Gylfi Sigurðsson

[Palfy]

34 minutes ago, pete0 said:

It was a surprising stat that he'd covered the most ground in the prem the year before coming to us, but he was still up there under Koeman, not number one but still top 20. Think his work rate is more noticeable now as Silva has him pressing. 

https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer/soccer-news/meet-premier-leagues-marathon-men-12516993

It’s very surprising I wouldn’t have put a bet on that when Koeman was here.  

[StevO]

He’s always been a very hard worker, I just think as his job is to create it goes under the radar when he doesn’t create a lot in a game. 

[Palfy]

1 hour ago, StevO said:

He’s always been a very hard worker, I just think as his job is to create it goes under the radar when he doesn’t create a lot in a game. 

I do think under other managers his main role was to create, but under Silva the midfielders are expected to share the responsibility more in all facets of the midfield roles which seems to make us work better as a unit. 

Against West Ham he was seen further back then Gomes hunting the ball on many occasions, I’m probably wrong when I say this but it’s like the 3 of them have been told if we are weak in midfield no matter what area you are all responsible.

The midfield dynamics as a team are definitely improving and it is definitely helping us in defence and attack. 

[markjazzbassist]

17 hours ago, Palfy said:

He worked really hard yesterday, I think in a Silva midfield 3 all have to work hard and do their share of the closing down. 

You can see in Gylfi’s game that he is running his bollocks off and not just looking to be the play maker. 

He was my MoTM.  He was everywhere.  He created a lot and was pressing the most of anyone.  He gives it his all.

[markjazzbassist]

13 goals and 6 assists he led the team in both of those (tied with Richarlison for goals).  Very good season, did a lot of hard work pressing up front too, i'm happy with him.  a couple more years at those levels and the fee will be justified.

[Sibdane]

1 minute ago, markjazzbassist said:

13 goals and 6 assists he led the team in both of those (tied with Richarlison for goals).  Very good season, did a lot of hard work pressing up front too, i'm happy with him.  a couple more years at those levels and the fee will be justified.

Not a bad return and had a decent season. I hope to see more assists from him next season since he's our primary creator behind the striker.

[markjazzbassist]

1 hour ago, sibdane said:

Not a bad return and had a decent season. I hope to see more assists from him next season since he's our primary creator behind the striker.

yeah i think now that the front 4 is more or less settled we could see better interplay between them.  if we get a striker i think he will get more assists feeding said striker.  

[pete0]

His stats look good but his overall contribution hasn't been enough. Many a game he goes unnoticed unless he scores or assists, but even looking at the games he's scored/assisted in they don't tend to make much difference. 

His goals have only got us wins in three games, Cardiff home and away (we won 3 nil but DCL scored last minute so I'd still credit Gylfi for thst win), and Leicester. The Leicester game being his stand out, but even then it was after they went down to 10 men. Brilliant turn and goal of the season contender in that game but sadly we don't see enough of him taking the game by the scruff of the neck and helping us get a win, he doesn't get on the ball enough. That said I don't blame the player, he's trying to do the role the manager asks but simply isn'tt suited. 

[Sibdane]

23 minutes ago, markjazzbassist said:

yeah i think now that the front 4 is more or less settled we could see better interplay between them.  if we get a striker i think he will get more assists feeding said striker.  

We need to bring in some competition for him if Bernard or Vlasic aren't given a chance there. If he goes down injured I can't think of another player who called potentially play his role besides maybe Davies (although less effectively).

[Palfy]

I really like Gylfi this season I have seen a side to his game I wasn’t looking at before, I used to think if he hadn’t set up a goal or scored himself he wasn’t doing his job, but when you see the work he gets through you begin to realise what an asset he is to the team. 

 

[Matt]

2 hours ago, pete0 said:

His stats look good but his overall contribution hasn't been enough. Many a game he goes unnoticed unless he scores or assists, but even looking at the games he's scored/assisted in they don't tend to make much difference. 

His goals have only got us wins in three games, Cardiff home and away (we won 3 nil but DCL scored last minute so I'd still credit Gylfi for thst win), and Leicester. The Leicester game being his stand out, but even then it was after they went down to 10 men. Brilliant turn and goal of the season contender in that game but sadly we don't see enough of him taking the game by the scruff of the neck and helping us get a win, he doesn't get on the ball enough. That said I don't blame the player, he's trying to do the role the manager asks but simply isn'ttt suited. 

