Puncheon's done pretty well but his habit of holding onto the ball for too long really annoys me. The rest of the team play quick simple passes but he always slows things down. Needs to sort that out.
Agreed. I am chuffed he has come back and has been putting work in to prove he's good and prove he wants to play for the club, but other than his work rate I haven't been entirely impressed. His left-footedness makes him easier to read than The Hungry Caterpillar, too often he'll receive the ball in a good position, jink backwards and forwards, do a few turns, step-overs, whatever, will make absolutely no ground in beating the opposing player and then either lose the ball or just pass it back to our right-back. He's a had a few moments where he's looked dangerous and that he could make things happen, but too often all he does is kill the tempo of our passing, or pass the ball back into a less dangerous position than he received it in, or just lose the ball altogether. Still our best option and back him, but with no disrespect to him, Lens would be a huge step-up.
Despite that, like others said, our priority needs to be the defence. Think we're OK at CDM with Schneiderlin, and Cork will add depth to that role when he returns from injury, so don't see us needing to invest there. If we can pick up some good experience or talent there on the cheap, I wouldn't be complaining, but a new CDM isn't too high on my list of needs. Think if we could pick up a full-back who could play either side it would hugely improve our depth, with Clyne also able to play both sides, then Fox and Richardson as back-ups and Shaw, Reeves and Stephens coming through as youngsters, would turn a position of weakness into one of strength. Then a real quality CB wouldn't go amiss of course.
