Ilkay Gundogan - 2019/20 Performances

[mccity]

True but he is good with more mobile players ( he is one of our better penalty takers) but we could do with an improvement.

The thing is I'm not sure there's that many players who can provide the necessary skillset AND be an upgrade. I feel Gundogan's issue is that he's not creative enough from high up the pitch, which kind of forces him to be used deeper. Where he's actually talented but you'd want him on his own at the base of a three as opposed to being part of a defensive two. It does work sometimes extremely well but it throws the balance of the team off a bit going forwards. He IS very talented at controlling proceedings as a tempo setter, but without the team being as rock solid as it was in the back end of 18/19 you need a more physical presence there. But again, he lacks the penetrative edge higher up. Silva lost it a bit tbf, but he always had excellent positioning in between the lines and the skill to still make it work.

But I'm struggling to think of that many midfielders that can control a game and be a creative threat. Liverpool have none. United have none. Arsenal have none. Chelsea have none. Tottenham have the great Harry Winks none. Barcelona MAYBE have one in Pjanic. PSG have Veratti. Real Madrid have old man Modric and Kroos. Bayern have Thiago (who I'm surprised we aren't moving for). There's not many. We could try Koke but I'm concerned we'd lose something to gain something with him.

There's probably others but then it's a case of are they an upgrade? And if they're young and can be trained up the problem is by the time they overtake Gundogan's level, Foden (or possibly Bernardo) will be ready for the role.


Silva might be tougher to replace than the others so far.

 

[Kinkladze 1]

When he plays it seems like we always struggle to get a result and play shit.

 

[Mr HJ]

Someone needs to tell him that it's fine to pass back and forth to a centre back when we are trying to close out a game - it looks good and makes a team trying to get back into a game chase the ball and get tired. Last night when we desperately needed to increase the pace of our play to get behind Lyon he played the ball back and forth with Garcia on several occasions and Lyon just let him do it. I've been a big fan over the years but last night his lack of drive cost us in the middle and I'd rather have Rodri doing the break up play next season - you can't have both doing that. It was crying out for Foden or Bernardo to add drive and I still cannot understand why they didn't get on when we had to chase the game. A temporary brain fart from Pep maybe or plain stubbornness.

Solid enough player but accommodating him in the position he has played recently means Kev has to be moved wide which is an incredible waste - Pep needs to realise you build your team around Kev not the other way round.

 

[Neville Kneville]

The thing is I'm not sure there's that many players who can provide the necessary skillset AND be an upgrade. I feel Gundogan's issue is that he's not creative enough from high up the pitch, which kind of forces him to be used deeper. Where he's actually talented but you'd want him on his own at the base of a three as opposed to being part of a defensive two. It does work sometimes extremely well but it throws the balance of the team off a bit going forwards. He IS very talented at controlling proceedings as a tempo setter, but without the team being as rock solid as it was in the back end of 18/19 you need a more physical presence there. But again, he lacks the penetrative edge higher up. Silva lost it a bit tbf, but he always had excellent positioning in between the lines and the skill to still make it work.

But I'm struggling to think of that many midfielders that can control a game and be a creative threat. Liverpool have none. United have none. Arsenal have none. Chelsea have none. Tottenham have the great Harry Winks none. Barcelona MAYBE have one in Pjanic. PSG have Veratti. Real Madrid have old man Modric and Kroos. Bayern have Thiago (who I'm surprised we aren't moving for). There's not many. We could try Koke but I'm concerned we'd lose something to gain something with him.

There's probably others but then it's a case of are they an upgrade? And if they're young and can be trained up the problem is by the time they overtake Gundogan's level, Foden (or possibly Bernardo) will be ready for the role.


Silva might be tougher to replace than the others so far.

Why not just choose not to have one & win anyway ?

 

[Tugay One Cup]

I'm not an Ilkay hater but the biggest problem with Gundogan is that he's a specialist. He has a specific set of skills and some very obvious flaws. When he's playing and it's not working, he lacks any of the versatility to switch position.

If he had a bit more pace he could drift out wide. If he had any aggression he could push up higher and apply pressure. If he had quick feet he could run at players and take them out of the game. But he can't. All he does is float around in midfield, retain possession and occasionally play a brilliant ball over the last line of defence. He's brilliant at that (certainly not in games last night) but when we need to change things he's the one who can't.

Luckily for him he's been backed by a manager who seems content with that.

 

[Manchester_lalala]

Tired of seeing him and Rodri together. Pep is digging his own grave. Football is all about pace and energy now, we can’t afford to carry two slugs in midfield. Not a chance we’re winning the title next season if these two start most game together.

 

[Neville Kneville]

I'm not an Ilkay hater but the biggest problem with Gundogan is that he's a specialist. He has a specific set of skills and some very obvious flaws. When he's playing and it's not working, he lacks any of the versatility to switch position.

If he had a bit more pace he could drift out wide. If he had any aggression he could push up higher and apply pressure. If he had quick feet he could run at players and take them out of the game. But he can't. All he does is float around in midfield, retain possession and occasionally play a brilliant ball over the last line of defence. He's brilliant at that (certainly not in games last night) but when we need to change things he's the one who can't.

Luckily for him he's been backed by a manager who seems content with that.

Irrespective of who likes him or whatever, does anyone know what his job was last night & why he in particular was chosen to do it ?

I assumed pre kickoff, he would be there to take the ball from our defenders under pressure, but that wasn't the case, they just used Garcia to pass from deep.

So what specialist role, was he playing last night ?

 

[DontLookBackInAnger]

The one thing I will say about Gundogan since his arrival is Pep clearly rates him more than I do.

That being said Pep would be part of any discussion you would have as to the world's best current football manager.....I manage Bradford Park Avenue on Football Manager 2019..............

 

[Tugay One Cup]

Irrespective of who likes him or whatever, does anyone know what his job was last night & why he in particular was chosen to do it ?

I assumed pre kickoff, he would be there to take the ball from our defenders under pressure, but that wasn't the case, they just used Garcia to pass from deep.

So what specialist role, was he playing last night ?

He wasn't. He was just congesting the centre.

I don't think we would have been anywhere near as pedestrian last night if we swapped him out for Foden or Bernardo and allowed them to press further up and move from the centre to the wings where appropriate.

That's what I'm getting at. We played two players to occupy half a position each and neither of them had it in their locker to shift.

That and it must be said he passing was crap. Even the successful ones were loose.

 

[Neville Kneville]

He wasn't. He was just congesting the centre.

I don't think we would have been anywhere near as pedestrian last night if we swapped him out for Foden or Bernardo and allowed them to press further up and move from the centre to the wings where appropriate.

That's what I'm getting at. We played two players to occupy half a position each and neither of them had it in their locker to shift.

That and it must be said he passing was crap. Even the successful ones were loose.

But when Pep picked him "I'm picking Gundo above David, Bernardo or Phil, because....."

I'm wondering what the next line is, because watching the game I have absolutely no answer, no matter how I look at it.