Sergej Milinković-Savić

Master Yoda

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A midfield 3 of Casemiro, SMS and Eriksen has the potential to be excellent. Every attribute you'd want in midfield covered, and then some.

Of course we said the same about Matic, Herrera and Pogba. And Schweiny, Schneiderlin and Mata before that.
Herrera, Matic and Pogba were brilliant together. How long was that winning streak or unbeaten run that sealed Ole job?
 

hobbers

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Herrera, Matic and Pogba were brilliant together. How long was that winning streak or unbeaten run that sealed Ole job?
They were very good together in a few games under Jose and Ole's first few games as well.

But then Matic went off the boil under Jose in his second season and was abysmal until Ole came in. And Pogba of course was injured more than not. And then we didnt tie down Herrera.

So an excellent midfield in theory but we almost never got the benefit of it.
 

Master Yoda

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They were very good together in a few games under Jose and Ole's first few games as well.

But then Matic went off the boil under Jose in his second season and was abysmal until Ole came in. And Pogba of course was injured more than not. And then we didnt tie down Herrera.

So an excellent midfield in theory but we almost never got the benefit of it.
Good for just few games? Are you mad? We are talking about double digits run of either win streak or being unbeaten.

Can someone find the correct data that sealed Ole job? I cant seem to find it, 29 unbeaten run but not sure thats the one.
 

hobbers

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Good for just few games? Are you mad? We are talking about double digits run of either win streak or being unbeaten.

Can someone find the correct data that sealed Ole job? I cant seem to find it, 29 unbeaten run but not sure thats the one.
It was a 12 game unbeaten run. Matic, Pogba and Herrera all started together in 7 of those. They all got injured at some point or another and by the end of that run, the McFred partnership had been born. And then we won 2 of the last 9 games of the season. :lol:
 

Devil77

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It was a 12 game unbeaten run. Matic, Pogba and Herrera all started together in 7 of those. They all got injured at some point or another and by the end of that run, the McFred partnership had been born. And then we won 2 of the last 9 games of the season. :lol:
:lol:
 

Master Yoda

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It was a 12 game unbeaten run. Matic, Pogba and Herrera all started together in 7 of those. They all got injured at some point or another and by the end of that run, the McFred partnership had been born. And then we won 2 of the last 9 games of the season. :lol:
Can you give me dates, when the run started and ended? And are you technicaly saying Matic, Herr and Pogba are still unbeaten till this day because of injuries and herrera leaving? That would be hilarious, I remember all the trouble Herrera was facing off court regarding contract. It also makes sense 3 of them not starting every match, you do need to rest players once in a while.
 
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Rauður Djöfull

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I wonder (hope) if we are after one more midfielder? Would SMS fit well with Casemiro? Like if Case replaces Fred and SMS replaces Mctominay?
For only 40 mill if true, seems we should try and go for him as well and sell Mctominay
 

youmeletsfly

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I wonder (hope) if we are after one more midfielder? Would SMS fit well with Casemiro? Like if Case replaces Fred and SMS replaces Mctominay?
For only 40 mill if true, seems we should try and go for him as well and sell Mctominay
Nope, not at all. SMS is more of a roaming 8/10, in the Pogba mould. He also arrives quite a few times in the box. I mean, in a setup where he's one of the main men, yes, he would work, but our forwards are too limited to support a roaming 10 and we see that with Bruno all day.

The SMS setup doesn't really depend on Casemiro, it depends on the whole forward and midfield line, as he likes to go up and leaves massive space behind him.

As a side note, one of my best friends plays for Lazio. He's been there for more than 10 seasons. I'll ask to see if I can get anything from him, but I tried before and it didn't work :D.
 

manuchamp88

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Surely we should have this ticking away in the background when de Jong inevitably doesn't happen?
 

Infra-red

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De Jong isn't a DM though. We need another quality CM.
It appears we didn't have a particular profile - we just wanted a good midfielder. De Jong is nothing like Rabiot who is nothing like Casemiro. Equally, there's very little comparison between Sesko and Gakpo, or Sommer/Trapp and Dubravka.
 

manuchamp88

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It appears we didn't have a particular profile - we just wanted a good midfielder. De Jong is nothing like Rabiot who is nothing like Casemiro. Equally, there's very little comparison between Sesko and Gakpo, or Sommer/Trapp and Dubravka.
Can't beat United's transfer philosophy. The envy of world football!
 

