Ilkay Gundogan - 2017/18 performances

[grim up north]

I want to see more.

Your a balloon

 

[BigOscar]

In perfect control all game against a pretty pathetic opposition, on the incredibly rare occasions Chelsea did press him he easily saw it coming and outmanoeuvred them, never looikng at all bothered.

Can't say I'm as in love with the passing statistics as others are, I'm not that impressed by him and Zinchenko rolling the ball back and forth under no pressure at all. Nice "record" to have, but I think it said far more about Chelsea than it did about us. Far sterner tests will come, I doubt either will have had an easier game of football in their entire career than that.

 

[domalino]

In perfect control all game against a pretty pathetic opposition, on the incredibly rare occasions Chelsea did press him he easily saw it coming and outmanoeuvred them, never looikng at all bothered.

Can't say I'm as in love with the passing statistics as others are, I'm not that impressed by him and Zinchenko rolling the ball back and forth under no pressure at all. Nice "record" to have, but I think it said far more about Chelsea than it did about us. Far sterner tests will come, I doubt either will have had an easier game of football in their entire career than that.

I think we'd see the real benefit of Gundogan at 6 later as the rest of the team get used to the different benefits he offers and also against a team who aren't just refusing to take part in the game.

I think we've seen some real Barcelona-esque passages of rapid 1 touch football with Gundogan in the midfield, we don't get that with Fernandinho. Something about the way Gundogan just loves to link players and offer himself for 1/2's, not to mention his love of flicks and quick feet has seen us put together some beautiful moves. Goals like the 3rd vs. Arsenal on Thursday, and some of our attempts to unlock Chelsea today were breathtaking, pinball type stuff.

I hope we see him play a few more games there before Fernandinho comes back, I think if Gundogan-Silva-KDB midfield gets 5 games in a row we might see something pretty special happen.

 

[Neville Kneville]

In perfect control all game against a pretty pathetic opposition, on the incredibly rare occasions Chelsea did press him he easily saw it coming and outmanoeuvred them, never looikng at all bothered.

Can't say I'm as in love with the passing statistics as others are, I'm not that impressed by him and Zinchenko rolling the ball back and forth under no pressure at all. Nice "record" to have, but I think it said far more about Chelsea than it did about us. Far sterner tests will come, I doubt either will have had an easier game of football in their entire career than that.

I couldn't go today due to serious problems but although I fully agree with what you are saying, he also had it easy v Arsenal twice & was imo poor on the ball. Today, he looked for the progressive pass & found it quite often, I thought, having watched the recording.

Pretty good at pressing, anticipating & occasioally nicking the ball too I thought, which was his Dortmund game.

But once things go wrong & he's out of position, he is a fish out of water imo & it's that part which will decide his future & where he is still not the same player. His passing & positioning isn't so special someone else can't do it.

But I was happy to see him today as I thought it was a step in the right direction.

I don't think he will be the eventual first choice player though.

 

[BigOscar]

I couldn't go today due to serious problems but although I fully agree with what you are saying, he also had it easy v Arsenal twice & was imo poor on the ball. Today, he looked for the progressive pass & found it quite often, I thought, having watched the recording.

Pretty good at pressing, anticipating & occasioally nicking the ball too I thought, which was his Dortmund game.

But once things go wrong & he's out of position, he is a fish out of water imo & it's that part which will decide his future & where he is still not the same player. His passing & positioning isn't so special someone else can't do it.

But I was happy to see him today as I thought it was a step in the right direction.

I don't think he will be the eventual first choice player though.

I think him as a holding midfielder and Zinchenko as a leftback are very similar. Both very comfortable but unspectacular with the ball and pretty good when the opposition has it as long as it's in front of them with interceptions and pressing, but as soon as it's behind them they are completely out of the game. Both find themselves out of position too often and incapable of getting back when the do.

But I think we've also shown this season that we can be so dominant against a lot of teams that these things frankly don't matter a lot of the time. Chelsea not once bothering to try and get at Zinchenko after he'd been booked being a prime example, they are so shit scared about what we'll do to them that they don't even consider the best ways to get at us.

Both are doing a good job in the easy games, but really I wouldn't want them in those positions in the tougher games against teams with the balls and ability to target them. Bit of a side point, but I can't wait for Mendy to come back, I think people have almost forgotten what a ridiculous threat we've missed out on all year.

 

[aguero93:20]

I think him as a holding midfielder and Zinchenko as a leftback are very similar. Both very comfortable but unspectacular with the ball and pretty good when the opposition has it as long as it's in front of them with interceptions and pressing, but as soon as it's behind them they are completely out of the game. Both find themselves out of position too often and incapable of getting back when the do.

Mate players that aren't useless defensively when the ball is behind them are rare :)

 

[CityFan94]

Extremely comfortable on the ball.

I can’t see him displacing Silva or De Bruyne at any point, but a great squad player and more than good enough for 90% of our games.

 

[BigOscar]

Mate players that aren't useless defensively when the ball is behind them are rare :)

Nah, we just are a bit averse to signing them! Fernandinho and Walker show what it's about, Delph does as well to a lesser degree. If we're going to attack in such numbers then the few up and down lads we have really need to be pretty mobile and quick to realise when it's time to leg it back

 

[Dax777]

I think him as a holding midfielder and Zinchenko as a leftback are very similar. Both very comfortable but unspectacular with the ball and pretty good when the opposition has it as long as it's in front of them with interceptions and pressing, but as soon as it's behind them they are completely out of the game. Both find themselves out of position too often and incapable of getting back when the do.

But I think we've also shown this season that we can be so dominant against a lot of teams that these things frankly don't matter a lot of the time. Chelsea not once bothering to try and get at Zinchenko after he'd been booked being a prime example, they are so shit scared about what we'll do to them that they don't even consider the best ways to get at us.

Both are doing a good job in the easy games, but really I wouldn't want them in those positions in the tougher games against teams with the balls and ability to target them. Bit of a side point, but I can't wait for Mendy to come back, I think people have almost forgotten what a ridiculous threat we've missed out on all year.

Bolded 1 - I've been saying this for ages :) I'm happy others are coming around to this reality. :)

Bolded 2 - Has it occurred to you that part of the reason why it's so easy is because these 2 players are so comfortable with the ball in defensive
areas that it makes pressing less effective?

Finally, I agree with you that the record passes isn't that impressive. But it's worth noting that a player playing the position for the 2nd time achieved it.

 

[AustinBlue]

I couldn't go today due to serious problems

You ok?