What happened with Winks by the way? It was at the opposite end of the pitch to me. Only saw him on the floor and then writhing in pain as he went off. Was he fouled or did he fall awkwardly?
It was a goalmouth scramble, legs everywhere. From what I saw on the replays he threw himself at the ball and connected at the same time as Cantwell I think, his (Winks') leg got stuck under the Norwich player's, and because he was moving at such speed with all his weight on it, it looked like he rolled the ankle really badly. It was clear he could barely walk afterwards. Really hope it's just a bad sprain as torn ligaments will mean we're down yet another CM for the next few months.
Completely agree about Eriksen...think I mentioned it during the match... he could have left like Ramsey left Arsenal but instead he has been a bit of a twat tbh.
Ah right, cheers. Yeah he was in some real pain, we could see it when he was off the pitch as he had to stop walking. No one around me saw what happened though so we was all a bit perplexed as to what caused it. It’s almost as if we’re only allowed a set number of fit CMs at any given time. Sissoko and Tanguy injured, sign Gedson, Tanguy back from injury, Winks injured... Injury FC in full motion as per usual.
I feel for Sess as he hasn't played LB since he first came through as a 16 year old. All of his best moments at Fulham were finishing off moves, not starting them. I actually thought he did ok defensively, naive challenge for the penalty aside. He struggled against Aarons but tbf the latter is one of the best attacking FBs in the PL right now. I thought he marshalled their sub (Hernandez?) really well at the end. He also isn't afraid to show for the ball, which gives me hope that this isn't a confidence issue. But when in possession it is abundantly clear that he isn't at all comfortable - again, because starting moves hasn't been in his remit for 3 years. I'll continue fighting his corner as I was shouting for us to sign him when he was 17, and i hope he is given the chance to shine in his actual position.
I’m not writing him off by any means but I just haven’t seen anything overly positive from him yet. He doesn’t look like a winger who’s playing LB, at the least I’d sort of expect him to bomb it down the wing and be caught out of position (essentially like how Aurier usually plays) but he just seems so timid. Gets the ball and rarely wants to take on his man, often looking for a side or backwards pass. Aurier’s a bloody loose cannon but the guy isn’t afraid to take the ball and run nor is he afraid to knock a cross in, if you can’t defend, at least have a go going forward.
I couldn't quite believe my eyes when Eriksen came on. We'd lost all control of the middle of the park after Winks went off and Steam Barge replaced him, but with Gedson and Tanguy available I couldn't believe we turned to Wantaway to rescue the situation. He looked totally disinterested. Those two half-arsed clearances right at the end summed him up. One ballooned straight up in the air, the other went tamely to a Norwich player. I'd like to give the benefit of the doubt and say that Ramsey's situation was different because he knew when he was leaving and who he was signing for from pretty early on, so he could get his head down and produce one final flourish. Whereas Eriksen's future has been the subject of doubt and speculation for 18 months and STILL hasn't been resolved. That's what i would say if I were feeling benevolent. But I'm not. So instead I'll say that the issue is a mental edge that he has never had and is the only discernible reason that the only club on planet earth interested in him is Inter.
That's the thing though isn't it? As Brian and Croydon already pointed out: as soon as Aurier is in the line up, two tactical decisions can be assumed: 1) The right sided CM will rarely see anything left of the centre circle. 2) Whoever's playing LB has to play a conservative, risk-free game. One of the hardest aspects of the FB role is knowing when to stick and when to twist. Walker and Aurier have both shown that this is an art that is almost impossible to teach. Davies has shown that it comes naturally and probably more so in players who aren't blessed with natural pace so have to think very carefully before twisting. It isn't surprising that Sess lacks that kind of know-how, especially when playing in the 'conservative' FB role.
We won! That's nice,for a change.I wonder who will play against Southampton. They are on a tare at the moment,so a few of our players will need to remove fingers and get on with it.At least give 'em a game!!!!! The game I had to watch......so said. Tv people are having kittens about their performance today. Must be United fans,all of 'em.Funny to see the stadium looking like the Arsenal library. Nothing but red seats!!!! Commentator says "United fans not leaving in hundreds. They are leaving in thousands!" ..and then comparing Jose's record there against their present manager/coach/bus driver.Whatever. Bloody big difference.
