futbol_bill wrote:Tomorrow is supposed to be the presentation of Mbappe in Bernabeu. Before that happens I would like to point out the erroneous statements made earlier this season by Sports re Mbappe.

- Madrid can not win CL without Mbappe
- Vinicius will not be any where close to Mbappe as a player
- The formation of 4-4-2 will not work against big teams, Madrid will get crushed against the first big team they play.

so instead of Mbappe coming to save the club, it's he who will now have a chance to win trophies. He becomes another great addition to an already stacked team. Madrid can now boast of at least 3 of the top 10 players in the world with most positions have best or near best at the position.

Did sports actually say this seriously or was he just taking the piss when he said that?
Surely this is a jest?

In any case, i expect him to play cf. Yes he can switch it up with vinicius and ridrygo and that would be ideal but that takes time for chemistry to build.

But in any case I'm sure there is no doubt now as to who is the face that runs this place no?
Carlo ancelotti ofc. Butif not him, vinicius.

Mbappe needs to know his role and shut his mouth. He ain't shit until he wins us a title of importance.

Not as good as the BBC imo but time will test everything when it arrives.
Benzema's ideals has been successfully transfered to vinicius and rodrygo so I am not too concerned about the turtle anymore.

Very interesting to see how we line up.

futbol_bill wrote:

Turok_TTZ wrote:Not as good as the BBC imo but time will test everything when it arrives.
Benzema's ideals has been successfully transfered to vinicius and rodrygo so I am not too concerned about the turtle anymore.

Very interesting to see how we line up.

You mean bBC? That right ride only developed the odd goal.

To me, although they didn’t win much, I think just the one CL, I liked the Zidane, Figo, Ronaldo and Raul team more.

In a couple of years we are going to be talking about Güler and Endick together with Vini, Mbappe and Bellingham. Rodrygo will leave IMO.

Bale while he had his issues still was an important player for us and he has gave us as many memories as well as headaches. Specifically for that CDR goal and win as well as his performances against Liverpool in the cl final, I can only have gratitude for the man. on paper Vinicius, Mbappe, Rodrygo has the potential to maybe even surpass the BBC.

But that's on paper. And as you well know. Potential on paper wins you nothing. Results and performances in the real world do.

What the BBC has achieved and their legacy cannot be understated. Vinicius and Rodrygo are still benefitting from that era. Their development aided even more so when Benzema was still here. The success they achieved is inspirational but more importantly also serves as a blueprint. A reference point that vinicius and rodrygo can learn from and lean on.

In terms of power level if there is such a thing. The only club that has come even close to the strength of the BBC was Liverpool when they had Mane. Thankfully, no one, Liverpool included, were on that level or tier that they could threaten us to such an extent this season. Our toughest opponent by far surprisingly was Dortmund. Had they an elite forward, we would have still won but it would have been a hard fought victory only by a 1 goal margin. This team for better or worse seems to respond better after being scored on.

In any case, we will see soon enough what this vrm can achieve. Underestimate Rodrygo at your peril bill. He is here for the long term. I've no doubt he will remain an important player for us.

Am I overexaggerating or has mbappe not been in form since the world cup

I mean they were at least good last season but mbappe was not good his last season at PSG despite sports French propaganda

I actually think it’s a good thing that Jude isn’t having an explosive start to this season. We need him at his best during the business end, and as long as we don’t fall behind in the title race, I think everyone on the team benefits from not exerting themselves too much right now.

We just need to work towards becoming more cohesive as a unit. Judging by how Barcelona are playing these days, I imagine they’ll experience some burnout after the turn of the year, which is exactly what happened when they basically gave away their title lead during our double winning season under Zidane.

I wouldn't buy Rodri. I've heard he's below average!

The biggest issue Flo needs to fix is swallow his pride and sell either Vini or Mbappe because they're never going to work together.

