabra]

4 minutes ago, Horse of Kent said:

If I were Conte I'd move Azpilicueta to RWB and bring Christensen in at CB. Having seen quite a bit of both, I cannot see what Rudiger brings ahead of Christensen. Last year was probably better than the first given that Gladbach were weaker as a whole and he was one of the defensive leaders with Stranzl and Dominguez gone for good.

I think Azpilicueta's problem at wing back isn't that he isn't as much of a penatating threat going forward as Moses, who is brilliant at getting into good positions in the opposition box. The other side of the coin is that Moses is obviously weaker defensively. Azpilicueta had his best season at Chelsea at RCB; to me, that feels like the perfect position for him. Despite him not being the tallest, there were only a couple of times he was exposed in the air, namely away to Tottenham.

I haven't seen much of Christensen, to be fair. Would you say RCB would be his best position in a back three?

 

3 minutes ago, Mark Antony said:

Does Martial have a future at United?

He's an incredibly talented player but if you aren't willing to dig in and work hard and follow tactics, Mourinho will oust you. I always got the impression for Martial that he sometimes couldn't be bothered to play. Even scoring didn't seem to satisfy him, at times. He has devastating potential but if he doesn't fully commit himself to Mourinho's cause he has no hope.

Look at Fellaini. A lot of United fans didn't want him near the side but Mourinho has an appreciation for him because he does exactly what Jose tells him to do.

[Consigliere]

Think this might be a make or break season for him and Shaw. Not surprising that Martial didn't get on in this game since Mourinho was employing overly defensive tactics and more concerned with keeping the score down rather than actually playing.

A better second half performance. Matic was excellent and even Fellaini did quite well when he came on. The tactics really need to change though. It is understandable for the likes of Burnely to use these tactics but it is not acceptable for a club that has spent a fortune on players.

[polishgenius]

I fucking hate Mouirinho.

Herrera's going to get the shaft this season too, you know it. Whenever Fellaini comes on it'll be Herrera getting taken off.



Don't see Martial lasting long under Jose, no. Although in this particular instance I'm not too cut up about it- he's obviously a talent, but with the issues we have we've only really got time to be playing development with one forward, and Rashford wins that battle every time. He could come good, but it'd take an injury to someone and an upturn in attitude from Martial himself. Every so often he has a really good game, but much of the time it's flashes of brilliance within games where he's being far too conservative with his movement- by which I don't just mean workrate. He's currently a bit of a posh Theo Walcott basically.

[Consigliere]

And also Pogba needs to sort himself out. Whenever a big game comes around, it seems the limelight goes to his head and he starts doing stupid shit. He needs to calm down and play his normal game. Think if we do end up signing Griezmann then Martial might be on his way out - just doesn't look like Mourinho fancies him.

[Raja]

9 hours ago, Mexal said:

I'd prefer Sanchez myself.

Yeah - it's probably going to be Sanchez & Ozil behind Lacazette. But I don't think either of them will start in the position behind lacazette this friday. 

[Jordan La Cabra]

3 hours ago, Raja said:

Yeah - it's probably going to be Sanchez & Ozil behind Lacazette. But I don't think either of them will start in the position behind lacazette this friday. 

Wenger says Alexis is out with a abdominal strain, so he could miss a couple of weeks.

[Mexal]

3 hours ago, JordanJH1993 said:

Wenger says Alexis is out with a abdominal strain, so he could miss a couple of weeks.

Yea I saw that. Looks like it'll be more or less the same team as against Chelsea. Expect Iwobi/Welbeck to be behind Lacazette. I hope Reiss Nelson gets a shot to play.

[Jordan La Cabra]

Just now, Mexal said:

Yea I saw that. Looks like it'll be more or less the same team as against Chelsea. Expect Iwobi/Welbeck to be behind Lacazette. I hope Reiss Nelson gets a shot to play.

Excuse the sceptic in me, but do you think this abdominal injury is a smokescreen to cover for the fact Alexis is unsettled and trying to get a move away?

Alexis played in all 38 PL games last year and is hardly ever injured. Seems strange to me that he's had a flu and an injury in the same month that all this speculation about his future has gone on.

[Mexal]

17 minutes ago, JordanJH1993 said:

Excuse the sceptic in me, but do you think this abdominal injury is a smokescreen to cover for the fact Alexis is unsettled and trying to get a move away?

Alexis played in all 38 PL games last year and is hardly ever injured. Seems strange to me that he's had a flu and an injury in the same month that all this speculation about his future has gone on.

I don't, mostly because I don't see Arsenal selling Sanchez no matter how unsettled he is. They are banking on the fact that he loves football more than anything else and will give it his all once he hits the field. I think he goes for free next season.

