No, unfortunately his legs are gone. Can't carry at pace and his reaction time is way off. For me he's the greatest playmaking midfielder the Prem has seen. Insisting that what we are seeing now doesn't signify a substantial decline is an insult to the player KDB has been at his peak. We are in need of a first rate 8 to play with Phil and Rodri going forward, simple as...
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17 | Kevin De Bruyne - 2023/24
- Thread starter MAG
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The problem is if he continues to play like yesterday we'll be needing more and more moments of magic...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.
manimanc
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Ok if you say so.No, unfortunately his legs are gone. Can't carry at pace and his reaction time is way off. For me he's the greatest playmaking midfielder the Prem has seen. Insisting that what we are seeing now doesn't signify a substantial decline is an insult to the player KDB has been at his peak. We are in need of a first rate 8 to play with Phil and Rodri going forward, simple as...
Don't know why I bothered.
Bothered what? Insisting his legs aren't gone? Have you watched him trying to carry or pursuing a lead pass? It's fucking heartbreaking...Ok if you say so.
Don't know why I bothered.
MANCtrigger
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The whole team was struggling in this game. After the treble and 4-in-a-row-titles, decompression fell into the team 1 game too early. A cup-final is important, but who am I to blame these players that gave us so much silverware the last 6 years? Anyone doubts on MC contender for a 5-in-a-row title next season? Enjoy your holidays! ;-)
manimanc
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You're obviously just going off Saturday's match when everyone looked like their legs had gone as they all looked off it and put passes out of play or couldn't find their man with a 10 yard pass.Bothered what? Insisting his legs aren't gone? Have you watched him trying to carry or pursuing a lead pass? It's fucking heartbreaking...
I think you've gone a little bit too early on kdb, he needs a good rest and next year will be firing again, he's only 32, you're going on like he's 82.
I don’t think there is any doubt he’s lost a yard or 2 since he came back from that hamstring op. Could see it against Brentford in one of his early games where a pretty average paced midfielder caught him. Was hoping it was just lack of games but months later it’s still the same. So highly unlikely he gets it back now at 32.You're obviously just going off Saturday's match when everyone looked like their legs had gone as they all looked off it and put passes out of play or couldn't find their man with a 10 yard pass.
I think you've gone a little bit too early on kdb, he needs a good rest and next year will be firing again, he's only 32, you're going on like he's 82.
manimanc
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He could easily play the Rodri role, just screening the defence and linking play. He never had great pace to begin with, he is the one with the killer pass, his speed is in his brain seeing a pass before anybody else.I don’t think there is any doubt he’s lost a yard or 2 since he came back from that hamstring op. Could see it against Brentford in one of his early games where a pretty average paced midfielder caught him. Was hoping it was just lack of games but months later it’s still the same. So highly unlikely he gets it back now at 32.
So just to back up my theory that kdb is still up there, the last 10 games he's posted these stats.
Ratings - average 8/10.
Assists - 5.
Goals - 4.
Minutes played - 780
Motm awards - 3.
Yep. Looks like he's on the decline.
He’ll always produce assists because he’s so good, he’s also playing right up close to Haaland not as an 8 like he did in his prime. It’s not a criticism to say he’s lost some pace it just happens with age an injuries. He’s getting caught on the ball far more.He could easily play the Rodri role, just screening the defence and linking play. He never had great pace to begin with, he is the one with the killer pass, his speed is in his brain seeing a pass before anybody else.
So just to back up my theory that kdb is still up there, the last 10 games he's posted these stats.
Ratings - average 8/10.
Assists - 5.
Goals - 4.
Minutes played - 780
Motm awards - 3.
Yep. Looks like he's on the decline.
If you watched a 35 year old Messi at Barcelona you could see he was way past his best. He still produced more assists and scored more goals than anyone else in the league that season. So similar to Kev you saying look at these stats doesn’t prove he’s not on the decline from what he was. It just shows how great a player he is and has been.
I would love nothing better than to see KDB return to a semblance of his best. It's not really about his age, it's more about where he is physically. If we're being totally honest he's been way off it physically for a large majority of the time since his return. He'll always put up numbers because of his elite skill level but he's otherwise not doing anything positive for large portions of a match and even his "moments" are rapidly decreasing due to his physical limitations. Like I said in an earlier post, for me, he is the best attacking midfielder the Prem has ever seen. This KDB is miles off peak Kevin. I hope I am proven wrong and he comes back strong but he had 4 months to rest and recover and an additional 4 or 5 weeks of intense training before returning and look at where he is currently. He looked super fit and fresh in January and by March/April was looking a bit unfit, slow, and unusually sloppy in possession and in his passing. I think it would be a massive error in judgement for City to bank on a return to top level form from KDB and that a high level 8 needs to be brought in ASAP in order for us to remain at this level. He can still have a role to play buy it can't be as "the guy". That ship has sailed and luckily we have Phil at the ready to take on that role. Now we have to move to fill the massive hole that Gundo left behind. For me that player is Bruno G. And that's just a start to rebuilding our midfield. We'll have to see what happens over the next 3 months...You're obviously just going off Saturday's match when everyone looked like their legs had gone as they all looked off it and put passes out of play or couldn't find their man with a 10 yard pass.
I think you've gone a little bit too early on kdb, he needs a good rest and next year will be firing again, he's only 32, you're going on like he's 82.
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