Naby Keita

[No2]

I'm watching football 35 years and I'd like to think I've a fair idea what's going on on the pitch. But I'll be honest and say I still don't understand the intricacies of the our midfield. Read through the match thread and you will see Naby and Hendo getting slaughtered, my WhatsApp was the same. I don't know how 2 of our 3 midfielders can be shit but we still boss the games for large parts. It isn't possible, they can't have been shit,  clearly there was moments when they could have done better but we need to remember sometimes that there is another team trying to stop us. Chelsea are good team, they have as good a chance as we do of winning the CL, we won't be dominating them for a full 90 minutes anytime soon with Thiago in the side never mind Naby.

[alles ist gut]

He won at least two 50-50s, kicked one of theirs in the balls, and his shot in the first half could easily have led to a goal for Mane. Probably had a better game than Salah. In the context of '15th-best outfielder available', he did his job.

[chrisbonnie]

I actually thought he was our best midfielder if im totally honest. 

 

Chelsea started well but once our 3 got to grips with kovacic I think we dominated for larger periods than them. 

 

They do have a very good midfield, to be fair to them. 

[Kevin D]

On 15/02/2022 at 10:58, Total Longo said:

As if.

I just read the match thread and let’s say Stringvest didn’t quite live up to his promise.

[Total Longo]

10 minutes ago, Kevin D said:

I just read the match thread and let’s say Stringvest didn’t quite live up to his promise.

The constant negativity is tedious.  

[dockers_strike]

I thought he was pretty anonymous to be honest. His good shot saved by Mendy was the only thing of note in my opinion. Compare him to Diaz who was like a fly round shit buzzing all over the pitch and it's no competition. Need to move him on in the summer.

[rb14]

Go back to @dave u's "not one of United's team would get in to ours". His one caveat was that De Gea would probably make the bench. No longer, I suspect. I digress.

 

If Keita was counted as "one of our team", there would be about 40 midfielders in the premier league alone who'd be in front of him in my pecking order. Other than Klopp's seemingly never-ending tolerance of his mediocrity, Keita brings absolutely nothing to our club. 

[Numero Veinticinco]

We pups too have an issue with him moving on and being replaced. 

[Red74]

Im not his biggest fan but I thought he played well yesterday. Closed them down early and was always in the right position to pick up the ball. 
 

We overran their midfield and kept them at bay with ease while him and the much maligned Jordan Henderson were on the pitch. Lost it when they came off. 
 

 

[stringvest]

1 hour ago, Total Longo said:

The constant negativity is tedious.  

outrageous.  I was the only one saying we'd win!  And I thought Keita played pretty well - he got around the pitch, used the ball well, and got his foot in from time to time. 

[3 Stacks]

There was a period of the game, from like min 25 to 45, where he was very good. He was winning all his duels. And then he almost fucked all of it up by studding Chalobah on the thigh.

[Babb'sBurstNad]

He almost studded him too well. Sometimes you need to scuff a boot in someone's groin.

[Total Longo]

49 minutes ago, stringvest said:

outrageous.  I was the only one saying we'd win!  And I thought Keita played pretty well - he got around the pitch, used the ball well, and got his foot in from time to time. 

The constant negativity was, surprise surprise, to do with Henderson.

[stringvest]

2 minutes ago, Total Longo said:

The constant negativity was, surprise surprise, to do with Henderson.

ah, that's ok then.  You do need to be more specific when having a pop.

[Total Longo]

1 hour ago, stringvest said:

ah, that's ok then.  You do need to be more specific when having a pop.

It's hardly a "pop" is it? It's just an observation, you are like a stuck record when it comes to Henderson. 

 

 

[Pureblood]

And that record is "The Birdy Song". 

[Section_31]

It's weird, we've got so many good players now that I'm really not used to getting the blues when I see a name on the teamsheet, but him and Ox certainly have that impact. 

[Razoray]

Henderson gave us a lot more control than Elliott yesterday. I'm a Harvey fan but the complaints on our captain are tedious and so wrong 

[stringvest]

44 minutes ago, Total Longo said:

It's hardly a "pop" is it? It's just an observation, you are like a stuck record when it comes to Henderson. 

 

 

I'm very thin skinned. 

[stringvest]

So we're agreed Keita had a pretty good game?

[Joey8FrogsLegs]

3 minutes ago, stringvest said:

So we're agreed Keita had a pretty good game?

I would agree to that. He’s got very obvious qualities, good in the pressing, able to carry the ball forwards, pick a through ball and not least a very decent shot. And gets stuck in, even if he doesnt quite seem strong enough. His main weakness as a player is lack of speed I reckon. All of this, strengths and weaknesses, was visible in the match yesterday, even if he struggled to carry the ball into danger areas against, as stated above, a very strong opposition midfield.

 

The main issue, not related to yesterdays match, is his inhability to stay fit over time,

[3 Stacks]

He could have been sent off and ruined the whole thing. He was fine, but it's just not enough and he's an idiot.

[Tarwater]

And so slow. Like his gearbox is broken and never gets out of second. The first 20 minutes he seemed to be too late for any and all challenges.

[aws]

2 hours ago, Section_31 said:

It's weird, we've got so many good players now that I'm really not used to getting the blues when I see a name on the teamsheet, but him and Ox certainly have that impact. 

I don't worry when it's only one of them.  

[gkmacca]

3 hours ago, Razoray said:

Henderson gave us a lot more control than Elliott yesterday. I'm a Harvey fan but the complaints on our captain are tedious and so wrong 

Some of the traditional criticisms at least make some sort of sense, even when they are repeated in games where empirically there's no justification, but the recent moans about him not tackling enough are really disingenuous. The idea that Hendo, who can click into mad dog mode at the flick of a switch, would ever 'avoid' tackling is ridiculous. He's been playing further forward in some games, where his role isn't so centred on the destructive aspect of play, but that ought to be obvious. In any other situation, if he's not as physical as 'normal' then it's way more likely to be because of tactical instructions rather than due to the inexplicable change in character that his crazier critics seem to assume.