[Football] Marc Cucurella

[fly high]

Cucu's own fault, shouldn't have pushed for a move. He needed at least another season with us to improve before trying the so called big time.
Think the same for Caicedo, next summer would be too soon even if he has a great World Cup.

 

[Bold Seagull]

How many recent moves from the "other 14" to the "Big 6" have actually paid off over the past few seasons.
I know Liverpool used to have success plundering Southampton for their best players, but that is a few years ago.

Ake has hardly cemented a place at Man City, other than on the bench.

A lot of the Big 6 transfers are usually to each other (Stirling, Jesus etc) or the best of the European Leagues.

I think the "PL premium" puts some top clubs off, and I suspect Cucu's transfer may be held up as one that Chelsea seriously overpaid, and may stop other teams being quite so cavalier. There is usually better value abroad, if you are prepared to look. (look at us!)

In hindsight, City's valuation was closer to the mark.

Cucurella has made 12 appearances, to write him off already I would say is a tad premature. I seem to remember Cancelo really struggled at City in his first season, and wasn't until halfway through his second that he started to nail a place in the team.

 

[severnside gull]

Cucu is also currently answering the same question while Biss is shrugging!

White isn't even in the England team...



White is nailed on for the World Cup squad IMO



...oh, my bad.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Ben White is currently answering that question.

The thing is, while Cucurella has played for relatively small clubs recently, Ben White was actually owned by the hugest club in the megaverse before he was ruthlessly kidnapped and forced to play for #TeamsLike Brighton and Arsenal. Poor kid.

 

[Stat Brother]

No scout in the world is going to watch Moises and think 'nah he just looks good because he plays for Brighton '.

True but that's not my point.

The point I'm making is:-

"How much!??!!!!"
"I'm not paying that for someone who plays for Brighton".
"I'll pay half that, cos your boys can't cut it at the top". (Without any irony!)

At which point Mr Bloom's whole business model is in doubt.

 

[keaton]

How many recent moves from the "other 14" to the "Big 6" have actually paid off over the past few seasons.
I know Liverpool used to have success plundering Southampton for their best players, but that is a few years ago.

Ake has hardly cemented a place at Man City, other than on the bench.

A lot of the Big 6 transfers are usually to each other (Stirling, Jesus etc) or the best of the European Leagues.

I think the "PL premium" puts some top clubs off, and I suspect Cucu's transfer may be held up as one that Chelsea seriously overpaid, and may stop other teams being quite so cavalier. There is usually better value abroad, if you are prepared to look. (look at us!)

In hindsight, City's valuation was closer to the mark.

Ramsdale, White, Holjberg, Richarlison,

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

True but that's not my point.

The point I'm making is:-

"How much!??!!!!"
"I'm not paying that for someone who plays for Brighton".
"I'll pay half that, cos your boys can't cut it at the top". (Without any irony!)

At which point Mr Bloom's whole business model is in doubt.

It only takes two to make an auction and then all bets are off (see "Cucrella to Chelsea: A case study" by T. Bloom)

 

[Uh_huh_him]

True but that's not my point.

The point I'm making is:-

"How much!??!!!!"
"I'm not paying that for someone who plays for Brighton".
"I'll pay half that, cos your boys can't cut it at the top". (Without any irony!)

At which point Mr Bloom's whole business model is in doubt.

I suspect mister Bloom's negotiation style, will side-step that tactic relatively easily.

 

[Arthritic Toe]

He just got well and truly worked over by the pundits on MOTD2.

Which was nice.

I thought that was totally unfair actually. These routines for defending corners are worked on in training. As we've seen in the past, Potter uses the short players (Maupay, Cucu etc) to block key players - their role isnt to defend, its purely to block. The defending is done by others. It wasn't Cucu's job to abandon their corner routine and do something completely different - he was doing exactly what he had been instructed to do - and did it perfectly.
Whether the routine worked or not as a whole (which it didnt in this case) is not his fault.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Ramsdale, White, Holjberg, Richarlison,

Jota, Chilwell, Kante,

 

[Bakero]

I thought that was totally unfair actually. These routines for defending corners are worked on in training. As we've seen in the past, Potter uses the short players (Maupay, Cucu etc) to block key players - their role isnt to defend, its purely to block. The defending is done by others. It wasn't Cucu's job to abandon their corner routine and do something completely different - he was doing exactly what he had been instructed to do - and did it perfectly.
Whether the routine worked or not as a whole (which it didnt in this case) is not his fault.

