Not Tony Adams but the BFG will become Arsenal’s next Academy manager. Arsene was quoted on Arsenal.com as follows: “Per is an exceptional character who is a great example for young players. He is a deep thinker about the game and committed to helping players fulfil their potential. He will be an inspirational figure for everyone connected with the academy.”
Anybody who has listened to Per’s post-game interviews knows that this is true. I like people who do not focus too much on their restrictions but prefer to develop their talents and push themselves as far as they can. Such a person is our BFG. Yes he is slow and turns like a tanker that’s just left Saudi-Arabia but he has height, intelligence, great positional awareness, excellent timing and passion for the game. He is also humble and loyal. Building on these qualities, he won much silverware, including the biggest trophy a football player will ever hold above his glowing head, when he won the world cup with die Mannschaft.
Tony Adams is a true Arsenal great. One of the most complete defenders I have ever seen and he was much better than Per Mertesacker has ever been. The problem with Adams is that he is not a good judge of his post-on-the-pitch football days. As a manager he has clearly failed and as a pundit he has not impressed. Communication off the pitch is simply not a strength – a vital flaw for commentators, reviewers and people managers, me thinks.
He has not felt much love from Wenger since he put up his boots, it seems; and this culminated in a couple of bitter interviews during the latter stages of last season, when confidence in Wenger and the team was low and they formed easy targets. Any remaining panels in the bridge that once was so formidable where well and truly burned down by TA.
He complained about Wenger not allowing him back at the club he loves and not explaining this to him. He wrote a book and then gave some interviews from which we could take that his pride was hurt and, like a dumped partner, he was more than willing to emphasise Wenger’s perceived weaknesses. Adams is clearly craving the now lost respect and affection of his former boss and mentor, and how he would want Wenger to say the above used quote for the man who led the defence so brilliantly and loyally during the first years of Wenger’s coaching career at the home of football.
But that ship has well and truly sailed and with appointing the BFG as the Academy Manager – and, of course, signing a new contract himself – Wenger has put Adams back in his place and, perhaps, dealt him a big blow back. He cannot say he did not ask for it!
By TotalArsenal
Bergkampesque 
” …a deep tthinker about the game….”. Is this the beginning of “Per who?”.
Obviously being a good footballer is no guarantee that one would be a good coach and vice versa (Wenger, Mourinho). Per is a deep thinker, right personality, friendly but firm, looks as if he has a well organised mind, disciplined and likable. Seems to have plenty going for him. Maybe, just maybe, 4 more years for Wenger and “Per who” takes over.
I was surprised that BFG will be the next Academy Manager. He certainly needs this for his coaching badges.
About Adams, maybe you are right, that he had burned enough bridges to ensure he would not return. The reasoning is brilliant, but I feel that he had lots to learn from the Boss himself and openingly criticising the Boss is a big no no.
How Per played in the FA cup final is enough reason to tell everyone about him. He is 100% committed.
So, i wish him all the best in his final season and learn from the Boss as much as you can.
Cheers,
JK
Most people are under the impression that shouting and pointing into spaces are all the ingridents needed to be a wonderful coach. Such dramas, we laymen, find so reassuring. A good coach must be a deep thinker. He must have an eye for recognizing quickly players’ playing assets and liabilities as well as their psychological make ups. He must then have the ability to synergize all these different elements. Very important that at the same time he must be emotionally very resilient as micro-managing individuals is a tasking challenge particularly with individuals having large egos (millonaires remember).
Most of the side-line dramas (Pep, Conte) or non drama (Wenger, Ancelotti) are different ways the coaches manage their tensions. Coaching hardly happens during matches. So spectators can judge a coach only by the performances of his team.
Cheers guys
I am very pleased we are keeping Per and I reckon he will be an asset to the coaching team. A long way to go to become a first team manager but he has got a lot of the key ingredients.
It looks like Mahrez to the Arse is a strong possibility but we first need to make space for him, which means the sale of one of Theo, Ox, Welbeck, Perez or the firecracker.
TA, we already have the maximum 17 foreign players. So it must have to be foreign players to be sold before we can bring in further foreign players (Perez, Giroud, Campbell, Debuchy, Ospina, Elneny, Alexis). The other foreign players in our books are – Cech, Per, Musti, Kosh, Gab, Monreal, Kola, Xhaka, Ozil, Perez.
If any of say Theo, Ox or Welbeck are sold instead, they would be replaced by home grown.
