Match Day Thread Vs Genk (H)

I thought he was excellent. The lads got a right leap on him too!

 

Same as always - GK and CBs in our half, everyone else in theirs.

 

Meh result and meh performance against meh opposition. We should have buried them.
Ox was good
2-1 is the new black for Pool it seems

 

Not a great game but a great result.

No matter the performance, I find it hard not to enjoy our football atm.

 

Scoreline wasn’t great but i don’t think the performance was all that bad. Completely dominated, created good chances.

Midfield was very good - controlled the game and possession, and I do hope Ox starts against City and now replaces Hendo in that position. Keita was the controller and dictated the tempo but faded in the second half (maybe due to fitness).

Salah deserves a mention - bar putting the ball back into the net, I thought he was back to usual self. Creating chances, causing havoc, making the right runs. Hopefully he’s more clinical against city.

all in all, we played in second gear all game and I’m sure the lads had an eye on City. Job done, 3 points, players rested, no new injuries.

 

Top of the pile in Europe also top of the pile in the league .Who is complaining?.

 

If he's dictating tempo then we're ****ed! His thought process and urgency are ridiculously slow!

 

Don't understand why he risked Mane or Bobby with the late substitutions?

 

If we had been two goals up, they wouldn't have gone on. I think it was the sensible decision in the circumstances; make sure we get the win!

 

Me

 

They say the best form of defence is attack - I think in our case it's the only form of defence.

 

I think Keita started remarkably well. He won the ball twice in quick succession with neat, clean tackles. In and out, ball at his feet and away very quickly towards goal. I'm sure we'll see more of that from him as he continues to find his way into the side.

 

disagree - he constantly played the ball forward, passing through the lines. Our creativity came from midfield, through passing and dribbling. We’re just not used to it because our midfielders usually pass backwards or sideways

 

it was actually a good performance from him. I think fans are expecting him to dribble past 10 players and score from 30 yards. He’s playing as a controller which means the ball goes through him and he will pass forward into the attackers.

All of our midfielders stayed central and didn’t resort to just putting in low percentage crosses. We were patient, played nice football and we should have scored more. Keita alone could have got 2 assists.

He was gassed at 60 mins though so I’m sure he will continue working on fitness.

 

Keita's issue is a fitness one not skill or tactical awareness. He was struggling to make recovery sprints in the second half. In contrast Ox is physically okay just lost some muscle memory with that injury. As long as Keita can stay free of injuries he should build up fitness and we will see a different player.
Plus Mane mentioned he is getting better at English

 

Yep, the fitness is not there yet and hopefully he will continue to play more mins and build up.

It’s refreshing to see that we can deviate from the workhorse midfield to a more technical one as and when required.

 

So he'll be able to talk his way out of a tricky situation?

I'm keeping an open mind about Keita. He obviously has talent, but PL history is littered with talented players who couldn't quite make it, for one reason or another.
I think I'll wait and see before I either give up on him or wet myself with excitement. So far he's shown flashes of real creativity, but is prone to losing the ball in dangerous areas. He doesn't seem at all comfortable facing his own goal, but can pick out a killer forward pass.
He hasn't had enough game time yet for a proper judgement to be made.

 

I feel like weve been saying the same thing for ages. He looks good in flashes, once hes fit he will come good etc.

 

I just think he is too lightweight. Got pushed off the ball a few times last night by Genk ffs. He also hides away at times, rather than seeking out possession, which is annoying as he is good on the ball.