Pennant and Gonzalez I'll give you but they were both in the earlier seasons, I was talking about towards the end of his reign (I realise I didn't write that properly in my previous post ). Reira, I disagree with, he cut inside as much as Kuyt, Benayoun and Babel (on left) did. He was a hard worker who provided balance because he had a left foot and it worked, but he was not a classic winger IMO.
That point is exactly what made him a classic winger though? He was one player who played on the left and was left footed and stayed wide which gave an option and provided balance to the team.
Ah, its a difference of opinion on what a classic winger is For me, a classic winger would be a player that is quick, able to beat his man, hugs the touchline on the side in which he his footed. Best example of a current day 'classic winger' is Aaron Lennon. We don't see many players that do this anymore because the game is very tactical and this type of play is predictable and therefore fairly easy to defend if setup right. I don't think Reira ever stayed wide
I think Riera's main strength was to stay out wide and put crosses in. This is why he provided balance to the team as he kept his width and stretched the opposition. Guess we'll agree to disagree on this on Agree towards the end though that we reverted to the 4231 formation with the 2 wide players more tucked in providing closer support to the CF.
That was another thing that annoyed me about Reira, he didn't cross it as much as he should have done Just to give you an idea of how much I rated Reira, I'd pick Downing over him Agree to disagree
Was being deadly serious. Playing Downing in that side would have provided the exact same balance (left foot) as Reira but at least SD is willing to work and track back, plus he can use both feet too. And, when he plays on the left he DOES put crosses in too. #idontratedowning
To be fair he did get 2 assists today, both with his right foot and from crosses. If 6 other players hadn't had better games he might of been in with a shout for motm
Only saw the highlights but Coutinho looked immense. I'm glad he played in the middle because I believe this is his best position (as the classic number 10). I rated Coutinho and I knew he would be a good player however I didn't expect him to make such a big impact so quickly - I would have thought he needed a year or two to develop and then he would be given more games. We've been lacking his creativity and vision for a while now - his through balls are inch perfect and with Sturridge up top, it's like Gerrard and Torres all over. Sturridge can use his pace and play off the last man with Coutinho feeding him. The lad has the potential to become world class, and I hope he continues to play in the middle. In addition, his ability to shrug off players is what we need. We have too many players who are afraid to keep the ball when they are challenged - they just want to pass it away quickly. Coutinho doesn't mind having 2-3 defenders around him and he will use his body to shield - it's a sign of calm and confident player. With regards to Suso - I still feel he is a top prospect and I rate him higher than Sterling. Just like Coutinho, he can keep the ball and shrug off defenders such his is confidence in his ability. The big difference is experience - Coutinho has played football at high levels (for Inter and Espanyol) and has Champions League experience. Suso really needs a loan. £8.5m for Coutinho is a bargain, along with £12m for Sturridge. It bodes well for our future dealings and it shows that we can make significant improvements to our team with approx £10m players.
My favourite part of his performance was when he shaped as though he was going to pass to Henderson but then played it with the outside of his foot to Sturridge. Completely sold the defenders, it was class!
The little chipped pass he did for Sturridge was fantastic but a lot of that came about by bad defending. The one where he gave the eyes though was all him. His screamer of a shot wasnt too bad either!!
You're probably right. His level of ability and his footballing brain just seems to be years ahead of the other players of his age (and most of our older boys for that matter!!) Do you think he could perform like that against a team who dont give him any time? I know he shrugged a few challenges on Sat which shows he can work in a tight space, but in terms of the creativity and the vision, I hope he can still do it whilst being man marked (which I'm sure he will be quite a lot from now on)
It think we need to actually discuss the tactical situation here. he was playing in the centre circle so suarez not being there seems to have led to him taking up a new position and now not being on the left makes him more difficult to mark. I think we seriously need to examine our tactics going forward as a result. Overall i think lets be concious of how bloody awful newcastle were but think about the position he was taking up too... he made space for himself by playing there..
You're right so what he does give us is options and the ability to change things mid game if/when required. Its always great to have that flexibility. Now what we need is a solid base to build that attacking potential on. Coutinho looks great so far and he's obviously got enough about his game that we can use him in different positions. His link up play seems great and he will run at players which we all love to see. He will however get things a lot tougher next season so needs to be prepared for that. Looking like a bit of a bargain so far though
