ozboy

In 2005 we let in 15 goals. Last season 63. City let in 34, Arsenal 29 and Liverpool 41. Yes exciting attackers win games but I reckon great defence with enough attack wins premierships.

France attack isn’t good enough. PSG couldn’t score goals in big games and neither can France. They will make a chance or two but only griezman, ageing, and Mbappe have goals in them. Kante, rabiot and Tchouameni rarely score, Dembele rarely scores.

I would prefer a world class fit centre back to any attacker

Sounds silly but not sure Frances attack is any good. Mbappe Dembele combo couldn’t do the job for PSG when it counted and not sure they will for France. Griezmann still got it I wonder? Spain and Germany looking more the go.

Managers don't make good players but they can make them look like Cr**. To an aussie England has looked too defensive and unambitious since forever. The one exception being the last world cup where with a bit of luck they could have made the final. They look worse than ever at the moment. England seem similar to Portugal in their ability to turn a team of talented players with flair into a bunch of sideways passers content with sterile possession. However because of the "pragmatic" approach and boring neutrals to tears they may go a long way. Spain look pretty good but despite the result and Italy not having much nevertheless they had enough athleticism and ability to make the likes of Yamal seem as young as they are. Also I think Rodri is struggling with the work load.

One theory is that this guy is just a red herring.

Yes box to box does mean a lot of running, and in the video above he is starting deep. The thing is to do it all game long, only player doing more work than box to box is the overlapping fullback. Most modern teams work rate is super important. I expect the fullbacks and midfield will and should see regular rotation. There were some that see him as a kind of cross between an 8 and 10 and Poch played him like that for a bit, that is what most of us complain about, fish out of water.

He does play as box to box. I hope it's enough. The distribution is excellent but you have to do defence and ideally score goals. Ballack and Lampard and Essien could do all three. Ballack wasn't all that fast but covered a lot of territory. The Copa will be a chance to watch him in a different team.

I did watch a YouTube video, he looked strong, a good left foot and a poor right, not particularly pacy, fair in the air. He did score 8 goals for Alaves (finished 10th) in La Liga. This doesn't make him chelsea starting material that's for sure, but the lad may have a bit of talent.

I keep thinking of Enzo as a kind of Pirlo. He would never be in the team for his defensive ability so the obvious thing is to use his passing range and linkup play in possession and cover for him out of position. He is certainly going to have to work harder on his weakness, getting bypassed too easily. An inverted full back is one way to improve defensive cover, but also limits the wide attacking options another way is just to have the right 3 midfielders in such a system. It's finding the player to go with Caicedo and Enzo. That player is probably not Palmer coz he is no better defensively than Enzo, worse.

I think it's kind of obvious that Maresca has a better situation than either Poch or Potter. He has a squad that has spent a year playing together, has experienced the character forming that goes with getting to a cup final and losing and has a year's premier league experience under its belt both as individuals and as a team. Those are valuable assets if the key players can be kept fit.

"Distinct differences in peak age can also be seen when comparing age trends by position. Past research found that forwards peak around age 25, defenders at 27, and midfielders somewhere in between (Dendir 2016). Dendir links these to the fact that forwards need to run and shuffle, endure more physical contact, and require more explosive power. Defenders are more stagnant during a game. Hence, defenders benefit most from “acquired learning and experience”. " From a semi academic article I read. Personally I think experience also matters as well as age. If you start your premier league career at a young age you may well peak earlier. Compare say Drogba and say Wayne Rooney. However if we look at age and premier league games the team is probably still two - three seasons away from peak. And based on the quoted text above if you did want to buy in more experience then its defence where experience matters most.

It's interesting that Atletico rejected the bid. And if CFC do nothing else they kept this quiet while they were putting it together. Well Romano might have it wrong but when he straight out says "rejected a formal bid" it sounds like it's properly sourced. Could just be an agent trying it on, but trying to buy this kind of player is our style. As for comparing with Mason Burstow how does anyone compare Burstow with a different 20 year old. One might be Messi and the next Solanke say or less. Has anyone seen Omoridion actually play for Alaves? I watch a fair bit of footie and I certainly have not.

Boring England game but clearly the better team. Some team with a better midfield will then find out if the English defence is up to it, which I expect they aren't, but even though Serbia finished in front of Portugal in the qualifiers they showed less than Poland. Best game so far for me is Poland Netherlands, because Poland in attack looked ok. Spain and Germany have looked good although no doubt both have vulnerable defences. That leaves France and Portugal to strut their stuff of the contenders.

Great vid. Enzo looks excellent and as the footage show it’s Enzo starting deep and that first long pass. That’s Enzo position starting deep either centrally or wide left. Made great ground to get up for the return. Great vid.

He and Spain laid ok.

Portugal could do ok I reckon. Not sure the English defence is up to the job.

Nagelsmann has German team playing like they believe.

Romano reports medical completed.

Nagelsmaann has Germany believing in themselves again. That much is clear. There are no doubt different ways to make a team bond and play to their best, but I think all great managers find a way to do that. Let the players and the team be the best version of itself. I hope Maresca can do that with our lads.

Hamstring is the issue. Also requires Palmer to move central and if Palmer does that then he will have to defend. Good test for the medical team see if they have benefitted from a years experience in the premier league.

Way too harsh on Jackson, particularly in his first season. As pointed out before about the same as drogba in terms of goals and Drogs was in a better team. Duran though hasn’t got much to recommend him in terms of record.

Done deal now

If one of them ends up at Vini levell the project will be a big success.

If we are going for him pre the euros is the time. If he plays well the price will go up a lot.