Mid-season squad reflections

[Gianni Infantino]

So, we're halfway through the Premier League and the Football League clubs have played 22/23, so how have your team fared this season? Have the players you brought in over the summer improved the squad, or has that one key departure slowed your progress down monumentally? Do you need to strengthen heavily in January, or can you get by without any new signings? How do you rate your manager's performance, in terms of tactics, signings, refereeing criticism? Be as detailed as you like.

Brendan Rodgers - 8/10 for me. Been fantastic at ironing out all the issues we've had against the smaller sides. But his tactics against the big boys have at times been a big suspect. Still, his vision has really come to fruition so far, hope it continues.

Simon Mignolet - 8.5/10. Been brilliant, made his first mistake leading to a goal on Boxing Day but he has been class for us. Glad we got him for such a good price. Worth far more than what we paid.

Glen Johnson - 5/10. Been dire, can't explain why. Lack of competition? We need a new right back.

Jose Enrique - 6/10. Give him a 6 just because I can't even remember the last time he played, but I don't remember being over-the-top pissed off with him. Just normal levels of "fuck off Enrique" rage.

Kolo Toure - 6/10. Started off brilliantly, but as Sakho came in he's taken to the bench a lot and has looked shaky when playing. That said, very good free signing.

Daniel Agger - 5/10. Haven't been impressed with him at all, probably our third or fourth best CB these days, Sakho has rightly ousted him.

Mamadou Sakho - 8/10. He has a 5 minute spell every game where he could easily commit three mistakes all leading to goals. But for the other 85 he's absolutely brilliant. I love the guy. He's shown how much of a marquee signing he is.

Aly Cissokho - 6/10. You know what? I don't even think he's been that bad. I've given him some stick but in games where he's allowed to get forward, he's fantastic. In big games, he can't work with Coutinho on the left because the latter has no defensive desire, showed against City.

Martin Kelly - 5/10. Couple of cameos, hasn't done much. Looks sluggish and can't seem to mark his man any more.

Martin Skrtel - 7.5/10. Come under fire of late for doing something every defender in the world does. Been very good, much better than last season. He and Sakho work well together and they've been steady.

Jon Flanagan - 8/10. He might not have the raw talent that some of our squad has, but his determination not to let his man pass him has been fantastic. Brick wall, very impressive. Gutted he's injured, honestly.

Luis Alberto - 6/10. A few cameos, usually sitting deep, showed his creativity against Spurs with an underrated pass to Suarez for the latter's second. Would like to see him get in for the FA Cup behind the striker, looks very comfortable on the ball.

Steven Gerrard - 7/10. I've criticised him a lot but you do realise when he's out just what he offers to the team. Not to say we've suffered without him, but his influence on the team can't be questioned. Looking forward to his return.

Philippe Coutinho - 6/10. Christ he's frustrating, he has the ability to pick any pass in the world, but half the time he can't be arsed and goes for goal himself. When he clicks with Suarez and, in recent weeks, Henderson and Sterling, the results can be fantastic, but it's been all too rare. Needs to step up.

Victor Moses - 5/10. Won't miss him, but we improved against City once he came on as he helped Cissokho a lot, fair play to him.

Jordan Henderson - 9/10. Been absolutely fantastic in the further role in the midfield, and has picked up more assists than United's midfield combined. His form of late has seen people stand up and take notice. Hope he continues, he's guaranteed to still be in the team when Gerrard comes back, hopefully he doesn't cave to Gerrard's status.

Lucas Leiva - 7/10. Standard, keeps the team ticking, cuts things out before they get started. Were it not for the outstanding performances of the other two around him, he'd be getting noticed a lot more. Thankfully, that hasn't been necessary.

Joe Allen - 7.5/10. Derby miss aside, when he came into the side following Gerrard's injury, he hasn't complained, he's slotted in perfectly and his energy alongside Henderson and Lucas has been vital in cutting teams out before they reach the penalty area. He'll probably be dropped for Gerrard but it shouldn't be so cut and dry.

Raheem Sterling - 8/10. Didn't expect anything from him this season, but he's brought pace to the frontline we didn't previous have, and his runs off Suarez may have slowed Suarez's goals down a little bit, but they've definitely helped the team out a lot more. Getting amongst the goals now, he's been very good.

Iago Aspas - 5/10. Got injured a few games into the season and hasn't ever really looked like scoring. Feel for him, he should get a few chances soon.

Daniel Sturridge - 8/10. Helped us monumentally in the first month or so when Suarez was out with his ban, slowed down but still scoring when he's not injured. Last minute equaliser against Everton was brilliant, could be key in the run-in if he keeps his pre-injury form.

