23 May 2017 10:10:31
Hey Eds,
Thanks for all your top work. You mentioned that if Manninger were to leave we may get a veteran keeper in to replace him. There has been an explosion of reports out of no where today about Casillas coming in, wondering if you'd heard anything? Can't imagine he'd want to be third choice so seems unlikely, and probably has huge wages. Nonetheless, what a player to have around the club.
{Ed001's Note - not a thing thankfully. He was the problem child of Real Madrid that caused all the issues for years. I would not want him anywhere near the club, he was never even that good a keeper.}
23 May 2017 10:39:59
Hey Ed, I have a few mates in Spain who are RM fans and most of them love him and are very anti-Mourinho/ Perez; just out of curiosity what was the situation with Casillas then?
Thanks for all the hard work on the site it's great.
{Ed001's Note - they hate Mou and love Casillas because Casillas was Spanish and Mourinho is Portugese. Casillas played on that a lot to get his own way on everything. He was just an arse behind the scenes, caused great rifts between Spanish players and the rest.}
23 May 2017 11:08:27
I can confirm what Ed says. Casillas is very fond of playing office politics and often had the ear of Perez. Zidane was never a fan which is why you don't see Casillas around Madrid.
{Ed001's Note - never a fan is putting it mildly mate.}
23 May 2017 12:51:10
And this is why I love this place I've been saying for years that casillas is standard and people would slate me (not here) but at work and so on, thank you eds.
{Ed001's Note - it was not like he got tested often to prove anyone wrong or right about him, but he failed miserably those few occasions he was called upon. He reminds me of Joe Hart, beloved of the media for some unknown reason, so his gaffes would be hidden rather than highlighted.}
23 May 2017 13:18:27
Really enjoyed your info yesterday Ed001, do you not think that even if those transfers take place that the squal will still be very light/ small? Thanks Ed.
{Ed001's Note - not really, the best sides run with a small, tight squad. That is why you have U23s and an academy, to fill in any gaps during an injury crisis.}
23 May 2017 13:26:48
I bow to your knowledge. Quality over quantity. We must get the quality right this time.
Thanks Ed.
{Ed001's Note - we need to figure out fitness as well. It is not overtraining, that is complete nonsense, Chelsea training is amongst the hardest in the league, as is West Brom's. Both of those two suffered very few injuries. There will always be injuries, but we have had far too many and that needs to be resolved. Even if it is just to shut up that moron Verheijen and show up his ignorant bull as just that. The sad thing is people listen to his crap on twitter far more than the various sports scientists that have pointed out that he is talking nonsense.}
23 May 2017 13:41:42
I totally agree with Ed001 on Casillas, he's average at best and was bafflingly rated above Buffon for so many years.
23 May 2017 14:21:53
Ed1 on the fitness. Its true chelsea players are worked just as hard as lfc lads if not harder so what's the difference? Why so few injuries for them and so many for us? Thanks for replies and time.
{Ed001's Note - yes it is true. A lot of it comes down to basic endurance. Lallana has had to build up his fitness gradually, for instance, as he was always known for fading in matches. I just think a lot of our players lack stamina. That can take a long time to build, but it has been shown that high intensity training helps reduce injuries, so maybe we were not pushing our players hard enough due to the amount of games we played?}
23 May 2017 14:55:07
Although I don't agree so much on Casillas's lack of quality, Buffon and Neuer are the two greatest keepers of their generation by a huge distance and anyone putting Casillas in that bracket needs their head checking.
23 May 2017 17:31:13
I don't want Casillas, he's cause problems in the past which you have mentioned and has been over the hill for 3/ 4 years, I do however disagree with the comments that he was average in his pomp.
{Ed001's Note - cost Spain badly in a World Cup with his ineptitude in goal.....}
23 May 2017 18:34:59
He had a shocker in 2014 i agree. Made a couple of mistakes from memory but he wasn't the only Spanish player to have a shocker.
Can't see anyway this is true, surely we don't want him as our number 1 and surely he doesn't want to be a reserve?
{Ed001's Note - not he wasn't the only one to have a shocker, but it was his standard form, it was just very rare people saw it as only Barca ever tried against Madrid in those days. The rest just 'parked the bus'. I have watched so many games with him in, from the start of his career upto and including a game or two this season, but I have yet to see him play well. I have seen him not have to do anything, but never seen him do anything to generate this ridiculous hype he has around him. He is the Spanish Joe Hart.}
23 May 2017 21:30:45
Personally think Casillas was too short to be a top class keeper and always struggled on crosses.
23 May 2017 21:53:38
Ed is spot on. Training consistently and building fitness, allows your body to withstand the physical punishment of playing games consistently and allows you to play through small knocks and niggles.
Take Suarez for example. They guy never misses a game and that is because he is so passionate and wants to play all the time, he has trained himself into playing through injuries and even at LFC, many said he would play through tight hamstrings and ankle niggles.
The guy on twitter is talking nonsense and anyone with a brain or who has played footie at some level, will tell you that hard training does not cause injuries. It is the lack of it that does cos your body is not well-developed to cope and training helps with that.
As for Casillas, the guy is along with Raul and Morientes, have always been a prob at Real. Ask Nicholas Anelka.
23 May 2017 19:35:53
Going along the lines of long-serving Spanish Real Madrid players, what was your opinion on Raul, Ed001?
{Ed001's Note - great player, but it went to his head and he was the one who started the problems at Real Madrid. Raul and Casillas were a little clique who ran the show there, hence why he was moved on too early.}
24 May 2017 09:47:14
Cheers for the reply Ed. It's a miracle Real Madrid manage to continue to win trophies with the amount of power struggles between everyone associated with the club (Perez v managers, Perez v players, players v managers, players v players, fans v managers, fans v players etc) .
{Ed001's Note - to be fair it helps when the govt, every match official and UEFA itself are on your side each game.}