Martin Ødegaard discussion

Doc wrote:Modric and James definitely can do that. Isco could pull of the meg but would probably dwell too much on the ball.

Seriously, I am so happy we loaned him out this season as none of us would have seen him perform like this. And he would have been behind Lucas fucking Vasquez who can neither nutmeg nor put a pass like that.

Lucas would nutmeg himself and tackle the dude

What about the pass lmao?

My Gosh what a pass. Genius

Is the second year compulsory? Because we need to replace Modric like yesterday

I do NOT want Pogwalk in our team. I am already depressed with having Tibu. We need Odegaard next season and Kubo the season after. Out with Modric and phase out Kroos.

Now onto a Casemiro eventual replacement. Can't believe we bought him for just 6M will go down as the best purchase in history of football (well after kids that come theough the youth)

If Zidane is still around we will certainly go for Pogba still, he will have a year left on his deal next summer and he is not renewing.

If Odegaard proves he can play and be productive in a 3 man mid, Pogba-Casemiro-Odegaard is what you could see next year.

Mr Nick09 wrote:If Zidane is still around we will certainly go for Pogba still, he will have a year left on his deal next summer and he is not renewing.

If Odegaard proves he can play and be productive in a 3 man mid, Pogba-Casemiro-Odegaard is what you could see next year.

That's just depressing, to me. I hope Ødegaard stays at Sociedad, we get Pogba, Zidane gets sacked. We get this shitshow over with and actually start working towards rebuilding a sustainable team.

Pogba-Ode-Casemiro isn't so bad though. I know your reservations towards Paul at Utd but there is a legit possibility he would perform much better at Madrid than at Utd. For starters, Paul would have to tow the line here as there is way too much seniority around him. Secondly, if Zizou is here, he'll wanna put in the effort to impress him.

3rdly, any line up with Ode is gonna light up my heart tbh. Imagine Nick thinking he can't make it, shame Nick. Shame!

Martin scored a nice goal against Atleti.

I do not follow him that much but I hope he does well in La liga.

Its more of a mental thing with him I think. He just needs to cut his teeth in la liga now and show his worth if he wants to make it in Madrid.

halamadrid2 wrote:My Gosh what a pass. Genius

Is the second year compulsory? Because we need to replace Modric like yesterday

I do NOT want Pogwalk in our team. I am already depressed with having Tibu. We need Odegaard next season and Kubo the season after. Out with Modric and phase out Kroos.

Now onto a Casemiro eventual replacement. Can't believe we bought him for just 6M will go down as the best purchase in history of football (well after kids that come theough the youth)

Hala, i agree with you, however there is one technicality regarding Kubo that can’t be ignored. We have an imposed quota of no more than 3 non EU players. Currently these spots are occupied by Vinicius, Milatao and Rodrygo. Non of them are anywhere close to getting a EU passport (takes a minimum of 5 years) as was recently done for Fede.

So unless one of the three doesn’t develop or work out, the only way for Kubo to come in would be to sell or drop one of those three.

Doc wrote:Pogba-Ode-Casemiro isn't so bad though. I know your reservations towards Paul at Utd but there is a legit possibility he would perform much better at Madrid than at Utd. For starters, Paul would have to tow the line here as there is way too much seniority around him. Secondly, if Zizou is here, he'll wanna put in the effort to impress him.

3rdly, any line up with Ode is gonna light up my heart tbh. Imagine Nick thinking he can't make it, shame Nick. Shame!

Yeah, but that's a really farfetched and optimistic hypothesis, the way I see it. Talent aside, if a player in their prime years can't sustain an acceptable, average level of performance throughout a season and has 3 years to prove otherwise, then that player's not someone I would be willing to gamble on, regardless of their name. Pogba's stats are, surprisingly, not as shabby as his performance level would suggest, but I think he's a piece of shit for resting on his laurels and letting those inflated stats speak for his capability.

He could've bagged a simple, unpressured pass for an assist or two against Rochdale and come out looking like a saviour despite doing shit all throughout the match. He may have just returned from injury, but he was just as poor prior to it. This is the part where he's excused for being distracted or unmotivated. That's just not the type of player I want to have at this club. If we give him the benefit of the doubt, then Zidane might be able to stretch his motivation for a period of time, but I think we need stability more than anything, right now. I don't even want to imagine how his morale will be affected if we keep playing the way we currently are. So yeah, for Martin's sake, I hope he stays at the more stable, Real Sociedad. They've got a far less experienced, less talented team, and I think their lack of experience will cost them in the long run, but their performance level looks more sustainable than ours, and I'm willing to bet for that contrast to increase if Pogba arrives.

