Summer Transfer Temps and Journeymen

[I am invisible]

I feel for Torreira a little bit because if he’d joined 5-10 years ago he would have been the perfect signing for us. As it is, everything’s been turned on its head by the high press - most of the terrier work now gets done by your forwards, and your defensive players (including the keeper!) now need to be able to evade and either pass or dribble out of trouble (or both) to beat the press and break the lines. Lucas joined just as it all started to change and now his main selling point feels like it’s become a secondary concern in that deep midfield area.

(I have a theory that Emery thought he was being terribly innovative by having a midfield terrier join his attempt at a high press, and that he thought it was going to lead to us forcing loads of defensive errors? As with all things Emery, though, I don’t think the player really understood what he was being asked to do, or why.)