Moussa Diaby

[Nigel]

 

 

It's a shame that his form has deserted him in such a way that his decision making has been affected. 

However his stats for a debut season are pretty good.

I have no doubt he will be one of our best players by this time next year!

[bobzy]

1 hour ago, Tom13 said:

His decision making was awful and he was generally poor, completely agree with that, but he could beat players.

Nah, I remember it being discussed over and over how he never took on a man, just didn't beat them at all and it stifled us.

[maqroll]

Rewatching the first goal, their move started when Diaby turned the ball over by dribbling into three of their players instead of firing a shot on goal. I've noticed a pattern with him where he takes a costly extra touch or doesn't make the right pass (Cash was wide open earlier in the sequence where he ended up falling over).

 Very frustrating player.

Edited May 10 by maqroll

[tonyh29]

From interviewers he seems popular within the squad and happy enough , so maybe he's just another player that hasn't quite found what his role in the team is 

for a speedster he look like he's running in treacle at times ,, but , it was only last season where for most periods  Bailey couldn't dribble , couldn't beat a man and couldn't cross ..

so hopefully Diaby will follow 

[ROTTERDAM1982]

I think he has a good attitude and work ethic. Hes struggling atm, but its early days. Lacking a bit of confidence thats all hopefully

[Keyblade]

7 hours ago, Tom13 said:

His decision making was awful and he was generally poor, completely agree with that, but he could beat players.

I'd be more worried if he wasn't getting into the positions. Decision making is often a sign of confidence. Bailey was afflicted with this last season. He'll get that back. Before he had his confidence browbeaten out of him by the rigours of the league, he didn't have this problem.

[Farlz]

Bad Diaby is a million miles better than what bad Bailey was so seeing the way Bailey has turned it around this season, that’s what I’m holding onto. 

[T-Dog]

On 10/05/2024 at 16:52, Farlz said:

Bad Diaby is a million miles better than what bad Bailey was so seeing the way Bailey has turned it around this season, that’s what I’m holding onto. 

Granted. 

Is Bad Diaby better than Unproven Rogers, or Injured Ramsey or Buendia? 

Because, if I had to pick, right now, he's not in that top 3.

Stats are sound. Performances have been dog, I'm not sure why we're defending £45m on a player that hasn't had one good 90 minutes yet.

Adjust and adapt. yes that's fine, but stop being so petulant, stop making terrible decisions. Do the basics right. No one is asking for 20 goals, they're asking for him to track back, work harder, make better passes. Each of the other three mentioned above manage it.

I want him to come good, but right now I'm struggling to see what he offers us.

[DakotaVilla]

6 hours ago, T-Dog said:

Granted. 

Is Bad Diaby better than Unproven Rogers, or Injured Ramsey or Buendia? 

Because, if I had to pick, right now, he's not in that top 3.

Stats are sound. Performances have been dog, I'm not sure why we're defending £45m on a player that hasn't had one good 90 minutes yet.

Adjust and adapt. yes that's fine, but stop being so petulant, stop making terrible decisions. Do the basics right. No one is asking for 20 goals, they're asking for him to track back, work harder, make better passes. Each of the other three mentioned above manage it.

I want him to come good, but right now I'm struggling to see what he offers us.

Not one good 90 minutes? 

We have short memories. He was being lauded as a potential player of the season in October because of how well he started the season. 

[HKP90]

He clearly needs to end the season and go and sort his head out. We know there is a player in there. We've seen it before, just not recently. Emery will sit down with him, work with him over the off season, and I'm sure we're gonna see a much better player next year. 

Remember when Bailey looked awful? When his decision making was terrible? He's been an absolute wizard this year.

We can't just give up on players. Especially now we have one of the world's greatest managers in charge. What Emery has extracted from each of our players, who many in the media were saying were nowhere near good enough, has been astonishing. We've just reached the limit of human endurance at the end (as many of us suggested would be the case in January).

I couldn't be more optimistic for next year (transfer window notwithstanding).

[AvonVillain]

2 minutes ago, HKP90 said:

Remember when Bailey looked awful?

Do people even read the other posts in any given thread? There are probably more references to Bailey here than in the Leon Bailey thread.

[HKP90]

57 minutes ago, AvonVillain said:

Do people even read the other posts in any given thread? There are probably more references to Bailey here than in the Leon Bailey thread.

It was just my take on it. No need to get defensive.

[The_Steve]

14 hours ago, T-Dog said:

I'm not sure why we're defending £45m on a player that hasn't had one good 90 minutes yet.

Like the 85-90-minute performances where he got goals or assists against Wolves, Bournemouth, Luton, Burnley and Palace. I really don't know what you are claiming to have been watching to make such claims.

