Marca made like 50 articles already cooking up excuses for isco, they clearly want to shit on Solari but can't yet and they sure as hell gonna continue to harass him in every presser with shitty isco questions disgusting bunch as usual, so quick to write off modric as a bust after a month, but six seasons of campaigning for isco to get some minutes lmao amusing bunch.

if isco was actually really good he would be a starter years ago, he has been giving chances at the expense of every player on the team bar CR by every manager, better players got sold off, got the Spanish nt coach and here we are back to square 1 "why isn't isco playing?", cause he is freaking average.

The only reason fans and media persist with feigning ignorance is because everyone dubbed him the best player and most talented before he kicked a ball for rm, as usual rm fans/media are know it alls that love to push narratives regardless what going on the pitch.

As far as I'm concerned if isco was that good he would have left the club long ago and established himself else where, but he doesn't want that responsibility or pressure. he loves the fake praise and applause with no criticism, cause benzema will get blamed a billion times before anyone even look at isco, asensio comments are proof of this mentality is in squad especially in the Spanish ones, that why they never looked hassled to create chances for their CF, just fuck around in midfield all game won't improve as players that sounds like karma to me.

sportsczy wrote:Maybe...  just maybe...  Solari needed a scapegoat with some pedigree to stamp his authority on the team.  The one with the least impact internally and on the pitch would be Isco.  He checks off all the boxes:

-  Spanish
-  Popular
-  Big reputation
-  Seen as underperforming

BUT, unlike our other veterans:

-  Not a regular and we have options to cover for him
-  Isn't going to go crazy in the media and in the locker room as he's generally an even-headed nice guy
-  Flo isn't going to fire you over this

Just a real convenient guy to go after.  Reason I say this is that others are more deserving of criticism than Isco.

Lmao bullshit isco has never ever been used as a scapegoat by who? The club backs him, the fans backs him, the media backs hims, every manager wastes half a season trying to start him and giving him free minutes, isco is the only player in my life I have seen other than Benz people go to great lengths to make shit up, zidane and jlo would have field a isco-Kroos-modric midfield get smashed and then you would rush to the forum shitting on benzema first, no excuses Solari know the team needs some wins now and is not gonna be bullied into wasting games on isco.

Yeah, Isco really isn't the only one under performing. In fact, Modric has been dog shit since the start of the season, don't see Solari literally pushing him out the squad. You can use the WC as an excuse but that doesn't change the fact he has been putting in dog shit performances.

Regardless, Isco would probably put his head down and continue to be a professional and I am positive he'll end up back in the starting line up when things get sticky come Feb - May.

Apparently Isco challenge Solari in one of the first practices when Solari started and he's been in the dog house since. If the situation doesn't work out the way Doc has predicted, you can expect him to join Guardiola in City next year. At least Chad will be happy.

As I had said in an earlier post, there will be huge competition for forward positions next August and unless Asensio can somehow turn a new leaf, he also will likely be gone which should make Chad super happy.

Competition? there is already competition, and from my point of view Asensio has flopped. His game is too limited when you look at the best attackers/wingers in europe, the kind only shines when he can unbelt one of his long shots. Kind of reminiscent of Bale in a way.

None of the forwards currently in the team have taken advantage of CR leaving to show that we can rely on them long term

Nick, you haven’t seen my previous post. Next summer we will likely see 1 or 2 new forward starters, and likely one or both of Bale and Benz gone. Then you have Lucas, Mariano, Asensio, Vinicius, Rodrygo and Odegaard. That’s 10 or 9 players for 6, at max 7 spots on squad! I agree with your assessment of Asensio and his only position where he can display his talent is on the right. My point WAS that likely both of Chad’s favourites are likely gone next season.

Asensio should never play for us again after that disgraceful interview

futbol_bill wrote:Nick, you haven’t seen my previous post. Next summer we will likely see 1 or 2 new forward starters, and likely one or both of Bale and Benz gone. Then you have Lucas, Mariano, Asensio, Vinicius, Rodrygo and Odegaard. That’s 10 or 9 players for 6, at max 7 spots on squad! I agree with your assessment of Asensio and his only position where he can display his talent is on the right. My point WAS that likely both of Chad’s favourites are likely gone next season.

Benzema is still under contract and he is starting, why would he leave?

and of all those guys you mentioned, none matter except for the brazilian kids we invested a lot in. well i guess Asensio too because he is spanish

Too early to give up on Asensio. I'd sell him to Lyon with buyback. Let him really get seasoning.

futbol_bill wrote:Nick, you haven’t seen my previous post. Next summer we will likely see 1 or 2 new forward starters, and likely one or both of Bale and Benz gone. Then you have Lucas, Mariano, Asensio, Vinicius, Rodrygo and Odegaard. That’s 10 or 9 players for 6, at max 7 spots on squad! I agree with your assessment of Asensio and his only position where he can display his talent is on the right. My point WAS that likely both of Chad’s favourites are likely gone next season.

