Leon Osman

Useful squad player ?


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I agree wholeheartedly about needing link up players, Pienaar looked so essential against spurs once he's gone off, but Osman doesnt have the legs to start games, hence him getting brushed off the ball for the free kick. I like james mac, but I think long term he will have to develop more to his game, if he's going to play alongside an out and out sitter like Barry

Macca has it in him for sure. I've seen a lot of his games at Wigan and for Ireland, and wanted him at the club for a couple of seasons. I think in general, although it has been good at times before Xmas, we are a long way off the fluid team that Bobby will have us playing as. What we are seeing now is him making do with much of what he's got and changing bit by bit.

Ossie looked screwed second half, that poor control where he let it go over the end line and looked half-dead after his rubbish attempt to keep it in.....that was a moment when you kind of knew we weren't getting back into the game.
 
In fairness, although I'm defending him above, it baffles me how a top flight footballer can so consistently mi**** shots. The positions and chances he gets for himself and roughly 7 times out of 10 he will roll a shot tamely at the keeper.

Pienaars not much better


I defend both of them as they have some of the qualities we rely on badly for our style, so can understand them being selected, but the sooner we can get in younger replacements with better end product the sooner we will see what this team can really do.

He only denied by a great save Sunday.
 

Oh dont get me wrong, under Moyes he often looked lost in our tactics, or just poor but under Bobby as I say above, he offers something that the others dont so can understand him being used, especially when we are without Ross.

Seriously...watch Mirallas try to take a ball in to his feet and hold posession...he is not far off Lukaku, although not as bad as Naismith. The problem we have is that we need the qualities of Osman in there as they are essential to our style of play especially if we have Ross and/or Pienaar missing. The last 20 mins against Spurs showed us what an attack filled with our flying wingers will do. THey will be completely seperate from our centre mid two and will regularly lose possession.

Genuine question, why is it Liverpool are able to work with virtually no midfielders in their effectively 6-0-4 formation, yet when we play only with pacy attacking players they seem to struggle to link up with our centre midfielders?
 
he is the only one capable of taking, holding and distributing the ball to a consistent
level./QUOTE]

Osman, surely you jest?

he has been poor but the way him and to a greater degree Pienaar and Ross can take possession in tight areas and turn and lay it off to put ua on the attack is something Mirallas regularly fails at for example.

im not saying he hasnt been bad at times but it is a part of hisbgame and would be the reason he is put in for now.

Kev and Deulo lack game intelligence to be honest...something PIenaar and Osman have whether or not they are currently showing it. For example...if Ross and Pienaar are out...but the rest of the attack is fit I would say 100% that Osman has to play.
 
Genuine question, why is it Liverpool are able to work with virtually no midfielders in their effectively 6-0-4 formation, yet when we play only with pacy attacking players they seem to struggle to link up with our centre midfielders?

easy.

coutinho and suarez. are not just attackers...they are both very capable fooballers technically to varying degrees.

Kev is a one game in four player with an average first touch I personally think. I pick him out as he gets mentioned a lot as somebody who should play in the hole...which would be a link player. He is poor with his back to goal.
 
easy.

coutinho and suarez. are not just attackers...they are both very capable fooballers technically to varying degrees.

Kev is a one game in four player with an average first touch I personally think. I pick him out as he gets mentioned a lot as somebody who should play in the hole...which would be a link player. He is poor with his back to goal.

Yea i agree Barkley or Pienaar should be at 10 out of the personnel we have, Mirallas is only suited for the wing or centre forward. Kevin runs with his head facing down far too often, it's baffling that it wasn't coached out of him at a younger age. Even if you look at most of his goals, he pulls his head up long after he's followed through, which to me amounts to a hit and hope shots.

I think Osman is decent playing in the hole, if nothing else because losing possession up there is the least costly to the team. He has the technical ability to distribute the ball and hold possession in spite of his physique (most of the time). You have to expect him to get caught in possession once or twice, but i don't mind that as long as he can also provide incisive passes for someone to score
 

Yea i agree Barkley or Pienaar should be at 10 out of the personnel we have, Mirallas is only suited for the wing or centre forward. Kevin runs with his head facing down far too often, it's baffling that it wasn't coached out of him at a younger age. Even if you look at most of his goals, he pulls his head up long after he's followed through, which to me amounts to a hit and hope shots.

I think Osman is decent playing in the hole, if nothing else because losing possession up there is the least costly to the team. He has the technical ability to distribute the ball and hold possession in spite of his physique (most of the time). You have to expect him to get caught in possession once or twice, but i don't mind that as long as he can also provide incisive passes for someone to score

Totally agree on Kev.

Problem with Ross,Pienaar and Osman is that they don't really provide incisive passes for someone to score, even though they can allbe important in making our attack work to get us in attacking situations with a man or two advantage.However they are the best options in the squad for this, until we hopefully upgrade in the summer.
 
I think Osman is a very good footballer. Frankly , I don't understand the criticism that he gets apart from the need that Evertonians need a scapegoat.

I think that he was, certainly. He isn't anymore really, but I agree that people shouldn't be tearing strips off him - he's run his legs off for us over the years.
 

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