Disagree. Technically he is abysmal.
Kostas Manolas
- Thread starter MyOnlySolskjaer
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That's just one mistake that probably any player could have made. For what it's worth, Blind (who is definitely much better technically than Smalling) literally blasted the ball into his own net for us this season and was extremely lucky that play had actually been stopped for offside.
Smalling's technique and passing isn't amazing, but he's not a complete donkey.
I think you're taking the post a little more seriously than intended. But for what it's worth his passing is shite, well below the standard of fellow top defenders. The good news is he's compensated in other aspects of his game.
Smalling is unfortunately pretty shite with the ball, in modern football being able to play out from the back is vital to the point where i'm thinking we should buy two CB's instead of just one.
Seeing him attacking the space, running with the ball into the opponent's half, and then, not having the confidence in his football abilities to make the necessary forward pass, but instead stopping, turning round, and passing backwards, is a major irritation.
Calm lad, Mourinho had a few months to watch us play
. He will def improve this on Smalling. Future looks even brighter for Mike!Ideally we should be looking to sign 2 centre backs since I doubt Mourinho will use Blind in that position very much and Jones is always injured but there's a few other areas of the squad which needs some instant surgery so I'd be surprised if we could get 2 CBs in one window along with what else we need.
I feel I have to write down what I know and think about Manolas.
I 've been watching this guy since he was a kid and he then played for AEK Athens. He then moved to Olympiakos and gained CHL experience, he also played for the Greek national team and offcourse Roma.
So, why we should or should not go for Manolas;
PROS: Strong, tall, good in the air, brave man marker, not afraid to tacckle. A passionate Greek who seems to love his job (and his fortune). He worked his strong points and he is becoming better and better.
CONS: Not a clever footballer, he has much space in Italy and he seems to be good with ball to feet although he isn't. Susceptible when the defense supports the midfield and the team plays possession football. Greek defenders generally tend to be good man-markers but average zonal markers. They also lack the quick thinking useful for offside traps.
So, If we are going to play counter attacking football and use 2 quality DMs in front of the defense, he ll do the job.
But if we keep playing possession football we should look for somebody else.
I 've been watching this guy since he was a kid and he then played for AEK Athens. He then moved to Olympiakos and gained CHL experience, he also played for the Greek national team and offcourse Roma.
So, why we should or should not go for Manolas;
PROS: Strong, tall, good in the air, brave man marker, not afraid to tacckle. A passionate Greek who seems to love his job (and his fortune). He worked his strong points and he is becoming better and better.
CONS: Not a clever footballer, he has much space in Italy and he seems to be good with ball to feet although he isn't. Susceptible when the defense supports the midfield and the team plays possession football. Greek defenders generally tend to be good man-markers but average zonal markers. They also lack the quick thinking useful for offside traps.
So, If we are going to play counter attacking football and use 2 quality DMs in front of the defense, he ll do the job.
But if we keep playing possession football we should look for somebody else.
Do you see him have the ability to play RB role aka Ivanovic?
No way.
I mean, EPL is cruel. Players like Torres, Diego Costa, Fabregas, Hazard and so on, seemed lost after one or two good seasons. Because of injuries and fatigue.
Manolas is not built to play as a full back. And if you are talking about Ivanovic style fullback, then you are talking about a clever player who knows when to support the forwards. And with huge lungs, too. Manolas is not that kind of player. He just has space in Italy, where they use to park the bus. He can't constantly run the wing.
@redwar - has he played RCB all through his career or has he played on the LCB?
If he has played on the left, was his performance any different?
If he has played on the left, was his performance any different?
With Yanga-Mbiwa, he played on the left and he was good.
He is always used as a RCB. That's not a coincidence.
He is a good man marker though
Search for Kostas Manolas world cup 2014 in youtube. Look for his dreadful mistake.
He is a good man marker though
Search for Kostas Manolas world cup 2014 in youtube. Look for his dreadful mistake.
In answer to the bolded bit, yes.
Regarding the other bit, clearly i have never claimed to know the future, nor do you. I just find it unlikely Jose wants to replace one of our better players.
We will see in September i guess.
Depends on how much funds will Mourinho get. Ideally I think he'd want to buy 2 CB's. Manolas and Marquinhos/Varane.In answer to the bolded bit, yes.
Regarding the other bit, clearly i have never claimed to know the future, nor do you. I just find it unlikely Jose wants to replace one of our better players.
We will see in September i guess.
To be honest I'm not against that idea at all. Keep Smalling as a sub and flock Jones and Rojo.
keep dreaming!
...or Stones
Which to be fair I really don't like as an option but seems Jose is keen on.Well seeing that Manolas isn't a ,,clever" player but is strong and tall then why do we need him?Greek version of Smalling if the above statements are true(Barely watched him can't say much myself)
Would be expensive but might be a decent partner for Smalling....or Stones
AS ROMA's Nainggolan on Manolas
Source: http://www.football-italia.net/82202/radja-hails-chelsea-target-manolas
(finally I found it)
Source: http://www.football-italia.net/82202/radja-hails-chelsea-target-manolas
(finally I found it)
I think Manolas can be a very good option for us. Look at Papa at Dortmund, he is amazing there. Manolas is still 24, so very young and can be a good long term option. Maybe this can be our new Rio/Vidic partnership (Smalling/Manolas). Only the price is a negative point, 40 million is much money. I do not like Stones, I think he is overrated and had a terrible last season with Everton. An arguement is that he is epl proven. My favourite would be Varane though. Mou likes him also. What are the prices for those three? Am I right with those figures?
