Luis Diaz Player Thread (F)

We can see it with our own eyes that he fails to deceive when with the ball at his feet in fantastic positions. The slowing down of play, the running into cul de sacs, the inability to find the target. The City match was a perfect example of that - screamingly obvious that he should have contributed far more than he did in the end.

Diaz and Gakpo are rarely match winners. They seem to contribute only when the match has been won in our favour. It hints that both are incapable of the pressure of being a match winner and that they only perform when the pressure is off. Not players for the big game or the big moment and it's costing us what should be victories against the best sides. No wonder we have such a poor record against fellow top 4/6 sides.

They love to swing punches...but only when the opponent is down, flat on his back.

I think that's a lazy comment mate. Certainly Gakpo has been a player who has come on when the game has already been won and nabbed some late goals but he is probably 5th choice and therefore that is mostly where his opporunities come from.

You can't apply that to Diaz though. Despite having his father kidnapped for a month in the middle of the season there have been plenty of occasions where he has scored scored goals that mattered and had an impact on the game.

Diaz scored our only goal in the season opening 1-1 vs Chelsea
He scored the opener the following week in our 3-1 won over Bournemouth
He scored our equaliser in stoppage time away at Luton
He had a perfectly good goal ruled out at Spurs in the VAR fiasco
He scored the opener in our 4-4 draw at Furth
He scored our 2nd vs Burnley to break a 1-1 game open
He scored our only goal in the 1-1 EFL semin-final away at Fulham to send us through to the final
He scored the clinching goal in our FA Cup win at the Emirates
He scored the opener in our 4-0 win over LASK

I think that's a lazy comment mate. Certainly Gakpo has been a player who has come on when the game has already been won and nabbed some late goals but he is probably 5th choice and therefore that is mostly where his opporunities come from.

You can't apply that to Diaz though. Despite having his father kidnapped for a month in the middle of the season there have been plenty of occasions where he has scored scored goals that mattered and had an impact on the game.

Diaz scored our only goal in the season opening 1-1 vs Chelsea
He scored the opener the following week in our 3-1 won over Bournemouth
He scored our equaliser in stoppage time away at Luton
He had a perfectly good goal ruled out at Spurs in the VAR fiasco
He scored the opener in our 4-4 draw at Furth
He scored our 2nd vs Burnley to break a 1-1 game open
He scored our only goal in the 1-1 EFL semin-final away at Fulham to send us through to the final
He scored the clinching goal in our FA Cup win at the Emirates
He scored the opener in our 4-0 win over LASK

All important goals in the context of those matches, I grant you that. But he was bought with more expectations than that. And you could caveat that in pointing out that none are exactly big teams. Biggest goal is probably that Luton equaliser. But a catalogue of misses against City in a crucial match and umpteen other times squandering chances and assists galore means he's not doing enough in comparison to Nunez and Salah. He needs to do more. Simple as.

All big goals, I grant you that. But he was bought with more expectations than that. Not exactly big teams. Biggest goal is probably that Luton equaliser. But a catalogue of misses against City in a crucial match and umpteen other times squandering chances and assists galore means he's not doing enough in comparison to Nunez and Salah. He needs to do more. Simple as.

He had the chance to really put our foot forward in the title race and help give us unbelievable momentum and also had the moments to get to a fa cup semi final but his final moments just isn’t there. Big players rise in big moments and he didn’t do it at the end of the day

Nobody saying he isn’t a decent player or works hard but people are blinded by either a lack of insight especially if you read the comments saying he was brilliant against city when he fluffed all the best moments or blinded by his work ethic which is good

His output imo is not at the level required but I would certainly give him another year before we really send the scouts to find someone more clinical

There is a reason Salah is considered one of the best ever in the premier league and all other attackers considered have something in common, end product. Without goals and assists, you are a flash in the pan type player

But in saying that, if psg come in with a big offer, we should take it imo

He had the chance to really put our foot forward in the title race and help give us unbelievable momentum and also had the moments to get to a fa cup semi final but his final moments just isn’t there. Big players rise in big moments and he didn’t do it at the end of the day

Nobody saying he isn’t a decent player or works hard but people are blinded by either a lack of insight especially if you read the comments saying he was brilliant against city when he fluffed all the best moments or blinded by his work ethic which is good

His output imo is not at the level required but I would certainly give him another year before we really send the scouts to find someone more clinical

There is a reason Salah is considered one of the best ever in the premier league and all other attackers considered have something in common, end product. Without goals and assists, you are a flash in the pan type player

But in saying that, if psg come in with a big offer, we should take it imo

Totally agree. The praise he got after the City match was bizarre given that he fluffed chance after chance to make it three points for us.

All important goals in the context of those matches, I grant you that. But he was bought with more expectations than that. And you could caveat that in pointing out that none are exactly big teams. Biggest goal is probably that Luton equaliser. But a catalogue of misses against City in a crucial match and umpteen other times squandering chances and assists galore means he's not doing enough in comparison to Nunez and Salah. He needs to do more. Simple as.

