Jul 29, 2020

Big fan of the King Kai nickname



Yep Kepa looks like he is out the door, but I wouldnt mind also improving our Centre Backs as I feel like right now we have 4 great back up CBs and no stars. Matthias Ginter would be my favourite option, who is also linked to Chelsea. I feel like we can sweeten the deal by sending over Christensen who had a brilliant loan spell at Gladbach but hasnt found his way in the Premier League.

 

Jul 28, 2020

I am absolutely optimistic about King Kai. His technique is excellent, he's been steadily improving in the art of weighted passes and he's been shown to be consistent in front of goal, but undoubtedly his biggest strength is his reading of the game. His off-ball movement is exceptional for his age and he's a master at making decoy runs, something that if Lampard starts playing a 4231 would be completely mental thinking of Werner and any of Chelsea's wide men making runs into open space as he drags defenders out. The latter point, is the reason why I think Chelsea is going for this transfer, in transitional offense this kid is probably one of the best decision makers I've seen since Ozil & KDB!

My biggest concern is, he's not a line-breaking dribbler in the same vein as Pulisic or Kovacic, and if teams sit deep there's only so much his playmaking can do in a central position (luckily he's shown that he can operate in any attacking position). Hilariously, I think he could even become a striker one day if he learns to become a more high-volume shooter, he's lead the line this season for Lerkusen although to some notable drops in shots & ball progressions. He's flexible, but I'd try to maximize him as a #10, anything else would see him just be another square peg in a round hole.

I feel the more pressing concern at Chelsea is to shore up the defense and think about if the club is willing to be patient with Kepa's recent struggles, that's where the money I believe should be invested in. But in no way is this a foolish transfer: Havertz is a fantastic talent, assuming Lampard wants to bring back some prime-Mourinho football, King Kai would be the cog to make the machine tick.

P.S, I'll take any requests for player summaries and how they could fit into your teams!

 

Jul 28, 2020

I know he is talented but different positions. Werner is a scoring machine and one of the best strikers out there. I hope they both adapt at Chelsea, big loss for Leipzig cause from what I've heard he won't play against Atletico Madrid and he was their biggest weapon against them imo.

 

Jul 25, 2020

Yeah I like Atletico's chances as well but Leipzig are so unpredictable, just look at the way they destroyed Tottenham in 1/8 and they finished Bundesliga with the 2nd best defense behind Bayern and the 3rd best attack behind Bayern and Dortmund and Wener it's an absolute beast, 100% better than Morata, Costa or Felix(who I don't think has reached the form he had when he was playing for Benfica)

I'm looking forward the most to see Atalanta - Psg, also City - Real seems like a more different game now than the first leg, Real coming in with the confidence of being champions also Bayern - Barca in this format seems interesting considering Barca will go through against Napoli event hough I don't want it but Napoli's form is bad atm.

 

Jul 25, 2020

Absolutely agree with everything mate. My hope is that it invites teams to play more open with the impetus to just go for the jugular. Once it resumes it’s anyone’s chance, so curious to see these matchups.

Neymar is going be doing some heavy lifting that game, IF they can even keep up with Atalanta’s tempo. Atalanta’s man-oriented defense is so risky but in this case I think it’ll pay dividends if PSG arrives out of form. That’s the game I’m most excited to see, besides naturally Real-City.

I haven’t even mentioned Atlético, they finished the league strong and no team wants to face their steely defense & midfield. Simeone has a lot of weapons (Llorente as a pressure regaining machine, Joao Felix/Correa running at tired legs) to choose from, I like their chances a lot too if they can grind their way to the final.

 

Jul 25, 2020

I think all that changes with the fact that this year it's going to be only one leg games, it's like at the world cup anything can happen in one game, I think we're in for a very interesting Champions League where anyone out of the remaining teams can lift the trophy with a tiny bit of luck and would not be a surprise for me.
It's very hard to predict a winner having this format in play if you ask me.
And yes Mbappe its big loss for PSG if he doesnt recover till then since Di Maria is suspended against Atalanta and Cavani it's about to leave for Benfica or Leeds and they also have a huge disadvantage, they played 4 games (3 friendly ones and an official one in 4 months) and Atalanta has been playing every 3 days.

 

Jul 25, 2020

You'd actually make a great pundit. You have such an eye and mind for football. The way you word your football posts. Great analysis every time.

 

Jul 21, 2020

If they saw this man.....


.... lining up in the attack Bayern would be shaking their legs.

 

Jul 21, 2020

Bayern still gotta not lose to Chelsea 4-0 tho...

 

Jul 19, 2020

I'm Barca fan and plot thikens. You being Real fan explains a lot!

 

Jun 26, 2020

Australia/New Zealand are hosting the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup!

Gonna be great for the profile of women's football and just football in general down here.

 

Mar 11, 2020

Some wild stuff happened:

Only saw the first half of PSG-BvB. PSG finally looked more comfortable instilling Tuchel's possession machine with those brutal overloads and line-dragging movements, Dortmund couldn't quite figure it out and suffered extensively without the ball. Neymar scored the most un-Neymar goal in his career and it was practically sentenced once Bernat slipped in the 2nd. Tough luck for BvB, but I hope they do well in the Bundesliga. A healthy Neymar & Mbappe is very likely to finally push this d--- team all the way.

The Liverpool-Atleti game was madness. Despite Oblak doing Oblak things, Liverpool looked like they had it in the bag in the 2nd half. More so when Firmino got the 2nd, but this game can never be defined with purely stats & analytics; Adrian blew it with that horrendous clearance and Marcos Llorente, who is known for everything but scoring goals, pulled one back,,,and then again. Apparently Morata added another as I was typing this, it's a bitter pill to swallow for Liverpool but hey at least you guys won the league in stunning fashion. Idk what to make of this Atleti team, this was a freak result against a team that by the nature of how they play, was the antithesis to Klopp's gameplan. But for all we know, Atletico could make a run too!

 

Mar 1, 2020

@Alpha @Owl We did it!!!!!!!

Massive massive win, I only caught the last 30 mins but boy this is exactly what we needed. This will Lord willing be the first of many games Vinicius will torture that Blaugrana backline, great run and some good luck there on the finish. Some heroic defending in the end (Imma watch the highlights to see what I missed) but man that Mariano goal was the icing on the cake.

It's our league to lose at this point and hopefully this is that shot of motivation that we've so desperately needed this past wretched week. City can win the UCL Idc, I just wanna lift this d--- league title.

 

Feb 18, 2020

Crazy game, 1st half both teams were constricted a bit by microtactics (PSG looking for limited gegenpressing opportunities, BvB looking more towards ball retention than chance creation via overloading the wings--just to make sure PSG don't k--- them on the break).

2nd half the chains were unshackled and we saw a lot more explosiveness. Neymar even at 60% was a threat at times and what more can I say about Haaland? The kid is a beast, pressing the PSG midfield and overall linking up well with teammates, took his two chances brilliantly. Mbappe is definitely better playing off a true #9 or out wide, was way too isolated vs BvB's back 3 plus Di Maria having a stinker didn't help.

PSG have a tall mountain to climb without midfield pillar Verratti, along with those ghosts from previous eliminations still haunting them. BvB's defense had a good day, but I doubt they'll fare better in Paris vs Icardi and a healthier Neymar. They will however need to figure out a way to stop Haaland, Sancho & Hakimi from wreaking havoc once more, easier said than done really.