Sandro Tonali

[Matt1892]

I like the energy he brings to midfield when he has games like that but he needs to find some consistency to his game, as the contrast between his performance last night compared to a week ago against Man City are polar opposites.

 

I don’t really see the comparison with Gordon and his first half a season here because of this, that isn’t saying Tonali doesn’t need time or he is the finished article as I’m sure there is more to come and there are definitely parts of his game for him to improve on. However, unlike Gordon he has put in some excellent performances for us already but his consistency is what is all over the place.

 

Hopefully he can find that once he gets used to the pace of the league.

[Ikon]

Tonali was very good against City in the 2nd half. Also, he'll get more fit, confident and more adapted  both physically, mentally and tactically. It's only a matter of time before he is one of our most important and best players. Unless he somehow struggles totally to adapt in the UK.

 

 

Edited October 5, 2023 by Ikon

[80]

1 hour ago, STM said:

The most significant thing I saw Tonali do?....

 

He was barking orders to teammates. Its massively significant that he now feels settled enough to do that IMO. That's the player we signed.

 

I'm sure it's a language + settling thing. Easy to forget that he's a "new boy".

Easy to forget he's only a year older than Gordon, too.

 

I say that as someone who wasn't as delighted with his performance last night as others. He wasn't bad, just not amazing. The many balls he played into nowhere for no real reason would've had people screaming had it been Gordon six months ago.

 

But I have faith, and it's definitely not the day for picking at things.  Glad to see him looking more and more settled.

[Kanj]

Remember it took a while for Willock to click under Howe, and towards the back end of last season he was close to unplayable. I suspect the same will happen with Tonali. 

[PauloGeordio]

4 minutes ago, Kanji said:

Remember it took a while for Willock to click under Howe, and towards the back end of last season he was close to unplayable. I suspect the same will happen with Tonali. 

[Stottie]

His overall passing accuracy stats at Milan weren't especially good, so I see the current version of him as an extension of that.

Like Gordon, he's been bought for skill, physical attributes, character, etc. and they all look fine.

The Premier League is faster than Serie A, so patience is required. 

[Solitude20]

20 minutes ago, Kanji said:

Remember it took a while for Willock to click under Howe, and towards the back end of last season he was close to unplayable. I suspect the same will happen with Tonali. 

Speaking of Willock, he’s been injured for 5 months now. What’s going on there?

[SUPERTOON]

17 minutes ago, Solitude20 said:

Speaking of Willock, he’s been injured for 5 months now. What’s going on there?

Back after the international break I think 

[Erikse]

5 hours ago, 80 said:

Easy to forget he's only a year older than Gordon, too.

 

I say that as someone who wasn't as delighted with his performance last night as others. He wasn't bad, just not amazing. The many balls he played into nowhere for no real reason would've had people screaming had it been Gordon six months ago.

 

But I have faith, and it's definitely not the day for picking at things.  Glad to see him looking more and more settled.

 

First of all, before anyone has a go at me, I also think there was improvement yesterday, and I'm confident he will keep improving. He did work really hard, especially defensively, which was nice to see. But I totally agree with you. I pointed it out in the match thread about the passes. Got some stick for it, and literally 20 seconds later he yeeted it into nomansland again for no reason. Already in the first half some of his killer pass attempts were annoying me a bit, and it got worse in the second half. He has tried quite a few killer passes this season, has it worked out even once? Has any of his killer pass attempts even been close to creating a goal? Sure, you wont win the lottery if you don't buy the ticket, but I feel like he needs to be a bit better at picking out the right moments for it. Or maybe he just needs time with his new team mates to be able to read their movements better.

 

If Bruno played the exact same game as Tonali yesterday, people would not be as impressed. Tonali made 4 fouls, some of them unnecessary in my eyes, but that was because he was aggressive. Which was probably a good thing. But nearly half of his passes went to the opponent. I hope anyone who rewatches the match will pay attention to this, because I feel like it went over some peoples heads for some reason.

 

 

Edited October 5, 2023 by Erikse

[Keggy_Keagal]

Tonali will be fine. He's only made something like 9 appearances for us, several of which were against the most difficult opponents we'll have all season. Has moved to a new country with the quickest most punishing league in Europe. His attitude and ability still shines. A little patience and faith in our brilliant manager and all will be well.

[Erikse]

6 minutes ago, Keggy_Keagal said:

Tonali will be fine. He's only made something like 9 appearances for us, several of which were against the most difficult opponents we'll have all season. Has moved to a new country with the quickest most punishing league in Europe. His attitude and ability still shines. A little patience and faith in our brilliant manager and all will be well.

 

Absolutely, I have a lot of faith in Tonali. Just mentioning an area that I feel like he can improve. But I also know that Howe knows better than me, so if he sees it as a problem it will get worked on.

[Geogaddi]

By all accounts Eddie was desperate to sign him and he was scouted for months , have no doubt he will end up being class based on them facts alone .

