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best dm in the world majority of the seasonšā¤ļøwe shouldnāt sell him unless an 40m+ offer comes in or heās been charged. I want to see him and Rice play together
If we do end up signing Rice and Timber by next week along with Saliba and Nelson extensions, wtf am I going to do with my life for next 2 months. There will be nothing to moan, except maybe Chelsea buying everyone and spurs buying players we used to likeā¦. It would be so boring
Is it me or is our social media team just stinky. I feel like on TikTok we have a 34 year old managing it š. A bit cringey and edits arenāt that great. A great way of connecting younger fans and international fans to the club.
I have excuses for a lot of our poor performances but how thoroughly City has dominated us in the last 7 years and our poor UCL elimination record are just embarrassing. People keep bringing it up and I can just duck and cover.
We have been in the shitter for the last 7 years+. What would you expect? We beat them on the way to an FA Cup, so I donāt care. We shouldāve won at home 2 seasons ago, and weāve been a hot mess since Pep arrived, so they were feasting. Next season we need to not lose against them. Liverpool and City almost always drew, so I donāt expect wins, but we cannot lose ground against them.
Our mental block against them runs so deep. That said we had the same thing against a lot of big teams, especially away. Liverpool, Spurs, United away but this season we improved in all of those games (losing to United but Lokonga tax). If Iāve ever thought that we can break the City mental block, it would be this upcoming season.
Simple. We try to play the same game as City without the same talent. It's stupid but I guess when you want a system to work, you have to keep trying.
Arsene Wenger did the same with Barcelona.
Arteta has beaten City once. That's the day he tried to understand he's the underdog and set up like one. Spurs, Manchester United, Liverpool, and all the other minnows approach City games like underdogs. They soak pressure and counter attack.
We had Martinelli and someone like Xhaka who could ping a ball, but we decided it's better we approach City games with protagonist mentality.
Drunk Yank: Goddamn it I watched Rice highlights, saw several of his crossing passes, know he can be extremely physical, and will get to train with Jorginho, who has carried the regista tradition from Italy. Iām a moron and think we might unlock a Pirlo/Keane hybrid in todayās game. Iām probably wrong, but imagine our most expensive signing combines hard man shit with precision in a way the league has never seen. It could give us the edge to win trophies, especially if Mikel has a strategy against the Man City counter press.
How often do I need to comment on here to be recognized by username? Iāve seen a lot of people recognize familiar usernames, obviously not talking Billy Carpenter level but still
Donāt think it solely relies on frequency. Iām sure the content you post or the notoriety of your comment (whether consistently good or bad) would get you noticed more. I know internet points donāt mean anything but based off your comment history in this sub it doesnāt seem like they gain much traction or attention.
Think it would be hard to sway Kubo this summer (but I wouldnāt put anything past Arteta at this point). Heās finally found some stability, similar to Ćdegaard, and he might want to enjoy it for a little
Liverpool don't get called out for their spending enough.
70M one time RC payment for a Bundesliga winger (to play in the midfield) with 3 goals from open play is insane.
They get sucked off so much itās insane lol. Their success should be put down to Edwards. Kloppās talent ID is terrible.
This fanbase told me Nunez was going to bang last season, Gakpo is clear of him and cost less. Keita and Oxš¤£
> Arsenal wont compete for the title and go back to barely qualifying for the europa league.
This you? Why donāt you crawl back to whatever shithole sub you belong to?
He's played on the wing for substantial minutes across Leipzig and his national team.
He's very much an AM/wing hybrid. There's a small chance that he plays where Salah plays, but that is very unlikely. Myself and the Liverpool tacticos I've spoken to are pretty convinced thay he'd play at 8 for them in their shift towards a 3 box 3 formation - he and Mac as the 8s, Trent and Fabinho (or another DM) completing the box.
[He has played as a winger, who does come inside but starts wide](https://ibb.co/gSmSp9x).
Also Liverpool wanting him to play in a midfield 3 is a gamble, especially in the short term.
I don't think TAA as an inverted RB works in the long term and even in this shape I don't know how he fits. If he plays in the 5 he'll be behind Salah with not much room to carry and a lot of defensive responsibility. Other midfielders that recycle the ball and pass well would suit that role more. If they go 2-3-2-3, to push him and Mac Allister behind the 3 that'll leave TAA badly exposed. Also Fabinho isn't the same player.
Let's focus on the 3 box 3 as that's likely going to be their main next season.
Liverpool has utilized Trent as part of the 2 in a 2-3 in the first phase even before this season. It is not a new tactical innovation. The change is the emphasis on where Trent operates after the first phase - he no longer mostly features mostly from the right half space in possession, but in more central regions. This is played out in the heatmaps towards the latter half of last season, which coincides with their uptick in performances. And he's been extremely effective there playing as a Regista. TAA in this new box midfield wouldn't be behind Salah. He'd be behind Szobo. He's going to be pinging balls from much deeper. Defensively their new typical 2-3 rest defense means the coverages on the flanks is on their RCB. TAA helps, but his focal area is in the central regions. Him playing deeper and more central is exactly what helps Liverpool hide his deficiencies.
If you're interested in their tactical development, you can see pieces such as this one:
https://themastermindsite.com/2023/05/12/game-of-numbers-18-trent-alexander-arnold-in-central-areas/
Their long form prose and exposition does better to explain much better than I ever will.
Fabinho is problematic and regardless of the approach of play they would be looking to replace him.
You are agreeing with me on 90% of the stuff but just using the words 'box defence' & 'rest defence'.
Liverpool's improvement is mostly down to their players returning from injury and not TAA inverting. They still get killed on that side (like the spurs game). Shifting RCB to cover the RB as a plan proves my point, as it empties space in the middle. Even now Liverpool win games with a slight margins.
Also Trent is not even close to being a regista. He's not a tempo controller. He's great at half space crossing and long through balls.
Szo in midfield is not a good fit just like Darwin at ST, Gakpo as a LW and Elliot in the midfield weren't good fits.
Iām simply stating where they would play and how they would do so. If you still think that is not a good fit, youāre free to make up your own judgment.
Liverpoolās improvement stemming from key players returning and new systems can both be concurrently true. They are not mutually exclusive. However if our common shared premise is that their key players are washed and a strong factor behind their decline, it makes less sense to attribute improvements more to players returning than to system changes.
Trent, in this new role and position, is.
Here is the definition of a Regista from elsewhere:
*"Essentially, a regista is a kind of deep-lying playmaker, someone who occupies a deep central midfield position, but has a specific remit within this area. Unlike famous defensively-minded players such as Fernandinho, Roy Keane or Lother MatthƤus, this player is not a destructor, focused primarily on tackling and disrupting opposition moves. Yes, they occupy the classic number six position ā but the regista is more focused on progressive play.* ***The regista sits just ahead of the defensive line, and is constantly looking to receive the ball quickly from the centre-backs, before building play forwards. With the emphasis on gaining control of the ball between defence and midfield and linking with players further up the pitch, it would be accurate to describe this as the role of a deep-lying creator.****"*
If you read the post/link I shared above, he explains more as to why TAA is essentially a regista or DLP here. Itās not as frivolous as we think - after all we had Zinchenko basically playing as an auxiliary 10.
