The Mail Bag
Isn’t Anyone Worried About Bily?
Comments (36)
I am worried sick. I saw the Man City game and I think he’s the only one not stable in midfield. I do not think he has great vision or even the speed to become a left midfielder nor a left winger. I saw Baines doing a lot better job at running the flanks than him.
Let us not forget the two or three sitters he had in the game that went wasted (granted one was saved by Given). I mean, he headed a perfectly good cross straight at Given without ever testing him. The rebound from Fellaini header was also not handled properly. Why does he always want to dribble the ball on his own to the center everytime? I don’t know. I mean, shouldn’t Bily jumble it up a bit? Try to get Baines to deliver more of his lethal crosses from the left? Each time I see Bily with the ball on the left, my mind will tells me that the dude will move to the center and run the risk of losing the ball. And most of the time I am right. Since it was also a first home debut for Donovan, his ball control sometime eludes him. But I think his partnership with Neville is showing signs of improvement. The same cannot be said with Bily-Baines. I think, Bily may be slowly turning into a dude. I hope I am wrong. Here’s another idea, why don’t we try the likes of Baxter or Agard to play on Left Midfield. It couldn’t hurt, could it?
Rahman Talib, Posted 20/01/2010 at 05:04:02
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Yes, he missed one sitter at City, following the Fellaini header. However, the volley he did in the first half can hardly be described as a sitter, and I don't think any other player in the squad would have had the technique to take that chance.
I actually think he had a good game vs City. He has shown he has great technique; however, he has also shown he is still adapting to this league and looks a bit tired at times.
I believe he will come good as he has ability and it's obvious to see in my opinion; next season I believe he will be a top player.
Remember, he had no pre-season with the squad, joined a team low in confidence and form but high in injuries. He hasn’t had a break for 12/13 months now.
He will become our main goalscoring threat from midfield in the next couple of years. But this will require him taking Cahill's attacking mid role, with Arteta playing creative midfielder and Fellaini as holding midfielder (these are loose descriptions, don't want an arguement about differnence between box-to-box and defensive mid etc).
If we keep hold of Pienaar (no guarentee at all this being a World Cup year and just 1 year left on contract) and sign a quick right winger (no guarantee), I think we have a very exciting midfield... add Rodwell, Gosling, Baxter, Osman, Donovan from march and things look good.
People were writing off Fellaini but now look, sometimes a player just needs to be given time to adapt, in fact generally the best players do.... Drogba had an average first season, Bergkamp had an average first season, Henry also, Ronaldo, (albeit 18 year old), Tevez, Mascherano, Pires etc etc etc.
And no, I’m not particularly worried about Bily. He looks a good player. At first I’d have said that what he does is okay, but he doesn’t get involved enough. Now he’s starting to get involved, but it just so happened that what he did didn’t come off much against City. He was in there picking up rebounds and loose balls, he looks sharper and quicker than he did before, and I see a gradual improvement.
Football’s not a science experiment played by robots, there are going to be good and bad days for teams and players, but as Bily settles in and finds his role, his confidence, and feels he knows what to expect from his teammates and vice versa, he’ll continue to improve. He’s also played very few games down the left with Baines, and that was the first one for a while, so they need to get used to each other.
With a couple of changes you might well have written that about Fellaini last season.
You also have overlooked that he can play both sides — and often does — remaining on the same side of the pitch in the second half.
I’d be interested to see a Coleman/Bily combination tried out, certainly if we get lower league opposition in the next round of the cup.
I feel currently he is the odd one out, yes. Ciaran suggested playing him more central which makes perfect sense. I still am puzzled to why he was signed. £9m is a very large chunk of our budget and I do believe Moyes does genuinely look in depth at a player before he buys him, which makes me even more confused.
We have already have some very good central options. Arteta, Pienaar, Fellaini, Rodwell, Cahill etc So I find it hard to believe Moyes signed him to play there. Out wide he just does not have enough pace. £9m could have bought Donovan outright which would have been a much better use of funds.
Another great Moyes buy me thinks. Dont know what's going on, I've stopped slagging Moyes off, long may it continue!
In Moyes we trust. If he doesn’t cut it then Davie will sell him to Fulham for £12m!
I would put this up as an excuse — except that he doesn’t need one. Goals scored and assists already make him a valuable player from a phase when the team was struggling. If, as we all pray, we are moving into a better period, he will amaze and delight.
I think he needs to build a better understanding with some other teammates (and be indulged a tad more by them — Saha often seems totally out of patience with his glory-hunting) and to work on (or get help with) his attitude, but I don’t think he’s a dud. I think there is real potential there (unlike, for instance, Jo). If we don’t figure out how to use him, some other team will.
My sense is that if he doesn’t work, it will be a case that he isn’t able to figure out how to contribute to this particular team. And I think Moyes and his other teammates have a huge role in that. I think there is a huge "character" aspect to his poor performances. I think he is low on confidence which paradoxically makes him snatch at shit (like the ball skied after the Fell header against Man City) which can only alienate his teammates and further erode his confidence.
