[Albion] Maupay

[Easy 10]

Connolly’s still learning. And whilst his finishing isn’t brilliant he’s always a pain in the butt for defenders. I know I’d rather play against a Maupay than a Connolly who never stops running. We need to cut the kid a little slack. He’s fine off the bench.

But Tau. I think he deserves a run in the team. I don’t know what’s happened there, but he looked very exciting in his debut at City, started at Newport on a shocking pitch, played pretty well at Leicester.. and not been seen since?

Shocked he was unused versus Palace and Brom when we needed a goal.

I'm not entirely writing Connolly off, but we are in a very perilous position to be having him as one of our primary strikers at this level, at this stage of his career. I don't think he has the composure in front of goal. Maybe he'll learn it with experience, but he looks no better now than he did when he burst onto the scene with that second goal v Spurs. I wasn't expecting him to be a 15-goal a season striker after that, but its disappointing how he's not really pushed on since then.

I'm not really sure what to make of Tau. He's looked good, and bad. He's only been here 5 minutes though, so can't expect too much too soon I suppose. Let him get settled, get him through a proper pre-season and hopefully we'll have a player there.

 

[Easy 10]

Even a young player could have a bad season without necessarily "regressing" in ability. Phil Foden looked extremely promising in 18/19, then got some heavy criticism last season and now he is great again. Its not always a linear road going from useless to bad to decent to ok to good and so on, sometimes its a bit of a rollercoaster. Look at Rashfords second season or the struggles Greenwood is having now, none of that stuff means a lot in the long run. But patience is difficult, apparently.

The only heavy criticism of Foden has been in the aftermath of blowing his beans up some local Icelandic strumpet whilst on England duty (along with Greenwood, funnily enough). In terms of his performances for City, he's been consistently excellent when given the opportunity by Pep.

Unfair to compare the progress of Connolly to Foden though. In terms of natural talent, they are barely even playing the same sport.

 

[Wardy's twin]

Not quite sure where to start with this. Maupay does a huge amount of work off the ball. Connolly keeps missing easy chances and generally does f all.

Tau looks out of his depth but that’s not surprising. He’s only just arrived here from a less than sparkling spell in the Belgian Farmers League. He might be the answer but we’ll need to blood him gently. Today he looks another Ali J, here to warm the bench and sell shirts in a third world country.

What we do have is four very similar strikers. Quick ish, short ish, full of running and unable to finish a packet of crisps. Perhaps our dear leader should swap one of them for a target man


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No mention of Zequiri , the last game he played he looked quite promising IMO , more alert and more contribution than Tau also a different build....

 

[Swansman]

Connolly’s still learning. And whilst his finishing isn’t brilliant he’s always a pain in the butt for defenders. I know I’d rather play against a Maupay than a Connolly who never stops running. We need to cut the kid a little slack. He’s fine off the bench.

But Tau. I think he deserves a run in the team. I don’t know what’s happened there, but he looked very exciting in his debut at City, started at Newport on a shocking pitch, played pretty well at Leicester.. and not been seen since?

Shocked he was unused versus Palace and Brom when we needed a goal.

Someone who watches him play football for about 10 hours every week thinks he is not good enough. Its of course possible to disagree with that, but its most likely the answer to "what happened".

 

[Guinness Boy]

No mention of Zequiri , the last game he played he looked quite promising IMO , more alert and more contribution than Tau also a different build....

Good call. At first sight he looks a lot more suited to British football than Tau.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

No mention of Zequiri , the last game he played he looked quite promising IMO , more alert and more contribution than Tau also a different build....

Yes and the composure on the finish when he had a goal disallowed, was something Maupay or Connolly could only dream of recently.

 

[albionalex]

No mention of Zequiri , the last game he played he looked quite promising IMO , more alert and more contribution than Tau also a different build....

I haven't seen anything from Zeqiri to suggest he's suited to this level as of now but he would give us the option to go more direct, showcased with the passage of play that won us the penalty vs Wolves.

 

[Swansman]

Good call. At first sight he looks a lot more suited to British football than Tau.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

While its very difficult to know based on the little they've played and since we are not able to watch them in training, its obviously difficult to tell, but based on the little we've seen so far I agree. Very unpolished but full of energy and some decent skill. Also he is five years younger than Tau, pretty significant when judging their potential.

