Re: The official rival discussion thread

[Bankz]

Pogba isnt all that tbh.. Not saying he's a bad player or anything like that. But i think he's physical resemblance with viera has decieved people into thinking he's some good fit for real or a defensive midfield controling god. Actually, i see it as a disaster in waiting if he joins real madrid considering reals needs or lack thereoff. Btw, we all know sports bias towards anything french.

[Doc]

Sports bias towards his countrymen makes Chad love for Benzema look like childish innocence. But even with that, the disdain for Paul is rather weird. To each his own I guess.

[titosantill]

i agree with bankz about the physical part. people think he's a defensive midfielder because of his build, but vidal was the work horse on the team, and pogba had license to roam and cause trouble offensively. he's a central midfielder, and a damn good one imo. (i'm not sure what role he plays for france, aside from the world cup i don't really follow them, maybe he plays defensive mid there). the guy can play and he's still very young too. for his age, he is immensely talented. not sure if i'd want him at madrid, not because of the lack of talent, but if you're playing him as a 'destroyer' then he's been misused, and i don't think we need yet another cmf. but i enjoy(ed) watching juventus particularly because of his football. he's not the finished article but he's very good.

[The Demon of Carthage]

I knew it

Well, Pogba is talented, that's undeniable. But he's not a world beater like everybody tends to think he is.

A world beater plays well regardless of who's playing alongside him. If you're waiting for Marchisio and Khedira to help you out, then sonny, you're not good enough.

People nowadays label whoever plays a good game "The New *insert a legend's name here*". EPL fans are champions at this one, but now everybody else has joined the party apparently.

Throw a monkey right next to Pirlo and Vidal and it'll play like Zidane.

[chad4401]

Sports bias towards his countrymen makes Chad love for Benzema look like childish innocence. But even with that, the disdain for Paul is rather weird. To each his own I guess.

surely you must realize i wouldn't debate benzema, if he was treated like every player, kinda like how i defend illarra whom didn't get a fair shake, why treat him like shit for the sake it? cause pobga or veratti getting more hyped?

I've simply never been a fan of unjustly putting down a player, especially when same posters are praising awful performances over a single piece of skill after 90 mins , sprinkle in some desire/determination/aggression to fill out the gaps .

[Valkyrja]

Pogba is good but depends on what you prefer. I like technical midfielders like Thiago, Verratti and even Kovacic. Not saying that pogba has khedira like technique but he's not a wizard like the ones mentioned above

[VanDeezNuts]

That's the thing, we have plenty of technique. We lose the midfield at times not because of technique but because we are too top heavy and don't have the players who could provide additional pressing and options in the midfield.

Pogba supplies that in abundance and if we still had Carlo he would have been the perfect signing.

[Valkyrja]

That's the thing, we have plenty of technique. We lose the midfield at times not because of technique but because we are too top heavy and don't have the players who could provide additional pressing and options in the midfield.

Pogba supplies that in abundance and if we still had Carlo he would have been the perfect signing.

Pogba's work rate is highly overrated. Modric does more defensive work than him

[VanDeezNuts]

Well look at the teams they both play in, you have Modric who has almost no defensive players around him so he is forced to do the dirty work.

Pogba has more freedom to move forward for Juve since he has more defensive players around him. He has played a more withheld role in the past and has excelled.

I'm not saying he is a DM or any stretch of that imagination but as a CM he would be able to share the load of defensive responsibilities equally with Kroos and Modric which would allow them all to focus more on creating.

[Valkyrja]

Well look at the teams they both play in, you have Modric who has almost no defensive players around him so he is forced to do the dirty work.

Pogba has more freedom to move forward for Juve since he has more defensive players around him. He has played a more withheld role in the past and has excelled.

I'm not saying he is a DM or any stretch of that imagination but as a CM he would be able to share the load of defensive responsibilities equally with Kroos and Modric which would allow them all to focus more on creating.

So let's say we played 4-3-3 with pogba, Modric and Kroos... Who are the front free? Will James be let in the bench ?

[VanDeezNuts]

Well if we are going into fantasy now I'd say:

Ronaldo Benzema James
Pogba Kroos Modric

But most of the time it would look like:

Ronaldo Benzema
James/Isco
Pogba Kroos Modric

[titosantill]

@ demon, well pepe and krasic (albeit they played different roles than pogba) didn't look like world beaters with vidal n pirlo. and, right now i'm not sure there are up to ten central midfielders (not defensive mids) that we can all agree on are better than pogba in europe. among his peers, i reckon he's a very good player. is he the next *insert a legend's name here*? no, he's still young and has a lot of time to build on his own legacy if he can add other things to his game. as far as transfer fees go, and what he's worth, that's another debate for another time, the market is in a different space now, where people are asking for 30 plus million for goalkeepers with a year left on their contracts.

