Marvelous Nakamba

[Wainy316]

Any indication as to when he might be back to save our season?

[AV82]

Just now, Wainy316 said:

Any indication as to when he might be back to save our season?

It's Villa. He'll probably be back by the end of 22/23 and look a shadow of his former self on the pitch.

[CVByrne]

10 minutes ago, Wainy316 said:

Any indication as to when he might be back to save our season?

After the March international break. So beginning of April

[Zatman]

I think people are going to get very disappointed by his return. The hype will be incredible 

Its like the time Ireland was really hyped about Lee Carsley return as Roy Keane defensive midfield replacement and it turned out Ireland were still shit 

 

[Wainy316]

32 minutes ago, Zatman said:

I think people are going to get very disappointed by his return. The hype will be incredible 

Its like the time Ireland was really hyped about Lee Carsley return as Roy Keane defensive midfield replacement and it turned out Ireland were still shit 

 

He's absolutely pivotal to the way Gerrard wants to play.  Someone to properly play the DM role and cover the defence properly while our fullbacks are off galivanting.

Doesn't even have to be Nakamba, just anyone that can play the role which is why I think Iroegbunam would offer more than Luiz even if he's not a better player.

[Zatman]

4 minutes ago, Wainy316 said:

He's absolutely pivotal to the way Gerrard wants to play.  Someone to properly play the DM role and cover the defence properly while our fullbacks are off galivanting.

Doesn't even have to be Nakamba, just anyone that can play the role which is why I think Iroegbunam would offer more than Luiz even if he's not a better player.

I think Nakamba is fine but every game he is missing then his reputation is increasing. Will be a lot of disappointment that he is not the second coming of Makelele

[PaulC]

4 minutes ago, Zatman said:

I think Nakamba is fine but every game he is missing then his reputation is increasing. Will be a lot of disappointment that he is not the second coming of Makelele

I dont think so it just underlines how deficient Luiz is in that position 

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

18 hours ago, Zatman said:

I think Nakamba is fine but every game he is missing then his reputation is increasing. Will be a lot of disappointment that he is not the second coming of Makelele

More like the reputation of the current crop in there are DECREASING.

Not one person thinks or expects Nakamba to be anything like Makalele.

He was doing the basics of defending, breaking up play and quick distribution well.

Towards the end, even his passing range and forward passing was getting better with confidence.

He was quickly becoming one of the most.important players on the pitch, I don't see how anyone can try to dispute that.

The only reason some people are suddenly trying to downplay the impact he was making, is because they don't want to give Gerrard any " excuses " .

I would even have Chambers there.

Long story short, the ones in there now are shitter than a Nakamba in good form for solidity. We don't need anything spectacular.

Edited February 22, 2022 by JAMAICAN-VILLAN

[Zatman]

3 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

More like the reputation of the current crop in there are DECREASING.

Not one person thinks or expects Nakamba to be anything like Makalele.

He was doing the basics of defending, breaking up play and quick distribution well.

Towards the end, even his passing range and forward passing was getting better with confidence.

I would even have Chambers there.

Long story short, the ones in their now are shitter than a Nakamba in good formnfor solidity. We don't need anything spectacular.

maybe FWIW I dont think with Nakamba we get better results vs Newcastle and Watford. We had 2 shots on target in 2 games and dominated the ball but unable to create anything

[david-avfc]

He’d probably fit this team better than Luiz, who I do not believe will be here next season, but would that solve our problems? Probably not. His record is overdone, he’s actually barely played in comparison to our other midfielders since he signed and even under Gerrard it was only 3 or 4 games before his injury so nowhere near enough for him to prove he was “instrumental”, especially as the whole team improved with the initial new manager bounce. And in the games Nakamba has played in, even the ones he’s done well in, we’ve missed Luiz’ composure on the ball in the middle of the pitch and his natural ability to provide the link between the defence and the midfield, and Luiz + Nakamba together as a duo has never really worked.

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

8 minutes ago, Zatman said:

maybe FWIW I dont think with Nakamba we get better results vs Newcastle and Watford. We had 2 shots on target in 2 games and dominated the ball but unable to create anything

I get your point.

However in my view, Nakamba or someone of the sort in there,  helps defend the back, and stunt opposition attacks further up the pitch, which allows us to attack more, defend less, panic less and keep all round more organised.

A bi product of this I feel would be better all round decision making and more opportunities to attack 

Obviously impossible to 100 percent predict, but my view.

