No, without Pépé they would be in Ligue 2. They were at 1 points of relegation last season and he was the only good thing going.
Nicolas Pepe - Signs for Arsenal
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No, without Pépé they would be in Ligue 2. They were at 1 points of relegation last season and he was the only good thing going.
I wasn't talking about last season.
And I was talking about both seasons which I clearly stated.
Well, it's still not true. They weren't a midtable team last season and they are't one this season.
Well, it's still not true. They weren't a midtable team last season and they are't one this season.
To be fair Galthier is a good coach, he can take bad players and make them defend properly, he was doing it with Saint Etienne.
He's not Sancho who I still think is perfect for us, but hes still a must if we can get him. Still go for Sancho next summer to replace Martial if he doesnt ever pull it together and have Pepe, Sancho, Rashford, Martial and Greenwood as our 5 attackers that we rotate between mainly
Wasn't last season's position in the league mostly due to Bielsa failing miserably at the beginning of the campaign?
No, they were terrible all season long, they saved themselves with a serie of 3 wins around the end of the season. They were better organized with Galtier though.
Castles knows nothing, no red panty time yet.
How good was Pepe last season?
Dunno why people think this. He was first to break the Pogba story among many others.
Because Mourinho was obviously his in.
He does have connections. As with most journos he'll get stuff wrong but I consider him more reliable than someone like say Andy Mitten who is loved here.
First one to break Herrera and Fernandes, but since he’s not the hipsters choice like the Italian guys who been more wrong than right recently he gets buried for his past reputation.
He was th first to report Mendy's injury, Mendy even made fun of him and others joined in. Later what Duncan said was spot on with injury and recovery time. He also said Bruno Fernandes to City is not done deal and Sporting are using the names to drum up interest. He was again spot on.
His opinions are biased but he has got good sources.
Remember Valencia prime? He got everything but technically lacking, still won us a couple of season.
Pepe can have similar impact.
EDIT:
This guy is not that all bad technically, from what I've seen of him:
- La Croqueta is his signature move,
- He likes to hold the ball like Pogba, using his body and roll it to trick defenders. Apparently he is quicker with it.
- He has considerable amount of pace, not acceleration though.
- Finishing is a bit fluke this season, think he will struggle in premier league to score.
Nothing else matters if he struggles to score. We already have our fill of unproductive forwards at the club.
Genuinely don’t think this guy is the answer to our wing problems. He’s decent but we need someone even more dynamic and with better decision making. He will be an improvement on what we have but not good enough to give us that massive boost in attack we need.
He is only 23 so he can get better but for the money being touted I’d expect someone with more potential.
How's his,
All round game
Vision
Ability in tight spaces
Playmaking qualities
?
We need more players who arent limited and from the clips I've seen this chap looks somewhat one dimensional.
All round game
Vision
Ability in tight spaces
Playmaking qualities
?
We need more players who arent limited and from the clips I've seen this chap looks somewhat one dimensional.
I would love to see Pepe and Fernandes join us this summer. If we were to get Dybala with these 2 then we would see a lot of goals next season.
Hmmm. Not what I wanted to hear but cheers all the same.
Have a feeling he'll be as frustrating as Martial.
Martial -Rashy - Pepe.... Doing their tricks rather than actually looking to score/assist.
Martial -Rashy - Pepe.... Doing their tricks rather than actually looking to score/assist.
Yeah, but he was a shite attacking coach. Really dull stuff to watch.
Agreed which is why I find Pépé's contribution exceptional.
Yeah, I was actually just thinking that after I posted that. This has piqued my interested a bit in Pepe now - hadn't thought of it like that.
It could easily be an other Aubameyang who funnily enough was also doubted due to his technique. I was in the same situation where I couldn't tell how good he actually was.
Not watched any live games but in the clips I’ve seen, including the one above against PSG, he gives the ball away a LOT. Doesn’t look like he has great control while running (despite doing all the tricks while standing) and seems very raw in other areas. Think this goalscoring year could be a bit of a fluke.
Some thoughts about Pepe :
- He has a top top mentality. He didn't go to a pro club academy (he went to Angers B team at 18yo), all of his ex-coaches raved about how he's professional and determined. He refused Lyon last year and clearly said he has a definitive career plan. Absolutely a great attitude.
- He's a hard worker, Lille fans absolutely love him and don't have a single bad word to say about him.
- Last year, he was the main catalyst to Lille staying in Ligue 1, with notably in the last string of games, 2-3 times where he scored for the 1-0 win or ran the show with 2 goals or 2 assists.