Trequarista10

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De Jong isn't a DM though. We need another quality CM.
Agreed. Casemiro and a player like SMS or De Jong would be a formidable duo. We have quantity though in Eriksen, Fred, McTominay who could partner Casemiro, and possibly Garner or VDB, so I'm concerned we won't bring in another CM just yet.
 

kaku06

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Thank God we aren’t signing him. I was losing my shit over the rumours. All you lot who have been screaming for us to sign him clearly don’t watch serie A.

If you want a midfielder who is slow, physically weak despite his size, not good in possession, not great in vision, doesn’t control games, doesn’t have a great engine, doesn’t have recovery pace then fine sign him. The pace and physicality of premier league would eat him alive. If you thought matic was slow and passive when he came here then just wait for this guy.

He is a good midfielder for serie a who has the right timing for arriving in the box, has a knack of scoring goals, can pick short passes around the box because of the slow nature of the league so has a lot of time to do that , if anyone who have watched him week in week out would know all about his strengths and weaknesses. He is the Francesco Acerbi of midfielders, his teammate btw. Slow , passive and inconsistent.

If there is one midfielder I can recommend from serie A for the same amount of money it would be Tonali. Haven’t pulled up the trees with Milan and have also been inconsistent due to him being still young, just turned 22 but you just watch him and you just know that he has got it. Vision, technique, tenacious. Boy has a lot. But SMS no, just no.
 

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if anyone who have watched him week in week out would know all about his strengths and weaknesses
it's weird because someone earlier in the thread who does watch him regularly for club and country said very different things to you
 

MadDogg

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Can you give me dates, when the run started and ended? And are you technicaly saying Matic, Herr and Pogba are still unbeaten till this day because of injuries and herrera leaving? That would be hilarious, I remember all the trouble Herrera was facing off court regarding contract. It also makes sense 3 of them not starting every match, you do need to rest players once in a while.
From memory the three of them played together 17 times in total (mostly in that run after Ole took over, but also a few before that). Actually didn't start well with a draw and loss in the first two matches, but then went 14 wins and a draw for the remaining games.
 

kaku06

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it's weird because someone earlier in the thread who does watch him regularly for club and country said very different things to you
I don’t know who said what but I’m sticking to my judgement after watching him regularly for Lazio. All his good qualities would never come good in premier league and all his bad qualities would get exposed a hell lot more. You can make your own judgement, just watch him this season for few months and you would know where I’m coming from. Luis Alberto outperforms him most of the times. Lazio is a weird team, players can look good there but there is no player worth looking at from that club in my opinion.

Claudio Lotito is desperately trying to get high money for him for many years. Always talking about how he is one of the best midfielders in the world and what not. How he is easily a £100m player. Bla bla bla. No one has returned his calls.

Guy never stood out in his whole career for me. He doesn’t stand out even in his own team lazio. When people watched him in last international tournament closely, they noticed how underwhelming he is but that wasn’t surprising. You have to be very very careful with serie A. Players can look class there but very very few can replicate their form elsewhere. Serie a regular watchers who also watch premier league equally would know the difference and understand this. The demands of the leagues are different.
 

Master Yoda

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From memory the three of them played together 17 times in total (mostly in that run after Ole took over, but also a few before that). Actually didn't start well with a draw and loss in the first two matches, but then went 14 wins and a draw for the remaining games.
Insane streak...

Anyways... looks like another wasted year. I swear to god I will be pulling my hair if we buy him when hes 30+ of age, rust and dusted. Remember when we said Matic was good but wished we got him a little sooner?
 

avgp_1

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I don’t know who said what but I’m sticking to my judgement after watching him regularly for Lazio. All his good qualities would never come good in premier league and all his bad qualities would get exposed a hell lot more. You can make your own judgement, just watch him this season for few months and you would know where I’m coming from. Luis Alberto outperforms him most of the times. Lazio is a weird team, players can look good there but there is no player worth looking at from that club in my opinion.

