Player Topic: Kevin De Bruyne (2015/16)

[shemnel]

poor game as im sure even KDB would acknowledge but he should work on his pressing and tackling a bit! He offers very little screening to the men behind him

 

[Dax777]

I'm sorry, but when you have a player lime KDB, it can never be wrong to keep faith with him for 70 minutes. He is just that good. I'm sorry. It's like someone saying you should pull Aguero, or Silva at half coz they are having a poor game.

I've seen those3 pull enough out of nothing, to not give them the benefit of the doubt.

 

[Phil1]

I'm sorry, but when you have a player lime KDB, it can never be wrong to keep faith with him for 70 minutes. He is just that good. I'm sorry. It's like someone saying you should pull Aguero, or Silva at half coz they are having a poor game.

I've seen those3 pull enough out of nothing, to not give them the benefit of the doubt.

He looked off the pace from the start. There's no disgrace in having a poor game, everyone of them has at some point. What you're saying isn't too far off the mark, you do indeed hope for just one moment of magic which he's more than capable of but last night wasn't to be for him. The 60 minute mark would have been when I'd made the change but that's splitting hairs.

 

[shemnel]

I'm sorry, but when you have a player lime KDB, it can never be wrong to keep faith with him for 70 minutes. He is just that good. I'm sorry. It's like someone saying you should pull Aguero, or Silva at half coz they are having a poor game.

I've seen those3 pull enough out of nothing, to not give them the benefit of the doubt.

i think that's a fair comment and probably the conclusion Pellegrini came to regards the sub. But if the sub waiting to come on is Silva then perhaps you are a little less lenient with someone who is obviously having an off night.... just my thought. i'd totally agree with you if he was just wanting to bring on Delph or Nasri

 

[Dax777]

He looked off the pace from the start. There's no disgrace in having a poor game, everyone of them has at some point. What you're saying isn't too far off the mark, you do indeed hope for just one moment of magic which he's more than capable of but last night wasn't to be for him. The 60 minute mark would have been when I'd made the change but that's splitting hairs.

Exactly. Anywhere between 60-75 was fine for me. 15 to 25 minutes is enough time to change the game. Most subs effect the game inside of 10 minutes of their introduction, so I wasn't too worried.

 

[Shaelumstash]

Poor again last night, as he has been all too often.

Our best form this year has come without De Bruyne in the side. The first 5 games with a front 4 of Sterling, Silva, Navas and Aguero. We won 5 on the spin and didn't concede a goal.

That's our most balanced front 4, and the best for the team. KDBs goals and assists in 4 and 5-0 routs at home against bottom 3 sides is great for the goal difference, but points on the board are more important.

We look a better, more fluid, more balanced side without him in it. Let's get back to what we know works and get a run on wins together with our best side. De Bruyne looks like he could use a rest anyway.

 

[jaiguruKun]

I'd have kept him on, moved him wide right and put Kelechi on for Navas to play in the middle, and Silva on for Yaya or Sterling. As usual though, Pellegrini's sub lacked any imagination whatsoever.

 

[Marvin]

Iheanacho and Silva should have been on at half time.

 

[Marvin]

Exactly. Anywhere between 60-75 was fine for me. 15 to 25 minutes is enough time to change the game. Most subs effect the game inside of 10 minutes of their introduction, so I wasn't too worried.

You should be. This team is playing way below its full potential largely because the coach is building his team around a player whose legs have gone

 

[Happy Feet]

Iheanacho and Silva should have been on at half time.

Y ?

 

[AshLunn92]

Poor again last night, as he has been all too often.

Our best form this year has come without De Bruyne in the side. The first 5 games with a front 4 of Sterling, Silva, Navas and Aguero. We won 5 on the spin and didn't concede a goal.

That's our most balanced front 4, and the best for the team. KDBs goals and assists in 4 and 5-0 routs at home against bottom 3 sides is great for the goal difference, but points on the board are more important.

We look a better, more fluid, more balanced side without him in it. Let's get back to what we know works and get a run on wins together with our best side. De Bruyne looks like he could use a rest anyway.

I have to disagree with that. I honestly think De Bruyne has been one of our best players this season. Having said that I would agree he has at times been a little inconsistent and that's a part of his game he still needs to work on, but lets be honest, who hasn't been inconsistent this year? Aguero has had a few games below his own high standard, so has Silva.

In terms of balancing the team, I don't think De Bruyne is the issue, I think Toure is. De Bruyne might not be offering enough defensively at the moment but at least he offers something going forward. Toure does neither. I honestly think that once Toure and Bony are gone, the whole team is going to click so much better but that's just me

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

I have to disagree with that. I honestly think De Bruyne has been one of our best players this season. Having said that I would agree he has at times been a little inconsistent and that's a part of his game he still needs to work on, but lets be honest, who hasn't been inconsistent this year? Aguero has had a few games below his own high standard, so has Silva.

In terms of balancing the team, I don't think De Bruyne is the issue, I think Toure is. De Bruyne might not be offering enough defensively at the moment but at least he offers something going forward. Toure does neither. I honestly think that once Toure and Bony are gone, the whole team is going to click so much better but that's just me

I think individually he has been good in 90% of the home games. Last night was not one of them. He gave the ball away time after time, his delivery from the free kicks was terrible (Not sure why we try the same routine on every one) and he bottled a number of 50/50 tackles and his defensive efforts were poor.

Away from home he has not been as effective.

I am still not convinced he has added balance to the side despite the above comments.

