fruitvilla Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 Here's a question or two ... is El Ghazi improving? Can he continue to improve? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 (edited) He did well when coming in to the team and it’s harsh he got dropped but I’m a firm believer that you play your best 11 if they are available and fit. I would have picked the same team as Smith. Edit: unless of course you have a squad full of talent and it’s hard to determine what a best 11 is. I don’t think we are anywhere near that luxury. Edited January 28, 2021 by Vive_La_Villa 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillanousOne Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 3 minutes ago, MaVilla said: delusional?, dont throw that nonsence around please, you have your opinion and i have mine, i support the team, i support El Ghazi when he is doing well, but i dont think he is a particularly good player, thats just an opinion, like yours is. I will be forever grateful for his input in promotion and staying up, he seems like a really lovely guy, but that doesnt mean by default that he is good enough for a push on the top 6 or 8 in the PL. you support El Ghazi when he's doing well???? Until he was dropped he was on fire, are you basing the 'not doing well part' on the 7min cameo where all of the subs made did nothing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillanousOne Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 1 minute ago, Vive_La_Villa said: He did well when coming in to the team and it’s harsh he got dropped but I’m firm believer that you play your best 11 if they are available and fit. I would have picked the same team as Smith. I agree, but in this case McGinn and Barkley don't look fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitvilla Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 2 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said: He did well when coming on and it’s harsh he got dropped but I’m firm believer that you play your best 11 if they are available and fit. I would have picked the same team as Smith. I think that strategy works if you are playing to win one game. It may not be so good if we want to win as many games as possible. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillanousOne Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 3 minutes ago, fruitvilla said: Here's a question or two ... is El Ghazi improving? Can he continue to improve? He's looked better than he did last season, he is 25 and it's only his second season in this league, hopefully him and Trez will continue to improve, but who knows. I'm not denying he has his limitations, i genuinely thought he would be sold in the summer, but recent games has changed my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villalad21 Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 5 minutes ago, Vive_La_Villa said: He did well when coming in to the team and it’s harsh he got dropped but I’m a firm believer that you play your best 11 if they are available and fit. I would have picked the same team as Smith. Edit: unless of course you have a squad full of talent and it’s hard to determine what a best 11 is. I don’t think we are anywhere near that luxury. Should pick the players on merit not reputation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillanousOne Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 2 minutes ago, fruitvilla said: I think that strategy works if you are playing to win one game. It may not be so good if we want to win as many games as possible. Dean is brilliant manager and has worked wonders for this club, but he needs to use the squad better and make his favourites work a bit harder for the shirt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 (edited) 5 minutes ago, villalad21 said: Should pick the players on merit not reputation I don’t think a coach that watches his players day in day out in training and knows there fitness levels has to pick players on reputation. Edited January 28, 2021 by Vive_La_Villa 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 10 minutes ago, VillanousOne said: I agree, but in this case McGinn and Barkley don't look fit. He did up to 60 minutes or so. By then game should have already been won . I agree at that point he should have been subbed and Smiths in game management should have been better. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitvilla Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 (edited) 7 minutes ago, VillanousOne said: Dean is brilliant manager and has worked wonders for this club, but he needs to use the squad better and make his favourites work a bit harder for the shirt. Picking one's favourites does not sound brilliant to me. My point is Dean's job is to bring on the whole team, ideally in lock step. Also picking the "strongest" eleven does not always make sense. El Ghazi would never be considered in that eleven if circumstance had not forced the issue. So some squad rotation makes sense ... at least to me. Especially if we have the players to make it work. Edited January 28, 2021 by fruitvilla Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vive_La_Villa Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 11 minutes ago, fruitvilla said: I think that strategy works if you are playing to win one game. It may not be so good if we want to win as many games as possible. Depends on whether the players are fit or not. Smith said they were so he started them. If any of them start to look jaded or the performance guys advise a player isn’t fit I’m sure he will make a change. How do we ever know Trez and El Ghazi are 100% fit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 25 minutes ago, VillanousOne said: El Ghazi, Trez and Davis all did nothing off the bench, Anwar has never been an