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2018/19 Idrissa Gueye

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Been poor in his last 2 games so obviously that means he's an awful player. Just like in the 2 games before where he played well he was great. Our fans kneejerk far too much.

I'm a big fan of his but have no problem in criticising his last 2 games and in particular his passing. We had a potential attack at Anfield in the 1st half that he played a shocking pass and they counter attacked and nearly scored I think. He needs to improve on his general passing or he will eventually be replaced by Silva.

He is excellent at the defensive midfielder side of the game though and he'd be way down the list in terms of players that need to be upgraded for us to push on. Not saying he's our best player but he is one of our most important.
 
He’s our most important defensive player, the amount of times he wins the ball back is ridiculous; he gives Gomes the freedom to just create.

However, his passing can be wayward and in games like last night he is redundant with us constantly attacking. Silva should have recognised this and dropped Gylfi back.

We miss him when he doesn’t play and we don’t have anyone else who can read an interception like him. As much as James McCarthy can match him for energy, he isn’t the answer.

2 average games doesn’t make an average player.
 
ArtetaMoney said:
He’s our most important defensive player, the amount of times he wins the ball back is ridiculous; he gives Gomes the freedom to just create.

However, his passing can be wayward and in games like last night he is redundant with us constantly attacking. Silva should have recognised this and dropped Gylfi back.

We miss him when he doesn’t play and we don’t have anyone else who can read an interception like him. As much as James McCarthy can match him for energy, he isn’t the answer.

2 average games doesn’t make an average player.
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It’s because he’s the best we have at this moment. Gomes has made everyone forget about Davies and McCarthy. McCarthy is a different player, but it wasn’t long ago people on here saying he would be a perfect partner for gana, never in my eyes like.

If We can get a top class number 6, gana will be forgotten about pretty quickly.
 
Brisan123 said:
Have you ever considered that it’s because he’s playing well that the others play well
Maybe when he does his job well it frees up Gomes to spread his sexiness all over the pitch and the full backs to get forward
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No, because if you believe some people, that would be every week, and we don't play well every week, and he certainly doesn't.

People use his work rate and the ground he covers as examples of things he does well, but the reality is, he only has to cover that ground because his reading of the game and positioning is so bad in the 1st place.

Take their goal yesterday, he carried the ball, held onto it too long, rushed his pass, and the team were then flat footed and too far forward, which meant Newcastle were able to spring forward, completely bypass him, get in behind and boom, we're 0-1 down.

My nerves are gone every time he has the ball in that deep lying position between the defensive line and halfway, because I don't trust him on the ball. He regularly misplaces passes or loses possession there. He is genuinely not good enough on the ball to play that role, not in his ability on the ball, his passing or in his vision. Nor is he any good in the final 3rd. So his only strength, the ground he covers, also becomes his weakness, as it regularly draws him out of position and leaves huge gaps. This is not a new thing either.

He also makes so many rash and clumsy challenges in stupid or dangerous positions, so honestly, this whole "Best DM in the league" argument is a complete mystery to me.

If we can't do better than him, it says more about us than it does about him.
 

ArtetaMoney said:
He’s our most important defensive player, the amount of times he wins the ball back is ridiculous; he gives Gomes the freedom to just create.

However, his passing can be wayward and in games like last night he is redundant with us constantly attacking. Silva should have recognised this and dropped Gylfi back.

We miss him when he doesn’t play and we don’t have anyone else who can read an interception like him. As much as James McCarthy can match him for energy, he isn’t the answer.

2 average games doesn’t make an average player.
Click to expand...

He's not, honestly. It seems that way because he covers lots of ground, but honestly, if he's not there, you adapt to who is.

For example, people use the stats that he has most tackles/Interceptions etc as a reason why he's so important. But that is to say that if no other midfielder has bettered him, then not only is he the best midfielder in the league, but we should also have the best midfield in the league.

Or it means we are terrible in possession and give it away more than a lot of the top teams, and he is a massive reason for this in the 1st place. If he wasn't there, it doesn't necessarily mean we will be worse off because he's not there to win it back, it just means other people will share the load of winning it back, or that we don't need to win it back as much in the 1st place.