Bar the goal of the season acknowledgement, I’m baffled. Deliberately going going against the grain again?

proven many wrong again, thankfully 

[pete0]

33 minutes ago, Matt said:

Bar the goal of the season acknowledgement, I’m baffled. Deliberately going going against the grain again?

proven many wrong again, thankfully 

Bar the Leicester game I don't think he's had many standout performances. He's professional and runs a lot but he's not effective. 

No idea why you think it's against the grain. Many on here have said similar about Sigurdssen being too quiet and not getting on the ball enough and I'm sure there's people who agree he doesn't suit the system too. 

[Matt]

1 hour ago, pete0 said:

Bar the Leicester game I don't think he's had many standout performances. He's professional and runs a lot but he's not effective. 

No idea why you think it's against the grain. Many on here have said similar about Sigurdssen being too quiet and not getting on the ball enough and I'm sure there's people who agree he doesn't suit the system too. 

Many on here are wrong. He’s done his job. 

[London Blue]

1 hour ago, Matt said:

Many on here are wrong. He’s done his job. 

He is a goal scoring midfielder who scores goals, he is not the most creative but he does create chances.

He is a valuable player, an very good option to have.

[pete0]

5 hours ago, Matt said:

Many on here are wrong. He’s done his job. 

His job is to help the team win, he never contributed enough to winning. He's only got 6 assists, which might be top at our club but compared to the rest of the league it's not good enough. 37 players in the league got more assists than him. Every club in the league bar Huddersfield, Brighton, Soton and Cardiff have a player more creative. 

That said I don't blame the player. In general the whole team don't create enough and that's on the manager for not playing to his strengths or the squads in general. At Swansea a relegation battling side Sigurdssen managed 26 assists across 3 seasons, yet for us he's got 9 in two seasons. 

[Vranny]

The thing with Siggy is if you’re expecting him to be the main playmaker, always showing for the ball, then you’re going to be disappointed. That’s clearly Gomes’ role in the team. I see Gylfi more as an attacking third based player. He’s there to score goals, press up with DCL and provide the final ball (I honestly think he’d have more assists with a better striker and Walcott not getting so much game time).

While I do wish he’d present to the ball more when we’re struggling to break teams down, he’s certainly done more good than bad. I’d probably rate him as our best attacking player this season. 

[Romey 1878]

If he'd cost us £25m I'd be ecstatic with him (and that is when we should have stopped the bidding. Thanks, Steve, you dick). But he cost us £50m. And I know it's not his fault, I totally get that, but you expect a game changing player for that sort of money.

I genuinely like him as a player. He works extremely hard for us but we did buy him to create and influence and, for me, he just doesn't do enough.

[Gwlad]

Gylfi is probably the player I notice most for his contribution if not as a stand out.

[DavisJD]

10 hours ago, pete0 said:

His job is to help the team win, he never contributed enough to winning. He's only got 6 assists, which might be top at our club but compared to the rest of the league it's not good enough. 37 players in the league got more assists than him. Every club in the league bar Huddersfield, Brighton, Soton and Cardiff have a player more creative. 

That said I don't blame the player. In general the whole team don't create enough and that's on the manager for not playing to his strengths or the squads in general. At Swansea a relegation battling side Sigurdssen managed 26 assists across 3 seasons, yet for us he's got 9 in two seasons. 

Fake news

20 players got more assists than Gylfi’s 6.

Only 6 of those 20 were from clubs that finished lower on the table than Everton.

 

[MikeO]

42 minutes ago, DavisJD said:

Fake news

20 players got more assists than Gylfi’s 6.

Only 6 of those 20 were from clubs that finished lower on the table than Everton.

Narrow it down to just midfielders only nine got more than him.

[pete0]

1 hour ago, DavisJD said:

Fake news

20 players got more assists than Gylfi’s 6.

Only 6 of those 20 were from clubs that finished lower on the table than Everton.

Not fake news, just an error in counting the players my end, I must have double counted one list when checking late last night. 

As far as I can see only the 4 clubs I named top assister got the same or fewer. Also to call mine fake news and then say 'only six' is laughable. Add the other seven above us and that's the majority of the league. 

Edit: just checked and fantasy.premierleague.com have 38.

[plaidharper]

Stats can be misleading without context.  To some extent I had a similar view to pete0's in regards to Gylfi when he was brought into our team.  I thought he would create more / have more assists and so far he hasn't. He just hasn't.  This expectation of him was all based on his performance on his last season at Swansea where he racked up 9 goals and 13 assists in league play.  Without context you might ask:  "Where are all the assists Iceman?" but if you really look at Swansea that season (which is something I would never do unless in a silly conversation years later on TT) you can find some partial explanations.

