truth_hurts
but Holding’s hair transplant was painless
I thought he was good. Very busy and barely lost the ball. Admittedly, he didn't offer much going forwards.
Maybe you're asking too much if you want a player who has the same work rate as he does but is also our main playmaker. That's basically Paul Scholes only without the goals. If a player like that exists today, we're probably talking about 70-100m bracket.He was alright today - honestly, I actually rate his work-rate and tackles more than his passes and dribbles . He puts in a shift and I can always respect that, but he's not as progressive as I'd like him to be.
I was tipped on Torreira sox months before we signed him and I'd keep him if possible. I'd sell all senior midfielders apart from him and Guendouzi. I only watched Xhaka highlights when we were linked and I cant compare him here to his time in Germany as our system was so different/non existent. For me, he was a Gazidis/Stat DNA buy that doesn't suit us. I cant compare him to any player Graham or Wenger (pre 2016) used. I agree with you on Ceballos. For me, both players would do better if we played a three man midfield and they were given a free role. We sort of did that with Ramsey and without top players, its not sustainable long term. As that's not happening, I'd move on from both with no hard feelings.Sorry, I don't follow German football that much but I would guess that they were a mid table club in a league that is less intense than the PL. That's why I'm always saying that Xhaka is a good player to keep us in EL, but for anything more than that we would need an upgrade. I don't buy that story because when you play top teams it's usually not enough that someone will cover for your flaws, every player needs to be great at something and at least good at other stuff.
That is why I always give advantage to Torreira compared to others here, amazing ability to win the ball with decent balling skills, basically what you would expect from your DMC. You know that his partner needs to be a more mobile technical player, but with Xhaka and Ceballos, you have no idea what their partner should bring.
It's not always the case that the 2 midfielders need to be different. We've seen with top Spanish teams that the two midfielders can function if they are technically superior even if they are not ball winners, but Xhaka and Ceballos are nothing like that
I think that if your reaction to Ceballos is to want to loan him again, you're implicitly saying he isn't good enough.
I didn't say I wanted a player who has the same work-rate, I said I respected it. I'm just not having Ceballos personally, he's been very decent last few games but I ultimately don't think he takes us forward personally and given he's only a loan signing, I don't think we should be bringing him in permanently. I haven't been that impressed with him at other points this season. I would even be hesitant to bring him on a second loan. That said, I'm open to having my mind changed!Maybe you're asking too much if you want a player who has the same work rate as he does but is also our main playmaker. That's basically Paul Scholes only without the goals. If a player like that exists today, we're probably talking about 70-100m bracket.
Probably on a second loan he might. Everything points to him wanting to go back to Madrid but I think they might just extend his loan for another season. I'm not completely against that idea, but I still think there are limitations in his game that I'd rather us not have to make concessions for all the time. I think while him and Xhaka have formed a relatively decent pairing together, I'm still very much of the opinion that it's a flat midfield that doesn't progress play as well as I'd like them to. There's just a few too many touches and too little dynamism in terms of speed and breaking lines consistently (either through passing or the odd dribble forward).Is he willing? That's the question.
Probably on a second loan he might. Everything points to him wanting to go back to Madrid but I think they might just extend his loan for another season. I'm not completely against that idea, but I still think there are limitations in his game that I'd rather us not have to make concessions for all the time. I think while him and Xhaka have formed a relatively decent pairing together, I'm still very much of the opinion that it's a flat midfield that doesn't progress play as well as I'd like them to. There's just a few too many touches and too little dynamism in terms of speed and breaking lines consistently (either through passing or the odd dribble forward).
I'm very "ehh" on him staying admittedly. He's playing well right now, but not enough for me to want him here permanently.