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2019/20 Alex Iwobi

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I'd lay off judgement of Pulisic til next year, much like Moise he's moved to a new country, yes he speaks the language but our football on these shores is different. The pace and energy is much higher, it can take a lot of players time to get up to speed. He's a young lad with a lot of ability.

I think Iwobi is ok, not setting the world alight but he's been injured and been moved about positionally. It still seems like a panic buy though.
 
TheBigIguana said:
This is my assessment of the Brands/Silva thinking as far as what to do about signing an attacking midfield player in the 4-2-3-1:

They looked at the end of last season team and saw the players that they had to fill those positions were Bernard, Sigurdsson, Richarlison, Walcott and Lookman. Lookman was good as gone so that necessitated a replacement for depth at a minimum. Of the remaining players none were very good at transitioning the team from defense into attack. Bernard is ok, but largely relies on linking with the LB and doesn't bring much else. Sigurdsson gave us actually zero in that department because he's too slow to dribble and not active enough to get it done passing. Richarlison is ok at dribbling but the passing wasn't/isn't there and he was maybe a striker anyway. And Walcott is a reserve player ideally. Also aside from Gomes, who is average in this area for the most part, and possibly Gbamin, no one in the deeper midfield was taking up this role.

So they set out to bring in someone who could do that job and who had some level of positional flexibility, as they were probably only signing one more player. Zaha was the first name because he is very good at making dribbles from deep positions into the attacking third. He's also (when he cares to be) a dangerous player in the attacking third. Another option on their list was Iwobi because he is decent at dribbling up the field and a far above average forward passer for a winger/#10. And his ability to either be a LW or #10 meant that he gave them a bit of the flexibility too.

It obviously hasn't gone 100% like they wanted. He's had little final third impact and that's a problem. But I think the stuff in between the lines and in the midfield has been largely what they were looking for when he came in. Unfortunately a combination of factors has made this unseeable for our fans. The nature of the transfer, where he came from, his somewhat awkward style and whatever else have totally clouded everyone. It is strange to me because a decent player in the middle without enough final third impact is exactly what Bernard and Gomes were most the time last season and some of this one, and no one worried about them.

Anyway if you read all that I think you'll understand why despite the disappointment in his performances for most of this season I still think there was some actual thinking and reason behind bringing him here. And also why I think there is still enough about him to keep trying to work it out for the next few months and into next season.
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There's certainly logic there.

It would be interesting to know if they'd have looked elsewhere had they not left it so late, but I doubt we'll ever find that out.

Luckily for you, I reckon he gets at least another year here.
 
BernieH said:
I'd lay off judgement of Pulisic til next year, much like Moise he's moved to a new country, yes he speaks the language but our football on these shores is different. The pace and energy is much higher, it can take a lot of players time to get up to speed. He's a young lad with a lot of ability.

I think Iwobi is ok, not setting the world alight but he's been injured and been moved about positionally. It still seems like a panic buy though.
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Pulisic looked great before his injury.
 
Iwobi is an enigma. Needs sorting out if he is to contribute anything next season. Next May onwards should be very interesting watching who goes through the exit door.
 

Carlito said:
I can understand why you want to defend Iwobi's ability, since he hasn't really had a chance to prove that he's definitely crap yet.

However, it's very difficult to make the case that he wasn't a panic buy resulting from the Zaha debacle. It was a lot of money to pay for a player who wasn't a starter at his previous club, and who wasn't exactly in demand, but that's what happens when you get to Deadline Day feeling as though you simply have to make a signing.
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Yes you wonder why he was signed, how many times was he watched before they decided to sign him? After two,or three times playing for us I knew he was a bottler, shirking fifty fifty tackles, hiding from the play, giving the ball away too easily, watched last Sunday, against his old club, where you think he would go all out to show them how good he was, he didn’t, just carried on the way he has played since he came,flatters to deceive and makes little impression on the game, can’t see him improving the fighting side of his game, it’s just not in him.
 
Cameron Manning said:
Yes you wonder why he was signed, how many times was he watched before they decided to sign him? After two,or three times playing for us I knew he was a bottler, shirking fifty fifty tackles, hiding from the play, giving the ball away too easily, watched last Sunday, against his old club, where you think he would go all out to show them how good he was, he didn’t, just carried on the way he has played since he came,flatters to deceive and makes little impression on the game, can’t see him improving the fighting side of his game, it’s just not in him.
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Again he gives the ball away less than any of the other players at the club in his position. Every criticism of him seems to repeat this myth.
 

TheBigIguana said:
Again he gives the ball away less than any of the other players at the club in his position. Every criticism of him seems to repeat this myth.
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It’s because we watch the game with our eyes not on a spreadsheet. He might have a better pass completion rate in terms of percentages, but he gives the ball away with lazy, brainless passes far more than the others. That’s why people say he gives the ball away ‘too easily’ rather than ‘the most according to ratemysoccerballrealgoodkicks.com’.
 
TheBigIguana said:
Again he gives the ball away less than any of the other players at the club in his position. Every criticism of him seems to repeat this myth.
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Most of the other players are in the game far more than Owobi is, flitters in and out of the game and none of the other players bottle it as much as this player. You like him, fair enough, I think you are far more easily pleased than me.
 
Him niasse and martina don’t look like footballers, poor touch, poor vision, they just look out of place with the ball at there feet.... ha ing said that I’d love iwobi prove me wrong and score goals galore but I dont see it
 
I would just like to state that I was the first to call him rubbish.

wobib.webp
 

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