Gueye signed new long-term deal last October

Monday, 19 February, 2018 70comments  |  Jump to most recent

Updated It wasn't announced at the time but the Football Association's records apparently confirm that Idrissa Gueye agreed a new five-year contract in the autumn.

The Senegalese midfielder put pen to paper on an improved deal that committed his future to the Blues until 2022 on 26 October 2017.

There were unconfirmed reports at the time that an agreement was imminent with the player but, presumably because of the events surrounding Ronald Koeman's dismissal as manager, the change in Gueye's terms were not formally announced.

“Everton is the right place for me and this is why I have signed my new deal,” Gueye said.

“I am very happy to sign a new contract with Everton. It is great for me and for the Club and I am very happy.

“I love the fans here. They have been great to me. They made it easy for me to sign this contract. Of course, I spoke with my family and my agent, but the love of the fans was really important and this is a really good thing for me."

 

Reader Comments (70)

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer


Kim Vivian
1 Posted 19/02/2018 at 17:50:50
Good. Good for him, I'm made up.
Colin Glassar
2 Posted 19/02/2018 at 17:56:55
It's been such a slow week that the backpage of the Daily Mirror had, “Rashford takes girlfriend out to lunch” as a headline.

Thanks for the info, Lyndon, I think I'll go back to sleep now.

Ian Bennett
3 Posted 19/02/2018 at 17:57:44
Like a new signing...
Liam Reilly
4 Posted 19/02/2018 at 18:30:39
The boy's a good footballer, but he needs to be paired with a more creative partner.

That said (and I know I'll not be popular for saying this) I still believe that Schneiderlin could be that player with the right confidence level, but I suspect he'll be off in the summer.

Darren Hind
5 Posted 19/02/2018 at 18:49:40
I wonder if he was sitting down when he signed?
Matthew Williams
6 Posted 19/02/2018 at 19:08:38
Another long-termer, I see... sigh.

Not good enough, I would prefer Mooy of Huddersfield with Pearson of Preston next to him in our engine room, with Lookman & Dowell as our wingers.

We plod on!

Lenny Kingman
7 Posted 19/02/2018 at 19:08:47
Another pile of cash leaves the club, secretly, for an average footballer.
Dermot Byrne
8 Posted 19/02/2018 at 19:19:38
Another good player if paired with right ones.
Rob Dolby
9 Posted 19/02/2018 at 19:21:09
Weird that the club have kept this quiet. He is a decent Premier League destroyer when Schneiderlin isn't anywhere near him. We need to get someone else in there with him and Davies next season.
Mike Gaynes
10 Posted 19/02/2018 at 19:47:58
Odd they wouldn't announce it, but glad he'll be with us long-term. Relentless effort, showing better form recently after injuries early, currently second in the Premier League in tackles after leading the league last year. Paired with a passer, he can really make a difference.

Colin Glassar
11 Posted 19/02/2018 at 20:08:18
Watching Lookman playing for Leipzig. Now he's a player we should go for...
Minik Hansen
12 Posted 19/02/2018 at 20:16:51
He is so calm and has a go every time, I'm made up for this. People that don't rate him, needs to pay attention to his interceptions. Like some said, without Schneiderlin it all looks better, we've got a more attacking midfield and going forward.
Derek Knox
13 Posted 19/02/2018 at 20:31:47
I have always rated Gana, and glad he has committed to long term with us.

Like many have said he has had some awful games but who hasn't, especially when paired with you know who.

I just wish his passing was a bit more accurate and he should have a go at goal more often.

Darren Hind
14 Posted 19/02/2018 at 20:48:37
Quite a few posts on here talking more about a partner he doesn't have.

"Paired with"? WTF? Should a player not be judged on his own merit rather than paired with some imaginary boss passer?

If you paired him with Lionel Messi, he'd still be a tackling machine who spends far too much time on his arse.


Dermot Byrne
15 Posted 19/02/2018 at 20:52:32
Darren, if this was a game of singles you may have a point. And if Messi played with ten below-average players, he would not be as good. It is a team game, ya daft muppet.
Darren Hind
16 Posted 19/02/2018 at 20:57:08
Oh, it's a team game? ... I seeee.

So why are muppets like you talking about pairs?

BTW; put Messi in a local pub team and he`d still be brilliant – unless Allardyce was manager and he was forced to get behind the ball and help out the back nine.