 

 

Edited October 5, 2023 by Geogaddi

[timeEd32]

19 minutes ago, Erikse said:

 

First of all, before anyone has a go at me, I also think there was improvement yesterday, and I'm confident he will keep improving. He did work really hard, especially defensively, which was nice to see. But I totally agree with you. I pointed it out in the match thread about the passes. Got some stick for it, and literally 20 seconds later he yeeted it into nomansland again for no reason. Already in the first half some of his killer pass attempts were annoying me a bit, and it got worse in the second half. He has tried quite a few killer passes this season, has it worked out even once? Has any of his killer pass attempts even been close to creating a goal? Sure, you wont win the lottery if you don't buy the ticket, but I feel like he needs to be a bit better at picking out the right moments for it. Or maybe he just needs time with his new team mates to be able to read their movements better.

 

If Bruno played the exact same game as Tonali yesterday, people would not be as impressed. Tonali made 4 fouls, some of them unnecessary in my eyes, but that was because he was aggressive. Which was probably a good thing. But nearly half of his passes went to the opponent. I hope anyone who rewatches the match will pay attention to this, because I feel like it went over some peoples heads for some reason.

 

 

 

 

The stats back you up pretty much across the board. He played 19 passes to Bruno's 35 and Longstaff's 28. Only 58% accuracy compared to 71% and 86%. He had 0 shots compared to 3 combined by the other two. He had less touches and 0 tackles (compared to 2 each for Bruno and Longstaff). He did have two interceptions. 

 

WhoScored ratings:

Bruno: 7.5

Longstaff: 7.85

Tonali: 6.48 (the lowest of the starting outfield players)

 

That said, I do think it was an improvement and another positive step since halftime of the City game.

[Erikse]

7 minutes ago, timeEd32 said:

 

The stats back you up pretty much across the board. He played 19 passes to Bruno's 35 and Longstaff's 28. Only 58% accuracy compared to 71% and 86%. He had 0 shots compared to 3 combined by the other two. He had less touches and 0 tackles (compared to 2 each for Bruno and Longstaff). He did have two interceptions. 

 

WhoScored ratings:

Bruno: 7.5

Longstaff: 7.85

Tonali: 6.48 (the lowest of the starting outfield players)

 

That said, I do think it was an improvement and another positive step since halftime of the City game.

 

 

He did get subbed, but most of the stats for each player must have happened before he got subbed anyways considering that we were so deep after, and barely got the ball. I think he made the highest amount of fouls aswell, I remember them as obvious fouls in situation where it wasn't all that necessary. Just seemed a bit too aggressive in some moment on and off the ball, aggressiveness is usually good but there can be too much sometimes.

 

 

Edited October 5, 2023 by Erikse

[Gallowgate Toon]

I imagine his pass stats were better first half? Felt like he gassed out 5/10 mins before going off and was trying to give us a break by knocking the ball into areas.

[Jaqen]

Been quite unlucky in that he's been rotated in for all the hard games and sat on the bench against easier opposition. Think there's been quite a few positive signs though and did well yesterday. Think he's just lacking a bit fitness and confidence, he doesn't have that bite to his game he did at Milan. Similar to when Gordon came here, in a couple of months we'll see the best from him. 

[gbandit]

Think he looked more comfortable on the left hand side than he has done on the right but that might be just because he’s settling in more. I do think he’ll end up playing a very fluid role positionally over time 

[dorty]

I love his pass to Bruno on the second goal, notice how he also instinctively blocks the PSG player as the cross goes in. Wonderful. 

[80]

1 hour ago, Erikse said:

If Bruno played the exact same game as Tonali yesterday, people would not be as impressed. I hope anyone who rewatches the match will pay attention to this, because I feel like it went over some peoples heads for some reason.

 

 

 

Yes, it seems like everyone is willing this transfer to work. I can hardly complain, usually I'm pissed off with people doing precisely the opposite, as with Gordon, so I'm leaning on the grateful side. Still, it's an interesting phenomenon.

[dcmk]

1 hour ago, Geogaddi said:

By all accounts Eddie was desperate to sign him and he was scouted for months , have no doubt he will end up being class based on them facts alone .

 

 

 

What's the general consensus of this place regarding the Barella rumours, which came out literally just before the Tonali signing, in my opinion Barella was the number one target until we moved on.  But that's based on media / rumours might have never been any substance to them.

 

 

[AJ9]

He had a great first half I thought. His level dipped second half with a few dodgy passes, but I thought he looked gassed when he got taken off, because his technique/radar was off.

[duo]

His pass to Bruno was crucial to the second goal - makes an excellent run in the setup. 

[Mahoneys Tache]

He puts me in mind of nobby in his first season. Clearly top class but adjusting. Second season nobby was where we saw his true value. 

[Joelinton7]

Just absolutely honking. Consistently makes the wrong decision. I will still give him time because I understand he’s not training fully but Jesus h buck your ideas up. 

[Ikon]

Everyone has been poor.