This Mauritanian goalie is long

Just checked, and he's listed as 6'5. Looks taller than that, cos he's very slim.

Caicedobets:
Maatsen Broja and Gallagher
You see these three names
They won't make it at Chelsea with the current policy of this new regime

If Maatsen likes he can make 20 assists and whatever he will still be sold.Why? His fee would go down as pure profit in FFP terms all to counterbalance the mistakes of overpaying for flops we signed for big money

how ironic not saying he is a flop but is caicedo worth the fee we paid? the way people were drumming for him you will think he will lift us from tenth to fifth.

These people are too obsessed with shooting from range.

BlueMann:
These people are too obsessed with shooting from range.

Exactly!!

Leverkusen...wow.

Twice behind at Leipzig, twice they equalized and then they grabbed the winner late in stoppage time. Amazing show of character.

Grimaldo continues to be Europe's most menacing full back, with two assists. 18 g/a, and we're only still in January.

Leverkusen's unbeaten season continues.

Onus now on Bayern to respond with a similar result.

BlueMann:
Leverkusen...wow.

Twice behind at Leipzig, twice they equalized and then they grabbed the winner late in stoppage time. Amazing show of character.

Grimaldo continues to be Europe's most menacing full back, with two assists. 18 g/a, and we're only still in January.

Leverkusen's unbeaten season continues.

Onus now on Bayern to respond with a similar result.

Last week too they grabbed a late winner

Their luck will soon runout

Leyqute:


The older generation fvcked up that Euro 2008 qualification due to complacency. All they had to do against Croatia was avoid a defeat. At Wembley. But as usual, they punched below their weight.

The new squad beating Germany on their way down is nothing. S. Korea also defeated this same Germany. And they’ve been pisspoor in major competitions for the last decade or so.

That older team is stacked from front to back. A. Cole. Rio. Gerrard. Owen. Rooney. Forget. Talents yapa.

My point was that they were more talented, albeit less successful, than this current team. This current team has been kinda lucky in terms of oppositions in big tournaments. Else, they won’t even make the Ro16.

Sure, they’re not done yet, there’s another major competition on the way. But if that idiatic coach of theirs persists with Magwaya and co, they likely won’t go far.

If their so called expected mates are not doing well, not qualifying for tournaments or getting knocked out in group phase then who do we blame?

The older generation did they beat any of their mates at any tournament? From 2002 to 2016? I haven't checked but can barely remember

At least current team will say they beat Germany in Euro 2020

raumdeuter:


If their so called expected mates are not doing well, not qualifying for tournaments or getting knocked out in group phase then who do we blame?

The older generation did they beat any of their mates at any tournament? From 2002 to 2016? I haven't checked but can barely remember

At least current team will say they beat Germany in Euro 2020

Germany has been rubbish in the last 5 years abeg

Super eagles would also have defeated Germany home and away

AdisaOwala:


Germany has been rubbish in the last 5 years abeg

Super eagles would also have defeated Germany home and away

There were rubbish teams that the older generation could not beat

Go and see the teams that knocked them out of 2014 world cup

raumdeuter:


There were rubbish teams that the older generation could not beat

Go and see the teams that knocked them out of 2014 world cup

If we are to critically assess the 2 English sides in terms of talent/player quality, the older Generation trumps this current crop of players....

The failures of them Rooney and co dey very embarrassing tbvh but they weren't the only ones : the Argentina team 2006 -2010 readily comes to mind.

Prime messi failed miserably with them Prime Tevez/Aguero etc that year but won world cup with them McAllister and co...

E dey happen

AdisaOwala:


If we are to critically assess the 2 English sides in terms of talent/player quality, the older Generation trumps this current crop of players....

The failures of them Rooney and co dey very embarrassing tbvh but they weren't the only ones : the Argentina team 2006 -2010 readily comes to mind.

Prime messi failed miserably with them Prime Tevez/Aguero etc that year but won world cup with them McAllister and co...