Matt Macey, is he one of our home grown?
Good post TA
Delighted to see BFG get the academy job, as someone who has had to, due to his lack of pace, had to use his brain to get to the top, had to read the game, I can think of no one better who can impart those qualities into our young players.
Lemar or Mahrez seems to be the next big move by Ivan Gazides and Co.
Would be nice to have got it done before the tour.
Cheers PE, I trust you are right re numbers of foreign players. 🙂
Cheers Kev, it looks like Leicester want £50m for Mahrez and that Arsenal are the main interested party but don’t want to pay as much as that. I reckon we need to sell first and that probably means letting Alexis go (if we are serious about bringing in Lemar or Mahrez).
Hi all.. So MU deal 75M for Lukaku.. Everton are really on a good market transfer .. And with that money they can bring others players.. one’s can be our Giroud.. for 25M..
They even don’t use any money to bring 5 to 6 players.. just by selling one Lukaku..
They may also sell Barkley for another 50M.. MU seem to want him also.. hehehe..
PE.. thanks for your great info.. But we Will sell Debuchy and Campbell.. So, it’s ok.. hehehe..
For Me keeping Sanchez worth more than 75M.. hehehe.. Give him 280k a week salary.. 100% rise.. for 3 more years contract..
It will be a win win solution..
140k a week equal to 7M a year.. 21M 3years.. cheaper than Mahrez or Lemar.. worth enough than to lost him for nothing.. hehehe..
Leicester City manager Craig Shakespeare has said there is no bid in yet for Mahrez. Does anyone else think it is gamesmanship, on his part, or he is truly unaware as he is obviously not in charge of negotiations at the club. If he is right, on the other hand, it calls to question all the reports you get to hear about transfer stories.
If Alexis is to leave, I do hope we get Mahrez before any other team does, while we look to do the Lemar deal too. I would rather a player with EPL experience, if it has to be one or the other, but what do I know?
As for Per Mertesacker’s appointment to the Arsenal academy, fantastic addition and the right one. Much as we have a lot of qualifying ex-players waiting in the wings, the club has to stick with a vision for what we want to have now and in the future. While at it, I feel the likes of Keown, Pires, Wright and Bergkamp have been good post-field ambassadors and should get a look in.
With Jens Lehmann coming in too, is it possible Wenger wants to build a German mentality, mixed with English grit at the club, knowing he himself is Alsace, in background?
Evening all. Its been an interesting TW for once, and lots more to come by the look of things.
On Mert, yes I’m delighted he is staying. Both as a youth coach, and as a link with the Bundesliga and the young talent we might want to bring in from there. A subject for a post perhaps, but mulling our best combination for a back three (assuming we stick with that formation), I ended up of the view that Mert between Mustafi and Kos would be our strongest combination. I know Holding has been fantastic and should not be held back, but that’s still my view.
I’m starting to get a bit fed up with Alexis. I don’t care for ego that doesn’t respect our club, and he isn’t showing much respect I feel. I think those that wish for him to be sold abroad are being very optimistic; the combination of sale price, pay and incentive looks unlikely to me. One of the oilers looks far more probable, and all the signs are city are pushing for it. And for the right price I would not be totally averse, provided we buy a quality replacement – of which more below. There’s plenty to be said for keeping him and letting the contract run down – he still has to perform remember in order to keep his stock high and attractive to the very, very best. So there’s no value in him just downing tools. But the media circus that would follow him, as well as the impact within the dressing room of someone who doesn’t want to be there, combine for me to make a sale preferable. Even if its to a rival.
In terms of quality replacements, I cant get excited by Mahrez sadly. I know he can perform. But his willingness not to bother when things aren’t all right worries me. We’ve had too many fair weather stars over the years. And I’d rather we had some more folk with a proper work ethic. Now I’ve only read about Lemar rather than got any sightings of him. But what I’ve read excites me far more than Mahrez. Which one is our real primary target (assuming one is of course) is harder to judge. And how is Iwobi progressing in the meantime? Could he or the Jeff turn out to be better than either of the transfer options next year? Tricky judgements.
I think we need to nail down the contracts for Ozil and Ox. And I’m very much of the view that Jack should stay too, albeit starting as cover for net year rather than a team starter. I’m surprised that nothing of note has been said about Walcott, because he must wonder about his future in the new formation. He looks a squad player at best at the moment. Is that really enough for him? But then there doesn’t sound like theres a queue of clubs looking at him. There’s been more talk of Giroud or Perez moving on, and my assumption is that one of the them at least must go. Its a shame though as they both have plenty to offer, not least Ollie with his proven strike rate and ability to offer something different. Reluctanty, I’d say it probably should be Perez.
