You don't watch Nbombele enough Nick... you likely only started seeing him this year. His fitness was a massive concern last year and, although it seems he's fixed it this season... I'll wait to see how he performs for the full campaign.

And his shooting is suspect... although he's supremely talented if he can commit properly.

Let's not jump into conclusions based on this game. We were rubbish, for the 2nd time since Solari took over. The positive thing is that we got the 3 points. Doesn't matter if Huesca are last. They certainly don't play like that. 2nd last team dominated Barcelona. These teams are really technical, no hoofing, just patiently passing the ball out from the back. It was just a terrible day today. I am glad the game is over. Onwards and upwards

Any team presses us high up and plays intense will most likely get a result.

Re: Ndombele
This is probably a very poor assessment of his abilities but he pretty much reminds me of a young Essien when he was at Lyon. Dynamic, skill on the ball, physical presence, not a fking water carrying DM, etc. I fear if we end up going for him, that's exactly where he'll be playing and wonder why it isn't working.

so Ndombele has progressed since last season and he is now a better player? isnt that normal? physically Ndombele is legit, and on the ball, he is press resistant as fuck, awkward body and moves but he is great.

Pogba is failing at so many basic midfield stuff that we dont need the drama of trying to sign him. And if someone has questionable work rate between both it's certainly not Ndombele. Pogba doesn't defend whatsoever

Doc wrote:Re: Ndombele
This is probably a very poor assessment of his abilities but he pretty much reminds me of a young Essien when he was at Lyon. Dynamic, skill on the ball, physical presence, not a fking water carrying DM, etc. I fear if we end up going for him, that's exactly where he'll be playing and wonder why it isn't working.

If it's in a 3 man midfield and you try to play him as pivot, then that's a bad idea obviously, but if you play him in a double pivot, or in a 3 man midfield but left or right, he will be brilliant.

You know we'll do the former, come on, it's obvious we'll play him in the Casemiro role. He's black, a monster physically, could defend, DM role for the lad.

It depends who you are hire as a coach right? i dont think for a second Solari will be coaching this team next year. So if you can hire a manager like Pochettino or any modern coach, then this will never be a concern.

The concern is having a DM, however great at defending he may be, like Casemiro who is so limited on the ball. It's like he is taking a step back in his career with his playmaking. He gets so badly pressed when we try to play from the back that Kroos is the one coming deep in front of the defense and Casemiro ends up trying to play AM...

Ultimately, having midfielders who only excel at one side of the game is not ideal, it can work, but it's not always great.

The Pogba ship has sailed. He is good, but I am not sure what kind of midfielder he wants to be anymore. It seems like he wants to be an AM, and that just doesn't work in our midfield set up. If he moved back to being in a MF 3, then maybe, but when was the last time he pressed or got stuck in to move the ball up the field?

Are we just going to pretend that hugely talented players like Ozil, Deco, Di Maria, Alonso, Varane, Lampard, Sneijder, Milito etc... did not do well under Mourinho? we are just gonna let this slide to blame Pogba's performances on just Mourinho?

The real problem here is that Pogba wants freedom to do whatever the fck he wants on the pitch, without being accountable to anyone. The one time he was good with france was for a special occasion in the world cup, and he has looked nothing like that player since the world cup ended. It was clearly not his natural way of playing.

With Juve he was essentially the left winger, and he was afforded that freedom because of the back 3 and juventus defensive excellence. T

That is pretty much what I was saying. Mourinho hasn't exactly helped Pogba's progression, but I think a lot of it is ultimately on Pogba.

i doubt pogba is on the team's radar, so we can forget about that. i doubt the club is even looking his direction. anyway today's game said more of huesca than us, glad for 3 points, but it was a forgettable game

Nick, Sports, you can stop arguing about Ndombele since Uncle Flo is not going to pay up for him anyway, seeing that Ndombele is.. you know.. hmm.. bl..

Vinicius is bl.. Rodrygo is bl.. Mariano is bl...

I get bloated, every once in a while. Don't judge.