[Jordan La Cabra]

2 minutes ago, Mexal said:

I don't, mostly because I don't see Arsenal selling Sanchez no matter how unsettled he is. They are banking on the fact that he loves football more than anything else and will give it his all once he hits the field. I think he goes for free next season.

I think they would be wiser not to sell him and lose him for free next summer. With Bayern ruling themselves out months ago and PSG signing Neymar and looking at Mbappe, I can't see European clubs coming in for him. So it would most likely be City, who seem to be most keen on him. If Arsenal were to sell to City, they'd be strengthening a rival, while weakening themselves, they'd likely get no more than £50m, too, which in today's football economy, is a drop in the ocean, so hardly worth it for Arsenal.

To me, I still think all this injury and flu stuff is a smokescreen for the fact he is unsettled. I still think he will stay at Arsenal, but I believe he won't play until after the window closes and he has no choice. Once it closes, he'll miraculously be fit again.

[baxus]

14 minutes ago, JordanJH1993 said:

To me, I still think all this injury and flu stuff is a smokescreen for the fact he is unsettled. I still think he will stay at Arsenal, but I believe he won't play until after the window closes and he has no choice. Once it closes, he'll miraculously be fit again.

I just don't see why would he not play during the transfer window. What would he gain by doing that?

If he played he'd get to maintain/improve his form in competitive matches and he'd show clubs that are interested in signing him that he is not the kind of player to pull such stunts if he wanted out.

There's just no upside for him to his injury being a smokescreen, as you put it.

He's been pretty straightforward with Arsenal so far regarding contract extension, so he strikes me more as a kind of guy who'd just go to the manager and the board and say: "My contract expires next year, let's sit down and make an arrangement that suits us all." than play this kind of games.

[Jordan La Cabra]

1 minute ago, baxus said:

I just don't see why would he not play during the transfer window. What would he gain by doing that?

If he played he'd get to maintain/improve his form in competitive matches and he'd show clubs that are interested in signing him that he is not the kind of player to pull such stunts if he wanted out.

There's just no upside for him to his injury being a smokescreen, as you put it.

He's been pretty straightforward with Arsenal so far regarding contract extension, so he strikes me more as a kind of guy who'd just go to the manager and the board and say: "My contract expires next year, let's sit down and make an arrangement that suits us all." than play this kind of games.

He would gain the opportunity to avoid picking up an actual injury, which would scupper any move away from Arsenal, with less than a month of the window left. It would also be a way of putting himself in the shop window, sort of saying 'come get me' to potential suitors.

How many times have we seen stuff like players not being played until they get their move? Look at Dmitri Payet in January. He wanted Marseille, refused to play, was banished from training and Marseille still weren't put off him. If City want him, they won't be put off him for downing tools at Arsenal to make the move happen. Virgil van Djik is doing it at Southampton, right now, and that won't put Liverpool or Chelsea off him.

At the start of the 2015/16 PL season, Louis van Gaal played Sergio Romero ahead of David de Gea until his future was sorted out. It is quite common for a situation like this to arise. If I remember correctly, Cesc Fabregas and RVP were 'injured' around about this time in the 2011/12 and 2012/13 seasons.

[Consigliere]

Don't see Arsenal selling to a PL rival. If Sanchez leaves during this window it will be to a foreign club, however the European elite have not exactly been banging his door down trying to sign him. Given all the supporter outrage last season, selling Sanchez to City would result in a major backlash and cast a shadow over the start of the campaign. I think the Arsenal board would rather risk Sanchez leaving for free than selling him to a league rival and sparking supporter backlash that could compromise Arsenal's season.

[Raja]

1 hour ago, Mexal said:

I don't, mostly because I don't see Arsenal selling Sanchez no matter how unsettled he is. They are banking on the fact that he loves football more than anything else and will give it his all once he hits the field. I think he goes for free next season.

Yeah, Nelson is super exciting. And judging by all the comments, very confident on the ball and off it too. 

I don't want to waste time thinking about what his 'injury' could mean. I've seen Arsenal lose so many key players before, if it happens it happens. I'm pretty zen about it all. 

On another note, is this Coutinho to Barcelona thing happening? ESPN were saying terms have been agreed or something. 

[Jordan La Cabra]

Don't get me wrong, I'd much rather Arsenal didn't sell Alexis, especially to City. As a Chelsea fan, I'm looking at City as the main threat for the PL title this season, and that's looking at their squad as it is. With the addition of Alexis, they would have the best squad in the league, by quite some distance.

[Consigliere]

A few outlets - mostly Spanish - have been reporting that a deal is a "matter of hours away" for a few days now. The reliable Liverpool sources (Paul Joyce/Melissa Reddy) insist that Barca have not even made another bid other than their initial offer of £75m made about 3 weeks ago. Spanish outlets were also reporting that Barca officials are in England to conclude a deal - this turned out to be complete bullshit.