Albanian National Team [General topic]

[redfootballsv2]

So far I'm not really impressed with Mehmeti. He looks decent, of course, and he's a good player, but he doesn't look like he will be a star right away, he looks similar to the other starting attackers in that he'll need some time and rhythm to show his quality.

He will play this upcoming season in the Premier League with Ipswich but its not clear how many minutes he will get, as he wasn't always starting in their promotion run and they might strengthen now. Some have speculated he will leave.

[ReyM9]

So far I'm not really impressed with Mehmeti. He looks decent, of course, and he's a good player, but he doesn't look like he will be a star right away, he looks similar to the other starting attackers in that he'll need some time and rhythm to show his quality.

He will play this upcoming season in the Premier League with Ipswich but its not clear how many minutes he will get, as he wasn't always starting in their promotion run and they might strengthen now. Some have speculated he will leave.

Newly promoted teams from the Championship usually make at least 10+ new signings. The championship and premier league are galaxies apart in quality.

Nothing about Mehmeti really screams premier league. He's not that fast or physically imposing enough. Not a great passer and dribbling is ok at best. He will probably remain in the squad as depth but doubtful he starts.

[SugarRey]

The English Championship is so competitive that a good squad in that league is just as good as a mid table team in Serie A or League 1.

So he might not be able to break through in the EPL but i think it's clear he's probably our best attacker along with Muci. We're going to need to see him play in some actual qualifiers to see how he is and not meaningless friendlies in june

[Raketa]

Manaj did ok in Serie A..

In Champiomship, he couldn’t keep up at all..

Mehmeti can shoot too..

For me, he should start no doubt

[ReyM9]

The English Championship is so competitive that a good squad in that league is just as good as a mid table team in Serie A or League 1.

Is it really though?

A mid table Serie A team is full of internationals. The world cup is full of Serie A players and they are included in the top teams too while the WC internationals from the Championship play for Curacao, Panama, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Scotland...

I don't buy that the Championship is a good league. A 2nd division is still a 2nd division no matter how you slice it.

[redfootballsv2]

Manaj did ok in Serie A..

In Champiomship, he couldn’t keep up at all..

Mehmeti can shoot too..

For me, he should start no doubt

Couldn't cope in what way? He played a few games, got injured for a year and then left. It's hard to analyse that.

I know the Championship very well, it is a high level league, but it is not on par with the top5 leagues.

Players who play here are overvalued. Many players who scored few goals in top5 leagues drop down and score high amounts here.

I like the league, but it's also important to note that Mehmeti didn't have a great end to the season, either, he slowed down a lot after January.

Overall he clearly has the level to be a starter but he's also not undroppable either until he shows it.

[redfootballsv2]

The English Championship is so competitive that a good squad in that league is just as good as a mid table team in Serie A or League 1.

Is it really though?

A mid table Serie A team is full of internationals. The world cup is full of Serie A players and they are included in the top teams too while the WC internationals from the Championship play for Curacao, Panama, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Scotland...

I don't buy that the Championship is a good league. A 2nd division is still a 2nd division no matter how you slice it.

The teams are better when going off Transfermarkt squad values, but they are heavily slanted to players who play in England.

I follow the league here and I can tell you players who are not good enough for top leagues can succeed here 100%. It has more visibility, but at the same time, a lot of the players who excel here were subs in top leagues or came from other lower divisions.

For example the top scorer Vipotnik came from Ligue 2 and scored 10 goals there. Then Oli McBurnie has been going between Championship teams his whole career. Rumarn Burrell who was a star for QPR this season was playing in the Scottish 3rd division a couple years ago.

I'm not saying it isn't the strongest 2nd division but as you mention it is still a 2nd division.

Mehmeti probably has the tools to exceed in a 1st division but he has to go there first, and I'm not convinced he will get much playtime at Ipswich. If he's going to be a sub there he should move to Serie A or LaLiga or somewhere else.

[Raketa]

Albanian Serie A players have lost 4 in a row to guys playing in the leagues of Israel, US and Netherlands so I don’t understand the point here..

[ReyM9]

Albanian Serie A players have lost 4 in a row to guys playing in the leagues of Israel, US and Netherlands so I don’t understand the point here..

Which Serie A players? Djimisiti is the only one and you could argue he's on the decline because of age.

Asllani couldn't cope in mid table Serie A for Torino. Bajrami failed miserably in 2 serie a clubs, Hysaj has been warming the bench/stands for a few years now. Who else is there? Ramadani is a utility player for a Serie B valued team.

There was a time when Albanian players started taking over Serie A but that didn't last long. They couldn't cope.

[Raketa]

Back in 2022, Edi Reja fielded a lineup with like 10 players playing in “top leagues”..

Israel still beat us 1-2 at home..

Go check it out..

By the way, saying Baggio failed in Serie A is disingenuous..

At his peak, he scored on all the best teams in that league..