Not gonna happen. Many of us thought Benzema would be gone by 2015 and every year we think it's going to be his last, but he's radiation-proof like a cockroach. He'll outlast the sun at Madrid.

He'll not leave until at least the end of his contract which is in 2021. Better make your peace with it.

We should be able to make some money from an isco sale to bring in reinforcements. If city can get in on this during the summer they love spending, hopefully we can bring in some nice cash flow from sales this summer. Flo better not give us the "nobody comes, nobody goes spiel". Watch us sign yet another goalkeeper next year lol

Mr Nick09 wrote:

futbol_bill wrote:Nick, you haven’t seen my previous post. Next summer we will likely see 1 or 2 new forward starters, and likely one or both of Bale and Benz gone. Then you have Lucas, Mariano, Asensio, Vinicius, Rodrygo and Odegaard. That’s 10 or 9 players for 6, at max 7 spots on squad! I agree with your assessment of Asensio and his only position where he can display his talent is on the right. My point WAS that likely both of Chad’s favourites are likely gone next season.

Benzema is still under contract and he is starting, why would he leave?

and of all those guys you mentioned, none matter except for the brazilian kids we invested a lot in. well i guess Asensio too because he is spanish

Either I have a problem making a point in English or you're not comprehending on what I was saying!!

I said Flo will likely bring in one or two starter forwards and that Bale and or Benz may leave. Either way that is at least two of the starter positions covered.

Then you have the 6 that I mentioned competing for the other 3 or possible 4 positions on squad. Obviously not all of them will be included. So re your dig at my use of the word competition. The two new signings are competition for Benz and Bale, and the rest are all promises (except maybe Mariano and Lucas) which makes for competition on limited spots on squad.

I hope so Bill.  I thought he would do this over the summer for sure...  my guess was that the trigger for at least an attack "refresh" would be the sale of CR.   How wrong I was. I have no idea what our logic is now. Sure there is one... and my guess is stadium costs are massive... but who knows.

the logic was "we have Isco, Asensio, Bale, Benzema..." let's give them a chance to elevate themselves. Sound logic, but the players did not take advantage of the opportunity afforded to them. they will all regret it.

No but seriously Nick...  Did Flo and crew seriously think that Benz, Bale and Asensio/Isco had an extra 50+ goals in them?  That's delusional to me.

That's like me hoping that Payet, Germain and Thauvin score 60+ goals between them, which is evidently what OM management expected.

sportsczy wrote:No but seriously Nick...  Did Flo and crew seriously think that Benz, Bale and Asensio/Isco had an extra 50+ goals in them?  That's delusional to me.

What if we score as much as last season?

sportsczy wrote:No but seriously Nick...  Did Flo and crew seriously think that Benz, Bale and Asensio/Isco had an extra 50+ goals in them?  That's delusional to me.

That's like me hoping that Payet, Germain and Thauvin score 60+ goals between them, which is evidently what OM management expected.

the whole having to score an extra 50 goal arguments is a bad one. It doesn't make sense, just a sound bite for journalists and Twitter.

The argument that relying on Benzema, Asensio, Bâle, Isco, Vasquez, etc...to get you through the season was an extremely sound one. Specially when you are coming off a 3peat of CLs and you believe your players are the best.

It's like people saying we stopped spending on transfers as a critic against Perez. You don't need to spend when your squad is winning you CLs every season. Anyhow...

sportsczy wrote:No but seriously Nick...  Did Flo and crew seriously think that Benz, Bale and Asensio/Isco had an extra 50+ goals in them?  That's delusional to me.

That's like me hoping that Payet, Germain and Thauvin score 60+ goals between them, which is evidently what OM management expected.

Of course it's delusional and borderline suicidal.

The first fatal mistake was selling Ronaldo and being naive enough to think that everything will be fine without him. That's like Barcelona selling Messi and hoping for the best . The second fatal mistake was thinking that Benzema, Asensio and Bale will magically turn into lethal goalscorers after years and years of having embarrassing and pathetic numbers.

The third grave mistake was to completely abandon the policy that brought Madrid so much success and refuse to strengthen the team when all signs were desperately pointing at it. This is not even the same team that made the 3-peat for god's sake.

So is Florentino so dumb that he can't even see the obvious? I'm guessing not, and I wouldn't rule out the possibility of him channeling the entire club's savings towards the renovation of the stadium. At least, I hope so. After all, there has to be a reason for him to be this cheap and backward-thinking.

