I'll bite.
Where was he going to play in Silva's 4-2-3-1?
This is my assessment of the Brands/Silva thinking as far as what to do about signing an attacking midfield player in the 4-2-3-1:
They looked at the end of last season team and saw the players that they had to fill those positions were Bernard, Sigurdsson, Richarlison, Walcott and Lookman. Lookman was good as gone so that necessitated a replacement for depth at a minimum. Of the remaining players none were very good at transitioning the team from defense into attack. Bernard is ok, but largely relies on linking with the LB and doesn't bring much else. Sigurdsson gave us actually zero in that department because he's too slow to dribble and not active enough to get it done passing. Richarlison is ok at dribbling but the passing wasn't/isn't there and he was maybe a striker anyway. And Walcott is a reserve player ideally. Also aside from Gomes, who is average in this area for the most part, and possibly Gbamin, no one in the deeper midfield was taking up this role.
So they set out to bring in someone who could do that job and who had some level of positional flexibility, as they were probably only signing one more player. Zaha was the first name because he is very good at making dribbles from deep positions into the attacking third. He's also (when he cares to be) a dangerous player in the attacking third. Another option on their list was Iwobi because he is decent at dribbling up the field and a far above average forward passer for a winger/#10. And his ability to either be a LW or #10 meant that he gave them a bit of the flexibility too.
It obviously hasn't gone 100% like they wanted. He's had little final third impact and that's a problem. But I think the stuff in between the lines and in the midfield has been largely what they were looking for when he came in. Unfortunately a combination of factors has made this unseeable for our fans. The nature of the transfer, where he came from, his somewhat awkward style and whatever else have totally clouded everyone. It is strange to me because a decent player in the middle without enough final third impact is exactly what Bernard and Gomes were most the time last season and some of this one, and no one worried about them.
Anyway if you read all that I think you'll understand why despite the disappointment in his performances for most of this season I still think there was some actual thinking and reason behind bringing him here. And also why I think there is still enough about him to keep trying to work it out for the next few months and into next season.