Luis Suarez - 10/10. I don't care if he's a flat track bully. He's absolutely fantastic and is as close to the best in the world as anyone in this league. Best player I've seen in my life at Liverpool and his 19 goals in 13 games is just unheard of in this league. Hope he keeps it up in the second half of the season. Only criticism is his failure to score against the big teams, but I don't care, we've got other players who can score against them. He just needs to keep getting four against Norwich and the like.

Who do we need? A right back, maybe a left back as well. We've been told we need attacking options as well but I think we're alright there, another midfielder would be nice as 16 year old Jordan Rossiter has been in the squad of late, not the best depth there. Overall though, I'm very happy with us so far this year. Anything is possible.

[Deleted]

How often does Aspas play Gianni Infantino g7vikings etc? I would have thought it'd be a good move to throw him in there quite a bit over this congested period considering you seem to make decent scoring chances with just about every attack. Calculated risk or what have ye.

Goalkeepers Hugo's been shaky but tbf he's been let down by the catastrophe that is Dawson in a high line. The fact that we're still paying Gomes' wages is infuriating. 7

Defence: Where to begin. Need more Vertonghen at centre half. The fact that a just-above average Walker has probably been our best defender this year is surprising. Not as surprising as the fact that somehow Dawson is still starting every game. Vlad looks a good prospect, but Kaboul is mashed up in the leg department. 5

Middle: Lots of individual talent but thats about as far as it goes for our season thus far. Holtby and Sandro have been on another level yet were either neglected from the starting XI or subbed off at every opportunity by AVB. Capoue looks good, and Dembele has his streak back in him but Chadli, Sigg, Townsend and Eriksen have on the whole been underwhelming for me. 6/7

Forwards: Gash. Complete and utter gash. Hasn't worked but imo that's down to the midfield deciding to isolate Soldado. Hopefully when February comes Ade will still be interested and Defoe will be the other side of the ocean. Bring back Pavvy. 6

AVB gets a 5 from me. Negative, yes. But was let down massively by underperforming players. Although his refusal to acknowledge Jan's unwillingness to play LB, Adebayor as an entity and Lamela entirely fucked up the good work he was doing in the defensive side of things. 

Sherwood. Lol.

[Gianni Infantino]

He got a bit of an injury around October and only came back recently, but he doesn't strike me as that good tbh. His positioning seems to be class, but he never plays as the man up top so it's a bit useless.

[U R GAY]

CBA giving reasons.

Lonergan - 7.5/10
Bogdan - 5/10

McNaughton - 8/10
Mills - 7/10
Ream - 6.5/10
Baptiste - 6/10
Knight - 5/10
Tierney - 5/10
Wheater - 5/10


Danns - 8.5/10
Moritz - 7/10
CY Lee - 6.5/10
Medo - 6/10
Pratley - 6/10
Spearing - 5.5/10
Hall - 5.5/10
Eagles - 5/10

Beckford - 5.5/10
Mason - 5/10
N'Gog - 5/10

[#FreeBTS]

Tim Krul - Solid, one outstanding performance, no real mistakes, so in Mike's book that probably makes him the best keeper in the world. 8/10

Mathieu Debuchy - Shite at the start, but with the formation change and Ben Arfa playing less he's looked 10x better. 6.5/10
Fabricio Coloccini - Not the colossus he was a couple of seasons back, but he's still comfortably our best centre-back. 7/10
Mike Williamson - Erm, noone was expecting this. Absolutely superb since he came back in. 7.5/10
Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa - Pretty shaky at the start, but played better in his few performances since his red vs Liverpool. Still a lot to prove, clearly got quality though. 6/10
Davide Santon - Still don't like having a right-footer at left-back, but he's solid enough, and a real threat going forward. Can be got at though. 6/10
Steven Taylor - Nah. 4th choice now, says it all. Made noises about moving on in the summer.
Paul Dummett - Shown enough to say he'd be worth keeping around.
Massadio Haidara - Not played enough to get a rating, but I really like him, would prefer him to Santon in some games.

Yohan Cabaye - DON'T SELL CABAYE. So talented, we miss him so much when he's not there. Superb recently, but was a bit quiet in some matches towards the beginning of the season. 8/10
Cheick Tiote - Real renaissance from him. Went from a liability to being vital to us (again). Again though, some poor performances at the start of the season. 7/10
Moussa Sissoko - Can occasionally go missing, but his energy on the right is vital. 6.5/10
Yoan Gouffan - Turning into a massive part of our team, and a real favourite with the fans. One of the first names on the teamsheet now. 7.5/10
Vurnon Anita - Tidy as fuck. Shame we're overloaded in centre-midfield, because he never looks out of place. Cameo vs Chelsea was magnificent. 7/10
Hatem Ben Arfa - Won games for us this season, and also just went completely missing. Great attitude since he was dropped though, subverting lazy opinions about him. Still our most talented player. 6/10
Sylvain Marveaux - Pardew clearly doesn't fancy him. Shame, I think he's a good player.
Jonas Gutierrez - Looked limited last season, and hasn't had much of a look in this year.
Gael Bigirimana - Hopefully he gets a loan move, too good to sit around not doing anything.
Sammy Ameobi - Would rather see him than Obertan. Not a massive compliment mind you.
Gabriel Obertan - Please sell him.

