Mathieu Debuchy

[mrmojorisin75]

People are absolutely ridiculous about Simpson. He's not great, but you'd think he was in a fucking wheelchair the way some go on about him.

 

i think he's ok against "lesser" teams than chelsea say where our more talented players can impose themselves and leave him to simply be a defender but in games the likes of saturday he costs you a chance at getting into/back into the game imho as in a tight match like that he's incapable of beating a man or picking a tight pass forward to one of his teammates, the opposition obviously can see this and therefore pressure his side more...hba was up against one of the best lb's in the world supported by another in bertrand and he simply had to try and do it all on his own

 

i'd love to see one of those pass analysis graphs for him vs. chelsea like, i only remember one decent cross from him the entire match and when he hit it thought he was too deep and lacked real options but hit it anyway as he didn't know what else to do (i'm not saying it was that bad like, just seemed that bad)

[Guest BooBoo]

If we dont get Debuchy then we still have a number of players who can play RB and I'm the camp of "Simpson's really not that bad". It's not ideal but we can live with Simpson, Perch or Raylor all filling that position.

 

For me, having lost Lovenkrands and more critically Best, we have to get a striker in. We have three senior forwards, one of which in Ameobi is too injury pre and cannot be relied on for goals. If we start September with this pool of forwards, then I'm afraid a wheel will enevitably fall off sooner or later, considering the likely demands of our fixtures.

[McCormick]

 

 

He's easily our weakest link and offers absolutely nothing going forward; people are just frustrated that we haven't made the signing  that everyone knows would improve us. That leads to people lamenting the fact that he starts and consequently exaggerating his ineptitude.

 

Like the first bit in bold doing whay you say in the 2nd?

 

Wouldn't say that was an exaggeration myself, his qualities are in the defensive aspect of his game. Speaking in relative terms, i think contributing "absolutely nothing going forward" is a reasonably sound evaluation tbh.

[dcmk]

The label that 'Simpson offers nothing going forward'  is hugely over exaggerated imo, I would hazard a guess his cross completion is a far greater percentage than Santon's.  Obviously he's not as good on the ball, but crossing is a big part of being a full back and something that he's not bad at.

[Ghandis Flip-Flop]

I think not paying over the odds or being held to ransom is fine. However at a certain point we should simply move on and persue other targets instead of playing a potentially dangerous game of bluff where we could conceivably end up with no one.

 

I'm sure Debuchy isn't the only right back in world football who would improve our first 11 and would be prepared to come to us.

[McCormick]

The label that 'Simpson offers nothing going forward'  is hugely over exaggerated imo, I would hazard a guess his cross completion is a far greater percentage than Santon's.  Obviously he's not as good on the ball, but crossing is a big part of being a full back and something that he's not bad at.

 

Disagree. His crossing is what lets him down most of the time; Santon is a right footer playing at left-back which means he's often cutting in on his right or crossing the ball with his weaker foot.

[Dave]

I think not paying over the odds or being held to ransom is fine. However at a certain point we should simply move on and persue other targets instead of playing a potentially dangerous game of bluff where we could conceivably end up with no one.

 

I'm sure Debuchy isn't the only right back in world football who would improve our first 11 and would be prepared to come to us.

 

Presumably one of a very few we've scouted at such length though, and that's the sticking point. The club have said on numerous occasions that they won't sign someone they don't know all about. There's still a chance with Debuchy and that's why we haven't gone elsewhere. I still think it's bonkers that we didn't buy Nathaniel Clyne mind.

[Dyeyzzon]

His crosses are just depressing to watch tbh. He does them early, and it's often a high ball without curl or pace at all that's easy for any keeper to take. It often lands nearer to the edge of the area than in the danger zones too. As for his attacking intent, just hound him and it will force him into his second favorite pass: the pass back to Taylor/Williamson/whoever our RCB is. And don't get me started on his favorite pass - the hoof.

[mrmojorisin75]

it's not his crossing that's the issue anyway, he's not so bad at putting a cross into a decent area imo

 

his problem is his general all round play and ability on the ball when in advanced positions, if he's not passing it backwards or crossing it he seems to be fucked for ideas and the opposition know this

[Mick]

 

 

Wouldn't say that was an exaggeration myself, his qualities are in the defensive aspect of his game. Speaking in relative terms, i think contributing "absolutely nothing going forward" is a reasonably sound evaluation tbh.

 

I know I can't often make this claim but so far this season he's our only player with an assist from open play and he was putting in crosses against Chelsea that nobody got on the end of, or at least nothing came from them.  I'd have Debuchy in a heartbeat as I think he'll upgrade what we've got.  I just don't think Simpson is as bad as made out, he can defend and has offered more this season going forward than normal, maybe he can learn and move his game on.

[Dave]

Is Debuchy a good defender btw? When I saw him with France he was most impressive pushing forward. Haven't seen any more of him.