I dont see any need for us to buy in DM or CB roles. I’ve no idea why the usual Carvalho rumours are surfacing, other than because they always do. But I see zero need for us to buy more in that area.
Overall, we had a bloody good squad last season, and we under-achieved with it. We still have a bloody good squad. We needn’t add further to it all IMO, IF we don’t lose SQ players in the TW. If we do lose quality then it will be very hard replacing it, but one left sided attacker with Pires potential would be my dream buy. And maybe Lemar could be that. But the key challenge for this team next season is not to buy in some magical new ingredient – it is to play to their collective potential. If they do, then we will have no worries.
Hope springs eternal. But my confidence in this squad is not merely seasonal optimism. The quality looks clear and evident to me.
Really good point PE regarding the restrictions on foreign players. While the top 25 players I’d ideally like to see Arsenal have in the squad for next season is:
Goalkeepers
– Sczcesny
– Cech
– Macey
Right Wingback
– new signing (ideally Pereira)
– Bellerin
Centreback
– Mustafi
– Koscielny
– Monreal
– Gabriel
– Mertesaker
– new signing (ideally Perrin)
Left Wingback
– Kolašinac
– Gibbs
Central midfield
– Xhaka
– new signing (ideally Fabinho, Demme or Illarramendi)
– new signing (ideally Fabinho, Demme or Illarramendi)
– Ox
– Ramsey
Central Attacking Midfield
– Ozil
– Sanchez
– Cazorla
– new signing (ideally Vazquez or Gomez)
Centre Forward
– Lacazette
– Giroud
– Walcott
by my count that would be 18 foreign players and 7 homegrown players, which is one too many foreign players.
To ensure the club meets the squad restrictions on foreign players and in light of the fact the Wenger rarely rotates his starting 11, I’d be comfortable with Arsenal signing an experienced and proven English centreback like Tom Clarke from Preston (as opposed to Perrin) to serve as a back up.
I would much prefer that outcome than either:
– the likes of Martinez, Holding, Chambers, Maitland-Niles, Toral or Iwobi being denied an opportunity to go out on loan, play games and actually develop rather than rotting on the bench all season; or
– Arsenal retaining the likes of Jenkinson, Wilshere, Coquelin or Welbeck, who have all repeatedly demonstrated that they are not capable of consistently performing at the standard Arsenal require.
Waldo.. if you put Ox as our CM.. then we know he will warm the bench more.. that’s will be the signal for him to go..
He can play as our WB either LWB or RWB..
With Bellerin is in doubt for stay or back to Barca for 50M.. We may put Ox as our main RWB with Walcott as his backup.. Let’s hope Walcott can sharpen his defensive player..
And I don’t think Szesney and Wilshere will ever return.. So forget them..
We had already 6 CB with Holding and 7 if Chambers also count.. so I don’t think Wenger will buy another CB.. hehehe..
The same thing with our DM.. We had Xhaka, Ramsey, Elneny and Coq there.. with AMN coming along.. and Cazorla will return, Wenger won’t buy DM also..
We know that Wenger won’t sell unless the players force to go.. hehehe
So We will only see another AM coming.. That will be our third signing.. as Wenger already said to bring 3 players..
Iwobi and JRA will be our backup AM..
Welbeck will still be Gunner.. Walcott also.. only Perez is in doubt.. cause Wenger can’t give him time to play.. We don’t really know if he can fit in our new system.. maybe he can play as CF if Giroud go..
T A agree with your every word and sadly have to agree about Tony Adams as well. A true Arsenal great and it’s a real shame things haven’t worked out for him
The Arsenal squad to the pre-season tour of Australia has been released, with some notable absentees, who are available players like Kieran Gibbs, Mathieu Debuchy, Wojciech Szczesny, Lucas Perez and Carl Jenkinson. Clear indication they are all to seek pastures new.
Alexis, Shkodran Mustafi, Rob Holding, Calum Chambers and Hector Bellerin miss out as they were on international duty not too long ago. Joel Campbell is at the Gold Cup with Costa Rica. We know that Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere are still both unfit.