Loic Remy - Excellent. When Hatem went quiet, he stepped up. Not just a poacher, leads the line superbly. Bit quieter recently, but hasn't played poorly. 7.5/10
Shola Ameobi - Playing for a World Cup place and a new contract. Stepped up when we've needed him. Not the answer though, need a striker. 6/10
Papiss Cisse - Just don't believe he can ever be a starter for us again, just too limited. Massive distraction on the bench as well, though clearly willing to fight. Wouldn't complain if we got rid. 5/10

We really need a striker, someone to hold the ball up to let Remy get in behind would be excellent, and we're linked strongly with Bafetimbi Gomis (and he's desperate for it judging by his twitter), would be great I reckon. Also wouldn't complain at another wide player. Aside from that, we have cover everywhere and should be able to cope with just a domestic campaign. Pardew making good noises about what we can do in January, so there's clearly money to spend, and I'd be very surprised if we don't get a striker in early.

[cl7]

They're all shite. apart form Lewis Macleod. hard to care though as it really doesn't matter how shit we are for another year and a half yet.

[Star of Spurs]

Right.

In goal: the best keeper in the league who's gone full Gomes since being knocked the fuck out; the oldest man in the world & Gomes who's gone full Gomes by collecting £60k a week by doing the square root of fuck all.

Full backs: a great right back capable of calamities; a calamity capable of catastrophe; a pigme who went missing; a Man United reject that won't.

Centre backs: a Belgian who can't be arsed; a Frenchman who seems to have broken his arse; a Romanian who can do keepie-uppies with his arse; an Englishman who frequently ends up on his arse.

Central midfield: a Brazilian who deserves so much better; a Brazilian who should be much better; the happiest man in the world that we can't find a use for; the scariest man in the world we don't seem to want to find a use for; the Moose who we find too many uses for.

Wingers: a Townsend who'll probably end up wasteful like Lennon; a Lennon who's ended up wasteful like Lennon; a Chadli who's plummeted new depths of mediocrity; a Scandinavian who'll definitely come good here; a Scandinavian who'll definitely come good somewhere else; a complete and utter fuhgazi.

Strikers: Soldado, who must be wondering why he came here; Adebayor, who must be wondering how he's still here; Defoe, who I wish wasn't here.

Managers: A man who seemed to give himself too much to do with too few people on his side, whose biggest failing here was that he let himself be replaced by someone as unqualified as Sherwood. Deserved better.

[Childish]

Hart - Started off with a lot of mistakes but has reacted well to going on the bench and has some decent performances of late. Definitely better than Pantamillon and will be our starter. 6/10

Pantamillon - Showing he is nothing more than a backup keeper despite all the ludicrous claims that he should definitely be starting ahead of Hart. Not bad but not good enough to be our #1. 5/10


- - -


Zabaleta - Still one of our best players. 8/10

Kompany - Still fantastic every game he plays in. Performance against Liverpool and stopping Suarez scoring says it all really. Shame about his injuries 9/10

Lescott - I think Mancini dropping him was harsh, still an ok defender who should start for a midtable club but with the constant changing back 4 he can't seem to get settled 6/10

Demichelles - Dives in far too much, just not solid enough for the league. Get away with him in comfortable home games but away from home he gets found out 5/10

Nastasic - Showed signs of being decent and will keep improving but injuries so not got any sort of proper run 5/10

Javi Garcia - Played out of position. Unfair really, never gotten proper run in midfield. 5/10

Clichy - Not bad, same problem he's always had of being alright but capable of mistake at any time. 7/10

Kolarov - Probably more solid defensively than Clichy, doesn't offer quite as much offensively because he doesn't have the pace Clichy does. 6/10


- - -


Yaya Toure - Unstoppable as of late. He can be a little inconsistent and when games get tough he doesn't do enough to stop us getting over-ran (Fulham recently) but when we are playing well it's usually because teams can't cope with him. 9/10

Fernandinho - Not worth the 30m but compensates Yaya well, doesn't make many mistakes and offers more offensively than Barry so an improvement at least 7/10

Nasri - Stepped up to the plate when Silva was out. Definitely better when he's the main man creatively, he's a bit like our Pires with Toure/Nasri/Aguero being Vieria/Pires/Henry is how I'd compare it. 9/10

Silva - Injury was a shame but showing signs of being the title-winning Silva. Still seems a little easily stuffed out of away games.

