[Albion] Mats Wieffer SINGS on 5 year contract

[Iggle Piggle]

Ah - but first impressions linger.

O'Riley got all our sympathies when he was crunched by the Crawley thug - and then scored the winner against Man City when he returned. It will take a long run of poor performances to turn him into a scapegoat.

Weiffer cocked up that 4v1. It will take a long run of fabulous performances to remove the scapegoat tag from him, and even more before he becomes a fans favourite.

Weiffer is curious. He is a very effective tackler but his weight of pass (not just THAT one) drives me mad.

Back to 4 at the back Sunday will hopefully see a return to form for a few of them.

 

[superseagull1994]

I thought he made an excellent challenge in the box last night to deny Fulham the shot but other than that I don't recall thinking much about him which given the overall quality of performance I suppose is a good thing for him.

 

[Han Solo]

He was clearly one of our better players last night. Very odd to then single him out. Looked far far better than O'Riley who's been anonymous for two games now so guess it'll be his turn to step into the scapegoat firing line soon.

He was... ok. I think the whole "he was one of our best players" is as odd as the "everything is his fault" take. Just very non-descript, alibi stuff. A couple of nice progressive passes and a couple of lost balls and in between that just a big fart-warm "meh".

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

I thought he grew into the game last night.

His first few performances for us, I think you can fairly categorise under "very bad". But is that unusual? New player, new league, a few injury issues. A few shockers up front isn't beyond the realms.

In his last few games, there has been improvement. Signs that he's getting his claim in for a spot. May it continue

I have this ongoing nagging doubt, that his legs are too long and there will be continual incidents where he can't really control them and just generally have those clumsy giraffe moments too often.

 

[Ⓩ-Ⓐ-Ⓜ-Ⓞ-Ⓡ-Ⓐ]

I thought he grew into the game last night.

His first few performances for us, I think you can fairly categorise under "very bad". But is that unusual? New player, new league, a few injury issues. A few shockers up front isn't beyond the realms.

In his last few games, there has been improvement. Signs that he's getting his claim in for a spot. May it continue

I have this ongoing nagging doubt, that his legs are too long and there will be continual incidents where he can't really control them and just generally have those clumsy giraffe moments too often.

A touch of the Rohans about him.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

A touch of the Rohans about him.

Possibly.

I personally think he will struggle to keep his place.

Surely Baleba ahead of him
Surely Ayari as well on performances this season
Hinsh I think just a better player

Possibly he's not competing with O'Riley or Gomez who FH may see as further up the pitch.

If all were fit, which I know won't happen I guess he'd be competing with Milner as the see the game out for the last 15 minutes type player. Unless of course, this improvement which there has undoubtedly been starts to accelerate. And I've been watching the Albion long enough to name a number of players who have excelled after dodgier starts than he's had

 

[Don Tmatter]

As with most Dutch players has all the technical ability you need but the PL needs energy and intensity in a CM role and I’ve not seen that from him yet

 

[Wilka]

He was much better last night. And at Bournemouth he was brilliant at the end.

Just needs more time to settle than some others. Would be helpful if we support that as a fan base rather than writing him off as some very vocal people around me last night clearly have.

 

[Beanstalk]

I thought last night was a good example of my fears about Wieffer. He's clearly technically talented and when he's given time on the ball he looks like an incredibly competent player. He didn't do anything markedly wrong in the game either so this post is obviously not trying to dig him out and scapegoat him based on last night.

He's just nowhere near the speed of the Premier League yet. He was waiting for the game to come to him last night, rather than grabbing the horns, and when he did have possession he clearly feels that he needs to take a touch, look up, and then make the action every time.

I really hope he acclimatises but when you're in a team that is playing well, especially in and around your position, and you can't come to terms with the pace of the game, you stick out as a weak link.

 

[peterward]

He was okay tonight. In the right place when others screwed up giving turnover, kept possession and us ticking over. Unlike his CM team mates.

The least of our worries.

