Transfer: Summer Transfer News and Rumors Part III

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Los merengues

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Mar 24, 2019
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You don't think it might've had something to do with Rafa tossing him out as a RW and using Bale as the play-maker?

Or Zidane preferring the BBC and a 4-3-3?

And then the signings of Asensio and Isco?

James failed at Madrid because Florentino bought him for all the wrong reasons with no coherent plan, and then other fantastic players were preferred by Zidane after Rafa's silly attempt at being a Madrid manager. It had nothing to do with "mentality." Zidane himself said he's got nothing against James, but understood he wanted to play more.

He's a mega-talent that got stapled to the bench due to tactical reasons and due to Madrid having an embarrassing amount of attacking talent. When you have a player like Ronaldo, you don't worry about trying to get the best out of a #10. You worry about balance. Whenever, and wherever, James played, he produced. That's undeniable.



I'll give you defensive skills , but the other two? Not so much. Look at the chart I posted above again, if you missed it the first time.

And honestly, he's not even really a true CM.

I could go on about his mixed time at Bayern, but a lot of the same things happened to him there.
So we agree on most things. What comes to the chart. I saw it, but it has little to do with press resistance or ball retetion. James scores, assists makes more key passes compared to many players. Thats a given. Hi simply isnt a player to play for a "super team" like Bayern or Madrid. He is the perfect guy for though Napoli.

What comes to that Zidane episode you are correct. But Even If Zidane didn't have anything against James its a fact that Isco did exactly what James shouldve. He fought for his spot back then and with Bale around injured, being more interested in golf than the team and performing badly when not injured. Isco got alot of playing time time on 4-1-2-1-2. That couldve been James.
 

Il Mediano

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Feb 24, 2018
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What comes to the chart. I saw it, but it has little to do with press resistance or ball retetion.

Wrong.

xGChain and xGBuildup were designed to encompass those things. For example, the guy who's a god in those categories is Thiago Alcantara.

Straight from the creator's mouth : "It’s my hope that it can sit alongside xG and xA as a basic, straightforward metric to reveal the contributions of of players involved in the earlier stages of attacking moves, such as deep lying playmakers, or creative centre-backs."
 

Los merengues

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Mar 24, 2019
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Wrong.

xGChain and xGBuildup were designed to encompass those things. For example, the guy who's a god in those categories is Thiago Alcantara.

Straight from the creator's mouth : "It’s my hope that it can sit alongside xG and xA as a basic, straightforward metric to reveal the contributions of of players involved in the earlier stages of attacking moves, such as deep lying playmakers, or creative centre-backs."
Except it doesnt even how much he would hope for it to.
 

Il Mediano

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Except it doesnt even how much he would hope for it to.

I take it English isn't your first language, but do you want to try that sentence again?

xGChain/Buildup are along the same lines as the newer "Packing" statistic. It's all quantifying things towards actions outside of final product.
 

Paulie Gualtieri

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May 18, 2016
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Zidane's interest in Eriksen seems to have really cooled off. Haven't been any rumours of other teams in on him either.

Quote from the Eriksen interview a few days ago:

“I feel I am at a point in my career, where I might would like to try something new. But then again I got the upmost respect everything that happened at Tottenham, and it wouldn’t be negative to stay.”

“I hope a decision will be made during the summer, that is the plan”

“If I have to go, I’ll hopefully feel that it is a step up the ladder. And Tottenham have progressed well during the last few years, so there might not be many clubs to choose from”

“Real Madrid is a step up the ladder, but that requires an interest from the club in question. It isn’t something up to oneself to decide. It requires a phone call from Madrid to Tottenham stating that they want me, and as far as I know, this hasn’t happened yet.”

Asked about staying at Spurs:

“That depends on the opportunities presented to me. If something arises, which I find more interesting than Tottenham. If that doesn’t happen, I will sign a new contract with spurs. I am still happy to be here, and they want to keep me, so I’ve only gotten positive vibes from the club”

So basically he's saying that he won't do Spurs dirty by running out his contract if he doesn't get sold this summer.
 

Burner Account

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Feb 14, 2008
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There is a pocket of fans of English football that really rate Maguire. Last season, I asked a friend of mine who he thought was the best player outside the top six and his response was Maguire.

I also asked around this board because I truly don't watch enough Leicester to confidently assess his ability. But is Leicester just going to gouge a big club because he's English?
 

Los merengues

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Mar 24, 2019
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I take it English isn't your first language, but do you want to try that sentence again?

xGChain/Buildup are along the same lines as the newer "Packing" statistic. It's all quantifying things towards actions outside of final product.
Its not.

I know what xGChain/buildup is. But it doesnt have much to do with ball retention.

Touches, passes complited, passing %, long balls, posession won/lost tells you a way more accurate story of a players contribution on that area.
 

East Coast Bias

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Feb 28, 2014
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Leicester don't really need to sell and are looking to compete now.

I'm not going to freak out over prices unless he's sold for a big fee. Because Leicester saying "he'll cost you 75m" could just be their way of saying f off.
 

Chimaera

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Feb 4, 2004
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A lot of guys will get looks in friendlies, as they're going to give some rest to a number of the main line guys. 7 things to play for means a ton of matches.

I don't think that's anything more than the expectation. He could earn his way into a spot with a really good camp and some highlights in friendlies, but he could also increase his sale or loan value with the same.
 

Il Mediano

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Feb 24, 2018
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Its not.

I know what xGChain/buildup is. But it doesnt have much to do with ball retention.

Touches, passes complited, passing %, long balls, posession won/lost tells you a way more accurate story of a players contribution on that area.

Ok, so you removed press-resisting entirely, and just went with ball-retention... ok, if you wanna go there, let's keep in mind this golden rule: the further forward the player, the more likely they will lose possession

Those stats you mentioned are entirely dependant on the role you're asked to play, and the tactics of your team, and a myriad of other factors (such as quality of teammates). But if you want to use those statistics you highlighted, here it goes:

Touches:

Unsuccessful per/90 : James 0.7.... Tied with Thiago, and better than Goretzka, Martinez, Alaba, Gnabry, Lewandowski, Muller, Kimmich et al.

Really, only Tolisso and the CB's had better unsuccessful touches numbers (for obvious reasons).

Sooo, it sure seems like he holds onto the ball extremely well.

Passes completed:

44.0 per/90. Outside of defenders, Thiago's the only guy on the team who averages higher.

Passing %:

87% . Again, outside of defenders, only Thiago is better.

Long Balls:

Hey, whattaya know... only Thiago and defenders again. Wonder why that is.

Possession won/lost:

Dispossessed: 0.6/90. Better than: Thiago (imagine that), Ribery, Coman, Lewandowski, Kimmich, Alaba, Goretzka, Robben..... literally the only guy outside of CB's who was better in that department was friggin' Thomas Muller. And if you watch Muller play... you'd know exactly why that is.

So honestly, I played your game of saying my stats are worthless, and used the stats you specified...and guess what? James still kicks ass.

His defensive numbers aren't very good, but anyone who knows anything about football should know that about him already. He's a 10.
 
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