I'm pretty certain Koeman has told him to conserve his energy for going forward, and I think Graziano finds that frustrating, but he has to accept it. To me the so-called silly flicks are not silly. I love them. I often realise what he was trying to achieve when they don't quite come off, but when they do they just look classy and are often absolutely brilliant. Sadio does them as well and they often don't come off either, but I appreciate those too. As for chesting down the ball into the path of a teammate, is there a better exponent of it currently playing.? Pelle receives the ball from so many different angles and heights, per game. Far more than any other player on this team and, by and large, he gets the ball to a teammate following up, if indeed they are following up. That's the only real frustration, connected with his game, for me. He can be isolated. The rest is all about making and taking a gamble in an area of the pitch where it is allowed, even encouraged. I won't complain about that.
A pundit (sorry, can't remember who) said before the Chelsea game that, to get the best out of Pelle, Saints needs team mates close to him (rather than wide) for when he brings the ball down or does a short quick pass. Sounds about right.
Majority of posts on this thread seem to be written whilst ignoring the fact he has already had an excellent first year at the club whilst being new to the league and was in fact our top goalscorer last season as well as so far this season. Extremely good player, if only he was a few years younger! Realistically he may stay at this level for another 3 seasons, not a bad investment from the club.
Once a player puts our shirt on. I find it difficult to criticise them if they are trying. I think that he has done really well and is obviously a real asset. The only thing which I would observe, is that he does tend to wear his heart on his sleeve and I don't like seeing players remonstrating with each other on the field- except goalies screaming at their back line which is fine. Perhaps some need to remember that he only cost about half an Osvaldo, if that puts things into perspective!
I was just talking about anti-Pelle/pro-Pelle sentiment in general as mentioned in the article. As a group, fans tend to overreact to good and bad. I don't think it happens as much here. People get a little overworked after games, but usually by midweek it sorts itself out. I think for the most part players get a fair shake here. I disagree with you and some others about Pelle but that's entirely different. People are going to have spectrum of opinions about players and that's kind of the whole point of a forum, really. But I don't think there are too many who pre-judged players and refuse to acknowledge when they play well or badly, or actually root for them to fail or anything like that. You only have to visit Saintsweb to see how bad things can be.
Luckily Pella is oblivious. He says it's nice to be at a club where fans don't jump on you if you hit a dry spell. Presumably most over the top critics** are mere cyber warriors and not actually shouting abuse.....(**not referring to proper criticism which is everyone's right).
He is rather loveable as well. Also hairdressers in Hampshire report 30% increase in business since he joined the club. Just a coincidence I'm sure.
Your last sentence is where my points from a few weeks back come from. If we have been defending and clear the ball, he then needs to hold it not flick it. I won't complain about attempted flicks in the right area of the pitch. The rest about chesting down etc is very true. Anyway, you're only as good as your last game and he was bloody great in that!
I think he is finally beginning to look like an Italian international. Mrs no7 has also take an interest in Saints since he joined...
For the record, he gets my full support at games, although I sometimes cringe when he is closing someone down and clapping me to show his appreciation of my singing his name at the same time