The list:
Petr Cech (GK)
Emi Martinez (GK)
David Ospina (GK)
Krystian Bielik
Cohen Bramall
Francis Coquelin
Mohamed Elneny
Olivier Giroud
Alex Iwobi
Sead Kolasinac
Laurent Koscielny
Alexandre Lacazette
Ainsley Maitland-Niles
Donyell Malen
Per Mertesacker
Nacho Monreal
Reiss Nelson
Eddie Nketiah
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Mesut Ozil
Aaron Ramsey
Theo Walcott
Danny Welbeck
Joe Willock
Granit Xhaka
Looking forward to the tour and seeing our new boys try out and gel with teammates.
Good to see a Ospina, Giroud and Oxlade-Chamberlain named in the party, despite all the transfer speculation.
If nothing else, it sends out a signal that those three players are still part of Wengers plans, unless interested parties come up with financial offers that match our valuations.
Good to see the club playing hardball in the transfer market.
Eris, your list is a good indicator of things to expect. Debuchy and Perez out would free up 2 spaces in the already full 17 number allocation for foreign players in the 25 man registrable squad. This means space for a maximum of two more foreign player signings.
In terms of wages the players available but staying back are at:
Gibbs ——£60,000/wk.
Debuchy –£70,000.
Jenkinson-£45,000.
Perez——-£70,000.
That gives £245,000 in wages freed. Kola and Lacazette are rumoured at £150k and £200k respectively so there is already a net increase in wages. With at least 1 more big signing being expected plus the several new deals on the table it’s likely there would be 2 or more names to join the four above in exiting the club. I feel for Gibbs. Such a nice chap but he was hardly able to improve his game over these years.
It is sad to see Perez being left out. I always wanted him to stay ahead of Theo.
Oh well.. Jenko and Matt are both slated for transfers, but Gibbo is someone that i feel he still is part of Wenger’s plans. If he leaves the last one standing from the original Invincibles team will be no more.
That gives space for one more right winger and one of the attacking midfield area. Get someone in there.
JK.. Walcott will stay.. We still need his speedy and deadly kick.. hehehe.. Just hope his defensive kick will improved..
I first think that Walcott may go.. but after considering PE’s info about British and Non British players.. We won’t sell Walcott.. Cause Jenkinson and Gibbs will leave.. maybe Willshere also.. sorry to say that.. Wilshere Will fight for his England Squad.. and no way for him to do that at Arsenal..
And With Campbell, Scezney and Debuchi also out.. I hope its enough already.. And that mean Perez will stay.. hehehe
Ko Henry,
Lets wait for tomorrow morning to see what Wenger has to say on the absentees. The squad is on the plane now so we can only play the guessing and waiting game.
https://www.arsenal.com/news/well-certainly-start-back-three
So.. we get some info..
1. We will continue playing 3-4-3 formation.
2. Lemar isn’t on his way.. it’s mean Sanchez will stay.. hehehe..
3. Wenger will bring another players.. but it will be after the tour ends..
Hehehehe..
Good Morning,
The transfer reports on the blogs are mainly rubbish, but Arsenal seem to be trying to recruit quality players, and I am pleased with the signing of La Caz.
Hi ya, TA 🙂
I have had a lot of problems in the last couple of weeks when trying to Post on BK — not such a big deal, except the Posts on BK have got better and better, and you, TA, you have not lost your touch. 🙂
But rather than sound patronising by listing my many likes, I have to say that Pony Eye’s recent Post was terrific — and I just had to say that, because that was the comment(s) that kept disappearing into moderation.
To amend a comment made by Groucho Marx, ‘any blog that correctly excludes me – is a blog I want to belong to’. 😀
Njk,
I have been puzzled by the situation concerning Perez, because, leaving aside the fact I think he has looked very good on the rare occasions he got a game for us, you have to ask why we bought him, and then pretty much ignored him during his short career with us. [I am expecting him to be off-loaded this summer – tho I do not understand why.]
A strange one.
Pony Eye,
You raise a good point about the need to keep within the FFP rules – especially the relationship to squad salaries as a percentage of non-TV related income streams.
Of course, if the rumours about one or both of Sanchez and Özil, our highest earners, leaving are true, then that would make room for new acquisitions and their salaries, if necessary.
There are also questions over Giroud, Sczesney, Ospina and perhaps Elneny so they would also create Non-Home Grown player vacancies in the squad as well salary reductions if they should be transferred out.
It is very fluid at the moment, but I suspect that, if we get him, Lemar will be the only extra addition to our squad, and that should not be a problem within FFP rules.