impact player, but he has more than proved he is good enough. More than proved he's good enough for what? To be a squad player? Yeah, maybe. Don't think he'd have kept up that record to be honest. Traore and Barkley give us much much more. One thing he has proved is that he will have wild swings in form and isn't much use when the going gets tough. Burnley are not the opponents for him, I don't think we'd have beaten them if he started. I agree none of the subs did anything. Barkley was poor as we still looked loads better with him on the pitch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotoMkali Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 40 minutes ago, MaVilla said: I think you will find a lot of people dont think El Ghazi is good enough for our first 11, i see the debate that he is worthy of a squad place in our team currently, but if we have any designs on top 6 or top 8 long term, El Ghazi isnt good enough, he's a seriously limited player, in my opinion. If you think he is good enough, thats great, thats your opinion, but i would have to disagree im afraid. Yeah still better than barkley has been. Barkley has been good for 3 games. Liverpool, Leicester and Arsenal. He does need replacing in the summer but I think everyone agrees we need to spunk a wad of cash on a quality winger. I like Jonathan Bamba for Lille. Having an amazing season right now and is rapid as ****. With the French finances the way they are they could be forced to sell for a discount like 30-40 mil instead of the 50-70 he would probably cost normally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotoMkali Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 31 minutes ago, villalad21 said: Should pick the players on merit not reputation What have you done with the real villalad and why are you making reasonable points? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GingerCollins29 Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 3 hours ago, MotoMkali said: The ball needs to be played for him to run on to so he can beat his man. He doesn't have the same close control ability jack has. If he can run at a player though he can beat him. He also put in 2 promising balls just no one was on the end of them. Well he failed the three opportunities he got on wednesday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexicon Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 10 hours ago, Vive_La_Villa said: He did well when coming in to the team and it’s harsh he got dropped but I’m a firm believer that you play your best 11 if they are available and fit. I would have picked the same team as Smith. Edit: unless of course you have a squad full of talent and it’s hard to determine what a best 11 is. I don’t think we are anywhere near that luxury. I'd agree with this. He did well to score the goals he did but his average performance level just isn't good enough for what we need. When he's on it, he can be very good, but when he's not on it, he's very ineffective. We need someone with more consistent output levels. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodders0223 Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 11 hours ago, fruitvilla said: Here's a question or two ... is El Ghazi improving? Can he continue to improve? Probably not. He is just a streaky player. Can go 2 months with doing nothing and then score 5 in 5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilbertoAVFC Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 (edited) Sorry but you can't really criticise El Ghazi at all. He came into the side, was excellent after a long spell out, and has played like 20 minutes since. I love Dean Smith but for me it is poor management to chuck Barkley in so soon. a) not fit and b) has to earn his place. El Ghazi literally couldn't have done any more to keep his place. He should've won POTM ffs! El Ghazi has to start v Southampton but won't. There is nothing to suggest to me that we were worse with Jack in the middle. We were immense against Palace, dominant against WBA, extremely unlucky v Burnley, good against Chelsea and pretty unlucky v Man United. Unless it's COVID related it is actually pretty ridiculous he isn't in the team imo. Edited January 29, 2021 by gilbertoAVFC 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillanousOne Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 47 minutes ago, rodders0223 said: Probably not. He is just a streaky player. Can go 2 months with doing nothing and then score 5 in 5. Not sure he is a streaky player at all, I think when he gets a run in the side he actually does fine. He definitely gets rattled easy and needs confidence, last season he was dropped because we were more concerned with 'not losing' than winning which at the time was the right call but we are looking up not down. Not dismissing last season, but we are a much better side* now and I genuinely think his recent goals and form is down to that, not just a fluke, we've all seen he is capable of this, it's not like his scoring record for us is even that bad. *Even Nakamba looked good in the current side! Every player blows hot and cold, I like Trez but he seems to be immune from criticism because 'he puts in a shift' but he's there to assist or score goals not defend. When he scores is that defined as a fluke/streak? McGinn on his day is an incredible player but more often than not this season (and last) he has looked out of shape and out of form, but when he's good he's damn good, so is he a streaky player????? A fit and in form Barkley should be played, but the reason he's with us and not Chelsea is because his recent career has been stop start due by injuries and constantly trying to regain finish/sharpness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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