NestorGarde

True. Even Mathys Tel had that against us. But Gittens made a step in the right direction in pre season.

If he gains just an ounce of Vinicius’ Jr’s bravery and confidence he’d actually turn into a decent player.
So scared to do anything at times.

I’m unsure what the PC phrasing for braindead is nowadays but whatever it is, this c**t is it.
2 booking in 3 minutes sent off against some random Oil Farmers in a meaningless friendly.
Never want to see him in a Chels shirt again, the IQ deficient dolt.

Great post, my opinion is similar

I think basically the only issue I have with Maresca is he hasn't solved the primary problem we have, which is how to beat teams consistently who sit back and counter us.
Every other issue that seems to surface isn't a factor.
Estevao not starting games, fine, he's young and I accept that. Our defence is fine for the personnel available, Sanchez has improved a lot. The discipline in silly bookings just is what it is and will be fixed, I can't pin that on him yet. He rotates a lot, cool we need to because half our team are one game away from an injury.
But until he fixes our play so that we play faster, take risks, and overpower teams like Sunderland, Brentford etc, he will never be elite. That's the separation he has from being a solid manager to a great one. It's a step Arteta has made.
Conversely, we will probably end up still winning a trophy. We could end up in the semis of the CL and win the league/FA cup this year and it wouldn't surprise me at all. Because we have the players and the structure to beat teams "on our day". Funnily enough that's the ability Arteta doesn't have. But I think Arteta is more likely to develop that this year than Maresca is his weakness.

The Jacksomeister has played 244 Bundesliga minutes and hasn't scored a single goal or made an assist yet. Let that sink in. He plays for Bayern Munich. In the Bundesliga. "Bundesliga" translated from the German, actually means "League of one team".
Che Adams would score goals in those circumstances. It's like being given repeated free swings and still missing with a huge banjo aiming at a giant cow's arse that has already been shot and is laying dead on the grass.

Felix's problem was never tactical, it was his own limited ability. He'd beat a player or do something fancy, only for his final ball/execution (the thing that actually matters) to be incredibly bad. It's followed him his entire career. Even at Saudi there are clips of him dribbling past players and it conveniently ends right before he does a sh*t pass.
I still remember under Potter in the Champions League tie against Real Madrid. He was away on goal by himself and instead of taking a touch inside which would've put him in front of the CB, he took a touch out wide away from goal where the CB eventually caught up. I remember during halftime Henry highlighted that moment and was grilling Felix. Saying any top player wouldn't do that.

Looks a bit like Torres

Withdraws from England camp with an injury.

Oh the miss was unforgivable from a professional footballer, especially one that hit double figures last season.
Putting that aside though he looked composed and an instant upgrade on what Enzo wasn’t offering yesterday.

Early days but nice to see people finally coming around. Knew he’d be a big bonus to the team and hopefully he improves as he goes.
Had Brighton replaced Baleba for Essugo once they sell him to United, he’d be another £80m central midfielder the Top 6 would be sniffing around in 2-3 years time.

Glad we didn’t keep Ugochukwu instead of him!

Santos was SO much better than Enzo in this game…

Santos was SO much better than Enzo in this game…

Santos was SO much better than Enzo in this game…

Santos was SO much better than Enzo in this game…

Santos was SO much better than Enzo in this game…

Terrific pass from Andrey Santos for the assist.
We really don't need Enzo in this team ...

Cucu on vacation !

Great analysis from Billy Carpenter (here's a link: https://substack.com/inbox/post/167025589) Arsenal fan but let;'s try to ignore that for a minute
Simons is a thoroughly quick, robust, relentless, modern, tekky attacker who suits where the game is headed. At 22, he’s been on the radar for roughly a decade. I struggled with his ranking, and can definitely make a case for him above Eze, or below Rogers. He should be more expensive.
His showing against Arsenal for PSV, remember it as you will, made that clear. Playing as a false nine, he drifted around, pulling the backline apart.
He found gaps, drew fouls, and helped unsettle the structure, with Gakpo peeling wide. It was a performance that showed off how he could generate 29 G+A as a 19-year-old.
I was also pretty gobsmacked by his performance against Spain this year. He came on at 78’, immediately had an assist, drew a penalty, hit that penalty, and then hit another penalty in the shootout.
Wherever he plays, he shows the same ideas: receive between lines, drive forward with short touches, and find quick combinations. He’s urgent, skilled, and has real physical force (and stubbornness) in tight spaces. He is fairly Ødegaard-brained in terms of overall intention and team-oriented movement, but with more power on the carry and a bit more unpredictability and power near goal.
He’s a clean passer, has a strong understanding of when to press, and communicates well off the ball. But he’s more direct, more immediate, and more likely to turn a loose ball into a shot.
His winger profiling is the problem. It’s probably not where he’s used best, but he can put in a Silva shift out there, or potentially rotate like Doué. He doesn’t always isolate, but when he does, he can lean into contact and still get through. He has repeatability in his duels, but what makes him even more dangerous is his movement into zone-14.
His diagonal entries are well-timed and hard to track, and he rarely stands still. He’ll drift from the edge into the box, attack rebounds, or make reverse runs behind a striker.
He can also do his version of in-behind runs.
Crucially, the name of the game is “relentless chance creation,” and he’s just a high-level playmaker. His best actions often come right after receiving. His first touch puts him into windows where he can thread a through-ball or take a quick shot. His right foot is incredibly dominant this year (zero shots with his left this year!!!).
He’s good at playing people into space like this.
If there are drawbacks, they’re mostly about fit. As I said, he’s not a true winger in the classic sense. He won’t necessarily beat a fullback over and over in a true 1v1 out wide or whip in crosses on the run. I’ve also seen him disappear in a few games, or rack up a few miscontrols in a row. But you can use him as a 10, a wide 8, a left winger, or a false 9. You just need to give him smart collaborators and keep the game flowing around him.
Overall, Simons is a near-ideal “unlocker” profile. He’s high touch, smart with space, brave on the dribble, and alert in the press. He’s already tested himself across leagues and shown no issues with physicality or smarts. There’s no projection needed. He fits the playing culture, brings technical consistency, and adds a bit of unpredictability to break mid-blocks. In a game that’s getting faster, narrower, and more fluid, he’s built for the next phase.

