Given the shift required at Rennes on Thursday, this has to go down as a very good victory, even if it got hairy as it went on.
Here are my ratings:
Schmeichel: 8 - Distribution was a clear issue at times, particularly long balls out to Amartey once he moved to right back and didn't have the technique to deal with them. But he made some important saves in this match and two of them were excellent - one for reflexes, the other for positioning. There are suggestions he picked up a knock at the end, but we don't know the details yet.
Justin: 6 - Getting caught out of position a bit too much for my liking, although he's still making his way back from a long injury of course. Good to see him go 90 minutes today.
Amartey: 6 - Had a good first half; looked wobbly at the start of the second half, then became very poor when he went to right back. I think it's pretty much beyond doubt now that his best position is centre half, but I wonder whether he'll get some matches in Europe at defensive midfield given the news about Ndidi and with Mendy not being registered.
Soyuncu: 8 - His absence during the week remains a mystery, with suspicion about his Covid jab status. Certainly there were no signs of his mystery 'illness' today, as he looked refreshed for the rest. Competed for lots and won a lot.
Castagne: 7 - Tidy but no more than that for much of his match, with Soyuncu covering a few errors. Even so, gets a clear bonus point for his goal.
Tielemans: 6 - Good at passing through the lines in the first half, enabling the team to get on the attack on several occasions. Struggled to impact the game in the second half.
Mendy: 7 - Another who was better first half than second. Good overall though, demonstrating his strengths in keeping things tidy and reading the game well. Not one to attempt the killer pass, and Brentford gave him a lot of space.
Dewsbury-Hall: 7 - Influential in the first half, driving many attacks. Tired a lot in the second half as his touch started to desert him, before getting sensibly removed after picking up a dangerous yellow card.
Maddison: 9 - Has been in and out of the team for a few weeks; whether the reason is managing his game time or tactical considerations is unclear. He had a very good game today though. Not only hit a superb free kick over a tall wall, but got involved a lot with the defending in the second half, spotting and filling gaps to help the team out. My choice for our MOTM.
Iheanacho: 8 - Missed a really big opportunity to kill the game, but pretty much created it himself. He played a lot with his back to goal today, and his hold-up play was very effective in helping the team to recycle possession and get up on the attack in other areas. Had a proper, enjoyable ding-dong with Pinnock all match.
Barnes: 6 - Missed the opportunity to really run at Ajer, a centre back playing at right back. Couldn't create much today, although he did technically get an assist. Probably tired.
Evans: 6 - Had a rough time given that Brentford were far more effective on the attack in the second half. But they did have two massive opportunities just before he arrived and they largely dried up.
Soumare: 5 - Not as bad as he has been, but that's not saying a lot. Still looks mentally a yard behind the game and struggling for confidence.
Daka: 6 - Put in some effort in the late stages. Almost got in a couple of times but no cigar.
For me, Thomas Frank got his tactics wrong today. For much of the first half, Brentford sat back in a low block and asked us to break it down. Given our match on Thursday, the situation was screaming out for them to take the game to us throughout and do us for fitness. Instead they let us coast for at least 30 minutes, shortening the match. They gave it a better go in the second half but ultimately didn't present the quality to win it.
Player ratings vs. Brentford
posted on 21/3/22
“I liked us leaving players up for corners and hopefully it can be worked on more. We’re clearly bringing in lots of new ideas and it seems we’re very much a team in transition. Let’s manage the squad through to the summer and hopefully we can work on our preferred tactics with a slightly refreshed squad.“
Fans have only been saying the same for the last 18 months or so, similar to Man Marking at corners, old Brenda doesn’t like changing to Common Sense tactics, you almost wonder if leaving 3 up was almost an attempt to sabotage the ‘ New Idea ‘ 😉
posted on 21/3/22
I had Soyuncu as MoTM, but it was very marginal between him and a couple of others.
I've always liked Mendy because I understand what he brings to the team. He's very comfortable in possession and uses the ball well albeit with a limited range of passing. I'd be nervous about getting too excited about his performance, however, as he'll never have an easier game. Brentford's low block meant he had the freedom of the pitch to run in to. He could have smoked a couple of cigars before deciding who to offload the ball to.
