This is kinda where i landed with him after being initially critical of him. I can forgive the numbers for everything else he brings. The key thing is to take advantage of him being doubled up on and we have been. We have started getting the numbers elsewhere meaning we can afford for jeremy to be low on them. I have really been won over by him, esp when he is fully fit, takes him a little time after injury to get up to speed.Completely won me over this season. I'm a big fan. Don't care about the numbers, the opposition full back starts fucking praying to a higher power when he sees Doku on the teamsheet. He's a proper little scrapper aswell.
That’s bollocks about not using his left. He puts balls across pretty much every game with his left. He’s been one of our main players on this run we’ve been on. His consistency has improved hugely. Could he still improve further? Definitely and what a player he could become.He should still be able to give 10 league goals a season. Yes he is a top dribbler but he’s also a big reason why we often depend on Haaland. Won’t shoot and can’t shoot. Especially when you push him onto his left side. Often refuses to use his left to either cross or shoot when given the opportunity.
Its common knowledge by now that he doesn't have the long distance pace to get in these positions, nor the stamina to try to make such runs regularly. He should probably just keep working on shot power and accuracy instead so that he takes more shots around the edge of the box, where he is hesitant now because he is not a top shooter. He is the type of player who wants to pass the ball into the net.I wouldn’t say his finishing is particularly bad either he’s just so rarely in the positions. Despite what he says about needing to get tap ins there is no sign of that changing as he still rarely looks to get into the box or arrive at the back post. Overall though he’s a great asset to the team.
With respect you don’t watch live most weeks so are rather missing my point. I’m not expecting him to be making Sterling like runs all game and appreciate at times he needs a breather. I’m on about when he’s not had the ball for a while and we’re camped in the opposition half attacking down the right. I’ve seen him run further than he’d need to be in the box to go wide left almost in case a cross is over hit or cleared. He keeps talking about needing to be in there for tap ins but never actually goes where tap ins would be.It’s common knowledge by now that he doesn't have the long distance pace to get in these positions, nor the stamina to try to make such runs regularly. He should probably just keep working on shot power and accuracy instead so that he takes more shots around the edge of the box, where he is hesitant now because he is not a top shooter. He is the type of player who wants to pass the ball into the net.
W
With respect you don’t watch live most weeks so are rather missing my point. I’m not expecting him to be making Sterling like runs all game and appreciate at times he needs a breather. I’m on about when he’s not had the ball for a while and we’re camped in the opposition half attacking down the right. I’ve seen him run further than he’d need to be in the box to go wide left almost in case a cross is over hit or cleared. He keeps talking about needing to be in there for tap ins but never actually goes where tap ins would be.
With respect you dont really know if I watch live most weeks. I actually do. This kind of tap in opportunity doesnt really present itself when the team is camped in the opposition half but mostly in (semi) transition situations. In the situation youre describing it is infinitely more difficult to predict where the ball is going because of deflections and general chaos so he would need to have a generational Inzaghiesque positional sense. And for the Sterling situations where these tap ins are possible, he doesnt have the combined pace and stamina to get there. Just fine tune that curled shot, learn to place the ball at the near post, develop a stronger shot from the edge of the box when hes running toward goal. If you want more goals its a better bet than learning worldclass positioning or developing pace/stamina .W
With respect you don’t watch live most weeks so are rather missing my point. I’m not expecting him to be making Sterling like runs all game and appreciate at times he needs a breather. I’m on about when he’s not had the ball for a while and we’re camped in the opposition half attacking down the right. I’ve seen him run further than he’d need to be in the box to go wide left almost in case a cross is over hit or cleared. He keeps talking about needing to be in there for tap ins but never actually goes where tap ins would be.
This is a very good point. I also wonder why he doesnt cut inside from further out on the left side and then cross with his right foot.He is a much better creator when he's infield than he gets credit for though. One thing I'd like to see is an occasional cross when cutting back on his right-foot. He makes space there, but never does it - it doesn't always even have to be great, because if he does it once then defenders will have to watch for it and it might make his other choices slightly easier.
I meant at the ground watching him live mate. Not saying you don’t know the player as obviously you have watched him loads of times. I know the situations i’m talking about. Matt makes a good point now that with O’Riley constantly ending up in the box as a 2nd striker it makes more sense for Doku to keep a fullback out wide worrying about him. As you say it’s just that Doku keeps talking about his need for tap ins and i’m just saying he seldom even goes near the 6 yard box at times where he could.W
With respect you don’t watch live most weeks so are rather missing my point. I’m not expecting him to be making Sterling like runs all game and appreciate at times he needs a breather. I’m on about when he’s not had the ball for a while and we’re camped in the opposition half attacking down the right. I’ve seen him run further than he’d need to be in the box to go wide left almost in case a cross is over hit or cleared. He keeps talking about needing to be in there for tap ins but never actually goes where tap ins would be.
In terms of purely stats Fernandes might be on a par with Doku and Cherki... but in terms of actual creative talent and footballing ability there's no comparison.Similar to other comments, once you accept that he’s never going to be getting Sterling-level numbers, you realise just how insanely good he is at HIS strengths. Literally one of the first names on the team sheet. No other player in the world is as good as him at breaking open a game. He can disrupt absolutely any defensive set up pretty much whenever the fuck he wants. He’s also in the small group of elite creators in this country. If you look at the stats, Cherki, Fernandes and Doku are levels above anyone else. I think a lot of people don’t realise Doku is in their company when it comes to chance creation, but he absolutely is.