I would not renew Modric, instead give him an honorable send off. I would also sell Ceballos, maybe both Mendy and Fran Garcia to bring in Davies and Miguel Gutierrez, I'd get 2 new RBs, pay off Alaba, get Vallejo the hell out of here, not renew Lucas, get 1 more CB, turn Tchouameni into a 12th man CB/DM super sub since he cannot be a starting midfielder for us because he's limited as hell, and do not bring in Wirtz or Rodri, which are both examples of media speculation BS in the first place imo. We don't NEED them, especially Wirtz, who is not the profile we need. People who think he could or should become an all action Modric clone or an attacker for us don't have a goddamn clue what they're talking about imo. On several levels.

Bring in a competent, interventionist coach with good man management and a transformational vision (Alonso?) and replace the anti-intellectual cuck galactico whisperer (I say that with tender love and appreciation). The club and players would have to meet a potential transformational vision half way, at least.

Also, empower Valverde and Camavinga as the center midfielders, starting from the left and right side of the field respectively. That's where Valverde has looked like bloody Schweinsteiger at times with Uruguay and even with us, and Camavinga looks more jammed as a centre midfielder coming off the left side as well. Both will be more prone to either looking jammed playing as CM on the side of the pitch that matches their strong foot, or just as crude (albeit functional within a more defensive system if done well) work horses playing as wide midfielders. If you want them to play as centre midfielders then invert them, they'll even be better in between the lines in some ways that way imo.

Also, sell Rodrygo if you can find an elite left footed all action wide forward/winger.

This season can be explained by poor coaching, a losing of the eye of the tiger from the players because of recent accomplishments and having their belly full, some injuries, problems with physical preparation, and imperfect transfer market decisions. Also, of course, because in the league you have an inform, hungry, well coached team who has earned being first place.

Copa del rey, intercontinental cup, Spanish super cup, FIFA club World Cup, that's all bullshit nonsense. Don't really care about that too much.

If we don't win the league then let it be a lesson we finally learn from, as our league losses are not just down to external factors, there's patterns very characteristic of this club that are not maximizing our chances of repeating leagues. Hopefully we at least do an honorable run in the CL and fight till the end in La Liga.

futbol_bill wrote:I’m concerned about the overall effect the Mbappe acquisition is having on the team.

We are hearing that Perez is edging closer to acquiring Trent, Davies, Wirtz and attempting to sign Rodri and bringing in Xabi Alonso for next year. Also they are suggesting bringing back Nico Paz. While most of these moves are viewed as positive, I’m a bit concerned about what it will mean to the previously future midfield that the club had spent several years assembling.

Also suggested is the sale of Tchouameni and departures of Caballos and Modric.

It is attributed that the midfield is responsible for Mbappe’s poor performances, however there was nothing wrong with the midfield prior to his arrival!

If the rumoured acquisitions happen, the starting team next season will be;

Courtois, Trent, Militao, Rudiger, Davies, Rodri, Wirtz, Bellingham, Mbappe, Vinicius and either Endick or Valverde.

Backups will be;

Lunin, Carvajal (doubt it) or a new RB, Alaba, Martinez, Mendy, Camavinga, Nico, Güler, either Valverde or Endick, Rodrygo and Dias.

That would result in Rodrygo, Güler, Camavinga, Valverde wanting out, plus at CB, they will have 3 of the four suspect to doubtful strength as returning from ACL injuries. Mendy would likely leave as well.

As I said earlier most of this would be seen as positive, I don’t like the situation that puts Camavinga, Valverde or Güler in.

Does anyone else share this view?

I'm refraining from commenting on Mbappe unless I have something positive to say. I'm getting too old for arguments. I just want peace and quiet  I hope he bounces back from the El Clasico criticism and finds his rhythm in another position than LW. Kroos may not be around, but we'll still need our offensive players at the top of their game.

I can't think of an available manager who would be likely to perform better with this team than Ancelotti does. Jude mentioned in an interview, the tactical freedom that he and the rest of the team has under Ancelotti. Not being tied to the shackles of a neat and tidy system with rigid positioning and defined player roles, like that of someone like Pep Guardiola, may work better for certain teams. And I suspect we may be one of those teams.