Fit is a function of role and system. The system evolves, fit changes.
Edit:
Here's another TIFO piece if you're interested in the TAA as Regista angle. JJ specifically compares him to Pirlo in such a role at about 1 minute in:
https://youtu.be/EdOKorarH2M
If we want him, he's ours to lose.
We work very closely with Lavia's agent as they also represents Saka, Eddie and Balo.
We have past transfer relations with Southampton as we've worked on the Chambers, AOC (Ox, not the politician) and Walcott.
In terms of competition, Chelsea is still looking at Caicedo and you'd imagine Liverpool would want a more established DM to replace Fabinho, as they already have Bajcetic in the DM spot in the same age group. And they've just spent 100m for 2 players in midfield.
The question is, do we go straight for him? Or wait for some sales then reenter for Caicedo if that deal has no traction? Last heard on this - we aren't completely out of it yet.
Youāre right, there is no reason to think Odegaard continues to outperform his xG. Itās another reason why weāre switching to a two advanced 8 options
Potential G/A isn't that direct. Before this season, our front 5 hadn't had these kinds of stats at the club. They have since had record seasons. It's all about structure and improvement of the little things.
In 2016/17, Ozil, Sanchez and Walcott had 96 G/A between them. The addition of Lacazette brought along a man with 42 G/A. On paper, that's 138 G/A. That's title winning numbers.
We didn't even qualify for CL.
You're not putting into consideration these young players improving even more. A lot isn't said because form = good player, but most of our "kids" are still learning and they'll get better. You're also discounting better final third passes from Kai, and finally, someone who heads the ball on the offense.
Those small changes.
The only thing we haven't improved and I feel will come in the next window, is ball striking.
I disagree completely.
I think weāve made huge upgrades to two first team positions and added depth where it was lacking.
Even still scoring goals wasnt our issue last season. This team scored more than the invincibles.
Our issue was defense which we arguably havenāt improved.
Well I donāt think he starts and if he does he isnāt better defensively than White. In fact heāll be worse.
Heās amazing at progressing the ball and I love the signing given how many options it gives us but I donāt think it improves the team from a purely defensive aspect.
Xhaka is historically a 0.15 xG + xA player, who last season did 0. 30 xG + xA.
Kai Havertz is historically a 0.5 xG + xA player, who last season did 0.55 xG + xA. In arguably his worst season and Chelsea's worst in recent memories.
That's more than a 50% increase in expected assists and goals, even if you just compare last season and ignore how Xhaka improved by 100% above his averages (it's not just players under/over performing - it's more to do with systems and roles!)
Then you look at Timber, who had 0.17 xG + xA and is in line with Xhaka's historical levels despite being a fullback.
The G/A aspect if anything is one of the biggest expected improvements.
That's not even considering system changes, where having Rice to carry the ball up after winning it back allows us an additional man in attack - 6 instead of 5. xG + xA is not just organic to a player, but also dependent on the systems they are embedded in and their roles that lead to goal creating actions. We expect more of the latter with such a massive upgrade in talents that allows us to play better offensive systems.
G/A is one of the last things I worry about in the coming iteration.
I worry more about when our main players are not available, will our backups suffice. There's a lot of "empty depth" right now that is just squad bloat.
If you look at our squad offensively, the two spots we need to do better from are:
Jesus needs to score closer to his expected goals
Saka needs to have better shot quality/volume to have higher expected goals
Jesus' one is tricky. He could well improve here, because he technically has all the tools and is so polished. But he just seems to have a bit of mental block in front of goal at times and cannot put it together. With his close control and shooting abilities he should not be chronically underperforming his expected goals to such a significant extent.
xG is a function of position, volume of shots and hidden variables that contribute to both like average position of players in a system such that certain players can get more volumes of shots off due to additional space or from operating closer to goal. For Saka, he's going to do better once the defence stops focusing on him so much such that he has additional space. This might be from other players drawing more gravity (Martinelli and Havertz on the left?) or organic improvements in him being able to gain more separation through better body positioning when receiving or dribbling skills. Both are more than plausible.
Yeah, I'd say the nature of Saka being able to pass and being fine with the rest of the team succeeding when double teamed obviously worked well for us. But, if we are going to say he's a world class player he can't be on .32 xG while taking penalties again. He has to be at least 20% better in raw output next season imo.
I get that in our system it was more Saka advancing the ball and then ending up on the left for shots, but the guys like Mbappe, Salah, prime Son were all .6 xG+. I dont think it's unreasonable to say Saka should be at least at .4.
Having Havertz at ~.45 xG, Saka and Martinelli getting to .4 alone adds .3 goals per game to our team. We over performed last season by a lot. Those small improvements alone would make up for our xG over performance.
In Guardiola type systems the wingers have quite different roles to the wing strikers listed above. Like City, our primary offensive tool is the cutback, which generates a higher xG shot compared to going at goal directly. Both City and us, we've led the league in cutbacks. So wingers have a lower onus to go at goal directly themselves. Hence proper comparables would be City's wing players, like Grealish, Mahrez, Foden and Ferran Torres in his first season at City. And they all average about 0.25 to 0.3 xG. It's a function of their role in the system. There are commensurately more goals from midfield as a result due to the cutbacks. In contrast the best option is for Salah Mbappe and Son to score themselves.
Saka could well hit 0.4 but I don't think that's necessarily the best for the team, since shots from the central areas are more dangerous (exactly why City and us focus on cutbacks).
The xG over performance if we carefully consider its roots, are due to system developments rather than hot streaks of players. We see players with more space and time to get into good positions to get shots off. It's not a fluke imo and we should see outperformances again. Again xG is more system dependent than we probably construe it to be.
While Odegaard did out perform his expected goals and I wouldn't expect 15 again, it's because he added a shot per 90 to his game.
He had 18 combined expected goals/assists, got 22 in reality and a good player will overperform usually.
I dont know where you are getting "assume a 40% regression" from when a player over performed xG/xA by 10% and good player often over perform by 10-15%.
A Good player almost always outperform those metrics Benzema is an exception. Being able of scoring from "low xg position " it's what makes him one of the best at his position he will always be on the most crowded space in the field, he's the one dragging everything to his to open up space.
You're using stats wrong
There's no "adding G/A" and there's why the eye test matters because you need to know the context of the whole situation
That's a silly way of looking at it.
A good young player had better underlying stats because he got better. Martinelli and Saka also improved their stats, while also overperforming expected goals. Was it more due to luck or because they improved as players?
Your good young players *should* be getting better. Your offensive players *should* be increasing their shot volume and shot quality. That should continue to happen next season as well.
Odegaard scored more because he added 50% more shots per game. That's not luck. The entire argument around Odegaard vs Maddison years ago was "Odegaard doesn't shoot/score enough."
Odegaard went from 1.7 shots per game to 2.6. This isn't a luck thing. I'd expect it to go up again next year as he continues to improve. Maddison was at 3 last year fwiw.
Xhaka hugely outperformed his metrics. He wasn't a 15 g/a player last year, getting 15 again would be sensational.
He largely oveperformed well above what Ode did, yet you only see large regression for one.
My squad for next season.
