#17 | Kevin De Bruyne - 2021/22 Performances

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domalino said:
I'm not sure it's benefitting the squad overall. The stat about scoring 0 in 1/3 of our games and 0 or 1 in half is a very real concern.

And Leicester, Spurs, Southampton, West Ham are not exactly impregnable defences.

I think we're going to see another shake up and change from Pep like we did in December last season, I'm not convinced this current set up is going to go head to head with Chelsea and Liverpool for 38 games and win the CL.
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I'd like to see us go back to stretching the pitch as wide as possible like 2017/18.

Foden on the left, Sterling on the right and Jesus through the middle.

As great as Jesus has been on the right, I'm surprised we didn't decide to give him a consistent run as a number nine this season. I know he played there in patches last season when Sergio was injured but there was always the chance that he could get fit and instantly take his place. I wonder if now that Aguero is no longer at the club, we missed a trick in not telling Gabby "the position is yours now, go and show us you can be the main man." I feel like the solution to not getting a striker in the summer was staring us in the face. It might not work but if Pep starts to feel like the current system isn't producing the goods on a consistent basis then surely it's worth a go? At least we'd finally get the answer to the question of whether Jesus can be our number nine long term or not.
 
David El Mago Silva said:
I'd like to see us go back to stretching the pitch as wide as possible like 2017/18.

Foden on the left, Sterling on the right and Jesus through the middle.

As great as Jesus has been on the right, I'm surprised we didn't decide to give him a consistent run as a number nine this season. I know he played there in patches last season when Sergio was injured but there was always the chance that he could get fit and instantly take his place. I wonder if now that Aguero is no longer at the club, we missed a trick in not telling Gabby "the position is yours now, go and show us you can be the main man." I feel like the solution to not getting a striker in the summer was staring us in the face. It might not work but if Pep starts to feel like the current system isn't producing the goods on a consistent basis then surely it's worth a go? At least we'd finally get the answer to the question of whether Jesus can be our number nine long term or not.
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Jesus should be playing as a striker for me. We have plenty of players who can play on the right.
 
Millwallawayveteran1988 said:
Jesus should be playing as a striker for me. We have plenty of players who can play on the right.
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David El Mago Silva said:
I'd like to see us go back to stretching the pitch as wide as possible like 2017/18.

Foden on the left, Sterling on the right and Jesus through the middle.

As great as Jesus has been on the right, I'm surprised we didn't decide to give him a consistent run as a number nine this season. I know he played there in patches last season when Sergio was injured but there was always the chance that he could get fit and instantly take his place. I wonder if now that Aguero is no longer at the club, we missed a trick in not telling Gabby "the position is yours now, go and show us you can be the main man." I feel like the solution to not getting a striker in the summer was staring us in the face. It might not work but if Pep starts to feel like the current system isn't producing the goods on a consistent basis then surely it's worth a go? At least we'd finally get the answer to the question of whether Jesus can be our number nine long term or not.
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This is my general thought as well. Jesus has had to be moved to the right because 4 years of being compared to Aguero destroyed his confidence, but even his goals this season are strikers goals, from central positions inside the box that he's taken up when rotating into the 9 position.
 
domalino said:
This is my general thought as well. Jesus has had to be moved to the right because 4 years of being compared to Aguero destroyed his confidence, but even his goals this season are strikers goals, from central positions inside the box that he's taken up when rotating into the 9 position.
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One thing we do lose out on with Jesus out wide is his ability to make himself available and receive passes in those dangerous areas, something nobody else can quite do yet. He also linked up with De Bruyne particularly well.


As for your previous point (about low scoring games) I do see your concern but I'm optimistic (or burying my head in the sand..) that like last season our lack of true consistency ties in with our limited pre-season, and hopefully within a few weeks some of the real high quality performances we've seen become more frequent.
 
Not only is Kev looking tired he is having to do more in games.

how many chances does he create that we miss ? Too many & this will be pissing him off. Kev is definitely doing more defensive work due to the pressure of not having a striker & taking our chances.

Kev really needs a target person
 
Blu1 said:
Not only is Kev looking tired he is having to do more in games.

how many chances does he create that we miss ? Too many & this will be pissing him off. Kev is definitely doing more defensive work due to the pressure of not having a striker & taking our chances.

Kev really needs a target person
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You say that but KDB's productivity so far this season is the lowest it's been in years as far as chance creation is concerned.

You could say, 'Oh, but he'd create chances galore if we had a striker', but last season with a false 9 KDB had a very respectable output in chance creation despite being in and out the team with injuries. So it's likely more on him at the moment, for whatever reason that may be.
 
Prob the most used and most injured/kicked player for club and country without a break going on 3 seasons now, was bound to catch up with him sometime. Hope they pull him from the Int. break coming up and let him rest..
 
Millwallawayveteran1988 said:
Jesus should be playing as a striker for me. We have plenty of players who can play on the right.
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Jesus needs to be on the right if we have someone who cuts in on the left. Peo doesn't seem to like Sterling on the right, so Jesus stays where he has been having his best season for us yet.
 
