Pre-Season 2024/25

[Deutsch Wolf]

If they can stop all the backslapping about how good we were last season and handing the manager a 4 year contract for no particular reason they might care to consider:

a) That we still have a goalkeeper who will regularly let in atrocious goals, and there is no alternative to him
b) We have literally one left back once we send Hugo out on loan
c) Matt Doherty is playing Premier League football in mid/late 2024
d) We intend playing a pair of centre halves, and of the four we own, two probably can't do that
e) We have a wealth of players who operate in wide areas, but loads of them are at very least severely flawed
f) We have one striker (this is an improvement on six months ago, I'll grant you)
g) We still let teams run right through us
h) We still don't particularly pass the ball well
i) As Tony says, we tend to rely on moments rather than strategy
j) We finished last season appallingly, and even allowing for mitigating factors, what do you do if that bleeds into Aug/Sep/Oct
k) You did piss off pretty much all your fans this summer. Some have left, some caved and did what you asked, but it's not going to look good if we've got a worse squad than 12 months ago and you've done what you've done in terms of pricing
l) We're trying to pretend that Gonçalo Guedes is a Premier League footballer

So get to work.

 

[GLASGOWOLF]

Fuck! This preseason is harsh.

A week ago we were heading into Europe after twatting the energy drink team.

Dont remember seeing me saying Europe

 

[Tony Towner]

If they can stop all the backslapping about how good we were last season and handing the manager a 4 year contract for no particular reason they might care to consider:

a) That we still have a goalkeeper who will regularly let in atrocious goals, and there is no alternative to him
b) We have literally one left back once we send Hugo out on loan
c) Matt Doherty is playing Premier League football in mid/late 2024
d) We intend playing a pair of centre halves, and of the four we own, two probably can't do that
e) We have a wealth of players who operate in wide areas, but loads of them are at very least severely flawed
f) We have one striker (this is an improvement on six months ago, I'll grant you)
g) We still let teams run right through us
h) We still don't particularly pass the ball well
i) As Tony says, we tend to rely on moments rather than strategy
j) We finished last season appallingly, and even allowing for mitigating factors, what do you do if that bleeds into Aug/Sep/Oct
k) You did piss off pretty much all your fans this summer. Some have left, some caved and did what you asked, but it's not going to look good if we've got a worse squad than 12 months ago and you've done what you've done in terms of pricing
l) We're trying to pretend that Gonçalo Guedes is a Premier League footballer

So get to work.

Wouldn't disagree with any of this, I do think you are being generous to someone in d though

 

[Wilf Wolf]

If they can stop all the backslapping about how good we were last season and handing the manager a 4 year contract for no particular reason they might care to consider:

a) That we still have a goalkeeper who will regularly let in atrocious goals, and there is no alternative to him
b) We have literally one left back once we send Hugo out on loan
c) Matt Doherty is playing Premier League football in mid/late 2024
d) We intend playing a pair of centre halves, and of the four we own, two probably can't do that
e) We have a wealth of players who operate in wide areas, but loads of them are at very least severely flawed
f) We have one striker (this is an improvement on six months ago, I'll grant you)
g) We still let teams run right through us
h) We still don't particularly pass the ball well
i) As Tony says, we tend to rely on moments rather than strategy
j) We finished last season appallingly, and even allowing for mitigating factors, what do you do if that bleeds into Aug/Sep/Oct
k) You did piss off pretty much all your fans this summer. Some have left, some caved and did what you asked, but it's not going to look good if we've got a worse squad than 12 months ago and you've done what you've done in terms of pricing
l) We're trying to pretend that Gonçalo Guedes is a Premier League footballer

So get to work.

But apart from that everything looks great!

I know the majority of teams start the season with the prime aim of avoiding relegation but unless we get the recruitment right in the next three weeks we will be desperately hoping that none of the promoted teams are much better than last year’s three.

 

[Mel Evo]

Yerson looked good at RB for Villarreal so could we play Toti and Dawson as a makeshift pairing in a 4? Obviously this is a wasted question as one of GONs blind spots appears to be Doherty. It’s one that will cost us, and it’s easy to believe his view is talking to loans / recruitment here, which is annoying.

 

[Tony Towner]

LL said Mosquera gave the ball away a lot, which nobody on here has mentioned, but if that's true and you have Toti who can't pass water then next week will be interesting

 

[Templeton Peck]

Friendly chaps. That's it.

 

[Alan]

Toti’s passing isn’t that bad.

Edit: on checking further, his completion % (~82%) actually puts him in a lower percentile (24th) than I would have expected.

 

[Tony Towner]

Toti’s passing isn’t that bad.

Within 5 yards I'd agree. He's rustic, I like him, he's not a PL CH in a 2 that wants to press high and never will be. Decent squad player

 

[Tony Towner]

Friendly chaps. That's it.

The manager said it was shit, I don't think you can ignore the last third of last season and just dismiss it. People did that with Lage and look where that ended up. Fwiw I do think it's different and blame Shi more than GON, but wouldn't dismiss it out of hand

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

The manager said it was shit, I don't think you can ignore the last third of last season and just dismiss it. People did that with Lage and look where that ended up. Fwiw I do think it's different and blame Shi more than GON, but wouldn't dismiss it out of hand

It's not a Lage situation because we were pretty much always shite under Lage and he was evidently a right fucking prick, neither of which apply now.

Say you don't win any of the first 6 though. So it's 1 win in 16. What then.

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

LL said Mosquera gave the ball away a lot, which nobody on here has mentioned, but if that's true and you have Toti who can't pass water then next week will be interesting

I thought he did too. You can tell he has potential but looked a bit dodgy at times.

