I think all of that is down to how AVB played Siggy in the hole. I don't think he's suited there. Much better to put him wide and have him cut inside. He and Dembele were tripping over one another's toes and it looked messy at times. I'm confident that this is something that AVB can address, and we'll see better performances from both Siggy and Dembers as a result.
How much more comfortable did Naughton look at right-back, by the way? It'd be nice if he could kick on from this and provide some real competition for Walker.
Good assessment if I may say so PNP. I actually thought it was a bit better than a "decent performance" though, irrespective of the opposition. I'll throw some markes down : Lloris - 8 Rose - 6.5 Kaboul - 6 Dawson - 7.25 Naughton - 7 Dembele - 6 Paulinho - 6.75 Capoue - 7.25 Townsend - 9 Soldado - 8.5 Siggurdson - 6 Carroll 6.75, Kane 6.75, Chadli 7 The stand out of course was the superb Andros Townsned. I also thought Soldado showed glimpses of a different class of striker to what we have had for so long. I'm not saying he's anything like the same class (so don't get me wrong), but 3 or 4 times now Kane has reminded me of Gary Lineker.
Whilst I agree that they were getting in each other's way and Sigurdsson should've played wider, he actually was supposed to be on the left, as far as I could see. Made his move inside far too early and far too often, I think.
"It's a huge plus that we can rest the starting 11 if we want before the NLD." Will be resting the second XI too. Should be a bit of an Academy fest for the WHL leg.
Not going to get carried away as the opposition were poor, but there were promising signs. Really impressed by Capoue, Paulinho, Townsend and Soldado. considering Soldado got next to no service in the first half, he did well to walk away with 2 goals, but he was in the right place at the right time. That's what we've needed. Danny rose was pretty decent as well. Made some silly fouls, but generally did well and scored a beauty. Chadli looked good when he came on too. he was in good positions down the left, always in space ready to receive the ball. We'd been missing it all game until he came on. Good save from Lloris when needed. Central defence did what was required... very little. Naughton, did what was needed. Dembele, not his best game, but battled hard. Frustrating fouls conceded again and again though. Sig - another poor game. always under pressure, didn't find any space, didn't provide anything for Soldado, drifted in far too much. Just generally wasteful and offered nothing.
If Dembele was playing in the "hole" then we would have been working in the space that Siggy likes to attack, and that (imo) is why they seemed, at times, to cancel one another out of the game. Either AVB will get them to work on bettering the understanding between them, if this is how he is going to set the team up for future matches, or he'll change the system slightly. Either way, I don't see it as a massive problem, and I cannot (yet) mark down either Dembele or Siggy for it.
Pretty much this, although I thought Paulinho had a few poor first touches. Had Chadli played 90 I think he'd have had a similar impact to Townsend so caution for those that were critical of him against Palace but want Townsend to start against Swansea. Sigurdsson has no future with us as a left winger as far as I'm concerned. Look forward to seeing our team for the second leg, could be a good opportunity to get some youngsters and new signings a run out. As and additional note, it's curious to see the way Capoue favours flicking the ball, even when an easy pass is on he'll play it with the outside of his boot. Maybe he's more comfortable playing it like that but God help him if he gets it badly wrong one day. Looks a great signing though.
Rose did well but still looks a class below most of our team. Sig needs too much time IMO, and Dembele is a player in need of a role, he looks unsure of what he is supposed to be doing. Soldado! did you see that! he just pops up in the right place. How simple it looks and how long is it since we have had a player like that. SOLDADIO!
If we don't sign a "playmaker" I'd like to see holtby or even chad given a go there. Siggy is a good player but I don't see that as his position
I know! Lol! Was just making a joke because your one comment ended up being posted about 7 or 8 times when the site went loopy!
