Samu Castillejo Thread

[Mr. Milanista]

Dont let me down tonight

 

[bigboss1963]

Man has 3 lungs.. He sprinted from the first minute to the last against Napoli. I really appreciate all his energy and industry. Yes he's an attacker first and foremost but with a decent run in the team the rest will follow...

 

[Moggster]

He should be on the left wing instead.

 

[Forza AC Milan]

Man has 3 lungs.. He sprinted from the first minute to the last against Napoli. I really appreciate all his energy and industry. Yes he's an attacker first and foremost but with a decent run in the team the rest will follow...

Great work rate yesterday

 

[Sage]

grazie maldini for supporting this transfer

 

[voom]

Same as Lax,need to start against Cagliari.

 

[vB9]

samu getting a lift to work...

https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aXYLrEP_460svvp9.webm

 

[sheva]

samu getting a lift to work...

https://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aXYLrEP_460svvp9.webm

imagine having that as your offspring

 

[Birsaforever]

Nice performance today.

 

[Donato]

MOTM, probably the best performance by a Milan winger this season. He was playing brilliantly, hopefully this isn’t a one off performance. Deserves much more game time.

 

[Soldier_of_god]

excellent.

 

[Qaas]

I see you samu

 

[Forza AC Milan]

 

[Curupira]

MOTM, probably the best performance by a Milan winger this season. He was playing brilliantly, hopefully this isn’t a one off performance. Deserves much more game time.

Let's hope he continues this form.

 

[Buske]

So there actually is more in his legs than he has shown so far in Milan.

Very good game Samu, keep this up

 

[truant]

Just watched his assist for Kessie again and he kept his balance despite two attempts to push him off the ball. Not bad for a player his own team's fans called "noodle".

Should have gone straight to Conti to thank him on that lovely assist for his goal though.

 

[PRIYO]

 

[helloAgain]

he is a diver though. good thing he is learning to stay on his feet.

 

[kevin_dk]

Gave definition to "a complete winger". Deserves more game time besides the complete central forward IF he can keep up this form.

 

[Goodfella]

Only complaint is that he's being too defensive-minded for a wing-forward. He was often further back than Kessie, even when Kessie wasn't pressing and the ball wasn't even in our half.
If Conti needs someone to cover for him then it should from the midfield, not the forwards.
This was Empoli at home. A must-win game. We can't always get away with being as reactive as in the first half. This was not just on him of course, or just the players, but I've seen this in all his starts so far.

Press higher up the pitch. Increase our presence in their half. Don't settle for only counter-attacks until we're up.

It would be a shame to have to go back to Suso.

 

[sheva]

great performance, but shouldn't have made a mockery of Conti

 

[necromancer]

Only complaint is that he's being too defensive-minded for a wing-forward. He was often further back than Kessie, even when Kessie wasn't pressing and the ball wasn't even in our half.
If Conti needs someone to cover for him then it should from the midfield, not the forwards.
This was Empoli at home. A must-win game. We can't always get away with being as reactive as in the first half. This was not just on him of course, or just the players, but I've seen this in all his starts so far.

Press higher up the pitch. Increase our presence in their half. Don't settle for only counter-attacks until we're up.

It would be a shame to have to go back to Suso.

Both Hakan and Casti have been told to play all over the pitch.. I’m sure Suso also has the same instructions but probably doesn’t understand how to move in order to do that. I like the way our wing forwards move, it really brings a lot of unpredictability in the attacking moves.

Our wing forwards are basically playmakers, and you can only be an effective playmaker if you come far more into central areas and have preferably 3 players ahead of you.. the mezz'ala, striker and the fullback. This is our ideal attacking 'posture' in a particular side when we play our moves right.

Him being behind Kessie even when we don't have the ball is kind of helpful to put us in this position.

 

[nanook]

replays - https://i.imgur.com/OD8A9rR.gif

 

[Goodfella]

Both Hakan and Casti have been told to play all over the pitch.. I’m sure Suso also has the same instructions but probably doesn’t understand how to move in order to do that. I like the way our wing forwards move, it really brings a lot of unpredictability in the attacking moves.