The team is the sum of its best parts. Not every player will always perform to their best for 90 minutes weekly. He's playing two different roles and learning from Unai's expertise. But his contributions have helped us win games. You can't deny that. Even when he's not scored or gotten an assist, when he's on it, he's very difficult to play against.

It was 35m euros with add-ons. Even if we paid £45m, he's done more than players signed by other clubs for less.

You're welcome to criticise his errors and when he's maybe underperforming. But this is the sort of scapegoating, unhelpful language that helps nobody. Is it not more conducive to offer some support and praise the good? Criticise the flaws. Writing off players like this is just toxic.

Unai values him.

Edited May 12 by The_Steve

[ferguson1]

Is he likely to make the France squad for the Euros?  He could probably do with a rest/break or perhaps being around national colleagues will be good for him? Who knows but it’ll be interesting to see his progress and performances next season. 

[Delphinho123]

3 hours ago, ferguson1 said:

Is he likely to make the France squad for the Euros?  He could probably do with a rest/break or perhaps being around national colleagues will be good for him? Who knows but it’ll be interesting to see his progress and performances next season. 

Rest? The last few games aside, he’s spent most of the time on the bench. He needs game time. He won’t be getting much of it here next season. 

[It's Your Round]

8 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said:

Rest? The last few games aside, he’s spent most of the time on the bench. He needs game time. He won’t be getting much of it here next season. 

Would you say Bailey needs a rest after this season?

[TRO]

On 08/05/2024 at 11:05, M_Afro said:

I don’t see Diaby as a traditional winger like Leon. He is a 10 or an inside forward. His game is about getting into pockets of space and making things happen through clever passing and movement. This is what he is really good at and it has lead to plenty of goals and assists. People expecting to see him hugging the touch line and beating players are always going to be disappointed.

To really flourish, his style is best suited to a team that controls the game and allows him to focus on creating problems in the final third. For whatever reason, we have really struggled to control matches since the turn of the year. Diaby is having to do too much without the ball, which is never going to suit him.

I actually think that all of our problems stem from central midfield. We are not offering our defence any protection and failing to move the ball quickly into dangerous areas for Diaby to exploit. Add to that, our fullbacks have been fairly ineffectual in the opposition half. If we address those two issues in the summer, our control of games will increase again and Diaby will be able to go to work.

 

I actually agree.......and its having a knock on effect, to so many areas of the team......as described, by the one you mentioned.

The control, is not there, and too many not equipped, but are trying to compensate and are struggling to do so.

It's a priority imo.

We have always been short in quality, and numbers, in this area.

Moussa needs a platform to play from.....as does Ollie.

Edited May 12 by TRO

[Jas10]

Comments from Unai

 

April

Quote

“For different players, the adaptation of the Premier League and our idea, style, demands - it is easier or sometimes more difficult," Emery explained. "Moussa Diaby, he is getting better and he is with the possibility to play in different positions.”

"He can play more wide, as a number 10 inside, as a second striker and I am very happy with his progression. Often, I am speaking about him about the possibility to play in different positions and to get his best performances, his adaptation higher too.

"He needs to be calm in different moments when he wasn’t. Now, it is the same - of course, I am very happy with him. I am being very demanding with him and he is completely involved in our structure."

 

 

Back in Feb 

Quote

 

I spoke with him and usually we are meeting with the squad, with the team collectively and individually too," Emery said when asked about Diaby's performances of late. "I send them the same message - we are building a team and we are in that process.

“In the summer we brought in some players and now in January too. With everybody we have to try to get stronger in our structure in the squad. We have quality players and specialist in different positions.

One of them is Moussa Diaby and I am happy with him. His commitment is high and his behaviour is fantastic. His performances haven’t been consistent but I can understand because he is in the process of understanding everything.

“He is adapting in the Premier League which is difficult. I don’t know if it’s more difficult than in Germany, but it is difficult.

“We are always trying to send him the same message - we are building a team collectively. You have to understand and practise a lot how we can combine with different players in our tactical idea and get stronger when we face each match.

“He is in the process and with this process I am happy. The most important thing for me is is the commitment and behaviour everyday. He is always with his teammates practising and trying to improve.”

Quote

The adaptation of Moussa Diaby, there is still work to do. The most important for me is how he is progressing, how he is working and how he is feeling.

“I am speaking a lot with him and always in a calm way, trying to be consistent and even when we are not playing like we want, keep going. His mentality is this way. I am not in a hurry with him to get it.”

 

[Talldarkandransome]

Does he need a new song

[Delphouneso]

He’s won the joint most MOTM awards from the match thread polls on this site so far this season. Tied with Martinez on 8.