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Dejan Kulusevski

Raziel said:
I think his place is quickly under threat

That work ethic is critical when our midfield is 2nd/3rd string, with a full midfield (Sarr, Bissouma, Bentancur & Maddison back and fit) and with Son, Werner, Solomon, Johnson as attacking options, he could see a lot more rotation than in the past.
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I agree. I love Kulu but has he kicked on since that first season? I wouldn’t say he’s gone backwards but he was unplayable for a few games towards the end of 21/22 and the start of 22/23.
 
Still holds onto it far too long and slows up the play. Twice yesterday in the final minute he could have gone to the corner to waste some time and twice he gave it away trying to be cute.
 
jrh said:
Geez bro, some words can't be taken back
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It's a good thing. It's a bit odd when excellent footballers become a punchline to the mouth breather fans.

Kuyt was quality. It's like being compared to Park Ji Sung, are these players on the back of every kids shirt? Probably not, but they helped the managers they played for win things and them being part of it wasn't some kind of accident.

Sometimes Kulu is able to use his strength / body so well to keep the ball whilst also being able to find the right passes. However on a bad day he just looks a bit oafish. Using your strength to send Maupay flying to get a booking because you're feeling a bit tetchy isn't a good use of it, going by Ange's comments at his disappointment about us getting reeled in by Brentford's flimflam I'd bet he was fuming at that.

We've seen some pretty ludicrous yellows this season but that was up there. If you're smart that yellow could be used in a tactical way to stop a nailed on goal a la fernandinho in his hey day, instead we're picking them up for mini tantrums.
 
He picked the ball out of the sky and fired a lovely pass down the line to Werner for a goal. That is what we want, quick incisive passing into the channel for someone to sprint onto. Do not slow the game down.
 
spurspinter1 said:
It's a good thing. It's a bit odd when excellent footballers become a punchline to the mouth breather fans.

Kuyt was quality. It's like being compared to Park Ji Sung, are these players on the back of every kids shirt? Probably not, but they helped the managers they played for win things and them being part of it wasn't some kind of accident.

Sometimes Kulu is able to use his strength / body so well to keep the ball whilst also being able to find the right passes. However on a bad day he just looks a bit oafish. Using your strength to send Maupay flying to get a booking because you're feeling a bit tetchy isn't a good use of it, going by Ange's comments at his disappointment about us getting reeled in by Brentford's flimflam I'd bet he was fuming at that.

We've seen some pretty ludicrous yellows this season but that was up there. If you're smart that yellow could be used in a tactical way to stop a nailed on goal a la fernandinho in his hey day, instead we're picking them up for mini tantrums.
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Yeah it wasn't a cussing. Just he reminds me of him, lots of workrate but lacking a bit of cutting edge similarly.
 
Bishop said:
Yeah it wasn't a cussing. Just he reminds me of him, lots of workrate but lacking a bit of cutting edge similarly.
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The thing is he had a cutting edge when he first joined. Odd to reminisce about a Conte selection but his stats when he joined in the January were a large part of what propelled us to 4th.

I just commented in another thread that we seem to be most effective with the old ball across the six yard box from wide. To do that you need conventional wingers or players who are truly two footed (Son, Werner for example).

Kulu seems to be very one footed at the moment, not quite Lo Celso-esque but last night he turned down a shot from a great position on his right and then a cross with his right where he took an extra touch, moved onto his left and the ball was snuffed out by a defender.

He needs to start backing himself to use his lesser foot - so much so that when all are fit and available based on a very small body of evidence, our front three should be Sonny left, Richi centre and Werner right.

That lineup up supported by Maddison and the inverted full backs would get Richi to 20 goals this season I think.
 
parklane1 said:
As far as i am concerned he has proved what a good player he is, having a run of games when he has not been at his best but it will come.
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He is a good player, but this is where having a fit squad would help.

He could probably do with a rotation out for a few games, or at minimum, not start every game.
 
Surfless said:
The thing is he had a cutting edge when he first joined. Odd to reminisce about a Conte selection but his stats when he joined in the January were a large part of what propelled us to 4th.

I just commented in another thread that we seem to be most effective with the old ball across the six yard box from wide. To do that you need conventional wingers or players who are truly two footed (Son, Werner for example).

Kulu seems to be very one footed at the moment, not quite Lo Celso-esque but last night he turned down a shot from a great position on his right and then a cross with his right where he took an extra touch, moved onto his left and the ball was snuffed out by a defender.

