That was so bad 
But I must say I quite enjoy the way clubs make it official now.
But I must say I quite enjoy the way clubs make it official now.Chelsea 2017/18 thread - FA Cup Champs, League chumps
- Thread starter duffer
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
That's so bad jesus. Makes the Salah announcement looks like it deserves an Oscar nod in comparison
Rudiger is atheltic and powerful, I think as the RCB in the back 3 he'll be a decent signing for them.
Yes, they need 5 reliable CBs for the season and Rudiger is in the mould, ceiling is high once he learns more tricks and discipline.
Don't really see the point. Ake is just as talented.
He compliments the CB's they got and as you say they'll need a deep pool due to the system.
Haven't they sold him?
That was so bad
I agree! Looking forward to when clubs get the hang of this announcement thing. I expect United to be all over this with your want to market the hell out of things.
I doubt anyone outside of Chelsea knows who Conte's first choice striker actually is
First it was Morata, then it was Belotti, then it was Lukaku and now it's Belotti again
I think the fact that Chelsea matched United's bid for Lukaku would indicate he was their first choice. Carry on pretending otherwise though.
Clearly Conte wanted more maturity, Ake is good but too young for the trade at the highest levels maybe?
They have, which is why this is baffling. He's not better than Azpilicueta and Ake could have competed with Cahill. In general I thought there was no need to sign a CB for them, with Christensen and Ake already at the club.
Ake is a 5'10" defensive midfielder who can play centre back when required. This new chap is 6'3" and a defender.
We've got Christensen back who is just as talented as Ake (maybe more) as well.
Rudiger is a good signing but i'm happy we got Lindelof. Just hope they won't get Bakayoko.
Rudiger is hardly that much further ahead in his development. If he really wanted more experience, Koulibaly or Manolas would have made more sense.
It was strange that they brought Ake back midway through his loan as Conte didn't seem to rate him, clearly.
He's been good for Gladbach, do you think he has a chance at being a starter for Chelsea?
I don't understand Chelsea. They have a future world class IV with Christensen, a very good with Zouma and sold Ake. Now they are buying an average defender like Rüdiger for that money?
Christensen could play easily in their first eleven and they are blocking his spot with Rüdiger.
Christensen could play easily in their first eleven and they are blocking his spot with Rüdiger.
He was brought back as cover but we didn't end up having many injuries.
As for Christensen, apparently he'll be in the mix, I can see Zouma going out on loan to have a full season starting somewhere after a bad injury.
When was the last time he played in midfield? And how often has he played there the last couple of years?
He played there for most of his youth career. When he was on loan at Bournemouth he played centre back, full back and midfield. The player considers himself a midfielder.
Assuming it's Rudiger, Bakayoko and Morata as their three major signings I think that's pretty decent business considering they were league champions last season and quite difficult to improve on. Still feel it's slightly undwhelming especially with Costa department imminent (allegedly)
I wonder if Conte sees Christensen as cover/competition for Luiz as I see him more as the sweeper than in either of the side CBV roles. That would be a good idea for Zouma as the injury seemed worse than originally thought.
They're absolute cringe.
Christensen will be competing with David Luiz for the spot in the centre. His passing is excellent.
Martial thinks he's a striker, nonetheless managers keep playing him wide. Ake has hardly played in midfield the last couple of years, mostly as LB and CB. Not sure what your argument is here, Azpilicueta isn't as tall as Ake and it wasn't a problem. It's simply a stupid decision by your club, since Rudiger isn't that much of an improvement on the players you already have or had.
That's definitely going to be his role.
I think he can play all three positions, as he is a quite complete CB. But with Ake gone, I agree he's the most natural choice as back up for Luiz. No idea if Conte himself has said anything about that yet.
It was a problem a few times last season. Long balls from the right into Azpilicueta's area became more and more commonplace as the season unfolded. Teams targeted it as a weakness.
Okay, didn't see those. Still think he's your best defender though.
To be fair, he's clearly seen as a LB or CB these days.
Well I think you need to expand upon that statement somewhat. He has all the skills a goalscorer requires and just because he hasn't played in numerous other systems doesn't mean he can't. Look at Lukaku for example, he clearly plays best on the break but one also assumes he has the skills to function when playing in a passing game where continued pressure is applied too. That's a bit of an unknown though so haven't United taken a £75m gamble ? Is Morata any different ? Or Lacazette who has spent all of his time at OL ? Not many strikers have played at multiple clubs thriving under multiple systems.
His English is great. Always makes me feel such a dope when these young guys are tri-(and more)lingual.
Yeah I don't get it either. Christensen has just has 'another' impressive season and should clearly be ahead of Rudiger. Strange.
That Chelsea vid is like when your rivals lose a Saturday morning game but you half hold off from the gloating just in case your side do the same thing later in the day.
Let's see if we don't embarrass ourselves with Lukaku
Let's see if we don't embarrass ourselves with Lukaku
Very different players though. Ake is far more of a ball player than pure defender. Conte wants a tall log-of-wood defender defender by the looks of it. We have Luiz to be the ball playing CB anyways.
While Rudiger has had a sub-par season I am happy to see what Conte's coaching gets out of him. Potential superstar on our hands and if not then Ake seems to have a buy back clause anyway.
Rudiger will compete for RBC. While Christensen will compete for LCB spot. Its unlikely Christensen's progress is going to be hindered at the club. The club has put way too much into it to feck it up.
I don't think there's any doubt about that. As long as there's a buy back, I'm warming up to Ake being sold. We have Luiz, Cahill, Azpilicueta, Zouma, Christensen, and Rudiger. Cahill shouldn't be starting every game but we need him for HG, and there's been rumblings about a Zouma loan all summer. I don't see where the confusion is coming from about the signing.
I wasn't really talking about different systems but more like his skill set is far too limited, too limited not to play in a different system
If Conte is pissed off before the season even starts that has to be great news for us.
They seem to have really reined in the spending in recent years. Bar Mourinho's second summer when they signed Costa and Fabregas they really haven't spent big. Can see them getting overtaken sooner rather than later tbh.
They seem to have really reined in the spending in recent years. Bar Mourinho's second summer when they signed Costa and Fabregas they really haven't spent big. Can see them getting overtaken sooner rather than later tbh.
A german CB with the best part of his career ahead of him is a very good signing. He is a great prospect and a potential starter for the german NT.