I thought in his earlier games he was linking up well and managed to get some shots off, felt like he was just settling down. Now he just runs around..ends up on the wing chasing triangles or chasing down throw ins. Think his confidence is shot...needs one of them goals that hits his arse and goes in.
Definitely needs a couple of goals. If they don't come off his arse, it's hard to see where they will come from!...
I suppose after the Chelsea game, karma had to come around and treat us to a drab of a match, thankfully we still won though so it's all good First half should be shown to anyone struggling to get sleep in the evenings because that would work better than any sleeping tablet. Second half got to an acceptable level, the subs of Alli and GKN really helped that, especially the latter who looked superb. His first touch was an assist and whenever he got the ball he was looking to make something happen. I and I'm sure many others wanted him to start this one but I hope now he's shown Poch he's too good to be left out. That electric pace he has can be a huge asset and at his age, he's only going to get better. Winks, Son and Sissoko had good games, the defence and Dier and had an easy day although I would've much preferred not going with the 3-5-2, it was too defensive against this sort of side and that formation only works efficiently with fast full backs but credit to Davies and Tripps, they done really well in their own right, Davies ended up scoring a great header while Tripps played a part in Son's goal. Only downer has to be Janssen. Looked completely lost out there and being subbed on 60 minutes in a game against a mid-table Championship side says it all. He's gotten progressively worse as the season's gone on and that's a real worry. It's freakishly becoming Soldado part 2. I don't even think he's the number two striker any more, as I think Son is who Poch would rather play in a more important game if Harry's unavailable. Maybe a loan move in this window will be good for Janssen, he's not contributing to much (if anything!) and so his loss won't be felt, will also possibly open up the door for Harrison to get some minutes, I'm a big fan of his and Janssen's poor form is only stunting Shay's development. Congrats to Harry and his missus on their birth of their daughter too, perfect timing to have her as well! COYS!
Son’s not bad as a backup option. He’s not a striker, but he generally does well when he’s the, or at least a, main focus--and doesn’t when he isn’t. He tries a lot of high-risk stuff that makes him a liability when he’s in the buildup, but (often) a goal scorer when he gets the ball in a good position.
I think Janssen is way worse than Soldado. I remember watching soldado and thinking how bad his luck was at times. Shots over the bar, blocked, or dragged just wide. - and again, that came out of desperation to score. - but at least he looked like he might! His positioning was also much better than Janssens. I keep seeing Janssen on the corner of the 18yard box area with his back to goal holding a defender off, then being surrounded and tackled. He looks completely lost in our setup and like another player who's not suited to it, sadly.
His first touch lets him down, make it difficult for himself, he needs 2 more touches to get the football under control before he can shoot. You might get that much time in Holland but not in the prem. Is that something that can be worked on?
Considering that all but 2 players who started yesterday were in essence squad players and wouldn't feature in our preferred starting 11 we sort of did okay and at least gave those players time They showed that they can play alongside the first team when called upon. When Poch took Janssen off it was almost like saying 'you've had your chance', especially as he brought on a midfielder in his place. When Son scored his goal, I was saying it was just a simple tap in , why couldn't Janssen get a pass like that. It just isn't happening for him.
It was only a tap in because Son made a good run, stopped suddenly to gain space (leaving all defenders behind) and be available for the tap in. He earned the goal by his movement. Janssen is not doing that at the moment.
One thing I noticed about Janssen yesterday was how he was often playing close to the touchline in the final third to get the ball, which reminded me a lot of how Adebayor played - and just like Adebayor that's a major reason why he doesn't get into good scoring positions as often as he should be, as he has to run across defenders rather than through them.
100% There is something rather 'off' with Janssen's entire reading and understanding of the game. Technically he looks pretty sound; but none of that will amount to anything until he starts doing it in effective positions, at effective times. I sincerely hope it is simply a matter of transitioning from the slower, easier Dutch league to the PL. Otherwise our association with the player may come to an abrupt end this summer.
He lacks pace too, so he's never going to find a yard of space in the box like Aguero does. But there a number of strikers doing well in the PL who are not blessed with pace - Costa, Ibrahimovic & Kane, in particular. But they are quite powerful and imposing, take some shrugging off the ball and have confidence and selfish determination to attempt shots at goal whenever they can as often as possible. Janssen looked to me like he was running scared - happy to link up play away from goal, run the channels, but not bully defenders in the six yard box. You don't get 30 goals in a season anywhere without doing the things all goalscorers do on a regular basis - so it must be a confidence thing.
I think it's definitely confidence. He didn't make the grade at PSV and dropped down a couple of divisions where he discovered some form. That earned him a move to AZ where he scored 4 in the first half of the season and 27 more in the second half. So, he has a history of finding things tough but working it out in the end. If he keeps working hard and someone can help him to keep directing that work into the right areas, then there's still hope.
Anyway who do you want in the next round? Anyone in particular? Home draw against a weak team like Plymouth, Leicester etc will do me. Home tie most important factor for me.