This makes me a sad Panda.

With the sanctions we got from uefa, I think the club maybe a little cautious about signing Xavi until we got another player off the books tbh.
Gittens, Estavao, Hato, Essugo, all will be going on uefa b list, which is for non homegrown players.
Pedro, and Delap, ( and possibly Garnacho), all go on uefa a list, homegrown.
The punishment we got means that b list must have a net profit of zero or better to register new players.
So far we have sold Madueke, Amagou, and Felix off last seasons b list.
Which i reckon leaves us about £25m im the red.
If we add in Xavi for £50m, we then have to make £75m from the sales of Nkunku, Veiga, Disasi, and possibly Jackson.
So I think had Veiga gone, Xavi would've been done already, but there is still a fair bit of work to do on outgoings.
Think we should be okay though, seems to be interest in all 4 of those outgoings.

Great analysis from Billy Carpenter (here's a link: https://substack.com/inbox/post/167025589) Arsenal fan but let;'s try to ignore that for a minute
Simons is a thoroughly quick, robust, relentless, modern, tekky attacker who suits where the game is headed. At 22, he’s been on the radar for roughly a decade. I struggled with his ranking, and can definitely make a case for him above Eze, or below Rogers. He should be more expensive.
His showing against Arsenal for PSV, remember it as you will, made that clear. Playing as a false nine, he drifted around, pulling the backline apart.
He found gaps, drew fouls, and helped unsettle the structure, with Gakpo peeling wide. It was a performance that showed off how he could generate 29 G+A as a 19-year-old.
I was also pretty gobsmacked by his performance against Spain this year. He came on at 78’, immediately had an assist, drew a penalty, hit that penalty, and then hit another penalty in the shootout.
Wherever he plays, he shows the same ideas: receive between lines, drive forward with short touches, and find quick combinations. He’s urgent, skilled, and has real physical force (and stubbornness) in tight spaces. He is fairly Ødegaard-brained in terms of overall intention and team-oriented movement, but with more power on the carry and a bit more unpredictability and power near goal.
He’s a clean passer, has a strong understanding of when to press, and communicates well off the ball. But he’s more direct, more immediate, and more likely to turn a loose ball into a shot.
His winger profiling is the problem. It’s probably not where he’s used best, but he can put in a Silva shift out there, or potentially rotate like Doué. He doesn’t always isolate, but when he does, he can lean into contact and still get through. He has repeatability in his duels, but what makes him even more dangerous is his movement into zone-14.
His diagonal entries are well-timed and hard to track, and he rarely stands still. He’ll drift from the edge into the box, attack rebounds, or make reverse runs behind a striker.
He can also do his version of in-behind runs.
Crucially, the name of the game is “relentless chance creation,” and he’s just a high-level playmaker. His best actions often come right after receiving. His first touch puts him into windows where he can thread a through-ball or take a quick shot. His right foot is incredibly dominant this year (zero shots with his left this year!!!).
He’s good at playing people into space like this.
If there are drawbacks, they’re mostly about fit. As I said, he’s not a true winger in the classic sense. He won’t necessarily beat a fullback over and over in a true 1v1 out wide or whip in crosses on the run. I’ve also seen him disappear in a few games, or rack up a few miscontrols in a row. But you can use him as a 10, a wide 8, a left winger, or a false 9. You just need to give him smart collaborators and keep the game flowing around him.
Overall, Simons is a near-ideal “unlocker” profile. He’s high touch, smart with space, brave on the dribble, and alert in the press. He’s already tested himself across leagues and shown no issues with physicality or smarts. There’s no projection needed. He fits the playing culture, brings technical consistency, and adds a bit of unpredictability to break mid-blocks. In a game that’s getting faster, narrower, and more fluid, he’s built for the next phase.

Something like this maybe...