I don't think we will be looking for one tbh. Our needs are greater in forward areas (and full backs IMO) for 'top level', and in the meantime we will be anticipating Gray/Sarr/Bergvall are developing towards this level...
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Rodrigo Bentancur
- Thread starter Jordinho
- Start date
Gutter Boy
Tim Sherwood
Agree. We've got 3 with enormous potential. Bentancur and Pahlinha will be bridging their emergence in the shorter term. There's also maybe Abbott to factor in too.
And similarly, I don't think we'll look at midfield again till at least summer 2027 now. The next few windows need to be all about LW, LB and CF.
SteveAWOL
Gary Stevens
Bissouma is out of contract next summer, so I assume he’ll be heading elsewhere in January; assuming he gets over his injury by then.
Would love if we could sign a progressive passer like Wharton to anchor midfield but perhaps Gray shall develop into such a player.
Mosquito_Coasting
Milija Aleksic
Watching that it seems like he has either lost mobility or lost confidence in his body. It was terrible when that injury happened, as he looked our best up and coming player back then.
Gutter Boy
Tim Sherwood
Those clips are probably compiled from across 2 seasons with us. I'm sure you'll be able to do a similar one from this season's moments come end of the year.
Mosquito_Coasting
Milija Aleksic
I'm not sure, a couple of times yesterday he tried to be more progressive passing the ball or dribbling it and was caught out.
Stiff_Swede
Ramon Vega
Except for the goal his performance was not good, should have tried to block the first goal instead of standing with his arms behind his back.
As far as I remember he had one forward pass in the first half? I do not think he is the right player to play alongside Palinha!
As far as I remember he had one forward pass in the first half? I do not think he is the right player to play alongside Palinha!
papaspur
Mido
I think that's a little harsh, but I do agree that Palhinha is probably fine on his own as the defensive midfielder. Maybe Frank respected Aston Villa too much? Understandable since they are playing well at the moment.
Bergvall or even Gray might be a better option in terms of keeping us dominant with the ball. To be fair, a lot of our problems today were from up front. Only Kudus seemed to be alive today, with the other three forward players not pulling their collective weight. That's why I'm trying to be fair to Bentancur for how the game went today.
Stiff_Swede
Ramon Vega
Agree but I still think it is a problem with Bentancur being a sideway passer.
braineclipse
Garth Crooks
Seems to me that the two deep midfielders are playing to instructions of being very risk averse.
Bentancur is capable of doing more, but with him it comes with significant risk as he tends to be unaware of what's going on around him.
But if Frank saw their sideways safe passing as a significant problem surely one of them would have been subbed against Villa at 1-1 at some point?
Bullet
Paul Stewart
Agree. Our midfield was so stodgy, Emery brought on Watkins and Buendia to go and win the game, he didn't fear us. Rightly so. We wilted after an hour because the players are knackered and Frank overplays some / won't bring subs on soon enough.
E.g. Bergvall was our double player of the year last year, now he hardly gets a sniff. Johnson scored all our goals last year, now he gets 5 mins. I agree Johnson has MASSIVE flaws but he has pace and can finish, so it is not impossible to utilise those traits in a certain system. Gray hardly gets a sniff either, the kid is class.
E.g. Bergvall was our double player of the year last year, now he hardly gets a sniff. Johnson scored all our goals last year, now he gets 5 mins. I agree Johnson has MASSIVE flaws but he has pace and can finish, so it is not impossible to utilise those traits in a certain system. Gray hardly gets a sniff either, the kid is class.
braineclipse
Garth Crooks
Bergvall was particularly good last season when playing a bit deeper, not as a 10. Gray barely played as a midfielder, but showed clearly what he can do on the ball in tight areas.
Playing them in midfield over Palhinha, Bentancur or Sarr in the pivot would come at a risk. Bergvall showed that when he dropped deep and lost the ball against Monaco that one time.
To me the overall risk of being this stodgy in midfield is greater than the risk that Bergvall or Gray might overplay it and lose it. Or that they will be less defensively aware than some of those more experienced players.
I hope Frank just thinks they need a bit more time.
glasgowspur
Barry Daines
Bergvall lost the ball because he had no one to release it to.
It's a similar discussion to the kulu holding onto the ball too long from the last couple of seasons, they are progressive players, neither of them will just endlessly pass it backward.
We need to get players around them and moving.
Bergvall received the ball in a dangerous position near our box with his back to goal and he could feel a couple of opposition players coming to close him down. In those situations and with no clear forward options, progressive player or not you either play it back to the keeper/defender or just clear it long - not try and dribble out of trouble.
Further forward you can forgive him losing the ball trying to make something happen but when you are that deep receiving the ball you have to recognise the danger especially if as you say he didn't have good options. He has lost it a good few times in those positions, and it's something he will hopefully learn as he is of course still really young....
glasgowspur
Barry Daines
My memory is hazy, but as I recall he turned and beat the first press, looked up and no one was available and got caught with the follow up press.
Our lack of movement is criminal and it has been for years, over multiple managers and multiple squads.
Bishop
Paul Robinson
His first instinct is to dribble, hes not a pass first player. I kind of think him in CM isn't going to solve the issues. Yes he will drive with it, and at times that's going to open up fantastic situations but I don't think he helps the speed of the ball movement or the speed of its rotation because he's not an expansive passer. Maybe given the role he will add that to his game but for the moment its not his strength.
I'd go for Gray or Sarr right now if we just can't get Bentancur to turn back time and turn back into the mini metronome.