Myles Lewis-Skelly: Spooky Scary Skelly

[Yousif Arsenal]

It's happened to Bellerin after an impressive first breakout season.

At the time of Bellerin's second season where positional errors were creeping into his game I stated on here something like "his young consistency will come with experience and he will iron out the errors and inconsistent performances".

I will keep the same energy with MLS.

That said, Bellerin got worse and worse each season after the second season and became the worse Arsenal RB in my lifetime.

Ballerin didn't take football seriously he wanted to enjoy off field life and his skills gone downhill also not to forget ballerin done ACL thankfully for mls no serious injury suffered and he more focused on football so its all about improving he only 19

 

[Dennis_Bergkamp_10]

He's defensively suspect, has no recovery speed. And that's not just based on yesterday or the fact that he's young.

He should be played in midfield, and if Mikel can't give him that he should get a loan where he can.

 

[Rasmi]

The warning signs were there last season and some people actually brought them up. He constantly got caught on the ball and was being bailed out by fouls as he could never sort himself out and create space to pass

This happens every game. He receives the ball, shields it and look for contact to hold the player off. That shows his ability to think is just not quick enough

 

[MutableEarth]

The warning signs were there last season and some people actually brought them up. He constantly got caught on the ball and was being bailed out by fouls as he could never sort himself out and create space to pass

This happens every game. He receives the ball, shields it and look for contact to hold the player off. That shows his ability to think is just not quick enough

This is a fundamental misunderstanding of the player. He doesn't do this because he can't think quickly enough as he has shown the ability to do so - he does it because he trusts his body (although in recent games not as much) to be able to withstand contact. He baits players into challenges before taking away the ball, something he has done throughout his young career from youth levels all the way until now. I think his poor form is largely exacerbating the negatives that come with this type of play, but this is a symptom of Lewis-Skelly's bravery in possession rather than him being slow in thought.

He may need to temporarily switch it up to regain his confidence but ultimately I don't wish for him to change this about his game at all.

 

[Rasmi]

This is a fundamental misunderstanding of the player. He doesn't do this because he can't think quickly enough as he has shown the ability to do so - he does it because he trusts his body (although in recent games not as much) to be able to withstand contact. He baits players into challenges before taking away the ball, something he has done throughout his young career from youth levels all the way until now. I think his poor form is largely exacerbating the negatives that come with this type of play, but this is a symptom of Lewis-Skelly's bravery in possession rather than him being slow in thought.

He may need to temporarily switch it up to regain his confidence but ultimately I don't wish for him to change this about his game at all.

I’m n football if you can avoid contact with players when you have the ball you do it. No matter how you twist it, it’s a bad habit he has where he receives the ball and instead of moving with it slows down to feel the player

 

[Tourbillion]

This is a fundamental misunderstanding of the player. He doesn't do this because he can't think quickly enough as he has shown the ability to do so - he does it because he trusts his body (although in recent games not as much) to be able to withstand contact. He baits players into challenges before taking away the ball, something he has done throughout his young career from youth levels all the way until now. I think his poor form is largely exacerbating the negatives that come with this type of play, but this is a symptom of Lewis-Skelly's bravery in possession rather than him being slow in thought.

He may need to temporarily switch it up to regain his confidence but ultimately I don't wish for him to change this about his game at all.

Has he always been this slow though?

 

[MutableEarth]

Has he always been this slow though?

No, he definitely looks much slower than normal (tentative, lack of fitness, loss of confidence?) but he was never that fast to begin with. He's one of those players who is faster when he has the ball (i.e. dribbles at speed). I was always worried about him being a LB because defending big spaces behind him is not something he should really be doing. In front of a defence he looks much more secure, but as an actual defender? It's an area of weakness. That said, I do think he's been telegraphing a lot, including when he contests his duels lately. Definitely feel there's a bit of a confidence loss at play here.

I’m n football if you can avoid contact with players when you have the ball you do it. No matter how you twist it, it’s a bad habit he has where he receives the ball and instead of moving with it slows down to feel the player

Tell that to Bukayo Saka, because he does the same thing. I've spoken about it at length on the forum already - anticipating contact and using their body to create space behind the defender is one of the main areas of strength (usually) when it comes to our best Hale End talents and carrying the ball. Whether you think it's a bad habit or not, it's intentional rather than a product of slow processing speed.

 

[Bloodbather]

Almost like a second syndrome for young players is a real thing.

Some reactions are OTT on here. No he is not done. We dont have to sell him. Lets finish the season strongly, there is a big talent there in this player.

