Van Der Ven just used his upper body strength to hold off the winger no foul committed (or even claimed by the opponent) so never a penalty. I agree we weren't brilliant but we were the better side on the night over the course of the 90 mins and deserved to win. Alongside Bergvall & Son, I thought Odebert was good, Maddison had two significant moments and whilst I would like to see more from him he was pivotal to the win, Van Der Ven, Porro, Solanke and Sarr all played ok. Spence had an off night (he was due one), and Romero still looks a bit rusty. But he and VDV will hopefully be fully match sharp, by the time we get to the quarter- finals. Hopefully Kulu will be back too.
I think echoing as others have more or less said, the performance wasn’t amazing but ultimately the result was and I think with where we’re at in the league and how the season’s gone in general, I’ll take a gritty “boring” win over a super-duper spirited loss any day. It’s **** or bust with Europa this season so as long as we get results in it I’m more than happy, winning this comp will turn a season of nightmares into one of dreams. Not to cite them as too much of an example but when West Ham finished 17th (I think?) but won the Conference, that season was the second best season in the league after City’s treble, so if we win Europa we instantly have one of the best seasons of any English side this season. Our third goal last night was one of our team goals of the season too and that alone made it that extra bit enjoyable anyway.
If Kulusevski is fit, who does he replace? Maddison was excellent also, so picking a team will soon be more than what 11 can stand up.
would play Kulu in the middle if he requires shoe horning in. Don’t think we have strength in the middle. Sarr loses the ball too easily in the middle in what I find important areas, maybe Kulu who has strong upper body strength could do something there. If not he’s a great option off the bench and good enough to keep Maddison and the wingers on their toes performance wise
Spence had a bad night.... he was out on his feet understandably, but still had 2 assists, didn't he??
Sarr gives us another big engine in the middle of the park, something that Kulu shouldn't be focusing on imo. I agree that he misses a few tackles, but as RCL pointed out to me last night, a lot of his work went unnoticed on the cameras. But 'too many players available for too few places' is a much better spot to be in....
His all round play is good, just a shame he doesn’t score enough goals. The fee for him was ridiculous but that’s not his fault.
OK I'll bite. Because it seems there's something that everyone else is in on apart from me. Why do the commentators and those on TalkShite etc keep calling AZ "RZ"? It's like a big secret where only people that really know about football understand. All I managed to find out was that AZ originated from two other teams, one starting with A, one starting with Z. None of this leads me to suspect that A should be pronounced R, unless of course that is how the Dutch pronounce A (which sounds a bit far fetched and something I certainly didn't notice when I spent a couple of weeks in Ede).
He's not a big creator of chances and last night was a great example. He ploughed a lone furrow, particularly in the first half, where the only opportunity created for him was the Sin block that led to the first goal. In the 2nd there were a couple of half chances, but he at least managed another assist. We overpaid for him, but I still have a feeling that he will do a good job for us once we start giving him some decent service.
Hopefully the club can get another decent striker in the summer and get rid of Richarlison. Someone who’s more of a goal scorer
Unless they have been injured in training or get injured after 10 minutes through lack of game time. Perhaps not your greatest idea
Hoping the next few weeks are used to give everyone available enough minutes to be fresh without being knackered for the Frankfurt games.
Given the PL campaign is now basically driven by pride, there are games where you could seriously rotate the squad with 30 min bouts each.
It was more a tongue in cheek comment, basically that I want our best players wrapped in cotton wool as much as possible, to ensure we have our best team available for the Europa league. I have little faith as it is with a full squad, let alone one decimated by injuries again!
