Aleksandar Mitrović

[sugoinufc]

He wasn't allowed to replace with quality though, that's the thing.

 

but he wasn´t forced to sell either...

[Guest firetotheworks]

He wasn't allowed to replace with quality though, that's the thing.

 

but he wasn´t forced to sell either...

 

What do you mean? Rafa doesn't control who we buy and sell. He tells Lee Charnley who he wants to buy and sell and naturally, as they've been doing for the last decade, they sell but don't do the buying bit.

[sugoinufc]

He wasn't allowed to replace with quality though, that's the thing.

 

but he wasn´t forced to sell either...

 

What do you mean? Rafa doesn't control who we buy and sell. He tells Lee Charnley who he wants to buy and sell and naturally, as they've been doing for the last decade, they sell but don't do the buying bit.

 

Im not convinced this is true...in this case. If Rafa wanted to keep Mitro, he would have stayed.

 

If Rafa had plans for Mitro here, then he wouldn´t have been sold. Almost 100% sure of that.

 

[TRon]

Rafa clearly didn't want to keep Mitro, he wanted a different type of target man. You could argue that he wasn't given his first choice replacement, but it has also been suggested that Rondon was very high up on the wanted list if not top of it given our budget.

[mighty__mag]

 

 

I'd rather my centre forward scored goals than ran round like a moron chasing shadows whilst the rest of the team defend 50 yards back.  The football we play is horrible and it was pretty bad in the championship

 

Would you rather we lost more matches at the same time? Because that's what Rafa's argument is.

 

Its basically very similar to Jose Mourinho but with much shitter players.

 

I'm sure there are plenty of Man Utd fans also still fighting for Jose, and others who find their football piss poor at times.

 

The thing is Man Utd can attract a manager with a good CV and fund him.

 

We won't do either with this regime. I can judge Rafa on not being daring enough and wanting to send a side out and have a go, but I can't judge him until he's been properly backed with players he wants so whatever his desired system is we could actually see it in effect, but it's likely it will never happen now.

[Guest firetotheworks]

He wasn't allowed to replace with quality though, that's the thing.

 

but he wasn´t forced to sell either...

 

What do you mean? Rafa doesn't control who we buy and sell. He tells Lee Charnley who he wants to buy and sell and naturally, as they've been doing for the last decade, they sell but don't do the buying bit.

 

Im not convinced this is true...in this case. If Rafa wanted to keep Mitro, he would have stayed.

 

If Rafa had plans for Mitro here, then he wouldn´t have been sold. Almost 100% sure of that.

 

 

I'm not saying Rafa wanted to keep Mitrovic though? I'm just saying that he doesn't control who we buy and sell, he requests players. Rafa was put in a position where in order to get players we had to sell first, so they sold Mitrovic and didn't buy the player that Rafa wanted.

[TRon]

He wasn't allowed to replace with quality though, that's the thing.

 

but he wasn´t forced to sell either...

 

What do you mean? Rafa doesn't control who we buy and sell. He tells Lee Charnley who he wants to buy and sell and naturally, as they've been doing for the last decade, they sell but don't do the buying bit.

 

Im not convinced this is true...in this case. If Rafa wanted to keep Mitro, he would have stayed.

 

If Rafa had plans for Mitro here, then he wouldn´t have been sold. Almost 100% sure of that.

 

 

I'm not saying Rafa wanted to keep Mitrovic though? I'm just saying that he doesn't control who we buy and sell, he requests players. Rafa was put in a position where in order to get players we had to sell first, so they sold Mitrovic and didn't buy the player that Rafa wanted.

 

I thought Rondon was one of his major targets this summer? The only other name seriously mentioned was Plea and his own chairman said he preferred to go to Borussia Mönchengladbach.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

I watched him the other week or weekend and he doesn’t play any different in terms of his game. It’s just that Fulham get in far more crosses, he plays higher up and very centrally and they support him in numbers around him and in the box. I still look at him and see nothing but an average player and a slow huff and puff one at that though. But he’s banging them in for them and good luck to him. A fairly organised defence and an equally strong CB paired against him would deal with him easy enough though IMO. In short he doesn’t have much in his locker and if he’s not scoring, he’s not much of a threat or brings a great deal else to the table. He’s obviously better than anyone else we have mind so...

