Ikon

Predictable game after game. Think next season is going to be tough for us unless we put more priority into technical ability. Especially out wide. Well yeah, Osula’s position too.

If there’s one thing I like then it’s the double pivot of Bruno and Tonali that I’ve wanted to see for ages. Really have wanted us to go 4-2-3-1 for a long time. Unfortunately we don’t have the kind of players I prefer in the last third (in general no matter what system)

He’s extremely overrated imo.

Confidence is shot. Thinking and hesitating too much when on the ball and in more advanced positions. Defensively it’s much easier.

If only we had some flair combined with speed in the last third. So much money spent but still lacking so much technically.

We’ve done well in the first 2 thirds but quite a boring game to watch so far.

I really really want him to come good again. I won’t give up on him yet. In the right setup I’m sure he can thrive.

Ja! Und eine 2d kant.

I wouldn’t sell Tino for that sum. Having said that, just because we overpaid massively for a couple of players and made mistakes it doesn’t mean that our other players end up going up massively when it comes to worth. 60m+ (65?) would be tempting though considering his reluctance to sign a new contract and how injury prone he seems.

Personally I’d sell him if we got 60-65m. Hall on the other hand I wouldn’t even sell for 100m.

I think the perfect way is some sort of balance. Intensity with directness, while also being able to keep hold of the ball in some parts of a game when needed. Both to sustain energy levels during a hectic schedual and over a long season as well as seeing games out. There’s been so many times during games where we’ve been backs against the wall not being able to offload some pressure by keeping hold of the ball for more than a few seconds. When Howe ball clicks it’s amazing and I love it. Having said that, he needs to improve our ability when it comes to keeping possession. We aren’t good enough at it, and I don’t mean just this season. Us wanting as much as possible for Gordon doesn’t make it right to spend 55 on Elanga imo. Also, I think Gordon is a much much better player than Elanga. I don’t rate Gordon THAT highly. There’s a reason absolutely no top team were in for Elanga. Top teams go for a lot of shite and often get things wrong. But more often than not most of them won’t budge on the demand for good to great technical ability in a potential signing.

The percentage of games against these ”very technical teams” that would put us under massive pressure for large spells is very very tiny to say the least though Me not wanting us to sign Elanga doesn’t mean that I’ve ever wanted us to be possession based team playing possession for the sake of it. What I wanted was a player with very good technical ability. Us improving our overall ability in general play, as well as controlling games better when needed. As well as having a bit more creativity/flair out on the wide. Didn’t see any point of going for a player of similar level to Murphy that didn’t offer much different. Also, the players that Klopp had were ”just a tad” better technically than Elanga.

I disagree. I said that at Forest it was the absolute perfect setup for him. Where they play in the perfect way for him. That is sitting back most of the time prioritising hitting teams on the break, being extremely direct on the counter. Where there was tons of space to run into (and mostly in straight lines) I also said countless times that he’s an extremely limited player with poor technical ability. For us to evolve we needed to improve our in general play, and technical level overall. That we won’t be playing nearly as passive as Forest, and that we’d be facing deep defending teams much more often. Never mind the difference in pressure playing for us. Unfortunately he has been even worse than I expected him to be here. I’m sure he will get better with time but I still won’t think it was even near the right signing to make.

That money for Elanga was absurd. Going for him at all was absurd. What he did at Forest doesn’t really matter too much. Did explain this a few times before we bought him. As a person I like him though. He grew up here playing for my hometown club before he moved to the UK as a 10 year old (around that)

Reminds me of Elanga a bit. Such a square box with no agility or brain. Lack of low centre of gravity/balance and technical ability.

Lasagna Diarrhea

Riccardo Caloriefiori

At Ipswich he was a big fish in a small pond. He had belief in him, but most importantly he played in a more transitional team where he could use his best attributes to his advantage, and that's not his technical ability. At Chelsea it's totally different. Big no from me to be honest.

Even the hairline of that Middle Eastern hedgehog is fucking corrupt.

Also, I'd like to imagine that some of the younger players we are looking at are on a higher level from the off, compared to say Brighton for example. Young players with already good quality and a massive ceiling potentially. Jones is exactly the type of player I really hope we stay away from. Not necessarily because he's shite or anything.

Not a pen, whore.

Probably not all I’d like.

Agree. Think some big changes are needed. Not only recruiting wise but also in general when it comes to his management.

Im perfectly fine with him for next season if he puts some more focus on improving our ball retention and make our play more unpredictable. This combined with more technical ability here and there (especially out wide). As well as sorting out his in game management. We will never evolve unless we improve in these areas. Said the same before our 1st season in the CL. Pure intensity alone isn’t sustainable.