- Joined
- May 25, 2005
- Messages
- 3,925
- Reaction score
- 185
- Location
- India
- Fav. Players
- Maldini, Keane, Laudrup, Cannavaro, Gattuso, Ronaldo, ABD , Virender Sehwag
I'm honestly still not sold on Kalulu. Physically he's a beast and his decision making is excellent, he's brave and he's direct. The thing that bothers me is his technique and ball control sometimes fails him, too many bad touches when controlling first time, and his crossing is bad enough that Pioli feels the need to bring on Florenzi to compensate. We don't see the same buildup that we do with Calabria deep in our half, with quick triangles between him, Kjaer and Saelemaekers. When Kalulu gets the ball he usually feels hurried and either runs with it or hoofs it down the line. I would like to see him do what Calabria does, control the ball confidently out of the way of the opposition and pass and move. I know i'm being harsh on him, he's really really young and this is his second senior professional season. He's nowhere near as good as Calabria at this moment but if he improves this aspect of his game he can become better as his physical qualities are very impressive.
I don't think Brahim needs to bulk up more. He's a lot stronger this year that last season. He hasn't really been pushed off the ball against Atletico, he was kicked to the ground repeatedly. He was very effective at drawing fouls, but him getting bigger (and slower) won't add much to his game. What he needs to improve is his medium range passing. His short passing is excellent but when he needs to play longer than 5m he messes up way more than he should.
I don't think we should play Giroud as a starter at all anymore, except maybe against teams where we expect to be in their box a lot. He really doesn't add much beyond a threatening box presence, and it's holding us back. Ibra synergizes with the way we play a lot more, although he's not perfect. He doesn't press and he's slow, but what he adds outside the box is much more valuable than what Giroud does.
I was very happy to see a much better Bakayoko last night, hope he keeps improving and returns to the monster that had his own song by the curva.
Kessie. Please sign the fucking contract. Don't be an asshole.
I haven't observed Kalulu as deeply as you have. But he really impressed me yesterday when compared with some of his previous showings, which made me think we were once again paying the price for signing from the bargain basement. I really do hope he keeps improving.
You have a point on Brahim. Messi isn't huge either but he does ok. I thought he should bulk up because I see him going to the ground pretty often, and I think if he was was stronger, he might be able to shrug off players more effectively.
I agree on Giroud. It's so desperately disappointing. I had such high hopes for him. I was upset with Pioli for holding back Bennacer for so long and sending Bakayoko instead. I don't know why he underplays Bennacer. Hope he doesn't start hankering for a move elsewhere.
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