Would you not conceed that there's a desirable middle-ground between "expecting a defensive masterclass from him every week" and regonising that he needs to elevate himself beyond being 'Ozil at CM'?
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Would you not conceed that there's a desirable middle-ground between "expecting a defensive masterclass from him every week" and regonising that he needs to elevate himself beyond being 'Ozil at CM'?
Context?
Everybody played according to the same tactics that day..... You do understand what WORST means?
The sigh is because the argument hasn't moved on from that game, the blame game, the finger-pointing, all at what the player a) doesn't do, it's NOT his skill set b) It wasn't his man (Wolves) is the classic point of the scapegoating. It's pathetic from fans (not aimed specifically at you) but the cheerleader Jose is really the one to blame as this is what he wants, it's him that has created it. Which is terrible man management IMO.
GLC is a completely different player (which is a GOOD thing) to Ndombele, I'm not comparing what they bring to the team, Ndombele is NOT a player that will do the "dirty work" never has been, so don't expect it. Lo Celso is, so expect it. I brought Lo Celso into the discussion to highlight that he ALSO has struggled in his first season, they have both made the same number of appearances by way of proof of this fact.
As for Ya Ya - Not bad for a player who "phoned it in"
Ivory Coast Player of the Year: 2009
African Footballer of the Year: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
CAF Team of the Year: 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
ESM Team of the Year: 2013–14 (I don't know what this is, I nicked it off the interwebz).
PFA Team of the Year: 2011–12 Premier League, 2013–14 Premier League
BBC African Footballer of the Year: 2013, 2015
FIFA FIFPro World XI 2nd team: 2013, 2014, 2015
Manchester City Player of the Year: 2013–14
Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2015[173]
Post the number for context, that's why I requested them, without them it's utterly pointless.
It's a bit difficult running around when you are carrying a stone in weight extra that if you were a dedicated athlete you would not have
But he's better than Sissoko defensively?
Again it's the case of Ndombele being the guy who doesn't run around yet contributes. Whilst Sissoko is the guy who runs around alot and doesn't contribute.
And we've found out a portion of our fan base prefer those who run around abit over ability. That's a fact. I mean even Kane gets regularly targeted for not "working as hard" or "running as much" despite producing scary goalscoring numbers.
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No-one was finger pointing....
Well they've both been called upon to play at CM for us... One exhibits a desire to do what the position demands in this league; one has yet to convincingly do so; relying purely on moments of quality to endear.
Tbh, bringing GLC into the discussion does Ndombele no favours.
My statement wasn't that he phoned it in all the time.....
Nor did I suggest he was anything approaching being a shit player.
Still, if you must, carry on pretending that what I am saying wasn't a recurring accusation towards him....
You want to back that up with proof. I'll wait.........
Nah, you dig 'em up if you're genuinely struggling to comprehend what ought to be a crystal clear point.
Bringing GLC into the discussions shows recency bias (I like him, like what he brings & I think he's going to be great for us) but he literally started to contribute the last handful of games and there are some fans that think he should be our player of the season! He can complete 90mins which is a positive. I'll go so far as to say that Ndombele's highlights are of a higher quality than Lo Celso's but this is subjective as I've tried to point out they are very different players stylistically and with what they bring so it's a pinch of salt.
But aside from him not completing 90mins often, I think he's been highly effective during the mins he's played, I've liked what he's done. I am NOT expecting him to be a busy cunt smashing the fuck out of the oppo. Just get him on the ball and let him carry like Dembele and pass like Modric, which is what I expect from him and what I've already witnessed with my own eyes.
My point is context to a stat. Nothing more, nothing less, without it it's absolutely fucking meaningless number. Again, how many sprints is the required amount from a team parking the bus? Where do these sprints take place on the pitch when we are sat deep in our own half with the oppo on the ball?
.......And evidently two consecutive managers with allegedly polar opposite philosophies as to how the game should be played?
.....Or could it be that his contributions are being overstated by a few despite it being a 90minute team sport that isn't purely about clocking up stats. Maybe more 90 minute shifts where he's left to blow out of his ass would water down his sexy stats somewhat? One could suggest that coming on late to exploit tired oppo legs may also aid the sexing up numbers too.
Still, shame on anyone simply asking for a little bit more effort & fitness from him.
TBH, you're throwing up a hell of a lot of deflection to avoid answering a reasonable, genuine and simple question:
"Would you not concede that there's a desirable middle-ground between "expecting a defensive masterclass from him every week" and recognising that he needs to elevate himself beyond being 'Ozil at CM'?"
No Sissoko, no GLC, no Jose.. Just a simple yes or no would be sufficient.
I badly want him to become good, but fuck being so precious about him.... My original post really need not inspire such a degree of siege mentality.
Open your eyes it is there for all to see.
Heh..... Anywhere would do when you've clocked up a big ZERO (!!!) whilst there's big gaps being exploited in a MF that you should be patrolling.
Context: Worst(!!!) on your team is not "meaningless".... Again, feel free to go digging to satisfy any remaining curiosity.
I'm not here to defend the hyperbole of others. Right now I'm simply fanning down the indignation that my perfectly reasonable post brought out in you.
A "pinch of salt" that serves little more than a distraction, rather than a reasonable rejection of the point I opened with.
You may have forgotten already; the flashes(*) that you allude to I've happily acknowledged off the bat. To come full circle; "It's doing the other stuff for a full 90mins which is the challenge that lies ahead.".... Seemingly two consecutive managers have agreed with this.
(* "highly effective" seems an exaggeration to me but as is often the case there seems to be an allergy to any' middle ground' on this topic.)
I do agree with your post. I challenged it, this is what it looks like.
What have the other two managers said about ”the other stuff for 90mins?”
Both acknowledged he was carrying an injury, Poch was calling for patience and time (as he did with every new singing) and Jose chucked him under the bus to avoid taking the flack himself for how he had us set up again Burnley that bore no relation to an individual performance any different to any other player in the first half.
He has been highly impressive for most of the time he's played. The middle ground is that he's been woefully unfit. Due to injury and or poor conditioning. Neither have been fully explained so only left to conjecture. It would have been great to have seen his fitness incrementally improve with each game and thus his contribution would have had even greater influence.
We’ve been a better team with him playing, specifically we've had control of midfield (except when like at Burnley and Jose sets us up to pair the bus, I.e deliberately concede the midfield).
We parked the bus mate! How, where & who are these sprints supposed to come from?? The only player(s) in this set up that can actually perform sprints are those we are hoofing it to. Everyone else is instructed to sit in and be compact and deep.
It's meaningless number that fails completely to reflect how we were set up. Take out those who were chasing a hoof there were no little to no sprints by anyone. This is the context of the game.
So, we parked the bus; fine.... but somehow everyone else managed at least one sprint.
Thus TN clocked up a damning (worst!) stat (and was also seen literally strolling about for good measure).
Maybe it's 'just' a coincidence but he managed to reach a mere 10th in terms of speeds clocked too.
This with players regularly lambasted for their lack of pace and mobility in the team.
Context for days mate.
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I reckon if a fan favourite clocked up 0 sprints in a game where we parked the bus, no one would bat an eyelid personally.