Understand him coming off, he has been injured on and off for us so no need to play him every minute unlike the robust Sissoko.
Thought Winks was excellent today, really set the tempo
Thought Winks was excellent today, really set the tempo
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I thought he was great but my most alarming concern with him is choosing to ignore the half chance opportunities he has to pass it forward into a threatening area when it's on in order to keep possession and pass sideways.
For me Winks has a beautiful style to his game but lacks far more punch than he needs to. His fear of failure is what prevents him being great. Take risks, don't be afraid of losing the thing as that's the only way you can make things happen. Classy, tidy little player but he needs to add sharpened and hungry teeth to his game. Should be targeting double digits in assists this season. He needs to try and take more responsibility but I love the kid and hope he continues his upward trajectory.
I don't think he'll ever be a player that makes killer passes. I'm ok with that. his role is to transition the ball from defence to the attacking players ahead of him.
As someone else said he was spraying the ball wide, which was something he never did last season. I don't know the stats be it seemed that he was trying to play it forward into central areas more than last season.
For me though he needs to try it sometimes when it's on. I see 2-3 moments each game where he can take responsibility and chooses not to. That can and will be the difference between us winning something or missing out.
Great teams have people taking responsibility and chipping in all over the place. I really like Winks but he will only ever be the 10th or 11th name on the team sheet unless he impulsively adds that responsibility to his game. Those things can't and shouldn't be instructed by a coach, the great players see how the game is opening up and act on it. I'm concerned that for all the talent he has that this isn't slowly seeping into his game.
I don't want or expect him to be a playmaker, what I do expect is when there's a through ball on and he sees it he goes for is instead of passing the buck.
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Said it in the Villa thread.
Yesterday was the closest I have seen from him (or any player since he left) of a Modric-lite performance.
Demanded the ball. Controlled the game. Sprayed the ball out to wide areas quickly and accurately when it needed to be done. Aimed to pass forward and done his fair share of defensive work too.
Anyone expecting him to make killer passes is kidding themselves. It isn't his role and he suddenly isn't going to start doing it either. it'll be nice to see him get a few assists to his name, sure. But I'm much more happier having him deeper, helping us keep possession and allowing other and more creative players to flourish.
He'll never get to Modric levels. Wouldn't expect him to do so because Modric wasn't just a controller of the game but an exceptionally skilful footballer too. However, I think Winks can easily play the exact same base role he did for us and do so successfully.
Wouldn't mind seeing more of this from Winks though:
Gorgeous assist.
Yesterday was the closest I have seen from him (or any player since he left) of a Modric-lite performance.
Demanded the ball. Controlled the game. Sprayed the ball out to wide areas quickly and accurately when it needed to be done. Aimed to pass forward and done his fair share of defensive work too.
Anyone expecting him to make killer passes is kidding themselves. It isn't his role and he suddenly isn't going to start doing it either. it'll be nice to see him get a few assists to his name, sure. But I'm much more happier having him deeper, helping us keep possession and allowing other and more creative players to flourish.
He'll never get to Modric levels. Wouldn't expect him to do so because Modric wasn't just a controller of the game but an exceptionally skilful footballer too. However, I think Winks can easily play the exact same base role he did for us and do so successfully.
Wouldn't mind seeing more of this from Winks though:
Gorgeous assist.
Modric at the same age Winks is now ....
It took a change in manager (and the signing of Palacios) for Modric to find his form and his best position, then he broke his leg at the start of the 2009/10 only once that mended did he became a true genius .....
Plenty of time for Winks to grow ... another 10 years in the lillywhite ....
If he can add some goals to his game he'll be on the cusp of being world class IMO. He's got all the smooth technique of a top class midfielder but even just 5 goals a season would be a good asset. Between him and Sissoko they have 4 goals in 230 games combined. Both are important players for us but the lack of goals from midfield is a disappointment. With Sissoko he gets into the positions but either passes the buck or fluffs it. Winks doesn't get in those positions at all to score. That's one room for improvement.
Watch, this forum is going to ooze and gripe over how good Rodri is at city. He will have comparable stats to Winks, but he plays for high flying city so he is by far the better pivot. Winks is class at what he is asked to do and we are lucky he is one of our own.
Busquets. 7 goals in 350+ La Liga games for Barca. Winks isn't the shield Busquets is yet, but he is very similar in how he recycles the ball. Why people think he needs to be a creative 10 in his position is mind boggling. He barely reached the oppositions box on Saturday.
Our ability to break teams down is going o be in the hands of Lo Celso, Eriksen, Ndombele, Lamela and others.
I stated above, but watch Rodri at City. He is playing the same role and he just let his stars score the goals after he gets them going with simple out balls.
Loved that tackle and shoulder drop he did to stop the counter. Classy player
Why no just post - not sure what I'm talking about so I'll troll a player for the hell of it
He received the ball from the defenders twice as often as any other player - he recycled that ball with a 96% success rate ... so think about that, the defenders can be confident that when they pass the ball to Winks it's almost guaranteed to stay in our possession ... best protection a defence can have, stop the opposition getting the ball.
He'd walk into Woolwich, Chelsea, Utd and probably Liverpool ... but that's just opinions not facts
That's like comparing a Giulia to a BMW 5 series ... flashy but unreliable, reliable as feck but no wow
He was in our top three rated players with just about every reporter, so whilst your opinion is your opinion I am happy to call bullshit
You don't understand what the holding player's role is that's abundantly clear ... go read up on Busquets, Casemiro, Alonso, Mascherano, Makelele, Fernandinho if Winks can get near their levels, and in many areas he already does, we will have a legend on out hands.
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B....b.....but he offers no protection for the back 4 and can't tackle.
Phenomenal player.
Our improvement had nothing to do with Winks going off - it had everything to do with Eriksen coming on.
We could have taken any of the front 6 off aside from Kane and the improvement would still have occurred.
I mean it was literally the definition of coincidence.
We could have taken Sissoko or Lamela off, which should have been the case and we'd still have won the game.
Eriksen coming on gave us a lift as well as the added ability to create.
Eriksen did indeed make the difference. As mentioned above, Lamela or Lucas could have also been substituted instead of Winks, that wasn't the issue.
Winks played well but I don't think it was smart to make him, effectively, playmaker - he doesn't have the tools to play that role - his balls out to the full-backs were looping and slow - it's just not his thing, and I think that was a big mistake from Pochettino. Either Lamela or Lucas should have been given the role, in the absence of Eriksen.
Winks played well but I don't think it was smart to make him, effectively, playmaker - he doesn't have the tools to play that role - his balls out to the full-backs were looping and slow - it's just not his thing, and I think that was a big mistake from Pochettino. Either Lamela or Lucas should have been given the role, in the absence of Eriksen.
LOL