As for Martin, he currently leads the statistics for distance covered in La Liga. He even ran an impressive 12.5km against Atletico Madrid. Which is a stark contrast to Pogba's average output. I don't want to see him get reduced to being Pogba's defensive cover. We better not get both of them at the same time. I'd prefer if Real Madrid/Zidane plays out his wet dreams without it being at the expense of Martin's progress. Let Vasquez be Pogba's ballboy instead.

Not even the tactical banana that is Zizou would make Ode be Pogba's defensive cover.

I am very optimistic about Martin... but let's give him a full season and see how he does. Just as an example, Andre Silva of Sevilla looked like a world beater CF through November of last season and then disappeared.

I don't think it will happen in this case as he's only 20 and has made consistent progress. BUT, i always want to see a FULL top flight season before really forming an opinion.

sportsczy wrote:I am very optimistic about Martin... but let's give him a full season and see how he does.  Just as an example, Andre Silva of Sevilla looked like a world beater CF through November of last season and then disappeared.

I don't think it will happen in this case as he's only 20 and has made consistent progress.  BUT, i always want to see a FULL top flight season before really forming an opinion.

I agree. Either way, I definitely think Sociedad's stability and humility provides a better environment for progression than we do.

Exactly. It's like vini and rodrygo... i'd love for them to be at a Real Sociedad right now as opposed to Real Madrid. They're not ready for Real Madrid and the craziness around it. They're also not going to get the playing time they need.

Martin is exactly where he needs to be this season. He should only come if Real Madrid is fully committed to him.

Not ready for Zidane does not translate into not ready for Madrid.

It pretty much does.  That last 3 coaches that wanted to play young unproven kids for major minutes at Real Madrid lost their jobs without finishing a season.

It's much more that about ability.  It's about consistency, getting results and playing big in big moments.  Very, very, very few young kids can do that period let alone with the pressures of Real Madrid.

Glad the kid is doing well if was still at madrid, he wouldn't have progress like this, he would be dribbling around in circles waiting for cheers, like alot of the other young players and even the older ones.

Hope he keeps it up and focus on his passing, vision and work rate real things that matters.

Watched the Sevilla v La Real game. Martin is excellent on the attack and really can pass at the elite level. Perfectly good CM there.

Defense...there were issues. On both side tbh, but that doesn't excuse Martin imo. You can't let the fullback get outnumbered like that when the opposition bring extra numbers to the attack. This is where he needs to make the biggest improvements. Basically, he has to put the defensive shift that Modric does, as an example.

Very good prospect. I think he'll make it to Madrid if he keeps this up. BUT, when he gets here, he'll need to make sure he plays both ways.

I thought he had a pretty poor match, overall. From the moment the whistle was blown, he looked slower and less explosive than in previous matches. The defensive part of his game is more than good enough, usually. He didn't see the ball much, but wasted possession a lot more often than he usually does when he actually had it in his possession. Quite an unproductive performance, both by him and by Real Sociedad. I think fatigue might be taking it's toll on him already, but it's possible that it just wasn't his day. Energy aside, his passing game looked uncharacteristically inaccurate.

fatigue definitely played a role. i dont care who you are but chaining games is tough, i thought it was stupid to have him play the full game with no rest midweek, knowing they had this today. Reguillon for example was rested and he looked explosive down his side today.

@thimmy.  I think that La Real were getting dominated so he was pressing to make something happen.  Not a lot of chances for them period.  I thought, offensively, he was fine given the circumstances.

And Sevilla is a big game.  You don't rest players in big games. That said, I don't think they have the squad to rest many players during any game in La Liga. They'd drop points.

La Real doesn't play in Europe (at least, i don't think so). Any pro player today should be able to go out there 45 times a season at least.

I think I mentioned this in the other Ødegaard thread, but he had covered the most distance in La Liga after 4 matches played and he ran like an idiot during the international break, as well. I don't think him starting every game would be as tiresome if it wasn't for his high work rate. Switching him out every now and then, probably wouldn't be a bad idea. Then again, they've punched above their weight since the start of the season. I'm sure they would prefer to stick to what has been working so far, and their bench alternatives aren't exactly great.

Odegaard saying he wants to stay at la real 2 years. That's smart, he is sure to avoid Zidane.

Best thing he can do for his career at the moment.

Lucas Vasquez for 2 more years what a survivor

Good makes sense to wait until the team has a clear out and hopefully, a manager that knows tactics and how to use players properly.

Delivered another game winning assist today. Hard not to be impressed