I could be wrong, and a more tactics-oriented manager might be able to optimize our team better, but I don't think we're in a crisis just yet, and a change of manager could potentially make things worse. Florian Wirtz might be a good acquisition for us, but we'll be competing for his signature against Man City, and likely other clubs as well.

I haven't watched Wirtz much, but in terms of young, promising playmakers, he's the top prospect around right now. He's a right-footed midfielder who has been playing as a LCM, but then transitioned into an attacking midfielder role. He may have some playmaking ability, but I'm not sure if he's the right fit for us. If he does come, I assume he'll play in central midfield. From what little I've seen of him, I can't tell that he's got more potential than Arda Güler.

I suspect it's more likely that he will end up as a candidate to replace Kevin De Bruyne at Man City, as that would make more sense for both parties. But for all I know, Xabi Alonso might become our manager and decide to bring him over from Leverkusen, with a completely different plan for how our team will be set up.

The Trent Alexander Arnold rumor seems a bit odd to me. I really admire his capability for playmaking, but I've never been able to shake the feeling that he's a player who's capable of exceptional playmaking, as opposed to being a player who bases their game around it.

We need someone who can control and dictate the tempo of our midfield, and I don't personally see that in him. He's a close friend of Jude, and that might have played into the rumors linking him to us. Rodri would be an incredible acquisition, but I somehow don't feel all that confident that we will be able to get him.

I also don't feel like he's the type of midfielder we need the most. He's an upgrade on what we have, but ideally we would find a player that's more creative than defensive-minded. In that sense, we would be spending a lot of money on a top quality player who doesn't necessarily bring something we're sorely lacking. I really like Valverde, Camavinga and Güler. We would benefit from having a reliable creator in the final third, but I can't imagine Rodri would fill that role.

I really don't think Wirtz, in his essence, is a midfielder Thimmy. I think he's a Brahim sort of attacking "midfielder"/forward.

We already fill any quota Wirtz could fulfill with Arda, Rodrygo, Brahim, and perhaps most importantly, Bellingham. Wirtz would be a "Galactico" transfer imo.

As for our team and the right coach for it, I think it all starts with club culture. Imo, ideally you get rid of indulgent superstar ideals and you buy players with a good mental profile (which we have, Mbappe is TBD), you put a winning process first in the hierarchy of importance and then the players, and you go from there.

I think the club needs more heady changes in its culture and it needs a more tactically astute and interventionist coach with good man management to make the more forceful and precise changes that Ancelotti can't.

You make it possible for a Guardiola type of manager to succeed here.

Make Mbappe run just a bit more and remove Vinicius from the notion of being detached from defensive duties, that way Bellingham can play CAM and Rodrygo/Brahim/Arda RW/RM and actually make a 4231/4141 work.

There's things that come with tactical nuance and a more imposing yet balanced personality that Carlo just doesn't quite have and again, I don't think Perez has nurtured that sentiment. I think it was in one of his books that Carlo said Perez sentenced him in the 14/15 season half way once his boy toy Bale started whining.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2822063-carlo-ancelotti-talks-chaos-with-florentino-perez-over-gareth-bale-before-exit

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/37470176/carlo-ancelotti-was-asked-change-gareth-bale-role-real-madrid

Also, without doing the nitty gritty analysis myself, I can't name how many credible people I've read explain just how bad Ancelotti's build up and pressing tactics are. He has earned the reputation he has of being more manager than tactician. For better and for worse.

You lost in the sauce tmo. I am disappointed.

Some of these comments man. Y'all losing the plot. Then again, mbappe with a 8-9% ratio I would be shedding hair too. Even Benzena at his worst season didn't have such a low stat.

Mbappe being exposed this badly was definitely not on my bingo card for this season. Rodrygo needs to rediscover his form and fast.

Sorry sports. Yer boi ain't what you said he was.

Myesyats wrote:I wouldn't buy Rodri. I've heard he's below average!

that loser is shockingly mid AF. Guy gonna sit in the stands if he were to come here. Man city midfielders are vastly overrated and mentally weak with exception to kovacic. Winning a treble and a euro somehow didn't change that. I blame the idiot hipster for that.