Manolas: 40 Mio €
Varane: 30 Mio €
Stones: 50 Mio €
Laporte will go to City, so did not count him here.
Manolas: 40 Mio €
Varane: 30 Mio €
Stones: 50 Mio €
Laporte will go to City, so did not count him here.
I think that Varane would be at least as expensive as Stones, at least 45m sterling. I can't see Varane leaving tbh.
Ok, so he would be expensive, too. It´s a lot for a defender, but I think that´s normal currently and all of these three are young. Varane could join, he said he is not happy because he is only a squad player at Real and with Mou we have a good arguement. But why should he leave a Top 3 club? Let´s wait and see what happens.
Varane for 30m? WTF are you smoking?
We should be seeking clear upgrades over our current options, and potential buys should be negligible here. I don't know enough about this Manolas bloke but if we aren't certain he can come in and nail a spot, then we should stay far away from this deal. We have enough squad players/options as it is already and adding more of those kind of folks gets less beneficial cumulatively because we can only field 11 players on the pitch and i'd rather they are the best XI we can get.
Yeah, let's see what happens, but a good thing with Mou is his pull factor on big name players. At least there is now a small chance to sign players like Varane, if LvG was still around there would be no chance at all.Ok, so he would be expensive, too. It´s a lot for a defender, but I think that´s normal currently and all of these three are young. Varane could join, he said he is not happy because he is only a squad player at Real and with Mou we have a good arguement. But why should he leave a Top 3 club? Let´s wait and see what happens.
Haha sry, was not sure, the market is difficult these days. So he would cost the same as Stones. Would still prefer Varane.
Yeah, this is what I am talking about. I am so excited. Feck the Euros, give me the new season now!
Manolas is a huge upgrade to our defenders, he would play with Smalling. Could work for us like Papa for BVB. But this price tag is holding me back. 40 Mio is to much imo. Would take him for 30 Mio though. If we can get Varan than better, but please no Stones, I think he is very overrated here.
Do not confuse Papastathopoulos 's abilities with Manolas 's ones.
I agree, Papastathopolos is great with ball to feet. In fact when he was U21 there was no defender like him in Europe. I wanted us to buy him.
When Papastathopoulos was a kid he used to play as a No 10. So, he became a defender who could bring the ball from defence to attack. And he does this thing since he was a teenager. He is a delicate defender.
Manolas in the other hand, is totally a different case. He is known as a very hard tackler, like his uncle, Stelios Manolas. He dives in these sliding beauties since he was a kid. He always played one position in his life, CB. And that's all.
I agree, Papastathopolos is great with ball to feet. In fact when he was U21 there was no defender like him in Europe. I wanted us to buy him.
When Papastathopoulos was a kid he used to play as a No 10. So, he became a defender who could bring the ball from defence to attack. And he does this thing since he was a teenager. He is a delicate defender.
Manolas in the other hand, is totally a different case. He is known as a very hard tackler, like his uncle, Stelios Manolas. He dives in these sliding beauties since he was a kid. He always played one position in his life, CB. And that's all.
Well if it's a straight choice between Manolas and Stones there's only one option, isn't there. Since one can defend and the other cannot.
Caf would still prefer Stones though simply because he is English.
The CAF gets it wrong more often than not, and they really have a hard time admitting it.
I don't want Stones after the season he have. Even if it's because his "dream" move didn't happen he played horribly. I don't know enough about Manolas since I don't watch Roma games really but if he's even remotely decent I'd take him over Stones.
Does anybody thing this could still happen? Granted, Bailly has already passed his medical, but per Whoscored his rating at RB albeit at just two games is 7.75 compared to his 6.92 in 28 games at CB. It's possible it'll be another case of Ivanovic.
I feel that there is a better chance of it happening now then there was a few days back, after Rudiger tore his ACL. It has been reported that Roma need to sell before they buy and Rudiger to Chelsea looked very much on pre-injury. Hence, Manolas may be the player that is sold. However, they've still got Nainggolan and Pjanic that they could easily shift and considering Strootman has made his full comeback, they won't miss either as badly.
Even if Jose is after another CB, I think it would be someone with a different playing style than what Baily and Smalling already offer.
From the very little I know of Baily, he is kind of the same mould as Manolas;big, strong, loves a tackle, and quick.
I have this feeling Mourinho will still demand one of Stones, Marquinhos or Varane and that Baily guy is a sort of a cushion incase those deals and negotiations drag on till the end and we return empty handed. Now that we seem to have got Baily deal completed, it allows us to take our time in negotiations and even abandon the pursuit without pushing the pjanic button.
With this guy, Bailly, Shaw and Smalling we surely would by far have the quickest back 4 in the game?
All four got great pace.
All four got great pace.
Indeed, I'm well aware that Muller injured Rudiger in training, as well as Roma having to adhere to financial fair play, but yet at the same time, it seem like, well according to Di Marzio at least, that Pjanic could be on his way to Juventus, although he does mention that they could get Kovacic also.
Personally, I'm hoping we get Koulibaly who is used to playing on the left side of the central defence pairing, unlike Bailly, Manalos, Marquinhos and arguably Varane. The link to Manolas didn't surprise me given he's not only "big, strong, loves a tackle, and quick" but he dominates his aerial duels (won 76%) whereas Bailly won just 54%.
Smalling is far worse on the ball than everybody makes him out to be.