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

[Hudson]

What a cameo tonight, and even took a yellow from Bruno.

 

Got to start next week along with Isak

 

 

 

Edited January 24, 2023 by Hudson

[christ]

Need to get him and Isak into the starting XI as soon as possible. 

[Shak]

Such a colossal mistake cutting his hair though, has to be said.

[Klaus]

18 minutes ago, Unbelievable said:

Eddie needs to start trusting ASM more. Offers so much.

 

Ideal time for him though. Game was stretched against tired legs. 

 

Hope he keeps it up, because we all know how good he CAN be. Deserves to start next Tuesday based on that.

[joeyt]

His yellow reminded me of Hatem with Rooney 

[gbandit]

His releasing of the ball today was perfect, chose the right times to take people on and then when to pass and his weight on the pass was much better than last season. Feel like it would be unbelievably harsh on I’m not to start him when he’s clearly in great form and is playing for the team 

[vicente_14]

His decision making was so much better and you could tell he was super

focused in fitting into the team ethos and on top of that looked sharp, lively and a real threat, love him, needs to start.

[AJ9]

Absolutely mint performance and really should be starting now. He opens up the left hand side so well.

[Sammys_Tekkers]

I have been quite critical of his cameo performances recently, but he was exceptional when coming on today. Exactly what you what, taking the ball and beating his man.

 

It is a lot easier though when he isn’t coming on when the opposition aren’t putting a lot of men behind the ball. Think he needs to be starting games where we should be winning. Pointless bringing him on in games where he has 3 men in front of him so can do nothing

 

 

Edited January 24, 2023 by Sammys_Tekkers

[Gallowgate Toon]

What a run for the sending off.

[alexf]

Today proved that the flip side to him being weak defensively is that he pushes back the opponent right back. 

They had a dominant 10 min spell with walker-peters and then nothing after because they were terrified of ASM. 

Start 2nd leg please.

 

So good to see him running with the ball at speed again. Unstoppable when he's like that ?

[NE27]

Nice to see him protecting team mates also 

[BoSelecta]

Absolutely brilliant performance.

[cubaricho]

I said this in the match thread but I really really want him to come good under Eddie. He could be a huge asset for us. 

[Mattoon]

Almost the perfect cameo, he and Isak have to be pushing for a start, both made the difference tonight, it was night and day.

[Kid Icarus]

If I have any critique of him it's that he's trying to be too much of a team player, if anything.

 

He's clearly listening to Howe, he might not have the defensive nous of Joelinton or Willock, but he's putting the work and more than deserves to start if we keep missing chances.

[ExiledGeordie]

5 minutes ago, alexf said:

Today proved that the flip side to him being weak defensively is that he pushes back the opponent right back. 

They had a dominant 10 min spell with walker-peters and then nothing after because they were terrified of ASM. 

Start 2nd leg please.

 

So good to see him running with the ball at speed again. Unstoppable when he's like that ?

Spot on, plus having him on one side Miggy on the other causes mayhem because teams struggle to double up. Throw in Isak running the channels ?

[Killuminati]

That cameo from Maxi was pure art. It changed the dynamics of the game and got everyone going. 

If you just focus on his play it will tell you alot. He is taking the instructions Howe has given him and he did it perfectly. Such a joy to see. Last time i felt like this for a player was with Hatem Ben Arfa. Really hope Maxi adapts like tonight and the goals will come.

 

Just have a weird feeling from diffrent clips that Maxi isnt liked by many in the squad. He seems a bit arrogant in his personality and may be the reason why he isnt playing that much.

[gazza ladra]

Needs to start. Wilson, Miggy, and Willock all need a rest. 
 

Move Joelinton to midfield start ASM, Isak, and Murphy. They’ll do Southampton at home.

[pubteam]

Excellent performance from maxi today, he dribbled the ball so well and put her fear of god into the Southampton defence. His tracking back also seemed to be much improved, very much a team player.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Been very impressed with how he has applied himself recently. 
 

Think it might be difficult to start him ahead of Burn though, Burn looks at his worst when he’s exposed. 

[HawK]

Just now, Killuminati said:

That cameo from Maxi was pure art. It changed the dynamics of the game and got everyone going. 

If you just focus on his play it will tell you alot. He is taking the instructions Howe has given him and he did it perfectly. Such a joy to see. Last time i felt like this for a player was with Hatem Ben Arfa. Really hope Maxi adapts like tonight and the goals will come.

