The College Dropout Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 Massive shift and his engine was unbelievable tonight. Kept going right to the end and launched some counters. On the ball - it is what it is. 20 minutes ago, Miggys First Goal said: When he first arrived, his one touch passes were unbelievable. Now they’ve gone off a cliff. Don’t think this is true mind. When he joined the reports and stats were that he could be loose with his passing. And we saw it when he couldn’t hold down a place. It did get better and it has regressed again but it’s always been a weakness to his game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keefaz Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 Put in a great shift. I just want him to pass properly. It puts us under so much pressure. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 The one touch passing is wild but his best game in ages. Still assume fatherhood is kicking the shit out of him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaKa Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 No idea what happens with this guy going forward, but the manager will have to figure it out. Really useful helping protect against counters, but every other area leaves a lot to be desired. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexf Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 Quietly excellent I thought. A few poor passes as has become common for him this season, however a few really good passes aswell. Shame he didn't use Gordon on his overlap for that counter he surged forward with as seemed the better option than going right. But was great overall. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ9 Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 He’s not elite. But he did put in a shift tonight. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 20 minutes ago, AJ9 said: He’s not elite. But he did put in a shift tonight. He's elite. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mountain Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 He is weird, in a good way. He'll do some sloppy pass then somehow be there to defend it. An untamed animal. I wouldn't ever want him to go elsewhere. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibierski Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 8 hours ago, KaKa said: No idea what happens with this guy going forward, but the manager will have to figure it out. Really useful helping protect against counters, but every other area leaves a lot to be desired. Agree same thoughts. What he offers of the ball is hugely valuable, but at same time at this level, you need to offer quality with the ball or you can be a hindrance quickly. He’s obviously not a terrible footballer with the ball, but his decision making with it is routinely baffling (the constant first time passes). If he just switched away from that, kept it simple and done cross field sprays which he’s capable of, he’s majestic. Don’t want to be negative after the collective performance last night, but if he doesn’t address it, he starts to become very open for me to selling. Just he’s 25, a full international, which would be bitter to swallow because the tool / skill set is all there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ9 Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 43 minutes ago, Sibierski said: Agree same thoughts. What he offers of the ball is hugely valuable, but at same time at this level, you need to offer quality with the ball or you can be a hindrance quickly. He’s obviously not a terrible footballer with the ball, but his decision making with it is routinely baffling (the constant first time passes). If he just switched away from that, kept it simple and done cross field sprays which he’s capable of, he’s majestic. Don’t want to be negative after the collective performance last night, but if he doesn’t address it, he starts to become very open for me to selling. Just he’s 25, a full international, which would be bitter to swallow because the tool / skill set is all there. Agree with all of this hence my comment above. He’s still great when on it though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiemag Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 This may be controversial. But I think Tonali is overrated big time on here. His stamina and athleticism is elite and he reads and disrupts counterattacks really well. But the rest of his game is so average. He is often at fault due to his poor positioning or ball watching. His passing is poor and often gives the ball away and puts us under pressure. He doesn't provide anything in an attacking sense. Maybe his form has been poor for so long, I have forgotten how good he was last season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 He's your archetypal Italian water carrier. The type they used to win major tournaments with routinely. They are meant to pass the ball to Baggio, Del Piero, Rui Costa, Kaka, Zidane etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingxlnc Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Just now, The College Dropout said: He's your archetypal Italian water carrier. The type they used to win major tournaments with routinely. They are meant to pass the ball to Baggio, Del Piero, Rui Costa, Kaka, Zidane etc. Or in our case Joe Willock and Jacob Ramsey :/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Icarus Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Think he's gassed tbh, having a baby is a fucking nightmare for your energy levels as well as obv. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingxlnc Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 A 10 of that ilk could really unlock this entire team. We need a Alikouche style dribbler at RW, an el Khannous style creative at 10 alongside Bruno’s slide rule passes Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shearergol Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Played against my favourite central midfielder in world football away from Newcastle last night and did a pretty good job on him apart from the goal. Much much better last night than he has been recently. Same for the whole team really. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
r0cafella Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 10 minutes ago, The College Dropout said: He's your archetypal Italian water carrier. The type they used to win major tournaments with routinely. They are meant to pass the ball to Baggio, Del Piero, Rui Costa, Kaka, Zidane etc. Ding ding ding. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gottlob Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 I really like him but his tendency to treat the ball like a hot potato has been there since the start. It doesn't seem like a technical issue and perhaps he benefited from playing with a certain pace and physicality in the Italian league, but he just needs to calm it down and pick his passes. I guess it is his good work off the ball as well as that pace and physicality which makes Howe want to try him as the deepest midfielder. Theoretically as well as helping us defensively he should make us more mobile and give us more options playing out from the back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Luque Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 18 minutes ago, r0cafella said: Ding ding ding. His biggest fault was having long hair when he broke through as everyone was likening him to Pirlo. Poor guy has been insisting for ages that he's more like Gattuso, but people insist on deadnaming him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holloway Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Can we not work on a refinement of his distribution in training, like? Taking a first touch and calming down a bit look the obvious starting point to me Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 1 hour ago, The College Dropout said: He's your archetypal Italian water carrier. The type they used to win major tournaments with routinely. They are meant to pass the ball to Baggio, Del Piero, Rui Costa, Kaka, Zidane etc. Which is great if that's how it transpires. Too often he's been passing to the opposition lately, but I really love the player, so I'm hoping it's just a transitional phase as we try to iron the kinks out of how we line up against teams who press with high intensity. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackyboy Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 When he was having his best spell here his first time passing was incredible Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Never thought his passing was incredible. This is the usual journey with Newcastle players though. Something will be glaring about their game and many fans will act blind to it at first of they hit the ground running. When they go through a sticky patch, that same thing is all anyone can talk about. Sissoko - passing, Botman and Bruno - speed etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyc35i Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 27 minutes ago, The College Dropout said: Never thought his passing was incredible. This is the usual journey with Newcastle players though. Something will be glaring about their game and many fans will act blind to it at first of they hit the ground running. When they go through a sticky patch, that same thing is all anyone can talk about. Sissoko - passing, Botman and Bruno - speed etc. I can see all the hard work he gets through for the team even if some miss it... It’s the way we play which is what does him the dirty. He’s being asking to press high, stay in a static line and then be the one that makes the recovery runs. So of course he’ll get caught out from time to time. I really don’t think he’s been anywhere near our worst player this season Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Also think he’s suffering from general fatigue and it’s worsening his decision making and passing. He still as the athletic capacity to get about the pitch but it’s impacting his decision making and technique. Similar to how everyone who started the game were making bad decisions and sloppy passes by the last 5 minutes. Even Lewis Hall. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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