This is absolutely spot on.mate.
Who do you think will go on summer ?
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25 | Manuel Akanji - 2022/23 Performances
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Who do you think will go on summer ?
supercity88
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From what was an excellent start he's looked really poor recently. Jogging about, unsure of where he's supposed to be positionally. He's weak in the air, which has always been an issue. The partnership just wasn't right for Brentford, who were always going to be a physical test. Ake and Dias would have been a better partnership, but in truth we'd have won the game for all the ball we had if we'd have played Lewis and Gomez. We might have still conceded a couple, but we'd have stretched them by having full backs wanting to overlap.
FantasyIreland
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From what was an excellent start he's looked really poor recently. Jogging about, unsure of where he's supposed to be positionally. He's weak in the air, which has always been an issue. The partnership just wasn't right for Brentford, who were always going to be a physical test. Ake and Dias would have been a better partnership, but in truth we'd have won the game for all the ball we had if we'd have played Lewis and Gomez. We might have still conceded a couple, but we'd have stretched them by having full backs wanting to overlap.
Agreed,and Grealish instead of Gundo to take advantage of that stretch.
Dias should 100% of started that game to deal with the physicality.
FantasyIreland
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Im a firm believer that the one position in the side where stability is required,its centre half.I said it at the time and I will say it again now…Ake should have been sold. We didn’t need 3 top-class CBs + Ake then. We 100% do not need 3 top-class CBs + Ake + Akanji now.
It does not matter one jot that Ake has improved, or that Akanji has looked good since he signed. It’s like having Haaland, Mbappe and Lewandowski all vying for one strikers spot…unsustainable.
No team should be having a different CB partnership every week. If Ake, or Akanji cannot consistently surpass the levels that Stones, Dias and Laporte have shown over sustained, title-winning seasons, they are no fucking use to us. Dias was lauded as the best CB in Europe, now he is on the bench every other week so that CBs a fraction of his quality don’t put a transfer request in. Farcical.
It needs a partnership that the team can be built on,that the goal keeper trusts,and the midfield know have their back.Constantly rotating these players just causes confusion and a lack of confidence all over the pitch.
OrigamiNinja
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Ake is an average CB. He has been in England for a decade and the only sides he has been able to hold down a regular place are Watford and Bournemouth. People can argue all they like but the crux of it is, he will never reach the levels we have seen from Dias, Stones and Laporte. If Ake has been our best CB, it means the other 3 are playing levels below their best. I think they probably are below their best and then the question is why?Id argue Ake has been our best defender this season
Laporte has had a bad injury.
Stones has been shunted out to RB.
Dias is being rotated constantly.
Nothing can be done re Laporte being injured. However, why are two of our best three CBs being treated this way to accommodate players not as good as them? Thats not a slight on Ake or Akanji, but it’s the equivalent of VVD being put at RB to give Konate a game. Or Matip on the bench every other game to give Gomez/Nat Philips regular games. It wouldn’t happen there, why is it happening here?
If Ake and Akanji can’t consistently reach a world-class level (and that’s what we are talking here) they either accept limited time on the pitch or they leave. We don’t need 5 senior CBs and we don’t need Pep having the opportunity to overthink the CB situation.
OrigamiNinja
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God knows. Ake should have gone last summer when Chelsea came knocking. I wasn’t sure what was more baffling at the time…Ake staying or Mahrez new contract. The collective wankfest on here at both blew my mind.This is absolutely spot on.mate.
Who do you think will go on summer ?
kaz7
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And just been made player of the month , some people, i dont knowOne bad game and the haters are out. Just returned from injury, been our best CB this season until today.
Absolutely spot on FI.Agreed,and Grealish instead of Gundo to take advantage of that stretch.
Dias should 100% of started that game to deal with the physicality.
meeesh
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Ake is an average CB. He has been in England for a decade and the only sides he has been able to hold down a regular place are Watford and Bournemouth. People can argue all they like but the crux of it is, he will never reach the levels we have seen from Dias, Stones and Laporte. If Ake has been our best CB, it means the other 3 are playing levels below their best. I think they probably are below their best and then the question is why?
Laporte has had a bad injury.
Stones has been shunted out to RB.
Dias is being rotated constantly.
Nothing can be done re Laporte being injured. However, why are two of our best three CBs being treated this way to accommodate players not as good as them? Thats not a slight on Ake or Akanji, but it’s the equivalent of VVD being put at RB to give Konate a game. Or Matip on the bench every other game to give Gomez/Nat Philips regular games. It wouldn’t happen there, why is it happening here?
If Ake and Akanji can’t consistently reach a world-class level (and that’s what we are talking here) they either accept limited time on the pitch or they leave. We don’t need 5 senior CBs and we don’t need Pep having the opportunity to overthink the CB situation.
Can't disagree with anything you have put,but what I will say,even though you have covered the point and your feelings regarding Ake,he has played 100% committed every game he's been asked,whether at CB,or in a position that doesn't seemed to have been mentioned in all these posts LB.
I'm more concerned about this position than absolutely any other in the whole team,mind you I have been for years
Agree he doesn't come close to the Dias / Laporte/ Stones comparisons,but he does try and can see he is willing to try harder,hence why he turned down the Chelsea move to stay.
Not blessed with too much pace,granted,but let's be honest none of our CB's are really,only Walker can sprint like that,and that won't last too much longer neither.
Nailed it.Ake is an average CB. He has been in England for a decade and the only sides he has been able to hold down a regular place are Watford and Bournemouth. People can argue all they like but the crux of it is, he will never reach the levels we have seen from Dias, Stones and Laporte. If Ake has been our best CB, it means the other 3 are playing levels below their best. I think they probably are below their best and then the question is why?
Laporte has had a bad injury.
Stones has been shunted out to RB.
Dias is being rotated constantly.
Nothing can be done re Laporte being injured. However, why are two of our best three CBs being treated this way to accommodate players not as good as them? Thats not a slight on Ake or Akanji, but it’s the equivalent of VVD being put at RB to give Konate a game. Or Matip on the bench every other game to give Gomez/Nat Philips regular games. It wouldn’t happen there, why is it happening here?
If Ake and Akanji can’t consistently reach a world-class level (and that’s what we are talking here) they either accept limited time on the pitch or they leave. We don’t need 5 senior CBs and we don’t need Pep having the opportunity to overthink the CB situation.
Your point about looking for world class in each key position is the key here. We have to keep looking to improve as Khaldoon said. Its not a criticism of either Ake or Akanje, its just a fact of life.
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