11 | Oleksandr Zinchenko - 2021/22 Performances

[Cambo]

Felt sorry for him Hardly played all season thrown in against one the best sides in the world and saying that kept Salah quiet;)

I agree. I thought he did OK today. Not great but there were worse out there.

 

[Trojan1962]

Hasn’t played much and shouldn’t have been put in that position in a game like this.

 

[PragueBlue]

I thought he was pretty poor. Hasn't had much game time so perhaps it was understandable but for a supposed attacking midfield player, he doesn't seem to like passing forward.

 

[Damanino]

Poor game, but totally understandable imo. rarely given game time, and then thrown in to defend vs Salah and also try to keep and eye on TAA. while the whole team folds like we did in first half.

and he is not a leftback despite he can only fit into the team at LB. fair play to him he did bring in some decent LB performances over the years, but he is not a LB.

at least he has a good stat, the 6 PL games he started for us were all wins. mostly vs lower table teams, but 100% record.
but he started 10+ PL games last 3 seasons, avg 1300+ minutes, this season he is at less than 600 minutes. and we may use Ake or Laporte as LB next time in league if needed.

his last PL start was 1st of December. could August/September the next one if he is still with us...

probably long due to sort out the LB position, but this might not have a priority due to having 4 players who can play there currently albeit not one of them being a real LB.

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

That cushioned header back wasn’t the greatest! Other than that he was thrown in at the deep end so not his fault but he wasn’t great. For me Laporte should have played and Stones moved to RB.

 

[nicko]

No where near good enough today. Like most of the team

 

[Invisible Man's Bandage]

Like other 'stand in' left backs, he has had good seasons but eventually they show that it isn't their natural position. A good example is Fabian Delph. He had one immense season but then he was found out and opposition teams targeted him.

Zinchenko has been amazing value and a great servant to the club but he isn't a left back and never will be. He deserves respect for giving his all every time but unfortunately his all isn't good enough for a team looking to consistently win major trophies.

 

[supercity88]

Like others, hasn't played much and then have had to throw him into a big game and he has struggled a bit. Pep hasn't had the league cup to give the squad fringe players more game time so we have a few who are rusty.

Having said that, to come back and rattle them late on despite the respective 11's and the midweek efforts I am pretty proud of that performance.

 

[ono]

Like other 'stand in' left backs, he has had good seasons but eventually they show that it isn't their natural position. A good example is Fabian Delph. He had one immense season but then he was found out and opposition teams targeted him.

Zinchenko has been amazing value and a great servant to the club but he isn't a left back and never will be. He deserves respect for giving his all every time but unfortunately his all isn't good enough for a team looking to consistently win major trophies.

I don’t agree with this. We obsess over whether or not he is a natural left back when it’s largely irrelevant. He was good enough to dislodge Cancelo from LB for the CL final. He outperformed Walker and Cancelo in the latter stages of the CL last year. And our winning percentage is higher when he plays - and this has been occurring far too long to be a coincidence.

The issue is, everytime he makes a mistake or doesn’t play great, it is held up as concrete proof that he isn’t a left back. He simply has to be faultless because of peoples preconceived bias.

Over the last few seasons I’ve watched Walker give away numerous penalties, and even as recent as last weekend, he was culpable for letting Mane run off him and score. I’ve watched Cancelo go from the sublime to the ridiculous (sometimes in the same game), yet nobody bats an eyelid. Zinchenko has a bad game….after being thrown in against one of the world best players, after not playing for months, and it’s suddenly time to get a new left back.

 

[Father Paul]

I don’t agree with this. We obsess over whether or not he is a natural left back when it’s largely irrelevant. He was good enough to dislodge Cancelo from LB for the CL final. He outperformed Walker and Cancelo in the latter stages of the CL last year. And our winning percentage is higher when he plays - and this has been occurring far too long to be a coincidence.

The issue is, everytime he makes a mistake or doesn’t play great, it is held up as concrete proof that he isn’t a left back. He simply has to be faultless because of peoples preconceived bias.

Over the last few seasons I’ve watched Walker give away numerous penalties, and even as recent as last weekend, he was culpable for letting Mane run off him and score. I’ve watched Cancelo go from the sublime to the ridiculous (sometimes in the same game), yet nobody bats an eyelid. Zinchenko has a bad game….after being thrown in against one of the world best players, after not playing for months, and it’s suddenly time to get a new left back.

I think we have to ask why he has played so little this season even though Cancelo has been good in that slot in general.