I agree that it’s daft to rate players who have just entered the pitch. When you look at journalists ratings in general anyway half the time you suspect that they didn’t watch the game at all.
I appreciate that he has been used further back this year but when Dele has played further up in recent seasons he has been wasteful, slow and ineffective on the whole. He has often slowed our attacks down allowing opponents to regroup, has often been disposed and looked generally sluggish. He was never quick but he was sharp. I just don’t see him getting back to what he was wherever he plays.
And in answer to whether people show bias towards him I don’t see it. If such bias exists then maybe it’s in frustration at how good he once was. But those days are long gone. And in any case we can all be guilty I guess of being a bit bias. Not meaning to be rude or anything but whilst it’s often good to have the courage of your conviction and stand by your viewpoint do you ever think that maybe when most people’s opinions on a subject are contrary to yours as they appear to be with Dele at present that maybe the bias might be closer to home and that it might be time to reassess your position on the matter?
100% agree on player ratings, be they on here or in media.
There are loads I've already said about him over other seasons, I won't bring them up here as I fear it's a tad boring and been done to death. So for the sake of freshness, this season is a sound starting point, where he's been played as a clear number 8.
Within this role Nuno's had us play in the opening games of the season a more compact team, more defensive. I feel this was because he didn't have the players available to him to play any other way (Lo Celso, Kane, Ndombele nowhere near the team early doors). He then has had further injuries and COVID related red tape that's impacted his selection but in the last couple of games we've been pressing far higher up the pitch and have started to see more of the ball than our opponent, this ahs coincided with the better players now becoming available for selection but I'd argue still not ready and maybe still in a type of pre-season mode (hence Kane, Ndomble & Lo Celso being selected in the Kangeroo cup for example, again just a theory).
So, in this early phase of a more defensive compact approach, Dele's defensive numbers he has put up have been better than our defensive expect PEH playing also number 8 on the other side of the pitch by comparison. In addition to this he's been getting up and down the pitch more that PEH and has been linking with our attackers (this may be part of the plan BTW, eg have PEH hang back while push Dele up when we have the ball).
Now we've started to see a change in our game, more proactive, pressing higher etc maybe Dele is pushed out of his 8 and his asked to stay higher up the pitch. This is only evidence once so may not transpire, but against Wolves, he was the most advanced player on our team. Was a clear tactic by Nuno as we overloaded the left had side of the pitch in our build-up, which left a lot of space out on the right which was largely where dele was found.
Time will tell if Nuno uses him elsewhere but I also think he's versatile enough to play deep (as demonstrated in the first few games as he is pushed up like against Wolves (where he was the most creative player on the pitch). I don't have a crystal ball on what the longer-term vision Nuno has with how we play but feel that Lo Celso has a large say in the matter, who I think is struggling or at least I'm struggling to fit his piece of the puzzle in the picture. Right now Dele is the fitter, more secure and more versatile player of the too.
I just think people have always struggled with understanding midfielders, their roles and whether they are performing well in them or not. Seen it with high-profile players such as Modric, Dembele, Pogba, Phillips etc. If they aren't designated a specifically well-defined one-dimensional role such as a DM that patrols in front of the defence or is an advanced playmaker they tend to get all the flack.
I'm highly critical of how poor our midfield is without Ndombele playing, Dele is part of that, he can't progress the ball from deep (without Ndombele no one can). This isn't anyone's individual fault though, I don't go around killing them for it, it's just not in any of these players skillsets either dribbling the ball through a crowded midfield or hitting a pinpoint long ball (Winks can do it if he's not pressed, which is why we don't see it because we are still pressed and perhaps oppo know this so would allow the ball to be passed to him then press him as part or their traps). (Skipp has shown he can in a lower level, so there's potential to come from this ball progression part of the game in the future but it's not now that's for sure).
He's been our most constant performer this season, he may (Wolves game is a reference) become one of our most versatile, as a consequence he's been our best player in this very early phase of the season.
