Bertrand Traoré

[Zatman]

11 hours ago, Mantis said:

Remember when people said we overpaid for him and that he wouldn't be good enough?

yeah but the Lyon fans said he was crap, he has much better stats in a worse team that Memphis Depay in the Premier League who Lyon fans really like

They know football  

[Laughable Chimp]

Just now, Zatman said:

yeah but the Lyon fans said he was crap, he has much better stats in a worse team that Memphis Depay in the Premier League who Lyon fans really like

They know football  

I mean, they're not gonna care how well he plays for other teams, they're gonna care how he plays for their team. Of course they're gonna really like Depay consider he's scored 19 goals and 10 assists for them this season.

[Zatman]

2 minutes ago, Laughable Chimp said:

I mean, they're not gonna care how well he plays for other teams, they're gonna care how he plays for their team. Of course they're gonna really like Depay consider he's scored 19 goals and 10 assists for them this season.

of course but Traore got 21 goals and 9 assists in 3 seasons for them and the last season they changed formation to a wingerless formation so he wasnt wanted

I just think a lot of fans wanted Traore to fail because of some comments from some opposition fans, what its worth most of his critics on this thread are people who took Lyon fans serious

[AVFCDAN]

Hes good enough for our team but i cant help feeling his best position would be behind Watkins and not as a right winger.

[gwi1890]

31 minutes ago, AVFCDAN said:

Hes good enough for our team but i cant help feeling his best position would be behind Watkins and not as a right winger.

We’ll he does drift in field alot and took a central position for the goal he scored at the weekend

[lexicon]

23 hours ago, Zhan_Zhuang said:

Traore ~ 6 goals 5 assists 32 appearances this season.

A good pre-season and he improves on that next season and becomes a very important player for us.

We just need a bit more steel in the centre of midfield to complement him.

32 appearances but 2039 minutes, which is between 22 and 23 full games - which make the stats look better too (not that they're shabby). 

[barry'sboots]

I do like BT.  He brings that unpredictability and the spectacular - he can do things that even Jack wouldn't try! 

If he could get more consistency he could be a top player, but you could probably say this about 90% of "wingers", Jack and a few others being the exception.

[lexicon]

3 minutes ago, barry'sboots said:

I do like BT.  He brings that unpredictability and the spectacular - he can do things that even Jack wouldn't try! 

If he could get more consistency he could be a top player, but you could probably say this about 90% of "wingers", Jack and a few others being the exception.

We need a quality CAM to get the best out of him and the others IMO. 

[Tom13]

8 minutes ago, lexicon said:

We need a quality CAM to get the best out of him and the others IMO. 

It's not just as simple as that, and very few teams use a true 10 these days.

[M_Afro]

7 minutes ago, lexicon said:

We need a quality CAM to get the best out of him and the others IMO. 

Agree with this, ably supported by a quality defensive midfielder or two. If you had two players capable of protecting the back four, winning the ball high up and then giving it to Jack, quality CM and BT our first 11 would be top 6 pushing top 4.

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

13 hours ago, Zatman said:

yeah but the Lyon fans said he was crap, he has much better stats in a worse team that Memphis Depay in the Premier League who Lyon fans really like

They know football  

The more you think about it, the more it looks like our scouting department might know what they are doing.

I'm excited for the summer.

[lexicon]

43 minutes ago, Tom13 said:

It's not just as simple as that, and very few teams use a true 10 these days.

It really is. Look how much better we are when Barkley has had a good game - it ties the whole team together. 

[KenjiOgiwara]

I think he can play the CAM role, and I wouldn't be remotely surprised if he was better there than out wide. His biggest weaknesses are basically removed and he isn't so predictable.

[barry'sboots]

5 minutes ago, lexicon said:

We need a quality CAM to get the best out of him and the others IMO. 

The better the quality of the whole team and squad, the better that Bertie will look.

The midfield balance is key for me - and this includes every position, not just the ACM.

