[Albion] Can we talk about Sanchez ?

[GT49er]

Personally I think Sanchez had become. complacent - he always gives an air of casualness which isn’t a good look when he’s off form. He’s a good goalie but could catch the ball more and improve his distribution. As said, hopefully a kick up the arse will improve his form and decision making. Pleased that Steele has had an opportunity to get some game time.

Maybe, maybe not .......................... I can't say I was entirely happy about dropping Sanchez. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to pretend I know better than RDZ and his team, but I was disappointed. I was very excited by his progress on loan (I thought quite early that he would overtake Walton) and was delighted whe he replaced little Maty and did so well, getting into the Spanish team/squad and all.

Nothing against Steele, who has always seemed to deliver the goods when called upon - it just feels (to me) like a step backwards somehow. Maybe it's just my aversion to unexpected change! It's all speculation of course, but I wonder if #chickens has a point?

I do wonder about comments RDZ made a while ago, along the lines of “if Sanchez wants to improve as a player, he should listen to Ricard.”
I’ve no inside information, but we know that Sanchez had a really good relationship with Ben Roberts. I’m wondering if perhaps there’s been a perception that there’s some reluctance on Sanchez’s part to fully embrace a change of approach where his coaching is concerned.

Oh well. it is what it is - isn't it! So long as our GK keeps the ball out of the net! Rushworth next on the succession planning line? - he might have to watch out for young Beadle, only one division below him and three years younger (already with one save of the season worldy on his C.V!)

 

[Zeberdi]

Steeley standing in for Sanchez is nothing to do with ‘punishing Sanchez’ or Sanchez ‘not being good enough’, ‘Sanchez refusing to play DeZerbi ball or pushing back on RDZs style’ or a sign that ‘we won’t see Sanchez again’ - as I said above, Steele is not necessarily a better GK than Sanchez but his natural ability with his feet and passing skill set is better suited for DeZerbi ball than Sanchez’s at the moment - which requires a very particular style and technical ability from his GKs.

I love Sanchez and think he’s an excellent GK and I think that it’s unfair to read negative, dressing room intrigue into why Steeley has started the past few games or suggest Steeley is a better GK than Sanchez - he is just different - in terms of purely keeping goals out, I still rate Sanchez right up there and deserving of his international status.

RDZs own recent remarks seem to reflect that:

”I’m sad for Robert [Sanchez] because with him I have one of the best relationships but my job is to coach and you have to be honest and clear. At this moment Jason is closer to my idea in terms of playing with the ball at his feet and build-up and deserves to play.”

 

[macbeth]

think a lot of us were surprised to hear RDZ thought steele was closer to his style than sanchez, but actually when you analyse their playing styles that doesn’t seem like such a ridiculous shout



RDZ, i’m gathering, really wants the keeper to play the ball centrally, rather than out wide

similar situation against west ham, except steele plays it centrally rather than out wide like sanchez did in that example above



you can see in this video how playing the ball centrally created our penalty incident. think the aim is to get the opposition to be pressing us towards our goal, and by then playing it centrally, this creates a sudden shift in momentum, whereby the opposition are running towards our goal and then have to stop and change directions



from what i can see, RDZ doesn’t just want to have a keeper who is good with his feet but one who is brave with his feet. this, to me, is the main issue he will have with sanchez

 

[RandyWanger]

Does Bob now play in the cup?

 

[macbeth]

Nice analysis but tbh anyone that is very familiar with both RDZs style of football (from watching us since September last year) and Sanchez’s style of play (who most realised would be on a steep re-learning curve with RDZ from day one) will not have been surprised by this having watched Steele in cup matches for several seasons - as I posted after the Stoke match and the WHU match when people were speculating about why Sanchez was not playing - Steeley’s skill set is much better suited to what RDZ wants from a GK - that does not mean Sanchez’s game will not still develop into that direction but footballers have different skill strengths based on a number of things, including their specific physicality- it is what it is - sadly for Sanchez we now have a manager playing a style of football that is a progression from how we were playing under GP and who wanted from his GKs a more typical style of EPL football.

i think we knew that sanchez would have a learning curve but to be honest, i just didn’t expect him to rate steele so highly. not because he’s hasn’t been reliable when called on, just because i haven’t seen a lot of him over the years. it’s probably a fair shout that, comparing how they use the ball with their feet, that steele is better for what we need right now. i was just surprised that RDZ rated the rest of Steele’s game highly enough that it made dropping sanchez worth it.

