Allan Saint-Maximin (now playing for Al-Ahli)

[Kid Icarus]

Thought he was much better last night tbh, passed it when he should have and ran with it when he should have. If his finishing and final ball was better at the moment I think most people would be loving it.

[MrRaspberryJam]

Looked better last night. Seemed to more purpose in his running with the ball. 

[alexf]

18 minutes ago, HTT II said:

St. Minimum again last night for me, and again with half hearted tracking back, stopping on the half-way line hands on hips blowing out of his arse while even Shelvey is frantically racing back into position. I think he could do with a spell on the bench (bring Willock in).

 

Didn't see the game live last night, but I'll say the same thing I say to a guy in my team who sits deep and then screams at you to get back. Its alot more draining, going on long lung busting sprints with the ball then expected to sprint back again, than it is to sit in deep. ?

[relámpago blanco]

14 minutes ago, Kid Icarus said:

Thought he was much better last night tbh, passed it when he should have and ran with it when he should have. If his finishing and final ball was better at the moment I think most people would be loving it.

Yep, I think he is starting to take on board what EH has been drilling into him.  He passes a lot more now.

[mofo]

Looked better last night, he is desperate for a goal to lift his confidence. Doesn’t help that as soon as he get’s the ball people are screaming ‘PASS’ even when there is nothing on…. Also really hope I’m wrong but sure I heard boo’s when his name was announced before KO.

[AJ9]

He’s clearly a complex character that needs to feel his way into games. I don’t really think he’s ever going to lose that trait of flapping his arms around in frustration either. I do enjoy when he plays but ultimately I think he’s probably not good enough for where we want to be. 

 

 

Edited April 21, 2022 by AJ9

[Tiresias]

I dunno, maybe I'm pessimistic but I don't think we'll be quickly at a level where ASM isn't potentially a game changer for us, he is no doubt one of the most gifted wingers in the league still in some ways but he is definitely frustrating. I never liked the slating he got under Bruce at times when as poor as he could be he was at least the only way we were ever going to get up the pitch at all. It feels like he's always either brilliant or awful in everyones eyes whereas he's been frequently middling. He often has a frustrating game and yet is crucial in moves leading up to goals still.

 

I think there is a difficulty, if we are playing on the counter, like we were under Bruce, he can be brilliant because the whole team couldnt fucking pass so we just relied on ASM to get the ball once a game and run through opposition who were all overcommited up the pitch as they thought these twats are useless we are going to win this easy no need to defend. 

 

Now we are pressing higher and pushing up the pitch he struggles because teams are putting effort into defending him and he has way less space to run into. I am thinking about how Guardiola used to use Sterling really wide on the left to drag defenders out of the position and then the left back and the left midfield would pile into the vacated space, I wonder if that is what should be going on in future. 

 

I just think we needs to be not reliant on him so he is less frustrating and then see about if Howe can coach him back to his best, where he's beating the last man in a defence rather than getting lost in a cul de sac

[KaKa]

Yeah, lots of great points in your post. The key one being the lack of space to run into right away because we are now playing with more purpose to take the game to teams, and with more of a pressing style, rather than sitting deep, which leaves a lot of running room to break into on the counter.

 

He now needs to adjust his mindset and look to release the ball very early and look to work quicker one-twos to then release him into space higher up the pitch. I don't think he quite sees that yet, and is still looking to just go straight into dribbling a multitude of players. We'll see if he can figure it out.

 

 

Edited April 21, 2022 by KaKa

[jarralad]

I think the fact that he isn't our top player anymore is playing on his mind.

[Menace]

8 minutes ago, jarralad said:

I think the fact that he isn't our top player anymore is playing on his mind.

 

And we're no longer shite also. I wouldn't be arsed if he's moved on to be honest. He's not really been that effective in the turn of form we've had.

[SUPERTOON]

Got to give him a chance with better attacking players in the team.

[Yorkie]

Feel like that is a totally baseless and unfair thing to throw at him. He's emotional and stroppy and will milk the crowd's affection, but I see absolutely nothing to suggest he's more interested in the limelight than he is the team's progress. You just have to look at his reaction to our last two winners. 

[Guest neesy111]

He's in a period of readjustment.

 

1) He's not the focal point of the team now.

2) He's not getting the slack he did under Bruce for all of his off the field excursions etc.

 

He's still playing well in patches.

 

However he should stop doing that run is does across the whole of the backline from left to right constantly, it's so utterly predictable when he's going to do it.

