Maybe wrong but just can’t see Bruno deal being something we’d go for at the money the barcodes would want. Seem to remember he was lucky to stay on the pitch up at St James Park. Lost his head against us.
Basically same word on every corner of the street. We need something concrete to start developing but then TW hasn't even started. Will be very excited about Bruno though
Have always loved the guy's ambition even though I have doubts he can deliver on said ambitions, he's not afraid to put markers down. Hopefully he can fight his demons and get us over the line. Just 2 astute signings away...
Rich laughs at me then proceeds to say "I’m open to upgrading any player, but good luck finding a better player than our captain..".
Blind fandom not seeing that if we want to become the best team in the world, we cannot have Odegaard as our star. He has too many flaws (similarly to Ramsdale as explained below) to be considered untouchable and the first name on the list of every game we play.
We cannot base our game around a player not fit for the biggest games where the teams don't defend deep in their half.
He was downright useless in the Champions League group stage away games versus teams such as Lens, Sevilla, PSV. Of course it translated in the next stages versus Porto and Bayern.
In the tough away games in the Prem he was also a non-factor.
This is the player that got a nomination for the POTS ahead of Saka. An absolute joke.
We need to move on from him completely or lower his influence if we want to be the best team in the world. I've no clue who would even pay for him as top clubs are aware of his limitations, plus Real have done quite well without him and are well on their way of another historic season, but IF we can cash in on him by some stupid club, again I don't think any top club would break the bank for him, I'd gladly take the money and add it to the superstar winger fund for the likes of Leao, Kvara etc + buy a direct replacement in Wirtz, Musiala, Eze etc. Odegaard is currently on about 3x the salary of Wirtz and Musiala for example.
The only reasonable target you have suggested is Eze. Writz isn't leaving and when he does we will have to fight off City, Bayern and Madrid. And Musiala isn't leaving bayern at all.
Wirtz has by far superior physicality when it comes to progressing with the ball, dribbling, running to receive a pass in the box etc.
Wirtz literally makes more than double the carries and successful take-ons compared to Odegaard. In addition to that, he not only has similar stat in Progressive Passes, he has double the Progressive Passes Received, meaning he has the power, the physicality to be in positions where he can receive progressive passes and that's the huge difference, the physicality that translates into flat running speed, short burst and dynamic movement into the free space.
It's only fair I post their defensive numbers as well but they are not that different.
An actual proof of Odegaard's struggles in Europe specifically.
xAG = expected Assisted Goals
SCA = Shot-creating actions
A shot-creating action is one of the two last offensive actions in the lead-up to a shot. This can include passes, take-ons, fouls drawn, defensive actions, or even shots that lead to another shot.
So basically Odegaard isn't a Pace and Power player. We already knew that. We need one next to him. He is better at keeping the ball, threading balls against lowblocks and giving us control.
You want a Debruyne and Odegaard isn't that. It doesn't mean he needs to be sold.
How do you limit his influence if by not selling him?
He will start in every game if he's healthy and we will suffer in the biggest games because of it. If we're going to not pass him the ball as much then why would we even play him? He's useful in many games and useless in others. But will he sit on the bench like a good boy in the games it's known he'll suffer? No way.
If Arteta faces that issue, I'll like him even more. But I don't see it happening, so we are stuck with playing Ode in games where he just doesn't look good. So what do we do? In the open games vs Bayern what did he do? Zilch. He won't do next time either and that's the big problem.
Odegaard was brilliant for the most part last season but as with some other players, did not play anywhere near their best when we lost crucial points in December. I'm sure Edu and Arteta will have considered ways of minimising dropped points. If we'd had others options that Arteta was comfortable with(Vieira and ESR were not trusted) in CM, we might have given Odegaard, Havertz(CM playing version) and a wide man or two, a recharging from the bench.
With this in mind, a player who is comfortable playing AM or on the wing is worth splashing plenty on; my top two would be Olise and Simons. Signing an alternative left 8, Guimares, Douglas Luis- like would also be money well spent. Otherwise you could go for a winger who's happy to play on both sides, say Nico Williams and a No8, with a project No6 as an additional option.