Claudio Lotito is desperately trying to get high money for him for many years. Always talking about how he is one of the best midfielders in the world and what not. How he is easily a £100m player. Bla bla bla. No one has returned his calls.

Guy never stood out in his whole career for me. He doesn’t stand out even in his own team lazio. When people watched him in last international tournament closely, they noticed how underwhelming he is but that wasn’t surprising. You have to be very very careful with serie A. Players can look class there but very very few can replicate their form elsewhere. Serie a regular watchers who also watch premier league equally would know the difference and understand this. The demands of the leagues are different.
While that is true for the average Serie A games, lot of the games between the bigger sides is quite a bit faster. You see the qualities, better against say a Napoli or a Milan. SMS last season really looked good in the bigger games I watched. He has good qualities that will come through irrespective of the league.
 

manuchamp88

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Nope, not at all. SMS is more of a roaming 8/10, in the Pogba mould. He also arrives quite a few times in the box. I mean, in a setup where he's one of the main men, yes, he would work, but our forwards are too limited to support a roaming 10 and we see that with Bruno all day.

The SMS setup doesn't really depend on Casemiro, it depends on the whole forward and midfield line, as he likes to go up and leaves massive space behind him.

As a side note, one of my best friends plays for Lazio. He's been there for more than 10 seasons. I'll ask to see if I can get anything from him, but I tried before and it didn't work :D.
Surely that would work with Casemiro and potentially Bruno dropping back?

Also, who's your friend?
 

kaku06

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While that is true for the average Serie A games, lot of the games between the bigger sides is quite a bit faster. You see the qualities, better against say a Napoli or a Milan. SMS last season really looked good in the bigger games I watched. He has good qualities that will come through irrespective of the league.
No, that’s not true. I respectfully disagree. Only some games are which is normal but by and large it’s quite a tactical league which is slow by nature as they are focused on team shape, positions and low block rather than pressing. On SMS, i’m really not exaggerating when i say that he would be eaten alive in the premier league. Slow on and off the ball, lack of agility, giving away possession cheaply are just some of things which would be exposed alot more in premier league.

I’m watching Lazio v inter right now and you can see all those things for yourself. Guy is a just a decent player. Got an assist for Anderson goal but the point still stands. Not even serie a giants rate him that highly, normally Juve, Milan, Inter pounce on any good player from serie A but no one has gone for him and there is a reason for that. I don’t know how and why he is rated so highly here. I don’t understand where the hype is coming from.
 

avgp_1

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No, that’s not true. I respectfully disagree. Only some games are which is normal but by and large it’s quite a tactical league which is slow by nature as they are focused on team shape, positions and low block rather than pressing. On SMS, i’m really not exaggerating when i say that he would be eaten alive in the premier league. Slow on and off the ball, lack of agility, giving away possession cheaply are just some of things which would be exposed alot more in premier league.

I’m watching Lazio v inter right now and you can see all those things for yourself. Guy is a just a decent player. Got an assist for Anderson goal but the point still stands. Not even serie a giants rate him that highly, normally Juve, Milan, Inter pounce on any good player from serie A but no one has gone for him and there is a reason for that. I don’t know how and why he is rated so highly here. I don’t understand where the hype is coming from.
Its his style of play which makes him seem slow, he is not slow by any means. He doesnt mindlessly chase after everything but makes smart runs, he presses decently well. I have seen quite a bit of good things, the ability to find a with a quick pass round the corner when pressed, strong vision, winning 50-50s and creativity. He is not a 80m player, for about 40m he is a very good option. Doubt most Serie A teams would pay that for a midfielder
 

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Its his style of play which makes him seem slow, he is not slow by any means. He doesnt mindlessly chase after everything but makes smart runs, he presses decently well. I have seen quite a bit of good things, the ability to find a with a quick pass round the corner when pressed, strong vision, winning 50-50s and creativity. He is not a 80m player, for about 40m he is a very good option. Doubt most Serie A teams would pay that for a midfielder
True that he isn't that slow, but he is lazy and gives away the ball pretty easily. I see him as a less physical and less talented Pogba. Lacks consistency also.