Summer transfer joy and happiness

[I am invisible]

This midfield combination issue has gone on for ages and just snowballed into bigger problems. I have no idea how Emery will solve it. Good post. The part about having to find a Mascherano and Alonso combination just reminds me of some the earlier debates about our midfield. I was just about to say Ramsey flourished when we played a Coquelin and Arteta combo but that’s not right because we had signed Ozil and also still played Flamini. We were playing all sorts of combinations. Arteta/Ramsey/Ozil….. Flamini/Ramsey/Ozil…..Flamini/Wilshere/Ramsey….Ramsey had a hot start to the season and was scoring regardless of who he played with. It was a brief purple patch in his career.

We need him to be able to perform regardless of who he plays with otherwise we get into bigger problems. We haven’t solved who Xhaka can play with and we have the same issue with the type of player Ozil needs to play with in the midfield. It’s a mess. We really can’t afford to have specialist midfielders that only have one core function to their game. Ramsey really has to get back to doing more than just marauding forward and looking for goals. If we have to surround such midfielders with one or two other players to compensate for their flaws, they should be resigned to the bench and only called upon for special occasions where the conditions suit their style of play. Definitely agree with the last sentence of your post. Will be interesting to see what Emery does.

The best partner for Ramsey was Arteta, so out of the current lot it would probably be Xhaka - basically someone who can constantly find him with the ball. The problem with that partnership is that Ramsey isn’t the best partner for Xhaka - he charges off too often and leaves all of his weaknesses exposed.

Xhaka’s ideal partner will probably be Torreira (or someone similar), and I hope that’s where the buck stops, as those types of DMs generally aren’t reliant on anyone - they’re quite specifically there to cover for others.

This is why I’d like to see us try a 4231 with Torreira and Xhaka at the base, and Ramsey in the middle of the 3 - that way it doesn’t really matter where Ramsey decides he’s going to charge off to. Of course, that will likely mean Özil playing wide (at least on paper), but as you’ve suggested in the other thread, if most of his assists come from crosses and cut-backs then why not play to those strengths? It could work really well for us and him?

Anyway, that’s just one potential combo - I have my fingers crossed that we’ll have a few different shapes and combos in our locker under Emery, and that we might see more of a horses-for-courses approach to team selection this year...

[I am invisible]

It's never a question of numbers though....always quality. Santi, Wilshere and Ramsey going is more representative of the potential in quality we will lose in total. That quality or potential isn't replaced with AMN and Iwobi.....certainly not from an attacking point of view.

We are kind of already in make or break territory, so really we should be flogging or bringing in new faces in now if we have designs of behaving differently to the old regime. Personally I'm happy to see it go to the wire but will be pretty annoyed if the season starts, he hasn't signed or we're down a Ramsey with no replacement and/or no quality winger.

Agree and disagree with that. The quality definitely needs to come up, but we’ve also badly lacked numbers for the last 2 or 3 years. Cazorla and Wilshere have barely featured, and Ramsey has only really played about half the league games each year, which has left us painfully reliant on Xhaka (and Elneny at times).

This is where I actually feel a little sorry for Xhaka - he’s almost being punished for staying fit because we end up having to field him against anyone and everyone, regardless of whether he’s the right choice for the game, or has the right partner, or maybe needs a rest himself. We had the same situation with Giroud a few years back - he went on that incredible barren run, where he couldn’t buy a goal, and everyone absolutely slaughtered him for it, but what gets forgotten is that he was basically the only member of the front 5 or 6 who actually stayed fit and available for us, and he literally had nothing around him for about 3 months at on point!

The quality definitely needs to come up, but you can still do a lot with numbers, if there’s enough variety in the skill set - just think of all the times Man U made us look stupid with the likes of Fletcher, Park and O’Shea!

[GP]

Courtois is off to Real Madrid.

Chelsea are replacing him with...


ROB GREEN!!

[I am invisible]

Courtois is off to Real Madrid.

Chelsea are replacing him with...


ROB GREEN!!

I choose to believe that that’s true.

[I am invisible]

Trying to nick another couple of French yoots, apparently - Stanley Nsoki from PSG (CB, 19) and Nabil Alioui from Monaco (striker, also 19). Anyone heard of them?

[McNamara That Ghost...]

How many of these are actually unwanted by the club, rather than the fans?

That said, the market will start to ramp up in the next 4 weeks. Jim White is going to be wanking himself into a coma.

Two weeks, it closes on 9th August this year.

Although having said that, European clubs will have until the end of August to buy in from the Premier League.

[SMatthews]

Ah yes, of course, it’s the start of the season now. That’s good news, only two more weeks of this nonsense left.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Agree and disagree with that. The quality definitely needs to come up, but we’ve also badly lacked numbers for the last 2 or 3 years. Cazorla and Wilshere have barely featured, and Ramsey has only really played about half the league games each year, which has left us painfully reliant on Xhaka (and Elneny at times).

This is where I actually feel a little sorry for Xhaka - he’s almost being punished for staying fit because we end up having to field him against anyone and everyone, regardless of whether he’s the right choice for the game, or has the right partner, or maybe needs a rest himself. We had the same situation with Giroud a few years back - he went on that incredible barren run, where he couldn’t buy a goal, and everyone absolutely slaughtered him for it, but what gets forgotten is that he was basically the only member of the front 5 or 6 who actually stayed fit and available for us, and he literally had nothing around him for about 3 months at on point!

The quality definitely needs to come up, but you can still do a lot with numbers, if there’s enough variety in the skill set - just think of all the times Man U made us look stupid with the likes of Fletcher, Park and O’Shea!

My point with numbers is, we can always just promote from the youth ranks if we are physically short on numbers. Even the numbers game calls for the requisite quality, which is why we don't just fill all the gaps we have with youth players in the first place.

I think considering the outlay on Xhaka and game time he should be suitably be able to play most if not every game. Suitable being the operative word as he is just not suited, seemingly anywhere. Even if he hadn't been playing as the DM....or furthest man back, I question whether I'd actually want him starting in any position given how limited his game is in my eyes.....apart from in the timely injury crisis' that happen periodically.

I think he is a marvellous example of why Stat DNA will never... 'run tingsz'.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

I liked the look of that Diallo kid for Frances' yoots, but I've no idea if he could actually make the step up. He has a bit of the Patrice Evra tenacity about his game..... putting aside the fact I fuhking hated Evra through his entire career.

[I am invisible]

I liked the look of that Diallo kid for Frances' yoots, but I've no idea if he could actually make the step up. He has a bit of the Patrice Evra tenacity about his game..... putting aside the fact I fuhking hated Evra through his entire career.

As long as he doesn’t have Patrice Evra’s little-man syndrome - worst case I’ve ever seen! Yes Patrice, you’re a man - a BIG man - we get it. Playing in a team of men, yes. Everyone else are babies, right, got it.