Mark my words
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Mark my words
This is a far more difficult game than it might appear.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pat Vegas
Big night for everyone.
All very tense so far. But I am confidentQuote:
Originally Posted by Peter
Very rainyQuote:
Originally Posted by Pat Vegas
I feel sorry for him. Should never have been at a top club. So painful watching him.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pat Vegas
Stop all that cobblers.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich
I'm glad he's not playing - injured or dropped?
No. It?s true and needs to be called out. I can accept his touch and his dribbling been very poor. I cannot accept such poor movement or the lack of ability to hold up the ball (he?s by far the heaviest player on the pitch)Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter
Removed from the field of play in circa 15 minutesQuote:
Originally Posted by Herbert Augustus Chapman
Time to stop digging, RichQuote:
Originally Posted by Rich
If he comes good you?ll look a complete knob. Not sure how that is to your benefit
You can sense a tiny bit of tension on here as well :-)Quote:
Originally Posted by WES
It?s clear and obvious (and was before he joined) that he?s not of the required standard, WES. There is absolutely no chance he ever succeeds at Arsenal; and it pains me to say that. United were the only other major club in for him and that?s because of Amorim.Quote:
Originally Posted by WES
Thankfully we didn?t spend huge money on him. An absolute disaster of a signing. Best forgotten.
like a big ox having little or no impact f'wevvah!Quote:
Originally Posted by WES
He is complete sh*te. Is the Portuguese league really so bad that a spastic like him can score over 50 goals?
I like him, always have; reminds me of Paul Mariner.Quote:
Originally Posted by Herbert Augustus Chapman
Could do with one or two more goals though, of course. Like Mariner.
What I don?t understand is that Sporting must be the best or near the best side in Portugal. Yet 90% of his goals are him sprinting into acres (like an entire half of a football pitch) of space and ****ing it past a keeper (zero finesse). PQuote:
Originally Posted by John Bunnell
So yes; I think your point is valid but it?s clear that he will never be a top player for any side that faces low blocks. Never.
People trying to justify him by saying "oh he draws players to him" does he fek we need Havertz back asap he draws players to him AND he can control a ball.
I don't mind a striker who doesn't score. As long as you don't expect him to be scoring.Quote:
Originally Posted by redgunamo
Expected goals, if you will :-)
Yes, maybe.Quote:
Originally Posted by John Bunnell
Wouldn't have made any difference to us tonight. Ball was nowhere near the forward line in that second half.
I see Berta is already after a new striker in summer. Gyokeres to Saudi or FranceQuote:
Originally Posted by Peter
Just to wind up John and Rich; the fact that he doesn't actually score the goals we want him to, or indeed any goals at all really, is genius. Imagine defenders expending all that energy on a non-goal threat, leaving everybody else free to push us clear at the top of the table.Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter
I don't know if you've ever kept score in a village cricket match but it really upsets them when commentators say "out without troubling the scorers". There's actually no little toil involved for them when a batsman gets out for nought.
Our opponents must be kicking themselves :-)
Perhaps we need a third category after goals and assists- yards of space created.Quote:
Originally Posted by redgunamo
Gyokeres certainly makes plenty of runs. Maybe he should try batting for England.....
England should certainly try it. The day they work out he's actually a busted flush, goalshy and couldn't hit a barn door is the day he gets the space and time to start scoring regularly.Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter
The whole Premier League must think Haaland is rubbish :-)
Gyokeres isn't the problem.Quote:
Originally Posted by redgunamo
We just need courage. We were edgy tonight and we let Liverpool irritate us. Van Dijk starting a fight in the first half over us not knocking the ball out for Frimpong, rather than actually bothering to go and check whether he was ok. He really got Rice rattled.
This is going to take focus and cool heads. In other words, we are ****ed :-)
I?d take Nketiah for Gyokeres. Less wages, also makes runs and is wonderful finisher. He has the added bonus of being able to control a ball, pass a ball, hold a ball up, head a ball and indeed even run with the ball to some extent.Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter
Finishing and runs off the ball aside; Gyokeres has none of the above (to the required level at least).
When is Kai fit again?
Vlahovic is out of contract at the end of the season. ***Free Strikers***Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich
Reckon he'll play against Portsmouth, thank ****Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich
Don't tell me you have given up on Vik as well :-(Quote:
Originally Posted by PSRB
I think it?s a real shame we can?t make more of Madueke. He terrorises defenders in those one on ones.Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter
So was Saka, then we stopped giving him the ball.Quote:
Originally Posted by 7sisters
We didn't stop giving him the ball. We stopped having the ball.Quote:
Originally Posted by PSRB
We never really recovered our balance after that mix up that led to them hitting the bar. Threw us off a bit.
Second half was awful. Liverpool had worked out that we were reluctant to chase the press too hard so they found the exact rhythm that kept us holding our shape. The guys didn't know what to do and Arteta just couldn't seem to change it.
48min 49 sec - I noticed the time because someone played the ball to Gyokeres and he played a delightful one touch ball around the corner to someone running onto it, Trossard I think. It was a lovely touch, and not the first we've seen from him.Quote:
Originally Posted by redgunamo
At some point in the first half Gyokeres made the perfect run, one that our other strikers rarely make. He was in the perfect position as Timber broke down the right. Timbers ball into him was awful and it came to nothing.
He touched the ball 8 times, this is no reflection on him imo, it shows that we don't know how to use him and/or he is still adjusting to how we play.
But those are just notes, comments on what I see. Far more important is that he will need time and those writing him off already are impatient or a leetle bit stupid.
I have no idea if Gyokeres will succeed with us, but I have seen enough good things that I realise that the time to pass judgment is not now. The end of next season is a much more sensible timeframe.
There are really two issues. One, is he ****? And two, is he right for us?Quote:
Originally Posted by WES
The third, and it is lurking in the back of my mind, is were he and Eze Berta signings that Arteta didn't really want. Because neither of them fit the template of how we play and there are no real signs of us adjusting our approach.
Arteta won?t be tinkering to accommodate these new players. Why should he at this point. 6pt cushion and top of the CL table.Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter
He scored 54 in 52, as I recall, in Portugal. Of course he isn't sh1t.Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter
Is he right for us? As mentioned many times, he was purchased precisely because he is the type of striker we haven't had for some time. But that requires change in how we play and possibly in how he plays. It's up to Arteta to manage that and the fact that he keeps playing him in big games suggests he is confident it will happen.
Or we could just call him sh1t and dismiss him after 21 games :rolleyes:
Or does it just suggest that the other two centre forwards aren't fully fit?Quote:
Originally Posted by WES
And what does it say that he takes him off with half an hour to go when we need a goal?
It is ok that he doesn't touch the ball much. Centre forwards generally don't. And it is ok that he isnt scoring. We've created virtually nothing for him.
He just doesn't look very good or do anything particularly well. That is worrying.
He'll get better. But let us not be under any illusion here- he really, really needs to.
No one is questioning that he needs to get better, some are questioning whether it is sensible to call him sh1t and write him off after 21 matches.Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter
And Merino could have played up front against Bournemouth and Liverpool, Arteta chose Gyokeres.
Arteta sees him in training every day and knows rather more about football than AWIMB.