venom2011

Kovacic was not a natural leader, scarcely available for 2 seasons in a row, and on high wages. Hard to call that a mistake even though I agree, all things being equal, he would be sorely missed.

I don't think we'll lose him for free. Worst case we sell him for a bit less in Jan. And by then the likes of Real, PSG, Barca may even be interested because of the price. If you believe the stories regarding his image rights and that being the main driver of the contract issue, then 'his entourage' should be quite satisfied with an approach from either Utd, Real or Barca.

Lavia is an exceptional talent, playing in arguably the toughest position on the pitch, in the best league in the world. He won't be in competition with Casadei and Chukwuemeka. Some would have been happy to rival Madrid for Tchouameni at 80m a year ago. He pretty much ticks every box the club would have for a player of his profile. Plus, I'd like to give City some of their own medicine after KDB.

Each of those 3 points - where he wants to play, like he did for Benfica, like he did for Argentina - is incorrect. Comparisons to KDB are no more crazy than the above. Best comparison for him though would be Xavi.

It's a bit dramatic to say the January risk hasn't paid off, don't you think? They weren't signings in the prime of their careers. Most of them were good transfers as far as I'm concerned. No one is forcing Mount out of the door and his transfer is unrelated to our previous spend. He is entirely in control - stay and extend, stay and run down, or leave. The other sales won't be driven by a need to sell or for book-balancing either.

That's if you believe the conjecture in some reports. We won't know the real reason until possibly much later, if at all. It doesn't seem likely we'd bow out over an increase on 60k when Mudryk and Badiashile earn +-90k/week.

So getting into FFP trouble, then bigger FFP trouble, and lowering our income potential would make us look professional?

Brighton also have no expectations of challenging for anything. We should see him in the squad next season, though I think it's a preseason shootout between Carney and Cassedei.

Similar to what we would get now. He is still a relatively hot property given his age, fitness, and international pedigree regardless of how frustrating he's been for us. Just read about the release clause. 100% worth it if we sell Mount or Havertz. We have London and Vivell 🙂

Are those individual achievements in those leagues? Weird.

I'm not his biggest fan but 40m for an experienced but still young and talented full German international would be a terrible deal. The other thing to consider is a decent season under Pochettino could see his value increase. I would only want the club to consider 60m+ add-ons. Joao Felix has done nothing in football and Atleti wanted 100m. A Ukranian talent who is only a year younger than Kai and we paid 62m+. Would love to see Szoboslai here, but he's not joining for 40m. Although I have a sneaky feeling he's the one we'll target to replace Mount.

Yeah Mount has barely played as an 8. Kante and Kovacic combined have one fit midfielder in them. RLC has quite a few minutes at wingback. Santos should get his his permit after the u20 tournament. And I'm sure we're signing 2 midfielders, at least.

Unless it's a good offer I'd rather he stay and challenge Nkunku for the spot behind the striker. Pochettino could use him in a similar role to Dele. Also, other than Sterling, we're already short of experience up top (assuming Pulisic and Ziyech leave).

Not entirely. It's an indicator but in isolation ignores weight of pass, decision-making etc. He's not a great passer by any stretch. We won a CL with Kante, Werner, Havertz, Silva, Rudiger playing pivotal roles - as much as anyone else. Not that it matters much but in the last 2 seasons Havertz has been way more influential against top opposition and in big games. And I don't want this to come off as bashing Mount because I've always been a fan and would prefer he stayed - but he's unfortunately also not indispensable.

Honestly I've always thought the same. And I've watched him come through the ranks so will of course be painful to see him go. But lately I've asked, 'What difference did that supposed level of passion for the club make this season?' - buggerall. Experience, quality, and tenacity are bigger influences.

Kai Havertz touches the ball way more in the attacking third than Haaland. What does it matter? Odegaard's quality of pass is far superior. Mount has some obvious qualities that any manager would love to have in the squad, but the reality is that he doesn't start in any position for a serious title challenger. If he did, I'm sure the board would've succumbed to his demands by now.

Let's be clear, the squad needed a major revamp to compete with City. People seem to have short memories when just last season we needed to revitalise the attack, the midfield was unbalanced and the defense lost 2 senior players. The only question was - do you do this quickly and risk short term chaos, or take a more measured approach. I have no issue with the former approach and have no doubt Pochettino would be happier with inheriting this squad than the previous one. The mistake was taking a risk with the squad overhaul AND the managerial appointment. You could do the former with an experienced manager to patch up any problems, or the latter with a settled squad a la De Zerbi at Brighton. And to do this on the back of what has been two straight seasons of the worst injury record for any team in PL history. The football gods really kicked us while we were down.

It was a sh*tshow really in terms of scheduling, timing after the world cup, new player integration etc. It was always going to be a struggle and we needed a master tactician to get us through this season, and we had one...

You watched a live preseason training session and expected the team to do intense endurance work? There's a reason you only saw camera-friendly exercises. Under Tuchel we were the most intense pressers in the league, combined with the fact that we played the most games in Europe during his reign.

Jorginho really wasn't terrible at all. But still not at the level we need for the position. In a team high on confidence and dominating possession he's more than functional. Kova has been terrible since coming back from injury, making his limitations all the more unbearable. Watched the highlights earlier and when you have a number 8 having no clue as to how to mark his counterpart and a number 5 stepping over a low cross like he's trying a dummy in training....

Took some undoubted risks, some haven't worked out. The time constraints of the takeover, restructuring and FFP regulations have really killed us. It's clear the owners want the best people in the right positions. Yes, it would have been nice for things to have gone smoother, but I think they'll get us to where we need to be. Can't wait to erase this sh*tshow from my memory.

Smacks of when AVB seduced Roman with his epic presentation.

Going through a process I can understand. But conceding half the pitch and majority possession to Southampton at home is criminal.

The entire point of a false nine is that the have to be good at false...nining. When it comes time to execute a critical pass, shot, cross - I have never seen a forward at this club with such a low rate of success. Please, for the love of God, when Sterling is fit I hope he plays there.

'Something feels off' - RTWelch, 2023