 

[Stato]

think a lot of us were surprised to hear RDZ thought steele was closer to his style than sanchez, but actually when you analyse their playing styles that doesn’t seem like such a ridiculous shout



RDZ, i’m gathering, really wants the keeper to play the ball centrally, rather than out wide

similar situation against west ham, except steele plays it centrally rather than out wide like sanchez did in that example above



you can see in this video how playing the ball centrally created our penalty incident. think the aim is to get the opposition to be pressing us towards our goal, and by then playing it centrally, this creates a sudden shift in momentum, whereby the opposition are running towards our goal and then have to stop and change directions



from what i can see, RDZ doesn’t just want to have a keeper who is good with his feet but one who is brave with his feet. this, to me, is the main issue he will have with sanchez

Except the Sanchez example is from 4 weeks into working with RDZ and the Steele one is after five months.

I think that Steele did well in the cup and that RDZ wanted to reward him. Steele said in his comments to the media afterwards that he wasn't concerned that his manager hadn't guaranteed that he would continue to be the FA Cup keeper because that meant that he hadn't ruled out picking him in league games. Steele then kept his place for the next league game.

I don't think it's necessarily about always preferring one keeper's style to another's. I suspect that it is more about keeping every member of the squad on their toes, ready to compete for thier place and doing what is required for the group. He tries to give opportunities to everybody. With the exception of the January signings, all first team squad members bar Steele and Van Hecke have been given minutes in ten or more games. Personally, I think that he wants all players to be able to see, that if they do the work, there is a path to the first eleven and nobody to be thinking that their place is guaranteed.

 

[macbeth]

Except the Sanchez example is from 4 weeks into working with RDZ and the Steele one is after five months.

I think that Steele did well in the cup and that RDZ wanted to reward him. Steele said in his comments to the media afterwards that he wasn't concerned that his manager hadn't guaranteed that he would continue to be the FA Cup keeper because that meant that he hadn't ruled out picking him in league games. Steele then kept his place for the next league game.

I don't think it's necessarily about always preferring one keeper's style to another's. I suspect that it is more about keeping every member of the squad on their toes, ready to compete for thier place and doing what is required for the group. He tries to give opportunities to everybody. With the exception of the January signings, all first team squad members bar Steele and Van Hecke have been given minutes in ten or more games. Personally, I think that he wants all players to be able to see, that if they do the work, there is a path to the first eleven and nobody to be thinking that their place is guaranteed.

it’s just an example but it’s definitely something i’ve noticed. i can’t really blame him, we used the defensive wide areas much more frequently under potter and he played so often with back three i can see why he’d naturally want to play it either right or left. i think keeping everyone sharp is part of it, but i don’t think he’d compromise with a significant drop in quality. steele and jpvh have been starting games because he thinks they’re ready, enciso and sarmiento haven’t as much as he obviously doesn’t think they’re good enough to bench our current starters for. think nobody taking their place for granted is generally a good headspace for the squad to be in, but ultimately he’ll pick the 11 that is most likely to win and at the moment that includes steele, so i absolutely do think there is a stylistic preference there.