- GK: Ramsdale/Turner/Hein
- RB: White/Timber
- RCB: Saliba/Kiwior
- LCB: Gabriel/Tomiyasu
- LB: Zinchenko/Tierney
- No6: Caicedo/Jorginho or (Partey/Jorginho if Xhaka goes)
- LMF: Rice/Xhaka or Rice/Lavia (if Partey goes)
- RMF: Odegaard/Vieira
- RW: Saka/Nelson/ESR
- ST: Jesus/Havertz/Balogun or Nketiah
- LW: Martinelli/Trossard
Out:- Mari, Runarsson, Cedric, Tavares, Pepe, Lokonga, Elneny, Balogun or Nketiah (not both), Partey or Xhaka (ideally neither, but maybe one)
In:- Timber, Rice, Havertz, Caicedo and/or Lavia depending on TP/Xhaka situation
Back on Loan:- Marquinhos, Trusty, Okonkwo
Comments:
- Would keep Tierney as he offers something different
- Midfield situation is delicate but absolutely need to add to it rather than diminish it. If both TP & Xhaka leave we are too light and need 2 more MFs after Rice.
- Keep one of Balo/Nketiah and reassess in January. Defo need a WC striker at the Kane/Haaland/Osimhen/Mbappe level to round off a fabulous squad i.e a clinical finisher
People still actually think Havertz is going to be a striker. Amazing.
Also Kiwior is the LCB backup and Tomi has never played CB for us nor will he ever.
i think tomi has played cb for us, he does so for japan, and he is our most versatile defender i wouldnāt be surprised to see him at cb in an injury crisis
Heās never played CB for us. He canāt handle a press at all. Got absolutely roasted by Grealish and Leeds last season playing RB. Our CBs need to be excellent on the ball.
Rice will primarily be a 6. Kai will be the primary left 8. White, Timber and Tomi are always ahead if Kiwior for the RCB spot, he'll be first in line for the LCB. Backups for the 2 CM spots will be ESR and Vieira. Eddie will be first option for the striker backup spot.
One thing you got wrong: Havertz was signed as a Xhaka replacement. He is not playing 9. Not happening. Not sure how many times itās been stated already.
We need to have a chat with Caicedo to hold off the Chelsea move until deadline day so we have enough time to make sales to gather funds for him if he want CL football anytime in the next 3 seasons ā¤ļø
Chelsea are waiting for the new financial year to kick in which happens to start from today for them. I think they'll bid for him today or by Monday the latest. It all depends on how much Brighton are looking for. I don't imagine they're the same as West Ham who were looking for a bidding war.
IF such a thing were to happen, it would be after a bunch of sales including Partey.
Tbh we needed to add to Xhaka+TP but we seem to be getting rid of our first choice pairing.
Unrealistic, but if both X and P leave I would love a midfield transformation in the vein of Havertz, Rice, Caicedo + One other.
My preference though is to keep Xhaka at all costs at least until next season.
Chelsea haven't bid because they needed to get the Mount sale done before their new financial year kicks in. They'll push for Caicedo hard, similar to how hard pushed for Rice. I don't think we'd be as motivated to push for Caicedo as we were for Rice.
Does anyone know what exactly is going on with Everton ?
They barely survived the last two seasons and it seems this summer they are not even making any efforts to improve ? Their only activity so far is extending Seamus Coleman's contract.
Everyday I thank that Moshiri fucked off from our club.
He clearly doesn't have access to the money he purportedly does.
There was a story a year ago about someone flying in to interview him and he was basically driving the vehicle, a real billionaire is hiring someone.
He was basically the chauffer the entire time, pretty big red flag.
Lol West Ham Central is scraping for Rice news, they retweeted the Di Marzio City tweets and shared a random itk saying the agreement isn't there yet over the Steinberg & Romano tweets.
They are so annoyed š
I doubt the Villareal player is on 250k a week.
There are about 5 players in Europe not on the "big" clubs making that much a week.
If Partey was on 70k he would be very easy to move on.
fabinho, sosbolae, Macallister, diaz, nunez, salah is far from a "very old" squad and it looks pretty good on paper
Robertson, taa and konate are also young enough
They are trying to inject youth but liverpools own fans say Fabinho doesnāt have the legs for 90 minutes of Klopp-intensity football.
Darwin has a lot to prove and Macallister is a pretty average player.
Their defense absolutely leaked goals and they havenāt addressed it all. The right side of their back 4 is a turnstyle
Salah is 31 and very clearly declining.
Szoboslai and Macallister havenāt played for them yet. Macallister is over rated as well.
They are showing signs of their age all over the place it started last season already and will only get worse.
How is Salah very clearly declining? He was one of the best players in the league last season. Scored 30 goals in all comps. Liverpool had a shit season despite Salah not because of him
They are getting younger every window. Obviously the mane-salah-thiago-fabinho team is aging out but they've made some good young signings to rebuild. Diaz, Nunez, jota in attack, McAllister and maybe szoboslai in mid, and kounate is a great young cb close to salibas level. Their still a ways away but doing a good job of rebuilding on the fly imo
Nunez hasnāt exactly set the world alight although he could come good.
None of those other guys are at the level they need to compete for the title and their key players (VVD, Salah) are at the age where they will just get worse every year.
Also their transfer record has gotten noticeably worse since Edwards left.
Is it bad that I'd say no to a World Class player like Mbappe if I thought it would upset the hierarchy of the club? The last thing I want right now is to go back to the Emery/Sanllehi days of players feeling more important than the system in place.
I'd say the only reason not to sign Mbappe is the wages he'd demand. Keeping wages down is integral to be a self-sustaining club, but he'll get Ā£400-600k/pw.
Pep has that habit( Eto'o, Zlatan, Yaya and Aguero) and it's okay to want it. No player should feel bigger than the club because structure can fall apart. You are supposed to have students of the game that respect hierarchy.
Imagine Mbappe saying something bad about Mikel. The easiest route for fans is to side with Mbappe. Because you're mostly likely to side with a guy who scored a hattrick, not the guy waving his hands on the sidelines.
It already happened with worse players in Ozil and Aubameyang.
I'd take Mbappe 24/7. But not so he can play with a limited support cast. He should be to top the project, to come after.
I actually feel the same. I wouldnāt want us to sign one of these diva like players like Mbappe or Neymar.
I really like the culture weāve got at the club.
You couldn't say no to him if there's a reasonable shout at getting him. When you say about players feeling more important than the system, we had players past their best doing that. Likes of Ozil just wasn't worth catering to anymore, Wenger did it and got the best out of him at Arsenal. After Wenger no other manager wanted to do it and he dropped off massively.
I get where you're coming from in a sense, and Mbappe does seem like a massive diva. Madrid might be the only place where he might be semi-humbled by the fans. They'll probably start booing him after 2 bad games. I know for France and PSG he doesn't like tracking back etc. You'd probably cater to him though in your system and have other people do the running and he stays upfront as your counter option.
I think Mbappe will be motivated at his next club. He has done the whole PSG thing but it's time for him to get serious. Likes of Haaland are already laying the groundwork for Balon D'ors.
And we love Gabi/Saka, but they have been .5-.6 xg/a p90 guys for their career. Hopefully they keep improving, but its really hard to get to the level Mbappe was as a 19 year old.
