2021/22 Vitalii Mykolenko

[Noisy noise annoys]

Absolute utter nonsense.

It's not

 

[Noisy noise annoys]

Shame Pienaar is not about, would work well together.

 

[roy vernon]

I said recently that the jury was out on this lad, it still is,but,it looks promising.

 

[GoldenToffee]

Better than Kenny at left back, but that's hardly a ringing enforcement. He's been ok, I don't blame him for anything as he's been placed into a relegation fighting team in a new league, country and city, doubt he even speaks much English either.

 

[Toff33Blues99]

You on about lad? Needs time to settle but the improvement has been immense the last couple of games. Get behind him ffs

Immense is a strong word. He set a v low bar in his first few games so yes he has improved but immense is ridiculous.
As I said yesterday he was at fault for the goal, he doesn't cover the runner nor does he get close enough to stop the pass, basically left in no man land

 

[Swagger]

He did some good bits of defending particularly second half. It's interesting how some thought he was mom against Burnley when I rate players more for decision making, football IQ and actual execution. His delivery was truly horrific vs Burnley and yes he did well to win the penalty but for me that was more about the through ball by Iwobi.

He has improved and there is some promise which is pleasing and you want him to do well so hopefully he can continue progressing. His final ball and crossing needs to improve.

 

[Aries]

 

[Bonnie Blue]

There was a moment yesterday (soon after their goal I believe) when he threw himself at the ground to stop a pass and win the ball back. These are little details, but when the whole team looks like they’re scared to death and don’t know how to play (which is exactly what we looked like in the first 10 minutes), at least, this shows that someone in this squad is not giving up.

 

[Eggs]

….great test for him on Sunday against Salah.

 

[Zatara]

Shame Pienaar is not about, would work well together.

On the right we could have a very young pairing in Patterson and Gordon next season.

On the left, if Richarlison leaves then perhaps the Popescu links come true and we also have a young left side. Otherwise Mykolenko and Richarlison for me all day long...high energy positive players.

I really dont see Gray being a player to move forward with. Theres not going to be a partnership created with such a selfish player.

Very happy with Mykolenko and although @Eggs highlights the Liverpool game against Salah as a "great test" im more inclined to look forward to next season and be pleasantly impressed at the moment.

 

[Eggs]

On the right we could have a very young pairing in Patterson and Gordon next season.

On the left, if Richarlison leaves then perhaps the Popescu links come true and we also have a young left side. Otherwise Mykolenko and Richarlison for me all day long...high energy positive players.

I really dont see Gray being a player to move forward with. Theres not going to be a partnership created with such a selfish player.

Very happy with Mykolenko and although @Eggs highlights the Liverpool game against Salah as a "great test" im more inclined to look forward to next season and be pleasantly impressed at the moment.

…he’s been fine these last few games & he has to play as it’s vital for the balance of the side that we have a genuinely left footed defender in the team.

Salah will provide the ultimate test with those runs in behind and taking him on mazy runs.

 

[FTY]

Interceptions are defo his strong suit, maybe stands out more because the ? and Digne weren’t great at them

 

[Noisy noise annoys]

On the right we could have a very young pairing in Patterson and Gordon next season.

On the left, if Richarlison leaves then perhaps the Popescu links come true and we also have a young left side. Otherwise Mykolenko and Richarlison for me all day long...high energy positive players.

I really dont see Gray being a player to move forward with. Theres not going to be a partnership created with such a selfish player.

Very happy with Mykolenko and although @Eggs highlights the Liverpool game against Salah as a "great test" im more inclined to look forward to next season and be pleasantly impressed at the moment.

Reckon we could get 5mil plus for Gray?
Who would replace him though I guess, if we’ve little money

 

[Zatara]

Reckon we could get 5mil plus for Gray?
Who would replace him though I guess, if we’ve little money

That Romanian kid Octavian Popescu plays left wing, right footed and cuts inside alot apparently...

So Mykolenko and him may work...but interesting were linked with him as perhaps if true then were looking at creating a new pairing on the left.

 

[TheBigIguana]

Where is he supposed to press? Look across the backline and you see he's staying in it with his position clearly mirroring Colemans - it's a clear tactical instruction to narrow the back four and stay fairly deep that he is following. Until the ball hits a certain point then it's the job of the forwards and midfield to press in other areas. That's not on Mykolenko - that's a tactic he is following and someone else hasn't done, or been able to do, their part.

Engaging further up than the rest of the backline would leave two huge gaps. One between him and the left central defender and further space behind him for easy balls over the top. The space that opens between him and Godfrey is clearly visible in the 3rd picture when he has to go across to engage towards the corner and the Leicester player gladly goes into it. It would have been madness leaving that gap and another behind when the ball was 10-20 yards further out.

He can contest those balls further up if the backline and team as a whole are further up and more compact as a unit. The way Leicester were pinging it about under little pressure early on in the game shows we were stretched out too much vertically in the way we were set up. Either the defensive line sat too deep or the forwards were pressing too high in relation to each other. It just left too much space for the midfield to close creating the huge gaps between the lines for Leicester players to move into and beyond in the first two thirds of the pitch.

Before the pictures mate. Leicester escape by playing a long ball and instead of pressing it he stands and watches.