Good win but a very below par second half, especially when Maddison and Sarr came off. The midfield went to **** after their subs. Pains me to say it but maybe Skippy is possibly another Winks, just not kicking on and will have done nothing in his appearances this season to give Ange reason to start him anytime soon. Lo Celso is just woeful too but we’ve known this for years. A shame he had to come on as I’d have preferred Kulu coming off for Gil. Bentancur should be back in the squad for Friday though, soooooo excited for his return.
The best thing Skipp did was take out Willian and somehow get away with no foul! There are probably 13-14 players good enough to start but after that the quality goes down at an alarming rate. If Micky, Romero, Maddison and son can all stay fit we have a chance. If any of them gets injured then the current replacement is a massive step down.
Very frustrating last 20, we really should have pushed on and increased our GD , for me Romero was man of the match for his 1st half alone
I think it probably applies to most of the XI to be honest and not just those four, albeit they are the standouts at the moment. The gap seems about two steps (at least) between first XI and squad. Squad players will never be as good but we have to work on closing that gap, I think this is what will cost us throughout the season, can’t be relying on the likes of Dier, Emerson, Skipp ( ) Lo Celso etc.
Agreed, he was excellent. For me, best performing CB in the league so far. Amazing what putting a proper CB alongside him can do, must be loving life alongside Micky after years of Dier/ Sanchez.
The issue there is less Skipp and more Skipp & Hojbjerg One of them on the pitch alongside two of Maddison/Bissouma/Sarr/Bentancur? While the midfield might lose some of its dynamism it would still work, but both of them on the pitch together? The ball slows down and the midfield grinds to a halt, which then puts the onus on AN Othermidfielder to pick up the slack on their own or other players (mainly the wide players) to do more...which does start to sound a lot like last season when Bentancur got crocked and our midfield had a collective nervous breakdown
Forgot VDV was on the pitch tonight, he had one burst of speed early on but the ball followed Romero everywhere tonight
It’s not just that though, the gap in quality is just too much. Sarr is a far more technically superior player based on what we’re seeing. Skipp just isn’t really right for this system, the same way Hojbjerg isn’t but the Dane can at least “do a job”. Of the three backup CMs, Hojbjerg won’t reduce the quality too much when he comes into the side. When Lo Celso or Skipp come on the quality gap is noticeable. With Bentancur back soon it’s likely Lo Celso won’t ever kick a ball for us again and that’s a huge positive but we’ll need to upgrade on Skipp sooner or later too in my opinion, great pro and proper grafter but we just need more than that.
Hojbjergs pass for the second goal to Son was actually much better than it looked first time. I thought he did pretty well tonight. He's definitely a really good squad player to have
I wouldn’t go that far but I get what you’re saying. In an industrious system Skipp is very handy but in this system he’s as much use as a chocolate teapot. A shame, had massive hopes for him but seeing Sarr this season and also knowing how good Bentancur is, I’m realising he’s just not gonna reach the level/ style we need.
I suppose Skipp was great for Norwich in the Championship. So I’m being unfair, as clearly if Skipp was playing at that level he would stand out as well, like Winks is now for Leicester. I just don’t feel that Skipp is particularly great at anything. And if we want to be challenging for top four, or even higher, then IMO, he’s not good enough. Saying that, at least he’s not as bad as Lo Celso. That pass to Veliz, when he was clearly miles offside, (and he didn’t even make the simple pass anyway) was so ****. He needs to go asap so at least we can get some money for him.
Sarr was feeling unwell before the game and was only expected to last an hour. Udogie felt tightness but doesn’t sound concerning. Telling though that Sarr, even unwell, will still start over other midfielders such is the lack of quality elsewhere. He’s having a very decent start to the season though, I expect Bentancur to eventually oust him in the coming weeks but there’ll be tons of football for him this season. Has a huge future in my opinion. But a Bentancur-Bissouma-Maddison midfield three is gonna be as close to porn as you can get.
Maddison was firing in those passes Bentancuresque in the first half! I just really hope he comes back the player he was before the injury
I think Skipp will be a great in a more rigid type of system, will make a very good ball winning DM but he can’t play Bissouma’s roles as a deep playmaker not Sarr/ Bentancur’s role as a box to box type, the quality in technical ability is just too big. Lo Celso is just toilet, can’t stand watching him play for us, awful every single game. I’d definitely take Winks over him!
Same, if he does come back like the player we know he is, it’s gonna be unreal to watch. One of the best players at the club right now.