- 20 goals scored this year, with 8 penalites but he provoked himself 5 of them. With 12 assists.
- He improved a lot to become a nice crosser of the ball on free kick.
- He's the most fouled player in the league "by far" (he's at 106 and the second is 94). The one who got most penalties (5). 3rd most fouled player in the final 30 meters.
- He has a nice shield of the ball, behind the back, a lot of times Lille go through him to get themselves out of a difficult situation and they got the ball back under pressure.
- He's always on move and trying to make himself available for his teammates or playing quick passes for 1-2 etc...
All and all, you can clearly see I'm a fan but I definitely have a "Sadio Mané" vibe from him. Because he's not the most aestetically pleasant player on the eye and has a "weirdness" about his game, people will wait for him to be great in a bigger club to say "How come we didn't have him".
- He has a top top mentality. He didn't go to a pro club academy (he went to Angers B team at 18yo), all of his ex-coaches raved about how he's professional and determined. He refused Lyon last year and clearly said he has a definitive career plan. Absolutely a great attitude.
- He's a hard worker, Lille fans absolutely love him and don't have a single bad word to say about him.
- Last year, he was the main catalyst to Lille staying in Ligue 1, with notably in the last string of games, 2-3 times where he scored for the 1-0 win or ran the show with 2 goals or 2 assists.
- 20 goals scored this year, with 8 penalites but he provoked himself 5 of them. With 12 assists.
- He improved a lot to become a nice crosser of the ball on free kick.
- He's the most fouled player in the league "by far" (he's at 106 and the second is 94). The one who got most penalties (5). 3rd most fouled player in the final 30 meters.
- He has a nice shield of the ball, behind the back, a lot of times Lille go through him to get themselves out of a difficult situation and they got the ball back under pressure.
- He's always on move and trying to make himself available for his teammates or playing quick passes for 1-2 etc...
All and all, you can clearly see I'm a fan but I definitely have a "Sadio Mané" vibe from him. Because he's not the most aestetically pleasant player on the eye and has a "weirdness" about his game, people will wait for him to be great in a bigger club to say "How come we didn't have him".
That's a great summary and I agree with the Mané vibe. But this time I openly like the player, I hope that he is more to give, it would be nice to see him become a star player.
He seems to shield the ball amazingly well, was wondering if he could be moved to CF as his finishing seems very calm too. Thoughts?
If we bought Sancho next summer this could be the thinking.
He was playing upfront last season and he thinks that it's one of the reason why he is now a better finisher. He is better as an inside forward.
I've always wanted this player since 10 minutes ago when I watched his YouTube complation for the first time.
Looks fast and skilful, as well as constantly looking like he is about to fall over.
Looks fast and skilful, as well as constantly looking like he is about to fall over.
To be honest I think he would be a massive gamble, I’m just not convinced by him at all and just think he’ll be a huge let down if we sign him.
If you take penalties out, Martial's goals per 90 minutes stats (0.5/90) are better than Pepe's (0.33/90) in the league this season.
Pepe does assist a lot more than him, though.
He seems to tick a lot of the boxes. Hard working, great attitude, thrives under pressure. His pace, height and physicality will make it easier for him to adapt to EPL. There is definitely a Mane vibe about him. It's a risk worth taking.
Thanks for the detailed post.
As @JPRouve said, last season Bielsa started him as a striker. He might be an absolute lunatic/weirdo but it definitely means something. It's in the last part of last season, Galtier played him as an inside forward/winger that's when he started to shine.
Thanks guys. And yes, it's actually his position
, he starts game from the right wing as a very modern inside forward.Also, he's another point I didn't bring is his durability. Many games I thought he was rather "fresh" in the last quarter of the match, and making huge differences. I think on a physical level, Ligue 1 is the best after the Premier League to give an idea...
Some down points too :
- He started to be a bit more selfish in this end of season I think... Not absolutely detrimental to his team, but more like someone not in form that want to have his form going.
- Also, he had some rough matchs these past few weeks.
- Like any modern striker, Pépé go out of his zone a lot. In the right system is a huge up, in a broken system it might be a huge down.
Honestly he seems really clear on his career so the missing UCL football for United, is a huge letdown... At the same time I think a rebuilding United side, is a nice opening door to top flight football for him while having an established status and not that much of a pressure...
Pepe, Martial, Rashford, Swansea lad and probably one of Bale (loan) or Werner or Dybala seems to be a nice attacking unit.
Excited!
Excited!
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