Real Madrid (old thread)

[Fourteen]

Not a big enough name. Is he even good enough anyway? Never seen the guy play.

 

[Lemmi]

He's pretty fucking good. Though Dortmund as a whole have been awesome this year.

 

[Ocelot]

7 years and 10 months has Mourihno not lost at home during a league game

 

[gingerless]

how many draws thougrh

 

[Beast]

Castilla manager was sacked this afternoon , Alberto Toril who manager Juvenile A and won the league and super cup last year is now the new manager of Castilla

 

[FCBarca]

Just read Sid's piece on Drenthe...If I understood the situation correctly, sounds like Royston is getting the shaft...big time

 

[Beast]

He is not to blame , poor kid
he is not paid and he deserve to get paid especially after what he did , we don't have a place for him this year though

 

[Gnegneri]

Higuain gets surgery.

 

[Beast]

Not really news , we are waiting for how long he will be out.. the surgery is old news

 

[Xavi_78]

For now, the fuss is only about substitute players in major part. The only positions we should be worrying about is RB and slowly ageing CB, but changing one player in the line-up every 10 months isn't chemistry-crashing, especially if it will be the players from the current bench being placed into starting 11.
In other words, it's not as much harm for us to keep playing current defensive line-up and then changing it in January 2012 or August 2011 at worst if Pepe is sold, because Albiol is capable of replacing him in long-term (disagreeing with Gneg there, but that's my opinion). Arbeloa is also capable of fitting into right-back if Albiol is supposed to stay a 3rd choice for a CB instead of a starter.

We have good opportunities of rotating guys who just need playing together to understand Mourinho's philosophy of defence.

Selling and replacing subs in the upcoming transfer windows won't do us bad at all.

I am not so sure about that. Arbeloa got smocked by Pedro last saison, but maybe he will make it. I can not see that for Albiol. If I compare him to Pique he just seems to stand still and not progress in any way. I always thought him and Pique as next CB pairing when Puyol retires but now I think maybe it will be San Jose or somebody else.

 

[Antimilan]

The one and only player I like in Madrid is Higuain.... I feel sorry for him. Mourinho cited to have said that after the surgery, he's going to be missing for the rest of the season.

 

[El Gato]

I am not so sure about that. Arbeloa got smocked by Pedro last saison, but maybe he will make it. I can not see that for Albiol. If I compare him to Pique he just seems to stand still and not progress in any way. I always thought him and Pique as next CB pairing when Puyol retires but now I think maybe it will be San Jose or somebody else.

Don't compare him to Pique, because Pique has more freedom on the pitch than Albiol could ever dream of. Any coach in Madrid has to pay special attention to defensive line and can't give them any extra responsibilities besides defending (with Marcelo's exception), because the first thing for us now is to improve defensively.

What have we seen from Pique on the other hand ? A goal against Inter, frequent roaming and runs with the ball. You can't say something like 'Albiol is shit' just, because Gerard is mobile. He is a perfect piece for FCB puzzle. You'd watch him do the same stuff as Raul if he was at Madrid.

With that being said, I'm not saying Albiol is on the same level as Pique, because he isn't. He needs to up his pace, experience on the top level and just needs to continue improving, expanding his game with passing might come in the future. Having experienced CBs in the team helps too, because he knows how much better he needs to get.

As for Spanish national team, it's either going to be Ramos or Albiol coming in for Puyol. That depends on what happens in Madrid really, because Arbeloa also wants that RB spot in the national team.

 

[Xavi_78]

Not saying that Albiol is shit just that I do not see him making any progress. I still remember Pique coming back from Manchester and he was number 4 behind Rafe, Puyol and Milito and look now: he played his way into the Barca team and furthermore into the NT while two years ago he was hardly known.

 

[Banana-Rama]

Albiol is too slow to be a top class centre back, he gets outsprinted very easy lol.

 

[El Gato]

Nothing you can't work on. Carvalho isn't Usain Bolt either and yet he was and still is considered one of the top CBs available. It's not all about pace when defending. Having speedy partners helps as well and Albiol would have Pepe (3rd or 2nd best sprinter in our team), Marcelo and Ramos, a reasonable amount of speed and if he can't up his pace anymore then he could start relying on them a bit more and focus on improving positioning, teamwork etc. etc.