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Xavi Simons

MartyFunkhouser said:
And its all abit washy to say "frank don't like him" or he is not his kind of player.

He is actually getting more minutes than anyone bar Kudus in the attacking midfield area, he is here in a new league and its notoriously tough, I like the lad ALOT but we can't hand on heart say he has set the world alight either

The guy is on a 5 year deal, he will come good, like alot thats lost in the game, patience will be his best friend

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I don't think that it's that Frank doesn't like or rate him. I think our problem is as with many things structural. To get the best out of Xavi or any 10 really, you need both a ball passing 8 or a team with good usage of the ball or a tactic to play through that 10 at all times. If we aren't going to play with someone who is going to get the ball to him early and in good positions then again he's a pointless.
 
braineclipse said:
That could be part of it.

I think physicality and defensive ability is a part of it too. To me Simons works hard defensively too, gets stuck in. But he doesn't have the physical profile of the players that get picked ahead of him at the moment.
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That is certainly true.


braineclipse said:
Bergvall too is rather high risk, loses the ball quite a bit. So when Frank plays him ahead of Simons I don't think it's just being risk averse.
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The risk aversiveness is in not playing Bergvall deeper or in a pivot with (say) Palhinha. I would love to see him given some license to dictate the pace of attacks from there, to drive into the heart of midfield and see what's alive, but Frank isn't going to.


braineclipse said:
What we're seeing with both of those in the 10 role is very little of them dropping deep to try to help out in buildup. Rather isolated fairly high and centrally when we try to progress the ball (typically down the flanks).
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That's an instruction IMO. And it is an instruction which could be removed.



braineclipse said:
I don't think Frank is risk averse when we're actually in the final third. But a bit deeper rather clearly so. Not picking Gray or Bergvall for those deeper midfield roles. Not inverting full backs. Horseshoe buildup. 10 not dropping deep in buildup. Conservative buildup shape rather often with a 3-3 buildup shape (CB and one full back deepest, two deep midfielders and a full back in the next line).
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This. It is what it is. Not a fan but there we go.
 
thfcsteff said:
That is certainly true.




The risk aversiveness is in not playing Bergvall deeper or in a pivot with (say) Palhinha. I would love to see him given some license to dictate the pace of attacks from there, to drive into the heart of midfield and see what's alive, but Frank isn't going to.




That's an instruction IMO. And it is an instruction which could be removed.





This. It is what it is. Not a fan but there we go.
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I'm hoping it's a matter of time before he sees Bergvall or Gray as ready for one of those deeper roles.

I agree the 10 not dropping deep being an instruction. It could be removed. But it would also require some other tweaks, like one of the deep midfielders moving in the opposite direction at that time, the full backs moving higher or something. Just the 10 dropping deep alone would just mean that he has very few options ahead of the ball.
 
A slightly different perspective on the Xavi starting stats.....

This season, if my memory serves me correctly, we have generally been much better in the second half of games than in the first.

So, if Xavi starts a game and the team are not playing well and he is not doing much he would likely be subbed off.... You could argue that the team then improves and we win the game as these figures suggest....

And also, when he comes on a sub he is unable to change the game....

I am not trying to just slag him off and he has shown some encouraging signs but the alternative thought just came to mind.... It reminds me of the quote "lies, damned lies and statistics".

COYS
 
braineclipse said:
I'm hoping it's a matter of time before he sees Bergvall or Gray as ready for one of those deeper roles.

I agree the 10 not dropping deep being an instruction. It could be removed. But it would also require some other tweaks, like one of the deep midfielders moving in the opposite direction at that time, the full backs moving higher or something. Just the 10 dropping deep alone would just mean that he has very few options ahead of the ball.
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Indeed, I'd love to see all of that happen FWIW ;-)
 
Goal and assist in the first half.

37 touches and 5.6km covered. I reckon that last stat can get better when Frank really lets him roam around.
 
Muttley said:
Goal and assist in the first half.

37 touches and 5.6km covered. I reckon that last stat can get better when Frank really lets him roam around.
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Hes getting more touches because he's playing centrally, it's just the nature of playing in the middle. It's maybe a fair argument that he wasn't up to speed initially with the speed and physicality of the league but he also played a lot initially on the left. Basically a no mans land for him and a waste of his particular skillset and attributes. I said from day one, it wouldn't work for him out wide. He needs players to bounce off off and players to pass into.
 
Either the refs need to start applying the laws of the game, or young Archie needs to start rolling round the fllor and feigning injury. He should be mentored by Richi.
 
MartyFunkhouser said:
Arsenal away he did

But that aside can we jst enjoy each in their own right. Well done Xavi, well deserved and well done responding the to marker set by the manager
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Ah ok I don’t remember that goal then..

Not sure what your second sentence is about though? Me saying Gazza-esque is pretty much the highest praise you can give someone! Surprised it could be taken any other way tbh?
 
Loved that he got up again after being cleared out a few times, and just kept going.

Up until now, you could visibly see his confidence ebb away when he would get dispossessed - I felt like he needed to internalize that this will happen in the Premier League, more so than in the Bundesliga. It's the most physical league on Earth (apart from maybe South America) - you will get outmuscled, outran, dispossessed, etc. in a typical game.

What matters is getting up again and just thundering back into the fray - all the players who end up succeeding in the Prem learn to do this. And his goal was 100% the result of him finally understanding this - he lost the ball, absolutely launched himself into a challenge, won it back, and then just barrelled forward into the box until he could get his shot away. Well done to the lad.

Long may it continue. :)
 
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