1) Gylfi pretty much took every single free kick for Swansea that season
2) Many of Gylfi's assists came from those free kick situations
3) Fernando Llorente put away a surprising 15 goals that season (along with Mawson getting 4 as well) which I am assuming many were headers

It would be safe to assume that most of Gylfi's assists came from free kicks that were headed in.

Now if you look at our squad this year, Gylfi is not always guaranteed to take free kicks.  Additionally, our CF (DCL) only had 6 league goals and our CB (Keane) only had 1 league goal.  Compare that to the same contributors in the Swansea 16/17 squad that is a difference of 12 goals (probably many of which were Gylfi free kick assists).  Lack of free kicks and a target man on the end of them that can convert could alone explain the difference in assists.

So in conclusion:

Did I think Siggy would create more when he first arrived? Yes. Did I think he would have more than 6 assists a season? Yes.

BUT

If we had a CF who was more clinical do I think he would have more assists? Yes. Was this season his highest ever goal tally? Yes.  Do I think this was his best season in a blue shirt? Yes.

We can talk stats and price tags all day long but I am happy with him.  He improved on last season and I see room for further improvement this coming season (more so if the CF situation improves).   It is when there is no improvement or a ceiling is hit that is when I will start to heavily criticize.

 

[Sibdane]

10 minutes ago, plaidharper said:

Stats can be misleading without context.  To some extent I had a similar view to pete0's in regards to Gylfi when he was brought into our team.  I thought he would create more / have more assists and so far he hasn't. He just hasn't.  This expectation of him was all based on his performance on his last season at Swansea where he racked up 9 goals and 13 assists in league play.  Without context you might ask:  "Where are all the assists Iceman?" but if you really look at Swansea that season (which is something I would never do unless in a silly conversation years later on TT) you can find some partial explanations.

1) Gylfi pretty much took every single free kick for Swansea that season
2) Many of Gylfi's assists came from those free kick situations
3) Fernando Llorente put away a surprising 15 goals that season (along with Mawson getting 4 as well) which I am assuming many were headers

It would be safe to assume that most of Gylfi's assists came from free kicks that were headed in.

Now if you look at our squad this year, Gylfi is not always guaranteed to take free kicks.  Additionally, our CF (DCL) only had 6 league goals and our CB (Keane) only had 1 league goal.  Compare that to the same contributors in the Swansea 16/17 squad that is a difference of 12 goals (probably many of which were Gylfi free kick assists).  Lack of free kicks and a target man on the end of them that can convert could alone explain the difference in assists.

So in conclusion:

Did I think Siggy would create more when he first arrived? Yes. Did I think he would have more than 6 assists a season? Yes.

BUT

If we had a CF who was more clinical do I think he would have more assists? Yes. Was this season his highest ever goal tally? Yes.  Do I think this was his best season in a blue shirt? Yes.

We can talk stats and price tags all day long but I am happy with him.  He improved on last season and I see room for further improvement this coming season (more so if the CF situation improves).   It is when there is no improvement or a ceiling is hit that is when I will start to heavily criticize.

 

Excellent post.

[markjazzbassist]

agreed, well done @plaidharper

[Romey 1878]

How many times did he even touch the ball today? 

[pete0]

10 minutes ago, Romey 1878 said:

How many times did he even touch the ball today? 

Unsure, but wouldn't be surprised if he had more touches in the last 5 mins than first 90. Really needed to step up when we were under pressure. 

[StevO]

He was very quiet today. Hope to see more of him, and the rest of the team, playing at a higher level soon. 

[Bailey]

Just completely pointless having him on the pitch at times. De Bruyne plays a similar role for Man City but he is involved in everything. 

[pete0]

7 minutes ago, Bailey said:

Just completely pointless having him on the pitch at times. De Bruyne plays a similar role for Man City but he is involved in everything. 

City play a more 4141 compared to our 4411. 

What we ask from Sigurdssen (AM pressing from the front) is probs closest to what Jota does for Wolves (although they play a 3511). Sigurdssen probably has more overall quality than him but I'd swap them in a heartbeat as Jota has the right attributes for the system Silva is trying to implement. 

Potentially even say Liverpool have a similar system with the pressing and wingers but they forfeit the AM altogether to allow for the midfielders to get more possession. 

[Finn balor]

56 minutes ago, Bailey said:

Just completely pointless having him on the pitch at times. De Bruyne plays a similar role for Man City but he is involved in everything. 

That is a really good point. He hasn’t done it for me for his price tag. He needs to be dropped.