Nwaneri will hopefully take a spot in the squad and if we have another domestic cup season like last, send him on loan for the second half of the season.
Vieira, if he can't be sold, should have a season long loaning an attempt to retrieve some of his fallen value.
Do you think Raya would have done just as well if he was playing behind a defence with Rob Holding in it. He definitely benefited from playing behind the best centre back pairing in the league.
People forget that Ramsdale was selected to be in the first 11 of the 2022-2023 season. He was never shit. De Gea won the golden Gloves in 2022-2023 and he was still ditched by United, so don't use that award to Raya, to slime Ramsdale.
Raya has been good, but he's benefitted from the stability at the backline.
Just stop the blather that used to slime Ramsdale, he served the club well.
The same people that will talk like Ramsdale is shit will be expecting 50 million from his transfer.
Why would his transfermarkt valuation not plummet when he was barely played by his manager, who treated him like he was a leper. The way we managed the entire GK stuff was shabby. The reserve keeper should have played in the cup games.
Losing concentration, dealing with high balls, his quality on the ball, conceding from shots in his near corner. A very capable keeper, no question with a lot of heart and passion, but I expect him to not be the main keeper in another top team again.
Same Ramsdale that was making nervous as you say, the best centre back pairing the league. Cause he's a popular guy, that's why. Raya, albeit not top class, is an improvement in the areas I pointed. Raya himself suffers from a few issues but overall is a more rounded GK than Rams.
I was right about Ramsdale. We could see that even Raya, who's not even top class, was an upgrade while most were full of praise for Ramsdale and how his transfermarkt valuation was off the charts.
Ramsdale, very similarly to Odegaard, has very obvious flaws to his game. As soon as a more rounded player was available Arteta didn't even think twice.
Odegaard has not worked in the same games season after season. We even brought two bruisers last summer to help our midfield - Rice and Havertz (although I was right his place was at CF).
Arteta decided to play with 2 players with very obvious defensive qualities in - Rice/Havertz, Jorgi/Rice, Partey/Rice to cover for our lack of physicality.
The issues with that is:
1. The 3rd midfield player needs to be way more dynamic than Odegaard is to work in the games where the opponent teams don't defend deep, which currently isn't the case and in the games that we suffered, it was because that 3rd midfield player didn't do his job well enough.
2. Martinelli was completely sacrificed because he went from combining with Xhaka, to combining with Havertz/Rice - impossible challenge for him.
Now this is what's important a very current topic.
- In the biggest games, if we are going to play with 2 defensively apt midfielders, the 3rd midfielder needs to not be Odegaard, it needs to be someone that can run at players, be a menace on the counter, could be a top class passer like Bruno Fernandes (just an example), or top class carrier/runner like Eze or the more expensive versions in Wirtz and Musiala.
- We can stop playing with 2 "defensive" midfielders and have someone similar to Paqueta ahead of Rice (I know he's out of the picture), maybe Bruno Guimaraes could also work in a similar capacity. A midfield of Rice, Bruno G and Odegaard will do pretty well but the problem in the big games will remain.
- Another way might be to bring Odegaard closer to the center of the pitch and have a quality offensive full back like Leverkusen's full backs.
Is Odegaard creatively and physically as good as KDB? No.
Is Odegaard clutch, mental and physical beast as Jude Bellingham? No.
Those are the leaders of the best clubs in the world. We need our main player to be that good. We need to lower his impact so another player can take the wheel. In a certain type of games he's just never going to work unless Arteta comes out with something really generational because physically Odegaard cannot work in such games.
Arteta has a massive problem to solve and the time to do it is this summer.
Top class passer like Bruno Fernandez 😂😂😂?The guy consistently spams passes and hopes one comes off.
I disagree completely on if Odegaard can play in these games. The problem is all the responsibility lies in him creating something. If we have another CM that can take the creative responsibility as well, Odegaard will be a major asset in big games. He was the season before too. Xhaka left and now all of our creativity goes through him. Havertz was poor in that LCM role. And Rice's strength isn't threading through balls.