I said a similar thing on another thread. Cucurella presumably did exactly what he was supposed to do.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

I thought that was totally unfair actually. These routines for defending corners are worked on in training. As we've seen in the past, Potter uses the short players (Maupay, Cucu etc) to block key players - their role isnt to defend, its purely to block. The defending is done by others. It wasn't Cucu's job to abandon their corner routine and do something completely different - he was doing exactly what he had been instructed to do - and did it perfectly.
Whether the routine worked or not as a whole (which it didnt in this case) is not his fault.

I've seen almost all of Chelsea's games since Potter's move. Unfortunately for Marc Cucurella, his 'poor form' has become a narrative, and a bit of a lightning rod for any Chelsea fans' dissatisfaction with Potter's start. Cucurella is really not playing particularly poorly. Not great - but hardly calamitous.

 

[SeagullsoverLondon]

Jota, Chilwell, Kante,

Ramsdale, White, Holjberg, Richarlison,

I think this sort of proves the point. Not that many, and Kante went in 2016 (Mahrez obviously from Leicester as well in 2018)

It is not exactly wholesale rape and pillaging of the little clubs, which is somewhat the narrative portrayed.

The job, which Southampton were very successful at for a number of years (not so much now) is finding the right replacements to take the place of the big name transfers.
At the moment, it is fair to say Albion are doing well on that front!

 

[Baldseagull]

There is a slightly serious alternate view to the mockery.

Is it not in Mr Bloom's best interests for our talent to kick on again, after their move away from the Albion?

In the summer we'll be wanting many millions for someone, but that might not be forthcoming if there's doubt about lil Brighton players performing at a 'big club'.

I will be quite happy if the rest of the football world believes Caicedo is only any good in a Brighton shirt. Truthfully though, there is a pretty long list of excellent players that have flopped at Chelsea, Lukaku has done so twice.

 

[CheeseRolls]

I will be quite happy if the rest of the football world believes Caicedo is only any good in a Brighton shirt. Truthfully though, there is a pretty long list of excellent players that have flopped at Chelsea, Lukaku has done so twice.

De Bruyne, Salah

 

[Baldseagull]

Yeah that's equally true.

Maybe Premier League clubs will eventually wise up and dig a little deeper into the attributes of their potential signings.
I get the feeling that Ben White was signed for all the right reasons, whereas Cucu wasn't.
I doubt the fact that Cucu has struggled will be held against us. Pep wanted him too, after all.

Biss is a bit more of a concern, it will be interesting to see what happens to him.

I thought Arsenal had made a mistake with White if they were looking for a CB, and as it happens he is being used as a right back mostly I believe? Cucurella will work out, if Potter can get the right players around him. You must remember the odd lineups Potter would select, and positions he would put players in that they were not well suited to at the start here? It seems he is doing a bit of that at Chelsea too, maybe it's his way of challenging players to think about more of the game, maybe he is testing their versatility, or maybe he just doesn't know his players very well yet.

 

[Uh_huh_him]

I thought Arsenal had made a mistake with White if they were looking for a CB, and as it happens he is being used as a right back mostly I believe? Cucurella will work out, if Potter can get the right players around him. You must remember the odd lineups Potter would select, and positions he would put players in that they were not well suited to at the start here? It seems he is doing a bit of that at Chelsea too, maybe it's his way of challenging players to think about more of the game, maybe he is testing their versatility, or maybe he just doesn't know his players very well yet.

Ben White was always a much better footballer than many of us gave him credit for.
The rhetoric of 4th best centre-back suited our narrative, but he was never going to have to be a Dunk or Duffy when playing for Arsenal.

 

[Justice]

Cucu's own fault, shouldn't have pushed for a move. He needed at least another season with us to improve before trying the so called big time.
Think the same for Caicedo, next summer would be too soon even if he has a great World Cup.

Sure the £100k a week plus makes up for it

 

[Monkey Man]

I'm enjoying Chelsea's current results and fan dissatisfaction as much as anyone but I agree that Cucurella is far from culpable. In fact I've been quite impressed by a lot of his play. (I'm prepared to discount what happened at the Amex as I think there were particular mitigating factors that day.)

Problem is that when you command that sort of transfer fee, and your appearance makes you so noticeable during games, and you're basically competing for the place of a fans' favourite, and you're personally associated with an unpopular manager who's on a bit of a bad run, you are going to be one of the whipping boys.

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

Ramsdale, White, Holjberg, Richarlison,

You could have the following team of players coming directly to 'Top 6' from 'lower teams'

Ramsdale
White Stones VVD Robertson
Kante Hoijberg
Mahrez Grealish Richarlison
Jota

Not a bad team