Mike Gaynes
18 Posted 19/02/2018 at 21:35:51
Blah, blah Darren... more droning renditions of the same old comment. Change the needle already, the record is skipping.
Brian Williams
19 Posted 19/02/2018 at 22:03:29
Colin (#11).

I reckon we'll get him in the summer mate. ;-)

David Barks
20 Posted 19/02/2018 at 22:11:09
He may be second in tackles but he’s 35th in passing. Your central midfielder shouldn’t be an either/or scenario, they need to be able to be good at both. There’s room for an awful lot of improvement.
Jamie Crowley
21 Posted 19/02/2018 at 23:05:53
Thrilled. Love watching Gana play.

He's a gnat.

Buzzes around and doesn't give you a moment's rest.

With Gana holding and any of Davies & Rooney, Sigurdsson & Rooney or Sigurdsson &Davies in front of him, we're fine.

Jamie Crowley
22 Posted 19/02/2018 at 23:06:25
Good to go...
Andy Williams
23 Posted 19/02/2018 at 23:24:47
Darren, he spends a lot of the time on the floor because he is making tackles that hardly anybody else in the league can. And people slamming his passing should note that over 85% of them are accurate. But what do I know. COYB, altogether now, boo!
Darren Hind
24 Posted 19/02/2018 at 00:17:54
Go count his assist, go count his goals. you'll only need to remove one mitt. You guys are lining up to say how good he would be if "paired" with the right guy? What the fuck is all that about? How many other midfield players worth their salt have this back-handed nonsense offered up in their favour?

There's three different threads about Tom Davies at the moment, He's 19 and he's already being judged on his own merits.

Gana is an experienced pro, we should be expecting him to help others improve their game, not looking for others to improve his.


Darren Hind
25 Posted 20/02/2018 at 00:21:47
Jamie

"Doesn't give you a moment's rest"? Depends on where you play.

There are defenders out there who couldn't pick him out in a police line-up.

Andrew James
26 Posted 20/02/2018 at 00:52:39
Mr Darren Hind has previous on talking sense. He called out Koeman long before most and got abuse for it.

I personally think Gana's game is ridiculously limited at his age. Remember Lee Carsley? He could break attacks up and then go forward.

John Kavanagh
27 Posted 20/02/2018 at 00:55:42
Forget the 'paired with' argument, the core problem is that he has mostly had to mark Schneiderlin (or more aptly the space Schneiderlin is supposed to cover) as well the opposition. Other players put in Gueye's position have also had poor games.

There is a common link between the improvement in Davies's form and Gana's that both Koeman and Allardyce have failed to see but has been spotted by 35,000+ eagle-eyed blues.

Schneiderlin is so lacking in form and effort that he's dragging the whole team down. Without him, the team as a whole performs with more confidence. Ditto with Williams in defence, to a slightly lesser degree.

Ernie Baywood
28 Posted 20/02/2018 at 01:58:35
Let's not worry about how Messi would go alongside him.

He's never going to be a creative player so let's not ask him to do that. Press, win the ball, give it off. If we could play to the strengths of each of our 11 we'd be great!

Ideally he would also be great on the ball but most teams in the league are forced to make do with someone more limited. Not sure why we expect our players should be flawless.

Alan J Thompson
29 Posted 20/02/2018 at 03:28:14
Is it my memory or just coincidence that around that time it was rumoured that Arsenal, I think, were interested. If so, it doesn't take much to panic this Board but how long was left on his previous contract?
Jamie Crowley
30 Posted 20/02/2018 at 04:10:28
Darren @25,

I hear you and you're correct!

But he's not that type of player. He's not in a team to press forward and threaten opposing back lines.

He's a tenacious ball winning defensive midfielder who wins the thing and promptly passes to more “dangerous” teammates. He's a beast against opposition threats.

I firmly believe every team needs this guy: Gana, McCarthy, Besic, Carsley, and I wish to God I could think of another team that has a defensive midfielder who is strong in a tackle, a beast in defense, and knows his role of defending and winning the damn ball and distributing it quickly to more “technical” teammates.

Gueye, to me, is that guy. And he seems to have Superman lungs as the amount of ground he covers (to my eyes) is insane – nice perk to have!

I know there's a ton of material in this post to rip me a new ass, but I believe you understand the point I'm trying to make.

