I’m not sure it’s that tbh as it was the same when mundle was injured last time; if we want to take Adingra off there’s no left winger to bring on
You suggested an alternative lw on the last page of this thread tbf. RLB has from memory never started ELF deeper, preferring him as a 10 or out wide - neither of which are to my mind his best position. This is a choice based on his preferences - and a very conscious choice made so far this season. If we do get another front line winger, I’d be fairly sure that it would cut into ELFs pitch time as much as anything. The potentially bigger issue is that ELF doesn’t easily fit alongside our highest profile midfielder in a deeper role. That impacts his effectiveness. It’s all a balance and perhaps we gain more than we lose. Chances are our starting midfield has more games like WHU and less like yesterday. But for me, there should be more willingness from RLB to try different central midfield mixes when there are different challenges in a game. The lack of experimentation over the summer means we’re now left trying things on the fly (or perhaps not trying enough). Swapping wingers out is easy subs tbh.
Just read that Jobe was subbed off at half time for Dortmund after a shocking first half display and his dad tried to confront the manager in the changing room after the game over it. Hope this isnt another Jack Clarke situation for him. Be careful what you wish for and be patient before doing so.
Hope that’s not true, that won’t help him at all, he’s a man playing a man’s game if the manager deems he isn’t playing well enough he’s right to take him off it’s his job on the line
Early days it seems like there’s a determination to use him as an attacking midfielder. Feels like they’re missing a trick. He’s better further back.
Makes you wonder what these teams watch when they’re scouting. Hope he has a stinker and we can buy him back next summer
Having Enzo out there improved us yesterday. He doesn't waste the ball and maybe earlier would have helped.
Silly boy really, as soon as he got back to the dressing room after the final, he was on the phone to Dortmund. grass isn’t always greene
While it’s certainly true he doesn’t waste the ball, I’d always prefer him getting his shot as an out and out string puller. With the possible exception of Xhaka, the new lads can’t make us tick the same way. And while we’d definitely lose a bit in terms of energy (though ELF is no slouch) the increase in passing ability from the middle was more what we needed against a team playing deep. He’s also incredibly press resistant - and once Burnley scored we were gonna get a lot of the ball. Could have allowed us some extra risks. If he’d really wanted to have elf out wide it would have made sense to go with a 4-4-2 imo. Still think that would help Mayenda - but it’s another thing that we didn’t really try much this summer.
