Recent content by Rapsinfour

The things I am really annoyed with: Casemeiro being out of shape. Antony showing his back every time a defender engages him1-1; it is understandable if you are being double teamed, but one on one, a 80/90 mil winger should at least engage face to face majority of the time. Our attackers being...

A great article in the Athletic about midfielders becoming coaches nowadays, and how this has contributedto the style we see now . But inside it I found this quote by Dominic Hayes a UEFA A-licensed academy coach, which kinda re-inforces what has been said in this thread.

I would argue that Riquelme, even back in the day, did not get into a top team. He was great fun to watch, but not at the level of Zidane where the team accepted his lack of wanting to put himself about. I mentioned in another thread that a shift to a system that emphasized possession naturally...

I really liked him in the 2 games I watched him in this year. He looked very good against sevilla; I have been much more impressed with him than the more ballyhooed Foden. Surprising that City is selling him. It makes sense for him to leave if he wants more playing time, but to Chelsea? But...

But how many French players (high price/ profile) underperformed? Benzema (worth every penny RM Paid for him). Varame ( bought for 20m by Rm). Kante (well worth what Chelsea paid for him). Pogba Can be said to be a flop, but he was in an absolute circus of a situation. In the book"...

What is not to love about his gig at Manchester City as a football manager? He has a budget as big as anywhere in the world (and he can win / play the way he wants), but not really the pressure or the media distractions/ obligations that he would have to deal with at United/ Real/ Pool/ Bayern...

Sterling, bar his first season at Manchester City and his first season at Chelsea, has been better than all of them in every season he has played. And I say this as an ardent Rashford fan. I don't understand the obsession on this forum insisting he is not, actually, good and, wait till...

It is kind of funny reading this thread. Football players are moving there only for money. As if Brazilian & African players have been coming to Europe for the love of football and not money ( all the while suffering horrific racist abuse in some situations). Also, it is interesting to have an...

Great article in Athletic about Sterling

I think you are giving Woodward too much credit here. City did change the makeup of the league. Barca, under Pep,did similar; this led to Real Madrid upping their game and may be having the best run in their history. We saw something similar with Chelsea spending in early 2000, but with Fergie...

On a side note, I have to say that I find Xavi to be very sanctimonious and precious. He is a manager of a side ( Barcelona) that has stacked the league in its favor by how TV payments are paid out ( with RM and Barca getting a lion's share); they spend hundreds of millions more in transfer fees...

I think SAF doesnt get the credit for being an innovator that he deserves. CR7, Rooney and Tevez in an interchanging front three ( of that calibre) was something we ( especially in the PL) hadn't seen. I think adaptability( not just in footballing terms, but also moving forward in step with...

I don't think it is is many United fan; frankly, the way the club have been going, a lot of us ( including myself), at this stage, would happy with above average. Look at the love Bruno ( and to a lesser degree Rashford) get despite having plenty of flaws ( esp. when compared to the greats of...

I think you and I have a different definition of building as around a player. For example, SAF, until mid 2000s, preferred to play a 442 with two athletic wingers( with a right footed winger as RW and left footed winger for LW) supplying two elite strikers . However, due to CR7 strength as...

I would argue that United from 91-96 were that team and won the PL numerous times; of course this style of play was a big reason ( in addition to the European Cup domestic player rule) we kept bouncing out of the then European Cup and a major reason we bought Veron ( to teach us how to play in...