[Albion] Carlos Baleba

[Munchkin]

Superb today. Quite rightly MOM.

 

[Cordwainer]

Didn’t like his performance for me .

Yes he broke up play first half quite well but 2nd half looked like was hiding . Didn’t want to receive the ball facing our goal so instead positioned himself badly so wouldn’t have to .
That’s why Lallana came on and thank god he did . He did balebas job more in his time on the pitch than baleba did .

Baleba best when driving . As the pivot player he is no where near ready for that

Midfield in summer needs addressing more

I agree. Guess needs must with current injuries and suspensions etc. Thought him n Moder were generally poor in midfield today..had very little control for parts of the game..lots of poor touches, misplaced passes and not a lot of decent forward balls. Looked much better when Lallana and Lamptey were on. Igor decent in his short cameo.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

Oh crap, I watched a different game!

It's a tricky one because he looked really good on the ball today, especially in the first half and again right at the end after Lallana came on. But there was a very long period of 40 minutes or more when we simply couldn't hold the ball for any length of time, when Forest kept winning it back and having a lot of possession, and it's fair to ask what Baleba was doing during this period of play. I didn't notice him in the slightest.

That said, he did look tidy when in possession and I am pretty pleased with his development so far.

 

[Bakero]

Didn’t like his performance for me .

Yes he broke up play first half quite well but 2nd half looked like was hiding . Didn’t want to receive the ball facing our goal so instead positioned himself badly so wouldn’t have to .
That’s why Lallana came on and thank god he did . He did balebas job more in his time on the pitch than baleba did .

Baleba best when driving . As the pivot player he is no where near ready for that

Midfield in summer needs addressing more

Just turned 20 and his first season at this level. Cut him some slack.

I agree that he's not the new Caicedo though. Not sure that exists anyway.

 

[kelvinnewman]

I think all the people who were saying he needed a loan next season are barking

 

[Wrong-Direction]

Put a shift in

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Looked great but went a bit flat, along with a few others, late in the game. That shielding thing he did a few times looks good.

 

[Napper]

Just turned 20 and his first season at this level. Cut him some slack.

I agree that he's not the new Caicedo though. Not sure that exists anyway.

Absolutely the bigger picture not questioning

Just talking the performance today and him generally in tight spaces being pressed from behind .

Like say . 1st half did some good things

 

[Cordwainer]

Absolutely the bigger picture not questioning

Just talking the performance today and him generally in tight spaces being pressed from behind .

Like say . 1st half did some good things

The pressing from behind and losing the ball was one of the issues that RDZ identified a while back and then played him in those couple of games where he was just in front of the defence. For his age and comparative lack of experience I think he’s doing great so far.

 

[NorthStandSeagull]

Put a shift in still a tad raw but will keep improving. Not MoM for me today. Verbruggen all day long

 

[Deadly Danson]

Oh crap, I watched a different game!

Me too. Rapidly improving with every start. I think he's going to be a superb player. Yeah, tailed off a bit second half but really happy with his progress.

 

[Sussexscots]

Think today showed that, whilst he's still quite raw, he's developing and progressing.

His physicality looks good. Already quite strong and robust for a twenty year old. With a few more games and a full pre season he'll play a much bigger part next term, I hope.

 

[AlexBH]

Much better today!

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

Terrific performance.

He should be starting every week. We need his ability to cover the ground and drive forward

 

[hopper_182]

Thought he was great today, strong physical presence in the middle and good at protecting the ball. Still room for improvement in some of the decision making, but did enough to provide competition for Gilmour when he is back.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

Put a shift in still a tad raw but will keep improving. Not MoM for me today. Verbruggen all day long

Agree. Baleba was second. It did make a real difference having his physicality in midfield

 

[Machiavelli]

Just turned 20 and his first season at this level. Cut him some slack.

I agree that he's not the new Caicedo though. Not sure that exists anyway.

Yes, but the new Caicedo isn't a patch on the older Albion iteration.
Thought Baleba was our MotM today, but there weren't too many good performances. It was a scruffy one-nil which is precisely the kind of result and performance we needed in our circumstances.

 

[BUTTERBALL]

People have to get over this comparison with Caicedo, he's a completely different type of player, more offensive and offers different qualities. He was fantastic today and fully deserved MOM.

 

[Uh_huh_him]

One of our best performers today.
Needs a run in the first team alongside Gilmour

How Bart disn't get MotM is beyond me though

 

[Pavilionaire]

Baleba deserved his MOTM. I think what he gives the team is physical strength, energy, a willingness to chase back, i.e all the good stuff we had with Biss and Caicedo.

I think he also gives the defence reassurance, and we'll keep more clean sheets with him in the team.