[Enjoyed your last Post as I said above.] 😀
Whoops — too much from me — I shall now shut up! 🙂
HenryB,
There were a couple of promising players in the recent years that were brought in but left in the cold.
Sadly Perez could not let Wenger see what he is made of. Or that we do not see what Wenger sees.
Funny thing was that there was no word on why he was left out. “Shrugs”
JK
Njk,
Perez was linked with a move back to his old club [cannot remember which] and like others on the way out he was not invited to go down under – altho rumours are the deal has stalled.
http://www.gunnerstown.com/arsenal/2017/07/11/if-you-believe-wenger-is-a-failure-youre-deluded-heres-why
Great post.. Enjoy and be Happy..
Thanks HenryB. Glad you appreciated my last post.
It never ceases to amaze me how some people can be so gullible. Sanchez at £90M at nearly 29yrs old? Go tell it to the marines. With a max footballing shelf-life of 5 years, his value depreciation becomes £18M/ yr (i.e. £90M/5yrs). Compare with;
Lacazette 26yrs old at £52M and 7yrs shelf-life =. £7.4M/yr.
Mbappe 18yrs old at say £125M and 15yrs shelf-life = £8.3M/yr
Lukaku 24yrs old at £75M and 9 yrs shelf-life = £8.3M/yr.
Remember the prime years are 27 to 29 so Sanchez has already used up most of his. If his depreciation is rated at £8.3/yr (which is high for somebody nearly past the prime) his market value as a top player should be £8.3M/yr X 5yrs = £41.5M. There is no place for arbitrariness.
Luckily China have imposed a 100% tax on foreign signings and I hear their transfer window closes this Friday. I maintain that Arsenal is probably Sanchez’s best option even though he might still choose to run down his contract. If he chooses that option, which has its risks (eg a season long injury by April/May), it should be remembered that Arsenal can still compete with other clubs for his signature. Arsenal can resign him on the free (technically).
Am never paranoid about the comings and goings of players. Flow well with the market forces and there would be nothing to fear about.
Looking forward to seeing the line up for the first friendly, I’ve got a feeling that Reiss Nelson could get some minutes on the pitch, hopefully Ntekiah as well, really hopeful that these lads could follow Iwobi into the senior squad this season.
William II, what do you know about them TA..?
https://arsenalyouth.wordpress.com/2017/07/12/report-arsenals-dan-crowley-set-to-join-willem-ii-in-permanent-move/
Allezkev,
Reiss Nelson is a good and promising player, and i am excited to see what he can do in the first team.
Looking forward to the match tonight.
JK
Arsenal XI: Cech, Bielik, Mertesacker, Kolasinac, Nelson, Coquelin, Willock, Bramall, Ozil, Walcott, Welbeck
A good mix of experience and youth.
Arsenal substitutes: Lacazette, Giroud, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Iwobi, Monreal, Martinez, Xhaka, Maitland-Niles, Elneny, Malen, Nketiah
Arsene will probably make all 11 changes, are you watching it 84, your feedback would be welcome.
BFG makes it 1-0
It kicks off when i got off from work.
I will rush home to catch what i am capable of. And I have my friend in Sydney catching the game in the stadium now so I will ask him along the way.
Cheers,
JK
It is half time now and in the 35th minute they almost drew level.
Hope we can have a better second half.
Lacazette off the mark, already. Nice tidy placement too. Always good for a new striker to get a goal early, irrespective of the occasion.
Good workout for the lads.
The youngsters all held their own and were involved all round. I like Bramall and can now understand the club going for him; as a wing back he will be terrific. Nelson was dominant at the right as well while Bielik did his bit as one of the 3 in defence. Joe Willock was lively in the middle of the park alongside Coquelin.
Next up, Saturday VS the Wanderers. Hopefully, we are a lot more cohesive.
Encouraging to see all the youngsters getting a game, Bielik, Willock, Bramhall and Nelson get 68 minutes, good preparation for some of them who may feature in the League/UEFA Cups.
We are quite good as a team and as it is a preseason friendly the lads did not want to go all out and injure themselves.
There were glimpses of Kolasinac and he is good on and off the ball, and the timing from Lacazette reminded me of Alexis.
Their keeper was quite good, and according to news he was a young triallist at Arsenal the year when we signed Szecesny.
Good workout, and hope they get better in their second game.