He's definitely not done, but we should be done playing him at LB this season. Teams are exploiting his weaknesses every time he plays there. He wanders about and doesn’t have the pace to get back after a turn of possession. Teams realize this now and attack it when he comes on.

Play him in midfield. Him at LB should only be a last resort at this point.

Either way, my biggest disappointment about MLS this season has been his intensity, or lack thereof. He's done a complete 180 in that regard compared to last season. Went from almost too fiery and assertive to too laid back and passive.

 

[MutableEarth]

Either way, my biggest disappointment about MLS this season has been his intensity, or lack thereof. He's done a complete 180 in that regard compared to last season. Went from almost too fiery and assertive to too laid back and passive.

This I 100% agree with. Not playing with any real fire in his belly. You could see last night he had that one moment when he completely blitzes Liverpool's player (think it's Szoboszlai) and arrows it into an offside Martinelli's path, he was unstoppable in that one microcosm of a moment. I have not seen enough of that intensity over the course of the season.

I think he will recover it, he's too good a talent not to and seems to have the right attitude in terms of his approach off the pitch so this should be temporary.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

IMO when it was obvious last season that teams would be using that ultra low block against us we should have moved him to midfield right away.

The guy is such a weapon when he has confidence and can turn his player and eat up ground in the midfield. And imo we are sometime missing that in these situations.

 

[Gooner Zig]

He's going through a rough patch but he's in an environment that's unforgiving as we're an elite team trying to win the PL and CL. Zubimendi done him dirty on that one pass that I think everyone is hopping mad about - Zubi looks to hit the space, MLS sees it and duly puts the ball there but then Zubi inexplicably stops his run.

We have to be patient at support the guy.

 

[MutableEarth]

He's going through a rough patch but he's in an environment that's unforgiving as we're an elite team trying to win the PL and CL. Zubimendi done him dirty on that one pass that I think everyone is hopping mad about - Zubi looks to hit the space, MLS sees it and duly puts the ball there but then Zubi inexplicably stops his run.

We have to be patient at support the guy.

Yeah I watched it again on X and Zubimendi stops before he plays the pass into that channel. If I was Lewis-Skelly I'd have probably carried it a bit but it wasn't a bad idea - it was just a flashpoint that typified his form.

He'll pattern it, he's one of the best players I've seen come through.

 

[teamsoutheast]

I have no doubts about Lewis-Skelly's ability. I think him playing in defence will develop his defensive positioning, 1v1 defending, tracking runners and defensive recovery which is key if you want to be a top holding midfielder. He can work on defensive positioning in a smaller space at LB and he'll most likely be training as a midfielder to see where there are any improvements.

I think he'll get better as he gets older and he's still got a bit of body growth as he's only 19. By 22 I think he'll be quite powerful providing he stays fit and free from injury. Yes, it does look bad when he gets beaten so easily but he'll improve IMO.

 

[Red London]

It’s obvious MLS is a confidence player, and he’s still a young kid. He’s an amazing talent who’s showed he can be a good defender. Not a fan of people getting on his back.

Fans can be so distasteful sometimes. Support your players through the rough patches rather than trying to instantly discard them.

 

[Trilly]

Tell that to Bukayo Saka, because he does the same thing. I've spoken about it at length on the forum already - anticipating contact and using their body to create space behind the defender is one of the main areas of strength (usually) when it comes to our best Hale End talents and carrying the ball. Whether you think it's a bad habit or not, it's intentional rather than a product of slow processing speed.

Was literally about to mention Saka.

It’s easier to beat a defender if you initiate contact and roll them than it is to just blow by them tbh.

 

[Blood on the Tracks]

I may be in the minority but I think he's better off staying at LB for a while. Though he should end up in the centre eventually

Concentration, positioning issues and having a bit of sloppiness in his games at times, they'd be much more costly in the centre of the park.

He can get away with a bit more for now at FB.

 

[outlawz]

I may be in the minority but I think he's better off staying at LB for a while. Though he should end up in the centre eventually

Concentration, positioning issues and having a bit of sloppiness in his games at times, they'd be much more costly in the centre of the park.

He can get away with a bit more for now at FB.

He’d have to do all of what he’s doing at LB but with the added risk of it being costly in the middle of the park. Tracking runners and off the ball awareness is doubly important in midfield.

 

[Big Poppa]

It’s obvious MLS is a confidence player, and he’s still a young kid. He’s an amazing talent who’s showed he can be a good defender. Not a fan of people getting on his back.

Finally some sense

 

[TH14shahriar]

Another spooky performance, needs to show his mentality now with Hincapie injured.

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

Gonna be interesting to see how he'll do against Chelsea but teams easily targeting him now and he out of confidence