He needs to start backing himself to use his lesser foot - so much so that when all are fit and available based on a very small body of evidence, our front three should be Sonny left, Richi centre and Werner right.

That lineup up supported by Maddison and the inverted full backs would get Richi to 20 goals this season I think.
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The problem with Werner on the right is he isn't a traditional winger. You would lose a lot of his thrust if he were playing on the right. It's a bit like the idea of Kulu on the left, neither are your traditional wide guy with pace that whip the ball in. With Werner his threat comes from the idea that he might whip it in or cut back onto his right and shoot that way. If you put him on the right you make him very one dimensional. The idea is the same with Kulu it's just he's refusing to use his right for whatever reason when we know he has a right foot and it's pretty good as well.
 
Surfless said:
The thing is he had a cutting edge when he first joined. Odd to reminisce about a Conte selection but his stats when he joined in the January were a large part of what propelled us to 4th.

I just commented in another thread that we seem to be most effective with the old ball across the six yard box from wide. To do that you need conventional wingers or players who are truly two footed (Son, Werner for example).

Kulu seems to be very one footed at the moment, not quite Lo Celso-esque but last night he turned down a shot from a great position on his right and then a cross with his right where he took an extra touch, moved onto his left and the ball was snuffed out by a defender.

He needs to start backing himself to use his lesser foot - so much so that when all are fit and available based on a very small body of evidence, our front three should be Sonny left, Richi centre and Werner right.

That lineup up supported by Maddison and the inverted full backs would get Richi to 20 goals this season I think.
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I mostly agree with that, though still think Kulusevski should be in the starting 11 when fit.

I think his drop in performances has coincided with us missing a lot of important players and not really playing that well as a team. And him being asked to play different roles. Get our best players back, play better as a team and I think Kulusevski will be better too.
 
Raziel said:
He is a good player, but this is where having a fit squad would help.

He could probably do with a rotation out for a few games, or at minimum, not start every game.
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Fair point and i do not disagree, like you say when we get all players fit he ( Ange) may decide on doing that. He has proved that he is a very good player and they all have spells when things are not going as well.
 
braineclipse said:
I mostly agree with that, though still think Kulusevski should be in the starting 11 when fit.

I think his drop in performances has coincided with us missing a lot of important players and not really playing that well as a team. And him being asked to play different roles. Get our best players back, play better as a team and I think Kulusevski will be better too.
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Hope so, he needs to up his game.
 
Bishop said:
Yeah it wasn't a cussing. Just he reminds me of him, lots of workrate but lacking a bit of cutting edge similarly.
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Dirk Kuyt is one of those players that if he plays for you, you value his contribution but from the outside he doesn't impress. I don't see the comparison as a negative, Liverpool fans rated Kuyt highly iirc and i feel that is the angle you was coming at rather than to knock him
 
billyiddo said:
Dirk Kuyt is one of those players that if he plays for you, you value his contribution but from the outside he doesn't impress. I don't see the comparison as a negative, Liverpool fans rated Kuyt highly iirc and i feel that is the angle you was coming at rather than to knock him
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I'd agree. Always rated Kuyt. Players like him, like Ji-Sun Park etc, not fashionable, but really effective.
 
Bishop said:
I think both are/were better than Lamela tbh. Lamela was a cult hero but not a good player for us imo.
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He obviously wasn't as good as is made out, which i think is often tongue in cheek, but had his positives - i think he was a pretty clever player and off the bench yesterday instead of Gil and we likely see the game out, we'd have won free kicks and kept the ball higher. We rarely dropped points once he was brought on in matches iirc
 
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billyiddo said:
He obviously wasn't as good as is made out, which i think is often tongue in cheek, but had his positives - i think he was a pretty clever player and off the bench yesterday instead of Gil and we likely see the game out, we'd have won free kicks and kept the ball higher. We rarely dropped points once he was brought on in matches
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Spot on. Lamela and Kane in stoppage time, a goal up. "We've got this" Masters at drawing fouls and living near the corner flag
 
Mosquito_Coasting said:
He used to go both ways, that was part of what made him such an unpredictable, clever dribbler when he first arrived.
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Yeah he used to have that move to make going on the outside work so well he’d leave the defender for dead despite his lack of blistering pace.

Doesn’t seem to do it anymore. Also doesn’t seem to shoot with his right as much as he used to.

Those two traits were his biggest assets yet he no longer does either 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
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