2018/19 Gylfi Sigurdsson

[BlueToff]

Yup, not once do we get over 25% attacking through central areas, going back as far as September, in the league.

So no, our system is not built around Gylfi.

Not an excuse for him not playing well, but can people stop pedalling that it is.

 

[BlueToff]

We go down the flanks all the time because Gylfi isn't good enough at 10, he scores goals, worldies mostly but we create absolutely nothing through the middle and when the wingers are doubles up on this is a massive problem.

There are good arguments both ways on Gylfi both sides have valid points. My point is, I seethe 10 as the main playmaker and creator in a team but we play with wingers and utilise the wingers to death, in that situatiom I don't think Gylfi offers enough for us to change play style. hence we have become very predictable, shut down the wings and shut downEverton. Problem also that we are heavy down the flanks but no target man to enjoy all the crosses.

I agree that Gylfi has his limitations.

It's why an on form Gomes is crucial because he can get us through the midfield by carrying the ball/threading a pass into the final third.

Gylfi's at his best on the edge of the oppo box, with passing options or a shot on. When he's in that situation, 9/10 he'll create something.

He does drift wide and deep to get involved. A quick look at his touch maps show that. He's not this static player people claim him to be.

What he isn't is a natural, diminutive and nippy no.10. But when we get the ball into him he makes things happen more often than not.

He definitely needs to step up and I do agree that the system at the moment is perhaps being used as it accommodates him centrally as a second striker. But if people actually look how we play, it's clear to me that's more down to his work off the ball being key to our press. We hardly play through him in that position as, like you say, we go constantly wide.

 

[Tubey]

We don't build our system around Gylfi.

In our last few league games, here's the 'attacking thirds' percentages.

S'ton
41% left, 22% centre, 37% right

B'mouth
37% left, 22% centre, 41% right

Leicester
33% left, 22% centre, 45% right

So the argument that the system is built around him is void.

You could easily just say the system is built around Gana/Gomes because all you're basing it on is that he's central in the formation, surely?

IF our system was built around him, everything would go through him. It doesn't, not nearly enough.

Now my argument is that that's down to Gylfi's poor form lately, him not doing enough when on the ball etc, getting marked out of games but also the players around him playing poorly - especially Gomes, whose job it is is to get the ball to him.

You can say, and to an extent I agree, that the system is being made to accommodate him. Maybe that's a fair assessment and maybe we should get away from that. But it's not built around him. As a team we are built around attacking down our flanks, as is quite clear from the stats and simply having eyes.

I didn't say we've built around him; I said we'd have to in order to get anything approaching decent form from him consistently.

You haven't disagreed with me at all here. He should be dropped because he's a square peg in a round hole right now.

 

[BlueToff]

Got a goal at the weekend,great for his stats,did nothing for us.

Well if we'd have equalised it would have done, like.

But no, he didn't play well at all. In fact he was garbage. As they all were.

 

[BlueToff]

I didn't say we've built around him; I said we'd have to in order to get anything approaching decent form from him consistently.

You haven't disagreed with me at all here. He should be dropped because he's a square peg in a round hole right now.

Apologies, I may have quoted the wrong post, Tubes.

And that's fair play. Or we need to change the system entirely (which I think is the case). Whether that has Gyfli in it or not, is fair game.

 

[Kever10]

Yup, not once do we get over 25% attacking through central areas, going back as far as September, in the league.

So no, our system is not built around Gylfi.

Not an excuse for him not playing well, but can people stop pedalling that it is.

But he is central to it. How many times does he get the ball in a dangerous area and play it out wide for a cross? When we played Spurs, Kane had 2 or 3 chances before he scored, all speculative from 20yards or so. I'm fed up of watching Sigurdsson, who is the 1 player you would count on from that distance, trying lay it off, or pass through players, when space is opening up in front and around him. All the more galling when the shots he does have go in. He just simply doesn't take enough responsibility often enough.

If I was Silva, I'd be telling him that any fewer than 5 shots per game from distance is not good enough.

 

[davids]

Well if we'd have equalised it would have done, like.

But no, he didn't play well at all. In fact he was garbage. As they all were.

But that was never going to happen.I'ts the problem with stats they are not representative of what really happens in a game.You make a successful pass,but the player receiving is tightly marked by three defenders and obviously loses it,you cross from a corner but it's too high,your CF gets a head to it so the stat shows it as a successful cross,the fact it goes straight up in the air and the defence pick it up,break and score?

 

[BlueToff]

But he is central to it. How many times does he get the ball in a dangerous area and play it out wide for a cross? When we played Spurs, Kane had 2 or 3 chances before he scored, all speculative from 20yards or so. I'm fed up of watching Sigurdsson, who is the 1 player you would count on from that distance, trying lay it off, or pass through players, when space is opening up in front and around him. All the more galling when the shots he does have go in. He just simply doesn't take enough responsibility often enough.

If I was Silva, I'd be telling him that any fewer than 5 shots per game from distance is not good enough.

Because that's clearly the tactics and our lack of movement up front is atrocious.

He is central in one way - he starts as a second striker in the formation.

Our play does not go through him. When it does, he makes stuff happen most of the time.

