LOL. Folks quickly forget some of Cala's defending in recent games. I would rest MLS for a couple of games, just so he is out of media spotlight, and spending time with Rice learning how to tackle.

We are always going to have issues with that left back spot. I was listening to Gunerblog yesterday. He said something that really resonated. That he feels Zinchenko got a lot of unfair stick over the years for how he was often exposed at that position. And Gunnerblog explained that we are asking players to do 2-3 roles in that position with an emphaiss on offensive skills given that we are possession team, so it is very much expected that we will see these issues.

    I don't think people get that inverting a fullback means, that they are literally out of position and are always in recovery mode when having to defend. Zinchenko definitely got unfair flack, and as we've seen, his successors have also struggled. I think with Zinchenko the bigger issue was his lapses in possession, and it was never about his defending which was clearly a calculated risk. He had infrequent missteps in possession but then that grew to frequent missteps. While I believe he offered tremendous value to the team in his debut season, that's where he lost me. He's also another, along with Martinelli, who was never the same after Xhaka left.

    Claudius LOL. Folks quickly forget some of Cala's defending in recent games.

    I don't think they do. But you could argue that MLS disciplinary lapses (imo he should've had a red on Tuesday) can have even worse consequences than Calafiori's brain farts. MLS will learn to be more wise about it, but it's not set in stone that MLS right now is better than Calafiori right now.

      • JazzG

      • Post #126

      Sicario2 - Tier 1 We've really missed his incisive passing when he comes central, a couple seasons ago that passing was sensational. A shame he can't defend for shit though.

      He plays CM for Ukraine but for some reason Arteta doesn't seem to want him there for us.

          • Qwiss

          • Post #127

          Just rotate the 2 of them, they both have massive upside. MLS is very young and Cala is injury prone so don't push either too hard. I'm happy with either on the pitch.

          • Qwiss

          • Post #128

          JazzG He plays CM for Ukraine but for some reason Arteta doesn't seem to want him there for us.

          He's played there in the last couple of weeks and he hasn't impressed.

            • MistaT

            • Post #129
            • Edited

            I truly think Zinchenko at L8 and Rice at 6 would work fine - if not better than the Partey/Rice combo - against low block teams in the PL.

            Find it quite interesting how conditioned everyone's brains have become by Premier League referees. I heard what Shearer said on comms on Tuesday night and I thought I was looking at a different tackle. I completely understand that in the PL MLS would likely have had a second yellow for the tackle, but when you look at the contact point, he barely touched him.

            Of all the chat I've heard since the game, only Ryan Hunn on Wrightys House and Adrian Clarke on Handbrake have said something that resonates with me.

            Hunn said not every foul is a booking (obvious, but not always applied), whilst Clarke said to send MLS off for the two offences committed would have been incredibly harsh. Sending players off the pitch should be a last resort when the player has literally given the ref no option.

            Obviously you can't have someone going around making 4 of them in a game, but I do think a second yellow in a situation where contact was minimal would not have been correct.

              we live in a post positional world. LOL. joking aside, i think the randomness of some of our movement really confused PSV on Tuesday. United are naive, and could similarly be victimised by Calafiori and others popping up in random locations

              The only way we will overcome our weak individual attackers is by flooding the box, so it was good to see MLS, Cala and Timber all contribute.

              On PSV, they had no midfield so we enjoyed more space than we normally would. I expect the Man Utd game to revert back to what we saw against Forest.

              • CPM

              • Post #133

              RocktheCasbah For me the first yellow was soft and did not need to be given, especially so early in the game.

                7 days later

                Amazing. Guys, can we just take a step back and appreciate that MlS beat off half a dozen left backs to get here.

                  I thought Tuchel spoke really well on him too. Super happy for MLS, for all the noise around him he has made remarkable strides in a very short period of time.

                  Claudius MlS beat off half a dozen left backs to get here.

                  Lewis-Skelly in the locker room trying to figure out how to break into the England team with Nwaneri and Dowman:

                    7 days later

                    Scores 20 minutes into England debut. Great finish. Real Madrid beware.