The truth is somewhere in between. You see, your solution is one of the options Rap listed. Buy someone more creative and comfortable technically (than Rice ) and put on the left (Bruno, Paqueta?).
But then in those games, Rap was describing, where we may need more defensive solidarity ourselves (depending on the opposition) which still leaves only Odeegard, who is neither that physical, vertical nor mental monster the 3rd cm spot needs.
Ode's creativity is top notch though. In the games he gets the chance to run.
You will get rid of Trossard, the low wage, low transfer fee, high production player but will keep fighting tooth and nail to keep Jesus, who's a high wage, low production crocked player.
Trossard is the reason why our much beloved well compensated babies in Martinelli and Jesus lack of quality have not hurt the team. His consistent production is hiding lots of structural weaknesses in the team.
Not this summer. There are a lot other issues to fix.
But eventually I would. His numbers are great. But his performances don't match up. We need a balance. If his numbers dry up we are not going to be in a good position.
The reason we wanted Mudryk was because we wanted two younger wingers fighting it out for that spot.
If his numbers stay that way then by all means keep him. But if we need to ditch one between him and Martinelli, I am keeping Martinelli and bringing in another.
I don't know what you mean by that Hab but atleast he has numbers. And he delivered many clutch moments last season. Anyways you have said that you are open to letting Jesus go so it's not really an issue.
Its just that I cant get what you see with him. His game is so uncoordinated and anyhow. Even if he has to play for us next season, he needs to be structured (on the wing), play within the team. Free roams are for extremely dangerous forward players like Alexis Sanchez who match it up with WC numbers.
It is not that I want Jesus to stay. It is the lack of forward options. I want a Suarez, a Benzema. An all rounder. These kids are projects. And I don't think they will make us significantly better. And Jesus is also going to be a backup player. So I have no issues with that.
Top class wide players though are there for the taking. If we get an Olise, I think we will see clear improvement. Because we won't miss Saka. An Olise and Jesus backup/rotation options look much better to me than having a Sesko and Jesus backing up Havertx and Saka on the wings. Because both won't be class in their positions.
Nice and i agree but a Suarez or Benzema isn't coming along anytime soon. If the calibre of strikers available now gets the job done then why not get them? Everyone would love another Vieira but we found a Partey at some point innit.
But I thought Sesko was mainly a striker. Didn't know he can play the wings. Don't even know him at all to be fair and he necessarily doesn't fill me with joy. 😅
How about Olise as Ode alternative? Just not sure he can be a winger for us. He prefers to play inside and closer to the centre and he's not explosive. Would much rather a Doku that can provide width and stretch defenders with pace
Sesko doesn't play on the wings. He is a pure CF. But I don't think he is the pure upgrade as you think he is. Neither are the forwards on the market apart from Isak. They are just potential at this point.
Snitches get stitches
Maybe wrong but just can’t see Bruno deal being something we’d go for at the money the barcodes would want. Seem to remember he was lucky to stay on the pitch up at St James Park. Lost his head against us.
I’d take Isak any day of the week over him
Hi
Benkind, you were banned from the last blog for being boring - you've got a week to sort yourself out or I'll perm ban you again.
Hope you guys remember reading all this last week.
https://x.com/karthikadhaigal/status/1795853411499303173
Douglas Luiz would be a bit underwhelming for me. Good player but for the fee Villa will expect, there is much better value out there.
Basically same word on every corner of the street. We need something concrete to start developing but then TW hasn't even started. Will be very excited about Bruno though
Started on this corner first.
https://youtube.com/shorts/G7QfhgMeULo?si=OUhYSfdAPxYnDXTh
Mikel not shying away from expectation. He said "We are going to get it" after the last game and again saying "Win"
I love that. It is a must next season. We have built, progressed and enjoyed the past two seasons. But now we must win the PL.
Have always loved the guy's ambition even though I have doubts he can deliver on said ambitions, he's not afraid to put markers down. Hopefully he can fight his demons and get us over the line. Just 2 astute signings away...
Nigel, can't have you patronizing people with personal insults. The pattern needs to be broken. 24 hr suspension.
Rich laughs at me then proceeds to say "I’m open to upgrading any player, but good luck finding a better player than our captain..".
