The College Dropout

He's 30 and only played in 30 league matches or more in 2 out of the last 6 seasons. Only an idiotic coach would rely on Wilson being fit enough to lead a charge into the top 8. Happy for him to be in the squad and an option. But not as our primary striker.

I'd be v. dissappointed if all 4 started. Any more than 2 starting would be a dissappointment imo. I don't think any of these are top 8 material.

Exactly. We'l be ok if we aren't starting Wilson, Almiron, Shelvey, Schar, Targett & Joelinton next season. We'll survive the transition.

So?

Not true. The takeover happened late in August and they finished 9th - in the first season with new ownership. They did most of their business in January because of the late takeover. The next season, with a full transfer window and a change of Manager they finished 5th. Narrowly missing out on 4th and would have got 4th if they had Mancini in from the start of the season. The rest is as you say. City were in an almost identical position to us in the league when they charged right up (they did have better players already on staff but an inferior manager). Most of these did a good job for Chelsea - Duff, Geremi & Makelele in particular. They scraped 4th the year before. First year under Roman they finished 2nd and went to the CL semi-final. Ditching a lot of the players that helped them get 4th (Hasselbaink in particular). We signed 5 players in January and it worked fine.

Prime Danny Welbeck was a v. good player

Our results have been better than our football. Look at our goal difference. We rarely beat decent teams by more than 1 goal. We have not been as good as our results suggest - quality wise.

Aguero is an out and out striker. He seemingly had to fight to stay though. Mbappe will join Real. The 3rd wave of modern Madrid dominance is coming up.

Wholesale changes I’ve worked for Palace, Chelsea and City.

He's 37.

Bit of a false economy here. Camavinga was literally the hottest teenage prospect in the world when Real signed him. He only had a year left on his contract which is why he went for 30m. Had he had 3 years left on his contract, Real would've paid close to double to sign him (Rennes were insisting on 60m until they realised he wasn't going to re-sign). Thats 60m price tag on an 18 year old with less than 100 professional appearances in France. I'm always blaming Ragnick. But Rudiger looked a joke and wasn't getting in the team under Lampard. Now he's in a 3 he's thriving. Maguire looks great in a back 3 under a semi competant manager himself. Ragnick is not even semi competent. Never worth 80m mind but he's a good player. An English tax exists true. GK CB LB CM RF ST About right. Think there could be some decent loans from Chelsea, City or Real Madrid (dreaming?).

Will only get worse with time because of his own deplorable behaviour. Keegan as a footballer is under-rated.

Roy Keane.

Kaka was really a physical specimen in his prime. Pace, power, agility. When that went he went largely.

Prime Kroos got loads of praise. Aye Aaron Hughes is a great shout. Raphinha is slightly under-rated atm. Can go to the top that lad. Matip has it all. Just injury prone.

But that's patently not true though. Athleticism and mobility - no. Quick feet, close control - no. Scholes was better than Xabi. Scholes did what Xabi did when his legs went. I can definitively say. Modric is the best Real Madrid central midfielder of the last 15 years. Better than Khedira, Kovacic, Xabi, Kroos... all of them. Btw i'm pretty sure if you remove penalties- Mane has outscored Salah in at least 2 seasons that they've been together. Mane's timing of runs in the box from crosses and the way he attacks them and can hit a 1 or 2 touch finish is unparralled. I think Mane is a better finisher. Salah's more run, dribble, shoot and he's more relentless when it comes to goalscoring. His game is more 2-dimensional is Salah but it's harder to stop.

Oh. Modric's way better than Alonso (specifically) and Scholes. I was literally just about to say Alonso was over-rated. Simply not in the class of Modric. Alonso was never an athletic player and he couldn't handle a stretched game. That's why he often played with hard-runners alongside him to compensate (Mascherano, Khedira, Modric). You could also press Alonso out of a game. He had slow feet. He wanted a little bit of time on the ball and couldn't jink his way out of a high press. When he was swapped with Kroos I immediately saw the improvement in the teams fluidity. Kroos could play every pass Alonso could but he was more athletic (at the time) and could move around the pitch more and he was better when pressed. Having spent some time at #10 his close control, agility, shift of balance was better. Modric has better mobility at 36 than Alonso had at 25. Obviously way better feet. I say this as someone that has followed Real Madrid semi-closely for 15-years. The Scholes thing is not an argument either. Scholes never turned up for England. Put any Scholes in Croatia 2018 and they don't get out the group.

Beckham is slightly under-rated. He was a fantastic player in his day. Not as good as his celebrity suggests but like.. closer than he's given credit for. Same thing with Rice. He's not worth the 100m+ quoted. But he's the real deal. Fergie would've been all over him. Modric - if you swap him out of Croatia & Real Madrid, which players would've done more or equalled his success with those teams? IMO only the very best of all-time. He's surpassed the Scholes, Xabi Alonso, Kroos etc. and has carved himself into a unique immortal of the modern game

College football don’t pay the men out on the field who are risking their mind and bodies. Awful.

I like those quotes from Howe. To get into 6-8 we’ll need to see a small exodus of players.

Agreed. I think our investment will warrant higher than 10th.

I also think the type of football we want to play makes it harder to get into the top 6. Spurs did it gradually with signing young but potentially really classy players. Leicester only did it with a 20+ goalscorer and ended up with a quality squad. West Ham have got in the mix with the Moyes spirit and some genuine quality.

I'd be thinking they want to do a classier version of Ashley. If they genuinely want us to be a Chelsea, Liverpool, City - we'll need to at least finish top 8. 10th means we're behind West Ham, Wolves + someone else outside the top 6 which really isn't good enough.

Probably a positive that we've been blasted without scoring when facing any genuinely good teams. We're not remotely competitive. Too slow at the back. Not enough mobility or technicality in midfield. Not enough quality upfront.

I don't but he does suffer from fitness/stamina issues. He looks a big lad and it's not all muscle like Adama either. He doesn't have the capacity to do the running (including sprints) some of the top players do. Yesterday was his best game in some time. He could've passed earlier a couple of times for great chances but should have had one assist at least. Don't blame him too much for the 1st goal.