JK
https://arsenalyouth.wordpress.com/2017/07/13/nelson-willock-and-nketiah-impress-as-arsenal-beat-sydney-fc/
Lacazette’ timing is actually the reason he scores a lot of goals. He is nippy too and can disguise his runs before he gets noticed by attending defences. All he needs now is understanding of his teammates and them of his moves/preferences.
I like Reiss Nelson’s display. Wasn’t his usual position on the field but he clicked nonetheless.
Let tomorrow come fast!
JK
Hi all.. Good news from our boys..
I wonder why Elneny was plot as our CB..?? His bad pass almost cause a goal.. hehehe..
Ramsey, Giroud, Holding and Koscelny didn’t play.. so hope we Will see them soon.. tonight..??
I thoroughly enjoyed the first game, and was mightily impressed with the youngsters, Willock Jnr, Nelson and Nketiah when he came on.
Early days of course, but La Caz brings hope with his simple but well taken goal.
Cech was his usual self, buy Martinez in goal looked the part and I think should become the official #2 GK.
HenryC, Holding isn’t on the tour, he was given extra time off along with Bellerin and Chambers.
I only saw snippets on YouTube, but was very encouraged by our youngsters. Willock in a deeper central role, breaking forward a bit like Ramsey was interesting. Martinez looked assured, confident and that’s what you want to see from a goalkeeper, good handling, quick off of his line, at 24 he’s matured nicely and looks ready to be our No.2, assuming that Ospina is off of course.
The benefits of doing your transfer business early are there to see, new players fully integrated with the squad ready to hit the ground when the season begins. Rather than the recent deadline day angst that seems to cast a shadow over the season.
Henry C, in addition, Giroud did play from the 68th minute while Ramsey and Koscielny were on the bench, perhaps saved for the next game.
Hi Total and Bergkampesque crew. Still the best blog on the net.
I want to say that i agree with AB comments largely. I’m starting to dislike Alexis personally. I like swagger, arrogance, but i think he’s being a bit of a dick overall.
Also i think we had a very strong squad last year, and badly under performed. I think the players didnt give their best for Arsene, which led me to be ok with him leaving if he wanted. This was a first for me, but i thought Wenger deserved better.
Hi Allez & Eris.. thanks for your info..
It’s seem Sanchez will stay.. Is it a good or bad news..?? Hehehe..
If he stay.. then we can forget about Lemar or Mahrez.. or other AM / Winger..
Will it also mean our TW is over..??
Guys, we have 3 world class keepers in Cech, Ospina and Martinez.
Sanchez and Lacazette can make a great pairing up front. We just need them to play in the same team to get used to each other’s games.
In the last game, it is evident that Wenger is testing Lacazette on the right side of the attacking trio and Ollie is being used up front.
Ozil, Alexis and Lacazette is the most dynamic and deadly trio and with Ollie and Welbeck they will add height and hold up play.
Thus, we can say that our TW is over. Unless we get another DM.
Second game lineup: Lacazette starts in the Alexis position. It is clear that Lacazette is being tested as Alexis replacement.
Was very lucky to make the trip to Australia to watch the boys play. The atmosphere at both matches was awesome. I’m trying not to read too much into the on field performances as the transitional and defensive performances from the various central midfield combinations was far too slow and porous. Offensively, we also seemed to fall back into some bad habits of overplaying in the final third which result in attacks breaking down or being crowded out. Good fitness workout though and the Australia teams were certainly happy to try and make the matches a physical contest. Looking forward to watch (on TV on this occasion) how the boys play versus Bayern Munich and Chelsea in China.
Waldo, we had been porous in the midfield area and overzealous in the attacking third. The thing is that we were worse when we had a 4 man defense. That had been our weakness and we needed to fix it against Bayern and Chelski.
Definitely agree the 3421 system is a more balanced setup than 4231 and I’m glad the club has finally made that change. My porous and slow transition comment was referring to the performances of Xhaka, Ramsey, Coquelin and Willock versus Sydney FC and Western Sydney. Monreal’s exquisite ball over the top for Ramsey’s run and his charge forward and cross for Giroud just demonstrated the type of simple directness that can create much clearer goal scoring opportunities than our typically slow and overly complex combination play around the opposition’s often cramped 18 yard box. I’m not saying we should play kick and rush football, just be more simple, direct and purposeful in our attack.
Some very fine comments over the last few days. Thanks guys and girls. Good to see Red Arse and AB posting here again.
Would be good to hear from Oz Gunner if he is still around.
New Post New Post 🙂