So who do you replace him with in our current squad, who else has his pace running with the ball, who else has his versatility & experience both he and Gakpo were pivotal when Mo & Endo were at the Afcon, and both helped maintain our cup runs and obviously keeping us at the top end of the table,
We can’t have 11 world class players on the pitch, we need grafters, we need creators, and we need our 7/10 players, even our best players are sometimes under par,  neither will be everyone’s cup of tea but we need them and we’ve needed them,

Wonder wholly be your next scapegoat ??



YNWA

So who do you replace him with in our current squad, who else has his pace running with the ball, who else has his versatility & experience both he and Gakpo were pivotal when Mo & Endo were at the Afcon, and both helped maintain our cup runs and obviously keeping us at the top end of the table,
We can’t have 11 world class players on the pitch, we need grafters, we need creators, and we need our 7/10 players, even our best players are sometimes under par,  neither will be everyone’s cup of tea but we need them and we’ve needed them,

Wonder wholly be your next scapegoat ??



YNWA

I don't tend to pull out scapegoats but Diaz and Gakpo are worthy of critique.

But you're right in that there is no one else to play apart from Diaz. He provides that industry and work rate that we need to make us difficult to beat but that's all he's doing at the moment (and most moments). For his position, we need more goals and assists. Simple as. In a fully fit squad Diaz is not even close to a front three of Jota, Nunez and Mo.

I don't tend to pull out scapegoats but Diaz and Gakpo are worthy of critique.

But you're right in that there is no one else to play apart from Diaz. He provides that industry and work rate that we need to make us difficult to beat but that's all he's doing at the moment (and most moments). For his position, we need more goals and assists. Simple as. In a fully fit squad Diaz is not even close to a front three of Jota, Nunez and Mo.

That’s fine mate, however he’s not a striker per se and nor is Gakpo, but we’ve been without Mo & more recently Jota, so I think the criticism both have received is unwarranted, you’re right in saying he’s likely to drop down the order if we play Jota, Nunez & Mo up top, but where then does their supply come from if Diaz isn’t playing,

We’ll more often than not see Mo & Jota with Diaz up top rather the three above, with Gakpo and Nunez playing second fiddles, with Macca & Szlobos & Endo behind them, with rotation we have the luxury of exchanging players and not have much of a drop off in quality, with Jones, G’Berch, Elliot, Clark, all in with a shout too,

I refer to a previous answer around this subject, that some players will blow hot & cold, even one of our best in Mo has some dodgy performances where his passing is sometimes bordering on sh*te, but he won’t get the same level of criticism because he can slot one in with relative ease, or slip in a beaut of a assist!!

For all his ups & downs Diaz is quality and we need him, Simples, same as Gakpo, we need him too !!



YNWA

I don't tend to pull out scapegoats but Diaz and Gakpo are worthy of critique.

But you're right in that there is no one else to play apart from Diaz. He provides that industry and work rate that we need to make us difficult to beat but that's all he's doing at the moment (and most moments). For his position, we need more goals and assists. Simple as. In a fully fit squad Diaz is not even close to a front three of Jota, Nunez and Mo.

Most fans, including me, would put Jota in our best front 3 ahead of Diaz. But Jota went almost 1 year without scoring recently. It's true that he was injured for a big chunk of the time but i think he was over 30 games without a goal. Most forwards will have goal droughts, Diaz (and Gakpo) will get through this lean period and the goals will start to flow again.

Really tired of hearing Diaz dad talk....

A step down to Barca would probably be Diaz's level though. The real question is, have those clowns any money to cough up the £80m we need to buy someone to upgrade..?

A step down to Barca would probably be Diaz's level though. The real question is, have those clowns any money to cough up the £80m we need to buy someone to upgrade..?

Yep. We can do better than Diaz ... world class. Wouldnt be disappointed in the slightest if he moved on. Jota is leagues ahead of him as a player.

Yep. We can do better than Diaz ... world class. Wouldnt be disappointed in the slightest if he moved on. Jota is leagues ahead of him as a player.

Yep, absolutely Don...
He certainly divides the fan base, does Lucas Diaz...

But in saying that, if he scores a few goals between now and season's end to propel us to further glory. Then legendary status achieved. I really hope he does. Finishing is the only chink in his armoury though....

Despite his seemingly lack of goals, his contributions have helped the side that has shown no shortage of goals this season in the Premier league & cup competitions.

We are still in contention for two major trophies as things stand.

Excellent today

Excellent today

Quiet first 20 mins then grew into it...great anticipation for his goal.

Great game from lucho again

Great game from lucho again

Played well today but thought Mac did it again. Great buy 🤢😂

Played well today but thought Mac did it again. Great buy 🤢😂

Macca motm aye.

His energy and availability has been superb this season.

Played a good game today!

With Jota coming back, it will be interesting to see if he can keep up the big contributions. Needs more of it though to be a serious threat to an ideal three of Jota/Nunez/Salah. More of today and less of the F**k ups that cost us a win against City three weeks back will see us through.

With Diaz we know what we’re gonna get, a lot of his performances have been similar in terms out output, touches of the ball, work rate, energy levels etc…rarely has a bad game. The difference between having a good game and a brilliant one is basically down to whether he chips in with a goal or not.

Played as well as ever and actually scored.

A huge if because its the hardest part of the game but if he keeps scoring the performance takes care if itself because of his energy.