De Bruyne?

DiscoSteve said:
Still no movement in Wilmslow...
wilmslowhospitalwebcamnight.jpg
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There must be a fierce draft in there with the doors open constantly
 
Shaelumstash said:
Hi mate, thanks for the post, and welcome to Bluemoon. I saw KDB play for Chelsea, I think it was against Villa, and I thought he was sensational. I was raving about him, and then a few months later he got bombed out, so I thought maybe he just had a good game and wasn't up to it.

The next game I saw him was for Wolfsburg against Bayern, and I was actually blown away by how good he was. He just tore Bayern apart. I agree exactly with what you said, he just seemed so direct that it frightened the life out of them.

From the other highlights I've seen, he seems quicker than maybe I first thought, and obviously has a fantastic final ball. He seems like a player with an excellent highlights reel which we've all seen by now. But how about the rest of his game?

What's his ball retention like?
What's his movement off the ball like?
What's his defensive contribution like?

From what I've seen, he looks like he could play anywhere in the 3 of a 4231, he would prefer to be central, but I think in City's team he'd be likely to play on the right.

But a question maybe you could help with as you've followed his career, do you think he's capable of playing as a number 8 in a traditional 433? Think of the way Barca play, with one holding midfielder (Busquets) and two box to box players (Iniesta and Raktic) do you think KDB has the quality on the ball, the temprement, the eye for a pass, the work rate, the discipline to play that role Iniesta and Rakatic play?

I've never seen him play there, but on paper he seems to have the attributes for it, but you would know better having watched him at close quarters.
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Well you're right, he is actually quick which is something you only notice after a while. I think it is because his speed is very consistent over the whole game. He does a lot of running and at a very high constant pace. Not in small explosive bursts. Sometimes he just seems like he is everywhere on the pitch. I can't immediately think of any player to compare it to. Maybe Gerrard in his day.

Ball retention: I think the best answer to this, is that from what I have seen of him so far, its just not his style. Once he gets on the ball hes only thinking forward. So I don't know weather its a weakness of his. He has a pretty great first touch (here is a clip that demonstrates it from back in his days in Belgium: I just wanted to put that in as I don't think many people have seen it ;))
Physically speaking though his ball retention isn't great. He isn't the type of player that uses his body to shield the ball a lot. But he is still very young and I am interested to see how he will evolve at City.

His movement of the ball is brilliant imo. One of his great strengths, as seen in the Bayern game. Hes the kind of player that thinks two steps ahead. Perhaps only thing I feel he can improve is his movement inside the box a bit more. Be a bit more dynamic in front of goal for the tap in. He tends to linger outside waiting for the ball to drop and smash it, which is also fine I guess, but it seems Yaya got that covered at City.

Defensive contribution: I guess that is his main working point. Although I have to say watching him, this never occured to me as causing any real problems or issue for the team, like it can be the case with Hazard for example. I haven't really seen him in a defensive mindset, he's always looking for the opportunity and catching teams on the break. And can be quite clever at dispossessing the opponent. He also does a very good job at putting pressure on the opposition defense when not in possesion. Again, it's his running that gives him the edge in this compartment, he can be relentless at times. I really don't think he can be seen as a liability in terms of defense, but probably an area which he needs to improve in in order to become world class level.

I definitely believe he can play the nr 8 role, in fact thats where I would prefer to see him play. He played a couple of games for Belgium in a central midfield triangle (with the likes of Witsel and Dembele) and I felt he was tremendous, really brought the whole team to another level, brought a lot more tempo and threat to our game. However this was only a couple of games and he plays most of his games on the right now, but he always gets a very free role and tents to drift around. At his time at Werder Bremen he also played a lot of games in central midfield and I believe even as a DM almost at times. So I definitely believe he is capable of filling that role and feel this is what he will eventually evolve into, the only question that remains for me is how he deals with the intensity and physicality of the PL especially in that type of position.
 
ninjamonkey said:
If he's a Chelsea flop that's potentially about to be sold for £60 million surely that looks worse on Mourinho more than anybody
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You're wrong again.

Mourinho is the genius that has seen De bruyne for what he is, i.e shit, and was clever enough to get £18M for him, and it is us, moneybags City, with more brass than wit, who are stupid and gullible enough to to pay a ludicrous amount for a player that the genius Mourinho has deemed not good enough for Chelsea.

O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
 
adrianr said:
The article actually goes on to explain how he's a disloyal money grabbing mercenary who should have stayed at Villa and helped them fend off relegation.
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So he's as bad as Sterling and Delph put together? Way to go Candlepool!
 
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