Just seen you reply., having a cuppa in the kitchen. Fair comment thou., I agree, Maddison in his current role would be a big miss in any team. He is a great provider of that there is no doubt, but it would be incautions to depend on one or even two Middisons for assists and goals all year round, as I suspect you know only too well. Past few weeks results are proof positive. Flexible team tactics and a more cunning approach needed to dishearten stubborn wilful defending... IMHO.
Watching the game You never usually have an issue posting mid game...wonder what was different about today
The game takes 90 mins, and you weren't here. "Like I say I've made it clear" that you can give it, but cannot take it. < FACT >
Yeah, this was my feeling about it, too. We played well and could've easily won by more, but they were very, very poor. Trippier seemed to sum them up. He looked totally lost. Great to see Richarlison get a couple of goals and Son play well out wide. Definitely something that we need to look at when teams use the low block.
It's early days and the Italian especially is still young, but I would have to say yes. Ange's interpretation of the FB role is by a distance the most technically complex and physically demanding I have ever seen - as demonstrated perfectly today by our LB arriving in the box like prime Dele to score the opener. What he's asking them to do is miles beyond even the most Poch ever asked of Kyle and Danny.
He doesn't give away goals but his recklessness gives away entire matches and sometimes an entire sequence of matches. Far worse.
The thing with how Romero tackles is he always plays like the team is facing one or two gilt-edged chances so that chance must be snuffed out with extreme prejudice - but for the majority of the time he's been here there's 4-6 gilt-edged chances being given up, and as a result the cards stack up If you look at our run-in a couple of seasons back when Conte's tactics actually worked you'd see how this makes sense, as we weren't giving up as many openings so Romero crunching into the opponents made sense in the Italian/Argentine way as the player who got that rare opening would not be so keen to try the same thing again - but when Conte's tactics fell apart and we were giving up far too many chances that exposed that Romero needs a cool-headed partner primarily to mop up far more of the ball so when Cuti smashes into somebody it matters
He’s so frustrating because he’s a good defender but the silly stuff he does puts me right off him. Probably wrong but I wouldn’t be surprised if Ange sold him next summer and get in someone else.
There are strong rumours Madrid are very interested as their CBs are all over 30, apart from Militao who is always injured. I think Ange appreciates his aggression more than we think and so I'd don't think he'd be that keen on selling. I'd personally give him the rest of this season to sort this **** out. There is no reason under the sun when you're 3-0 up at home to launch into a studs up challenge long after the ball has gone.
Ange definitely rates Romero, wouldn’t have made him a vice captain if he didn’t. Ability wise I think he’s superb, probably one of the top CBs in the game right now on talent but that recklessness is really starting to combat that talent. Aggression is fine but reckless is stupid and costly - as we’ve seen already. Was fortunate not to get another red today, had he done so that’d been a 4 game ban this time, you can’t help but feel he’ll pick up another red before the season’s out though, thus potentially missing 7 games through suspension is really pushing your luck with regards to being a key player or a liability. You can take the rough with the smooth as long as the smooth overpowers the rough, it’s just about doing so at the moment.
Maybe that was his way of trying to instill some sence of responsibilty into him? Wouldn't be the first manager to try this.
