28 Feb 2015 10:17:36
Don't know if you'll agree (or rather, I'm sure you won't for the most part), but I think Can is awful in midfield. I've been saying this (to myself, mostly) from the first games of the season, the last Besiktas match confirmed this for me.
He tackled exceptionally, but as a distributing midfielder he had nothing to offer. He needs planty of time to control the ball, then look around and decide what to do. If he doesn't have that time, he just passes it back to Skrtel or Lovren. He attempted several forward passes and they were almost all ill timed, ill prepared. I'm really not impressed by his decision making. Allen was not much better (although I like him more), and the forward players wasted all the chances, but I still believe Can was awful.
Now I don't want to say I don't see how good he is as a part of a back three - his tackles and attitude are telling there, and playing in the back line means he rarely has to look behind himself. That means he has time to aim and pass and if he has space, he can rush forward. I think that's a point in BR's favour, that he found him a new position.
What I really want to say is this - his is the name that crops out the most often when there's talk about replacing Stevie, and I don't believe he can be relied upon as a long-term solution. Henderson, yeah, and I'm looking forward to see Rossiter play more, but not Emre Can. I honestly think Emre Can't.
PS. And by the way, hi! I'm new here, I like the site, so I decided to participate a little.
28 Feb 2015 10:46:39
3-4-3 seems to be working, so I don't suggest to change that. But, if we had to then I'd like to see Can as deep CDM or even old fashioned sweeper
28 Feb 2015 11:12:34
Team spends more time shaped up like a 5-2-3 than 3-4-3 hence why we've been struggling for goals
28 Feb 2015 11:36:53
It seems more of a 3-4-1-2 than a straightforward 3-4-3
28 Feb 2015 13:07:22
He's 20 years old and has been played most of the season as a defender! Give him some time in that position(mf) and i'm sure he'll prove his worth!! We won't see him improve in that position until next season.
28 Feb 2015 13:37:48
You can't really use that match to judge him. The whole team was rubbish. Also the pitch was so bad that neither team could pass it around. Besiktas had to resort to long balls which we should have done as well by bringing Lambert on earlier
28 Feb 2015 13:39:06
10 good games, 1 bad game. Make sure you slate him.
28 Feb 2015 13:59:12
I had already disagreed with you post before this bit, but saying you like allen more than Can is the most bizarre opinion I have ever heard.
28 Feb 2015 18:03:26
One of the best attributes at this level is composure and Can definitely has it. He's not overly blessed with pace but he can be a cool and composed influence when the shrapnel starts to fly. The Besiktas game is not a great game to judge him on. They were all over us for 75 mins and we had next to no outball up top. His versatility also marks him out as one of Brendan's better acquisitions.
28 Feb 2015 18:10:45
Amerigo - it was 10 good games as a defender and 1 bad game as central midfielder. Thanks for agreeing.
01 Mar 2015 00:00:23
It doesn't matter. He had a poor match but its ridiculous to suggest he is a bad midfielder based on so little a time period.