This to me sounds like Samed is going to be the sitter in our team. People have said we shouldn't have played with a sitter vs Plymouth etc but we have played with a sitter all season, that's the role Neil has been playing. Samed needs to get to 100% to see what he can do. Someone made a good point on twitter that Neil offers the progressive eye to get the ball forward but maybe Samed also has many more gears he can go up, he's playing his first few minutes since injury. Not sure if it's relevant but i'm sure he was rated number 1 in Ligue 1 in 22/23 for distance covered on the pitch. What do yous think from hearing those comments by RLB?
We haven’t got time to bed Samed in. It was ridiculous that he started the other day imo Get Neil sitting with Jobe and Le Fee ahead of him for me
Thought Neil was dreadful in the more advanced position. He doesn't suit it at all but I know many think he does.
Agree, now is not the time to bed somneone in when Dan Neil has been playing so well in that role. We desperately missed his driving from that deeper position.
Like I say people are judging Samed too early for me. He could be the much better option in the 6 once he's up to speed. I don't think it should take him much longer to get to 100%, he's a pro at the end of the day. But yeah, Neil has done very well there. I wonder if Neil has played exactly how RLB wants a sitter to play though, maybe why he's opted for Samed and trying to get him involved?
Yep,Dan's a lovely footballer with an eye for a pass...can also carry the ball forward. If Samed can sit and let Dan and Jobe get forward,I wouldn't have a problem with that.
Also, Samed was fine on Saturday, he was not the issue in the team. The positioning of Neil and Jobe were the main problems.
I'd leave Neil where he's been playing all season. Bellingham and Le Fee ahead of him, Mayenda on the right and Clarke (If he's loaned back) on the left. Otherwise Aouchiche on the left until the young lads are fit. Samed will get his chance, but I wouldn't disrupt defensive midfield to fit him in.
The stalling on the contract could also be an issue here, personally I think Samed could be the long term answer only time will tell. Dan can play further forward as we have seen in the past, and we have more options in those advanced positions to give him a breather now and again. I also would like to see Adil involved more , he would have been useful against Plymouth , I would have started him tbh.
Totally agree when something is not broken why try to fix it , Dan Neil seems to have a lot more energy and as well as ( sitting) does also support the attack . I think RLB got it wrong for once as I said in an earlier post on a different thread by not putting more emphasis on attack which is our best form of defence .
It was a calculated gamble to get Samed some real game time. It didn't pay off, but that was more about the knock-on effect on Jobe and Neil as SourPatch said. I guess it remains to be seen if those two can reprofile themselves further forward. May be useful for certain games. Would imagine it would be useful at Elland Road for instance. However, in a game where we need to break down a stubborn defence, I'd hope we go with something else.
I think it's funny that people were saying that Neil was wasted playing the deep lying midfielder and he couldn't play that position properly now I'm raging that he should be put back into that position cos he can't play further forward!
It seems like madness to me to develop Neil in the deep lying role, watch him getting the hang of it and do really well then to uproot him for another player going into the business end of the season. Especially when every man and his dog can see that's where Le Fee should be playing, if that means a less than optimal LW for a very short time then fine. Samed has started well and will get better but just as cover for me.
Agree with all of this I really hope we can find a spot centrally for Le Fee Samed is an excellent option off the bench when protecting a lead
This has always been the problem imo. He’s not great defensively and he’s hopeless in front of goal so he’s very limited to where he can play in a midfield 3. Is he going to offer as much as Samed can defensively? Probably not. Is he going to offer as much as Jobe or ELF can offensively as an 8? No chance. The 6 is the only role he can be considered for now.
Neil has played the best football of his career over the last couple of months in that holding role. His vision on the ball is a huge asset in that role. Samed looks far more one dimensional to me, the 5 yard sideways or backwards pass. I'm sure he breaks up play brilliantly and covers a lot of ground, but I don't think that's what the team is missing. Le Fèe and Jobe in those 2 positions ahead of Neil is so obvious to me that I'm really struggling to understand what I'm missing. It's like there's a piece of the puzzle that I can't see, because I've no idea why we would carry on any longer with Samed at DM and Le Fèe on the left.
I think if that's the case we have wasted our time bringing in Le Fee, he has done OK on the left but certainly not anywhere near what he's capable of in the middle. He's by far the best CM at the club and we are playing him on the left. I don't get putting the best 11 on the pitch even if that means playing some out of position. You wouldn't sign Messi and play him a RB because he's a better footballer than Hume
It will be control and protection. Samed wins the ball back more than Neil and plays easier passes. Which will mean more posession. That should limit the amount of goals against. Neil plays more risk and turn in that position, really helps break lines and get attacks going but more likely to lose the ball and put defence on back foot. That's my understanding of it anyway. But at the moment I would have a Neil, Jobe and ELF midfield personally.