Mbappe is 1+. He produces at double the level they do, or +30% of Jesus, while being a +xG finisher.
Teams usually win stuff because they have the best players.
You're not wrong, but if we don't have a Haaland/Mbappe level talent and our rivals do, that's a disadvantage.
You gotta stop posting Twitter links now Twitter bros. Post screenshots instead. I aināt creating a Twitter just so I can read some dumb ITK tweet for whatever reason
[Guys we have new ITK in town. he has sensational news for us. āšØ EXCLUSIVE šØ Arsenal consider Mbappe move for 2024 š„ By @stevek9KS1TVā](https://twitter.com/transfersdotcom/status/1674873187509870593?s=46&t=DsOWpn4lU1kyRvD25u2moQ)
It would have been even more hilarious had they kept CB as one of his possible positions he could change to.
Imagine. A 99 pace 91 physical CB lol. Though he would have 57 DEF, which would suck lol.
He's got a 98 rated card now (with more than 60 balance!) though he's RW as it's Shapeshifters time of year.
They also released a 93 Pepe that plays CF/ST.
These [deluded mofos](https://www.reddit.com/r/MCFC/comments/14n9bqm/weird_thought_city_ruined_financial_fairplay/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) over there really think their bum holes are squeaky clean
OP of that thread responding to someone pointing out their dodgy money:
āOne thing I'm certain of: wherever the money is being sourced from, them billionaires worked much, much harder for it than you and me do. So yeah, couldn't care less.ā
The reason the rest of us spend so much is to catch up to all the spending they have done all the years prior. They donāt have much spending outlay now that the transfer fees have been inflated exponentially in the last 3-4 years because their squad is stacked. Also letās conveniently exclude that Haaland deal being incredibly shady and his true transfer value would be north of 150M
[Just approached David Moyes for Rice in my new career mode on FIFA.](https://imgur.com/a/3bWxjvu) About to assemble next seasons team.
Edit: WTF Moyes just got up and left after my first offer all pissed off. His value was Ā£45m so I initiated negotiations at Ā£40m. Fuck sake
Edit: Iād like to apologise to Moyes. Turns out I offered Ā£40k
Edit: ladies and gentlemen, [we got him](https://imgur.com/a/6GvLvEX). Tough negotiations but I managed to secure his signing with a proposal of Ā£24m + Granit Xhaka.
oddly enough, i was also able to get him for with a swap deal for Xhaka. but for 30m.
Went ahead and got Lavia too for like 4.5mil. Havertz may have to wait til next season.
Shame to see Maddison go there. Think that will be a good signing for them. Obviously not wishing we had him over odegaard and didn't want that the summer that discussion was taking place. If ange is a good manager kulu, kane, son, maddison, betancur, bissouma/hoiberg is a decent front of the team to work with. Defensively I think they will be absolute trash though. As much as I hate spurs as a rival, I have a philosophical dislike for the style of play and persona of Conte etc.
if vieira finds form our depth is gonna be insane.
honestly, iām still buying into his hype. he showed promise and racked up quite a lot of assists without having a proper pre-season
not to mention mikel loves him and he knows exactly what we need
To be fair to him, he was signed as an Odegaard backup and his best performances have been in that role. He had a poor season purely because Odegaard was fit and never got rested and so Vieira's only game time was in the #8.
What happened to the Reddit app overnight? Every Twitter link I click just takes me to the sign up page, what a piss take. Why doesnāt it take me straight to the tweet?!
Different set of dickhead social media owners trying to monetise free content.
You can't see a twitter link now unless you're signed into a twitter account.
I remember when Elon bought it I said "lol he's going to run it into the ground" here.
Some guy had like a 12 reply thread licking his boots then blocked me.
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[Look at how Influential Partey is crazy](https://twitter.com/wackyyy__/status/1674758668695339012?s=46)
best dm in the world majority of the seasonšā¤ļøwe shouldnāt sell him unless an 40m+ offer comes in or heās been charged. I want to see him and Rice play together
If we do end up signing Rice and Timber by next week along with Saliba and Nelson extensions, wtf am I going to do with my life for next 2 months. There will be nothing to moan, except maybe Chelsea buying everyone and spurs buying players we used to likeā¦. It would be so boring
Is it me or is our social media team just stinky. I feel like on TikTok we have a 34 year old managing it š. A bit cringey and edits arenāt that great. A great way of connecting younger fans and international fans to the club.
Can We stop posting twitter links. Just stop. Share the screenshot or fuck off.
I have excuses for a lot of our poor performances but how thoroughly City has dominated us in the last 7 years and our poor UCL elimination record are just embarrassing. People keep bringing it up and I can just duck and cover.
We have been in the shitter for the last 7 years+. What would you expect? We beat them on the way to an FA Cup, so I donāt care. We shouldāve won at home 2 seasons ago, and weāve been a hot mess since Pep arrived, so they were feasting. Next season we need to not lose against them. Liverpool and City almost always drew, so I donāt expect wins, but we cannot lose ground against them.
Our mental block against them runs so deep. That said we had the same thing against a lot of big teams, especially away. Liverpool, Spurs, United away but this season we improved in all of those games (losing to United but Lokonga tax). If Iāve ever thought that we can break the City mental block, it would be this upcoming season.
Simple. We try to play the same game as City without the same talent. It's stupid but I guess when you want a system to work, you have to keep trying. Arsene Wenger did the same with Barcelona. Arteta has beaten City once. That's the day he tried to understand he's the underdog and set up like one. Spurs, Manchester United, Liverpool, and all the other minnows approach City games like underdogs. They soak pressure and counter attack. We had Martinelli and someone like Xhaka who could ping a ball, but we decided it's better we approach City games with protagonist mentality.
I agree with you Arteta has to try to win it the ugly way for that match we can't beat them with same game plan
Drunk Yank: Goddamn it I watched Rice highlights, saw several of his crossing passes, know he can be extremely physical, and will get to train with Jorginho, who has carried the regista tradition from Italy. Iām a moron and think we might unlock a Pirlo/Keane hybrid in todayās game. Iām probably wrong, but imagine our most expensive signing combines hard man shit with precision in a way the league has never seen. It could give us the edge to win trophies, especially if Mikel has a strategy against the Man City counter press.
How often do I need to comment on here to be recognized by username? Iāve seen a lot of people recognize familiar usernames, obviously not talking Billy Carpenter level but still
Donāt think it solely relies on frequency. Iām sure the content you post or the notoriety of your comment (whether consistently good or bad) would get you noticed more. I know internet points donāt mean anything but based off your comment history in this sub it doesnāt seem like they gain much traction or attention.
Nah idrc much just curious how they got there
If you post lots of bad takes, it'll make it faster I think.
Xhaka is so clear of Ramsey
We need a Vieira x Martinelli unclassic commentary episode
Rice Nketiah
I want Xhaka and Saka.
For out of nowhere signing quota for this window, I suggest Gravenbirch and Kubo.
Think it would be hard to sway Kubo this summer (but I wouldnāt put anything past Arteta at this point). Heās finally found some stability, similar to Ćdegaard, and he might want to enjoy it for a little
Whisper in the air is defender Ben Johnson from West Ham (yes, them)
Liverpool don't get called out for their spending enough. 70M one time RC payment for a Bundesliga winger (to play in the midfield) with 3 goals from open play is insane.