I’m not asking EFC to become a bunch of therapists, but confidence definitely plays a part in football. I think he has really amazing technical ability and shows some good vision (which can be improved with some coaching).
And no, to answer your question, he played pretty well. Since we’ve all realized that it takes a while for most players, at any level, to become acclimated to the league; could we mandate no more posts like this until the end of the season?
Like Fran Mitchell, I thought he had a good game. He looked engaged, was sharper and more committed. His most frustrating weakness was and has (recently) been his wayward shooting. He seems to want to burst the net with every shot. But I think that will eventually come good. He gets in decent positions and can certainly shoot, as we've seen in some games (and for Russia).
Like others, I think he needs time and confidence. With the whole team growing in confidence, the latter should come quickly, but getting used to the pace of the Premiership will take until next season. Not entirely sure he was the right player to splash out £9m on, but we’ve got him now and if we are patient, I think he’ll become a real asset for us.
Baxter and Agard are nowhere near Bily’s ability and do not play on the left in any case.
I also would like to see him play behind the striker but it will be difficult to shift Timmy, who although is not playing at his best so far this season is still a bit of a talisman.
So in short, give him time. I think it was Fat Sam who remarked that an overseas player needs a minimum of 6 months to adapt to the demands of the Premier League.
Does any more need to be said.
IMWT not FM.
Let us not forget that when he tried to get involved he got sent off incorrectly and was suspended for 3 matches thus slowing down his progress in the Autumn. He has probably been reluctant to tackle robustly since.
He will be lethal in the slower pace of the Europa League and also adds height to the midfield. People used to moan about the midget gems but now we have Bily and Fellaini in there this should no longer be a problem.
I have also seen Bily keep stuff in play because of his height (such balls would have drifted over the heads of the likes of Pienaar or Osman) but he does give us a very viable option.
To worry about somebody who should provide, by the end of the season, 8 goals and a dozen assists, is pedantic.
But I forgot to say what I always say about Bily.
He is Duncan McKenzie restored to us.
One game next season he will carry the ball from his own half, stroll around a few defenders and pass the ball - over the line.
I’ve seen it happen before - I’ll see it again.
Osman cost nothing, right footed and is diminutive but prepared for a tackle. Also likes to dribble.
Bily cost us £9 million but is tall and a much better passer. Instead of dribbling he feints to make a pass or a shot.
The most similar player in style in our team to Osman is Pienaar. But obviously the latter is better.
Bily will prove to be worth the fee.
I have heard when Emelyn Hughes met Thomas on holiday and the ref fessed up that he got it wrong but after Hughes told the story on telly Thomas furiously denied it.
Hypocrite eh?
Let’s not mention the Hansen handball!
But I have a very nice feeling about Bily. He has much about that Duncan about him. He doesn’t seem to run anywhere, just turns up. And he would make space in a crowded room, take the ball past you in a corridor. He is only just beginning to find players around him who know how good he is. And he is a winner.
Impossible that Everton could beat the best team in the land and so chalked off a perfectly good goal. It has happened to us since, but I doubt that financial gain was implicated in the case of Clive...
I will stop there though as all in all I am pretty damn pleased with Everton right now so I don’t want to be negative at a time when we are playing the best football we have all season! I remain happy to be proved wrong about bily but as of now I did not think he was worth the £9M. Or let me phrase that better, I think it could have been better spent elsewhere.
Moyes has been criticised for disliking ’flair’ players. There is no doubt that he has put the fortunes of the club in the hands of reliable players like Lee Carsley (who became a top rated PL player as a result), but the idea of a flair player is still an odd one.
I think Arsenal’s media darling is one. And I suspect that our Russian might just be a bit similar. But I reckon our guy has more about him
Arshavin is full frontal fast, control, attack — danger.
Bliy is sit back, control, attack, create danger.
A much better long-term bet.
What Bily needs is a bit of space to work his stuff, which includes controlling the tempo in midfield, as well as whipping in decent crosses. He’s good on the ball and we should see this as an asset. The players can help him by providing that little bit of space and time for him and not let him get overcrowded by rushing opponents.
Not every player plays like Neville in midfield, rushing the ball because he has not proper footwork.
Give the lad a break — he seems to have some real quality in his locker.
I recall reading in the summer a quote from a Russian football journalist who said that he was not a winger. He said that his best position was just off the frontman, and likened him to Frank Lampard.
It perhaps asks questions of why Moyes bought him though. Maybe he intends to put Pienaar back out left where he works so well with Baines and move Bilyaletdinov central, but doesn’t yet trust Bily in the heart of the team. It seems unfair to criticise Bily for not being great in a position he may be unaccustomed to. Just look at the difference in Fellaini.
Anyway, it is more or less accepted that the majority of foreign players take 18 months to reach their best form — Henry, Pires, Bergkamp, Zola, Drogba — none of these players were great in their first season. This is what makes Torres’s performances so impressive.
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