Ajay Gopal
31 Posted 20/02/2018 at 06:00:41
I don't see a problem with players having individual strengths - usually the team is better for it. The best midfield 5 that I have seen play for Everton and their present day equivalents IMO:

Carsley = Gueye
Arteta = Rooney
Osman = Davies
Pienaar = Sigurdsson
Cahill = Walcott

What we need to do is compliment this 5 with a clinical finisher. Niasse is actually more Cahill than Yakubu. Hopefully, one of Tosun, Calvert-Lewin, or Onyekuru become the new Yakubu / Lukaku. Given time to settle down, our midfield 5 could turn out to be as competitive as the one we had under Moyes.

Bob Parrington
32 Posted 20/02/2018 at 07:01:30
Lyndon, are you sure this wasn't announced back in October?

Regardless. It is good business.

Paul Setter
33 Posted 20/02/2018 at 07:38:41
Reading some of these comments makes me laugh... Wow, amazing in the tackle – yet have you seen how many goals we have conceded with him in the side?

What else does he offer? Absolutely nothing. I personally think he is one of many weak links in our tepid midfield and think a midfield pairing of Rooney and Davies is our best in creating and breaking up opponents attacks.

Certainly not people like him who run around, have the occasional good tackle, only to lose possession straight away but pull the wool over fans eyes how as to good he is... would he be good enough for any of the top 6? Not in my book he isn't. Average at very best!

Eddie Dunn
34 Posted 20/02/2018 at 08:42:06
Gana is a busy bee, but his game lacks so much. I was astounded when he actually had a shot the other week. It was over the bar, but it was a shock. Surely this shouldn't be the case.

His passing is 85% accurate, according to Andy Williams (above), but that could mean that he is tapping little 3-yarders here and there.

I rarely see him put a defence-splitting ball through. I like him, admire his engine and his attitude, and think he can play an important role for us, but he is a very limited player and it shows that, despite all of the money in the Premier League, there are still some very ordinary grafters making megabucks.

Rob Dolby
35 Posted 20/02/2018 at 09:21:46
Every team has a few grafters it's what knits teams together.

Play 11 Ozil's or Fabregas and watch them stink the house out each week.

Fernandinho for City, Kante for Chelsea, Xhaka for Arsenal, Dier for Spurs etc etc. They all make other players in the team look good.

Bracewell and Reid made Steven and Sheedy look good. All great teams have players like that. Dunga for Brazil was an absolute dog but would win the ball and pass it to someone better and off he strolled with the World Cup.

I am please he has signed as he does the defensive work for others like Rooney or Davies.

I would be more upset if he didn't sign and we were left with Besic and Schneiderlin.

There are more urgent matters that need addressing in our team. Formation, left-back, left-mid, striker, Director of Football, and manager.

Tony Everan
36 Posted 20/02/2018 at 09:29:55
He is a worker ant. Not a top-class one, an above-average one. I'd rather have him in the squad than not.

The remarks about his pairing with Schneiderlin ring true; it has never worked. The statement that he has been marking Schneiderlin for a year also has a whiff of truth about it.

He's never going to be a neon lights and billboard midfielder. He's a cog in the engine room.

It's no coincidence that he improves when Schneiderlin is dropped. Koeman and Sam have been making incomprehensible midfield decisions for a year, continually selecting defensive and static formations.

I am hoping there is light at the end of the tunnel on that point.

Jer Kiernan
37 Posted 20/02/2018 at 10:49:30
He has definitely earned it and no sign of him slacking off after signing the big money deal either. Not the most exciting player in the world but he would certainly have a place in my staring 11. Good news!
Eddie Dunn
38 Posted 20/02/2018 at 11:02:11
The only time he went off the boil was after the AFCON when he was knackered.
Brian Harrison
39 Posted 20/02/2018 at 11:08:09
I think the biggest problem we have is the lack of goals from our midfield players, whether its Schneiderlin, Gana or Davies. The only exception is Rooney but we should be asking why the other 3 don't score more. Maybe it's because neither Koeman nor Allardyce want them to get in and around the goal area, so that would limit their attacking options.

Gana has not improved that side of his game and I don't think Schneiderlin ever goes near the opponent's box, but surely the player and the manager should be looking to improve that side of Gana's game.

I do agree about going to ground when tackling; I remember Bob Paisley saying if you go to ground and don't get the ball, you have taken yourself out of the game. He always said stay on your feet; if you don't get the ball first time, then you can recover and try again – go to ground and you can't.

Fran Mitchell
40 Posted 20/02/2018 at 11:13:46
One of the few players in our squad who i'd be sad to see go. A very good player who, if he left, would go to a top 6 team.

