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Transfers January 2022 - Transfer Window

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How will we survive without two creative midfielders who have a handful of assists combined to their name since joining the club.
Firstly it’s not just about assists- there are others markers of creativity.

But the hope was that Conte would be able to raise the level of at least one of them. Sadly Ndombele still has a poor attitude and GLC is still injury prone.

Selling/ ostracising both without any similar replacement is a bit of a disaster.
 
Not sure why everyone is obsessed with goal scoring midfielders. If we play 3 attackers in theory they should have more than enough.

I mean look at Bruno Fernandes, can’t pass, can’t tackle, least press resistant player you can think of but amazing in and around the box. Goal scoring midfielders like Fernandes, peak Dele Alli, Siggy, Dempsey generally can’t run games, for what you get with their goals you lose back in their lack of midfield control.

Their are exceptions like De Bruyne but those are rare players beyond our budget.
 
Firstly it’s not just about assists- there are others markers of creativity.

But the hope was that Conte would be able to raise the level of at least one of them. Sadly Ndombele still has a poor attitude and GLC is still injury prone.

Selling/ ostracising both without any similar replacement is a bit of a disaster.

They don't make many key passes either. Nor do they really help bring the best out of players around them. So if they don't assist, they don't make key passes, and they don't bring the best out of teammates .. what do they do?

And we've pretty much been without GLC all season anyway, and Ndombele only played when we were corona hit, and there's no disaster. Because both are tremendous flops who are barely worth a squad place.

They need to be sold (if possible, it will be hard to shift them) and players in their roles brought in who can actually provide something tangible to the team.
 
If we assume his injuries will continue then this is a good time to sell.
Or Conte finds a solution where he works in certain routines to reduce injuries/ change diet etc.?
Important to note that Conte hasn’t publicly dismissed GLC like he did to Ndombele today.

Does he have the talent to rely justify the enormous risk of keeping him?
What’s the opportunity cost of keeping him? It’s big like we’ll get good money in, or have any good replacement.

Does he even want to stay here, in this league?
He helped convince Romero to move
 
Not sure why everyone is obsessed with goal scoring midfielders. If we play 3 attackers in theory they should have more than enough.

I mean look at Bruno Fernandes, can’t pass, can’t tackle, least press resistant player you can think of but amazing in and around the box. Goal scoring midfielders like Fernandes, peak Dele Alli, Siggy, Dempsey generally can’t run games, for what you get with their goals you lose back in their lack of midfield control.

Their are exceptions like De Bruyne but those are rare players beyond our budget.

Sliding scale right there.... :contesmile:
 
This is so unfair- some of his creative passing for Man U is unbelievable. Maybe not in recent months as everyone at the club is struggling.

I am referring to his general midfield passing not his passing in and around the box. Even in his peak times United relied on others to run the game because he can’t do that. I can see his value but you cannot have more than 1 Fernandes type player on the pitch or the midfield battle is lost.
 
They don't make many key passes either. Nor do they really help bring the best out of players around them. So if they don't assist, they don't make key passes, and they don't bring the best out of teammates .. what do they do?

And we've pretty much been without GLC all season anyway, and Ndombele only played when we were corona hit, and there's no disaster. Because both are tremendous flops who are barely worth a squad place.

They need to be sold (if possible, it will be hard to shift them) and players in their roles brought in who can actually provide something tangible to the team.

This is absolutely central to all the guff surrounding who to sell and who gets kept.....

Stay or go isn't important to me..... It's about trying to adequately replace them.
 
Not sure why everyone is obsessed with goal scoring midfielders. If we play 3 attackers in theory they should have more than enough.

I mean look at Bruno Fernandes, can’t pass, can’t tackle, least press resistant player you can think of but amazing in and around the box. Goal scoring midfielders like Fernandes, peak Dele Alli, Siggy, Dempsey generally can’t run games, for what you get with their goals you lose back in their lack of midfield control.

Their are exceptions like De Bruyne but those are rare players beyond our budget.

I think, as far as Conte's Inter and Chelsea teams go, the goals mostly came from the forwards and wing-backs. Modric and Dembele are 2 midfielders that hardly scored or assisted, but they did help us get control of games and open up space for other players to do their thing.

I don't even think we need a Modric or Dembele type (though I wouldn't turn them down if we could sign that type of player). I think we need a Carrick type of player who can take the ball from the defence and ping it accurately to our wide players and forwards, whilst being defensively solid. I guess Matic did this job for Conte at Chelsea and Brozovic did it at Inter.
 
I think, as far as Conte's Inter and Chelsea teams go, the goals mostly came from the forwards and wing-backs. Modric and Dembele are 2 midfielders that hardly scored or assisted, but they did help us get control of games and open up space for other players to do their thing.

I don't even think we need a Modric or Dembele type (though I wouldn't turn them down if we could sign that type of player). I think we need a Carrick type of player who can take the ball from the defence and ping it accurately to our wide players and forwards, whilst being defensively solid. I guess Matic did this job for Conte at Chelsea and Brozovic did it at Inter.

Brozovic is perfect and will be free soon.
 
Or Conte finds a solution where he works in certain routines to reduce injuries/ change diet etc.?
Important to note that Conte hasn’t publicly dismissed GLC like he did to Ndombele today.


What’s the opportunity cost of keeping him? It’s big like we’ll get good money in, or have any good replacement.


He helped convince Romero to move
I know we all joke about his diet, it it’s all about his attitude.
 
Or Conte finds a solution where he works in certain routines to reduce injuries/ change diet etc.?
Important to note that Conte hasn’t publicly dismissed GLC like he did to Ndombele today.

What’s the opportunity cost of keeping him? It’s big like we’ll get good money in, or have any good replacement.

He helped convince Romero to move

We need to create space for someone who can regularly contribute and hopefully improve us.....

(I don't expect him to be fit enough to sell in January, but that's the ideal......)
 
I suppose if we play a 3 but I don’t really think Conte’s system is about creativity from the midfield, more the attackers and wing backs similar to Liverpool.

He didn't have an out and out 10 who was the source of creativity/goals, but his CM's did chip in with a few goals each and a handful of assists. I don't think we necessarily need a Fernandes type, but we do need more players who have the technical ability to pick a pass or can make runs in to the box.
 
We need to create space for someone who can regularly contribute and hopefully improve us.....

(I don't expect him to be fit enough to sell in January, but that's the ideal......)
But no one can name anyone who would replace Ndombele/ GLC in our squad.

Kessie/Brozovic/Phillips role would be competing with Hojbjerg in the team.

And even if Conte plays 3-4-3, which means there's no room for an attacking mid in XI, it is dangerous to have a whole squad with no creative players. Especially as some teams like Southampton with 10 men, just sit back.
 
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