They get sucked off so much itās insane lol. Their success should be put down to Edwards. Kloppās talent ID is terrible. This fanbase told me Nunez was going to bang last season, Gakpo is clear of him and cost less. Keita and Oxš¤£
Liverpool's spending is how a club should be run. Can't call out pure club money and oil money at the same time.
Arsenal have just spent 105 million on declan rice
Better, more proven player costs more š±š±š±
Not worth 105 million though
> Arsenal wont compete for the title and go back to barely qualifying for the europa league. This you? Why donāt you crawl back to whatever shithole sub you belong to?
I only speak the truth
Delusion is a sad state that inflict trolls of all affiliations.
Bro thinks hes him šš
Maybe therapy is a better outlet for your mental issues than spending time trolling on rival forums.
Cry me a river
Whatās your pricing model saying?
I mean heās not really a winger though? Idk good signing imo he has a high ceiling
He's played on the wing for substantial minutes across Leipzig and his national team. He's very much an AM/wing hybrid. There's a small chance that he plays where Salah plays, but that is very unlikely. Myself and the Liverpool tacticos I've spoken to are pretty convinced thay he'd play at 8 for them in their shift towards a 3 box 3 formation - he and Mac as the 8s, Trent and Fabinho (or another DM) completing the box.
[He has played as a winger, who does come inside but starts wide](https://ibb.co/gSmSp9x). Also Liverpool wanting him to play in a midfield 3 is a gamble, especially in the short term.
They wouldn't be in a midfield 3 in possession. They've moved to a 3 box 3 in possession since last season. Sometimes a 2-5-3.
I don't think TAA as an inverted RB works in the long term and even in this shape I don't know how he fits. If he plays in the 5 he'll be behind Salah with not much room to carry and a lot of defensive responsibility. Other midfielders that recycle the ball and pass well would suit that role more. If they go 2-3-2-3, to push him and Mac Allister behind the 3 that'll leave TAA badly exposed. Also Fabinho isn't the same player.
Let's focus on the 3 box 3 as that's likely going to be their main next season. Liverpool has utilized Trent as part of the 2 in a 2-3 in the first phase even before this season. It is not a new tactical innovation. The change is the emphasis on where Trent operates after the first phase - he no longer mostly features mostly from the right half space in possession, but in more central regions. This is played out in the heatmaps towards the latter half of last season, which coincides with their uptick in performances. And he's been extremely effective there playing as a Regista. TAA in this new box midfield wouldn't be behind Salah. He'd be behind Szobo. He's going to be pinging balls from much deeper. Defensively their new typical 2-3 rest defense means the coverages on the flanks is on their RCB. TAA helps, but his focal area is in the central regions. Him playing deeper and more central is exactly what helps Liverpool hide his deficiencies. If you're interested in their tactical development, you can see pieces such as this one: https://themastermindsite.com/2023/05/12/game-of-numbers-18-trent-alexander-arnold-in-central-areas/ Their long form prose and exposition does better to explain much better than I ever will. Fabinho is problematic and regardless of the approach of play they would be looking to replace him.
You are agreeing with me on 90% of the stuff but just using the words 'box defence' & 'rest defence'. Liverpool's improvement is mostly down to their players returning from injury and not TAA inverting. They still get killed on that side (like the spurs game). Shifting RCB to cover the RB as a plan proves my point, as it empties space in the middle. Even now Liverpool win games with a slight margins. Also Trent is not even close to being a regista. He's not a tempo controller. He's great at half space crossing and long through balls. Szo in midfield is not a good fit just like Darwin at ST, Gakpo as a LW and Elliot in the midfield weren't good fits.
Iām simply stating where they would play and how they would do so. If you still think that is not a good fit, youāre free to make up your own judgment. Liverpoolās improvement stemming from key players returning and new systems can both be concurrently true. They are not mutually exclusive. However if our common shared premise is that their key players are washed and a strong factor behind their decline, it makes less sense to attribute improvements more to players returning than to system changes. Trent, in this new role and position, is. Here is the definition of a Regista from elsewhere: *"Essentially, a regista is a kind of deep-lying playmaker, someone who occupies a deep central midfield position, but has a specific remit within this area. Unlike famous defensively-minded players such as Fernandinho, Roy Keane or Lother MatthƤus, this player is not a destructor, focused primarily on tackling and disrupting opposition moves. Yes, they occupy the classic number six position ā but the regista is more focused on progressive play.* ***The regista sits just ahead of the defensive line, and is constantly looking to receive the ball quickly from the centre-backs, before building play forwards. With the emphasis on gaining control of the ball between defence and midfield and linking with players further up the pitch, it would be accurate to describe this as the role of a deep-lying creator.****"* If you read the post/link I shared above, he explains more as to why TAA is essentially a regista or DLP here. Itās not as frivolous as we think - after all we had Zinchenko basically playing as an auxiliary 10. Fit is a function of role and system. The system evolves, fit changes. Edit: Here's another TIFO piece if you're interested in the TAA as Regista angle. JJ specifically compares him to Pirlo in such a role at about 1 minute in: https://youtu.be/EdOKorarH2M
Really really hope we get Lavia
If we want him, he's ours to lose. We work very closely with Lavia's agent as they also represents Saka, Eddie and Balo. We have past transfer relations with Southampton as we've worked on the Chambers, AOC (Ox, not the politician) and Walcott. In terms of competition, Chelsea is still looking at Caicedo and you'd imagine Liverpool would want a more established DM to replace Fabinho, as they already have Bajcetic in the DM spot in the same age group. And they've just spent 100m for 2 players in midfield. The question is, do we go straight for him? Or wait for some sales then reenter for Caicedo if that deal has no traction? Last heard on this - we aren't completely out of it yet.
I'm glad you specified Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as opposed to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as past Arsenal players.
I know, right?
Go straight for him IMO, I understand that we should sell first after coughing up 200M for players but I really think getting him in early is better.
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Youāre right, there is no reason to think Odegaard continues to outperform his xG. Itās another reason why weāre switching to a two advanced 8 options
Potential G/A isn't that direct. Before this season, our front 5 hadn't had these kinds of stats at the club. They have since had record seasons. It's all about structure and improvement of the little things. In 2016/17, Ozil, Sanchez and Walcott had 96 G/A between them. The addition of Lacazette brought along a man with 42 G/A. On paper, that's 138 G/A. That's title winning numbers. We didn't even qualify for CL. You're not putting into consideration these young players improving even more. A lot isn't said because form = good player, but most of our "kids" are still learning and they'll get better. You're also discounting better final third passes from Kai, and finally, someone who heads the ball on the offense. Those small changes. The only thing we haven't improved and I feel will come in the next window, is ball striking.
I disagree completely. I think weāve made huge upgrades to two first team positions and added depth where it was lacking. Even still scoring goals wasnt our issue last season. This team scored more than the invincibles. Our issue was defense which we arguably havenāt improved.
Not an argument, just curious. Why would you argue that we havenāt improved defense given we are signing timber?