As for Toure, he was good last night and set us forward on a number of occasions. A stat flashed up on the boards at one point in the first half showing he had made the most passes and completed 98% of them. he makes us tick and sometimes this goes unnoticed.

 

[bobmcfc]

He was knackered last night absolutely knackered

 

[Shaelumstash]

I have to disagree with that. I honestly think De Bruyne has been one of our best players this season. Having said that I would agree he has at times been a little inconsistent and that's a part of his game he still needs to work on, but lets be honest, who hasn't been inconsistent this year? Aguero has had a few games below his own high standard, so has Silva.

In terms of balancing the team, I don't think De Bruyne is the issue, I think Toure is. De Bruyne might not be offering enough defensively at the moment but at least he offers something going forward. Toure does neither. I honestly think that once Toure and Bony are gone, the whole team is going to click so much better but that's just me

De Bruyne's a fine player mate, I'm not disputing that. He played really well in flashes. Against Newcastle in the 2nd half and Sunderland at home he was devastating. Silva was also on top of his game in those two fixtures, whether that was coincidence or not I'm not sure.

I'm not being argumentative mate, but genuinely interested in your thoughts on the following:

Which is the strongest opposition that De Bruyne has had a good game against.

Which games do you think we've played well as a team when De Bruyne has played as a number 10?

The most alarming one of those is the 2nd for me. There are a lot of "fans" who are calling for Silva to be dropped and De Bruyne played as a 10 instead. It's such a ludicrous claim that I find it inconceivable that anyone could say it with a straight face.

Our best form has come with Silva as 10 and De Bruyne out of the side. (First 5 games, 5 wins, 0 conceded.

Our patchy form has come with Silva as a 10 and De Bruyne wide.(recent form)

Our worst form has come with De Bruyne at 10 and Silva out of the side.(the 8 weeks Silva was out, our form was similar to Chelsea's)

If you don't believe me, go through the results and the performances and look for yourself.

It seems to be a lot of people are more concerned with De Bruyne keeping his assist stats up than the team actually playing well and winning games.

Football is about picking your best team, not the 11 biggest names.

 

[AshLunn92]

I think individually he has been good in 90% of the home games. Last night was not one of them. He gave the ball away time after time, his delivery from the free kicks was terrible (Not sure why we try the same routine on every one) and he bottled a number of 50/50 tackles and his defensive efforts were poor.

Away from home he has not been as effective.

I am still not convinced he has added balance to the side despite the above comments.

As for Toure, he was good last night and set us forward on a number of occasions. A stat flashed up on the boards at one point in the first half showing he had made the most passes and completed 98% of them. he makes us tick and sometimes this goes unnoticed.

At the risk of turning the De Bruyne thread in to the Toure thread: I 100% agree that De Bruyne was poor last night but I think that game was not representative of his normal contribution. My issue with Toure is that the guy is clearly extremely talented, and I think he still is but he only seems to turn it on when he wants to (usually the last 10 mins of a game) for the other 80 he is usually throwing the whole team off balance with poor passing, a poor work rate and very little in the way of defensive duties. Last nights game was the exception to the rule in terms of form for both Toure and De Bruyne, not the norm

 

[cheddar404]

I find him an enigma. Sublime one minute and beyond terrible the next. I can't work him out. I wonder if we're a better balanced side without him in it but then he comes up with a moment of genius.

 

[Sky Blue]

I find him an enigma. Sublime one minute and beyond terrible the next. I can't work him out. I wonder if we're a better balanced side without him in it but then he comes up with a moment of genius.

Feel the same way about him....

 

[markbmcfc]

Fans are a fickle bunch.

He was the next Bell a month or two ago.

 

[AshLunn92]

De Bruyne's a fine player mate, I'm not disputing that. He played really well in flashes. Against Newcastle in the 2nd half and Sunderland at home he was devastating. Silva was also on top of his game in those two fixtures, whether that was coincidence or not I'm not sure.

I'm not being argumentative mate, but genuinely interested in your thoughts on the following:

Which is the strongest opposition that De Bruyne has had a good game against.

Which games do you think we've played well as a team when De Bruyne has played as a number 10?

The most alarming one of those is the 2nd for me. There are a lot of "fans" who are calling for Silva to be dropped and De Bruyne played as a 10 instead. It's such a ludicrous claim that I find it inconceivable that anyone could say it with a straight face.

Our best form has come with Silva as 10 and De Bruyne out of the side. (First 5 games, 5 wins, 0 conceded.

Our patchy form has come with Silva as a 10 and De Bruyne wide.(recent form)

Our worst form has come with De Bruyne at 10 and Silva out of the side.(the 8 weeks Silva was out, our form was similar to Chelsea's)

If you don't believe me, go through the results and the performances and look for yourself.

It seems to be a lot of people are more concerned with De Bruyne keeping his assist stats up than the team actually playing well and winning games.

Football is about picking your best team, not the 11 biggest names.

Haha I didn't think you were being argumentative at all :) I do love a debate!

Just to be clear, I would never vote to exclude Silva from our team, or to move silva from the playmaker no.10 role. As far as im concerned there is not a player in the world who does that job better than Silva so its a non starter, we're agreed on that I think.

I also don't think that I have said that having the 11 biggest names on the pitch makes the best team, if I felt that way I would be asking for toure to be played every game.

I will be honest, I have no better argument than my own perception of the game. When I watch Toure play, I see every other player on the pitch trying to compensate for his poor passing and lack of work rate, I think that is causing the imbalance in the team, not De Bruyne

 

[oakiecokie]

Fans are a fickle bunch.

He was the next Bell a month or two ago.

Even Colin had some poor matches in his day.