Bergwijns decision making was excellent when he signed here. Then we trained him.
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Player Dejan Kulusevski
- Thread starter The Fighting Cock
- Start date
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He was killing off a 3-1 game mate.
His poor technique leaning back as he hit the ball was the reason he skied it over the bar
yep a slightly bobbling ball is no excuse for that shot.
Agreed. But it’s also true the pass from kulu could have been better.
Totally not having a go at you, my man, but there are so many of you on here talking about his lack of pace as if he's dead slow. He ain't.
He's no peak Gareth Bale or Aaron Lennon, for sure, but he is no Wilson Palacios either...let's keep it real.
Mainly, a player with his football IQ, it doesn't even matter that he's not lightning fast. Cause he reads the game that well, he'll know exactly where to be at all times...and he'll get there before the defender has even started thinking about his positioning.
Not comparing Kulu to the legend that is Zidane, but the latter wasn't a fast player by any stretch. And yet, with the brains he had, he was always 3 moves ahead of everyone else on the pitch.
Easy there.
Exactly , the first yard is in his head
A slightly inferior version of course
Zidane was never playing out wide in the PL so the comparison is a bit off. I really don't think Kulusevski will do particularly well long term if we have him out wide. He simply doesn't have the burst of pace that successful PL wingers possess currently. Even a player like Sancho (technically excellent, very intelligent player) has struggled with not really having that speed to consistently beat his marker 1v1, it's a big deal in England. And he's a better player than Kulusevski.
Centrally though it's not a problem, and that's where I expect him to end up. We're a bit short on competent wide players so I'm sure he'll play wide for now, but I do see him going central in his career if he wants to make the best of it.
all players that have a high level of football intellect are better centrally, playmakers are wasted out wide.
RWB / KULU / DM / CM / LWB
or
RWB / CM ------ CM / LWB
------------ KULU ------------
....Innit.
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Yeah I think he'll fill a purpose there for now (left footer on the right, fits the system) and then we'll be in for a Diaz type again in the summer if Conte is set on 3-4-3. I then would expect Kulu to move centrally with two other midfielders who do most of the leg work.
All depends on how successful he is here of course. But his skillset is definitely more suited to PL midfielder than PL winger.
It’s way too early to judge someone after one game, but it was a really positive debut. Had Bergwijn scored the sitter then I doubt people would be moaning about him being safe or complaining he’s not a mindless speed merchant. He came off the bench and instantly made a positive impact in the game, and should have had an assist.
I think he's perfect for the 3-4-3 system we are currently playing, which is almost like a 3-4-2-1 system.
In our system, the RAM/LAM both play fairly narrow and the RWB/LWB are the ones providing width via overlapping runs.
In this system, Kulu can use his passing ability and spatial intelligence very effectively. He can make driving runs through midfield, help hold up the ball, deliver the ball into the box, etc.
He doesn't need blistering pace to play there.
Kulu's quite tall, I think he's more of a long-strider top speed type than a burst of instant pace type. True of Sonny as well. Kane's more quick than fast. Moura is both.
I think Kulusevski's lack of pace won't be a problem at all if we had a competent, fast RWB to make overlapping runs with him... Which we don't have.