#8 | Ilkay Gündoğan - 2020/21 Performances

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He wasnt the player he is now because he wasnt playing in his natural position , Pep played him as a holding midfielder and that wasnt his game , he replaced Dinho who was playing centre back Gundogan was square peg in a round hole . But the relentless criticism bordering on hate for the player was ridiculous , he played out of position to help the team through some difficult injury situations and got roundly abused on this forum to the extent another thread was started the "Gundogan blindspot" , so the usual shitheads could put both boots in. A disgrace that Bluemoon allowed another player thread so he could get another kicking, but as an administrator was one of the main protagonists in the hate campaign , no real surprise.

Outside of the run-in in 2019 Ilkay has barely ever been used as a holding midfielder. In pep’s first 2.5 years it was either yaya or ferna 99% of the time, and since last season it’s almost always been rodri except when we played a 4231.
 
I'm gonna basically repeat myself a little because I keep reading the same posters say the same thing.

Gundogan hasn't "all of a sudden" transformed into this new player, this has always been Gundogan, but with a bit of fire right now. Your just seeing his qualities come out in different positions.

Pep's played him around in positions constantly, this is why we never saw him settle down enough, we have seen Pep give him steady time at 2 times as far as I remember:

1) When Dinho was injured and Gundogan had to play as the #6, no changing positions, just #6, and was instrumental in that role and us winning the league. His positional play and ball control are vital deeper here.

2) And now where Pep has just said fuck it to the double pivot, Gundogan fully take up higher positions like David. His natural qualities are now used higher up the pitch, his goal scoring was always there imo, but now he gets more chances, and he isn't as wasteful as some of our other players. His agility and goal scoring are vital when closer to goal.
Couldn't agree more about Gundogan. Fantastic footballer and a snip at £20m.

The only thing I'd say is I don't think Pep has said fuck it to the double pivot, he's used Cancelo as the second pivot when we have the ball. Cancelo's role has allowed Gundogan to push forward.
 
We should paint a big circle - starting point - questioning - criticism - argument - grudging acceptance - acceptance - enthusiasm - retirement/leaves.

In the centre, place a blue sphere. In the sphere starts with David Silva. Please feel free to add but very few players don't complete the circle. Some fans cannot get past grudging acceptance. Some never move away from enthusiasm! The majority take the full 'trip to the moon'.

He is a great player and has always been a great player, barring injury, which is exactly what Pep has said today. Thankfully, he is ours.
 
We should paint a big circle - starting point - questioning - criticism - argument - grudging acceptance - acceptance - enthusiasm - retirement/leaves.

In the centre, place a blue sphere. In the sphere starts with David Silva. Please feel free to add but very few players don't complete the circle. Some fans cannot get past grudging acceptance. Some never move away from enthusiasm! The majority take the full 'trip to the moon'.

He is a great player and has always been a great player, barring injury, which is exactly what Pep has said today. Thankfully, he is ours.

you have summed up the circle succinctly. However there needs to be scores of outside the circle anecdotes. These would usually include a "But", or an "about Time", "the manager held him back" , and in gundogans case plenty of reference to the "double Pivot" or a number 6 or 8 .
AS you said always a great player, sublime , subtle and serene. Beyond the scope of some.
 
I think people forget for a midfield player that uses sharp turns and a low centre of gravity as a key part of their play an ACL injury is very tough to get over. Gundo is now showing what a clever player he is.

It is rare to find players that can dictate a game and we as City fans have been blessed having players like Yaya, Merlin and Kev do that - Gundo considering how bad his injury was has been superb for us and I am genuinely pleased he is now getting plaudits he deserves. Glad he re signed for what could be the best years of his career and as I've said before he is also a top bloke.
 
I can't stop watching his first goal. A thing of beauty that. His body seems to have caught up with his brain now. He's always been a fabulously intelligent player, aware of who is around him and able to run the game but he seemed to have lost the quick turns and sharp bursts of movement that were part of his game at Dortmund. I don't believe this new position is helping him, I genuinely think he's more confident in his body now. He looks quicker and sharper and that's just bringing the best out of all the other positives he already had.
 
Things change so quickly, the amount of people who wanted gundo out this summer! Fair play he has been unreal the last couple months
 
Things change so quickly, the amount of people who wanted gundo out this summer! Fair play he has been unreal the last couple months

There are lots of people on here who are not happy unless they are unhappy with someone!

Gundogan is playing at a level at the moment where he can't be criticised so they just move on to the next target such as Sterling.

It's a forum so it's just the nature of things.
 
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