Blind fandom not seeing that if we want to become the best team in the world, we cannot have Odegaard as our star. He has too many flaws (similarly to Ramsdale as explained below) to be considered untouchable and the first name on the list of every game we play.
We cannot base our game around a player not fit for the biggest games where the teams don't defend deep in their half.
He was downright useless in the Champions League group stage away games versus teams such as Lens, Sevilla, PSV. Of course it translated in the next stages versus Porto and Bayern.
In the tough away games in the Prem he was also a non-factor.
This is the player that got a nomination for the POTS ahead of Saka. An absolute joke.
We need to move on from him completely or lower his influence if we want to be the best team in the world. I've no clue who would even pay for him as top clubs are aware of his limitations, plus Real have done quite well without him and are well on their way of another historic season, but IF we can cash in on him by some stupid club, again I don't think any top club would break the bank for him, I'd gladly take the money and add it to the superstar winger fund for the likes of Leao, Kvara etc + buy a direct replacement in Wirtz, Musiala, Eze etc. Odegaard is currently on about 3x the salary of Wirtz and Musiala for example.
The only reasonable target you have suggested is Eze. Writz isn't leaving and when he does we will have to fight off City, Bayern and Madrid. And Musiala isn't leaving bayern at all.
FBref stat per 90 mins
Wirtz
Passes Attempted 69.71
Pass Completion % 82.5%
Progressive Passes 8.67
Progressive Carries 5.45
Successful Take-Ons 2.75
Touches (Att Pen) 6.41
Progressive Passes Received 10.86
Odegaard
Passes Attempted 56.41
Pass Completion % 84.5%
Progressive Passes 9.29
Progressive Carries 2.62
Successful Take-Ons 1.20
Touches (Att Pen) 4.53
Progressive Passes Received 5.59
All needed to know is here.
Wirtz has by far superior physicality when it comes to progressing with the ball, dribbling, running to receive a pass in the box etc.
Wirtz literally makes more than double the carries and successful take-ons compared to Odegaard. In addition to that, he not only has similar stat in Progressive Passes, he has double the Progressive Passes Received, meaning he has the power, the physicality to be in positions where he can receive progressive passes and that's the huge difference, the physicality that translates into flat running speed, short burst and dynamic movement into the free space.
It's only fair I post their defensive numbers as well but they are not that different.
So Odegaard therefore passed the ball better than Wirtz.
Something very interesting.
Odegaard in the Champions League:
750 mins, 2 goals, 1 assist, 1.3 xG, 0.9 xAG, 23 SCA
Wirtz in Europa League:
702 mins, 4 goals, 4 assists, 2.6 xG, 2.7 xAG, 59 SCA
An actual proof of Odegaard's struggles in Europe specifically.
xAG = expected Assisted Goals
SCA = Shot-creating actions
A shot-creating action is one of the two last offensive actions in the lead-up to a shot. This can include passes, take-ons, fouls drawn, defensive actions, or even shots that lead to another shot.
So basically Odegaard isn't a Pace and Power player. We already knew that. We need one next to him. He is better at keeping the ball, threading balls against lowblocks and giving us control.
You want a Debruyne and Odegaard isn't that. It doesn't mean he needs to be sold.
How do you limit his influence if by not selling him?
He will start in every game if he's healthy and we will suffer in the biggest games because of it. If we're going to not pass him the ball as much then why would we even play him? He's useful in many games and useless in others. But will he sit on the bench like a good boy in the games it's known he'll suffer? No way.
If Arteta faces that issue, I'll like him even more. But I don't see it happening, so we are stuck with playing Ode in games where he just doesn't look good. So what do we do? In the open games vs Bayern what did he do? Zilch. He won't do next time either and that's the big problem.
Totally different players in different positions. Benchmarking completely pointless
Odegaard was brilliant for the most part last season but as with some other players, did not play anywhere near their best when we lost crucial points in December. I'm sure Edu and Arteta will have considered ways of minimising dropped points. If we'd had others options that Arteta was comfortable with(Vieira and ESR were not trusted) in CM, we might have given Odegaard, Havertz(CM playing version) and a wide man or two, a recharging from the bench.