Dont disagree, but was he better than Ayari in previous games?, I'd argue not.

I guess we have to all give him more time as its a big jump from Eredivisie to PL, but last night Wieffers matchday performance needle moved from previously games.....(Shit, total shit, dog shit) to Not shit/ok in parts which is progress of sorts but still nowhere near the level required.

 

[Jimmy Grimble]

You're just illustrating that he's the new boo boy. He was one of our better players last night. I could mention other players that were really off it last night, one of which has been for a long time, but I won't because I'd rather not target our own players unless it's, eg, Leon Best or Kemi, and that's for a lack of application.
Wieffer has been bought to plug a hole in the squad, one of the most undervalued but important roles. He's got most of the attributes to do that well. The glaring issue is that he is slow, and don't think anything is going to change that. He needs to adapt his game, positioning, decision-making in order to improve within the pace of the PL.

But is he having a noticeably positive impact on the team? That was my original question. At no point did I say he was our worst player last night - as you say, there were a few who could stake that claim.

Perhaps my expectations of him are too high, but I thought he would be far more physically dominant than he is, far more comfortable receiving the ball in tight spaces, on the half turn or when under pressure than he is, and far more creative in possession than he is.

At the moment he is just very meh and it feels like the game just passes him by.

 

[Simster]

The match day thread amused me as there was one nob on there insisting he should be nowhere near the first team. Well he hasn't pulled up any trees but was ok last night. And he was 100 times better than O'Riley, who picked up where he left off in the second half of the Southampton game and continued to be invisible.

For me, the difference between the two players is that Weiffer's high profile shite pass v Wolves led to an equaliser whereas O'Riley gets treated with kid gloves on here because he was crocked by a Crawley clogger.

 

[Han Solo]

All true. And also Wieffer isn't aesthetically pleasing, he can look a bit awkward at times so he's an easy target. Good player though.

Think it goes both ways. Plenty of people will jump in to save his arse because he looks like a runaway 1980s tennis player in dire need of someone bailing his arse out.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

As with most Dutch players has all the technical ability you need but the PL needs energy and intensity in a CM role and I’ve not seen that from him yet

Do you see him as having technical ability? Are you only saying this because he's dutch?

I'd say technical ability is what he doesn't have. He looks a little clumsy and uncoordinated for a player at this level

He may yet turn out to be an effective player in that role. But I don't think it will be due to his technique

 

[Surf's Up]

One of the key components of the RDZ approach was speed of thought i.e. knowing where your next pass is going to go in anticipation of receiving the ball. Wieffer possesses the technical ability he just needs to speed his thinking up re receipt and distribution of the ball. imho.

 

[Weststander]

Dont disagree, but was he better than Ayari in previous games?, I'd argue not.

I guess we have to all give him more time as its a big jump from Eredivisie to PL, but last night Wieffers matchday performance needle moved from previously games.....(Shit, total shit, dog shit) to Not shit/ok in parts which is progress of sorts but still nowhere near the level required.

Ayari is quality.

 

[Perry Milkins]

The match day thread amused me as there was one nob on there insisting he should be nowhere near the first team. Well he hasn't pulled up any trees but was ok last night. And he was 100 times better than O'Riley, who picked up where he left off in the second half of the Southampton game and continued to be invisible.

For me, the difference between the two players is that Weiffer's high profile shite pass v Wolves led to an equaliser whereas O'Riley gets treated with kid gloves on here because he was crocked by a Crawley clogger.

I think also that O Riley has presented himself well in his interviews whereas for some reason Weiffer seems less engaging and perhaps a bit morose.

 

[aolstudios]

Ayari is quality.

Absolutely.
& has taken a year to show it

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

Absolutely.
& has taken a year to show it

OK sure, but that's for a much younger and less experienced player

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

I think also that O Riley has presented himself well in his interviews whereas for some reason Weiffer seems less engaging and perhaps a bit morose.

He's also contributed right? He scored a winning goal against the champions