Also his brother has pretty much given it away, and solid papers from the UK and France.
Athletico are more likely to miss out on CL then United are this season
Antoine Griezmann
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Not really convinced by this. Think Griezmann could be a giant waste at fecking £90m 
Ditto, mate - since we signed Pogba for a world record fee, it's imperative that we get the best out of him. Unless we transition to a Diamond or even Christmas Tree, spending a comparable world record amount on Griezmann and then hoping that they work things out among themselves is asking for trouble when Pogba plays his best football in a midfield 3 and Griezmann plays his best football as a forward off the shoulder of the 9 - which are kind of mutually exclusive concepts in a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1.
Considering that, Icardi would be great as the prototype #9 in a standard 4-3-3, and then we could buy someone like O Dembélé in 2018 (after the World Cup) to complete the attack in wider areas instead of Griezmann. If we wanted to sign Griezmann with a view to transition into 4-2-3-1, we should've signed proper midfield pivots like Kanté or Koke, not a unique midfielder/attacker hybrid like Pogba who shouldn't be asked to devolve into reductive roles.
This would be much better, but even as a big believer in the manager, I dunno if Mourinho has the balls to to implement it given his reluctance to use it against English teams or in big European games against teams with wingers even at Porto and Internazionale:
That way, Griezmann will be in his best role as the support striker, and we'll keep Pogba in something close to his best LCM/AM role instead of disrupting the fundamentals of his game:
Pogba and Ibra debunk "player x won't come because of no CL".
I'm not 100% sure, truth be told. There's always an element of intangible risk associated with players from different leagues - with the likes of Cuardado burning out in the Premier League after moving from the Serie A, while Coutinho has taken to it like a duck to water since the move from Internazionale - so you never know either way. But Icardi certainly has the mental drive, tactical intelligence, workrate, and Costa-esque cnutish robustness in his play to potentially excel in the League. Decent height at about 6' even (so he won't be dwarfed by most centerbacks), quick in short bursts without necessarily being rapid, and given his style of play and nose for the goal, he could be comparable to someone like Kane in terms of productivity - who isn't exceptionally fast or skillful or physical dominant à la Lukaku, but excels at the fundamentals of traditional striker play in terms of positioning and natural awareness - and is in the right place at the right time to make things happen for his team.
Belotti from Torino is another decent option at the right age (and has the barrel chested Vieri type striker thing going for him), but he isn't as proven as Icardi, and also plays in the Serie A:
[/spoiler[
After the limited impact of our other 'big name' signings post Fergie, I won't hold my breath that this one would be any different.
That can only happen for so long though.
If we miss out again, that will be 2 times in 3 seasons, which then looks a bit shit.
Nah..considering they are best mates I cant see this being an issue. Besides Zlatan already shares the spotlight.
Judging by the Mourinho is pissed off with Woodward stories, maybe he was right? He didn't say it was done.
Maybe but I just think in Griezmann's case no CL won't be an issue as him and Pogba are apparently keen on playing together at a club level.
Who was it then? I would love to know.
Yup, as much as I love Griezmann, having Pogba and him together will limit one or another fullest capabilities, unless somehow Pogba will suddenly be capable of playing in midfield two, but for me he just does not have positional discipline to play in midfield twoDitto, mate - since we signed Pogba for a world record fee, it's imperative that we get the best out of him. Unless we transition to a Diamond or even Christmas Tree, spending a comparable world record amount on Griezmann and then hoping that they work things out among themselves is asking for trouble when Pogba plays his best football in a midfield 3 and Griezmann plays his best football as a forward off the shoulder of the 9 - which are kind of mutually exclusive concepts in a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1.
Considering that, Icardi would be great as the prototype #9 in a standard 4-3-3, and then we could buy someone like O Dembélé in 2018 (after the World Cup) to complete the attack in wider areas instead of Griezmann. If we wanted to sign Griezmann with a view to transition into 4-2-3-1, we should've signed proper midfield pivots like Kanté or Koke, not a unique midfielder/attacker hybrid like Pogba who shouldn't be asked to devolve into reductive roles.
This would be much better, but even as a big believer in the manager, I dunno if Mourinho has the balls to to implement it given his reluctance to use it against English teams or in big European games against teams with wingers even at Porto and Internazionale:
That way, Griezmann will be in his best role as the support striker, and we'll keep Pogba in something close to his best LCM/AM role instead of disrupting the fundamentals of his game:
That Juve diamond formation will suit both of them for sure, but that formation put a lot of burden in the fullback, while Valencia certainly is capable, Shaw will need to sort himself out and improve his attacking skills for him to play in diamond, and I doubt that Jose would be bold enough to use that formation
You might want to ask him that one
It's not about spotlight, I don't care about spotlight.
To be fair on that page he also said IF Jose could do business in the window. Maybe he wasn't allowed to do business whether it be from our board or the other club asking for an overpriced fee.
