Allan Saint-Maximin (now playing for Fenerbahce, on loan from Al-Ahli)

[Rafalove]

He’s at least fun to watch

[Shearergol]

He’s at least fun to watch

 

He would be in a different team. Not much fun seeing him run with the ball for 70 yards then putting it out for a throw in.

[Guest covmag]

 

I’d simply emigrate if this lad was out the team, gash tonight but we’d be horrendous without him.

[Minhosa]

Our gameplan seems to be... give it to this lad

 

That's all it is. Shame his end product is dire.

 

No good being a world record sprinter if you trip up at 98m every time.

[Ikon]

Takes to long before we manage to get the ball out to him, he's crowded out before he gets it. If we were able to build our play up and move the ball around quickly enough from on side to another or from wherever  then he would receive it and have some more space. Same things goes on all over the pitch. We have no one in the centre who can dictate the play and tempo and daw other players to free up other areas of the pitch. Simply put, no shape or fluidity whatsoever, clueless "team".

[nemtizz]

Even attempting a roulette 2-0 down in the 70th minute is embarrassing, but to fuck it up as well.

 

What a club.

[TRon]

That spin deep in their half, only to run the ball out of play. Sums him up.

 

Agree. He's dangerous, but puts his tricks above the team when it counts. End result, zero goals.

[Zero]

He would be off the coming summer no matter we relegate or not. Big teams know how to bring the best out of ASM.

[Guest reefatoon]

Takes people on with ease, gets into the final third and hasn’t got a clue what to do with it. All ends up pretty pointless with no end product.

[Kanj]

He was literally kicked every time he took someone on.

[geordiedean]

Another one who will never score

[Mr Logic]

Confession re your dating eligibility?

[Consortium of one]

Right now he's our only offensive outlet and he's not good enough to fill that role.  The man needs help.

[Kanj]

He's looked far more likely to score than our #9 and our #24

[SAK]

Don't think he is as bad as some are making out. Had a decent shot that Heaton saved. When he does get into the final third there's no one with him. The rare occasion someone is there they mess it up see pass to Almiron which he miscontrolled and lost the attacking momentum.

[HarmonyFles]

Another one who will never score

 

I'm confident Allan is one who'll eventually come good. He's averaeges one goal(ish) per 10 games throughout his career so he's about due to score now lol

[Raconteur]

He would be off the coming summer no matter we relegate or not. Big teams know how to bring the best out of ASM.

 

Not even "big clubs" - any sensible manager would get more out of him than Brewcie is at the moment. He could be a real asset to a team that had drilled players around him.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

First time I’ve seen him play, albeit for 45 mins only (first half vs Villa). First impression, obviously he has pace, can carry the ball, is a bag of tricks and has some ability.

 

However, from what I saw, he also looks weak under any challenge fronted up directly face to face, over runs/does things at critical moments when required to pause and think more, tries too hard a lot which positionally will be an issue in terms of discipline to the team’s shape, tactics and system, not that I saw any evidence of that, and above all else, I saw no footballing brain/or final ball/final third intelligence in terms of link up play and decision making.

 

He basically seems to play off the cuff, in patches, uninvolved unless with the ball at feet running straight against one v one, over the top or from a break away he suddenly gets to go and try to spring from.

 

In short lots of aye candy, little end product. Similar to Almiron, but with less awareness of a quick playing pass on or not or others around him in which to combine with effectively and simply.

 

A one man show perhaps. He’ll excite, but under Bruce those rough, raw edges of his won’t be smoothed out and fine tuned to develop him into a more rounded player not just all about pace, tricks and dribbling in a direct way. I think Atsu is a better footballer in terms of nous, decision making, team shape discipline and a recognition towards others around him.

 

Individualism, however, Atsu doesn’t have anywhere near the same levels of ability, skill or ball carrying capabilities.

 

I can see why, if true, Rafa wouldn’t have chosen this player for the club to sign over say others. He’s a bit hot or cold, hit or miss. What I do know even given what little I saw, is that neither him or Almiron are going to prosper with Joelinton as the centre-forward, which he’s simply not. Nor much of a footballer full stop. Being able to hold the ball up deep back to goal and lay it off with a simple ball is all good and well, but if you don’t move around much, anticipate anything, get into the box and take up good centre-forward positions and simply stand about static waiting for a perfect cross, pass, through ball or to be on the ball to let off a strike free in space or without a challenge, you’re not going to score goals, or be much of a penalty box threat.

 

Rondon was all of that inside the box and could do a lot outside of the box, his play perfect for Perez and Almiron for example. I’m not sure who would be a good fit with ASM, Rondon maybe, maybe not. Joelinton or Carroll? No chance. Gayle is probably more suited and vice versa.

 

Looking at things, it seems the club is back to bring bringing in players with no idea as to where they will fit in, how they will add to the team and most of all, what they offer the manager the most and best as to his own formation, tactics, style of play and who or not he can use effectively.

 

Pardew all over again.

 

Maybe, just maybe, the fact Bruce himself has no real plan or set way of playing etc. might just work in his favour more than it should. Until there comes a time he’ll have to formulate something of his own/on his own.

 

That’s where things will get hilarousuly bad, to laugh at or to cry at. Depends how you want this all to pan out. Me, crash and burn please.

 

Thus far, he’s riding on Rafa’s blueprint and even then he doesn’t have the nous to get the team playing together that way off the ball in ways that defensively in terms of shape, tactics, discipline, pressing and being hard to break down, we can realistically get something from every game played set up that way. Wait until it all breaks down, look forward to hammerings, long runs without a win and football that would make Rafa’s brand look like KK’s Entertainers 2.0.

 

That said, he’s one of us, he’s a nice guy and doing his best, no-one else could do any better under Ashley I’m sure.

 

 

[Kanj]

with all do respect you watched him in his worst match for us by a mile.

 

Have a look at his performance versus Man United and West Ham to have a proper view of how he plays.

[Infinitely Content]

[Guest Howaythetoon]

Cult hero man, fuck off he hasn’t done anything

[Kanj]

I think I read his family (parents) are going to their first match today to see him. I hope this man is ready to turn it up and get a goal.

[TRon]

He's good for us because no one else knows how to take the ball forward, but he makes stupid decisions a lot of the time.

[toon25]

He's good for us because no one else knows how to take the ball forward, but he makes stupid decisions a lot of the time.

 

We’ve been crying out for a decent carrier of the ball for a good while.

[TRon]

He's good for us because no one else knows how to take the ball forward, but he makes stupid decisions a lot of the time.

 

We’ve been crying out for a decent carrier of the ball for a good while.

 

Imagine if we had four or five of them.