E dey happen

Football is about balance

I don't agree that that England generation was better than this one nor that the Argentina generation of 2006 to 2010 was better than this one

That England Generation lacked a DM, LW and a number 9 and arguably a RB and GK. The lack of DM harmed them everytime, and they also had to shoehorn an obsolete David Beckham in a 4-4-2 outdated system Just because of Beckhams popularity. They lost every midfield battle as a result. Imagine playing Lampard, Gerrard, Joe Cole, Beckham midfield with Rooney and Heskey as striker. How is this remotely a good team except for 3 names on paper?

Argentina team of 2010 had same problem, their midfield was non existent and therefore they are nowhere close to this generation

RLC puts Milan ahead.

AdisaOwala:


If we are to critically assess the 2 English sides in terms of talent/player quality, the older Generation trumps this current crop of players....

The failures of them Rooney and co dey very embarrassing tbvh but they weren't the only ones : the Argentina team 2006 -2010 readily comes to mind.

Prime messi failed miserably with them Prime Tevez/Aguero etc that year but won world cup with them McAllister and co...

E dey happen

You are basically giving Argentina 4yrs of evaluation and England 2000 to 2016. 16yrs

Compare them
Argentina 2006 lost to Germany
Argentina 2010 lost to Germany

Vs

England was crashing out to Iceland,
not qualifying for Euro 2008,
failing to qualify in a group of Costa Rica

Ibime:


Football is about balance

I don't agree that that England generation was better than this one nor that the Argentina generation of 2006 to 2010 was better than this one

That England Generation lacked a DM, LW and a number 9 and arguably a RB and GK. The lack of DM harmed them everytime, and they also had to shoehorn an obsolete David Beckham in a 4-4-2 outdated system Just because of Beckhams popularity. They lost every midfield battle as a result. Imagine playing Lampard, Gerrard, Joe Cole, Beckham midfield with Rooney and Heskey as striker. How is this remotely a good team except for 3 names on paper?

Argentina team of 2010 had same problem, their midfield was non existent and therefore they are nowhere close to this generation

Las Las, it would all be down to personal preference/opinion cos when I remember say na them Pickford (who isn't really an upgrade on Robinson), Stones, Declan rice, Mason Mount we wan dey compare to them Ferdinand, Campbell, Hargreaves (quality DM), Gerrard, Scholes Rooney etc, I no know how to continue.

Argie with Riquelme, Mascherano, Lucho Gonzalez, Cambiaso etc no get midfield that year?

Okay o

Ibime:


Football is about balance

I don't agree that that England generation was better than this one nor that the Argentina generation of 2006 to 2010 was better than this one

That England Generation lacked a DM, LW and a number 9 and arguably a RB and GK. The lack of DM harmed them everytime, and they also had to shoehorn an obsolete David Beckham in a 4-4-2 outdated system Just because of Beckhams popularity. They lost every midfield battle as a result. Imagine playing Lampard, Gerrard, Joe Cole, Beckham midfield with Rooney and Heskey as striker. How is this remotely a good team except for 3 names on paper?

Argentina team of 2010 had same problem, their midfield was non existent and therefore they are nowhere close to this generation

While I agree with the overall premise of your post about having a balance seeing a team like Argentina will parade 4 world class attackers including a GOAT but have 2nd division keepers and defenders.

You can have weak spot as long as the players there are decent enough to play 1st division league level football

With England 2000 to 2016. All their first 11 were Top league level starters. G.Neville though not world class was decent/serviceable, They had decent enough GK, James is still better than this Pickford, trying to shoehorn some undroppable players like Gerrard into formations also cost them plus many teams at that time were prime. That England team at that strength brought to this generation when everyone is almost useless will do better

Even right now this England Generation is doing patch patch in Goal keeping, LB CB and are heavy in some areas like RB

Argentina just won a world cup with Otamendi Romero CB Add Tagliafico Molina Enzo DePaul and MacAlister. Thats like 70% of the team mid

Tournament football has a format and its to stay solid defensively, counter and use set pieces well

You can win a tournament with 7 defensive work horses 1 mercurial AM and 1 sharp attacker

raumdeuter:


You are basically giving Argentina 4yrs of evaluation and England 2000 to 2016. 16yrs

Compare them
Argentina 2006 lost to Germany
Argentina 2010 lost to Germany

On paper, Argentina was stronger than Germany on the 2 occasions you listed...