Our wing forwards are basically playmakers, and you can only be an effective playmaker if you come far more into central areas and have preferably 3 players ahead of you.. the mezz'ala, striker and the fullback. This is our ideal attacking 'posture' in a particular side when we play our moves right.

Him being behind Kessie even when we don't have the ball is kind of helpful to put us in this position.

I don't mind the wide players roaming all over the pitch, trying to give us a numerical advantage everywhere, like Hakan's doing.
They're given freedom and all three are using it in their own way.
Hakan is a LM/AM/CM and interprets the role in the way you'd expect him to.

Suso is a ball-hog that likes to cut in and shoot/cross with his left whenever possible - if not that, then he'll try to get past the defender and put in a cross with his right instead. Off ball is more or less just siesta for him.

Castillejo made himself popular among Villarreal fans for his defensive work. And we see him use the freedom to act almost like a wingback. This was fine and all when we were facing Napoli and took an early lead. But not when it's 0-0 and we're facing Empoli at home.

Take the game to them. Press in their half. Make yourself available as a wide targetman, like Suso. Don't always look for an opportunity to dive or run straight at the defender when it's obvious it's not going to work. Hold it on and give the team a chance to move up and create a siege mode. He may not have the physique to shield the ball, but neither does Suso. Surely he has the skills for it?

 

[MilanMB]

Castillejo made himself popular among Villarreal fans for his defensive work.

I sincerely doubt this.

 

[necromancer]

I don't mind the wide players roaming all over the pitch, trying to give us a numerical advantage everywhere, like Hakan's doing.
They're given freedom and all three are using it in their own way.
Hakan is a LM/AM/CM and interprets the role in the way you'd expect him to.

Suso is a ball-hog that likes to cut in and shoot/cross with his left whenever possible - if not that, then he'll try to get past the defender and put in a cross with his right instead. Off ball is more or less just siesta for him.

Castillejo made himself popular among Villarreal fans for his defensive work. And we see him use the freedom to act almost like a wingback. This was fine and all when we were facing Napoli and took an early lead. But not when it's 0-0 and we're facing Empoli at home.

Take the game to them. Press in their half. Make yourself available as a wide targetman, like Suso. Don't always look for an opportunity to dive or run straight at the defender when it's obvious it's not going to work. Hold it on and give the team a chance to move up and create a siege mode. He may not have the physique to shield the ball, but neither does Suso. Surely he has the skills for it?

I agree with the gist of this.. and I think a lot of this was exactly the change between our first half and second half vs Empoli. The difference showed.

We still seem to be in a mode where we need to feel out our opponents for a great while before becoming confident enough to take the game to them.. (except for Piatek of course who seems to have the mentality from minute 1 that he needs to quickly score against whoever the opponent is).

 

[Hitchens]

replays - https://i.imgur.com/OD8A9rR.gif

That's one insanely technical finish.

 

[Kojak]

Now THAT was a great performance. When we first signed him I said technically + physically he lacked nothing (he’s deceptively strong and great defensively) but had the decision making of a mouse undergoing clinical trials for memory loss. Up until yesterday’s game, he didn’t disappoint. However, yesterday’s performance was a complete turnaround and his decision making was flawless.

I won’t get carried away though because we were playing a team battling relegation. However, if he’s able to perform that well consistently and against big teams then he’ll become an excellent squad player minimum. I’d like to see him start the next game to see if he can repeat it. One thing this team needs is players who perform game after game like Donna, Roma, Baka, Piatek not inconsistent ones like Kessie, Hakan etc.

 

[Goodfella]

I sincerely doubt this.

Why? I'm basing it on what Villarreal and La Liga fans were saying on social media when we signed him.
He appeared to have been a bit of a fan favorite, and one thing that was often mentioned was the defensive work he put in.

 

[Milan10]

That's one insanely technical finish.

He showed a lot in that game. Fantastic touch on his passes, that finish was absolutely world class, and other than one occasion he stayed on his feet and abandoned his theatrics. Really excited to see more of him after this performance.