I didn't have Maddison as MoTM, although he did play well and scored a great goal. I think my issue is that I just prefer him as a number ten. He can go both ways in that role and dictate the game. He hasn't got the pace to be an effective wide player, which means he can't go around the outside and has to come inside every time. I fear he'd be too predictable in a wide role against better teams.
It's probably also worth pointing out that this is exactly the sort of performance we need from Ian if he's going to get in the side regularly as a lone striker. Far more on it today and his performance only lacked a goal that he probably should have scored when he had his chance.
All in all though a great summary as usual DM. I'm just glad it took Brentford so long to realise that you only have to put us under a bit of pressure before we fold quicker than an origamist at a craft club. We're still far too easy to play against for any side that wants to be aggressive.
posted on 22/3/22
Don’t agree on Mendy Joby. I think he really comes in to his own under a high press. He’s one of the few players we have that don’t crumble in that situation.
Not that he needed to show that against Brentford as you quite rightly point out!!
posted on 22/3/22
comment by Merseysidefox (U4842)
posted 46 minutes ago
Don’t agree on Mendy Joby. I think he really comes in to his own under a high press. He’s one of the few players we have that don’t crumble in that situation.
Not that he needed to show that against Brentford as you quite rightly point out!!
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So you disagree with something I didn't actually say?
I was simply pointing out that it's difficult to draw any conclusions for Mendy from that game as he'll probably never be under less pressure. One of the differences between Mendy and Kante is the latter could carry the ball at pace from the back and make us very effective in transition. Mendy is much less effective in that regard.
His performance against Brentford, however, was Kante-esque, but largely because everybody stood off him as they were only bothering to challenge the attacking players in the final third. Until the second half when Mendy, along with almost everyone else, was far less effective.
I actually don't think our team collectively have handled a "press" well this season. For such a talented side there seems to be a collective lack of confidence leading to some very poor individual decision making. I repeat - we're far too easy to play against.
posted on 22/3/22
To be fair, I did misread your post.
However I do think there’s been lots of evidence that Mendy can handle the press well in previous games.
And no disagreement that we’re too easy to play against. Just put us under a tiny amount of pressure and we start to make mistakes, drop too deep and stop doing what we need to.
This needs fixing!
posted on 22/3/22
I think Mendy is what he is by this point:
- Intelligent; reads the game very well and is always switched on.
- Has a strong touch and very rarely gives the ball away.
- Doesn’t provide anything going forward, but will sit and allow others to shine.
- Has no pace at all, and his game crashes once he gets a yellow card as a result: he can no longer risk sticking a boot in, so opponents can run past him.
He’s good for filling in, professional, and effective at helping to see a game out. But he’s limited and doesn’t offer any dynamism.
posted on 22/3/22
He’s better than Soumare Dunge…
posted on 22/3/22
comment by Merseysidefox (U4842)
posted 31 minutes ago
He’s better than Soumare Dunge…
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He's a lot better than Tielemans
posted on 22/3/22
comment by Merseysidefox (U4842)
posted 3 hours, 26 minutes ago
He’s better than Soumare Dunge…
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I’d argue that he should be ahead of Hamza as well (as a midfielder). As I say I like Mendy as I can see what he offers. We have:
Tielemans - vision and passing
KDH - box to box and hard working
Maddison - creative outlet
Ndidi - destroyer/shield
Mendy - attributes as Dunge laid out, but very limited
Compared to:
Hamza - ??? looked good filling in at CB?
Soumare - ??????
Praet - probably better than Choudhury and Soumare, but as limited as Mendy in his own way
posted on 23/3/22
The thing with Mendy is I think he works well in certain formations and against certain teams.
He’s at his best as part of a 2 man pivot in front of the back 4 in a 4-2-3-1 against a team wishing to press high. By playing him, we can play through the press and get Tielemans and Maddison on the ball in space with our pacy players able to counter.
However, play him in a diamond or midfield 3 against a team we need to break down and he’ll be limited as you’ve called out.
However, put Ndidi in against teams that press him and Tielemans and he can also suffer. He works as a single screen for the defence or where we need to be aggressive in breaking up the play to get on the front foot.
So I can see where Mendy can excel, even if it is in a limited number or formations. He’s a good squad player for me and I’d easily keep him over Choudhury and Soumare at the minute. However, we need to give Soumare time still. I still hope he can adapt and come good. Signs aren’t great though.