summer '22 transfer craziness and stupidity

[Mac76]

His chances are coming - don’t forget he didn’t really get a preseason because of that injury so he’s still playing catch-up with fitness.

Also this is a bit of a freak season because of the World Cup that’s right in the middle of it - I have a sneaky feeling we may be holding certain players back for the second half of the season, when everyone else’s key players are coming back knackered. We don’t have too many advantages over the best clubs, but one of them is that we have some very good players who either won’t be going to Qatar or won’t be that involved because of their lack of seniority.

I wish i could believe we're that tactical but i'm sceptical tbh...

[HCZ_Reborn]

Douglas Luiz would have been a good buy even if Partey was fit, he’s 29 and he’s already injured all the time. Lokonga is not a holding midfielder.
If we were serious about challenging for things down the line a midfield four of Luiz, Tielemans, Partey and Lokonga would be far superior to our current quartet.
I absolutely think we should go in for Luiz in January…certainly not spaffing money up the wall on someone like Pedro Neto when we’ve already got adequate cover in the wide areas and actually if anything we could do with a striker that gives us a different dimension to Nketiah (who actually I think we should start playing on the wings) and Jesus.

[I am invisible]

Luiz would have been a good buy - ticked a lot of boxes as a player, Prem-ready, Arteta-ready… made a lot of sense.

Can’t get too worked up about it, though - we’re not talking about a Partey replacement here, we’re talking about an Elneny replacement, and there’s only so excited / devastated you can get about that either way.

Might be something to revisit in January, but then there may be other options open to us if we have more than 2 days to get something done.

[I am invisible]

Douglas Luiz would have been a good buy even if Partey was fit, he’s 29 and he’s already injured all the time. Lokonga is not a holding midfielder.
If we were serious about challenging for things down the line a midfield four of Luiz, Tielemans, Partey and Lokonga would be far superior to our current quartet.
I absolutely think we should go in for Luiz in January…certainly not spaffing money up the wall on someone like Pedro Neto when we’ve already got adequate cover in the wide areas and actually if anything we could do with a striker that gives us a different dimension to Nketiah (who actually I think we should start playing on the wings) and Jesus.

Tbf Partey’s not strictly a holding midfielder either (or at least he wasn’t when we bought him) - he’s a natural B2B midfielder who we’re asking to play at the base of midfield, and that sounds very much like what we’d be asking of Lokonga.

In truth, Lokonga is probably to only option we have who even has a chance of replicating what Partey does for us - guys like Elneny and Luiz can stand in the same place, but they’re going to play the role completely differently. Lokonga isn’t at Partey’s level yet, but his profile is at least in the right ball park - if he could add a bit more intensity and aggression to his game then I’d be happy to give him the minutes and watch him grow into it. It’s not like we have much choice now anyway!

Interesting thoughts about Nketiah - I’ve wondered the same thing. Could see him working as a wide option in the same way as someone like Mane plays the role. Still think we need the extra winger, but this could be an option.

[HCZ_Reborn]

I don’t consider Partey comfortable enough in possession to be a true box to box player, he can’t withstand a heavy press either (although neither in fairness can Lokonga)

I think the last true B2B midfielder we had was Abou Diaby and he unfortunately had glass knees otherwise he could have been a potential Patrick Vieira

[Globalgunner]

I don’t consider Partey comfortable enough in possession to be a true box to box player, he can’t withstand a heavy press either (although neither in fairness can Lokonga)

I think the last true B2B midfielder we had was Abou Diaby and he unfortunately had glass knees otherwise he could have been a potential Patrick Vieira

We never replaced Vieira, fortunately he is still available, at Palace.

[I am invisible]

I don’t consider Partey comfortable enough in possession to be a true box to box player, he can’t withstand a heavy press either (although neither in fairness can Lokonga)

I think the last true B2B midfielder we had was Abou Diaby and he unfortunately had glass knees otherwise he could have been a potential Patrick Vieira

Cue: today’s argument with mandela8

When people talk about B2Bs these days I think they mostly mean midfield all-rounders - it’s a bit of a legacy term that’s stuck around from the days of midfield specialists, probably because the profile of player is much the same, but yeah it’s not strictly accurate any more. You don’t tend to see a lot of actual box-to-box running these days because the game has swung back to squeezing space in the middle again and there’s no real need for it - it’s more about controlled, intense bursts over short distances now.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Suffice to say especially in the system we play central midfield has a no6 role and a no8 role.

Last season or so it felt more like Xhaka was operating as the defensive midfield and allowing Partey the more expansive role. This was clearly fucking insane and contributed to leaving our back four exposed and too often not creating enough through the middle.
The roles have been reversed somewhat this season although Partey is not a typical holding midfielder in the way someone like Makelele or Gilberto was and Xhaka of course is certainly not a typical box to box player especially not when you consider how Vieira occupied that position.
Lokonga I think is better at moving the ball forward than Partey, more acceleration and more comfortable with the ball to feet…Partey a better passer of the ball, physically stronger and more positional discipline.

[mandela8]

Tbf Partey’s not strictly a holding midfielder either (or at least he wasn’t when we bought him) - he’s a natural B2B midfielder who we’re asking to play at the base of midfield, and that sounds very much like what we’d be asking of Lokonga. I'm just not a fan of these so called DMs who barely move from their position and just keep the ball moving to the nearest player. Elnonentity and Luiz fit that profile. It's a waste of a position.

In truth, Lokonga is probably to only option we have who even has a chance of replicating what Partey does for us - guys like Elneny and Luiz can stand in the same place, but they’re going to play the role completely differently. Lokonga isn’t at Partey’s level yet, but his profile is at least in the right ball park - if he could add a bit more intensity and aggression to his game then I’d be happy to give him the minutes and watch him grow into it. It’s not like we have much choice now anyway!

Interesting thoughts about Nketiah - I’ve wondered the same thing. Could see him working as a wide option in the same way as someone like Mane plays the role. Still think we need the extra winger, but this could be an option.

I think that's a good assessment, man. Definitely agree with what Lokonga needs to do in terms of adding some aggression. Partey is also elite at taking the ball under pressure and looking to do something progressive with it...although some of his passes are wild. Weird, really.

The Nketiah out wide stuff is obviously nonsense but 1. You made other good points so I'll leave it be and B/ He'd be better than Sakashit, tbf.

[mandela8]

Cue: today’s argument with mandela8

When people talk about B2Bs these days I think they mostly mean midfield all-rounders - it’s a bit of a legacy term that’s stuck around from the days of midfield specialists, probably because the profile of player is much the same, but yeah it’s not strictly accurate any more. You don’t tend to see a lot of actual box-to-box running these days because the game has swung back to squeezing space in the middle again and there’s no real need for it - it’s more about controlled, intense bursts over short distances now.

And I don't really argue with people, man. I make a point of never engaging with idiots too. There's no point.

So, if I do decide to correct something you've said, then take it as a compliment, mate.