What? Sign him up. The boy is class, and if he gets a goal he'll start to score a lot (it's that football logic). Then we'll be letting a player go on a free who could be worth £15m
Vic!
- Thread starter lamby
- Start date
-
Please bear with us on the new site integration and fixing any known bugs over the coming days. If you can not log in please try resetting your password and check your spam box. If you have tried these steps and are still struggling email [email protected] with your username/registered email address
-
What? Sign him up. The boy is class, and if he gets a goal he'll start to score a lot (it's that football logic). Then we'll be letting a player go on a free who could be worth £15m
after a promising couple of games at the start i felt he'd settled into being a slow, clumsy lump with little ability on the ball and unable to make even simple passes. some of this was during his recovery but not all of it.
as bad as everton might have been on the day, he showed excellent tenacity, ball control, decent mobility, and I can't think of a wayward pass from him.
very happy if he can work towards keeping up that level of performance and hopefully he can add a couple of goals in future as he did with Celtic.
as bad as everton might have been on the day, he showed excellent tenacity, ball control, decent mobility, and I can't think of a wayward pass from him.
very happy if he can work towards keeping up that level of performance and hopefully he can add a couple of goals in future as he did with Celtic.
I bet Cork will be offered a new contract...doesn't make financial sense to let a player of his quality go cheaply, then pay a fortune to get another player who may not fit.
I said after the Everton game that it would make sense, especially in a tough away game, to play Vic, Morgan, and Corky together. It doesn't necessarily mean we would be more defensive, as what tends to happen when Clyne/Chambers and Shaw bomb forward, is that the CB's go wide to cover the wings. Having a choice of three to drop back and cover the centre gives us so much more flexibility, and allows Jack and Morgan both to go forward when we are really pressing. It also allows Davis to play much further forward, as at the moment he often has to come right back to pick the ball up. And all this is brought about by Victor's brick wall qualities as a defensive mid.
How do you think he will improve? I think he's a one dimensional player who when playing well can be an absolute asset to the team (I'm thinking of France winning the World Cup with Makalele - another out and out defensive midfielder). When not playing well, can be a real danger (if he's to give the ball away infront of goal like home vs Hull City). The criticism he's sometimes received on this board has been fair; the position he plays in, the key is reliability. You need to know that you can trust him on the ball, and all his short passes will be to a team mate and won't put them under any unnecessary pressure. This is the only way he can improve in my view. He was already a tough tackling, strong midfielder who's good in the air, he just had to cut out the mistakes. I can't see his passing range improving (he won't be spraying passes around like Jack or Morgan), but if his reliabiltiy improves, and maybe his fitness injury wise, then he'll be a vital player to have in the team most games next season (and the big question might be Jack vs Morgan?).
I'm warming to Big Vic after initially being skeptical. You can't argue with the stats (well, you can, but...). With him sat in front of the back four again, we've gone back to being very hard to beat. I've never been a subscriber to the either/or view of him vs Jack Cork, and Saturday proved how well they can play together anyway. Now it should be up to Morgan to win his place back in the starting line-up.
How best to assemble our midfield is quite the puzzle. Lucky for us we don't have to make these decisions but Pochettino has immense resources to choose from and every player at his disposal brings something unique. Whether he tailors this to suit our opponents or whether he continues to try out different formulas remains to be seen.
In my opinion (disclaimer), Schneiderlin is a shoe-in and when fit he must play. I loved watching us whenever Rodriguez was fit and we played a 4-2-3-1 with Davis, Lallana and Rodriguez behind Lambert. They looked as though they all had free roles on occasions, popping up everywhere. Our first half blitz of Sunderland was some of the best football I've seen us play. I wouldn't put Davis in the bracket of JWP, Morgan, Cork and Wanyama because he offers some sort of goal threat, he's scored goals for us before and his creativity is very good. So the headache lies in picking 3 of the remaining four and with Morgan playing I would too like to see Cork, Vic and Schneiderlin all playing together, with Davis as an outlet just in front of them. I would play Wanyama just in front of the defence and have Cork and Schneiderlin roaming and moving the ball into advanced positions. Cork is amazing in that he is always there to receive a pass and he is very rarely caught in possession, he protects the ball so well and draws countless fouls in positions Wanyama and sometimes Morgan would lose possession.
In my opinion (disclaimer), Schneiderlin is a shoe-in and when fit he must play. I loved watching us whenever Rodriguez was fit and we played a 4-2-3-1 with Davis, Lallana and Rodriguez behind Lambert. They looked as though they all had free roles on occasions, popping up everywhere. Our first half blitz of Sunderland was some of the best football I've seen us play. I wouldn't put Davis in the bracket of JWP, Morgan, Cork and Wanyama because he offers some sort of goal threat, he's scored goals for us before and his creativity is very good. So the headache lies in picking 3 of the remaining four and with Morgan playing I would too like to see Cork, Vic and Schneiderlin all playing together, with Davis as an outlet just in front of them. I would play Wanyama just in front of the defence and have Cork and Schneiderlin roaming and moving the ball into advanced positions. Cork is amazing in that he is always there to receive a pass and he is very rarely caught in possession, he protects the ball so well and draws countless fouls in positions Wanyama and sometimes Morgan would lose possession.
SO, it looks like you are dropping Lallana
. Certainly a tricky dilemma, but a nice one to have.
When Wanyama was playing at the start of the season we were not conceding but were not scoring a great deal either. When he wasn't playing we seemed to be conceding more but scoring more. Since his return to the team we have had 2 clean sheets but haven't scored ourselves. I guess it is a reflection of how he plays. Breaks play up but doesn't offer much in the way of creativity.
His injuries & returns have also coincided with others.
Both he and Boruc got injured against Chelsea and both of them returned against Villa. No Rodriguez has been the major problem going forward. Don't think Vic played against Cardiff for instance, but was there for the Hull game where we grabbed four.
A certain type of player in a CM position will influence how we attack and defend, which is my simplistic view about Victor. I think we just tighten up and don't let teams through us when he plays but may take something away from us offensively. I rate both Victor and Cork and believe in horse for courses. They are massively important and who plays should be with the other team in mind. That said it isn't really Poch's way. He sets us up the same regardless of our opponents.
I have a colleague who is a Celtic fan and he made a small fortune after a bet on Vic being an anytime goal scorer in their game against Barcelona. I watched him closely in both games and was so impressed with him! I remember thinking that it must only be a matter of time until one of our the four premiership teams go in for him and when I heard we might sign him I was gobsmacked. He is a great talent and I am delighted to have him at our club.
I remember earlier in the season, one obscure pundit, who I thankfully forget, mentioning that Wanyama thinks of himself as a poor man's Yaya Toure. I was insulted on Victor's behalf on various levels there. I'm sure VW doesn't compare himself to anyone. He is just a fine, improving player, worthy of a very good PL club.
And luckily, he is at one
See what I did there....worked out how to highlight all by myself.
That's just lazy. "Oh he's a big African that plays in midfield, but instead of Man City, plays for Southampton". Really they're nothing alike.