50 goals is hyperbolic but it still was ridiculously naive to expect Bale and Benzema to become consistent goal scorers or even threatening goal scorers. Benzema blows hot and cold but for the very least, he honestly is trying his best but Bale, nah. The club fked up and I really don't see how they thought not replacing Ronaldo was gonna be alright.

This is the first season Asensio became a proper starter and he isn't exactly doing much with it so him having a shit season is not particularly surprising. I won't throw him out just yet though, there is a lot of talent in him.

Also, we haven't stopped spending on transfers. We actually outspent Atletico this season. It is what we are spending on that is the contention. As much as I can understand one's need to plan for the future, we should have never gone without adequately replacing Ronaldo. I'm sorry, the club was dumb not to do this.

The Demon of Carthage wrote:

The third grave mistake was to completely abandon the policy that brought Madrid so much success and refuse to strengthen the team when all signs were desperately pointing at it. This is not even the same team that made the 3-peat for god's sake.

ironically, the 3 peat success came in seasons we didn't spend. i mean we spent here and there on players in diapers and back ups and stuff, but those 3 years of rafa and zidane, we didn't sign any star. though i get your overall argument, and i'm not saying the team should stay the same next year, but i just had to point that out. also it does not mean we got the 3peat due to not spending .

Do you guys look around Europe and pay attention to what other big teams are doing with their attack? Asking Benzema and Bale to ship 25-30 goals for the season was absolutely normal. Believing they could do it is also normal. Asking other players like Asensio and co to step up was also normal.

You guys make it sound like to compete in Europe now you need a 50 goals scorer. Have you seen how Juve reach the CL finals twice in a few years with sound football? Again that was coaching, tactics, not a single player bailing out the team everytime there is trouble.

I think if last summer the club had a chance to sign Hazard or an elite player of that level, they would have done so for a reasonable amount. But you can't do what you want in the transfer market every summer.

Ps: 3peat was the product of almost 8 years of investing in the squad and when the team reached peak we stopped the spending because there was no need to spend a lot when you are elite players all in their prime and winning trophies every summer. That's a fact

No but you do need consistent goal scorers Nick and Bale ain't one and I'm really wouldn't put faith in Benzema either despite him doing his, um, best. And if the club's scouting only could see the likes of Hazard and Neymar as players to go after, we pretty much handicapped our own selves. There is talent to be had around Europe but I guess when the club has the same thought pattern as Turok or to a lesser extent, you Nick, it's not surprising.

As for the initial investment, we didn't buy children, we bought established footballers because Flo (out of all people) knew that Madrid demands immediate success and not FM* success.

*:

i think in the past two years the market has moved in a direction where you either sign young players for cheap (or take long bet on guys like pool did) or you pay way above value for a top player. where is that attacking talent that is just waiting to be scooped up for cheap in europe? the market went completely nuts in the past two years, and it's something you have to account for.

Not only that, but it seems to me like there is a lack of attacking talent across europe at the moment. This is something i noticed in the WC. Except for Mbappe who was already a known value, there was 0 attacking revelation. The attacking stars today are 75% the same we had 4-5 years ago, just older, and the new 25%, you can't touch them for less than 150 mil if not at all.

as for the initial investment, we signed established player because the squad was shit and needed a serious injection of talents to go win in europe. we did, and we won. So while we still had those world class players at the club, we signed younger players who are more docile from a rotational point of view to learn and to potentially take over. If those young players disappoint, we will sign again top players.

Everybody talks about not having a goalscorer. but i still think that is our last problem.

it's first the spirit, second the deffence, third the midfield and last the finishers.

most of games that we don't concede early, we win. but the front players can't do shit when we concede early every single time and after that we can't complete 5 good passes together and build the play and create chances.

You may not agree but even with Ronaldo i think we could have the same problems this year.

That is one way of looking at it.

Another way of looking at is after cr is gone now opposition are pressing and man marking us a lot more since there is no threat of us making use of their individual mistake.

CR used to occupy at least 2 players and free up space for others including Benzema. Our front three at the moment can be contained by just 3 players as eibar and Sevilla showed.

Last season's also we always conceded goals..we just out scored them to win the game. Now we just can't out score and when we ine inevitably concede we loses concentration and none in our team can make a goal out of nothing like CR did.

To add, most of our opening goals last seasons were created by crosses. Now that CR is gone who is simply the greatest goalscorer in history of sport we just don't know how to create chances as we relied too much on crosses by full backs as a chance creation method. Now we just don't know how to create chances and we also can't create any overloads as most of the individual battles are now even.

I was looking at Isco body language during the final and the celebrations today and he looked like he wanted to be somewhere else. His body language is off and it would not surprise me if he is gone next summer. I don't know if a club would come for him this winter but Its hard to imagine him staying long term as of now. Specially when the manager in charge prefers runners and more athletic CMs than his kind.