Kazakhstan - Albania Sun 11 Oct 15:00

[Sokolat1443]

People are confusing Kazakhstan with Lithuania. With Hysaj, Roshi and Strakosha out, our squad is no better, especially away from home.

If you look at transfermarkt we are over 80 mill and they over 20 mill, but Kumbulla/Djimsiti/Strakosha make up 65 million, and the other 15 million might be even weaker and this is an away game. With the exception of Kumbulla/Djim today, we don't have a better team even on paper.

Probably not at the moment but neither Kazakhstan neither Lithuania have players in becoming like we have such as Mihaj, Bullari, Broja, or those young ones playing in Croatia that might end up in some average team of Serie A in few years. If Lithuanians or Kazakh manage to have one of their players playing in top leagues in Europe that would already be a sucess for them. we have advantage as we have Italy as first produceer of many of our players.

[Aurora Bulkualis]

People are confusing Kazakhstan with Lithuania. With Hysaj, Roshi and Strakosha out, our squad is no better, especially away from home.

If you look at transfermarkt we are over 80 mill and they over 20 mill, but Kumbulla/Djimsiti/Strakosha make up 65 million, and the other 15 million might be even weaker and this is an away game. With the exception of Kumbulla/Djim today, we don't have a better team even on paper.

Probably not at the moment but neither Kazakhstan neither Lithuania have players in becoming like we have such as Mihaj, Bullari, Broja, or those young ones playing in Croatia that might end up in some average team of Serie A in few years. If Lithuanians or Kazakh manage to have one of their players playing in top leagues in Europe that would already be a sucess for them. we have advantage as we have Italy as first produceer of many of our players.

Point being, if we go by proven SO FAR, today on paper we are equal to Kazakhstan if you remove Djim/Kumbulla. And it's not like those two can score. All they can do is keep the match 0-0.

Lenjani in for Veseli and Cekici in for Manaj and we probably get a win.

To be honest, even Hysaj for Veseli would be a win.

[Dallku]

People are confusing Kazakhstan with Lithuania. With Hysaj, Roshi and Strakosha out, our squad is no better, especially away from home.

If you look at transfermarkt we are over 80 mill and they over 20 mill, but Kumbulla/Djimsiti/Strakosha make up 65 million, and the other 15 million might be even weaker and this is an away game. With the exception of Kumbulla/Djim today, we don't have a better team even on paper.

Kallaku was useless, he doesn’t deserve to be starting with the NT.

I love that you guys praise Gjasula but won't give Kallaku his due. Kazakhstan away is much harder than Lithuania at home. In possession, the dude is clearly the most technical player we have. All he needed today was to be more confident/assertive, and that will only come with age. He's still just 22.

Don't agree with this theory. You can't just eliminate multiple players so teams can be more equal in value. Because those (expensive) players can make a HUGE difference.

What you're saying is that if you take Oblak away from Slovenia then Slovenia becomes identical to Moldova or something... but Oblak single handily keeps them in games. Today he made 2 saves a lot of other gk's would've conceded and Slovenia won 0-1 despite not looking superior to their opponent.... Why?? Because of difference makers like Oblak.

Expensive players are difference makers no matter the position.

If my backline is worth 80 millions and yours is worth 4 then I definitely like my chances to beat you.

We know our midfield and attack are ass but those expensive defenders keep you in games. They are the backbone.

[Simboli i Diellit]

^ We’ve been good defensively, we’ve conceeded 1 goal in three games (gifted from midfield and not even defense’s fault).

[Aurora Bulkualis]

Don't agree with this theory. You can't just eliminate multiple players so teams can be more equal in value. Because those (expensive) players can make a HUGE difference.

What you're saying is that if you take Oblak away from Slovenia then Slovenia becomes identical to Moldova or something... but Oblak single handily keeps them in games. Today he made 2 saves a lot of other gk's would've conceded and Slovenia won 0-1 despite not looking superior to their opponent.... Why?? Because of difference makers like Oblak.

Expensive players are difference makers no matter the position.

If my backline is worth 80 millions and yours is worth 4 then I definitely like my chances to beat you.

We know our midfield and attack are ass but those expensive defenders keep you in games. They are the backbone.

Our backline is not going to score goals, which was our problem. Like I said, you can't concede less than 0 goals.

