05 Jun 2026 20:10:46
A lot of negativity on here regarding Gakpo recently. For me he didn’t regress any more than anyone else this year and was another victim of the system.
To get the best out of him you need to play forward quicker, make sure there is a consistent overlap on his outside and deliver quality balls from the right to the far post for him to attack. We did none of these three things this past season, but at least the first two are guaranteed from Iraola and presumably the third improves with who we bring in.
I’m not saying we can’t upgrade him, and I have question marks about how he’d function off the ball for Iraola, but given all the other priorities and how if we sold him we would need to replace him anyway, I’m happy for him to stay. He’s an integrated squad player and I think he’s far more suited to how we will attack this year.
05 Jun 2026 21:01:14
I think we could see a far better Cody next season.
He is a really good presser. Think he could fit Iraola's style. The slow build up killed him. He is not a tippy tappy player.
06 Jun 2026 00:23:10
I don't understand people cutting down any of the players for their performance this year (except Macca, he'd get a pass to but the play acting is so embarrassing I want him to F off back Santa Rosa and disappear from my life permanently).
All of them suffered from the lack of training and tactics. IMO they all get a pass through at least September and then we can judge.
06 Jun 2026 00:58:31
It's not even moving the ball forward quicker it's winning the ball higher.
Last season we had a mish mash of systems that had the forwards in a half press as in they ran forward but didn't tackle aggressively whilst the defence were sitting deeper and even running backwards.
That left too much space in the middle so the opposition could just pass through us or go long and even if Virgil won the header it would drop into space in front of him for the opposition to pick up.
By the time we could win the ball back we were in our own defensive third so then when we try to go forward we have a whole team in front of us to play through so the passes go sideways to try to go around them and most attacks break down very quickly.
We just need the team as a whole to stay tight and push up, not leaving gaps in midfield to exploit. Then the forwards can engage and the opposition don't have an easy pass so we win the ball higher.
It's not rocket science I find it quite astounding that with all of the resources Slot had he didn't notice it and fix it. If it was Virgil being scared to allow runs in behind him then he should've dropped Virgil and played someone else. Even an academy player can be coached to push up and hold his line. He might not be as good a defender as Virgil but at least it would give the team a base to attack from.
As it was we were always on the back foot and teams were happy to give us possession, knowing that once they win it back we will open up with the attackers pushing up and defenders dropping deep giving them acres of space to get through our midfield and get straight at the back 4. The more the season went on the more obvious it got.
The only thing that got us top 5 is the fact that we have better players than most teams so even though our team structure and tactics were all over the place we still managed to pick up points. Give players like Gakpo, Wirtz, Ekitike, Isak, Szobo a proper team structure and a base to attack from and they will deliver. Give them no structure and flawed tactics and you'll just get moments which is exactly what we got.
06 Jun 2026 10:09:56
I agree with you, WelshXavi. The Gakpo slander would make sense if he was one of the very few that was killing us in games. He wasn't cos the whole team were being stifled by the tactics from Slot, where you are literally not allowed to run on a football pitch. What chance does any player have at that point?
Gakpo has produced for us prior, and the evidence is there to prove it.
People are free to ignore the evidence and just go ham on the brother, but that doesn't remove the fact that the evidence is there. With "Doni" in charge, I think we will see a much improved team, overall. As for Macca, he is simply not athletic enuff to play the Iraola system, and the diving/cheating is just a pile-on which he deserves. I'd sell him.