Pickford, Coleman, Davies, Gueye, Sigurdsson, Walcott, and Calvert-Lewin are the only first team players I really want to stay at the club, maybe Holgate, maybe Tosun (give him a chance first).

Vlasic, Lookman, Dowell, Baningime from the fringes & loanees.

A midfield of Gueye, Davies and another, more creative central midfielder has potential (under a decent manager).

Ernie Baywood
41 Posted 20/02/2018 at 11:58:59
Bob, it was almost announced https://ToffeeWeb.com/season/17-18/news/35729.html

I guess we had bigger fish to fry at that time.

Ian Edwards
42 Posted 20/02/2018 at 13:34:20
Gueye needs to learn the role of a holding midfielder. He doesn't hold and protect. He charges after the ball and leaves gaps. I don't often agree with Barton but he was spot on with his appraisal of Gueye.

Sam Hoare
43 Posted 20/02/2018 at 13:53:28
I think he's a very good player. One of our better ones in fact and I'm surprised to see the criticism on here for him.

He is second highest rated for tackles per game in the Premier League. He's pretty high up there for interceptions too. So he's pretty damn good at his job which is to win us the ball back in the middle of the park.

Yes, his passing is not top notch and his discipline does sometimes leave gaps but if he didn't have these flaws then he'd be playing for a top 4 team rather than us.

I think he is comfortably the best defensive midfielder we have currently and I'm glad to hear he's sticking around.

John Pierce
44 Posted 20/02/2018 at 15:17:22
Yet again the lack of any professional communications officer at the club strikes. I'm amazed the player didn't leak it himself. Why all the hush? Incompetence the likely culprit, Tosun's announcement further evidence.

The player himself is part of a midfield which is deficient individually but greater than the sum of its parts. As soon as that balance is broken he becomes exposed. No Davies and Rooney – he is just a dude running round the pitch. The same goes for the other two to be fair.

His role is to break up play and get us into transition. He can do the first part adequately enough but the rest of his is too poor to affect the game. As a Premier League player you must have more strings to your bow than just interceptions & tackles.

If Everton had their shit together he'd be a squad member; he is already at his maximum as a player, without a marked ability to pass and chip in 5 goals per year an upgrade is required.

The very definition of average, made to look better than that by the defensive shithousery we've played under Koeman & Allardyce.

If we genuinely played a more attacking style higher up the pitch, his weaknesses would be more overtly exposed.

Terry Underwood
45 Posted 20/02/2018 at 15:39:41
Okay, he doesn't score many goals, but he is a proper defensive midfielder. He tackles and intercepts, he does the graft so that others can get the glory. For me, one of the hardest workers and most effective players we have.
Tom Bowers
46 Posted 20/02/2018 at 15:43:31
Yes, his work would be more appreciated if the team was playing well. He does graft hard but sometimes I think he needs a little something extra in his game.

Similar in style to Kante of Chelski.

Bobby Mallon
47 Posted 20/02/2018 at 16:09:26
John Pierce @44,

Isn't that the same for all midfielders / footballers. When you become a footballer, you end up being a forward, midfielder or defender. If you are a defensive midfielder, like Gueye, then running about putting tackles in is his job. It only becomes difficult when the likes of Schneiderlin or his other midfielders don't do their tackling part.

He is a cracking defensive midfielder who should be told to not cross the halfway line. Just break up the play and give it to players further forward to create things and drop into the fullback or central defensive role when those guys go forward. Simple.

Adam Scott
48 Posted 20/02/2018 at 16:45:46
I think any comparison with Kante is unfair, as Kante is a far better player than Gana.

That being said, as someone else has said, I would rather have a team with him than without him, especially over the next few years.

For all the talk of Arsenal etc, I think that he is probably at his level with us. Good in the tackle, a real worker, but lacking in ability beyond this to really be a top 6 player.

Joe Foster
49 Posted 20/02/2018 at 16:49:04
I think "as a pair" is a thing and a thing that, if it works well, it can be an asset, ie, Baines and Pienaar.
Stephen Williams
50 Posted 20/02/2018 at 16:55:39
I just don't understand the argument against him that he doesn't score goals, provide assists or produce defence splitting passes. Neither does Pickford and he isn't criticised. The reason? Because its not his job – exactly the same as its not Gana's.

