An exciting midfield addition or two and I can enter the new season on a positive note. The pieces are there. Mendy and Jovic's injuries were a big blow imo. I wanted to see if Zidane would incorporate them into the XIs he was playing around with. Instead, Mendy has been MIA and Jovic just came back 2 games ago.
This is my feeling too. But new midfield options are essential. We need Vinicius and Rodrygo to step up and fill that RW void.
Not really, Marcelo is currently talked of as one of the positives of the preeason, that he regained form and physical level compared to last season, and with Jovic it's still all a mixed bag. The big transfer was Hazard. We expected him to be a lot better if we're being honest. Doesn't mean he will not be, but he was not the most expensive player in Real Madrid history level good at any point so far in pre season.
Big problem stays that he might assist and score a decent amount of goals, we will still need a lot of scoring by others. We lack another absolute goalscoring and creating machine. Or do we think Benzema will be better than last year? Which tbh was a bright spot in dark times but is still far from world class. If Zizou somehow gave us a feeling that he has a clear system and we would have some defensive stability while also creating chances at the other end of the pitch , we wouldn't be this negative. But the pre season was very worrying.
doesn't matter how good Marcelo regain his form, he is still a defensive liability, and especially with how shaky our defense looks, its a bigger problem. another one of these Zidane mysterious where he will literally die before benching Varane and Marcelo.
I wanted to see how much a healthy Mendy featured this preseason to get an idea of what his role would be. We know by now ZZ has no qualms about benching or sending away players who are in form.
Eh, Benzema was one of Real Madrid's best players during the pre-season. Jovic was worse than Mariano who actually scored a goal. Mariano left a better impression & played way less minutes than Jovic.
I think Marcelo will need rotation to keep it up for a whole season, he's still struggling to get back and defend but going forward we see some of the guy we all love. Jovic has really good potential but he's not being used properly if we don't have specific things we're trying to accomplish with the ball. But again to see the best out of guys like Marcelo and even Modric they'll need rotation.
I feel bad for this kid. Has never been given a proper chance no matter who is at the helm... but he always shows heart and production.
He should be given 3 matches as a starter. Play 2 strikers with him and Benzema. Hazard behind them not in a flat 4 4 2 because Hazard is no RM but a true RW.
I really like Mariano as well, you get the impression that if he had a good run of games he’d score a lot, he has that striker instinct coupled with work ethic, those two attribute make up for his lack of ball skills .
If you look at my post history you can see that I said the same thing like a 100 times before the summer. People are calling me a Jovic fan just because I said you can't compare their situations from the pre season. I always said Mariano didn't get a fair chance to show it a couple of matches in a row. ZZ just doesn't like this type of player it seems.
Mariano is a good back-up and he does what a striker has to do, score goals. You must not expect dribbling or Benzema's technique from him, but he has a good finish and is great in the air.
SMH.....Rodrygo and Brahim are out.LV undisputed starter.....how far we have fallen.Terrible management have left us without a worldclass right winger
I just don't see it happening because he's one of Zidane's favorites. I would be perfectly fine with him having his status as a started downgraded to what he deserves (and i am reaching here): be a 5 -10 min sub.
I know you're already reaching, but I have a small addition after "sub": "(...) if other forwards are unavailable".
That's one of the most heavily exaggerated things at the moment. Last two matches Lucas didn't start and didn't play big minutes. Yet nonstop "Lucas titular!". It's funny as a meme and fun. When people can't differentiate meme from reality it becomes a problem. Half the reason why Lucas plays so damn much is the other players are shit or unprofessional like Bale. If we get real options he hits the bench. If we were to somehow buy Neymar he hits the plane to another team unless we need him for nationality reasons.
So apparently, Jovic is going out on loan cause he played 2 matches and Zidane wasn’t impressed, and yet for some reason we’re playing some dead weight players over and over again. ******** me this is frustrating