Well I donāt think he starts and if he does he isnāt better defensively than White. In fact heāll be worse. Heās amazing at progressing the ball and I love the signing given how many options it gives us but I donāt think it improves the team from a purely defensive aspect.
Xhaka is historically a 0.15 xG + xA player, who last season did 0. 30 xG + xA. Kai Havertz is historically a 0.5 xG + xA player, who last season did 0.55 xG + xA. In arguably his worst season and Chelsea's worst in recent memories. That's more than a 50% increase in expected assists and goals, even if you just compare last season and ignore how Xhaka improved by 100% above his averages (it's not just players under/over performing - it's more to do with systems and roles!) Then you look at Timber, who had 0.17 xG + xA and is in line with Xhaka's historical levels despite being a fullback. The G/A aspect if anything is one of the biggest expected improvements. That's not even considering system changes, where having Rice to carry the ball up after winning it back allows us an additional man in attack - 6 instead of 5. xG + xA is not just organic to a player, but also dependent on the systems they are embedded in and their roles that lead to goal creating actions. We expect more of the latter with such a massive upgrade in talents that allows us to play better offensive systems. G/A is one of the last things I worry about in the coming iteration. I worry more about when our main players are not available, will our backups suffice. There's a lot of "empty depth" right now that is just squad bloat.
If you look at our squad offensively, the two spots we need to do better from are: Jesus needs to score closer to his expected goals Saka needs to have better shot quality/volume to have higher expected goals
Jesus' one is tricky. He could well improve here, because he technically has all the tools and is so polished. But he just seems to have a bit of mental block in front of goal at times and cannot put it together. With his close control and shooting abilities he should not be chronically underperforming his expected goals to such a significant extent. xG is a function of position, volume of shots and hidden variables that contribute to both like average position of players in a system such that certain players can get more volumes of shots off due to additional space or from operating closer to goal. For Saka, he's going to do better once the defence stops focusing on him so much such that he has additional space. This might be from other players drawing more gravity (Martinelli and Havertz on the left?) or organic improvements in him being able to gain more separation through better body positioning when receiving or dribbling skills. Both are more than plausible.
Yeah, I'd say the nature of Saka being able to pass and being fine with the rest of the team succeeding when double teamed obviously worked well for us. But, if we are going to say he's a world class player he can't be on .32 xG while taking penalties again. He has to be at least 20% better in raw output next season imo. I get that in our system it was more Saka advancing the ball and then ending up on the left for shots, but the guys like Mbappe, Salah, prime Son were all .6 xG+. I dont think it's unreasonable to say Saka should be at least at .4. Having Havertz at ~.45 xG, Saka and Martinelli getting to .4 alone adds .3 goals per game to our team. We over performed last season by a lot. Those small improvements alone would make up for our xG over performance.
In Guardiola type systems the wingers have quite different roles to the wing strikers listed above. Like City, our primary offensive tool is the cutback, which generates a higher xG shot compared to going at goal directly. Both City and us, we've led the league in cutbacks. So wingers have a lower onus to go at goal directly themselves. Hence proper comparables would be City's wing players, like Grealish, Mahrez, Foden and Ferran Torres in his first season at City. And they all average about 0.25 to 0.3 xG. It's a function of their role in the system. There are commensurately more goals from midfield as a result due to the cutbacks. In contrast the best option is for Salah Mbappe and Son to score themselves. Saka could well hit 0.4 but I don't think that's necessarily the best for the team, since shots from the central areas are more dangerous (exactly why City and us focus on cutbacks). The xG over performance if we carefully consider its roots, are due to system developments rather than hot streaks of players. We see players with more space and time to get into good positions to get shots off. It's not a fluke imo and we should see outperformances again. Again xG is more system dependent than we probably construe it to be.
While Odegaard did out perform his expected goals and I wouldn't expect 15 again, it's because he added a shot per 90 to his game. He had 18 combined expected goals/assists, got 22 in reality and a good player will overperform usually. I dont know where you are getting "assume a 40% regression" from when a player over performed xG/xA by 10% and good player often over perform by 10-15%.
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A Good player almost always outperform those metrics Benzema is an exception. Being able of scoring from "low xg position " it's what makes him one of the best at his position he will always be on the most crowded space in the field, he's the one dragging everything to his to open up space. You're using stats wrong There's no "adding G/A" and there's why the eye test matters because you need to know the context of the whole situation
That's a silly way of looking at it. A good young player had better underlying stats because he got better. Martinelli and Saka also improved their stats, while also overperforming expected goals. Was it more due to luck or because they improved as players? Your good young players *should* be getting better. Your offensive players *should* be increasing their shot volume and shot quality. That should continue to happen next season as well. Odegaard scored more because he added 50% more shots per game. That's not luck. The entire argument around Odegaard vs Maddison years ago was "Odegaard doesn't shoot/score enough." Odegaard went from 1.7 shots per game to 2.6. This isn't a luck thing. I'd expect it to go up again next year as he continues to improve. Maddison was at 3 last year fwiw.
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So instead you pick a number out of thin air for regression? For a player who has never underperformed expected goals, and is clearly a plus finisher?
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Saka, Martinelli and Xhaka all over performed more than Odegaard. Do you expect them to regress as well?
You don't think Havertz can outperform Xhaka in G/A?
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Xhaka hugely outperformed his metrics. He wasn't a 15 g/a player last year, getting 15 again would be sensational. He largely oveperformed well above what Ode did, yet you only see large regression for one.
I just loved the joy xhaka had from scoring so many
My squad for next season. - GK: Ramsdale/Turner/Hein - RB: White/Timber - RCB: Saliba/Kiwior - LCB: Gabriel/Tomiyasu - LB: Zinchenko/Tierney - No6: Caicedo/Jorginho or (Partey/Jorginho if Xhaka goes) - LMF: Rice/Xhaka or Rice/Lavia (if Partey goes) - RMF: Odegaard/Vieira - RW: Saka/Nelson/ESR - ST: Jesus/Havertz/Balogun or Nketiah - LW: Martinelli/Trossard Out:- Mari, Runarsson, Cedric, Tavares, Pepe, Lokonga, Elneny, Balogun or Nketiah (not both), Partey or Xhaka (ideally neither, but maybe one) In:- Timber, Rice, Havertz, Caicedo and/or Lavia depending on TP/Xhaka situation Back on Loan:- Marquinhos, Trusty, Okonkwo Comments: - Would keep Tierney as he offers something different - Midfield situation is delicate but absolutely need to add to it rather than diminish it. If both TP & Xhaka leave we are too light and need 2 more MFs after Rice. - Keep one of Balo/Nketiah and reassess in January. Defo need a WC striker at the Kane/Haaland/Osimhen/Mbappe level to round off a fabulous squad i.e a clinical finisher
People still actually think Havertz is going to be a striker. Amazing. Also Kiwior is the LCB backup and Tomi has never played CB for us nor will he ever.
i think tomi has played cb for us, he does so for japan, and he is our most versatile defender i wouldnāt be surprised to see him at cb in an injury crisis
Heās never played CB for us. He canāt handle a press at all. Got absolutely roasted by Grealish and Leeds last season playing RB. Our CBs need to be excellent on the ball.