[KaKa]

I wasn't going to say anything becasue I just couldn't be bothered to get into the back and forth, but I watched a couple of their games now too, and felt very similarly.

 

The key thing with him really is getting crosses in the box regularly.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

I wasn't going to say anything becasue I just couldn't be bothered to get into the back and forth, but I watched a couple of their games now too, and felt very similarly.

 

The key thing with him really is getting crosses in the box regularly.

 

He’s a bit of a throw back as a CF, slow, awkward and very rough, but he’s strong, good in the air, can make the ball his own in terms of shielding and can finish. He’s not clinical, but he knows the way to goal. Given Fulham are what I’d call a football team, far more than we are anyway, you’d think he would be an odd fit, where as Gayle who they were after would seem a good fit. But it works and again good luck to him. Again though, I think he wouldn’t be too hard to nullify for any physically strong savvy CB or organised back four.

 

I think he’s very limited and can’t see him anywhere near a top club other than their bench. For us, I think we could play to his strengths and have enough players to do so, but it’s a case of how much more we would benefit as opposed to how much more we would suffer.

 

In all honesty, I don’t think Mitrovic in our side and us playing to his strengths would make any real difference over what we do now without him. We might end up with a striker getting into double figures, but unless we are talking 20 + league goals is it worth it?

 

Mind, when the alternative seems to be Joselu...

[Zero]

He isn't rough. His ball control is more than decent. If you really pay attention to his ball control and build up plays you should notice he actually contributes a lot to the team even outside the penalty area.

 

He is getting the basics right, for a target man.

[Stottie]

He's doing really well. I'm sure Mike Ashley is enjoying the money we got for him too.

 

It's true that Mitro has scored his five? goals so far from a combined distance of about 20 yards, from chances we are not able to create, but he can knock em in from the edge of the box too. Just give it time.

[Astroblack]

Tom Cairney said he's the best player in the team on Soccer AM

[Guest ElCid]

I watched him the other week or weekend and he doesn’t play any different in terms of his game. It’s just that Fulham get in far more crosses, he plays higher up and very centrally and they support him in numbers around him and in the box. I still look at him and see nothing but an average player and a slow huff and puff one at that though. But he’s banging them in for them and good luck to him. A fairly organised defence and an equally strong CB paired against him would deal with him easy enough though IMO. In short he doesn’t have much in his locker and if he’s not scoring, he’s not much of a threat or brings a great deal else to the table. He’s obviously better than anyone else we have mind so...

 

He is better than what we have though by a long way and his scoring record against the top teams is not to bad either - Man City, Tottenham (x3) and Man utd

[sugoinufc]

2 on top Mitro and Ayose or Muto. Play the small guys of him, use him as a target man - also to bully the defenders and use the flanks and good crossers.

 

That recipe is better than what we do now imo.

 

a little disapointed we never really saw it properly over a longer periode.

[Guest]

2 on top Mitro and Ayose or Muto. Play the small guys of him, use him as a target man - also to bully the defenders and use the flanks and good crossers.

 

That recipe is better than what we do now imo.

 

a little disapointed we never really saw it properly over a longer periode.

 

This is where I mean we could have accommodated him by tweaking things. Have the number 10 do the chasing and closing down from the front for instance. Perez and Muto could have done that job.

[TRon]

I watched him the other week or weekend and he doesn’t play any different in terms of his game. It’s just that Fulham get in far more crosses, he plays higher up and very centrally and they support him in numbers around him and in the box. I still look at him and see nothing but an average player and a slow huff and puff one at that though. But he’s banging them in for them and good luck to him. A fairly organised defence and an equally strong CB paired against him would deal with him easy enough though IMO. In short he doesn’t have much in his locker and if he’s not scoring, he’s not much of a threat or brings a great deal else to the table. He’s obviously better than anyone else we have mind so...

 

He is better than what we have though by a long way and his scoring record against the top teams is not to bad either - Man City, Tottenham (x3) and Man utd

 

Saying he is better than what we have is subjective, obviously he wasn't prepared to do what Rafa needed him to do so he was pointless according to our manager. Rafa put his faith in Rondon, and I'm still prepared to see how that works out. Hopefully it won't take another two months before he starts showing all the stuff he can do better for our formation than Mitro could.