I don’t think he was picked to start there to be conservative though. If Jose wanted a more rigid option then Jan or Tanganga would’ve played LB. I think Jose picked two attacking FBs because he wanted us to go at them. Sessegnon got up the pitch well enough but he just offered very little in terms of an outlet when actually in a decent position. Also seemed too timid to make those final darting runs. Might be nerves but either way he’s just not impressed so far. Still very young and I’m sure his time will come.
Back from the match. It wasn't great. They are the weakest side in the PL this season and they gave us considerable trouble in that second half. 3 points is 3 points but the next 5 games or so are going to be a far greater test than the Canaries. Lo Celso, Aurier and Winks were the stand out players...but this was Norwich. Lo Celso's a talent but he's not an Eriksen - he has a bit of fire in his belly and we'd see the best of him on the left of a midfield three, which Mourinho doesn't play. Hmmmm. Sessegnon had a poor night and was given a lesson in full back play by Aarons. He looks very hesitant but he'll improve, given some backing, guidance and fight in his belly. Currently, he looks lost. I hope someone is in his ear, reminding him why we bought him and making sure his head doesn't go down. He's far from the only player needing to up his levels. Our front line was somewhat underwhelming and we gave up too many chances through the middle. Nothing new there, unfortunately. Eriksen and Dier came on again from the bench, which isn't doing anyone any favours. Eriksen was suitably disinterested and well....**** really. Dier was just Dier and not up to playing as a midfielder. If Ndombele was actually fit, he and Fernandes should have been on before the old guard. Different night...same old ****...but they didn't give up and we took 3 points...just.
The thought that struck me when I first saw Lo Celso play was that we'd signed a player who combined the best qualities of Winks with those of Lamela. Like the former, he more often than not makes the correct and sensible decision. He also does the basics very, very well (something far too many of our players apparently don't value). And like the latter, he has a real fight in him, is creative and also isn't afraid to try the unpredictable. He'll never control the tempo of a game like Eriksen could. But he'll contribute a hell of a lot more in the final third than Lucas and Lamela. Possibly even more than Alli as he settles.
Plus where we are supposed to be after the 5 year plan(I haven’t forgotten)...i.e winning trophies. It requires players with balls...Lo Celso got them...Eriksen couldn’t buy a pair for love nor money.
One of my cousins has been living out in Spain for a few years. He's a Levante season ticket holder and watches a lot of football because his marriage has been going down the tubes. When we first looked like we were going to sign him, he said..."Good player. Reminds me of de Bruyne but all left foot." I nicked the de Bruyne comparison and have used it on here a couple of times. He can run with the ball beautifully, passes really well, spots movement on the pitch, has a very decent shot on him and is a testy little ****er when he needs to be. He's not at de Bruyne's level yet but he has that similar skill set and attitude. If we can get the right set up around them, he and Ndombele can reinvent the way we play and get us back where we've fallen from. However. I'm not sure that they can play as a two. To get the best out of them, we need a deeper lying hard man...and I don't mean Eric Dier!
Not that he’s anywhere there yet but I think Gio could very well be similar to how Modric played for us. Deeper playmaker who uses his small frame and good center of gravity to make sharp turns to create space whilst having the ability to pick a good forward pass and won’t be bullied off the ball despite being a smaller player. That’ll result in not getting many direct goals/ assists but he’ll get a lot of what I like to call “Modric passes” which is essentially the pass before the assist and they’re just as crucial. I think replacing a prime Eriksen was always going to be more or less impossible to do so directly, there are only a handful like him in the game and two of them are at Man City but I think if we can get Gio and Tanguy settled, there’s different levels of creativity in those guys that can more than end up replacing Eriksen’s level of creativity even if they’re not direct positional replacements. The thing I’d wonder is can we get away with a Gio-Tanguy partnership in a two, or would we need a third man (Gedson?) in there to add a bit more power/ steel and cover for when the others wonder forward trying to create? If so, then one of the three attacking mids would need to be dropped, probably Lucas I’d imagine with Alli going to the left and Son on the right. So a full strength side looking something like: Hugo Aurier, Dave, Toby, Davies Tanguy, Gedson, Gio Son, Kane, Alli I think that could do a job. I’d quite like to see that in action if we ever get the chance when people are fit.
