Weirdness Abounds (or the Idrissa Gana Gueye Thread)

[Gwlad]

Only got EFC commentary as I'm in Norway, sounded as if he contributed. 

[Btay]

He slotted in like he never left. In the derby of all games as well. Top signing and top top player imo.

[Palfy]

7 minutes ago, Gwlad all over said:

Only got EFC commentary as I'm in Norway, sounded as if he contributed. 

So did everyone who played today great team performance. 

[badaids]

So composed, read the game brilliantly and made the players around him better. 

[Hafnia]

His performance needs putting into perspective…. He didn’t just return to the premier league after 3 years in a slower league . His did it in a derby game with team mates he hasn’t played with before.  
 

He gave us a calmness and a presence, Davies did ok but the improvement was noticeable. His ability to get a foot in and break up play is unreal.  
 

you can tell he’s played with better players the last 3 years. His passing was very assertive and no nonsense. 

[dunlopp9987]

7 hours ago, Palfy said:

So did everyone who played today great team performance. 

Huh.....so this is the hill you want to die on?

[Wiggytop]

11 hours ago, duncanmckenzieismagic said:

Surely PeteO/Palfy can now see the difference ?

Can, but don’t want to

[Palfy]

3 hours ago, dunlopp9987 said:

Huh.....so this is the hill you want to die on?

Yes I suppose it is, this is my Hamburger hill and I’m sticking my flag/pennant firmly in it with the conviction shown by every player yesterday in a great team performance

[StevO]

I wonder if we can restrict Palfy having access to this thread?

I’ll have a look later.

[Bailey]

I thought he came on and played like he had never been away. He sat in that holding position and just knocked the ball around and picked off attacks too. In fact, I think he looked more composed than he used to in that brief cameo in a hectic game.

He did cost us a chance when he came out of position, didn't win the ball and was taken out of the game leaving us exposed to the counter. He did a similar thing not long before, won the ball and set us on the attack so it is swings and roundabouts. 

[StevO]

3 hours ago, Bailey said:

In fact, I think he looked more composed than he used to in that brief cameo in a hectic game.

Or he was following a different set of tactics than when he was here previously?

[Elston Gunnn]

3 hours ago, Bailey said:

I thought he came on and played like he had never been away. He sat in that holding position and just knocked the ball around and picked off attacks too.

He did cost us a chance when he came out of position, didn't win the ball and was taken out of the game leaving us exposed to the counter. He did a similar thing not long before, won the ball and set us on the attack so it is swings and roundabouts. 

18 minutes ago, StevO said:

Or he was following a different set of tactics than when he was here previously?

These observations by Bailey and StevO might serve as the beginning of a conversation that will merit attention, elaboration, and debate (not to mention, of course, irritation, snark, and insult) as this season progresses.

As often as not I supported Palfy’s and pete0’s criticism of Gana Gueye when he played for us before.  For me, it came down to the IGG “risk/reward” calculation, and rather too many of what Bailey here refers to “swings and roundabouts.”  Perhaps StevO’s question — genuine, I gather, given the emogi — is a key, about which we will learn more as Lampard’s tactics emerge.

I will hope that those tactics will hinge on Gana Gueye being deployed, as Bailey describes his play yesterday, to sit, hold, pick off, and knock the ball around.  I think Gana Gueye is way, way best deployed as a holding DCM, not as a box-to-box midfielder.  He’s just not much good, skill-wise, near the opponent’s box; worse, he’s dangerously away from his great defensive positional-strength there.  None of our other 6 midfielders can compare to his brilliance as a holding DCM.  But most, perhaps all of the other 6, offer more in attack.  Iwobi, Onana, and Doucouré are certainly better than IGG going forward, Davies and Garner probably so; even the rarely-to-be-seen-again Allan has a “better” shot than IGG.

Gana Gueye can be our most valuable player, our fulcrum, (1) in protecting the back 4, and (2) in freeing our 5 attacking players to push forward, press, attack, cross, score goals.  Happy for him — Bailey again — to pick off, win the ball, and set us on the attack.  But he should rarely continue to attack; leave that to actual ACMs, wingers, and forwards, which, to our delight and surprise, are now in the squad in pretty good numbers.

