The other thing regarding crosses, if crossses come in they are delayed and clipped crosses with very little pace, so timing of runs is difficult then and directing headers with enough pace is an issue for any striker.
This isnāt the same situation, though. Putting aside the fact that Mo doesnāt have the same man-beating quickness that allowed him to terrorize fullbacks at his peak, he was also playing with different kinds of 9s than Isak. With Firmino, for example, Mo could exploit those inside cuts because Firmino was playing as a false 9 and afforded Mo that space in front of goal. Isak isnāt a false 9. Heās expecting the ball with an eye towards scoring. And if youāre just clogging the middle of the pitch, defenders have no reason to step out to the wing to guard against your crosses, leaving those spaces behind that Isak can exploit.
Right the dynamics are not the same because very little about our football is clicking, but Salah and Gapko coming inside is not itself a problem and is largely how they played when earlier versions of this side were playing well, even long after Bobby had been phased out.
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Yeah, but we also used to utilize our fullbacks overlapping runs in order to maintain width and stretch the defense. We donāt do that effectively anymore, especially on Gakpoās side.
I think my bigger point is that our focus on toothless, wing-driven attacks that donāt even afford us the benefit of stretching the defense undermines the space that Isak could exploit. If we could play more centrally, through Isak, he could utilize his diverse offensive skill set instead of waiting for service that never comes from the wing.
Alternatively, our wingers could provide him with service.
Instead, we get neither. We get wingers who cut into congested, compact defenses who donāt worry about guarding against crosses, and we have Isak just shifting between one CB or another hoping to play off of a shoulder for service that never comes.
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That frightens me as well. He used to be more than decent scoring poacherās efforts - but the goals like the one he scored against us at SJP last season (or his first Newcastle goal at Anfield) position him as more than that. Heās no Firmino but heās no Haaland either, waiting on the shoulder of his centre back to leave him in the dust.
If Slot doesnāt find a way to get him and/or Ekitike firing soon, someone else will have to. I understand their transfers are a part of post-Salah transition but we won the league with Nunez, for Peteās sake.
Dreamt last night he scored a perfect strike from a steep angle at the edge of the box in the right channel that that just curled inside the post while the keeper stared frozen.
It was so clear when I woke up I reached for my remote to replay the highlight before it registered that the game hasnāt been played yet.
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Van de Ven on the toughest opponent he faced since heās been in England:
āThe game we played against Newcastle when we lost and when I slipped as well. In this game, Isak was different level. At this point I was like - heās a top class player. I knew he was top class, but in this game I was like - heās excellent. He can run in behind, he can come towards the ball and technically heās also really good with the ball. Heās fast, heās a top finisher. At that point he was literally everywhere.ā
Hopefully he can get fit and firing at some point this seasonā¦ and it doesnāt drag into pre-season and next season.
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Anything good this lad does will be a pleasant surprise for me. Hopefully he can stay fit for a start, and build up his fitness.
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No pressure.
Yet to see him impress himself upon a game
For all his flaws, Suarez is still the standard which we have yet to see achieved since.
I donāt count Bobby, because he had a different role which no longer exists in how we play.
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Give the lad a chance!
That was a season ender, wasnāt it? It looked like ACL to me. Newcastle fans put a curse on him, I canāt explain it otherwise.
I think it was his ankle that got caught.
Whether itās a season ender or not is one thing but for certain heāll be out for a long while, no point trying to downplay otherwise. It was a cowardly tackle that the ref didnāt see nor took action, so there needs to be retrospective action taken.
I hate how players get away with those because the attacker gets their shot away. Itās a late challenge and it should be punished.
I was quite shocked at what a dirty, shithouse little team Spurs have become. They were lucky to end up with nine players on the pitch.
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He will be out for a while, not sure they would allow him to even walk on it if it was ACL or one of the cruciate ligament injuries.
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Players walk off with ACLs. Van Dijk did. I think Leoni did too.
Leoni was stretchered off.
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Fair dos. Van Dijk defo walked though.
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Well it seems itās not the case anyhow.