The tactics are clearly that we play to get it wide and overlapping full-backs or wingers get the cross in.

It isn't working well at all at the moment and that is on Silva to sort out. If that means changing system and dropping Gylfi, so be it.

But it's been a problem when Gylfi hasn't been in that position as well. Because it's a tactical thing.

I won't argue with the responsibility shout. He isn't doing. But he's our top scorer. I'd say that other players should get equal stick, but they don't.

Bernard, Gomes, Lookman, Walcott, Tosun. Where's the shouts for them to 'take responsibility'?

 

[BlueToff]

But that was never going to happen.I'ts the problem with stats they are not representative of what really happens in a game.You make a successful pass,but the player receiving is tightly marked by three defenders and obviously loses it,you cross from a corner but it's too high,your CF gets a head to it so the stat shows it as a successful cross,the fact it goes straight up in the air and the defence pick it up,break and score?

He scored a goal. He didn't play well overall.

There's nothing about stats and nobody has said anything about that individual stat.

All it does is make him our top scorer, which is a notable stat.

 

[COYBL25]

This.

He's been crap lately, not offering enough.

But he can never win. Same old people have had it out for him from the start. It's boring. I honestly don't know what he needs to do. When he drops deep, he gets accused of not getting into scoring positions. When he stays high, he gets accused of not dropping deep to get involved.

He's our leading scorer and hasn't been playing well for about 6 weeks. Says more about the rest of our squad, surely...

Why isn't Gomes getting the same amount of stick? He has been far worse in the last few weeks. Bordered on being a liability on Saturday, tbh.

We've seen with both of them that on form they're very good players. At the moment nobody is on form. Just don't get why it's suddenly Gylfi's fault that everyone else is tosh.

The system isn't 'built around him' at all, not one bit. All of our play goes down the flanks. When we play through Gylfi, something usually happens...

Gomes isn’t getting the stick ( yet ), as he was injured when he arrived and has only started playing again relatively recently, so the jury is still out.

Also quite sensibly Gomes was loaned, so we can hand him back if it doesn’t work out.

The signing of Siggy
was a mistake from day one.

 

[Jimmy Grimble]

I agree that Gylfi has his limitations.

It's why an on form Gomes is crucial because he can get us through the midfield by carrying the ball/threading a pass into the final third.

Gylfi's at his best on the edge of the oppo box, with passing options or a shot on. When he's in that situation, 9/10 he'll create something.

He does drift wide and deep to get involved. A quick look at his touch maps show that. He's not this static player people claim him to be.

What he isn't is a natural, diminutive and nippy no.10. But when we get the ball into him he makes things happen more often than not.

He definitely needs to step up and I do agree that the system at the moment is perhaps being used as it accommodates him centrally as a second striker. But if people actually look how we play, it's clear to me that's more down to his work off the ball being key to our press. We hardly play through him in that position as, like you say, we go constantly wide.

Just thinking about it, we have Gylfi, Gomes and Bernard. Why are we not playing 1-2's and beautiful triangles, cutting through the meanest defences like a knife through butter, rendering the press about as effective as Stuart Barlow?

 

[davids]

He scored a goal. He didn't play well overall.

There's nothing about stats and nobody has said anything about that individual stat.

All it does is make him our top scorer, which is a notable stat.

Being the top scorer in a failure of a season? Not sure there is much good in that.We need a twenty a season striker,but it's no good if the twenty all come in 1-2 and 1-3 defeats.As I said stats have a place but they are far from the whole story.

 

[BlueToff]

Being the top scorer in a failure of a season? Not sure there is much good in that.We need a twenty a season striker,but it's no good if the twenty all come in 1-2 and 1-3 defeats.As I said stats have a place but they are far from the whole story.

What, so now it's not a good thing (as in, not a good thing from Gylfi) that he's our top scorer?

Had Walcott chipped in with 10 goals as well, for example, we'd be far better off right now. And I picked him because he could easily have scored another 6 or 7 this season with the chances he's missed (the vast majority of which were set up by Sigurdsson).

 

[BlueToff]

Just thinking about it, we have Gylfi, Gomes and Bernard. Why are we not playing 1-2's and beautiful triangles, cutting through the meanest defences like a knife through butter, rendering the press about as effective as Stuart Barlow?

It's definitely a confidence thing and none of them are probably consistent enough to do it all the time but all of them definitely have the quality.

Teams simply force us wide, though.

A huge issue is the lack of a proper, intelligent CF.

Richarlison does it as best as he can but if he gets marked out of a game the we've got no alternatives.

DCL - I do like him, but he's not good enough to consistently be starting if we want to push on. Tosun can't run.

 

[BlueToff]

@davids

Also, of Gylfi's goals this season

Wins
Rotherham (H), Fulham (H), Leicester (A), Cardiff (H) Burnley (A)

Losses
West Ham (H), United (A), Spurs (H), S'ton (A)

So he's scored in 6 wins, and four defeats. I don't see how him scoring in defeats suddenly mean those goals don't count, like.

Had Bernard not missed an open goal v Utd, his penalty (which he played the pass into Richarlison to win, btw) would have been an equaliser. Would it not have counted then?