Pep loves Laporte but I'll take Dias and Stones over him at every turn...I'm worrying more about Laporte's poor defensive form in every important game.
Pep loves Laporte but I'll take Dias and Stones over him at every turn...I'm worrying more about Laporte's poor defensive form in every important game.
Another example of poor strategical forward planning by those upstairs.he is not an Lb, never was, never will be. he does not have the basic fullback instincts to suss out danger and stop it.
cannot blame him for that, put Foden in LB and he would struggle even more imo.
madness we have Zinchenko as LB in CL final and this season again vs Real Madrid because we refuse to buy a proper LB. cut our losses on Mendy asap and replace him properly. Zinchenko should not get more than 4-5 games as LB in a season and those mostly should be FA cup or Carabao games.
I pointed that out earlier...whether he stays or not he should never line up at LB in a meaningful situation for us again...you can't have KDB, Silva, Haaland, etc. and then Zinny at LB...not personal and not his fault...he's just not good enough there for us...wasn't that him Havertz ran away from in CL final last May...
I am curious as to just how many years he has to play exclusively as a leftback for us before people stop trying to defend him by saying he's playing out of position.
This, not the best defender, but very decent on the ball. But it’s becoming more and more obvious that we need to prioritise signing a quality young left back in the window.Admit he was poor at West Ham but he’s not let us down before. He may not be physically tired at the moment but his head must be all over the place about the the war at home. Lapses in concentration or judgement happens to the best of footballers.
Great pro and a pretty decent footballer. Let’s keep the ball and our defence will be fine.
Pretty good on the ball - actually - if not under pressure. But prone to mistake when immediately pressed.This, not the best defender, but very decent on the ball. But it’s becoming more and more obvious that we need to prioritise signing a quality young left back in the window.
Huh?? Zinchenko is one of the best when pressured. He’s not the speediest one.Pretty good on the ball - actually - if not under pressure. But prone to mistake when immediately pressed.
Zinchenko is a great squad player; not a regular starter; valuable in our squad in a backup role. And yes, we could use a class young LB.
My observations about Zinchenko's passing are as follows:Huh?? Zinchenko is one of the best when pressured. He’s not the speediest one.
Some good points early on but the second half makes absolutely no football sense. "By contrast - Gundo, Rodri, KDB, Silva, Grealish, Mahrez, Foden, etc., are all far, far better in these situations." not at left back they are not, have we ever seen 1 of them play left back or even close, it's a false comparison. Where does pressure on a left back mostly come from ? imo primarily in front of him, so what choices has he got ? shield the ball until a team member gives him an option ?, try to dribble past the pressuring player, near his own goal ? boot it over the touchline he is almost standing on ?, try to kick it through the opponents body ?. Not good options with an opponent close by, best option imo is put your body between the opponent and the ball and to retain possession pass to a colleague not under pressure, which to a wide defender means backwards almost always. Simple Pep ideology, pass and move to receive a pass, it may mean pass back to go forward. My observation is that he is very successful at playing a pass up the line just before an attacker gets too close to him. For such a short, small framed player he punches well above his weight most of the games he plays.My observations about Zinchenko's passing are as follows:
Sometimes he makes a careless square ball pass. Usually this is in the beginning of games. He seems to do this much more often then our regular starters - perhaps due to lack of playing time.
When open and given time, Zinchenko can make some really great passes, especially balls into the box. He doesn't seem to have the ability to bend the ball - like ZDB does time and again - which cuts down somewhat on his passing prowess. Still, if not covered, ZInchenko can make killer passes.
When under even slight pressure, Zinchenko tends to pass backwards. This breaks up forward momentum.
If someone actually manages to get close to Zinchenko in spite of his tendency to dump the ball, he's not good at retaining possession. He dumps the ball backwards because he knows his limits. By contrast - Gundo, Rodri, KDB, Silva, Grealish, Mahrez, Foden, etc., are all far, far better in these situations.
Really? Have you ever seen him play for Ukraine? If you would you simply couldn’t state what you just did.Would be a much better player if he wasn't so one-footed. I feel he's got a good role to play in this team, but really could only play at left back in a Pep team, as he doesn't have a lot of conventional full/wingback properties.
Guy got swagger. Makes the left side tick. Great vision and probably top 4 of technical abilities.Some good points early on but the second half makes absolutely no football sense. "By contrast - Gundo, Rodri, KDB, Silva, Grealish, Mahrez, Foden, etc., are all far, far better in these situations." not at left back they are not, have we ever seen 1 of them play left back or even close, it's a false comparison. Where does pressure on a left back mostly come from ? imo primarily in front of him, so what choices has he got ? shield the ball until a team member gives him an option ?, try to dribble past the pressuring player, near his own goal ? boot it over the touchline he is almost standing on ?, try to kick it through the opponents body ?. Not good options with an opponent close by, best option imo is put your body between the opponent and the ball and to retain possession pass to a colleague not under pressure, which to a wide defender means backwards almost always. Simple Pep ideology, pass and move to receive a pass, it may mean pass back to go forward. My observation is that he is very successful at playing a pass up the line just before an attacker gets too close to him. For such a short, small framed player he punches well above his weight most of the games he plays.
cmon mate i get it everyone can have an opinion but "at least equal to cancelo at lb" ?For me he is at least equal to Cancelo at LB
Watching Ukraine play is not high up my list of priorities.Really? Have you ever seen him play for Ukraine? If you would you simply couldn’t state what you just did.
cancelo is one of if not the best lb in the world