 

[raymondo]

I think we'll see Zeqiri have a run of a few games soon. Remember MacAllister's start...didn't he start a game or two, look weakish and slow, then was kept away from the matchday squad for a few weeks, toughened up in training, and finally given a run in the team. And, mostly, he's looked bl**by good IMO. Quite likely that Tau is being treated in the same way.
I think that's Potter's way, and it's not a bad one at all. Maybe we'll see Zeqiri and Welbeck together against Leicester, giving Maups and Connolly a rest from the firing line...you read it hear first (or maybe not).

 

[swindonseagull]

Someone who watches him play football for about 10 hours every week thinks he is not good enough. Its of course possible to disagree with that, but its most likely the answer to "what happened".

If he was not good enough he would not be on the bench, his place would be taken by one of the kids.

 

[vagabond]

Not quite sure where to start with this. Maupay does a huge amount of work off the ball. Connolly keeps missing easy chances and generally does f all.

Tau looks out of his depth but that’s not surprising. He’s only just arrived here from a less than sparkling spell in the Belgian Farmers League. He might be the answer but we’ll need to blood him gently. Today he looks another Ali J, here to warm the bench and sell shirts in a third world country.

What we do have is four very similar strikers. Quick ish, short ish, full of running and unable to finish a packet of crisps. Perhaps our dear leader should swap one of them for a target man


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No mention of Zequiri , the last game he played he looked quite promising IMO , more alert and more contribution than Tau also a different build....

Zequiri does need to be given some starts as well. His finish against Leicester (disallowed in the end) is one of the purest instinctive finishes I’ve seen in a while.

I agree Tau has come from a farmers league essentially, but he’s got a lot of top flight experience, Champions League at the Bernabau.. doesn’t get much more elite at club level then that. And he’s obviously experienced at international level, played at the African Cup Of Nations, so you think he’d have learned a few tricks of the trade.

The truth of the matter is, we haven’t recruited well in this area going back a few years. I think most of us agree on that. I wouldn’t abolish Maupay forever, but I do think he needs to be rotated out.

 

[Wardy's twin]

I haven't seen anything from Zeqiri to suggest he's suited to this level as of now but he would give us the option to go more direct, showcased with the passage of play that won us the penalty vs Wolves.

Without sufficient game time it's difficult to form an accurate opinion but there was nothing in his last game which showed he was any worse either and has been pointed out his finish for the disallowed goal was pretty good.

 

[Weststander]

Someone who watches him play football for about 10 hours every week thinks he is not good enough. Its of course possible to disagree with that, but its most likely the answer to "what happened".

The least worst option to GP, who doesn’t have a rich pool of strikers to choose from?

 

[vagabond]

Without sufficient game time it's difficult to form an accurate opinion but there was nothing in his last game which showed he was any worse either and has been pointed out his finish for the disallowed goal was pretty good.

Can see Zequiri’s classy finish at Leicester here, approx 30 seconds in:

[tweet]1359913053198962689[/tweet]

 

[Wardy's twin]

Can see Zequiri’s classy finish at Leicester here, approx 30 seconds in:

[tweet]1359913053198962689[/tweet]

he has a lot to his game that others in team don't have, if he is not given the chance he will never prove whether he can or can't make it. can make it...

 

[Uh_huh_him]

Hard to believe he scored a Panenka against United.



00:23 look at his little face before he took it.
So confident. Hope he gets it back.

 

[Eric Youngs Contact Lens]

I just dont buy "rest Maupay". I acknowledge that I appear to be in a (shrinking) minority, but his contribution to the side is far greater than I think many appreciate. I can't deny that some of his finishing has been poor, but again, watch the WBA highlights and he is typically a major part in most, if not all our best moments, creating opportunties for others. Connolly I have always been sceptical of, but Maupay whilst he can of course improve is, purely on stats alone the best and most consistent we have. I would certainly see a run in the side with a player (Welbeck if he can keep fit) alongside him when we play sides that sit deeper but himself, Trossard, Ally Mac and Gross were so impressive against the likes of Leeds, Liverpool, Spurs.