Undoubtedly he's fine at set pieces, but he's given the impression so far, that he's a " luxury " player, which doesn't really fit in with our overall crapness at the mo.
Plus we already let one luxury player go back to Spain.
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Undoubtedly he's fine at set pieces, but he's given the impression so far, that he's a " luxury " player, which doesn't really fit in with our overall crapness at the mo.
Plus we already let one luxury player go back to Spain.
neil999
Player Valuation: £80m
tommye
Player Valuation: £100m
But he needed a lung transplant so we had to let him go despite him being the new Messi
Everton that
tommye
Player Valuation: £100m
Shut up Neil
neil999
Player Valuation: £80m
look bungle...hold up!
Still watch his 50 yard volley every day.
...I was surprised at his work rate in the away game in Split, working back and helping the back four out on occasion. Even before he signed I was stressing the need to play him in his best position at no10. I'm sure RK watched us last season and saw this lad as a big improvement on what we had in that role.
The key difference is that Lukaku has moved on. Koeman kept asking Barkley to get nearer the no9, Sigurdsson naturally does this and often goes beyond the main striker. It's pointless playing him out wide, especially without a conventional CF.
I think he's an improvement to the squad but he will only be seen to best affect when the re-building is complete.
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Deckard2049
Player Valuation: £15m
I think the issue around him is based on whether people expected him to be a number 10 (in the role of playmaker) or an attacking midfielder, and there is a big difference in these roles. Obviously a lot of swansea's play, particularly last year, went through him. However in the weeks and days prior to his signing I got the impression from this forum and blues in general that they were hoping we were getting a player who was capable of running matches single handedly, dictating our tempo and creating the majority of his chances from open play. That's just not the player Sigurdsson is.
A point of comparison I would make is at Man United and the difference between Mata and Mkhitaryan. They're both attacking midfielders, but they have very different skill sets, with Sigurdsson definitely being closer to the Mkhitarayn mold.
I'm sure someone who disagrees with me could throw up a clip of him playing a lovely through ball, dinked pass etc . I don't dispute he has that in his locker. And I know there are the stats putting him as one of the best for assists in the the league these last few seasons. But it is irrefutable that the majority of his goals/assists come from set pieces. I'm sure others have seen the stats that prove last year he created more chances from set pieces than any other player. In contrast, he was also way down the list for chances created from open play. Now he's in a better team (hopefully) those open play stats should catch up. But given our debacle in the transfer window in regards to our pursuit of a striker/target man, we've negated an incredibly large part of his game.
Furthermore our midfield to attack transitions are so poor, we're hindering him even more. I know our midfield personnel are probably the strongest area of our team on paper, but there's an issue with them going forward. Klaassen has the ability to make good forward runs, but I would love us to have a deep lying playmaker in the team, someone capable of starting attacks from the midfield area but also capable of pushing forward themslves and grabbing goals. Especially in games against the dross of the league. Can you imagine how much crisper and fluid we'd look with a 26 year old Mikel Arteta in our midfield? It would help people like Sigurddson no end.
I'm not knocking him, as I know he's a fine player.
It's just that I'm really struggling to see why we got involved prolonged transfer negotiations and spunked a whole load of money on a player, only to play him in a system that he seems to be wholly unsuited.
Baffling.
Deckard2049
Player Valuation: £15m
Totally agree with you. A fine player indeed, coming from a Swansea side with low expectations and where basically everything is designed to go through himself and Llorente. Although the issues you raise with the system go beyond Sigurdsson. Who exactly does our system/style of play/tactics suit at all right now? That's a question for another thread.
gonetomorrow
Player Valuation: £70m
He'll be fine.
We'll be laughing in six months time.
We'll be laughing in six months time.
Baines' left foot
Player Valuation: £90m
It's like buying a great car with all the gadgets but you couldn't afford the wheels.
kenada_blue
Welcome to Barcelonaton FC
It was pointed out his best output as a player was from the wing but he is capable of playing as a 10, CM or 9.
The problem is the personnel around him with no striker and no CM.
With Barkley he wanted him to almost be box to box which didn't work. When Davies came in, it offered him more space further up the field to do his thing. The fact Barkley is only really effective in the final 3rd got on Ronks goat as he wanted more defensively.
You can almost see the same happening to Siggurdson if he doesn't get that midfield sorted. The choices are you play Gylfi as a CM next to Gana and Morgan or stick Davies there.
..there's contradicting reports about Sigurdsson's time at Swansea but from what I saw he scored goals from central positions, even getting beyond the CF like he did at Anfield last season. Definitely a no10 for me. I don't think Koeman particularly wanted Barkley as a box to box player but he did want more from him when the opposition had the ball and when Lukaku was in possession.
I agree he'll be much more effective with a CF to work around.
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