Alexander Isak

[SEMTEX]

2 minutes ago, jonny1403 said:

He was an absolute liability in the last 15 and I don’t think he can blame fatigue when he didn’t start at the weekend.

 

I mean, sure he shouldn't be fatigued, but I don't really think you get to decide whether he is or isn't fatigued. Him not playing at the weekend should've helped, sure, but he's not a robot. People get fatigued for all manner of reasons.

[jonny1403]

11 minutes ago, SEMTEX said:

 

I mean, sure he shouldn't be fatigued, but I don't really think you get to decide whether he is or isn't fatigued. Him not playing at the weekend should've helped, sure, but he's not a robot. People get fatigued for all manner of reasons.

 

True, but you can't just explain away constant bad passes and a lack of tracking back to fatigue every time either.

[Gallowgate Toon]

Liked how he was trying to link play in the first half and thought he had some nice touches but faded as we went on and was pretty pathetic the last 10 minutes or so.

 

You could see it why Howe left him on as he can have a moment at any time in the game but it just didn't reflect well overall.

[The College Dropout]

1 minute ago, jonny1403 said:

 

True, but you can't just explain away constant bad passes and a lack of tracking back to fatigue every time either.

I argued this earlier last season. He’s not a winger. He’s never had to track fullbacks down and he’s not good at it. 
 

He was tired.  And poor for much of the game. he got worse and worse. Isolated again.  He’s not suited to this style of play. 
 

[Newcastle Fan]

Terrible game from him today, was bullied by their defenders and hardly did anything on the left, i understand the decision to put him on the left but after 75th minute he looked totally knackered and should've been taken off. He'll have better games for sure.

[TRon]

Worst game he's played for us I reckon, but he's had a few similar last season as well. I'm not worried, just need to get more going on around him to get the best of him, he's not great when he's isolated.

[nemtizz]

Hesitant to read anything into it as our wingers were invisible. When he moved to the left he was instantly surrounded by 2/3 players when he received the ball. Midfield were so wasteful with the ball in the last 20 mins, could tell we were nervous and tired.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by nemtizz

[buzza]

Their defenders all played really well today, didn't give us a crumb, impressed by tomorri... nothing got past him.

[kingxlnc]

He is missing ASM and Willock more than most I think, both of whom were on his wavelength. Isak has a baller style of play similar to the other two, full of flair. In the team there’s only Bruno, Tonali and perhaps Almiron with a touch of flair. The team currently seems workmanlike and predictable, Gordon’s pace can be nullified, Almiron can be brushed onto his right foot and Wilson can be contained. 
 

Definitely need to bring him back to number 10 and play Wilson ahead of him, or play him up top with a number 10 behind him.

 

4-3-3 doesn’t get the best out of him in this current squad. 

[Holloway]

Got crowded out snd looked quite pedestrian

[HaydnNUFC]

Not been getting the best out of him at all, especially since the Villa game. Something is just not right with how we're setting up atm but I'm totally unsure as to what it is.

[The Prophet]

The most noticeable thing about his performance tonight was how deep he was coming to get the ball.

[nemtizz]

He's definitely miss the linkup with Jo and Willock. As am I.

[Gallowgate Toon]

1 minute ago, The Prophet said:

The most noticeable thing about his performance tonight was how deep he was coming to get the ball.

I think that was pretty purposeful as he'd been lacking in so many touches before Brighton. I actually liked it as a tactic too as a ball from the CBs even if it feels weird to have someone dangerous drop so deep.

 

I think the idea was for him to drop in but keep the wingers high & wide to help stretch their defence for midfield runners. Maybe in hindsight they should've dropped in and let him stay higher and move into the channels instead.

[ryanegg]

2 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

The most noticeable thing about his performance tonight was how deep he was coming to get the ball.

There was a few times he had the ball and seemed to be expected just to create miracles with next to nobody around him too. Hope we see him and Wilson together against Sheffield Utd, but not Isak on the left.

