Gini is far less of a problem to us than Jordan is, has Henderson EVER dribbled the ball past another player in his life or is it just safe 5 yard backward and sideways passes??
Gini has suddenly become a target after a sluggish start which you could square at the feet of a number of our players.
Problem is, the lack of quality. When Coutinho wants to leave and Lallana is injured our next best attacking midfielder comes Gini in the pecking order. A considerable gap it must be said, however, Gini is quite a neat and tidy player (nothing special like the rest of our midfielders).
He made something like 30 starts last season and was more often than not paired with either Lallana or Coutinho which suited his game. His game is all about passing and movement and he can 'tick' that over and not look out of place in a higher quality midfield. Unlike Can he doesn't need 3 or 4 touches to control the ball, and look up to shift it on. He does this much more efficiently and can shift it on without getting his head up. He also doesn't give away as many needless/silly fouls like Can or Milner do. He, as posted above will chip in with his assists and goals - remember that header against Citeh? Out of Can, Henderson, and Milner he'll be the only one to ghost into the box and offer threat, and yesterday he did let off a peach of a shot with perfect technique from a corner, their keeper made a really good save to keep it out.
But it's no coincidence his own form has been sluggish since being paired with the cumbersome and often erratic Can, or Milner (who had a decent game by his standards), because they aren't proactive ball playing midfielders like Coutinho and Lallana are.
Again, it all comes back to quality and not supplementing the team with it which was supposed to be done this summer by the manager.
« Last Edit: Aug 20, 2017 10:29:49 am by Beerbelly »
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