flobaba wrote:

Currently watching the quarter finals. Dutch vs French.

All Claudius’ boys are on show. Tchouameni, Edouard, Upamecano, Aouar etc. Camavinga on the bench.

1-0 to France, so far. Upamecano header. Interested to see how these boys perform at this level.

Lol @ Claude’s boys. I feel for their captain watching from home.

They lost to a last min Boadu goal

I'm with flo. I have to say I don't get the Aouar hype. Lyon always seem to have a bunch of these players (Lacazette, Fekir, Aouar, Depay) who aren't quite good enough for top level and they somehow still manage to move them on for big money because of their reputation as a club that gets talent-scouting right.

Fekir was a good player at first, if a bit of a ball-hogging playmaker. The injury took him out. The rest are a mess. Aouar seemed to regress this year but he’s still a decent player. Don’t think he’s Odegaard quality though.

Fekir had his best season by far after the knee injury though. I just think he wasn't that good to begin with. He was always incapable of playing freeflowing football because the ball stopped with him every time. The ACL definitely made him slower though.

Klaus wrote:

I'm with flo. I have to say I don't get the Aouar hype. Lyon always seem to have a bunch of these players (Lacazette, Fekir, Aouar, Depay) who aren't quite good enough for top level and they somehow still manage to move them on for big money because of their reputation as a club that gets talent-scouting right.

Aouar has had a few impressive performances in the CL against English sides to be fair. Looks a hard worker and very technically accomplished. But I read a couple of posts on twitter from Ligue 1 sources that seem to suggest he takes his foot off the gas against smaller sides. May just be another classic case of a player lacking motivation after missing out on a move, and Juninho's comment recently about not keeping unhappy players may be an indicator of that, but it does worry me a little.

I generally agree with your weariness on Ligue 1 players though, especially when it comes to midfielders. The amount of time and space they seem to get is very different. It's why I was never so keen on Camavinga. Hard to know where the talent ends and the hype begins.

Klaus wrote:

I'm with flo. I have to say I don't get the Aouar hype. Lyon always seem to have a bunch of these players (Lacazette, Fekir, Aouar, Depay) who aren't quite good enough for top level and they somehow still manage to move them on for big money because of their reputation as a club that gets talent-scouting right.

Aouar has unfortunately shown a disappointing lack of character, which has put me off him. I know dula sees him as a turnover machine, but he was performing at a very high level and on a consistent upward trajectory that I thought he'd maintain. He looked robust, with excellent technique, vision, and press resistance. I was obviously wrong. If I were Arsenal, I wouldn't risk bringing in a player prone to sulking, especially if he can't maintain his output.

Klaus wrote:

I'm with flo. I have to say I don't get the Aouar hype. Lyon always seem to have a bunch of these players (Lacazette, Fekir, Aouar, Depay) who aren't quite good enough for top level and they somehow still manage to move them on for big money because of their reputation as a club that gets talent-scouting right.

Didn't rate the guy last summer either. Was completely against signing him for the fees being bandied around. Didn't see anything star quality about his gameplay I have to admit.

That was exactly what the bell mentioned in January, we were worried about his lack of character and is not interested anymore

I have no doubts about his quality, we saw that in the CL. All the talk about his attitude is of course very worrying. Talent can only get you that far.

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

I have no doubts about his quality, we saw that in the CL. All the talk about his attitude is of course very worrying. Talent can only get you that far.

This is pretty much it. Could be another 87 generation type of French player.

Greenwood out of the Euros. Saka pretty much nailed on so.

The fact that Southgate was going to choose Greenwood over Saka is shocking.

It's weird outside of Arsenal not many people rave over Saka as much as other English talents. Maybe cause of his lack of goals and assists

To be fair, England has a ton of forwards and Greenwood has been scoring lots of goals. Saka has been made to look worse than he is by this inconsistent team. If Saka was in Foden’s shoes, we would witness miracles

Qwiss! wrote:

Greenwood out of the Euros. Saka pretty much nailed on so.

He he he.

Claudius wrote:

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

I have no doubts about his quality, we saw that in the CL. All the talk about his attitude is of course very worrying. Talent can only get you that far.

This is pretty much it. Could be another 87 generation type of French player.

What you saying about the 87s Claude. That's my gang.

Big Willie wrote:

Claudius wrote:

This is pretty much it. Could be another 87 generation type of French player.

What you saying about the 87s Claude. That's my gang.

There you go!! Unruly bunch

Why does TAA have no muscle? How can he be playing the same sport as Grealish?
In any case poor guy’s gone and injured himself kicking the ball. Hope he’s okay