02 Jul 2024 06:26:04
Got it MOT Fever but we should look at Bijol from udinese and Slovenia. solid no nonsense CB and also a leader who marshal's the defence.
02 Jul 2024 07:51:21
Perhaps we already have, I would like to think that our scouting system is a bit more advanced than watching a match or two on the telly.
02 Jul 2024 11:04:00
I thought Drkusic was the only Slovenia defender who wasn’t completely bypassed every time if I’m honest mate. If Portugal (particularly Ronaldo) had been able to finish last night they’d have won comfortably. Drkusic to be fair to him actually nullified Ronaldo’s aerial threat which takes some doing. But even he gave away the penalty for clattering Jota and got booked for a mistimed tackle on Leao. Oblak is the only Slovenia player who is good enough for a title chasing Premier League team in my opinion. He was incredible as always.
02 Jul 2024 11:46:38
Always rated Oblak. He's the only keeper I'd say is better than Alisson!
02 Jul 2024 11:48:25
MOTD fever. If he was any good he’d have made the usual trip from Udinese to Watford by now….
02 Jul 2024 12:13:05
No match of the day fever from me VV, I've always rated him. He's been solid for years and I'm sure he was our primary target before we went for Ali. I'm very happy we got Ali though, he's been absolutely immense!
02 Jul 2024 12:17:27
If we wanted a defender like that we would be keeping and playing Phillips. Defenders like that are suited to and play well in a low block like Slovenia did yesterday but it's not our game.
Not saying I don't agree though, there's a lot to be said for an old fashioned defender in my book but it's just not the way for most modern top sides, unfortunately in my opinion.
02 Jul 2024 12:43:05
The OP was talking about their defender Bijol, 2Shoes. It’s pretty evident that Oblak is one of the best keepers in the world, it’s certainly between him, Ali, Ederson and Courtois for that title.
02 Jul 2024 17:32:05
No way is oblak better than Ali, Ali does so much more than simply stop shots, he’s elite with the ball at his feet tok.
{Ed025's Note - not much between them for me PB, but i think Alisson just shades it mate..
02 Jul 2024 17:45:40
I think oblak suits a team that doesn’t want to concede at all costs, ed, whereas Ali js a goalie for a team that wants to play on the front foot always, he’s a world class goalie and a top notch footballer.
{Ed025's Note - i agree with all of that mate..
02 Jul 2024 19:58:44
Oblak a terrific shot stopper as is Ali, but Ali is better at passing and distribution. He’s also a better goal scorer ;-)
02 Jul 2024 21:19:56
Oblak plays/ has played in a VERY defensive system while Ali plays/ has played in a team that plays arguably the most open style of football in all of Europe for years now and is still rated as the best on this planet in spite of how exposed he is unlike Oblak who is nowhere near as exposed.
There's no 'shading" for me. Ali is levels above Oblack even tho, Oblak is a top shot stopper and great leader. Just my take.
02 Jul 2024 23:16:37
Oli, I thought you were sick of Lijnders' football and wanted us to return to the heavy metal style yet you think we are 'a team that plays arguably the most open style of football in all of Europe for years now'.
03 Jul 2024 07:11:06
Rigsby ?.
03 Jul 2024 08:38:20
All of those keepers mentioned could break an arm and still be an upgrade on Pickford.
03 Jul 2024 11:12:57
Rigsby, not sure what you mean cos one has nothing to do with the other. And yes, we still played an open style of football whether in the wretched possession system which I hate or in the high press system which I love.
The diff. is that we do NOT press near as much nor as effectively in transition to win the ball back in the possession system than we did in the full throttle way we played before. So indeed yes, we have been playing a very open style of football overall for years now.
03 Jul 2024 13:24:41
Oli, we wouldn't be pressing as much if we had more possession of the ball, would we?
And when do you think the last time we played full throttle regularly was?
When we won the PL and CL and had our best side for years we were not playing full throttle football.
Watch the CL final win against Spurs again and tell me we played full throttle. Or watch it twice and tell me!
03 Jul 2024 17:26:44
Rigsby, you are all over the place here and not for the first time. We won both trophies by playing the full throttle football until we changed to a more possession style hence, the signing of Thiago so there goes one of you points.
Secondly, The CL game was a tactical masterclass of us not letting Spurs get anything from us after we scored first. We played conservatively by letting Spurs have the ball on purpose (some say, we parked he bus) and played on the counter cos we were not interested in opening up. So why would we press or play full throttle when we were deliberately parking the bus and daring Spurs to break us down? I'll wait.
Also, the last time we played we played full throttle was vs City a couple months back at Anfield and we were left open several times due to the way we played them cos that is the only way to beat City and we should have done. Whether it be Ali or Kellerher in goal, we would have played that way cos that is City's kryptonite.
I seem to have covered all the bases then. Peace.
04 Jul 2024 07:51:00
Oli, you have given an example of us playing 'conservatively' in one of our biggest games for years and before Thiago signed. Watch the game against Sheffield United away the season we won the League. We played 'conservatively' for a dull 0-1 win.
The only way to beat City is not full throttle football. Real Madrid knocked them out of the CL last season by playing 'conservatively'. Albeit they won on penalties but they did not play throttle. Real don't play full throttle football, Oli.