Then why do they give it away so often? If they’re consistently making much better decisions then their passing must be worse.
A new elephant knocking on the door: can Bruno, Zirkzee and Højlund play in the same side?
- Thread starter Fortitude
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I can’t speak for anyone else but I’ve pulled my hair out numerous times watching Bruno over the last few years giving the ball away with a miss placed pass or an unnecessary flick. When we are in the ascendancy that’s all fine to try, but Bruno also tries them when we are clearly getting over run and battered in games when a bit of conservatism wouldn’t go amiss to try and gain some control.
We go to a back 3 and play with wing backs or wingers based on the situation in the game
Yoro de ligt licha
Amad/dalot ugarte maino garna/shaw
Bruno zirkzee
Hoijlund
Yoro de ligt licha
Amad/dalot ugarte maino garna/shaw
Bruno zirkzee
Hoijlund
You're speaking for a lot of us mate, the difference between him and the likes of KDB and Odegaard is they know when the team needs to slow things down and when they need to speed things up.
There are different circumstances for which a player can lose the ball. Sometimes he might as well be playing against us.
This is not a problem. It's called having options, one of which is we get the luxury of being able to rest players and avoid burning them out. The other is we get actual competition so if someone is not performing, there is an actual threat of them being dropped and losing their place in the team. No more players stinking the place out putting in little effort in games.
It's not.
I like zirkzee alot. I made a detailed post about him which was appreciated by many including those sceptical about him
However I can't see him playing anywhere but as a lone forward
A- he lack the pace to play on the flanks
B- we are already well stocked of no 10s
That doesn't mean he won't be useful. There will be games were hojlund will be more suited and others were zirkzee will be more suited. It's similar to the teddy vs cole situation here. They were both important, both played a lot and their different skillset could change our game in an instant
It very much is. Unless he keeps his very impressive goal scoring ratio, or we want to play simple counter attacking football, Zirkzee seems to be higher in the pecking order already.
We shouldn't look to shoehorn players into a first eleven given how European football has raised the amount of games we must play. We could have a Thursday-Sunday gameweek from here on in until Christmas so there is scope to play a Garnacho-Hoijlund-Antony supported by Eriksen/Mount in the hole and a Rashford-Zirkee-Amad supported by Bruno in the hole. A proper squad game.
I swear we are the only fan base that complains about having options. We have 2 strikers in our squad, 2! There is argument we should have at least one more.
Hojlund has picked up multiple injuries and he’s only been here a season. There is no elephant in the room. Those 3 are unlikely to start together.
Hojlund has picked up multiple injuries and he’s only been here a season. There is no elephant in the room. Those 3 are unlikely to start together.
When Hojlond’s fit I’d try a cup game with him upfront and ZZ on 10
Bruno can rest
Bruno can rest
Why does zirkzee look to be higher in the pecking order already?
How many games has hojlund played this season? How many has zirkzee played? Who's played more? Yeah I thought so, check mate.
No idea how they've come to that conclusion either. Ones been injured all season.
As opposed to when he doesn't play we are solid and hard to break down? I remember going to Palace last year without Bruno and we were really solid, tight? Oh wait...
So they are not good passers? if they are passing at the right time but giving the ball away, they are poor at passing the ball?
What dumb shit does Bruno do?
His attempts to first time volley a pass when receiving a throw in is pretty dumb. He’s been caught out when doing it a few times.
Myth. Some of our best victories vs tougher sides have come with him there with us having packed the midfield. But that best ther here not there.
Anyway I just find it strange when we finally have depth in selection options and can rotate without a drop in quality people want to find problems with it. It honestly doesn't matter if Zirkee and Rasmus never get to play with each other. It matters more that we have either or as quality options. Same thing with Bruno, Eriksen , Mount and perhaps even Zirkee for number 10.
Right, so Bruno does that every game? What about all those times he has played a first time pass and we are in and score goals?
I agree with this. There's been some games where Bruno played deeper and it worked really well. He was getting the ball directly from the back line and pinging long balls into the wingers or the striker. Also gave him more space to operate and push forward.
I don't see ETH doing it but I do think it would work well.
No link-man, no dice. Bruno is undroppable as stated. Soooo?
He'll get ETH sacked.
Do people realize that Zirkzee as a 10 is going to have to try and link up with Hojlund?
Zirkzee as a 10 has been mentioned but does he have the mobility to cover enough ground for that role?
Zirkzee as a 10 has been mentioned but does he have the mobility to cover enough ground for that role?
If the ball sticks and he has the power and ability to then use it, mobility isn’t as important. Link-men come in all shapes and sizes.
He links the play as the 9, as a 10 he would have to drop into much deeper spaces, have to cover a lot of ground to support the attack and take on a great deal of pressing responsibility. So much of what he does well as a 9 is subtle stuff, 5 yards passes, little touches in close spaces, as a 10 the range of passes needed are much greater.
If Bruno is dropped, Mount would come in. The other option is just to play a straight up front 2.
Should any of them be playing at all?
Capitan shall always play
Zirkzee is absolutely key us retaining the ball up the pitch, and when he came off we didn't create anything else.
Hojlund's first touch is genuinely so terrible it makes Lukaku's first touch look World Class.
Hojlund's first touch is genuinely so terrible it makes Lukaku's first touch look World Class.
The #8 can - and will - get closer with a link-man that enables others to orbit, the shorter ball to the open man is there as well as greater opportunities to chain and advance. Zirkzee is showing he can turn and run with the ball and open up the field that way, plus the #9’s movement creates pathways that a good runner can exploit. It doesn’t have to be a sharp passer in the #10, just someone whose means of progression is assured and consistent. Zirkzee is very raw and we can still see that what he does, and how he does it has a potential for growth and improvement.
This talk of Zirkzee rotating with Højlund as the #9 doesn’t really cut it as the link-man has so much more of a job to do. I’m not sure Zirkzee is or can be a #10, but the #9.5 doesn’t need to be. He occupies that crucial space between the lines and he does it very comfortably, perhaps more comfortably than anyone else we have at the club currently. Mount’s different, and not really a linking man - we need to maintain the little bit fluency we have and add to it. I think Zirkzee will become more important to us as time goes by because he knits so many more things together than other options.
Harsh
The real elephant in the room is just Bruno full stop, he thrives on hero ball not the more controlled intricate football we seem to be moving towards now. He sticks out like a sore thumb.
Said it a few weeks back but the Bruno contract renewal is the new regime’s biggest misstep so far - he should have left for his and our own sakes.
Now he’ll waste the remaining years of his peak and at the same time we’ll try and constantly shoe horn him into the team.
Said it a few weeks back but the Bruno contract renewal is the new regime’s biggest misstep so far - he should have left for his and our own sakes.
Now he’ll waste the remaining years of his peak and at the same time we’ll try and constantly shoe horn him into the team.
The real elephant in the room is 65m pound Rasmus Hojlund who has the first touch of a banjo, and suddenly causes the whole team's chance creation to fall to zero whenever he is on the pitch.
Should add what Eriksen’s profile offers is what is supposed to happen with that kind link man ahead.
Not much of an elephant when Zirkzee was bought as a backup rotation striker.