 

[macbeth]

To be fair, much of the starting line up decisions depend on what the coaches see in training, so I agree that your point is valid for Steele’s goal saving

- however, while I agree we haven’t seen much of him, especially in league ganes where the oppo is always fielding their first team, I think he made some very confident crucial saves in the WHU match and I think has definitely improved since last season in that regard, so I’m not worried about that aspect of his game - we will concede more goals anyway with DeZerbi ball so I would not see that as a reflection on either Sanchez’s or Steeley’s game going forward tbh.

oh absolutely, he’s been very impressive when he’s played this season. think any nerves i had about that have been firmly quelled. though i, and a lot of other people, would be lying if i said that i expected him to step in so seamlessly

 

[The Wizard]

It’s amazing what a bit of faith and confidence can inspire in a player, Steele seems to have been one of the biggest benefactors of this in our squad

Sanchez will be back, he’s far too good to be out the team for that long, but for now I see RDZ point, hopefully Sanchez has reacted well (as well as you can) to being dropped, knuckled down and worked on the reasons he’s been droppped.

I do think there is probably an element of making him work harder for his place, when complacency creeps in, which RDZ is well placed to notice, continuing to pick him could lead to others thinking it’s tolerated and following suit.

 

[albionalex]

Does Bob now play in the cup?

Would assume so.

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

Does Bob now play in the cup?

Confirmed in the press conference that Bob is starting against Grimsby. He made his pro debut against them for Forest Green Rovers in August 2018.

 

[7dialssouthpaw]

Maybe worth a bump - did De Zerbi say he was considering his options regarding keeper for the Chelsea away? He kind of mumbled something at the beginning of the press conference when asked about team news.
Hopefully, big Bob has got his mojo back and pushing to start again. Think Steele has done okay, but an in-form Sanchez would be a major plus.

 

[South Oz Seagull]

Sanchez makes too many clangers. He's unreliable. However, I think RDZ said somewhere a week or two ago that Bob would play against United in the cup. Would be very surprised to see him play against Chelsea.

 

[7dialssouthpaw]

Sanchez makes too many clangers. He's unreliable. However, I think RDZ said somewhere a week or two ago that Bob would play against United in the cup. Would be very surprised to see him play against Chelsea.

I definitely think he got the shanks after the CP mistake and has had a bit of a confidence crisis since then. Probably also a bit burned out from such a long season including the World Cup, and lost focus. It'd be great to see him get both back.

 

[Deadly Danson]

Maybe worth a bump - did De Zerbi say he was considering his options regarding keeper for the Chelsea away? He kind of mumbled something at the beginning of the press conference when asked about team news.
Hopefully, big Bob has got his mojo back and pushing to start again. Think Steele has done okay, but an in-form Sanchez would be a major plus.

I think Steele might be a slight injury doubt so it could be a chance for Sanchez. I've got confidence in both of them and we already know he's starting next week so playing tomorrow won't do any harm.

 

[Super Steve Earle]

I think Steele might be a slight injury doubt so it could be a chance for Sanchez. I've got confidence in both of them and we already know he's starting next week so playing tomorrow won't do any harm.

Steele left the pitch halfway through the open training session.

 

[Icy Gull]

It did cross my mind seeing De Zerbi’s comments about the team tomorrow that Sanchez could make a comeback

 

[Solid at the back]

Sanchez is a great keeper. BUT, he tries too hard to make it look like he's not trying and wants everyone to think that everything is easy for him. Arrogance or an ego thing and that's why he's so casual about stuff and it leads to mistakes through lack of concentration.

 

[Kazenga <3]

If Sanchez is to play in the semi would rather he played tomorrow tbh so he’s not going in cold.

 

[South Oz Seagull]

I definitely think he got the shanks after the CP mistake and has had a bit of a confidence crisis since then. Probably also a bit burned out from such a long season including the World Cup, and lost focus. It'd be great to see him get both back.

Unfortunately he lost his mojo way back in the pre-season games. Made a stupid error in one of these games (I think it was against a Spanish team) that cost us a goal. He has made silly errors every so often since then. The same way Maty Ryan had a bad period, got dropped for Bob and was then given the big heave ho, Sanchez' form has been all over the shop this season and he was eventually dropped.