Mole

Aye Luis Enrique, Figo, Rivaldo etc were bad

I think there's logic to this tactically, but I don't think it will actually happen. There's also the consideration that Woltemade's height would cause them issues (if he leverages it) most of the back 4 are not just smaller but significantly smaller. I actually think a scenario where Woltemade starts and applying what you said here for the last 30 minutes or so is very possible though.

I could see an argument for faster, more physical though? I doubt it.

I was going to say, there's a very big list of small, creative midfielders who have dominated. That cannot be the excuse at all, if you're truly good enough you'll make it happen.

This is stupid too because no team worth anything would let a down season stop them from pulling the trigger on a 5+ year investment. No one who is actually competent is that short sighted.

I think the big difference is those players (not sure about Havertz) weren't coveted by Bayern (Podolski had already played for them) It's quite obviously massive bitterness, which is why I suspect it won't actually have much impact on Woltemade. I read the other day that Lother Matthaus warned Bayern earlier this summer that Woltemade would cost excess of 80m euros and they didn't listen. He was always one of their smarter ex players.

Not knowing what he's going to do next even if it were true isn't really a bad thing. Being unpredictable instead of having pre- meditated patterns can absolutely be a good thing. All in all it's such a weird thing to say to paint that as a negative.

Not wrong

Ah fair.

Regarding Madrid, the large majority of their CL wins in the Cristiano era had an incredible amount of dodgy decisions go in their favour so cool to know somethings never change.

So is Vlahovic actually good? Because every time his name was brought up this summer it wasn’t exactly met with positivity but every time I see Juve plays he seems to score.

Apparently one of the centre backs for Spain was the one Arsenal signed. So apparently not complete mugs he was facing either.

I went to Barcelona last year and I'll be honest I would probably not go to many football matches either

Idk what they're like now but historically parking the bus against Barca was always a mistake. Some teams got lucky but in general teams that pressed them gave them a lot of issues. Just sitting back and ceding possession of the ball involves a shit tonne of luck so I don't expect that to be the game plan.

Champions League game on a Thursday?

Yeah I watched the Liverpool and Villa games and thought they played well but the lack of a recognised striker probably was the difference. I didn't want to assume anything about the players because a 3 game sample size is fuck all.

I don't know their like consistent levels like the rest of you but I thought this was the case for the large majority of the team today. Only ones I felt comfortable they weren't going to give it away was Woltemade, Schar and Tonali. The rest were very sloppy in possession, granted I thought Murphy was good but for different reasons.

Milan fan that was around when the Thiaw signing happened said his best skillset is he can basically hold a midfield together by himself. Definitely saw that today

I think the cardio comment is referring to his stamina than any extra weights work tbh. Granted it was his first game I'm sure he'll be fine. I'm sure all professional players work on that to some degree.

Honestly technically speaking, seeing him control the ball and then everyone else (apart from Tonali) was incredibly jarring for me. Looking forward to seeing more, looks class.

Wasn't even that for me, he was treating the ball like a grenade for pretty much the whole game. Granted he wasn't the only one.

Ngl I have no idea about any of these players but I genuinely despise the term 'premier league proven' and have done for like 15 years plus. More often than not it just means you've played in the league for an extended period. It has nothing to do with the quality you do or don't possess and a lot of the time players who are "premier league proven' actually have a lower ceiling than some alternatives and it rarely guarantees any level of success.

Your reminder that if it was needed that negativity is addictive and some are hooked. Actively seeking it out is wild but it's their choice.

Food for thought considering some are saying the same things about Woltemade and German players.

I don't disagree btw, I think it's likely something else will happen in the meantime but I was just saying if 'x' happens then things will probably turn it okay. I do agree that if you were to run the percentages it is more likely he'll get some form of injury than not.