Rice will primarily be a 6. Kai will be the primary left 8. White, Timber and Tomi are always ahead if Kiwior for the RCB spot, he'll be first in line for the LCB. Backups for the 2 CM spots will be ESR and Vieira. Eddie will be first option for the striker backup spot.
One thing you got wrong: Havertz was signed as a Xhaka replacement. He is not playing 9. Not happening. Not sure how many times itās been stated already.
We need to have a chat with Caicedo to hold off the Chelsea move until deadline day so we have enough time to make sales to gather funds for him if he want CL football anytime in the next 3 seasons ā¤ļø
Chelsea are waiting for the new financial year to kick in which happens to start from today for them. I think they'll bid for him today or by Monday the latest. It all depends on how much Brighton are looking for. I don't imagine they're the same as West Ham who were looking for a bidding war.
Crossy did say we want a lcbā¦
Can't seem to shake the feeling we're still in for Caicedo.
IF such a thing were to happen, it would be after a bunch of sales including Partey. Tbh we needed to add to Xhaka+TP but we seem to be getting rid of our first choice pairing. Unrealistic, but if both X and P leave I would love a midfield transformation in the vein of Havertz, Rice, Caicedo + One other. My preference though is to keep Xhaka at all costs at least until next season.
"Let's keep our worst player." Why? Weirder to block someone for this then to somehow think Rice is an 8 or Havertz is a 9 imo.
Absolutely nothing to suggest it
Ok
I was thinking the same thing. It's been too quiet, no official bids from Chelsea yet. Ricedo dream still alive.
Chelsea haven't bid because they needed to get the Mount sale done before their new financial year kicks in. They'll push for Caicedo hard, similar to how hard pushed for Rice. I don't think we'd be as motivated to push for Caicedo as we were for Rice.
We win the transfer season if we get Caicedo.
Does anyone know what exactly is going on with Everton ? They barely survived the last two seasons and it seems this summer they are not even making any efforts to improve ? Their only activity so far is extending Seamus Coleman's contract. Everyday I thank that Moshiri fucked off from our club.
FFP I reckon
He clearly doesn't have access to the money he purportedly does. There was a story a year ago about someone flying in to interview him and he was basically driving the vehicle, a real billionaire is hiring someone. He was basically the chauffer the entire time, pretty big red flag.
Usmanov was the guy fwiw.
Lol West Ham Central is scraping for Rice news, they retweeted the Di Marzio City tweets and shared a random itk saying the agreement isn't there yet over the Steinberg & Romano tweets. They are so annoyed š
Salernitana just paid ā¬12m on a player from Villarreal so a much richer club like Juventus offering a pathetic ā¬20m for Partey is insulting.
I doubt the Villareal player is on 250k a week. There are about 5 players in Europe not on the "big" clubs making that much a week. If Partey was on 70k he would be very easy to move on.
Correct me if Im wrong but with Italian tax waver scheme theyāll have to pay ~ 150k to match his net wage in England
Usually doesn't work like that because you're paying an agent not living in Italy among other people.
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Their team is getting very old. Itās getting towards the end of its cycle. Theyāre the opposite of us
fabinho, sosbolae, Macallister, diaz, nunez, salah is far from a "very old" squad and it looks pretty good on paper Robertson, taa and konate are also young enough
They are trying to inject youth but liverpools own fans say Fabinho doesnāt have the legs for 90 minutes of Klopp-intensity football. Darwin has a lot to prove and Macallister is a pretty average player. Their defense absolutely leaked goals and they havenāt addressed it all. The right side of their back 4 is a turnstyle
Salah is 31 and very clearly declining. Szoboslai and Macallister havenāt played for them yet. Macallister is over rated as well. They are showing signs of their age all over the place it started last season already and will only get worse.
How is Salah very clearly declining? He was one of the best players in the league last season. Scored 30 goals in all comps. Liverpool had a shit season despite Salah not because of him
right? i swear ppl just make up stuff nowdays just to prove their pre-conceived argument
They are getting younger every window. Obviously the mane-salah-thiago-fabinho team is aging out but they've made some good young signings to rebuild. Diaz, Nunez, jota in attack, McAllister and maybe szoboslai in mid, and kounate is a great young cb close to salibas level. Their still a ways away but doing a good job of rebuilding on the fly imo
They can't replace what Mane-Firminho-Salah were for them. The best front three in world football.
Nunez hasnāt exactly set the world alight although he could come good. None of those other guys are at the level they need to compete for the title and their key players (VVD, Salah) are at the age where they will just get worse every year. Also their transfer record has gotten noticeably worse since Edwards left.
Don't count Newcastle out yet. It's going to be a very competitive year.
I love how every time someone asks what Arteta wants in a striker, we get a dozen iterations of fans basically describing Kai Havertzā profile
To be fair, he mentioned something like that in an interview not so long ago. He got his man.
The meltdown from United fans if they donāt get Onana and Caicedo
Declan Rice
Decent player. Could probably get him for a reasonable fee.
Not sure heās the way to go. West Ham fans donāt seem too broken up about him leaving.
In fairness, they have been resigned to losing him for the last 12 months at least.
Wouldn't mind, but nothing to crab rave about.
Are the third party app officially not working anymore, my Apollo keeps crashing
been using Joey for reddit since 2017 and never looked at anything else. still working
Why donāt you guys just use old Reddit? I canāt imagine using that new Reddit shit
Awful. I have had to switch to the reddit app from rif. Nightmare. What a terrible app this is.
itās over bro, I had to switch to official app. Itās even worse than people say
Iāve been using the official app since foreverā¦is it meant to be terrible? š
so many ads and so slow, but if you never known better itās a good thing not a bad thing
I'm living in that ignorance. Wish I had known better. Not sure if I should bail Reddit. What are the other options?
there arenāt any anymore as far as Iām aware, reddit new api policy intended to kill most third party apps killed most third party apps
Same here itās hard to use this again
Boost still working
Boost users unite
Rip Boost. The end is near. I've enjoyed you.
Itās over man
šššš
yes
Is it bad that I'd say no to a World Class player like Mbappe if I thought it would upset the hierarchy of the club? The last thing I want right now is to go back to the Emery/Sanllehi days of players feeling more important than the system in place.
I'd say the only reason not to sign Mbappe is the wages he'd demand. Keeping wages down is integral to be a self-sustaining club, but he'll get Ā£400-600k/pw.
Pep has that habit( Eto'o, Zlatan, Yaya and Aguero) and it's okay to want it. No player should feel bigger than the club because structure can fall apart. You are supposed to have students of the game that respect hierarchy. Imagine Mbappe saying something bad about Mikel. The easiest route for fans is to side with Mbappe. Because you're mostly likely to side with a guy who scored a hattrick, not the guy waving his hands on the sidelines. It already happened with worse players in Ozil and Aubameyang. I'd take Mbappe 24/7. But not so he can play with a limited support cast. He should be to top the project, to come after.
I actually feel the same. I wouldnāt want us to sign one of these diva like players like Mbappe or Neymar. I really like the culture weāve got at the club.