And genuinely, if it was a choice of keeping him for his engine, or replacing him with someone who's so called defensive stats weren't at the same level, but could keep possession, move the ball forward more efficiently, and weigh in with the odd goal or assist, I know which I'd sooner have.
 
Stephenlloyd said:
It’s because he’s the best we have at this moment. Gomes has made everyone forget about Davies and McCarthy. McCarthy is a different player, but it wasn’t long ago people on here saying he would be a perfect partner for gana, never in my eyes like.

If We can get a top class number 6, gana will be forgotten about pretty quickly.
Click to expand...

This bit is obvious, but unfortunately there aren’t many of them about. I can’t even think of one that we could go and get, not in the premier league anyway.

I don’t watch much foreign football, hopefully Brands can identify one.
 
Kever10 said:
He's not, honestly. It seems that way because he covers lots of ground, but honestly, if he's not there, you adapt to who is.

For example, people use the stats that he has most tackles/Interceptions etc as a reason why he's so important. But that is to say that if no other midfielder has bettered him, then not only is he the best midfielder in the league, but we should also have the best midfield in the league.

Or it means we are terrible in possession and give it away more than a lot of the top teams, and he is a massive reason for this in the 1st place. If he wasn't there, it doesn't necessarily mean we will be worse off because he's not there to win it back, it just means other people will share the load of winning it back, or that we don't need to win it back as much in the 1st place.

And genuinely, if it was a choice of keeping him for his engine, or replacing him with someone who's so called defensive stats weren't at the same level, but could keep possession, move the ball forward more efficiently, and weigh in with the odd goal or assist, I know which I'd sooner have.
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You’d rather have a defensive midfielder that scores a few goals a season, than one who tops the league interceptions and tackles stats every season?
 
ArtetaMoney said:
You’d rather have a defensive midfielder that scores a few goals a season, than one who tops the league interceptions and tackles stats every season?
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No, I'd just sooner have a central Midfielder who's abilities aren't solely restricted to how much ground he covers, and someone who actually contributes when we have the ball.

People talk about him like if he didn't play, we would have to play with 10 men, or that no one else would be allowed to tackle or intercept. Even if they don't manage as many as him, you have to assume they will do some of that work, and if they are more competent in possession, we might actually need to win it back as often anyway.

I just think he is really quite average, and the attributes people enthuse about are not as important as they make out. If they were, him having the best stats in the league in those areas would reflect more in our performances and on us as a team.
 

Kever10 said:
No, I'd just sooner have a central Midfielder who's abilities aren't solely restricted to how much ground he covers, and someone who actually contributes when we have the ball.

People talk about him like if he didn't play, we would have to play with 10 men, or that no one else would be allowed to tackle or intercept. Even if they don't manage as many as him, you have to assume they will do some of that work, and if they are more competent in possession, we might actually need to win it back as often anyway.

I just think he is really quite average, and the attributes people enthuse about are not as important as they make out. If they were, him having the best stats in the league in those areas would reflect more in our performances and on us as a team.
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Pretty poor post that.

His abilities are not restricted to how much ground he covers, but how much he breaks up play and recovers possession.
 
I like him and his replacement is certainly not a top priority. However if the right player comes up at the right price he would be brought in. As a number 6 he has most of the right attributes but if we had to give up a little on the defensive qualities to gain a little more on the attacking side I would consider that an improvement. In a game like yesterday another player with a clever pass in him may just have unlocked tge door. However at the moment a new number 6 is about 7th/8th on my priority list.
 
Kever10 said:
No, I'd just sooner have a central Midfielder who's abilities aren't solely restricted to how much ground he covers, and someone who actually contributes when we have the ball.

People talk about him like if he didn't play, we would have to play with 10 men, or that no one else would be allowed to tackle or intercept. Even if they don't manage as many as him, you have to assume they will do some of that work, and if they are more competent in possession, we might actually need to win it back as often anyway.

I just think he is really quite average, and the attributes people enthuse about are not as important as they make out. If they were, him having the best stats in the league in those areas would reflect more in our performances and on us as a team.
Click to expand...

He’s really not, mate.
 

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