17 | Kevin De Bruyne - 2023/24

[alexmcity]

You don‘t take Kev off and put Alvarez on with Haaland.
For all you who write him off he is still capable of swinging a game in the blink of an eye which is what we needed today.
Haaland off for Alvarez in my opinion.

Kev was very poor. All our attacks were falling apart the moment they reached Kev. We were much better without him. First half we played like we were with 10 men. Shouldn't have started him ahead of Doku. But even Pep finds it difficult to bench a legend.

Bernardo's bottom level is much better than Kev's but he hasn't been great recently too. Both Kev and Bernie didn't start on merit. Pep got a bit sentimental. Same with Stones. At least we saw why he was on the bench recently.

 

[Withnail]

Injuries and age beginning to catch up with Kev and he was very ineffective today. Too early to totally write him off as he still has moments of magic, but perhaps his best days are behind him.

 

[OrigamiNinja]

I remember a few years ago when the rags tried to compare Fernandes with KDB because he had racked up a few assists. My argument back the then was KDB dominated games and contributed assists, whereas rat face disappeared for the majority of games but had moments. I stand by that assessment but unfortunately, I do feel like KDB has been more like that ugly **** this season. KDB has stunk out the place for large parts of games since his return but he still has that magic in his feet and has popped up with big moments. Whether this is a one-off because of his injury, or it’s just where he is at in his career remains to be seen.

 

[Craig]

I remember a few years ago when the rags tried to compare Fernandes with KDB because he had racked up a few assists. My argument back the then was KDB dominated games and contributed assists, whereas rat face disappeared for the majority of games but had moments. I stand by that assessment but unfortunately, I do feel like KDB has been more like that ugly **** this season. KDB has stunk out the place for large parts of games since his return but he still has that magic in his feet and has popped up with big moments. Whether this is a one-off because of his injury, or it’s just where he is at in his career remains to be seen.

Correct

 

[allyboy]

Correct

I remember a few years ago when the rags tried to compare Fernandes with KDB because he had racked up a few assists. My argument back the then was KDB dominated games and contributed assists, whereas rat face disappeared for the majority of games but had moments. I stand by that assessment but unfortunately, I do feel like KDB has been more like that ugly **** this season. KDB has stunk out the place for large parts of games since his return but he still has that magic in his feet and has popped up with big moments. Whether this is a one-off because of his injury, or it’s just where he is at in his career remains to be seen.

Spot on. Love KDB but I fear his time is nigh. Midfield needs 2 new quality players coming in.

 

[MadchesterCity]

Dogshit yesterday

 

[Keeper!]

Looked old and way past his best yesterday and again no summer holiday for the ginger one.

 

[oldius]

When Kev is not at his best, we are vulnerable. This is not because the team as a whole is seriously weakened, but what he brings to the team being off creates risk. What he is capable of at his best is way beyond the mortal world: he plays in tight areas, he sees key passes, he delivers wonder and a plethora of assists. Because of that, when he is off, he is caught in those tight areas, and he gives the ball away when attempting the key pass. Our high line means that he transfers from the biggest danger to the opposition to one of the biggest dangers to ourselves. With both him and Bernie well off yesterday, we really didn't play well until Kev was withdrawn.

I would hope that he is able to return to his best levels but I have thought the same for a year or so now. I just think that it is time that Phil replace Kev, and Oscar replace Bernie, and we bring in the players that will, in the long term, be the ones who compete with the key players in the team.

 

[MichaelBBack]

Kevin was injured for ages this season, appeared in 18 Premier League games, and still nearly topped the assist charts with 10.

Come on now. He's far from finished.

Very poor game yesterday for sure, and he's absolutely lost some pace, sharpness, and ability to dictate games single-handedly. But he's still a colossal source of creativity, goals, and assists, and there's pretty much no one else in world football I'd rather have on the pitch when we need a moment of magic to turn a game around or make a goal out of nowhere. Even when he appears to be playing poorly, he can still put something out of nowhere, as we saw several times this year.

He just needs managing with a lot more care than before, and he needs another player or two to step up (as Phil has done this year) so there isn't as much pressure on his shoulders. He also needs to call it quits with Belgium, without a doubt, and I think he knows that.

It's up to Pep and the board now to firstly, bring in an overdue understudy that Kev can at least rely on to ease some of his burden, or even someone he can mentor and mould in his style, and secondly, to manage him with much more prudence next season.

 

[Stiff Little Wingers]

When Kev is not at his best, we are vulnerable. This is not because the team as a whole is seriously weakened, but what he brings to the team being off creates risk. What he is capable of at his best is way beyond the mortal world: he plays in tight areas, he sees key passes, he delivers wonder and a plethora of assists. Because of that, when he is off, he is caught in those tight areas, and he gives the ball away when attempting the key pass. Our high line means that he transfers from the biggest danger to the opposition to one of the biggest dangers to ourselves. With both him and Bernie well off yesterday, we really didn't play well until Kev was withdrawn.

I would hope that he is able to return to his best levels but I have thought the same for a year or so now. I just think that it is time that Phil replace Kev, and Oscar replace Bernie, and we bring in the players that will, in the long term, be the ones who compete with the key players in the team.

Good post. Thought with a good summer rest we might see one last season from KDB but he’s not going to get it. I agree he can’t be the main man next season, it has to be Phil.
But if he is used a lot less or sold it would leave a huge hole to fill given what he has contributed over the last 9 years.