Alli's facial hair makes it look like he escaped from Star Trek's mirror universe. Evil Alli didn't have a great game, either. Not awful, but not quite there.
The biggest issue for Ndombele is that he was signed for a role in a system we aren't using anymore: Poch's system required somebody who could link defence and attack with a combination of brute force and skill that Dembele did beautifully, who were just as capable smashing gaps in teams that Kane, Son, Dele and Eriksen could exploit but also sit on opponents like the prime Dier/Dembele or Wanyama/Dembele pivots did - while it has to be said that Sissoko can't do that, as while he does have a far more physical approach taking the ball forward he doesn't have the control The problem is that we weren't using that system even at the start of the season, where we were using THAT BASTARD DIAMOND that seemed to be compensating for various failings (the lack of a DM being the obvious one, while both Winks and Dier lacking any press resistance was clearly an issue last season) while also actively working against the role in the first place because while the role works perfectly in the 4231 as it drags defenders away from the attacking trio in THAT BASTARD DIAMOND it didn't work because our play was so centralised it didn't matter if Ndombele was driving forwards as defenders could negate any advantage by staying in position, and it was further worsened by Eriksen never being in whatever pockets of space were created I know I was banging on about this eighteen months ago, but looking at Lyon's midfield last season (or is that two seasons ago, as Ligue 1 don't kowtow to Murdoch so are able to see that lining some Australian born, US-based tax exile's pockets isn't worth thousands of entirely preventable deaths?) but they played a 4231 but had a rotating pivot Ndombele - the elegant bulldozer Houssem Aouar - the orchestrator Lucas Tousart - the hatchet man The reason I bring it up (again...) is because each combination works in different ways Ndombele creates space for Aouar to thread the pass Tousart wins the ball and lays it off for Ndombele to go on a run In comparison, what do we have? Sissoko and Ndombele play in essentially the same role, while a Winks/Ndombele pivot would have the same problems the Winkssoko pivot does due to Winks lacking press resistance, and now Lo Celso has shown he can play in the role Ndombele was supposed to play in when he was signed to replace Eriksen in the old system It's worth once again bringing up what Alasdair Gold said last night about the plan being to sign a DM (let's assume Hojbjerg) and have a midfield three of Lo Celso, Ndombele and NEW DM - and you have to say, if that's the plan, the odds are Lo Celso will play in the Dembele role and Ndombele is going to have the deeper role, or to put it another way Lo Celso's role would be like how Modric was for us while Ndombele's would be how Modric plays for Los Ladrones...which has me asking one obvious question about if he has the press resistance to do that
