So, Raul to head of football and Vinai to be managing director. Seems they’re taking Ivan’s job and just splitting it.
wish they didn't promote from within on the commercial side but I guess they needed to get someone in there immediately. not like anyone could have seen this coming.
anybody know if raul’s role at barca was strictly just player related, or did he also do the commercial side?
I'm fine with it. I assume he was in on the presumed Adidas deal and that one is supposedly a monster, so I'll wait and see there.
so what is everyone thinking for lineups tomorrow? I'll say... -------------------Welbeck------------------ Iwobi---------Smith-Rowe----------Mkhi ---------Guendouzi----Elneny------------ Lichtsteiner-Holding-Sokratis-Bellerin --------------------Leno----------------------
think mavro or pleg start for sokratis also, wouldn’t be surprised to see pea start and get ~60 min up top with welbz on the left, iwobi in the middle, and esr coming off the bench i wish xhaka would start so we could save gwen for sunday (prob not a popular opinion) no idea who’s likely to get the armband though...guessing either lichtsteiner or elneny
I can’t believe I’m asking this but any chance Jenks gets a runout? I forgot he was even around until I saw the team photo yesterday.
I'm probably the biggest Xhaka fan on this thread but he was pretty awful in the West Ham game, fabulous vs Newcastle. Guen needs the cups more than anyone. Also believe Jenkinson is injured again
Thanks bro, didn’t want to get blasted for saying it. Also, and I’m saying this in peace because he was great. We faced a relegated side.
Thought we played Newcastle as well or better than City/Spurs/Chelsea from what I saw of those games, Newcastle isn't nearly as bad as say Cardiff. Was encouraged by the performance.
Plus, St James is one of the tougher away venues in the league. Always a good 3 points when you get them there.
That’s why I didn’t say anything and he was excellent. I don’t want to discredit him in anyway but Newcastle is trash.
xhaka had one good game vs newcastle, and obviously, we all hope he can build off that, but to say he's been great is a stretch imo. while gwen hasn't scored a goal from a fk or gotten an assist yet, he's p comfortable with the ball in tight situations for someone his age, can pick a pass, has a high work rate, and he's had fewer mistakes directly leading to goals for the opposition. ideally, i'd like to see gwen in xhaka's role with lucas as the dm since we have barely seen them play together. plus, it seems like when xhaka and gwen are paired together, gwen's typically the one in the more reserved role with xhaka ahead of him.
Recent Arsecast Extra softened my opinion on Xhaka. Certainly prone to the odd mistake or two but our inability to defend exaggerates his errors. Don’t have his stats off hand but hasn’t he lead the team in key passes/passes in final third, etc
Xhaka is our Antonio Cromartie A million dollar athlete who shows flashes of elite ability but also has a two cent brain He can make that sumptuous free kick but also throw in an idiotic challenge or have a bad giveaway
I think Xhaka is a much better player than Guendouzi at this stage of their careers as well. I like Guen but he's still green, and while he's had some solid performances he doesn't really make a big impact on the game. Xhaka obviously has his moments but I think he's been more good than bad this season so far, and I'm looking forward to his partnership with Torreira in the midfield, I think they can work well together.
I wonder if Torreria doesn't have the fitness to play more than 60 minutes right now. No full preseason, World Cup fatigue, etc, but also that he is going from playing at the base of a diamond midfield in a slower league to now being a part of a 2 in a much faster league. Requires a ton more ground to be covered. So wouldn't be surprising if he just doesn't have the legs for it yet
just looking at that back four if you needed to put out a lineup and the only thing you were concerned with was a clean sheet would that be your first choice?