The point here is that the Argies were also terrible underachievers, given the crop of players they paraded

raumdeuter:


England was crashing out to Iceland,
not qualifying for Euro 2008,
failing to qualify in a group of Costa Rica

That's why I agreed that the results were terribly shocking

Na team strength/quality I dey talk and I still maintain that the older Generation team was stronger than this current set

AdisaOwala:


On paper, Argentina was stronger than Germany on the 2 occasions you listed...

The point here is that the Argies were also terrible underachievers, given the crop of players they paraded



That's why I agreed that the results were terribly shocking

Na team strength/quality I dey talk and I still maintain that the older Generation team team was stronger than this current set

If Argentina was stronger than Germany it was still marginal. One of them Germany was at home and won via penalties

None was on the level of embarrassment England faced sometimes

AdisaOwala:

Argie with Riquelme, Mascherano, Lucho Gonzalez, Cambiaso etc no get midfield that year?

Okay o

See am na, where is the midfield here. Not a single CM amongst them, and a CB who has long since pafuka as a DM playing DM. Why won't they chop 4-0. Many names on paper does not make a team. This team is useless and midfield is nonexistent

Ibime:


See am na, where is the midfield here. Not a single CM amongst them,

Javier pastore no fit play CM?
and a CB who has long since pafuka as a DM playing DM. Why won't they chop 4-0. Many names on paper does not make a team. This team is useless and midfield is nonexistent

The coach shoulda paired Mascherano with Javier Pastore - the combination woulda made the team more balanced.

This one na Maradonna fault abeg

AdisaOwala:


The coach shoulda paired Mascherano with Javier Pastore - the combination woulda made the team more balanced.

This one na Maradonna fault abeg

Is Pastore a CM? Another useless passenger AM

Let's go down the substitute list and point out a CM for me. That Argentina team was simply wack. You can never win without at least performing basic functions of each area of the pitch and Argentina had no functional midfield

Ibime:


Is Pastore a CM? Another useless passenger AM

Let's go down the substitute list and point out a CM for me. That Argentina team was simply wack. You can never win without at least performing basic functions of each area of the pitch and Argentina had no functional midfield

Lol

Pastore,an AM by default, has played (and thrived) in a CM role - we both know this!

Aside that,was it lack of CM that made them Messi, Di maria, Tevez etc to fire blanks vs a defence of Federich and Per-fucking-Metersacker?

Okay o

izzou:
Why can't Nigeria attack like any of these teams?

Ehn?

Because the team is not balance. Ndidi was greatly missed.

It’s rare to see African teams recording the score-lines we had today. End to end stuffs, attacking setups and entertaining games.

Not the usual gidigbo footie they’re known for. Good development honestly. It hasn’t been a bad mundial, and I’m sure more are still to come in the KO stages.

AdisaOwala:


Lol

Pastore,an AM by default, has played (and thrived) in a CM role - we both know this!

Aside that,was it lack of CM that made them Messi, Di maria, Tevez etc to fire blanks vs a defence of Federich and Per-fucking-Metersacker?

Okay o

Where did Pastore thrive as a CM?

At Palermo, It was Nocerino who was running the show with some other Italian ninjas in the midfield. At PSG, Matuidi was the lone CM in the team when Pastore was signed. One would have expected the club to forgo the option of signing additional CMs, since they had Pastore, who according to you thrived in a CM position.

However, the club went ahead to sign Verrati, Rabiot and Cabaye.

So where did he thrive as a CM?

Griffon:


Where did Pastore thrive as a CM?

At Palermo, It was Nocerino who was running the show with some other Italian ninjas in the midfield. At PSG, Matuidi was the lone CM in the team when Pastore was signed. One would have expected the club to forgo the option of signing additional CMs, since they had Pastore, who according to you thrived in a CM position.

