Nah, a lot of those posts deserve quote of shame because people went on with narratives how he was terrible in those first games which was far from the truth, that wasn't just "reacting to current performances", that was bunch of people that went with predetermined narratives how he was too short for this league and then made up his imaginary bad games where we conceded goals because of him to support the narrative. I would usually agree with you here, but those are shameful posts.
6
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 45
- Clean sheets
- 20
- Goals
- 1
- Assists
- 0
- Yellow cards
- 10
- Status
He actually gets paid for talking rubbish, which is a travesty.
I don't think we will play tiki-taka football as well. And tiki-taka is not the only possession-oriented tactics.
I guess we could argue in circles all day long. We will see in the coming 2-3 transfer windows what his intentions are. He is a highly adaptive coach so I wouldn't be surprised if he comes up with Option C.
He also forges tactics based on the players he has already. Tottenham (and England) don't play with a number 10. That's why Kane dropping deep works so great. While Bruno Fernandes is at Manchester United, I don't see how Kane can do the same.
Genuinely torn to choose my fave player. It would probably easily be case but this guy makes it so difficult to choose. He’s amazing.
How good is Timber? Reason I ask is because he was supposedly ETH's first choice and Martinez the second, but Martinez has been outstanding and I can hardly think of a CB in world football I would want over him right now. Is Timber supposed to be better?
Weird to think, Timber is actually a modern wide centerback playing on the right side. Lisandro is on the left, I don't actually believe the rumors.
That ESPN crew is proper shit, you know you are a B list production when your star man is Craig fecking Burley.
The problem with football punditry in general is that once you stop playing, your knowledge tends to become obsolete pretty fast and you end up trotting out cliche like the average Joe shapish. Of the Sky gang, weirdly, Henry is the one who talks the most sense and it's not even because he likes United, his analysis of Haaland the other day was excellent.
It's because Henry is involved in coaching and management. He needs to keep himself up to date with latest trends and novelties. Every single pundit can be more knowledgeable. They can study the current top managers, they can attend lectures and courses. Hell, they can learn from the many fantastic analysts on twitter.
But they don't. And a big part of the problem is that their employers incentivize them for staying ignorant. Because it creates engagement, clicks and debates. The economic model works much better if you have stupid pundits saying stupid things that stupid fans can argue about.
This. We saw his over my dead body mentality and that is was more important than a few inches..
Where did this origin from? I know Mark Goldbridge has been pushing this narrative for ages, but I've never seen a good source backing this up. United had been scouting many left footed centerbacks even pre Ten Haag, so I find it hard to believe that a right footed centerback was Ten Haags first and foremost priority. But it doesn't surprise me if Ten Haag is an admirer of Timber as on paper he seems to fit his playstyle perfectly.
Argentina. Argentina. Argentina.
Better quickly shift him to DM or this will be another big chunk of money thrown in the bin.
He's a liability as a CB? Who would have thought this? Not a single person on here said he would....
I think this shows, us fans, we have zero clue on players most of the time.
Posts that I saw on here. I don't usually follow the transfer news with any depth or regularity (Except for the big sagas) so probably something I saw on here
Agree about Thierry Henry.
I have been trying to find a clip of thisCan't put it into words how much I love him. He's so fecking good. That bit towards the end where he caused a bit of trouble, and then just walked away like he didn't give a shit. Reminds me of my cat. A total, utter bastard.
He's been brilliant. And while it's silly to compare him to the "great shorties" like Baresi, Cannavaro etc, he's definitely very much an outlier.
I still can't say I feel 100% confident when we're defending set pieces always though. There are definitely times you need a bit of brute aerial strength.
I agree that we should definitely get a young up and coming centre back early to take over the mantle when Varane inevitable does regress. However, I just think the narrative that you are finished at 31 is outdated, and quite frankly has been for a very long time. Barring injuries, I see little reason why Varane should lose much of his speed before his mid-thirties. He already holds back when sprinting, so unless he has to go all out, he doesn't, and I think that is very wise.
Varane relies less on his pace than he did, and as I've already mentioned, it is quite visible that he doesn't engage in a full sprint unless he really has to, so he looks to have found his own golden mean there. Everyone loses some speed after their mid-twenties, but not by much. Stronger muscles and better running technique can mitigate and even improve your actual speed.
What basic knowledge is there that footballers decline well after 32-33 really? Look at Ballon d'Or - most footballers on the top ten list have been, and are mostly in their thirties, and it's been that way for some time. There are some outliers such as Mbappe and Haaland, as they will likely be in contestion for the next decade and a half. Lewandowski and Benzema look fitter than ever. Modric is still making fun of other midfielders. Those that can take care of themselves and are "lucky" with injuries can last well into their thirties. So basic knowledge, I'm not so sure.
I don't believe anyone said that Varane will be finished as a player in two to three years time. But I do believe that the current EPL is very demanding as far as physicality is concerned due to the increased competition and increased level of coaching. And with many teams now adopting a high intensity play style off the ball via coordinated pressing higher up the pitch, It wouldn't surprise me if Varane declined a little in the next 2 to 3 years.
So my original point was that we should try and bring in the missing pieces ASAP due to having a peak Varane and Casemiro at the club. I want us to take advantage of their best years under a coach who wants to implement a progressive style from back to front, with and without the ball.
Those are anomalies. You can name a few, but not many can stay at the top level.
