re: Champions League 2/14

quote:

---

The lengths you go to in order to defend that shite oil club is actually incredible. PSG sucks and obviously spending 400mm in one window still isn't going to change that. When you play against a shite league the whole year you are never going to be up for the big boys.

---

like clockwork

referring to my previous post:

quote:

---

Saying a group of players has to win the Champions League to be considered successful, especially in the Ronaldo/Messi era, is not a fair standard. Not saying the statement of intent doesn't invite expectations, and yes if they go out it will be a disappointment, but most in the English speaking soccer world go way too far in their other direction. I get it, the English don't like the French and the American soccer media often takes their cue from their English counterparts on UEFA matters, so PSG are held out to this unfair standard. Just try to use your head about what is and isn't a reasonable expectation.

---

very well reasoned and not at all inflammatory take

quote:

---

There is no reasoning with you over this man

---

I have been very reasonable actually

quote:

---

You are willing to somehow write off

---

A fan defending his team, fricking weird.

I'm not writing anything off btw, you're just picking and choosing what you want to hear.

great rebuttal

quote:

---

Serious question: Will you consider this season successful if they get eliminated in the R16 after spending all that money?

---

Definitely not, however it's still fair to say they were unlucky with the draw.

But just because the season would not be a success doesn't mean everything is shite, the club are a joke, and they should blow the whole thing up or just go home.

quote:

---

the club are a joke

---

PSG is a joke

(no message)

quote:

---

All I'm trying to say is that I think it's reasonable to start saying PSG is underachieving.

---

it's not unreasonable to say that. However I wonder what the narrative would be if they drew Basel in R16, Roma in the QF, and then went out to RM in the SF?

ooo if we don't make it to the last 8. United fully warrant anything thrown its way.

Much like City last year.

I think the implication that any team should win the CL, or even advance very far because they spent money does a disservice to both the CL in the modern era and Messi/Ronaldo. There have been only 3 finals in the last ten years in which neither played a part. In addition to that, Europe generally favors intricate midfield play, or needs a midfielder who excels at linking attack and defense, which means that in addition to buying expensive forward players, they need to be supplemented with the right sort of midfield. That arguably is a harder task than finding players who excel in the final third, because there is still a vast difference between league play and continental play. League play across Europe still favors strength, size and speed to degrees that are not effective in Europe. Thus the trick has become to build sides that can win both, and frankly Spain seems to favor league play that most closely resembles what you need to win in Europe, reflected in the fact that in the last ten years, 11 champions of Europe across competitions (CL & EL) are from Spain.

In that sense Spain has an inherent advantage, and France, though they produce very technical players, still favors physical play to a degree higher than is required in Europe. That's not to say that physical teams can't be successful in Europe or Spain, as Atletico Madrid has been one of the most physical teams of the past ten years, even much more so than English teams.

Frankly the dearth of midfield players who can link midfield to attack should mean they are valued as highly as attacking players who finish, but those players are usually ill-suited to demands of physical league play and European play on top of that. Which creates the ultimate conundrum. This is one of the reasons why a player like Pogba goes for as much money as he does. He could lead the midfield attack, play as a pivot, play as a DLP, and conceivably as a DM, if his tackle and interception stats in Italy are any indication. And ultimately his frame is more resistant to some challenges that deep-lying midfielders face. That Mourinho doesn't know how to use him reflects some tactical inflexibility on Mourinho's part, which is surprising considering his history of building teams around versatile midfield players like Sneijder, who he pushed back from a shallow attacking midfielder role to a slightly deeper role flanked by a duo of functional midfielders made up of any combination of Motta, Stankovic, Muntari, and Cambiasso.

My point here is that even if PSG or Man City spends a lot of money, it doesn't necessarily gurantee European success because what is required in Europe, at the minimum, is a midfield that can withstand the physical nature of league play and can still execute the combination play required in Europe. Looking at PSG, they do have Verrati, but seem to struggle to provide him with the right sort of partner. Rabiot is promising, but he's also a bit wayward and to me wants to take an outsized role in comparison to his actual ability. They need to target the right sort of midfield player this summer, but the list of targets is rather paltry.