#14 | Aymeric Laporte - 2021/22 Performances

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alexmcity said:
One of the reasons I don't envy Pep's job is that there are a lot of people who pretend to know better what's good for the team and the club. Pep is not perfect but is miles more intelligent than the average fan.
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Why do we have to pretend?

You do realise that people can understand football after a lifetime of watching and playing the game, pro's are not infallible beings and do have blind spots and make errors as well.

Fuck me, it is a forum for fans to discuss things and decisions made by Pep and the others.

What kind of a sterile site would it be if the first post to every topic is...

Pep knows best you know nothing unintelligent fan.
 
bluealf said:
Laporte of 3 seasons ago was a phenomenal defender, not so much since then, he is still a great defender but he has become prone to some horrible individual errors.

For me and yes it is my opinion, though it does seem a few share it on here, Stones and Dias for me, I have also stated the next best pair is Stones and Laporte, I just don't like Dias and Laporte together, they seem more prone to errors together but not so much with Stones next to them.
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I don't have a favourite pair, their individual form is up and down. Dias and Stones were excellent last season bar the CL final.

Remember that Dias and Laporte started in most games in the run of 12 consecutive wins this season thanks to which we are top of the table now.
 
bluealf said:
Laporte of 3 seasons ago was a phenomenal defender, not so much since then, he is still a great defender but he has become prone to some horrible individual errors.

For me and yes it is my opinion, though it does seem a few share it on here, Stones and Dias for me, I have also stated the next best pair is Stones and Laporte, I just don't like Dias and Laporte together, they seem more prone to errors together but not so much with Stones next to them.
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i actually agree stones plus one, he gives amongst other stuff that extra pace
 
bluealf said:
Why do we have to pretend?

You do realise that people can understand football after a lifetime of watching and playing the game, pro's are not infallible beings and do have blind spots and make errors as well.

Fuck me, it is a forum for fans to discuss things and decisions made by Pep and the others.

What kind of a sterile site would it be if the first post to every topic is...

Pep knows best you know nothing unintelligent fan.
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Some criticisms of Pep are silly, people are free to post stupid things, and (other) people are free to tell them they are being silly.

It's incredibly silly to think Stones and Dias are miles better than Dias and Laporte, but Pep plays the latter because he moaned in the summer (or because Pep is imperfect and doesn't know Stones and Dias are miles better).
 
alexmcity said:
Some criticisms of Pep are silly, people are free to post stupid things, and (other) people are free to tell them they are being silly.

It's incredibly silly to think Stones and Dias are miles better than Dias and Laporte, but Pep plays the latter because he moaned in the summer (or because Pep is imperfect and doesn't know Stones and Dias are miles better).
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Could you be any more condescending if you tried?
 
bluealf said:
Could you be any more condescending if you tried?
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People are free to express their opinion, that's the most important thing.

I don't pretend that I never post silly things. It's virtually certain I have written some stupid posts as well, maybe in this thread too. But let's give the benefit of doubt to Pep when discussing his decisions instead of explaining them in a way that makes him look unprofessionl.
 
alexmcity said:
One of the reasons I don't envy Pep's job is that there are a lot of people who pretend to know better what's good for the team and the club. Pep is not perfect but is miles more intelligent than the average fan.
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On the contrary, I am willingly admitting that he did what was best for the club. What is best for the club is that it has 3 World Class CBs to choose from. One of them was making a fuss about leaving us and Pep placated him. All 3 deserve to be playing coz they are good players.

I'm simply saying it wasn't based on performance. Stones was sacrificed to improve the club.
 
I'm sure people mean well but the idea that Laporte is only playing to appease him just seems nonsensical. This is like the old Gundogan/Foden stuff.

The odd game here or there sure, but not for this long.
 
I think Laporte's played pretty well this season. A few rough patches - that Palace match where he was terrible and got sent off was a particular low point - but on balance of performances he's been good overall, and our defensive record this season shows that.

I think a lot of the criticism he gets is a combination of people not liking what appeared to be his attitude when he wasn't playing much, and fan loyalty to Stones (who we've watched overcome a load of hurdles to fulfil his potential, becoming possibly the most ideal CB in the world for the way Pep likes to play). People don't like the thought that Stones is losing game time because Pep wants to keep Laporte happy, or even because Laporte happens to be left-footed which doesn't seem like a good enough reason.

But I don't think it's a competition between Laporte and Stones, they actually play pretty well together so it doesn't have to be a case of one or the other. We have 3 world class CBs (and a 4th choice who gets into most of the league's starting line-ups), we've got to keep them all in form and happy.

It's just a balancing act between stability and rotation, I think. He's playing pretty well and he hasn't been injured, so he's been fairly consistently in the starting line-up and I don't think that's necessarily wrong or unfair.

If he keeps playing well and maybe pops up with a vital clearance or goal once or twice, I'm sure people will get over their qualms.
 
Everyone will focus on his early error and a few wayward passes but I just love the cojones on this guy. He epitomises our game, always showing for the ball always tryna make the right pass even when it’s way more difficult than easier options, keeps going and going right to the end. And he made several crucial interventions one on one in the 2nd half.
 
Better in the second half than the first. Think he just needs to recalibrate his priorities to be just a little more risk averse.

He and Stones are both high-risk, high-reward CBs, but for me Laporte plays on the edge of too much risk. A few passes tonight, into Rodri especially, that caused problems massively outweighing any potential benefits.
 
The way we play means he will sometimes give the ball away. It’s annoying when it happens but it is inevitable. The bigger frustration for me is how weak he is in the tackle but even more in the air defensively.

Pre-injury he was a Rolls Royce, he was good at practically everything, as complete a CB as you could ever really wish to have. I think post-injury he is largely the same player in possession but I don’t think he has come back the same defender.

I think he still has a place here and I don’t think he deserves a lot of the criticism he gets. He still plays most games in the best defence in the league.
 
Some people let glaring mistakes cloud their entire view. it was a calamitous mistake, I'm not denying that but every one of our back 4 made at least 1 of those tonight. ignoring that one lapse, he was very good defensively and did his job on the ball. No issues, he's been our best centre back all season, I cannot understand at all the criticism he's had throughout from some.
 
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