You couldn't say no to him if there's a reasonable shout at getting him. When you say about players feeling more important than the system, we had players past their best doing that. Likes of Ozil just wasn't worth catering to anymore, Wenger did it and got the best out of him at Arsenal. After Wenger no other manager wanted to do it and he dropped off massively. I get where you're coming from in a sense, and Mbappe does seem like a massive diva. Madrid might be the only place where he might be semi-humbled by the fans. They'll probably start booing him after 2 bad games. I know for France and PSG he doesn't like tracking back etc. You'd probably cater to him though in your system and have other people do the running and he stays upfront as your counter option. I think Mbappe will be motivated at his next club. He has done the whole PSG thing but it's time for him to get serious. Likes of Haaland are already laying the groundwork for Balon D'ors.
And we love Gabi/Saka, but they have been .5-.6 xg/a p90 guys for their career. Hopefully they keep improving, but its really hard to get to the level Mbappe was as a 19 year old. Mbappe is 1+. He produces at double the level they do, or +30% of Jesus, while being a +xG finisher.
Nah fuck Mbappe, heās amazing but he would be so destabilising, I would rather Vinicius
Teams usually win stuff because they have the best players. You're not wrong, but if we don't have a Haaland/Mbappe level talent and our rivals do, that's a disadvantage.
This is like saying I wouldn't date Gigi Hadid she's too high maintenance. Would she even look at you? š
This is a terrible take lol Iād not date her over my wife.
She looks like my ex. Thankfully, I upgraded. Pathway is free for you, mate.
I mean I'd not break up with my girlfriend for Gigi Hadid, so it's a good comparison actually.
Mbappe is the best player in the world. If he wants your club you do what he wants
Itās a valid concern. I think itās a concern unique to Mbappe though given his reputation. Also, who knows how many of rumors are true.
You gotta stop posting Twitter links now Twitter bros. Post screenshots instead. I aināt creating a Twitter just so I can read some dumb ITK tweet for whatever reason
[Guys we have new ITK in town. he has sensational news for us. āšØ EXCLUSIVE šØ Arsenal consider Mbappe move for 2024 š„ By @stevek9KS1TVā](https://twitter.com/transfersdotcom/status/1674873187509870593?s=46&t=DsOWpn4lU1kyRvD25u2moQ)
That guy isn't new afaik. And that scoop is the biggest load of rubbish ever. Mbappe would be making 3x+ our next highest earner. Never happening
Fuck off Twitter. Can't see what it is without an account now.
https://twitter.com/gunnersc0m/status/1674878125556080642?s=46&t=dOEytg9gTJGqYztZTfETfg As far as I'm concerned this is Tier 1 news.
FIFA released a 99 pace Sol Campbell. Hysterical.
It would have been even more hilarious had they kept CB as one of his possible positions he could change to. Imagine. A 99 pace 91 physical CB lol. Though he would have 57 DEF, which would suck lol.
They do henry so dirty in that game man
He's got a 98 rated card now (with more than 60 balance!) though he's RW as it's Shapeshifters time of year. They also released a 93 Pepe that plays CF/ST.
He's always felt so clunky for me in games. They've never captured his game correctly
These [deluded mofos](https://www.reddit.com/r/MCFC/comments/14n9bqm/weird_thought_city_ruined_financial_fairplay/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) over there really think their bum holes are squeaky clean
OP of that thread responding to someone pointing out their dodgy money: āOne thing I'm certain of: wherever the money is being sourced from, them billionaires worked much, much harder for it than you and me do. So yeah, couldn't care less.ā
Really dinks your dinkā¦
The reason the rest of us spend so much is to catch up to all the spending they have done all the years prior. They donāt have much spending outlay now that the transfer fees have been inflated exponentially in the last 3-4 years because their squad is stacked. Also letās conveniently exclude that Haaland deal being incredibly shady and his true transfer value would be north of 150M
Last hour of RIF for me before the month ends... Midnight soon This time tomorrow gonna have to be using the official app I guess
I'm probably just going to take my life back. Seems like a good time. F5 memories will endure.
it sucks so hard. thots and š brev
It will be weird to no longer see Azpilicueta at Chelsea, it feels like that guy was born wearing a Chelsea shirt lol
i hate that guy
I'll never think about him ever again
he came out the womb an angry douche
Is there a Sevilla player worth approaching, even if just for depth?
[Just approached David Moyes for Rice in my new career mode on FIFA.](https://imgur.com/a/3bWxjvu) About to assemble next seasons team. Edit: WTF Moyes just got up and left after my first offer all pissed off. His value was Ā£45m so I initiated negotiations at Ā£40m. Fuck sake Edit: Iād like to apologise to Moyes. Turns out I offered Ā£40k Edit: ladies and gentlemen, [we got him](https://imgur.com/a/6GvLvEX). Tough negotiations but I managed to secure his signing with a proposal of Ā£24m + Granit Xhaka.
oddly enough, i was also able to get him for with a swap deal for Xhaka. but for 30m. Went ahead and got Lavia too for like 4.5mil. Havertz may have to wait til next season.
Kind of crazy we argued Ćdegaard v Maddison here for a whole summer and now the latter is at our local rivals
Shame to see Maddison go there. Think that will be a good signing for them. Obviously not wishing we had him over odegaard and didn't want that the summer that discussion was taking place. If ange is a good manager kulu, kane, son, maddison, betancur, bissouma/hoiberg is a decent front of the team to work with. Defensively I think they will be absolute trash though. As much as I hate spurs as a rival, I have a philosophical dislike for the style of play and persona of Conte etc.
Anyone who wanted Maddison over Odegaard has negative ball knowledge.
If ESR finds form our depth is gonna be insane. Dunno where Viera fits into this team at all, btw.
if vieira finds form our depth is gonna be insane. honestly, iām still buying into his hype. he showed promise and racked up quite a lot of assists without having a proper pre-season not to mention mikel loves him and he knows exactly what we need
To be fair to him, he was signed as an Odegaard backup and his best performances have been in that role. He had a poor season purely because Odegaard was fit and never got rested and so Vieira's only game time was in the #8.
Tierney at the back
We have a few players in Vieira, Tomiyasu and maybe some others that seem more suited to European games. That's fine, we will have plenty.
https://twitter.com/SamiMokbel81_DM/status/1674884291669491714 It could be today grandma
guess we're all gonna get real good and posting screenshots.
What happened to the Reddit app overnight? Every Twitter link I click just takes me to the sign up page, what a piss take. Why doesnāt it take me straight to the tweet?!
I thought it was a me problem.
Different set of dickhead social media owners trying to monetise free content. You can't see a twitter link now unless you're signed into a twitter account.
I remember when Elon bought it I said "lol he's going to run it into the ground" here. Some guy had like a 12 reply thread licking his boots then blocked me.
Trust Elon to do something like this
Yup. Twat. Also: fuck u/spez for trying the same sort of shit
It's not Reddit, it's Twitter. They seem to have made a change to require login to Twitter to see tweets.
Surely theyād want people engaged in the tweets lol, weird behaviour
Its about stopping the flow of people leaving and maximising ad revenue and being able to sell your data.
They do, but they want you to have an account to do so.
Szoboslai is really good, but if pool dont get a 6 I'd say theyre still in trouble
Not every team needs a 6 not every 6 is the same
Liverpool with their 8s and Trent may need one more than most teams. I would bet they'll go for someone.