Big concern Kev at the moment hopefully it's just injuries causing a lack of fitness. Biggest concern in the team at the moment. Hoping to see the world class kdb back soon. Wouldn't play him on Saturday from the start.
 
I just don't get the fans saying "he's declining" or "he's finished" - Kev, in most seasons when he's been our best player, always takes time to get up to rhythm - he tries the toughest passes that when not coming off naturally make him look worse. It's always a balance between rest and playing enough to find his best game. One thing for certain is even at a reduced impact he still produces moments of brilliance. He is going to be very important and I suspect will only hit his peak in December. It's always about timing your best run as a team to the most vital time of the season. Last year was a prime example on this and it staggers me some fans on BM don't get that.

On Wednesday there was one move in the second half that tells me he's not far off - from a West Ham corner he touched the ball on the edge of our box and we broke at speed - he almost was the one midfielder who got on the end of the move. Yes he didn't score but to get from box to box is not something a player struggling with movement does. His class will come through and despite those niggling ligament injuries will still put in MOM performances when we need them most.

Kev is still quality.
 
David El Mago Silva said:
I'd like to see us go back to stretching the pitch as wide as possible like 2017/18.

Foden on the left, Sterling on the right and Jesus through the middle.

As great as Jesus has been on the right, I'm surprised we didn't decide to give him a consistent run as a number nine this season. I know he played there in patches last season when Sergio was injured but there was always the chance that he could get fit and instantly take his place. I wonder if now that Aguero is no longer at the club, we missed a trick in not telling Gabby "the position is yours now, go and show us you can be the main man." I feel like the solution to not getting a striker in the summer was staring us in the face. It might not work but if Pep starts to feel like the current system isn't producing the goods on a consistent basis then surely it's worth a go? At least we'd finally get the answer to the question of whether Jesus can be our number nine long term or not.
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The season we were 3-0 up away at Everton with Sane on the left raz on the right and Jesus in the middle, blitzed them; best I’ve seen us play , width, pace, passing, finishing.
 
Mr HJ said:
I just don't get the fans saying "he's declining" or "he's finished" - Kev, in most seasons when he's been our best player, always takes time to get up to rhythm - he tries the toughest passes that when not coming off naturally make him look worse. It's always a balance between rest and playing enough to find his best game. One thing for certain is even at a reduced impact he still produces moments of brilliance. He is going to be very important and I suspect will only hit his peak in December. It's always about timing your best run as a team to the most vital time of the season. Last year was a prime example on this and it staggers me some fans on BM don't get that.

On Wednesday there was one move in the second half that tells me he's not far off - from a West Ham corner he touched the ball on the edge of our box and we broke at speed - he almost was the one midfielder who got on the end of the move. Yes he didn't score but to get from box to box is not something a player struggling with movement does. His class will come through and despite those niggling ligament injuries will still put in MOM performances when we need them most.

Kev is still quality.
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He’s not finished, hard to say if he’s declining as such because there’s definitely mitigating circumstances for his very poor recent form but that’s the crux right now, his recent form doesn’t get him in our best 11.
Way too early to believe he can’t get back to where he needs to be but he’s a long way off from it now.
 
De Bruyne’s artistry and physique require the bigger canvas, the length of the pitch, but we’ve assembled more players whose artistry and physique require the cameo,the final third of the pitch.

Signing a mobile and physical striker along with two mobile midfielders would give us a squad that could play in more ways.
 
johnnytapia said:
The season we were 3-0 up away at Everton with Sane on the left raz on the right and Jesus in the middle, blitzed them; best I’ve seen us play , width, pace, passing, finishing.
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I think that was the game when on MOTD, Shearer said that this three-man attack was going to frighten defences for years to come.
 
domalino said:
I'm not sure it's benefitting the squad overall. The stat about scoring 0 in 1/3 of our games and 0 or 1 in half is a very real concern.

And Leicester, Spurs, Southampton, West Ham are not exactly impregnable defences.

I think we're going to see another shake up and change from Pep like we did in December last season, I'm not convinced this current set up is going to go head to head with Chelsea and Liverpool for 38 games and win the CL.
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the current system works great against top teams no doubt. but then against weaker that crowd the middle teams we needs runners in their correct flanks stretching the play and not inverted wingers and also a focal point for the attack occupying the center backs not a false 9.
 
johnnytapia said:
The season we were 3-0 up away at Everton with Sane on the left raz on the right and Jesus in the middle, blitzed them; best I’ve seen us play , width, pace, passing, finishing.
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with the qualifier being against weaker teams. but against stronger teams the current team plays the best.
 
also everyone here look at today's lineup KDB always makes our best 11 even in his worst form. pep concurs.
 
Worst season of his career... Really needs to wake up, or we need to rest him if he has physical problems, he’s been a liability since August
 
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