With this in mind, a player who is comfortable playing AM or on the wing is worth splashing plenty on; my top two would be Olise and Simons. Signing an alternative left 8, Guimares, Douglas Luis- like would also be money well spent. Otherwise you could go for a winger who's happy to play on both sides, say Nico Williams and a No8, with a project No6 as an additional option.
Nwaneri will hopefully take a spot in the squad and if we have another domestic cup season like last, send him on loan for the second half of the season.
Vieira, if he can't be sold, should have a season long loaning an attempt to retrieve some of his fallen value.
I would like to thank Rodri for the stupid comment about "Arsenal lacking mentality".
Arteta would have clipped that comment
As if we ever needed more motivation
Well, Rodri's next game after that ill-advised comment ended in a loss.
raptora
Do you think Raya would have done just as well if he was playing behind a defence with Rob Holding in it. He definitely benefited from playing behind the best centre back pairing in the league.
People forget that Ramsdale was selected to be in the first 11 of the 2022-2023 season. He was never shit. De Gea won the golden Gloves in 2022-2023 and he was still ditched by United, so don't use that award to Raya, to slime Ramsdale.
Raya has been good, but he's benefitted from the stability at the backline.
Just stop the blather that used to slime Ramsdale, he served the club well.
The same people that will talk like Ramsdale is shit will be expecting 50 million from his transfer.
Why would his transfermarkt valuation not plummet when he was barely played by his manager, who treated him like he was a leper. The way we managed the entire GK stuff was shabby. The reserve keeper should have played in the cup games.
He's got very obvious flaws to his game, Diss.
Losing concentration, dealing with high balls, his quality on the ball, conceding from shots in his near corner. A very capable keeper, no question with a lot of heart and passion, but I expect him to not be the main keeper in another top team again.
Your opinion is riddled with lots of recency bias
If Ramsdale is so poor, why was he selected by his peers to be in the starting 11 of the 2022-2023 season.
Same Ramsdale that was making nervous as you say, the best centre back pairing the league. Cause he's a popular guy, that's why. Raya, albeit not top class, is an improvement in the areas I pointed. Raya himself suffers from a few issues but overall is a more rounded GK than Rams.
I was right about Ramsdale. We could see that even Raya, who's not even top class, was an upgrade while most were full of praise for Ramsdale and how his transfermarkt valuation was off the charts.
Ramsdale, very similarly to Odegaard, has very obvious flaws to his game. As soon as a more rounded player was available Arteta didn't even think twice.
Odegaard has not worked in the same games season after season. We even brought two bruisers last summer to help our midfield - Rice and Havertz (although I was right his place was at CF).
Arteta decided to play with 2 players with very obvious defensive qualities in - Rice/Havertz, Jorgi/Rice, Partey/Rice to cover for our lack of physicality.
The issues with that is:
1. The 3rd midfield player needs to be way more dynamic than Odegaard is to work in the games where the opponent teams don't defend deep, which currently isn't the case and in the games that we suffered, it was because that 3rd midfield player didn't do his job well enough.
2. Martinelli was completely sacrificed because he went from combining with Xhaka, to combining with Havertz/Rice - impossible challenge for him.
Now this is what's important a very current topic.
- In the biggest games, if we are going to play with 2 defensively apt midfielders, the 3rd midfielder needs to not be Odegaard, it needs to be someone that can run at players, be a menace on the counter, could be a top class passer like Bruno Fernandes (just an example), or top class carrier/runner like Eze or the more expensive versions in Wirtz and Musiala.
- We can stop playing with 2 "defensive" midfielders and have someone similar to Paqueta ahead of Rice (I know he's out of the picture), maybe Bruno Guimaraes could also work in a similar capacity. A midfield of Rice, Bruno G and Odegaard will do pretty well but the problem in the big games will remain.
- Another way might be to bring Odegaard closer to the center of the pitch and have a quality offensive full back like Leverkusen's full backs.
Is Odegaard creatively and physically as good as KDB? No.
Is Odegaard clutch, mental and physical beast as Jude Bellingham? No.