Belotti looks better off in a counter attacking side. Other than his heading ability I don't see him thriving against parked buses. And his goal celebration sucks. Prefer the look of Icardi. But neither look very Drogba like.i
Acquire Me isn't "itk"
Burn the liar!
I didn't say he was
The #9 doesn't have to be like Drogba, though - he was but one of several really good strikers José has managed through the years, so we don't have to follow that particular physical template and sign Lukaku (who's an inferior footballer and striker to Icardi, IMO). Icardo bears great resemblance to Diego Milito in terms of stature and playing style (who flourished under Mourinho after Ibrahimović's transfer to Barcelona - scoring 30 goals, propelling them to the treble, winning the UEFA Club Footballer Of The Year award):
So something along the lines of this?
Griezmann - Ibra/Icardi/Martial
Mkhitaryan
Pogba - Herrera
Carrick/New
Shaw/New - Rojo - Bailly - Valencia
Big Dave
Mkhitaryan
Pogba - Herrera
Carrick/New
Shaw/New - Rojo - Bailly - Valencia
Big Dave
Fully agree we just need to be done with wingers tbh, we don't have any good onesDitto, mate - since we signed Pogba for a world record fee, it's imperative that we get the best out of him. Unless we transition to a Diamond or even Christmas Tree, spending a comparable world record amount on Griezmann and then hoping that they work things out among themselves is asking for trouble when Pogba plays his best football in a midfield 3 and Griezmann plays his best football as a forward off the shoulder of the 9 - which are kind of mutually exclusive concepts in a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1.
Considering that, Icardi would be great as the prototype #9 in a standard 4-3-3, and then we could buy someone like O Dembélé in 2018 (after the World Cup) to complete the attack in wider areas instead of Griezmann. If we wanted to sign Griezmann with a view to transition into 4-2-3-1, we should've signed proper midfield pivots like Kanté or Koke, not a unique midfielder/attacker hybrid like Pogba who shouldn't be asked to devolve into reductive roles.
This would be much better, but even as a big believer in the manager, I dunno if Mourinho has the balls to to implement it given his reluctance to use it against English teams or in big European games against teams with wingers even at Porto and Internazionale:
That way, Griezmann will be in his best role as the support striker, and we'll keep Pogba in something close to his best LCM/AM role instead of disrupting the fundamentals of his game:
Okay
Parden me for meddeling in the fine discussion going on in here but isn't Icardi somewhat of a "special case"?
Or we could find actual wingers? rather than keep playing attacking midfielders or strikers there.
Valencia keeps the width well but he can rarely "beat" a man and put in a good cross, most of the time he just floats it too high.
Well it's not, it's about how we use our resources.Okay
Yep, that's an exquisitely balanced setup on paper. Except I dunno if Shaw's game is developed enough (tactically, and in terms of discipline) to control an entire flank. The wingbacks are crucial to the success of a diamond - and while he has the athletic component, something's missing in his play and the overall effectiveness of it. Big fan of the core diamond, as well as the potential Griezmann-Mkhitaryan-Pogba tandem, though - all three are quite fluid in their movement and interplay, apart from being technically adept. And given Mkhitaryan's versatility, he could easily pop up on the left while Pogba goes central or drift towards the right to make it a front 3 in transition, and he has the workrate to really stabilize the whole setup from a defensive standpoint - which is an added bonus. Not quite Deco at Porto in terms of flair and overall influence - but you'd be hard pressed to find better players for that position than Mkhitaryan in contemporary football.
We don't need to play with wingers is my point, since we don't have them. I'm even talking about right now, what is the insistence on playing a formation which relies on wingers when we don't have any? Its plain stupid.
His wife\agent is a basket case. Would be like having that Snoopy character from Jersey Shore around MUFC.
Maybe not a road we want to go down.
Reading this thread you would think Pogba and Greizmann were the two most rigid, one dimensional players we could get.
Exactly... they will sort it between them, both world class
I'm not arsed anymore, we can't even beat Hull.
Get him signed. Give me a bit of temporary joy until we get dicked again by relegation candidates.
Get him signed. Give me a bit of temporary joy until we get dicked again by relegation candidates.
He called three obvious transfers and now it is Greizmann FFS. Most people on here have believed AG would join for the past 6 months or so.
I agree.
That's right. I just hear things from time to time. A real 'itk' would be someone close to Woodward and Mourinho.
What's the deal with people thinking Griezmann and Pogba play in the same position?
Not watched Atletico play much lately, but Griezmann plays as 9,10 or out wide, doesn't he?
While Pogba plays cm/b2b.
Can easily play together.
Just hope Griezmann stops the silly celebration, what's wrong with the good old raised hand and scream "yeah!"?
Not watched Atletico play much lately, but Griezmann plays as 9,10 or out wide, doesn't he?
While Pogba plays cm/b2b.
Can easily play together.
Just hope Griezmann stops the silly celebration, what's wrong with the good old raised hand and scream "yeah!"?
Pogba has played as number 10 for us. He had Carrick and Herrera as CM behind.
He shouldn't be though, hasn't had one good game for us in that position that I can remember
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