[TheBrownBottle]

Left stranded tonight - not that he played well, but he wasn’t going to beat that Milan back line alone

[Gallowgate Toon]

The numbers show he linked with team mates a lot, to be fair. 20 passes (18 successful) and 34 touches, these are good numbers for a striker playing away from home and showed how generally involved he was. Yes isolated in some advanced positions but he at least had lots of opportunities to combine with teammates & build moves. Giroud for comparison had 20 touches and 12 attempted passes (only making 5(!)).

 

Our wingers were shit tonight which was the biggest problem going forward imo. Gordon was wasteful with passing and seemed a little awestruck, Murphy too shy to be proactive. Tonali far less involved in possession that Bruno/Longstaff as well which is likely due to how poor Dan Burn's passing was.

[KaKa]

Clearly not quite on the same wavelength as Gordon and Tonali yet, because they are new additions to the current first team.

 

Chemistry has to be developed with those two coming in, and not just for him, but the rest of the team too. It's real life not a video game.

 

 

[Oregon_Geordie]

3 hours ago, HaydnNUFC said:

Not been getting the best out of him at all, especially since the Villa game. Something is just not right with how we're setting up atm but I'm totally unsure as to what it is.

 

Our midfield is woefully imbalanced and disconnected. It's neither producing or shielding very well.

We're one cute ball from being cut wide open and lack any guile in there ourselves.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 20, 2023 by Oregon_Geordie

[Civetty]

I really hope he gets to start against Sheffield personally. After all of these last games he have played against good defences that have marked him well ever since Manchester city, I think its important he get to play against a team on a lower level where he'll likely find more space as well considering they're playing at home. Its easy to say that he always should be in great spirits due to his salary etc but barely receiving a proper ball for a couple of games besides the start against Brighton where he did poorly, its easy for the joy of playing the game to disappear a little.

 

If they want rotate I'd much prefer Wilson starting against Burnley, who I think is a better suited player for teams defending low.

[Holmesy]

I'm not suggesting the only way he can score is if we bang loads of balls in the box but it wouldn't hurt. In Gordon, Barnes and Almiron we've got 3 wingers who cut inside and try to score themselves. Murphy is the only one likely to put a cross in but he's not very good. Last night he couldn't get any service from midfield either because Bruno was being man marked. Just a very good defensive job by Milan last night, but there is a bigger worry about the lack of service to Isak even when we're playing lesser teams. 

[Mikky]

5 hours ago, Oregon_Geordie said:

 

Our midfield is woefully imbalanced and disconnected. It's neither producing or shielding very well.

We're one cute ball from being cut wide open and lack any guile in there ourselves.

 

 

 

 

 

We are too often playing with a flat 5 in midfield - he needs someone behind him and 2 either side of him to be at his most dangerous - pretty much isolated all the time 

 

Our midfield 3 is my biggest worry - in terms of its shape - it just isn’t working this season - nothing fluid about it 

[Fezzle]

10 hours ago, kingxlnc said:

He is missing ASM and Willock more than most I think, both of whom were on his wavelength. Isak has a baller style of play similar to the other two, full of flair. In the team there’s only Bruno, Tonali and perhaps Almiron with a touch of flair. The team currently seems workmanlike and predictable, Gordon’s pace can be nullified, Almiron can be brushed onto his right foot and Wilson can be contained. 
 

Definitely need to bring him back to number 10 and play Wilson ahead of him, or play him up top with a number 10 behind him.

 

4-3-3 doesn’t get the best out of him in this current squad. 

Only scored twice when asm was on the pitch, neither goal anything to do with him so this is a mad take 

[Displayname]

Think he is just a little out of form, it happens.

[Cronky]

I actually thought he did okay last night, in difficult circumstances. From the technical point of view, he's by far our best player, and on occasion he linked well. But the whole team struggled, particularly with fatigue in the latter stages, and there's a limit to what he can do on his own.

 

There's a general issue with his best role. He was dropping deeper last night, and that creative, withdrawn Number 9 role suits him well, but we need the likes of Gordon, Barnes or MIggy to be running into the space that he leaves behind. I think that's what we need to work on, rather than trying to shoehorn Wilson and Isak into a 4-3-3, or leaving him on his own up top.

 

If we were better at working the ball through the centre rather than going wide most of the time, it would make it easier for him to be a number 9, but that's a problem at the moment. Shame we weren't able to land Maddison.