It makes no difference whether our backline is 2 levels ahead or 5 levels ahead. It's diminishing returns. For offence, the difference is 2 or 5 goals. For defence it's just 0.

[artan]

People are confusing Kazakhstan with Lithuania. With Hysaj, Roshi and Strakosha out, our squad is no better, especially away from home.

If you look at transfermarkt we are over 80 mill and they over 20 mill, but Kumbulla/Djimsiti/Strakosha make up 65 million, and the other 15 million might be even weaker and this is an away game. With the exception of Kumbulla/Djim today, we don't have a better team even on paper.

Probably not at the moment but neither Kazakhstan neither Lithuania have players in becoming like we have such as Mihaj, Bullari, Broja, or those young ones playing in Croatia that might end up in some average team of Serie A in few years. If Lithuanians or Kazakh manage to have one of their players playing in top leagues in Europe that would already be a sucess for them. we have advantage as we have Italy as first produceer of many of our players.

Point being, if we go by proven SO FAR, today on paper we are equal to Kazakhstan if you remove Djim/Kumbulla. And it's not like those two can score. All they can do is keep the match 0-0.

Lenjani in for Veseli and Cekici in for Manaj and we probably get a win.

To be honest, even Hysaj for Veseli would be a win.

Kazakhstan is the equivalent of a Superliga All-Star team. I'm pretty sure today any of our guys can walk in their starting lineup besides besides a few spots.

[andi2410]

Kallaku impressed me. He was very good on the ball - much better than I expected and already the best player on the team in that regard. This was his first gamen and he's young. As a result, he was obviously timid going forward and didn't take many chances with his passing. A lot of young players do this, keep it simple instead of trying to be special and lose the ball. He did show some vision though and spread the ball wide nicely a couple of times. I think he has a chance to be a good player in a couple of years if he continues to grow.

Broja is interesting. He has awesome speed and good technique - however, he is very weak and gets pushed off way too easily even for his age given his size. Secondly, he seems lazy. He showed very little hunger and desire, and at his age, effort is the one aspect of his game that cannot be missing. I hope this changes and he doesn't go through the typical Albanian cycle of becoming good enough to make some money so he can show off on IG, and never having that ambition to reach his full potential.

I actually don't see what you guys see in Kumbulla. I've watched him a lot. He is very smart and positional defensively - he reads the game so well which is why he is so effective defensively. But he seems slow to me, very passive and super uncomfortable with the ball on his feet. He can make the simple side to side pass, or forward pass if the center mid drops deep and asks for a simple lay-off, but when he is pressures, he loses the ball every single time. He is young and obviously has lots of time to improve and I'm sure he will. However, at this stage, Gjimshiti is by far the best defender we have. I am very pleasantly surprised by him - I did not think he would ever become this good.

This team has a lot of trash that needs to be dropped. Manaj, Abrashi, Trashi should never play again. Net zero players. They do absolutely nothing. It is time to build the new generation. Going forward we should be developing this 11:
Strakosha
Hysaj Gjimshiti Kumbulla Mihaj
Roshi Bare ? ?
Kallaku
Broja

[Aurora Bulkualis]

Kazakhstan is the equivalent of a Superliga All-Star team. I'm pretty sure today any of our guys can walk in their starting lineup besides besides a few spots.

Not really. Going by transfermarkt, they're the equivalent of a Bulgaria or a Montenegro.

I actually don't see what you guys see in Kumbulla.

Kumbulla is the complete package. Tall, strong, great positioning and tackling.

[Dallku]

Our backline is not going to score goals, which was our problem. Like I said, you can't concede less than 0 goals.

It makes no difference whether our backline is 2 levels ahead or 5 levels ahead. It's diminishing returns. For offence, the difference is 2 or 5 goals. For defence it's just 0.

You're really underestimating what a solid backline brings. It's the backbone of a team and guarantees stability. It always keeps you in games against anyone. You can have a decent attack but if your defense is leaking then it's pointless.

Greece literally won a euro with a superb backline and a mediocre/bad attack.

Yeah, ideally you want your best player to be an attacker but we can't pretend like having expensive defenders or even goalkeepers is pointless.

[Dallku]

Secondly, he seems lazy. He showed very little hunger and desire, and at his age, effort is the one aspect of his game that cannot be missing.

I noticed this when I saw him play for Vitesse too. He hides a lot from the ball and walks a lot.