[Zatman]

11 minutes ago, david-avfc said:

He’d probably fit this team better than Luiz, who I do not believe will be here next season, but would that solve our problems? Probably not. His record is overdone, he’s actually barely played in comparison to our other midfielders since he signed and even under Gerrard it was only 3 or 4 games before his injury so nowhere near enough for him to prove he was “instrumental”, especially as the whole team improved with the initial new manager bounce. And in the games Nakamba has played in, even the ones he’s done well in, we’ve missed Luiz’ composure on the ball in the middle of the pitch and his natural ability to provide the link between the defence and the midfield, and Luiz + Nakamba together as a duo has never really worked.

Have we ever tried just Luiz and Nakamba, drop McGinn and allows Ramsey less responsibility

[VillaParkAvenue]

31 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

More like the reputation of the current crop in there are DECREASING.

Not one person thinks or expects Nakamba to be anything like Makalele.

He was doing the basics of defending, breaking up play and quick distribution well.

Towards the end, even his passing range and forward passing was getting better with confidence.

He was quickly becoming one of the most.important players on the pitch, I don't see how anyone can try to dispute that.

The only reason some people are suddenyl trying to downplay the impact he was making, is because they don't want to give Gerrard any " excuses " .

I would even have Chambers there.

Long story short, the ones in there now are shitter than a Nakamba in good formnfor solidity. We don't need anything spectacular.

This argument seems to be based on the assumption Nakamba was told to play in a totally different way under Smith. I remember him as a very defensively focused midfielder back then as well.

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

55 minutes ago, VillaParkAvenue said:

This argument seems to be based on the assumption Nakamba was told to play in a totally different way under Smith. I remember him as a very defensively focused midfielder back then as well.

No not at all, that was the furthest thing from my mind.

He was just in very good form and it complimented the " system " at the time.

[Zhan_Zhuang]

1 hour ago, Zatman said:

Have we ever tried just Luiz and Nakamba, drop McGinn and allows Ramsey less responsibility

No we haven't but I think that would work well.

Also seeing Luiz in his more favoured position will get the best out if him in linking defense and attack.

Edited February 21, 2022 by Zhan_Zhuang

[AVFCforever1991]

We need him back

[sparrow1988]

You stick Nakamba in to that midfield and he’ll be just as lost as Dougie when the opposition flood forward into open space. At the start under Gerrard we were way more compact which suited Marv. This open expansive Villa will result in him being overran but without the passing/technical capabilities of Luiz, and then everyone will be wondering what happened the Nakamba from November and saying how much that injury has taken its toll on him. When in reality you could stick Vieira or Keane in there and they’d struggle. 

[VillaParkAvenue]

13 minutes ago, sparrow1988 said:

You stick Nakamba in to that midfield and he’ll be just as lost as Dougie when the opposition flood forward into open space. At the start under Gerrard we were way more compact which suited Marv. This open expansive Villa will result in him being overran but without the passing/technical capabilities of Luiz, and then everyone will be wondering what happened the Nakamba from November and saying how much that injury has taken its toll on him. When in reality you could stick Vieira or Keane in there and they’d struggle. 

There’s also the possibility that when Nakamba returns, Gerrard will have been forced to go back to the earlier tighter shape.

In that case it might work well, and people will say they were right about Nakamba being the missing piece all along.

[PeterSw]

16 hours ago, Zatman said:

maybe FWIW I dont think with Nakamba we get better results vs Newcastle and Watford. We had 2 shots on target in 2 games and dominated the ball but unable to create anything

I think we wouldn't have been caught out on the break by Watford.

I might even go as far as to say his positioning play would have meant that Chambers wouldn't have had to make that tackle against Newcastle that lead to the goal.

But this is all in hindsight 

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

2 hours ago, sparrow1988 said:

You stick Nakamba in to that midfield and he’ll be just as lost as Dougie when the opposition flood forward into open space. At the start under Gerrard we were way more compact which suited Marv. This open expansive Villa will result in him being overran but without the passing/technical capabilities of Luiz, and then everyone will be wondering what happened the Nakamba from November and saying how much that injury has taken its toll on him. When in reality you could stick Vieira or Keane in there and they’d struggle. 

You might have a point, so I'm wondering why we are all of a sudden so open? Is this by destign, or by the players not following instructions?

If it is by Gerrard's instruction, I would suggest we go back to being compact, yes, we then have to worry about our wings being wide open, but for the most part, we seemed to be able to handle it in the middle, even when teams had the whole wing to themselves.

Back to basics I say.