Those are the leaders of the best clubs in the world. We need our main player to be that good. We need to lower his impact so another player can take the wheel. In a certain type of games he's just never going to work unless Arteta comes out with something really generational because physically Odegaard cannot work in such games.
Arteta has a massive problem to solve and the time to do it is this summer.
Top class passer like Bruno Fernandez 😂😂😂?The guy consistently spams passes and hopes one comes off.
I disagree completely on if Odegaard can play in these games. The problem is all the responsibility lies in him creating something. If we have another CM that can take the creative responsibility as well, Odegaard will be a major asset in big games. He was the season before too. Xhaka left and now all of our creativity goes through him. Havertz was poor in that LCM role. And Rice's strength isn't threading through balls.
The truth is somewhere in between. You see, your solution is one of the options Rap listed. Buy someone more creative and comfortable technically (than Rice ) and put on the left (Bruno, Paqueta?).
But then in those games, Rap was describing, where we may need more defensive solidarity ourselves (depending on the opposition) which still leaves only Odeegard, who is neither that physical, vertical nor mental monster the 3rd cm spot needs.
Ode's creativity is top notch though. In the games he gets the chance to run.
You just shifted Nigel's attention from me to you with this quite objective but "go and support the Spuds" expose. Phew. Thank you rap 😅
There's no loyalty with these managers, just seeing Maresca and Kompany move up to jobs that their CV does not match.
They jump ship at the slightest opportunity.
It's laughable when managers challenge players to be loyal to the badge.
Habesha
You will get rid of Trossard, the low wage, low transfer fee, high production player but will keep fighting tooth and nail to keep Jesus, who's a high wage, low production crocked player.
Trossard is the reason why our much beloved well compensated babies in Martinelli and Jesus lack of quality have not hurt the team. His consistent production is hiding lots of structural weaknesses in the team.
Not this summer. There are a lot other issues to fix.
But eventually I would. His numbers are great. But his performances don't match up. We need a balance. If his numbers dry up we are not going to be in a good position.
The reason we wanted Mudryk was because we wanted two younger wingers fighting it out for that spot.
You would get rid of Trossard, even if he continues the same form, scoring 10-15 league goals next season>
The lad is earning less than Eddie. earning less than Nelson, earning less than a quarter of what Jesus is earning
...but yet, you'll get rid of him?
If his numbers stay that way then by all means keep him. But if we need to ditch one between him and Martinelli, I am keeping Martinelli and bringing in another.
I don't know what you mean by that Hab but atleast he has numbers. And he delivered many clutch moments last season. Anyways you have said that you are open to letting Jesus go so it's not really an issue.
Its just that I cant get what you see with him. His game is so uncoordinated and anyhow. Even if he has to play for us next season, he needs to be structured (on the wing), play within the team. Free roams are for extremely dangerous forward players like Alexis Sanchez who match it up with WC numbers.
It is not that I want Jesus to stay. It is the lack of forward options. I want a Suarez, a Benzema. An all rounder. These kids are projects. And I don't think they will make us significantly better. And Jesus is also going to be a backup player. So I have no issues with that.
Top class wide players though are there for the taking. If we get an Olise, I think we will see clear improvement. Because we won't miss Saka. An Olise and Jesus backup/rotation options look much better to me than having a Sesko and Jesus backing up Havertx and Saka on the wings. Because both won't be class in their positions.
Nice and i agree but a Suarez or Benzema isn't coming along anytime soon. If the calibre of strikers available now gets the job done then why not get them? Everyone would love another Vieira but we found a Partey at some point innit.
But I thought Sesko was mainly a striker. Didn't know he can play the wings. Don't even know him at all to be fair and he necessarily doesn't fill me with joy. 😅
How about Olise as Ode alternative? Just not sure he can be a winger for us. He prefers to play inside and closer to the centre and he's not explosive. Would much rather a Doku that can provide width and stretch defenders with pace
Sesko doesn't play on the wings. He is a pure CF. But I don't think he is the pure upgrade as you think he is. Neither are the forwards on the market apart from Isak. They are just potential at this point.
👌👏👏👏👏👏