Half agree.... Sarr did have an impact and his mobility was very useful. Johnson much less so - and I worry with him and Porro in the same flank. If he is going to start, I am pretty sure that having Spence behind him would be better for him and the balance of the side.
Which is why the feeds overcompensating even by Nomad standards is all the more hilarious I think I've been blocked by four of them just by posting a screengrab of the scoreline already...
I don’t think he’s a starting calibre player but he came on and added some energy yesterday. First time in a while he actually ran with the ball a couple times too, usually ****s the bed when he has to do that. I don’t think he was intended to be a bench option at £50m but it is what it is I guess.
Rumours suggest that Nizaar Kinsella has been hiding under his duvet ever since https://bsky.app/profile/vespr91.bsky.social/post/3lid2uhfkjs2x
He's a 'puff-ball' player. Looks too delicate for me. Deffo not a starter in an ideal world but -at least before the injury - appears to have an goalscoring ability. As I say, with Spence on that side I think he could be really useful.
I've got sympathy for Keane's view of Maddison. The guy has talent without doubt, but he needs to produce that week in, week out, for a few seasons if he is to realise his full potential. I think he still can.
Definitely a massive wuss, never goes for any 50-50 challenge and generally does **** all but as you’ve said he’s got a knack of scoring goals and that alone isn’t a bad trait. Think I’d prefer to keep Spence at LB though, something about it just really suits him there, his ability to run the line with his left and also cut inside on his right is a quality mix. Plus I also really like Porro, he’s come in for stick this season but his technical ability is genuinely unreal, if we can operate how Pool do where Trent’s defensive issues are covered by other players, I think Porro can be appreciated a lot more.
MUTV MOTD2's edit of the match is... interesting and that's before you get to the dodgy commentator. Anyone would think that we got battered watching that highlights package. Very one-sided. Strange that there's not a single stat that we didn't come out on top of, then. Possession, territory, shots, shots on target, xG, corners, touches in the opposition box... It would be a lovely surprise if the sports media in this country could stop doing PR for certain clubs. It's boring and the supporters of those teams don't appreciate it anyway. Do your ****ing job.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/cr5308e9q33t#MatchStats They are even more sideways this season than Spurs (and I did not believe that was physically possible) .
Hardly the first time I recall that happening I remember a draw we had with Chelsea donkeys years ago where we were practically edited out of the match other that the goals - which by complete coincidence meant they edited out the passage of play where the Chavs should've been down to 10 men for a pretty nasty foul late in the first half I think the main reason I remember that is because that's half the points Ramos got us that season...
I worry about how many goals we concede down Porro's flank. Spence is the better defender and apart from his delivery, will probably develop into the more complete player. I'd love to see him given a run on his stronger side. I imagine Udogie will go straight back into the side once fully fit, which will present us with an interesting dilemma on the other flank.
The issue is pretty similar to the issues we had with the Lucas/Aurier pairing down the right, as Porro is given a free role but Johnson doesn't cover the gap On the plus side, Porro isn't a headless chicken with the positional sense of a wasp in a bedroom like Aurier was
Rotate the 3 Porro/Udogie Porro/Spence Spence/Udogie Full back is relentless. This way they all have a break and possibly stay fit more.
The issue is the player in front of them Deki does cover space, much like Lennon or Lamela did, but Johnson is trying to break into the box more often than not so there is a gap there
Porro's far better positionally as he's not trying to win the 100m sprint whenever we have the ball with no regards to where he or teammates might be Passmaps routinely showed Aurier was further up the pitch than anyone barring maybe Sonny for a large part of his time with us, and this regularly created multiple gaps as Sissoko wound up having to fill the void he left behind and Lucas wasn't covering...which only turned our midfield into a colander