Doherty looked trimmer than last year but did absolutely nothing. Lima looked way better when he came on.

Strand Lasen was anonymous but Guedes was probably worse when he came on. On the plus side, Rodrigo Gomes looks really good.

If we play like that next week we will lose comfortably (which will probably happen regardless).

 

[slink]

Not one to take pre season games to seriously in terms of results but would have preferred a better performance. Seemed like similar issues with the midfield being open on transitions with Lemina and Gones being too far apart which happened too much last season imo and then a reluctance to play crisp forward passes to break lines and safe passes wide preferred. Rayo sat back and time wasted once Palazon scored which we struggled to break down but did put in 3/4 great crosses in the second half, one of which Hwang should have equalised.

I understand why people are skeptical about our transfer business but we have to believe they can see that we need a centre back and a couple of attacking players at the very least with still a couple to go out. Whatever happens with transfers though we still need to be better at dictating play when teams let us have the ball.

 

[sycophantia]

Must admit I didn't notice Mosquera giving the ball away too often.
At the risk of getting pelters I thought Doc was OK, put in one really good cross actually which I don't think I ever seen before.

 

[prawnking]

I thought O'Neil's post-match summary was honest and spot on; it was below the level we'd like. I don't mind a little damp squib of a pre-season finale though if it keeps our feet on the ground.

Was impressed with Mosquera, he seemed to mop up most situations, and he forms a decent-looking partnership with Toti, but we need an extra quality body in the centre-half pool for sure, as we currently don't have a single dead cert there, especially in a two.

I know he's initially suspended, but surprised Semedo didn't get more minutes, and (although I've defended his Nuno-era previously), like all of us I certainly don't want to see Doc as a PL full back starter. Having said that, at least he looked fairly fit and keen.

Rodrigo still building relationships, but has seemingly picked up in this game the disease the rest of the squad has, which is a total aversion to actually taking a shot on goal. Hopefully that's a one-off.

I'm still not totally sold on RAN as one of our top players; hope O'Neil can continue to progress him this season, as tricks on the halfway line that lead to nothing and dawdling on the ball in good positions don't do much for me, or the team.

As others have hinted at, Larsen doesn't look much of anything, but it's early days and he's a focal point, so patience and time needed there.

Think we're going to be very reliant on Rodrigo and Cunha for goals this season, so could do with the latter back ASAP. Hopefully some of the Neto money goes on creative attacking reinforcements, as Sarabia, Bellegarde, Chiquinho and Guedes are a pretty mediocre pool for the PL

 

[ROVERT47]

Still can't get the last 3 months of last season out of my mind, I'm a bit worried to be honest.

 

[sycophantia]

I thought O'Neil's post-match summary was honest and spot on; it was below the level we'd like. I don't mind a little damp squib of a pre-season finale though if it keeps our feet on the ground.

Was impressed with Mosquera, he seemed to mop up most situations, and he forms a decent-looking partnership with Toti, but we need an extra quality body in the centre-half pool for sure, as we currently don't have a single dead cert there, especially in a two.

I know he's initially suspended, but surprised Semedo didn't get more minutes, and (although I've defended his Nuno-era previously), like all of us I certainly don't want to see Doc as a PL full back starter. Having said that, at least he looked fairly fit and keen.

Rodrigo still building relationships, but has seemingly picked up in this game the disease the rest of the squad has, which is a total aversion to actually taking a shot on goal. Hopefully that's a one-off.

I'm still not totally sold on RAN as one of our top players; hope O'Neil can continue to progress him this season, as tricks on the halfway line that lead to nothing and dawdling on the ball in good positions don't do much for me, or the team.

As others have hinted at, Larsen doesn't look much of anything, but it's early days and he's a focal point, so patience and time needed there.

Think we're going to be very reliant on Rodrigo and Cunha for goals this season, so could do with the latter back ASAP. Hopefully some of the Neto money goes on creative attacking reinforcements, as Sarabia, Bellegarde, Chiquinho and Guedes are a pretty mediocre pool for the PL

Think this is all fair. From our seats lower of the North Bank, early on Rodrigo got into some great positions where he could get a shot off but kept looking for Larsen, we wondered if the team were trying to get Larsen on the scoresheet?
I also read this morning Larsen has a bit of a groin strain before the game but said he was OK to play. Also seen that Lemina came off with cramp in his hammy, hopefully just being very careful.

 

[GLASGOWOLF]

If I am honest, watching every game we have played. I am worried where the goals will come from without Neto, and Cunha.

Don't think Larson looks the answer, too slow and weak, hopefully prove me wrong.

Just think its going to be a long season, unless Hobbs, and GON can do some good work on the transfer front.

If not I seriously fear for our Premier League place, yesterday was awful.

 

[Squeak]

If I am honest, watching every game we have played. I am worried where the goals will come from without Neto, and Cunha.

Don't think Larson looks the answer, too slow and weak, hopefully prove me wrong.

Just think its going to be a long season, unless Hobbs, and GON can do some good work on the transfer front.

If not I seriously fear for our Premier League place, yesterday was awful.

The problem is, that we lack ambition now so what story do you tell prospective recruits. "Come to us and once you've proved yourself, we'll sell you for a better career in the game."

Yesterday's game exposed us in terms of attacking threat. Reaching the box is one thing but then finding the killer pass seems beyond us in general. Far too slow, far too clumsy and far too often it goes backwards. The top teams move with pace when in the goal areas and we simply stop far too many times. Losing Neto is huge IMO.

 

[Kenny]

The problem is, that we lack ambition now so what story do you tell prospective recruits. "Come to us and once you've proved yourself, we'll sell you for a better career

Well being doing that since Fosun arrived.