Absolute ridiculas comments, and so far off the mark.
He is delivering more than any other "top" midfielder we have had in the Prem. He is 22 and is playing well, 1 bad half he has had ffs!!
Why does nobody else get picked up on decision making ?? Kev fopr example ??
Madness this criticism.
Quite right.
Lets add a little perspective here. Because we know Ross has so much talent, we expect him to deliver a 9/10 performance every game, which is ridiculous when you think about it. If he did he would be right up there with the likes of Messi, Ronaldo and Suarez.
So far this season his form hasn't been great by his own high standards, but up until Monday night he's still been putting in solid 7/10s and has been able to influence games.
You also need to take account of the type of teams we have been playing. Apart from Spurs we have been up against teams who have been trying to stop us playing. Ross has been man marked and sometimes teams even double up on him. Despite what some of you think, and indeed the nob who wrote that ridiculous article in the Telegraph (which surprised me a bit to be honest as their stuff is usually quite readable), 22 is still very young for the position Ross plays and the amount of responsibility being put on his shoulders. Plus he hasn't yet learned how to handle being man marked, but that will come with experience.
Two observations here. Firstly, when teams concentrate on stopping Ross, it also takes away an element of their offensive ability. Plus it opens things up for other avenue's of attack. The fact that these teams single out Ross for attention should tell you something. Secondly, we'll probably play around 15 or so matches a season when the opposition are more interested in their own capabilities than stopping Ross. I believe he will be more prominent in these games as he's given more freedom to showcase his skills.
As regards Monday's game specifically, Ross just had one of those nights all players have from time to time. Nothing came off for him and I was frustrated and sorry for him in equal measures. He is a confidence player and you could literally see his head dropping. But the important thing was Koeman noticed this and was prepared to take action at half time. He could have chosen Mirallas tbh, but I think hindsight shows he made the right decision. It disrupted Sunderland's game plan and they couldn't cope with us offensively. Plus, they had to open up after we scored the first.
Cue all the knee jerk reactions about Ross not being good enough, not fitting into Ronalds plans, only fit to be a squad player etc etc.
In reality, Koeman would most likely have taken him to one side in training yesterday, spoken to him about his performance in the game and what they can work on to improve it. Wouldn't be surprised if he was in the starting 11 for Middlesborough on Saturday although my gut feeling is he will be rested. What I will say is that I trust Koeman's judgement on this, and that is a most refreshing change.
It does highlight the need to buy a playmaker. Somebody who can both challenge Ross and share the burden of responsibility he carries on his very young shoulders.