[Guest BooBoo]

Is Debuchy a good defender btw? When I saw him with France he was most impressive pushing forward. Haven't seen any more of him.

 

Looked like a Johnny Beresford type full back to me- very keen to get forward, comfortable on the ball but not a blood and thunder defender. That's just on the France games I saw as never seen him otherwise.

[mrmojorisin75]

 

 

Wouldn't say that was an exaggeration myself, his qualities are in the defensive aspect of his game. Speaking in relative terms, i think contributing "absolutely nothing going forward" is a reasonably sound evaluation tbh.

 

I know I can't often make this claim but so far this season he's our only player with an assist from open play and he was putting in crosses against Chelsea that nobody got on the end of, or at least nothing came from them.  I'd have Debuchy in a heartbeat as I think he'll upgrade what we've got.  I just don't think Simpson is as bad as made out, he can defend and has offered more this season going forward than normal, maybe he can learn and move his game on.

 

imo at times he was putting in crosses when he shouldn't be, ba & cisse on their own with 5 chelsea players around them (or whatever) with the ball being launched from deep, NEVER from the byline of course...strikers are rarely ever gonna get goals from that type of cross

 

this is my problem with simpson in a nutshell

[Mick]

Is Debuchy a good defender btw? When I saw him with France he was most impressive pushing forward. Haven't seen any more of him.

 

He's not a bad defender but I guarantee that if we get him he'll get caught out of position in the way Simpson does and nothing will be said.  Where he’ll upgrade Simpson will be his quality when he puts a cross in and he looks more comfortable on the ball.

[oldtype]

It kind of makes sense for us to have a more defensive-minded fullback on the right given that it's often difficult for Ben Arfa to contribute to defending due to the fact that he's always drifting towards the middle of the pitch.

 

It works the other way as well because that creates a lot of space for an attacking fullback to overlap into, but still, something to think about.

[Dyeyzzon]

Is Debuchy a good defender btw? When I saw him with France he was most impressive pushing forward. Haven't seen any more of him.

 

Not worse than Simpson defensively, but comparing their attacking abilities is just like comparing Spain with Stoke tbf.

[gazza ladra]

Having a player that can overlap and attack effectively will help Ben Arfa.

[mrmojorisin75]

It kind of makes sense for us to have a more defensive-minded fullback on the right given that it's often difficult for Ben Arfa to contribute to defending due to the fact that he's always drifting towards the middle of the pitch.

 

It works the other way as well because that creates a lot of space for an attacking fullback to overlap into, but still, something to think about.

 

for all the good he is on the ball might as well swap santon and simpson to try and have santon making runs off ben arfa then, if you want different types

 

one thing i noticed a lot saturday was the amount of times santon made runs either with or slightly ahead of jonas and they invariably just ended as nothing with him stopping short of going beyond their fullback, not sure if he didn't have the confidence that jonas would pick the pass or what but it happened a lot, he just ended up stopping in his tracks

[mrmojorisin75]

Having a player that can overlap and attack effectively will help Ben Arfa.

[Mick]

 

 

imo at times he was putting in crosses when he shouldn't be, ba & cisse on their own with 5 chelsea players around them (or whatever) with the ball being launched from deep, NEVER from the byline of course...strikers are rarely ever gonna get goals from that type of cross

 

this is my problem with simpson in a nutshell

 

I agree with that, if we are to score from a Simpson cross it's going to be by something other than a header as his crosses rarely are hit with pace.

[Shak]

Aye, the problem isn't that Simpson can't cross (he's a poor crosser of the ball, but it's not THAT important for a fullback to be able to cross the ball), that's not what I mean when I say he offers nothing going forward.

 

The problem is that when we're in possession we can't really rely on Simpson to receive the ball and distribute it effectively, even at a fairly basic level. Under any sort of pressure whatsoever he'll generally just hoof the ball forward.

 

He's not a terrible RB by any means. He's defensively alright and is a good athlete. But if we're serious about progressing and challenging for Europe on a consistent basis then we have to do better IMO.

[ATB]

Fine, I can agree with those that think Simpson is an good defender, or what ever. But that´s it.

 

Therefore how anyone can be scarified with not replacing him this summer is just silly

There are no excuses. No excuses whats so ever.

[Dave]

Always makes me laugh to think of the contrast between the amount of speculation that goes on and the actual activity at the club btw. Llambias is probably sat there doing nothing more than smoking a cig, struggling with the Daily Sport crossword and scratching his arse. Occasionally looking up as the fax machine receives yet another of those unsolicited adverts that people who work in offices will know of.

[ATB]

I don´t agree with him being a good crosser. He is a poor crosser, a bad footballer and an ok defender. But to only have one attribute at the top of the professional level isn´t good enough.

[Barnes23]

He's not that good of a defender - a midtable premier league one on a good day, maybe. His positional sense is often terrible, as is his decision making about when and when not to tackle.