First Name: Rio
Surname: Ngumoha
Squad Number: 73
Position: Forward
D.O.B.: 29.08.2008.
Town of Birth: Newham, London
Country of Birth: England
Nationality: English
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Honestly think it’s a stupid idea to even consider playing him on the right side because it impairs his abilities.
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I posted this in the Post match thread and thought it should also be in here.
My one issue with Rio and something he needs to improve on is his movement or lack of.
He seems to be always in a stationery position wanting the ball to feet, you very rarely, can’t recollect any examples, of him looking to make a run in behind onto a pass inside the fullback and becomes easier to defend against.
He said his idol is Neymar, who was similar in style wanting the ball to his feet so he can dribble and look flashy. If I was Iraola, I would ask him to watch tapes of Mo and his movement and then develop a new idol,
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I’d like us to go all in on building him up as the new Bukayo Saka of the left wing, and play Barcola on the right wing instead.
Talent projects are nice, but we should stick to picking what’s best for the team. It’s obvious that we view Barcola as our new ‘main’ winger (perhaps not the main goalscorer type Salah was, that is incredibly tough to replace, so better not expect that… only as a bonus if it happens that Barcola’s evolution takes him to serious numbers) and he will get the left side if it all goes through.
Could be important to have such a player there while Kerkez (and I’m not a big fan of him so far) is our starter at LB…
And absolutely zero issues for me if Ngumoha is used on both sides, especially at this stage of his career. He shouldn’t be only stuck on the left. He played well for England when he was used off the right. He’s bloody just turning 18, there will be plenty of good and bad games from him. Regardless of the side he plays.
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Someone must train him how to cross the ball from the right flank.
I’m not sold on Rio, hopefully he proves me wrong but I get the feeling ability wise that he’s more Ibe than Sterling.
We definitely should not train him to do that, at least not before we work out other things.
He’s one of our most dynamic players (admittedly, a rose in a desert) and he should not be limited to getting to the line and putting in a cross.
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I think expanding his skillset is no bad thing. Even if he doesn’t stay on the RW all the time spending game time over there will help him to focus on some new aspects of his game to improve.
He’s 17 at the end of the day so nothing is certain with him yet. For all we know we might be a centre forward or a defensive midfielder by the time he’s 25.
So I agree his best right is left wing, but I wouldn’t want to pigeon-hole him there either.
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Ibe had huge talent, so I’d be fine with that. Unfortunately he had mental health issues too.
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He needs time to develop and he needs mentors to help him and needs coaches to challenge him so he improves and for me he needs to develop his movement off the ball.
Sounds cynical. What do you think Guardiola would do with him?
Same thing he does with all his fast wingers. Run to the byline and cut it back.
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Well, it is not easy to cut in from the right for right-footed player. So he must add crossing skills just to be a functional right-winger.
Watching him against Newcastle I thought ‘he’s been working on his techniques’.
For me he was much better at shielding the ball when cutting in from the right. Much improved.
As he’s only 18 and a bit I think he can become a hell of a player on the left or right wing. Seems very willing to learn and progress, his time with the England camp did him some real good imo.
I don’t understand any negativity towards him. Against Newcastle he was good one of the few players that imo didn’t do anything poorly.
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Yeah, alright. I guess so. Why not. Who cares.
As I have said, my criticism, is his movement off the ball or lack of, this is an area to develop, he is stationary and easy to mark.
I think the big questions so far are quite what abilities he has and can develop, rather than being one dimensional. He´s a decent enough dribbler, although he couldn´t get past Hall at all, and his shot seems okay.
So does he also have a passing game and the ability to play with his head up - to pass and move and cut teams open that way - to pass into the box and create for others. I don´t really see it in his game but maybe it will come.