 

 

Edited April 21, 2022 by neesy111

[Groundhog63]

2 minutes ago, Yorkie said:

Feel like that is a totally baseless and unfair thing to throw at him. He's emotional and stroppy and will milk the crowd's affection, but I see absolutely nothing to suggest he's more interested in the limelight than he is the team's progress. You just have to look at his reaction to our last two winners. 

Agree, totally. Was all over Migi and straight off the bench v Leicester

[The College Dropout]

Upgradeable.

 

[Fantail Breeze]

His form is really poor, no goals or assists since 15 January. 

 

I don’t know if it’s because he’s not allowed to do whatever he wants, as he was under Bruce, and he now actually has to play as part of a structured team.

 

We should stick with him as we bring better players in next season for sure, but he needs to step it up.

[Kanji]

He’s for sure fallen out of form - the things he’s usually pulling off he simply isn’t. That Everton home game was the last time he was truly at his best. All good though. It’ll come back. 

[Tiotes Witch Doctor]

I appreciate why people would want to hold onto him and give him a chance, but this guy isn't it for me.

 

If you want someone to make a good highlight reel of cutting away before the end product bit he's your man, but in terms of kicking on we need wingers on both sides who regularly contribute goals and assists.

 

His form is patchy and he's injured a fair bit (though not so much this season) 

 

Not an immediate priority but similar to to Dubravka, we should be looking to upgrade down the line.

[The College Dropout]

51 minutes ago, Tiotes Witch Doctor said:

I appreciate why people would want to hold onto him and give him a chance, but this guy isn't it for me.

 

If you want someone to make a good highlight reel of cutting away before the end product bit he's your man, but in terms of kicking on we need wingers on both sides who regularly contribute goals and assists.

 

His form is patchy and he's injured a fair bit (though not so much this season) 

 

Not an immediate priority but similar to to Dubravka, we should be looking to upgrade down the line.

Aye - we need someone who can get 15-20 goal contributions from wide. Jarrod Bowen, Zaha & Raphinha levels of output and he's a step behind that. Some of us like to think he's functioning at that level but he's not. He's more Leandro Trossard.

[Papavasiliou]

Not sure what people want from him half the time. He made runs last night that had nobody really showing for the ball ahead of him. Wood especially didn't look for the ball he looked to make space for ASM to shoot. If he wasn't trying to shoot or beat players he'd have to turn and drop it back 30 yards to Shelvey most of the time. 

[The Butcher]

 

[Bondedcrown]

[Shak]

The fact that he's clearly trying to adapt his game to fit in better is a real credit to him, it's not coming off right now but it would be a shame not to give him more time IMO.

 

Feels like next season will be a transitional one for us anyway so hopefully we give him a year to see if he can grow into the player we all want him to be. If Howe would prefer to move him and spend the money on a replacement I'm fine with it but I hope not.

 

In the wide positions, I'd like to see us bring in a first choice RW and then maybe a highly rated youngster, moving on from Murphy.

 

ASM, Almiron, Fraser and two new wide men would be a good group IMO, especially if we can add a quality striker.

[David Edgar]

40 minutes ago, Papavasiliou said:

Not sure what people want from him half the time. He made runs last night that had nobody really showing for the ball ahead of him. Wood especially didn't look for the ball he looked to make space for ASM to shoot. If he wasn't trying to shoot or beat players he'd have to turn and drop it back 30 yards to Shelvey most of the time. 

 

This isn't true.  He ignores easy passed to attempt wasteful dribbles in areas where losing the ball allows for a quick opposition counter.

[TRon]

5 hours ago, KaKa said:

Yeah, lots of great points in your post. The key one being the lack of space to run into right away because we are now playing with more purpose to take the game to teams, and with more of a pressing style, rather than sitting deep, which leaves a lot of running room to break into on the counter.

 

He now needs to adjust his mindset and look to release the ball very early and look to work quicker one-twos to then release him into space higher up the pitch. I don't think he quite sees that yet, and is still looking to just go straight into dribbling a multitude of players. We'll see if he can figure it out.

 

 

 

 

Honestly I just don't see him ever being that player. He's trying to do it a bit now, but often still holds onto it a fraction too long. It goes against every instinct in his body.

Would definitely be interesting to see what he would look like surrounded by better players, but I think ultimately he'd still want to dribble for the sake of dribbling. It's what he's about.