Varane and Casemiro is obviously model professionals, but I don't want to believe that there's at least another 4-5 years of this peak level of performances.
If I remember correctly, I even posted here defending him. Still remember Maguire and De Gea giving goals away and Martinez being taken out at halftime.
It's funny to do a little research from time to time. Now I can't
He's making use of what he currently has...shows how good of a manager he is that we're this good whilst missing crucial players in 3 or 4 key positions (GK, CM, ST most importantly).
I can guarantee you that as soon as we get a ball playing keeper and a new #8 to upgrade on Sabitzer and Eriksen, we will be dominating possession against most teams, just like how City and Arsenal are doing this season.
This couldn't be further from the truth, but possession doesn't equal "boring football" either. Football is in a completely different era compared to the early 2010s where Spain and Barcelona often got called boring in spite of their success.
Am I mad for thinking he's the best CB in Europe/World football?
I know he didnt start for Argentina in the WC but he's better than both Otamendi and Romero.
I know he didnt start for Argentina in the WC but he's better than both Otamendi and Romero.
You're not mad. He's sheer class.
I’m starting to ask the same question. No one comes to mind who is clearly better than Martinez right now.
As for Argentina, WC winners, incredible that they pulled off a WC win with their best defender on the bench.
Not one CB in the world I'd trade him for...sure, there are other great left footed ball-playing CBs out there, like Gvardiol or Laporte...however, do they have the tenacity and mentality of Licha? Do they turn with the ball like him? I don't think so. Martínez is already a rare breed (left footed, ball-playing elite CB), but even amongst them he's pretty unique.
Busquets' legs are gone. He's been poor for more than a season.
Another thing I like about him is that he doesn't piss around with modern-day theatrics. He'll get a good kicking and just get on with it
I didn't know he'd be this good but I was surprised his transfer speculation thread was so quiet until it was almost done. I always felt he'd be a top player.
Would have been gutted if he'd gone to Arsenal (which he would have done if we went for Poch instead)
I didn't know he'd be this good but I was surprised his transfer speculation thread was so quiet until it was almost done. I always felt he'd be a top player.
Would have been gutted if he'd gone to Arsenal (which he would have done if we went for Poch instead)
He throws himself into challengers like his life depends on it. That 50/50 in the box with the Newcastle CB sums him up perfectly.
He knew he was going to get nailed but he stuck his head in there anyway and saved us from a sure 1-0. He came out with a bleeding head AGAIN, but carried on like nothing happened.
He really is a warrior.
Tbf I don't think the name "butcher" does him justice. He's class in everything he does. His tackles are hard but not dirty. His technique is top notch and his distribution flawless. He can sweep a ball over the other side of the pitch perfectly weighted and find his man. Add to that he's as tough as nails and you've got the perfect player.
This I agree with. Well said, sir.
Who declines so rapidly at 30 then? I think those would be the anomalies. Rooney comes to mind. Not the elite professional though.
Ramos as 33 was still brilliant. Rio was despite a severe back injury that held him back. If Varane escapes serious injuies, he may last anlong while yet. Same with Casemiro. They need cover as they cannot play every match at 33-35.
Ramos at 33 is at the end of his peak though - 32/33 really is the most prolonged peak. You literally can't arrest the decline in explosive strength and speed after that point, you can still be a good player and if your game wasn't ever reliant on pace/acceleration like Modric or Benzema you can stay at the elite level longer.
Timber is great but nowhere near as mature, solid, and a leader as Martinez. Timber needed Martinez, Martinez doesn't need anyone.
He's had a poor season for his standards but I am not moved by that. I feel like in the previous seasons, Timber was close or on Martinez level (but because he had Martinez leading him).
What Martinez brings with his passing, Timber brings with his rushes, dribbling, agility and speed. He creates space and opportunitjes from deep by his carries, and he is an adept passer of the ball (not Martinez) level. On the ball, what he brings offensively, would be an improvement on Varane and great.
He's very strong in the tackle, also able to stop attackers by his great agility. He's agressive and also very fast for a CB, he's good in the air, maybe not as good as Martinez and also not als invincible and strong. But he is able to shut down any forward, he manhandled Lewandowski before the WC.
His partnership with Blind / Bassey / Alvarez hasnt been great this season in a very poor and unbalanced Ajax team, he's been making errors.
I feel like Varane and Martinez is a very complimentary duo, Timber would be an awesome understudy. But I'm sure he'll aim for more.
It is no disgrace if EtH prioritised to get him over Martinez, even though Martinez is a lot better. Timber is a hell of a talent, his age and speed make him a huge prodigy.
Thanks for the replies, mates.
Yes. We're incredibly "lucky" to have ETH to make this happened, as I don't think he'd even in our previous scout radar. I just think that if he performed as good as he's now at United, more Clubs would take notice.
Shouldn't being versatile is even an advantage if Clubs saw him doing well in both positions?
It's interesting to me the difference between him and someone like Rojo. He has far more quality on the ball of course, but how he manages to temper his aggression and time it perfectly, and never get sent off so far for us, whereas Rojo had that fire but was a walking red card. He is clearly a very smart and disciplined player. He is going to be huge for us in the coming years.
Hindsight and all that but what a belter this one is regardless
"But, Marge, that little guy hasn't done anything yet. Look at him. He's going to do something and you know it's going to be good."
- Status