Zeman did not ask for Destro. Roma and Sabatini were following Destro before the season ended and before Zeman was coach. The plan was to sell Osvaldo, because they didn't care for his behavior (red cards & attitude), but them Zeman asked to keep him. So they opted to sell Borini to being in Destro.
I warned of the negatives sides back in June, but everyone here seemed to be completely caught up in the hype. No sense in going on about it, done is done.
Most will disagree, but I would have rather had Totti-Destro-Borini or Borini-Destro-Lamela as the top 3 and let Osvaldo go.
I'd rather have Tevez-Naymer-Balotelli, but... Seriously though, I'd rather have Osvaldo at this stage than Destro or Borini as primary central forward, and the fault of management is not selling Borini, but buying Destro...Selling Borini would have made sense if he were replaced with a natural winger, not a player who just collides with Osvaldo, whom I consider a superior player (at least for the next 2-3 years)...
I think you get much more movement with Destro rather than Ozzy, something essential to Zeman's play.
zako - could you have picked three more dickhead players? LOL Liverpool would bite our hand off if we offered a swap between Borini and Osvaldo. There would've been no point in all the hassle of selling Borini and then entering negotiations with Genoa if Zeman wasn't fussed about either of them. Zeman himself even came out and said Destro is a more talented player than Borini, before Borini was sold. Once the sale was complete he said this: " Am I satisfied with the decision to sell Fabio Borini and bring in Destro? Yes, we made this choice based on technique and I think Destro is a more technical player than Borini." To me Zeman had a strong say in what happened regarding those two transfers.
Borini had started pretty badly at Liverpool even before his injury. For what it's worth, Brendan Rodgers defended Borini earlier this year by saying he was sacrificing himself playing on the wing in the 4-3-3. Said he was more suited to center forward than wide off Luis Suarez.
I'd say that's worth a lot when considering then maybe borini wouldn't have been good out wide. But I almost can't imagine that
Rogders bought him though in the knowledge that he was going to play him there. He played in a practically identical role for us last season. I knew this would happen to Borini. I didn't exepect him to look so poor when he played for Liverpool but he is useless 90% of the time when out on the wing and he is not good enough to be a CF at a club like Liverpool. Signings like that will be the reason Rodgers won't last at Anfield. I like Borini but at the same time I'm glad we got rid of him. He may have scored goals but he just isn't good enough to be relied upon as pure out and out goalscoring CF for us. The only time you can rely on a player like that is when they are special, guys like Falcao. Borini was decent but his contribution to the games of players around him was miniscule. A player of his style does not improve the likes of Lamela's game. I just find it almost ironic though that people say Borini was perfect for Zeman etc when Zeman himself sanctioned his move away in favour of Destro. Do some of you understand Zeman's footballing philosophy better than the man himself?
I was under the impression borini was best as a wing forward, I think he is good out there. But obviously Zeman knows best!
He probably is a wing forward but his lack of ability means he only comes alive in games at very specific points.
It's hard to judge Borini from last year because we were using LE's tactics. But if we wanted another forward then we should have gone after one that fits Zemanlandia. Like Insigne.
The discussion has been had before (and sorry to bore anyone) but the sale of Borini freed up cash. Destro was bought for 8.5m euros in cash and half of Piscitella + Verre (equating to roughly 3m for both together) which put the deal up to 11.5m all in theoretically. Borini was sold for 13.3m. That is practically 5m in cash gained from selling Borini and bringing in Destro. 5m that bought Castan, or Bradley, or whoever you want it to be. If we had sold Borini for the 13.3m, not brought in Destro, and instead spent that money entirely on other areas I would've been for that. But without the sale Borini you do not free up that capital to spend elsewhere.
If Pjanic does leave, I don't think it will hurt the future too much. I would love seeing a 4-3-3 with Lamela as a "false 9" and Destro up there with Nico Lopez
The fact that we're even banging our heads about the only respectable aspect of this squad this season (our attack) is a little puzzling. Personally I could care less that Borini is gone.
The quality of the attack is due to the tactics primarily and not so much as the "amazing offensive connection" . They grind goals out they haven't been wizardry for the most part
I'm a Bosnian that's been lurking on this forum for a little while now. It seems like most people on here don't rate Pjanic. I'm interested in the reasoning behind it seems different from last season.