Claudius wrote: I suspect managers like Xhaka the man and that’s clouding their judgment of Xhaka the midfielder.
I suspect managers like Xhaka the man and that’s clouding their judgment of Xhaka the midfielder.
Whaa?
Ricky1985 wrote: Torreira, in my opinion, was playing the wrong role today; he doesn't have the athleticism to cover that sort of space, but with how we use the holding midfielder (aka Xhaka) to build attacks, I'm not sure he has the distribution to have played that role successfully today. He won't give away a stupid penalty, 10 unneccessary fouls and miss another 20 tackles, however, he won't switch play reliably or consistently find players in pockets through the lines, as Xhaka, to be fair to him, does. God damn, the team is such a work in progress. From back to front, there's so much to work out, the balance is off all over and too many players not familiar with another yet.
Torreira, in my opinion, was playing the wrong role today; he doesn't have the athleticism to cover that sort of space, but with how we use the holding midfielder (aka Xhaka) to build attacks, I'm not sure he has the distribution to have played that role successfully today. He won't give away a stupid penalty, 10 unneccessary fouls and miss another 20 tackles, however, he won't switch play reliably or consistently find players in pockets through the lines, as Xhaka, to be fair to him, does.
God damn, the team is such a work in progress. From back to front, there's so much to work out, the balance is off all over and too many players not familiar with another yet.
Guendouzi can provide the passing and distribution. Let Torreira do what he’s best at and what we bought him for: sit deep, win the ball, shield the back four. This box to box role Emery is using him in does him no favors as he’s not that type of player at all. Xhaka needs to get the fuck out of this team asap. He practically cost us CL football when he gave away the penalty against Brighton last season and he’s been rewarded with the captaincy armband. He must have Emery’s nudes.
Torreira played the B2B role just fine when he got MOTM vs Spurs at home last season. Nothing to do with instructions he clearly wasn't fit
Still so angry at this useless wanker.
Probably 3 out of 5 articles I've read after the game have suggested Guendouzi replace Xhaka in the starting midfield.
Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert wrote: Still so angry at this useless wanker.
Unai is not. He praised him after the game, said he was happy with how he played.
HomeSteak wrote: Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert wrote: Still so angry at this useless wanker. Unai is not. He praised him after the game, said he was happy with how he played.
Wonder how much is not wanting to criticise in the media prior to talking to the player.
You want Emery to scold Xhaka in the media? Of course he was not happy with Xhaka.
Segway wrote: HomeSteak wrote: Unai is not. He praised him after the game, said he was happy with how he played. You want Emery to scold Xhaka in the media? Of course he was not happy with Xhaka.
HomeSteak wrote: Unai is not. He praised him after the game, said he was happy with how he played.
The thing is, Xhaka will start the next game, will fuck up and then start the next. So I don't know how much of this is Unai protecting Xhaka in the media and how much is Unai really just being happy with him no matter how shit he plays.
Penalty aside, and yes that's a big aside, Xhaka was one of our best players on the day and was certainly our best midfielder.
He improved a lot in the second half but that's as far as I'd go. He gave away a number of other needless fouls aside from the pen.
goon wrote: He improved a lot in the second half but that's as far as I'd go. He gave away a number of other needless fouls aside from the pen.
Yeah this is accurate for me. Ruined the momentum a bunch of times and lost possession in dangerous spots plus the fucking penalty. No way he was better than Guendouzi, Ceballos did more than him too.
Captain wrote: Penalty aside, and yes that's a big aside, Xhaka was one of our best players on the day and was certainly our best midfielder.
Guendouzi was better and made less errors
Xhaka certainly better than Guendouzi yesterday? No way.
I suspected it yesterday and I watched the game this morning.
Xhaka was better than Guendouzi, better than Torriera and much better than Ceballos. And actually, out of those seven fouls, it was maybe two that were unnecessary (including the ridiculous penalty).
Surprising. Xhaka made lots of fouls, and not the clever ones guys like Lacazette were making to break momentum. He was the first in a chain that led to Spurs opening goal. And that foul on Eriksen- red card outside the box.
Yeah, I really struggle to see how Xhaka was better than Guendouzi. Torreira was probably the one that was most off the pace out of the three but at least he didn't give away a penalty.
Xhaka got on the ball more, made more absolute passes, passed more successfully, made more key passes, got dribbled less, won more in the air.
I'm no Xhaka apologist, so take it as you will.
It's the same old argument with Xhaka though isn't it? He clearly brings something to the table, it's why he's always missed when he's not there. His numbers were great against Liverpool too but I don't think anyone watching thought he had anything but a poor game, and that's being kind.
Certainly was not.
Sure he had much more output than every other CM except Doozy. But he pulled all that down with some seriously stupid plays.
But your comment just highlights why Emery will keep on picking him. He's a statmonster when your stats don't track the little mistakes.