 

 

 

 

[Romey 1878]

 

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

23 hours ago, Palfy said:

So did everyone who played today great team performance. 

is that you acknowledging he had a good game?

[Palfy]

18 minutes ago, duncanmckenzieismagic said:

is that you acknowledging he had a good game?

I did say he had a good game shock horror. 

[Bailey]

4 hours ago, StevO said:

Or he was following a different set of tactics than when he was here previously?

Yes and no. 

On occasion, he used to play as a single pivot in his first spell which I always thought he played his best football. Like you mentioned earlier, he seemed to be sharper on the ball and I think it was a good point about having played with better players at PSG and developing his game that little bit. 

From a tactical view, it was clearly a much different role than he used to play most of the time in his first spell which led to him having to harry and harass the opponent further up the pitch and more aggressively which requires better decision making and awareness. 

At the end of the day it was only a very brief cameo so we will see a lot more of him in the coming weeks to see if his game has developed or whether it was a one-off.

[Romey 1878]

If anyone can't see that he's an improved player after playing with some of the best players at PSG then you're a fool.

He's a massively more composed and disciplined player now. What really stood out to me today was that he doesn't just go charging round the pitch chasing the ball anymore, he's better at just knowing where he needs to be on the pitch.

I worried that he might not have the legs to be the player we had, but it doesn't look he'll need to anyway because he's not the player we had, he's different (better).

[Palfy]

5 hours ago, Romey 1878 said:

If anyone can't see that he's an improved player after playing with some of the best players at PSG then you're a fool.

He's a massively more composed and disciplined player now. What really stood out to me today was that he doesn't just go charging round the pitch chasing the ball anymore, he's better at just knowing where he needs to be on the pitch.

I worried that he might not have the legs to be the player we had, but it doesn't look he'll need to anyway because he's not the player we had, he's different (better).

He is much more a team player in his approach to the game the ball magnet is definitely getting weaker, whether that’s down to his time at PSG or his age who knows, but he’s not leaving gaping holes chasing lost causes. And he is now directing players around him he’s definitely looking at the bigger picture, that must have been instilled from his time in France because he never showed it here his first time around. Definitely a different  player than the one who left here 3 years ago which is good news, because I wasn’t looking forward to a couple of years of being the odd one out. 

[StevO]

tactics. 
🫣 tactics. 
TACTICS!!!

[Wiggytop]

I thought he was brilliant yesterday, read the game well, tackled, good passes, cool under pressure, where was all the headless chicken stuff we were promised we would get again.

[London Blue]

He is the midfielder we have been looking for since he left.

[Palfy]

6 minutes ago, London Blue said:

He is the midfielder we have been looking for since he left.

Thankfully he isn’t he is a much more complete player than one that left on that performance.  

[Matt]

1 hour ago, Palfy said:

Thankfully he isn’t he is a much more complete player than one that left on that performance.  

He's really not doing much different than he used too. A bit more refined for sure but it's basically been business as usual.

[Aidan]

4 hours ago, StevO said:

tactics. 
🫣 tactics. 
TACTICS!!!

What are them?

[Romey 1878]

 

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

Starting to look forward to his post match dance routines! Really does genuinely look happy to be home!

 

[Matt]

Wasn't his best game yesterday. Was it him that gave the ball away for their goal?

[Romey 1878]

1 hour ago, Matt said:

Wasn't his best game yesterday. Was it him that gave the ball away for their goal?

It was.

[Palfy]

I thought he did alright to be honest we dominated the game in MF and the fact we did that without him having to run around headless for me proves that a Gana who is more focused and controlled in his duties is better for the team as a team, if not so eye catching for himself. 

[SpartyBlue]

6 hours ago, Matt said:

Wasn't his best game yesterday. Was it him that gave the ball away for their goal?

Was mixed. He had a couple of mistakes but was otherwise his normal tackling self.