[titosantill]

Well if we are going into fantasy now I'd say:

Ronaldo Benzema James
Pogba Kroos Modric

But most of the time it would look like:

Ronaldo Benzema
James/Isco
Pogba Kroos Modric

what happened to bale? if you think flo's selling him that's wishful thinking, he's not going to sell, not now, not next summer. i'd just rather players play their positions, james play as a creator not on the flanks. i have a fobia for playing 2 or 3 central midfielders and no defensive mid, i'm a bit old school like that. unlike florentino, i appreciate the makeleles, gilberto silvas, gattusos, and cambiassos of this world

[VanDeezNuts]

Well if we are going into fantasy now I'd say:

Ronaldo Benzema James
Pogba Kroos Modric

But most of the time it would look like:

Ronaldo Benzema
James/Isco
Pogba Kroos Modric

what happened to bale? if you think flo's selling him that's wishful thinking, he's not going to sell, not now, not next summer. i'd just rather players play their positions, james play as a creator not on the flanks. i have a fobia for playing 2 or 3 central midfielders and no defensive mid, i'm a bit old school like that. unlike florentino, i appreciate the makeleles, gilberto silvas, gattusos, and cambiassos of this world

Key word: "fantasy"

And if you saw the second lineup it really is James or Isco in the middle as creators as you mentioned. No one plays in one stiff formation now anyways

[Valkyrja]

In fantasy world we have the best first 11 in Carlos 442 with James and Isco

[VanDeezNuts]

Eh, not for me- that team still had weaknesses, hence the lack of trophies

[Valkyrja]

Eh, not for me- that team still had weaknesses, hence the lack of trophies

That team didn't play when the trophies were on the table

[titosantill]

i never liked carlo's 4 4 2 neither. the only formation i appreciated was the 4 3 3 with a hardworking di maria, alonso and modric in the middle. because of that work-rate, i didn't mind not having an ideal nos 10. isco and james together is too 'flair laden' for me, especially the fact that modric and kroos are the ones protecting the midfield on defense. it looked too risky for me. obviously i didn't mind it against the likes of levante, mallorca, osasuna et al

[VanDeezNuts]

Exactly titosantill, now imagine that same attack but with a midfield of Kroos -> upgrade over Alonso, Pogba - a much more natural CM than Di Maria, and Modric still at the helm.

Thats what I was getting at

[chad4401]

know this is fantasy and im also more in favor of the 433 but as i don't really fancy pogba as what we need or a must have, what about casemiro as deep mid, he can defend,distribute and score, play kroos and modric ahead, believe that a better setup tbh.

[titosantill]

i don't mind modric, kroos and casemiro. i didn't see casemiro at porto, but i'm guessing he's a hardworking dmf and not a deep lying playmaker as kroos and modric are. my problem with that is james playing on the wing, as i'd prefer playing him behind the striker. another problem with that is if casemiro gets injured, needs a rest or is out of form, i don't know how kovacic fits there, cos i'm not sure he's a gritty dirty midfield type player.....oh and you know bale has to play, besides winning, one of the assignments florentino has given benitez is to get bale performing. if we win the league or ucl and bale still plays boneheaded football, or is on the bench, as funny as this sounds, rafa could get fired...

[futbol_bill]

I agree to a certain extent with Deez, but if we had gotten Pogba, it would require us to play with 3 midfielders. That just isn't going to happen with Bale, whether we like it or not. As it is, we still have to sit one of James or Isco!!!

The 2 new mids are definitely an improvement over last year and with Benitez you can be assured all 4 of them will play, just as you know Isco and James will play, all thru rotations.

Bottom line is they have improved the squad overall from last year and most importantly is we don't have a coach who will play only starters and have a burnt out team come February.

The issue IMO is forcing Bale into line-up which tends to make the team less creative up front and have a lack of balance.

[Doc]

Look at my crosses, Old man Bill . Welcome back sir.

[halamadrid2]

I think we'll see alot of games where Kroos and or Modric will be subbed out. Rafa seems to trust Casemiro and Kovacic as an option is non arguable

Why the hell do Chelsea keep buying players and loaning them out lol. I am pretty sure they have more players on loan than players in our entire club

[chad4401]

i don't mind modric, kroos and casemiro. i didn't see casemiro at porto, but i'm guessing he's a hardworking dmf and not a deep lying playmaker as kroos and modric are. my problem with that is james playing on the wing, as i'd prefer playing him behind the striker. another problem with that is if casemiro gets injured, needs a rest or is out of form, i don't know how kovacic fits there, cos i'm not sure he's a gritty dirty midfield type player.....oh and you know bale has to play, besides winning, one of the assignments florentino has given benitez is to get bale performing. if we win the league or ucl and bale still plays boneheaded football, or is on the bench, as funny as this sounds, rafa could get fired...

james can handle rw pretty easily he has a very high footy IQ, as for casemiro if he out injured or suspended, modric can handle it and kova comes in for modric, sure the mid wont be as strong but the quality should be about the same.

[halamadrid2]

https://vine.co/v/eTETEnTwBjh

What an idiot

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