You’ve never noticed football fans tend to overreact and get very emo after a defeat? 
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Instead of blaming the team as a whole, people have to have a scapegoat, it’s all part of the game nowadays.
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A nuanced balanced view as usual.
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Him and Ode together tho 
they worked really well together at Sociedad…i wouldn’t be surprised if Ode actually had a little bit to do with the transfer. Of course though He had to be injured by some donkey and just as he came in Ode ended up being bloody injured.
If you’re unsatisfied we can ask about his projections for him.
Too early to say anything tbh… the problem is, he isn’t the thing we are screaming for right now, which is a more Cesc or Ode or attacking threat in the middle OR just proper goal scorer. And that isn’t a slight on him - i don’t think we brought him in for attacking verve but more control/tempo CM who can get around and protect/tackle and with decent passing and athleticism.
I think its also why i think we should see more of Nwaneri - there is zero threat through the middle atm, but in the bits and bobs i have seen of him, he at least knows how to find a pocket and get into the attacking third.
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It’s our midfield in general, that has been wank.
Look at Newcastle’s midfield today, they dominated our midfield and then had the option to bring in Sandro Tonali.
You’re not wrong, but i think part of that was the attackers and Newc basically focusing on neutralizing us… its also true that Guimaraes was flopping at every turn… I mean as soon as we got near him he basically dove across us and got fouls. it was insane…
One the major issues is that channel passes were just not there… some of that was due to Newc doing a good job cutting angles and reading space, but a lot of it was just horrible movement up front. All we could do was shift to wings and they were planning for that.
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Dunno why any early criticism is misread as writing a player off tbh, was the same with havertz last year.
A player can start less well than desired and it be mentioned without it being either a scapegoat or written off.
Havertz started wank because he didn’t suit the role he was initially asked to play and didn’t have the chemistry with his teammates. Both of those changed, one thanks to the manager and one thanks to time/the player.
Now with Merino people got all giddy thinking he was some star signing to replace Partey, when in reality there’s levels between the two (also clear levels between partey and rice btw). Dude showed some good stuff against Liverpool, he can be useful both starting and off the bench but when all are fit right now that’s where he should be sat.
It’s a good signing for midfield depth and he’s had to jump straight in due to injuries, but if he has a bad game you can certainly call that out whether he’s been here 2 months or 20. He was also out himself for 2 months so no surprise he’s not on top of his game.
Rice - Partey - Odegaard is the starting midfield when fit, nothing wrong with Merino rotating in.
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This is fair to be honest, you’re now my best mate :vinai:
Of all our midfielders, Thomas Partey has been the most consistent this season for output. He’s having a phenomenal season so far and that’s also dealing with playing multiple positions. I expect that to level out somewhat soon enough, the reason being minutes in his legs and his age but I recognise that the club were of sound mins keeping him here.
I think Merino has been alright from what we have seen of him so far. By no means does he have an aura like Rice and I didn’t expect that of him when we signed him - I think he will end up being an excellent facilitator in our play. He’s shown signs of finding Martinelli through the lines, has shown he is an aerial threat and glimpses of being a threat in front of goal.
I really have no doubt he will come good, we just need some patience that he will work himself into the team’s rhythm and Øde will no doubt help with that too.
As a fan of his before he arrived and someone who wishlisted him years ago, I am disappointed tbf.
A big positive of this move was that he was the type of player who would hit the ground running.
His luck hasn’t been great of course, such as him being injured in his first training session and the squad not being in great shape when he came back.
I have high expectations for him so hopefully things start clicking for him soon and his experience shines through.
A two man midfield formation doesn’t suit Merino imo.
I think he should look much better when Ode is back and we go back to our main gameplan, a 3 man midfield.
Thought that he’d be offering a lot more on the ball than he is currently. Way too early to write him off though. Like many, I believe he’ll look a lot better when Odegaard returns.
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I mean that he works well with Merino not that him and Ode should be our midfield in its entirety.
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Yeah I agree… i think criticizing a performance and impact so far is reasonable in general and shouldn’t always be met with over the top knee-jerk of “you need to give him time” - they are really two different things.
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We should loan him to a PL club in January so he can gain some experience and adjust to physical demands of the league.
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He is just a player who doesn’t have Partey skillset or Rice’s athleticism to make such a didference in this temporary two man midfield we have mostly played recently. I absolutely think Partey and Rice make a better midfield two than Merino and Rice.
He’s a guy who definitely has a better touch than Xhaka, is quite used to getting into good positions in the box and can finish… I think he’ll definitely look much better and more at home when we go back to a 3 man midfield with Ode, where he will have more freedom to join the attack, with a 6 behind, Ode drawing players onto himself while also helping the press and ball winning massively.
I would be quite careful about saying he’s not an upgrade on Xhaka before he gets the chance to play in a similar surrounding like Xhaka. I still have no doubts Merino is a more complete and the superior player.
Xhaka had a much easier job playing alongide peak Partey and Odegaard who were combining so well at the time and were drawing all the attention of the opposition to themselves and were creating so much space for Xhaka.
Atm Merino can only dream of having such a midfield dynamics around him.
I like Merino a lot but not with Declan and neither with Thomas. That trio have physical presence but lacks mobility to avoid pressure.
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Tbh until we see Rice/Partey, Merino, Odegaard in there consistently it’s way too early to call. People just don’t have patience in football so when a team is badly out or form like ours there’s all these premature judgment calls being made about individual players.
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Rice, Merino and Ødegaard has all the right balance for me.
However, without Ødegaard there isn’t enough movement and guile in there. It does rely heavily on all 3 being present and all 3 bringing their specific skill set to the table.
I can’t wait to see it tbh. Think our fortunes will change big time when the captain is back after the international break.
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