However, the club went ahead to sign Verrati, Rabiot and Cabaye.

So where did he thrive as a CM?

If you check my initial post, I clearly stated that his Primary role was AM.

However, when pushed deeper, he did well..

Espn:

Although Pastore has done well in his position in central midfield since the start of the season, it is difficult to believe that he would not be better off in this team playing behind Cavani and Zlatan Ibrahimovichttps://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/37402406/stale-psg-run-ideas-held-rennes

Roma:

An incredibly gifted operator, the 29-year-old will bring some crucial creativity and imagination into Roma's midfield ranks. Moreover, his versatility, which sees him capable of fulfilling many roles within central and attacking midfield areas will ensure Eusebio Di Francesco will have plenty of tactical flexibility as to how best deploy him.https://www.asroma.com/en/news/39649/opinion-pastore-will-add-intelligence-and-guile-to-roma-attack

Javier Pastore:

Tactically I have to be good at helping the team defend. Even in Paris I played many times as a midfielder, although in a different way.
https://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Serie-A/Roma/29-07-2018/roma-pastore-qui-vincere-tutto-io-mezzala-anche-psg-2801007863412.shtml

gazzettadellosport:

he can help the team by returning to get the ball, defending it or starting wide.
https://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/22-09-2009/next-generation-pastore-501370852132.shtml

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1733302-paris-saint-germain-laurent-blancs-fragile-midfield-needs-a-makeover

AdisaOwala:


If you check my initial post, I clearly stated that his Primary role was AM.

However, when pushed deeper, he did well..









Another excerpt from the article below

he can help the team by returning to get the ball, defending it or starting wide.
https://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/22-09-2009/next-generation-pastore-501370852132.shtml


https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1733302-paris-saint-germain-laurent-blancs-fragile-midfield-needs-a-makeover

Story. Pastore was a wack CM and whatever runbish he learned of that role was in his later years, not in 2010

Argentina went to that tournament with 2 CBs barely capable of playing DM (Mascherano and Dimechelis) and no CM whatsoever

No natural DM, no natural CM, they were a wack team and got rightfully booted out. 100 Tevez, Agueros, Higuains and Messis won't compensate for a wack squad.

Ibime:


Story. Pastore was a wack CM and whatever runbish he learned of that role was in his later years, not in 2010

Argentina went to that tournament with 2 CBs barely capable of playing DM (Mascherano and Dimechelis) and no CM whatsoever

No natural DM, no natural CM, they were a wack team and got rightfully booted out. 100 Tevez, Agueros, Higuains and Messis won't compensate for a wack squad.

Lol

Okay o

raumdeuter:


Last week too they grabbed a late winner

Their luck will soon runout

We shall see

Regardless, it's been an unbelievable run

These mfs have not lost a single game this season!

raumdeuter:


Last week too they grabbed a late winner

Their luck will soon runout

I was going to say the same thing. It has to be mentally draining and you can only get so much luck doing that, especially in a league format that is only halfway.

With that being said, Alonso is doing one hell of a job with this team. I have good memories of players like Neuville, Basturk, ZeReberto, Lucio, Ramelow, a younger Ballack, a young Berbatov.. they lit up the Champions league

Ibime:


Story. Pastore was a wack CM and whatever runbish he learned of that role was in his later years, not in 2010

Argentina went to that tournament with 2 CBs barely capable of playing DM (Mascherano and Dimechelis) and no CM whatsoever

No natural DM, no natural CM, they were a wack team and got rightfully booted out. 100 Tevez, Agueros, Higuains and Messis won't compensate for a wack squad.

Let's even disagree to agree on Pastore, whose fault was it that Cambiasso and Javier Zanetti - 2 midfielders in excellent form at that time, were left out of the World cup?

Like I said earlier, blame Maradona Biko!

And to think they could line up like this with

Higuain

Di Maria

Diego Milito

Mascherano

All on the bench?

The kinda players Argentina had in 2010 - them suppose wipe Maradonna Oraimo cord for neck for failing to achieve anything tangible.