[Guest ElCid]

I watched him the other week or weekend and he doesn’t play any different in terms of his game. It’s just that Fulham get in far more crosses, he plays higher up and very centrally and they support him in numbers around him and in the box. I still look at him and see nothing but an average player and a slow huff and puff one at that though. But he’s banging them in for them and good luck to him. A fairly organised defence and an equally strong CB paired against him would deal with him easy enough though IMO. In short he doesn’t have much in his locker and if he’s not scoring, he’s not much of a threat or brings a great deal else to the table. He’s obviously better than anyone else we have mind so...

 

He is better than what we have though by a long way and his scoring record against the top teams is not to bad either - Man City, Tottenham (x3) and Man utd

 

Saying he is better than what we have is subjective, obviously he wasn't prepared to do what Rafa needed him to do so he was pointless according to our manager. Rafa put his faith in Rondon, and I'm still prepared to see how that works out. Hopefully it won't take another two months before he starts showing all the stuff he can do better for our formation than Mitro could.

 

Think you be waiting a long time but we will see,

[sixx]

Said it before but at the end of the season he's going to have scored more than all of our strikers combined. I'm almost a 100% positive that the gripe Rafa has with him is on a personal/mental note, not ability-wise or whether he fits into a certain style of play or not. It happens.

[Kasper]

How do you guys have the energy to write the same posts every week about another club's player who did nothing  that special during his time here?

 

Although you're just copy pasting so I guess there's not much effort involved.

[Conjo]

How do people have the energy to get annoyed about whom is interesting to talk about and not for others? I see the same here and in the Ben Arfa thread.

 

If Mitrovic is of no concern or interest, nobody is forcing anyone to read through this thread. Let others who liked or disliked the player discuss as they want about him.

[Kasper]

I'm not annoyed. I just dont understand it so I asked a question.

 

I also dont understand how you can compare it to Ben Arfa. In 10 years time Mitrovic will be like Sibierski when it comes to the history of Newcastle players. And Ben Arfa will continue to be one of the most skillful players to have ever played for the club.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

I’ve been unimpressed with Rondon mind, I’ve been more impressed with Joselu in comparison...

 

Back to Mitrovic, he’s undoubtedly playing with more confidence at Fulham which obviously comes from playing every week and having the confidence of his manager and team-mates backing him up, but I did notice Fulham seem to create a lot of action in the opposition box or around it which any striker never mind Mitrovic must look at and think there’s opportunities to score or test the keeper here. That’s something we rarely see at Newcastle and that helps no-one up front for us regardless and makes it hard for any striker to leave their mark.

 

A real quality striker will help in that respect, but watching us even such a player if we had one would struggle because we just don’t get enough bodies up in support or in the box. The action areas in our games offensively seem to be midfield more than any other area and by some distance.

[TRon]

How do you guys have the energy to write the same posts every week about another club's player who did nothing  that special during his time here?

 

Although you're just copy pasting so I guess there's not much effort involved.

 

It's not just about the player for me, it's about Rafa's judgement which I have backed so far. When we are struggling to find a striker who can score goals, and we pushed out one who has been banging them in for 6 months, I do find that at least as interesting as most other topics right now. Not that Rafa is infallible obviously, but I am keen to see what Rondon will bring since there was so much fuss as to why Mitro was a poor fit for Rafa's preferred system.

[TRon]

I’ve been unimpressed with Rondon mind, I’ve been more impressed with Joselu in comparison...

 

Back to Mitrovic, he’s undoubtedly playing with more confidence at Fulham which obviously comes from playing every week and having the confidence of his manager and team-mates backing him up, but I did notice Fulham seem to create a lot of action in the opposition box or around it which any striker never mind Mitrovic must look at and think there’s opportunities to score or test the keeper here. That’s something we rarely see at Newcastle and that helps no-one up front for us regardless and makes it hard for any striker to leave their mark.

 

A real quality striker will help in that respect, but watching us even such a player if we had one would struggle because we just don’t get enough bodies up in support or in the box. The action areas in our games offensively seem to be midfield more than any other area and by some distance.

 

Mind it will be interesting to see if Fulham finish ahead of us at the end of the season regardless of how many Mitrovic scores. I know they've spent a lot of money so not sure it's an even contest any more though.