Navas - Offers us something totally different, real width which helps so so much. Runs in behind and crossing is a whole new dimension to our game. Relationship with Negredo is unreal. 7/10

Milner - Does everything he's asked to as per usual. And in Munich he showed he is actually a good attacking player but his work rate means managers just stick him on defensive duty which is a bit of a shame. Another likeable player who should be playing week in week out at a smaller club but I like having him in the team.

Rodwell - N/A


- - -


Aguero - Only outshown as a striker this season by Suarez and arguably Rooney. Back to his best, quick, strong, making runs into the channels and being clinical. Excels when alongside Negredo. 9/10

Negredo - Hit the ground running. His link up is excellent and just by being there gives Aguero more room and brings out the best in him. Chipped in with his own share of goals too. And I love when he scores and the sound of 'Beeeeeeasssssstttt' ringing round the Etihad. 8/10

Jovetic - ...

Dzeko - Still a decent striker and very likable guy, shame he isn't good enough to start week in week out. Signing Negredo ruined him because there's nothing he can do that Negredo can't do better. 6/10.


- - -


Pelligrini - Letting the team play the way they should. Obvious issue with away games, needs to find the right balance. Will be easier to judge when he's gone to Old Trafford, Anfield, Emirates, Goodison. Enjoyed the demolition of Utd, Spurs and game versus Arsenal. And Bayern victory.

[Deleted]

Fuck me, I forgot Jovetic plays for City.
What on Earth has happened to the lad?

[#FreeBTS]

Having seen quite a few of Man City's games this year I find giving Yaya Toure a 9 pretty unbelievable, seen him go missing far too often.

[sween]

Sunderland
They're all shite apart from the odd few who've been alright.

[Mick]

Has Jovetic played at all this season?

[The Quito Diet]

Szcezsny - Brilliant improvement in form and consistency and seems to have learnt from being dropped at the back end of last season.

Sagna - Solid, reliable as ever. Would be a miss if he doesn't sign a new deal.
Mertesacker - Best CB in the league so far, majority of credit for our defensive stability in 2013 goes to him and his vocal leadership.
Koscielny - Is the brawn to go with Per's brains. Brilliantly athletic and learning to read the game better and better.
Gibbs - Finally showing the potential that's been breaking through in drips and drops now he's had a good run of games without injuries.

Walcott - Looks like he might establish himself as one of the top players in the league if he can find the form he had last year. Glimmers of it so far.
Ramsey - Utterly reborn this season. Like a man possessed, everything is coming off for him, testament to hard work and commitment.
Wilshere - Improvements needed in his all-round game to make sure he offers enough to keep a regular place.
Arteta - Losing a yard of pace each year it seems, but reads the game well and is an important player when it comes to dictating the teams pace.
Ozil - Quiet for a good while now, but still offers touches of class. Needs to control more games.

Giroud - Continued improvement, hugely underrated for what he brings to the whole team. Provides balance, brilliant hold-up and link-up but could use some support with goals to take some pressure off.

Podolski - Should have a big part to play in the run-in.
Rosicky - Machine. Never stops running, quiet off the pitch but a leader on it.
Flamini - Importance has waned slightly in recent weeks. Could still be pivotal but does a great job of protecting our back four.
Monreal - Solid, reliable back up.
Vermaelen - One of the better back-up CB's in the league. Whilst it's a huge blow to break up the Per/Koscielny partnership, he's good enough to ensure it's not a major issue.
Bendtner - Gay hair.
Ox - Was poor even before his injury.
Park - Is he still alive?

[Childish]

Dec 29, 2013 0:17:58 GMT #FreeBTS said:

Having seen quite a few of Man City's games this year I find giving Yaya Toure a 9 pretty unbelievable, seen him go missing far too often.

Probably. Sunderland, Chelsea and Stoke stand out as games he didn't do enough in every home game and a few away ones he has been instrumental to our play, Aguero/Nasri/Silva strive off of him getting the ball, running and defences and distributing it to them. A bit like how Utd are shit without Carrick because no-one else gets the ball to Rooney/RVP/wingers, except Yaya drives at teams as well. If you take points off Arsenal and we finish the year top of the league then it's probably fair our star CM gets a 9/10. 


Edit: RE Jovetic...rumours he's unsettled and doesn't like the area but the official line is he's been injured with hamstring and calf problems. Thought he'd be on the bench today but most not be ready yet. I think we signed him and Negredo so that if one flopped we would be ok, be difficult for him to displace Alvaro after the start he's had but I've literally never watched him play so he could be great/offer something totally different. Quietly optimistic he'll be good. 

[notpropaganda]

Dare I ask what you're basing that comment re: De Bruyne on Mike?