Bizarre now bad Gravenberch was last night? Szoboszlai's touch let him down over & over, Gakpo was anonymous & fell short of the physicality needed. But Gravenberch is the biggest surprise after having performed so well. - ThreadSky

brentyv.bsky.social • 24 days ago

Bizarre now bad Gravenberch was last night?

Szoboszlai's touch let him down over & over, Gakpo was anonymous & fell short of the physicality needed.

But Gravenberch is the biggest surprise after having performed so well.

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mrchezilla.bsky.social•24 days ago

He consistently had a triangle of players around him making sure he couldn’t get on the ball or when he did he had no time

brentyv.bsky.social•24 days ago

Sure but it wasn't a criticism. It was an observation

mrchezilla.bsky.social•24 days ago

I wouldn’t say he was bad though, just constantly phased out

ro-dders.bsky.social•24 days ago

Agree with all three points, although tbf Szobo didn't stop sprinting about so was somewhat effective.
I think Gakpo disappears when it gets vaguely physical, which is particularly frustrating.
Grav will be fine - not sure much of the game was played in his bit of the pitch tbh!

emptymindz.bsky.social•24 days ago

Every player has a bad game, tbf. It won’t be the last time.

jjplfc.bsky.social•24 days ago

Last night was also incredibly physical and direct. The areas Grav is asked to influence the game on the ball were barely used last night, and he was often bypassed by the long ball into Beto and Virg/Ibou.

emptymindz.bsky.social•24 days ago

He’s learning, but there’s still work to be done on his positioning & passing. It’s not unexpected.

jjplfc.bsky.social•24 days ago

Absolutely, totally agree on his positioning and off-ball awareness in particular.

Last night was about the scrap around him, and it's therefore no surprise his impact was limited on the ball. If our midfield had secured any kind of meaningful foothold last night, we would have swatted them away.

emptymindz.bsky.social•24 days ago

There are times when he can move a few yards to open himself up for a pass, but he actually goes the wrong way. They’re small, subtle things, but important for the cohesion of the team. But, saying that, he’s made gigantic strides this season. I’m not going to fault him.

jjplfc.bsky.social•24 days ago

It's a hell of a work in progress for sure. I think we can all agree one more in rotation, whether that is one coming in to displace another or to cover, is necessary in the summer. Although, it may be shunted down the list of priorities depending on how many fires we have to put out.

brentyv.bsky.social•24 days ago

No I do agree. But he's been so good consistently this season that it's come as a shock.

emptymindz.bsky.social•24 days ago

He’s still learning the role, & how he can influence different types of games. Everton blocked midfield & played very narrow, which limited our usual space. I’d also say that as good as he’s been, passing isn’t really his strength, particularly in very limited spaces.

brentyv.bsky.social•24 days ago

Makes me wonder if he really is considered a long term option in the role? Or if they're looking at evolving his role into next season

emptymindz.bsky.social•24 days ago

I suspect that we’ll still be looking for someone else for the double pivot, but that’s just my opinion, based on what I see, so not to be taken too seriously 😂

brentyv.bsky.social•24 days ago

I still hope there's a medium-term plan to integrate Bajcetic into the side, and he's not going to go on loans forever

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