Gana is there to patrol, and protect the space, in front of the centre halfs (someone must have access to stats on where goals are scored from – I don't but I'd place good money on a very high percentage are scored within the width of the 18-yard 'D' – exactly where the centre-halves should be and the defensive mid should patrol). When he isn't preoccupied with having to cover the all too evident shortcomings of other centre-midfielders, he does that job admirably. Very happy to have him.

Indeed most teams worth their salt have (just) one player performing the same role – Fernandinho, Matic, Dier, Kante, Casemiro, Martinez, Busquets. None of these are renowned for their creative abilities. Not saying that Gana is at that level (but in my opinion he is very good), but demonstrating that a defensive shield is deemed essential in better teams than us.

I wouldn't 'pair' him with anyone, instead I'd let him patrol on his own, with no licence to venture forward which should be the preserve of other creative types.

Jay Harris
51 Posted 20/02/2018 at 16:59:17
I totally disagree with those calling him average.

He has been MotM on many occasions and when the team were playing well last season he was the standout performer.

He has suffered from the club malaise this season but is still one of the few box-to-box midfielders we have and what an engine he has.

Comparisons with Kante are valid and I'm sure if he replaced Kante in the Chelsea team you would hardly know the difference.

The quality of our midfield is poor by comparison with the top teams but Gana is a class above.

Dermot Byrne
52 Posted 20/02/2018 at 17:06:05
I agree, Joe (#49). Earlier in the thread, I was really just saying it is daft to judge a player without taking into account the team around him. When someone mentioned that was not the case and gave Superman as the defining example to prove me wrong it mixed with a bad day and a created a less than PhD standard response from me. The guilt has been with me all day!
Ian Bennett
53 Posted 20/02/2018 at 17:06:19
He's one the few who'd fit into a top 4 squad. Definitely a keep.
Tony Marsh
54 Posted 20/02/2018 at 18:23:00
This re-signing of an oldish average Joe is like so many other decisions made by the club that keep us treading water in midtable... Top 4 player? Come on – get real.

Gueye is a plodder and a spoiler, that's it. We won't ever progress with players like this. He's just not dynamic enough with no match-winning qualities whatsoever. A poor waste of resources.

Lyndon Lloyd
55 Posted 20/02/2018 at 18:49:18
Tony (#54), "a poor waste of resources"?

Surrounded with the right players (which we are only now starting to do), he's one of the most important players in our team, particularly with McCarthy injured. He's the one who tackles everything that moves and is, in that sense, vital.

"Old-ish"? He's 28!

Dermot Byrne
56 Posted 20/02/2018 at 18:49:33
With a creative team around him, Tony, a good "spoiler"
Frank Wade
57 Posted 20/02/2018 at 18:54:16
I'm a big fan of Gana. He is a specialist in tackles and interceptions, gives everything. I was at the Boro match, one of his early games, and everyone around me in the Gwladys Street were laughing at how effective he was in retrieving possession. He could be a better passer and finisher or all-rounder, but in his early days, he usually had an easy pass to find Barry or Barkley.

If he could add to his abilities in other areas, he would most certainly be cherished by one of the big clubs. The beauty of football is the piecing together of 11 players with various levels of skills and attributes and getting them to gel together in a plan to play winning football. Appreciate what he has. He sometimes ships terrible unwarranted abuse on the LIve Forum for missing a chance or misplacing a pass.

Ray Robinson
58 Posted 20/02/2018 at 18:56:24
Nobby Styles was just a spoiler in 1966 but, with the right players around him, England won the World Cup. It's all a question of balance, as the Moody Blues once sang.
Ian Brandes
59 Posted 20/02/2018 at 19:05:50
Nowhere near as good as Leon Osman, who could actually make the midfield tick, and pass to his team-mates – unlike most of our current crop.
Björn Kausemann
60 Posted 20/02/2018 at 19:32:50
Good to have him here. Best signing the last two seasons.

One of the most important players in our XI.

Ian Bennett
62 Posted 20/02/2018 at 20:02:39
Yes Tony, he's capable of getting in a top 4 squad. Apart from Pickford, and maybe Davies or Lookman in a couple of years, I don't see anyone else who would get near.

Is Gueye as good as Can, Henderson, Fernandinho, Bakayoko, Matic, Drinkwater etc. Yes, I think he could keep those out of a side as a defensive midfielder, in my opinion.