Luiz, SJM and Barkely looked great - and really well balanced - for the opening months of the season.  At home to Liverpool and and away at Arsenal they looked like world beaters.  In that team, BT would have looked fine on the RW.  As an aside, I just don't understand how all three have fallen apart over the last 3 months??

If you switch BT to ACM/10 then it probably puts more defensive responsibility on to your two other CM'ers because he is not great defensively (although neither has Barkley been of late).

I think that's what Lange and Smith need to work out over the summer - how are we going to play, how will we change/tweak our system to set up differently against different opponents and what type of players (and ultimately what actual players) do we need to facilitate this - the optimal squad with options.

I personally prefer a 4-2-3-1, and you do need a proper 10 (like an on form Barkley or a Maddison or even Jack in there) to play that optimally but some are better at others at also doing their defensive duties.  I remember a standout performance from Weimann when he played 10 (more second striker) behind Tekkers but sat on Gerard when out of possession and effectively killed their creation.

[PaulC]

24 minutes ago, barry'sboots said:

The better the quality of the whole team and squad, the better that Bertie will look.

The midfield balance is key for me - and this includes every position, not just the ACM.

Luiz, SJM and Barkely looked great - and really well balanced - for the opening months of the season.  At home to Liverpool and and away at Arsenal they looked like world beaters.  In that team, BT would have looked fine on the RW.  As an aside, I just don't understand how all three have fallen apart over the last 3 months??

If you switch BT to ACM/10 then it probably puts more defensive responsibility on to your two other CM'ers because he is not great defensively (although neither has Barkley been of late).

I think that's what Lange and Smith need to work out over the summer - how are we going to play, how will we change/tweak our system to set up differently against different opponents and what type of players (and ultimately what actual players) do we need to facilitate this - the optimal squad with options.

I personally prefer a 4-2-3-1, and you do need a proper 10 (like an on form Barkley or a Maddison or even Jack in there) to play that optimally but some are better at others at also doing their defensive duties.  I remember a standout performance from Weimann when he played 10 (more second striker) behind Tekkers but sat on Gerard when out of possession and effectively killed their creation.

Do teams stick to formations anyway. Yes if you have there cbs but is 4-3-3 any different to 4-2-3-1?

[Nigel]

Would it be against the rules to secretly pin a 'chase me' on the back of the left back?

[barry'sboots]

7 hours ago, PaulC said:

Do teams stick to formations anyway. Yes if you have there cbs but is 4-3-3 any different to 4-2-3-1?

I think its more about the players that you pick that will naturally gravitate to positions on the pitch that suit their style of play - unless they are under strict instructions to do otherwise.  

In the FA Cup final season a few years back, from memory, we had Delph and Cleverly in CM and those two worked really well in a 4-3-3 as they are both good examples of a classic box to box "no. 8". Barkley, I believe, prefers to play 10 and will naturally play higher up the pitch and closer to the striker, although he could also play as a left sided "8".  When Smith was tweaking our formation earlier in the season, it was often fine tuning the positioning of Barkley and SJM and withdrawing Barkley a bit and giving SJM a bit more licence to push on.

I prefer a 4-2-3-1 as I think, with our players, the striker tends to get isolated if there is not a "10" getting closer to him.

[sne]

Touched the ball 41 times and lost it 13 times. 73% passing accuracy with a total of 19 successful passes.

He remains one of those players that can have a amazing youtube highlights video over a season but is shockingly inconsistent and frustrating when you watch actual games. 

Really hope he isn't considered a starter next season. He doesn't offer enough during games, just like our other wingers bar Grealish

[AntrimBlack]

He really is something else, his tricks and goals show how talented he is. But his inconsistency is a problem, and for that reason I think he needs upgraded. A shame, because he is very entertaining to watch.

[daggy_333]

It's worth remembering he's only in his first season in the Premier League, how many players have been written off after an inconsistent first season? That being said I'd be happy seeing him as a rotation player next season. Like others have said he's frustratingly inconsistent, however that's probably why he's at a mid table side and not a side playing in Europe!