 

Just have a weird feeling from diffrent clips that Maxi isnt liked by many in the squad. He seems a bit arrogant in his personality and may be the reason why he isnt playing that much.

 

Just on the reason why he's not playing - Howe is an absolute stickler for not making changes for the sake of them. If a side is doing well, e.g. conceding like no goals ever, or getting points on the board when we're bottom of the league, then he won't change it. I remember when we started our upturn in form in January last year, and we were chomping at the bit for Bruno to start. It was said that it was to allow him time to 'bed in', but I think it's a lot more to do with showing loyalty and respect to the current XI at the time that were doing well and grinding out the results. It's also partly think why I think Longstaff plays every single game and every minute of every game - he's part of a team that just doesn't lose and there isn't an obvious replacement of genuine ability who will do what he does.

 

It's also the same argument he can use against the club captain every match, look, you're not getting a game cause we're not losing and I don't want to disrupt the team. The squad would lose respect for Howe if he brought others in 'just because' when he didn't bring in Lascelles. It's a win-win, he gets buy-in from the team that's getting results, they know the manager backs them, and it means whoever comes in is absolutely focused on trying to make that shirt his on merit, not reputation. If we lose or don't get the result we want, he has the irrefutable proof in the points themselves and backing to make those changes.

 

It would send the wrong message to change a winning/undefeated team just because of perceived differences in ability. There needs to be undeniable benefits to all parties in making the switch for us to keep this team spirit that's become absolutely core of our form.

 

All this aside, I'd be dropping Willock and Wilson next game for ASM and Isak but I don't know what kind of expectations of keeping the shirt Wilson and Willock have been given. Who knows, maybe Howe's said to the squad 'as long as this defensive run continues, I'm not changing the starting XI unless there's an injury', and it's a perfectly reasonable stance. Not one I'd make mind, but I'm not one of already the most succesful English managers in Premier League history. I'll defer to Sir Eddie.

[The Prophet]

 

[Killuminati]

9 minutes ago, HawK said:

 

Just on the reason why he's not playing - Howe is an absolute stickler for not making changes for the sake of them. If a side is doing well, e.g. conceding like no goals ever, or getting points on the board when we're bottom of the league, then he won't change it. I remember when we started our upturn in form in January last year, and we were chomping at the bit for Bruno to start. It was said that it was to allow him time to 'bed in', but I think it's a lot more to do with showing loyalty and respect to the current XI at the time that were doing well and grinding out the results. It's also partly think why I think Longstaff plays every single game and every minute of every game - he's part of a team that just doesn't lose and there isn't an obvious replacement of genuine ability who will do what he does.

 

It's also the same argument he can use against the club captain every match, look, you're not getting a game cause we're not losing and I don't want to disrupt the team. The squad would lose respect for Howe if he brought others in 'just because' when he didn't bring in Lascelles. It's a win-win, he gets buy-in from the team that's getting results, they know the manager backs them, and it means whoever comes in is absolutely focused on trying to make that shirt his on merit, not reputation. If we lose or don't get the result we want, he has the irrefutable proof in the points themselves and backing to make those changes.

 

It would send the wrong message to change a winning/undefeated team just because of perceived differences in ability. There needs to be undeniable benefits to all parties in making the switch for us to keep this team spirit that's become absolutely core of our form.

 

All this aside, I'd be dropping Willock and Wilson next game for ASM and Isak but I don't know what kind of expectations of keeping the shirt Wilson and Willock have been given. Who knows, maybe Howe's said to the squad 'as long as this defensive run continues, I'm not changing the starting XI unless there's an injury', and it's a perfectly reasonable stance. Not one I'd make mind, but I'm not one of already the most succesful English managers in Premier League history. I'll defer to Sir Eddie.

I totally buy into that! Think we all have trust in Howe and how he handles diffrent situations with the players. 

It has worked wonders and i cant blame Howe for anything so far besides maybe wanting Isak or Maxi being subbed on earlier in some of the games.

 

But like i said, its just a feeling i have about him and that he seems a bit arrogant in personality. That has allways been a case with mostly flair players we had through the years.

 

[AyeDubbleYoo]

That moment when he shaped to play the cross-field pass and skinned the guy on the inside was fantastic and very impressive. Really showed that he’s making decisions for himself and not just passing because he’s been told to pass. 
 

He’ll be some player if he puts it all together.