Napoli have pulled out as they cant match us financially and have moved on to signing some guy called Lorenzo(??)
Reports are that he has chosen us anyway (due to us agreeing to pay his agents fee demands) and he will have a medical next week.
He is pretty much done and Tierney will be following shortly.
I think Tierney might go to the wire but I fancy us to get him.Originally Posted by Blink 1nce Quince 2wice
If we can get a CB in that would be ideal but as it stands we have 5 CB’s, possibly 4 if Kos buggers off, so I really don’t think it’s on the agenda, sadly. Can we even afford a CB of sufficient quality now anyway?
Pepe would be a cracking signing but we will still be shambles defensively and that will undermine whatever attacking threats we have, as it always ends up doing.
Oh and Xhaka will still be one of the first names on the team sheet...
Ornstein said earlier if we do get Tierney we’d probably have to sell to raise funds for a CB. If the Pepe signing happens, that would make sense. Having Bellerin back and another solid LB could also make a difference to the defence, instead of hoping a CB will fix it all. Liverpool’s defensive improvement wasn’t all down to van Dijk. A lot of our issues were in the RB/LB positions last season.
Although it may be like the Wenger method - fuck the defence and worry about scoring.
Last edited by SMatthews; 27-07-2019 at 11:05 PM.
Pepe would be an exciting signing, scores goals, skillful so that would be great for us. Defence would still be an issue though and that should have been our priority in reality, maybe we're waiting on Saliba next season.
I agree - there’s a lot of things we can still try to improve the defence, even if we can’t stretch to a new CB...
Fullbacks who are comfortable in a 4 man defence (which may also let us pick a better shape in midfield and attack)...
Not picking Mustafi...
Picking midfielders and CBs who are more press resistant and comfortable taking the ball under pressure (maybe Chambers’ experience in midfield might come in handy here as a CB?)...
An attack that presses harder themselves so we’re doing more defending from the front...
Pacier attacking options (who offer a broader goal threat than just the 2 strikers) who can really punish teams on the counter, and make them think twice about pressing us too high...
Generally picking 11 players who put in the effort so we’re not carrying passengers...
Last edited by I am invisible; 28-07-2019 at 07:32 AM.
Bringing us out of the malaise was always going to be a multi-window endeavour. Sure, Man City and Chelsea have just about replaced half their squad in a window but we have never been in that position.
So, if we ignore last january (the window that never was), and make assumptions about what will happen, progress is being made:
Last year we added Leno, Torreira, Guendouzi and incorporated Maitland Niles. All good pieces of the puzzle.
This year we (hopefully will have) added Pepe and Tierney and incorporated Nketiah, Willock, Martinelli, Nelson and Chambers (obviously jury is still out whether they really make it and probably only 3-4 out of these 5). We also (hopefully) drop Koscielny, El Neny, Jenkinson. We also lost Cech and Ospina and promoted Martinez and Macey.
Next year we add Saliba and hopefully another CB and potentially incorporate John-jules, Smith Rowe, Saka, Medley, and/or Olayinka, whoever rises to the top. It's also possible if Ceballos does well and Zidane stays at RM, and who doesn't rate Ceballos and vice versa, he might move to us permanently. I think we'd also look to add another striker in the 21 - 24 age bracker as Aubamayang will be 31
Don't see any chance of Xhaka leaving unless, ironically he gets better and begins to get offers. Same with Ozil, Mustafi and Mkhitaryan. No one wants them and we have them for the next two years. But other than that, it does feel a little bit like we're building a younger team which should hopefully come together after this year.
Last edited by Unai Tea; 28-07-2019 at 10:14 AM.
Apparently Bale’s deal to China has been called off by Madrid
On paper, I think we have a pretty decent defense. They just need to be trained better IMO. Kos, Holding, Papa are top CBs. Bellerin is a great RB and Monreal/Kola are decent. I think we should invest in a defensive coach like Keown to get the fuckers organized.
Is there anyone in the academy in defense that are worth any mention?
Arsene Wenger, the only football manager that got paid 8 million quid to do nothing but sit on his arse..
Meade.
Off topic. I noticed that Emery has a nice new set of teeth
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