triggs Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Personally thought Wijnaldum was fairly good overall in the relegation season for the player that he is, and the criticisms of him going missing/not caring were really over the top and a case of angry fans looking to scapegoat players because the entire team was dross. Wijnaldum's playstyle, facial expressions, etc, made him a very easy target in this sense. It's always easy to label someone as a mercenary when they're not a visibly physical player. In terms of him going missing, it felt like some folk were just expecting him to be something he's not, failing to take into account his limitations as a footballer and the team he was in. He can't actively beat players (he can be slippery but it's not the same thing), he has neat technique but is not particularly skillful, not fast, very average passing, an average shot on him, etc etc. An all round average player with some alright technique, and that's it. He was never going to drag an average or poor team to decent results entirely on his own, nor was he going to start running around like a headless chicken getting knackered after 10 mins, or lunging into bad tackles giving away dangerous free kicks, just to appease some fans who view those things as passion when in truth they're things poor players tends to do to mask how crap they are. In those games where he did play well mainly by scoring, I always felt like it was a combination of the team somewhat attacking more at home (more men forward, more balls into the box, pushed higher up = more opportunities for Wijnaldum to ghost into the box) and also some opposition teams not bothering to track/mark him or having poor tactics or poor defenders. Combine the two and ice that cake with some decent technique and you get the goals he managed to get for us. The rest of the time we were either playing poor or playing away from home (sitting deep, hoofing, poor balls into the box = alot fewer opportunities for Wijnaldum to even get into the box, let alone have a chance at scoring), and I think in some games the tactics involved him playing deep, which is sort of what he does for Liverpool now. In a piss poor team unable to retain the ball of course an average to good footballer like Wijnaldum controlling a ball well, being a tad slippery and passing it simply is going to have little impact. And of course if the opposition teams were just competent at tracking his runs or marking him it meant he posed no goal scoring threat at all, home or away. All of this ties in with how he started the season in hot scoring form but then it all dried up when teams realised he's our only real goal scoring threat and started marking him properly. Maybe there were some games where he wasn't 100% up for it, but I'd give him the benefit of the doubt. Firstly, I can't really blame any players for feeling demotivated under a Mike Ashley regime, so a few dejected performances are tolerable (only a few though). Secondly, he's had plenty of very quiet games for Liverpool, which indicates he's a decent player who can only play well when circumstances permit (rather than playing well all the time, which is what your quality players do). I'd say he probably played better for us than he has for Liverpool, but the current performance levels appear to be higher simply because he's in a far better team. In fact take Liverpool's front 3 out, stick Ayoze, Mitrovic and Obertan in their side up front (i.e. shiite players who can't control a ball at times), and I imagine Wijnaldum as he is now would be getting the levels of stick he got for us because he'd be doing sod all. I don't care that he couldn't dribble, he spent whole 90 minutes of games basically hiding from the ball instead of looking for it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest firetotheworks Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 I'd find it a lot easier to agree with all of that if he hadn't then went on to do exactly the same thing while surrounded by very good footballers at Liverpool. The whole 'Wijnaldum is invisible away from home' thing carried on with Liverpool fans as well. It's squarely on him imo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Away Day Gadgie Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 From what i remember from that season, he looked a lot better and more committed earlier on in the season. But when he realised half the dressing room couldn’t give a fuck he followed suit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
leffe186 Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 I thought we were out of the Checkatrade, but we're playing tonight. Still in the second round though, for some reason. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
triggs Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Al Ain knock River Plate out of the Club World Cup on pens Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Geordie Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Leicester 0 Citeh 1 De Bruyne Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chopey Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Just a casual 1 2 with himself and then place the ball in an area where the keeper is not Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest covmag Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Leicester 0 Citeh 1 De Bruyne They are the best interest rate around for ya money Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickthemagpie Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Al Ain knock River Plate out of the Club World Cup on pens Bloody hell! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nemtizz Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Dortmund 2 down. Belter of a second goal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Burton Albion ahead at Boro. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Geordie Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Boro 1-0 down to Burton Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Geordie Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Solihull pull it back to 2-2 at Blackpool. Winners at home to Arsenal in Round 3. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nemtizz Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 2-1 Alcacer once again. Should be a decent final 10 mins. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Geordie Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Leicester 1 Citeh 1 Albrighton Sounds deserved. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsunami Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Great strike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Spaceman Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Aiden Flint has just missed one of the easiest chances I've ever seen. Boro are going out here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Geordie Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Aiden Flint has just missed one of the easiest chances I've ever seen. Boro are going out here. Pulis on borrowed time? Seem to have come off the rails big time, in recent weeks. Burton win. Boro managed 3 shots on target all game - according to 5Live. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sima Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Burton getting further in the League Cup than we have since 1976 (I think). Halcyon days. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderson Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Fucking hell, last 3 pens have all managed to out shite each other. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Geordie Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Some rubbish pens in the Leicester/City game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsunami Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Awful penalties here Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Geordie Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Citeh through on pens. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderson Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 You'd be fuming as a Leicester fan after those efforts. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 Sterling breathes a sigh of relief Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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