John G Davies
63 Posted 20/02/2018 at 20:35:52
All correct except Fernandinho, Ian @62.
Tony Abrahams
64 Posted 20/02/2018 at 20:40:07
He's been good, he's been bad, he's been indifferent...?

Good, when he's played the defensive role by himself, bad, when he's played with Schneiderlin, and his head has gone on more than a couple of occasions, which has resulted in him not even being able to pass the ball, and indifferent, because he's been playing in a very average team this season, with nowhere near enough creativity, to make the role that he plays look effective, once he's won the ball?

Phil Bellis
65 Posted 20/02/2018 at 20:55:16
Reminds me so much of Dennis Stevens (sorry, younger readers).

Not a Tony Kay / Peter Reid but would be a great foil, as was Stevens, to the creative players – when we play some!

Pat Kelly
66 Posted 20/02/2018 at 20:56:07
Committed his future to the Blues until 2022. Really?? Contracts mean next to nothing when a player decides to go.
John Pierce
67 Posted 20/02/2018 at 22:18:40
Tony, about right is that. We set up so defensively he looks like the best player on the pitch. And maybe he has been, but reframe the question: Why the hell should our holding midfielder be MotM most of the time?

That tells you we are not playing the right style of football when players of ilk of Rooney, Sigurdsson et al are not influencing games.


Andy Williams
68 Posted 20/02/2018 at 23:19:21
He has suffered this season for the same reason the rest of the team has suffered. The players are not close enough together.

Watch Man City, there is always another player close to either offer an outlet or mop up a tackle. It is no coincidence that he is far more effective without that No 2 playing beside him. Only Kante came close to him last year and this year he is second best tackler whilst playing fewer games.

Yes, he could do some things better but he is incredibly good at what he is supposed to do. If the rest of the team were as effective at doing what they are supposed to do, then we wouldn't have had the crap season that we have.

Tony Abrahams
69 Posted 21/02/2018 at 18:48:39
John @67,

I agree that we have set up too defensively since Allardyce came to Everton, but I would honestly say that 50% of me is glad about that.

Without wanting to get into arguments with anyone about the West Ham game, I personally thought he had come into a train-wreck of a football team, and I'm sure we had conceded the most goals in the division at this time?

Liverpool in the league was awful, but to play any other way at the time might have led to a lot more embarrassment, so I begrudgingly accepted it, but probably more because of Klopp's antics, I suppose.

West Brom, and Bournemouth, hurt most I think, with the phrase a Leopard never changes its spots, springing into many minds, but I accepted it myself personally because I think you have to keep repeating things, if you want to really instill them into your team?

He felt the back-lash, and I thought we were unlucky at Anfield in the cup, then Spurs outclassed us, once the defenders never got really the protection they needed against a really good team.

Lucky to get a point against West Brom at Goodison, but much better against Leicester, until we gave away a penalty, then absolutely disgusting at Arsenal, but much better against Palace.

People hate Allardyce, I'm not sure many want him to stay, but only now will I really start to judge him, and I honestly think we are now going to start to improve.

If we do I still don't think it's going to make much difference with regards the manager, because it seems personal (the hatred) with too many of our crowd, even though it was Koeman and Walsh who have wasted all the money.

My own view is that Allardyce will make Everton very, very competitive given time, but I'm not sure how much everyone will enjoy it though, because I'm not sure it will be pretty?

James Power
70 Posted 21/02/2018 at 19:27:49
I think Gueye is ‘okay' not great but not bad. He is ‘in the mould' of Kante but not in the same class. Being great on interceptions is wonderful and tackles too but those are two aspects of a game, not an end result.

Positional play, passing ability, heading (remember heading the ball? Midfielders should be half decent at this!), organising (not sure who does that nowadays – communication) scoring the odd goal perhaps.

Doesn't influence the game enough for me and doesn't have the ability to drag the team up by the bootstraps if his ‘partner' is having a shocker. Sometimes you have to do this and I don't believe he can. Does he warrant a place in the team at the minute, probably, but it's a bad team so...

Dermot Byrne
71 Posted 21/02/2018 at 19:48:05
Know what you mean, James, but can he be taught to pass? Maybe not.
James Power
72 Posted 21/02/2018 at 20:12:13
Good point, Dermot, it's easier if things are going well. You receive better ball and it helps your ability to control it and move it on as well doesn't it? I don't know I'm a little stuck on players being able to do more than a couple of things that can be judged by Opta.

Add Your Comments

In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.

» Log in now

Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site.


About these ads