2019/20 Bernard

[ArtetaMoney]

Agree with this. Very good yesterday. His link-up play and work-rate are fantastic. The flicks and turns are boss to watch and effective, to boot.

My only issue with him is his penalty area play. Unfortunately, if he's going to play so far forward, this is a big issue. If Bernard is playing one of your forward roles, you absolutely cannot afford another player whose goal and assist return is so poor in, say, a front 3, if you want to achieve anything of note, because your forwards simply have to be where your goals come from.

Especially for a team like us who already don’t score too many goals, I do like to watch Bernard though. His first touch is ridiculous and his effort levels are high. I just hope he can add 4 or 5 goals and assists per season.

 

[Lanolin]

I could not care about the assist statistics, it’s pointless because like yesterday, a player can RUN the game, have people miss chances (Bernard created four) and then someone else can get an assist even though the key component was earlier in the move. It’s a pointless stat.

Pienaar never got great numbers but anyone with a football brain could seee his importance. Same with Bernard.It just so happens they’re both a wide left midfielder, who have a good relationship with the left back.

Peoples obsessions with assists is crazy.

Well it’s not pointless is it? We might as well say goal stats are pointless aswell then.

They’re not the be all and end all but they are important.

 

[Zeitgeist]

has always seemed shot shy and keen to set up for others (which is great)... yesterday he must have been told to take more shots when central causetwice I think he made space For two efforts?

Would like to see it, he's certainly got the technical ability

 

[Glasshalffull]

The best footballer in our team by a country mile. Sadly he’s surrounded by Carthorses. Imagine how many assists and goals he’d get if anyone in the team was capable of playing a return pass to him or actually just finishing the guilt edged chances he lays up for them.

Sorry, not being part of the Grammar Constabulary for once, but 'guilt' (rather than gilt) edged made me smile. Wondered if the other players felt bad just because the chance was so easy, or they just have some sort of complex making them feel bad when a chance comes along.

 

[andy4efc]

Well it’s not pointless is it? We might as well say goal stats are pointless aswell then.

They’re not the be all and end all but they are important.

Player X can create four chances and not get an assist.
Player Y can create one chances and get an assist

All depends on the finishing. Assists don't tell you about a player. They just don't. Digne has a high amount of chances created this season for a defender, yet his assists much be relatively low? Using "Chances created" is a MUCH better marker than assists. Especially as it can cover more than just being the one person to play a pass before a goal.

His lack of goals is a fair critique, hell his lack of shots is (which it appears hes been told to take shots more often).
But using a lack of assists as a stick to beat him with is nonsense. You only have to see yesterday what he can bring to the table if he has some movement to go off around him.

And I'm not saying you are the one beating him with that stick either.

 

[Sheedy's right knee.]

He needs to shoot more but I think people underestimate his value in my playing key passes which lead to goal mouth incidents and opportunities. Some of the players he is playing into good positions who are not making the most of these opportunities. I will stick my neck out and say he wouldn’t look out of place in any quality football team.

 

[royvernon39]

Having watched the odd highlight of his in the CL when he was in the Ukraine I thought he would be
great. And he can do good things but overall he is a disappointment: too slow on the outside, no goalscoring capability,
and too many games when he is peripheral.

He is not a Top 6 forward and would not get in their teams. A great attitude can only carry you so far. Big upgrade required
from Uncle Carlo.

 

[Lanolin]

Player X can create four chances and not get an assist.
Player Y can create one chances and get an assist

All depends on the finishing. Assists don't tell you about a player. They just don't. Digne has a high amount of chances created this season for a defender, yet his assists much be relatively low?

Using "Chances created" is a MUCH better marker than assists. Especially as it can cover more than just being the one person to play a pass before a goal.

I don’t really agree, because what gets classed as a ‘chance’ is often laughable. Swing a bog average free kick into the box, centre half gets his head on it in a crowd of players on the penalty spot and heads it 10 yards Over the bar, there we go chance created. Play a god awful ball from a great position, forcing the striker wide for no reason. He gets a shot away with no chance of it going in. Chance created.

What you’re saying might be true if you look at everything on a game by game basis, but over the course of a season if you create a lot of good chances you’ll get a lot of assists. For every chance you put on a plate that someone misses, there’ll be a 5 yard pass that someone pings in the top corner from 25 yards. If you are genuinely creating good opportunities on a regular basis it will be reflected in your assists.

 

[paulbefc]

I could not care about the assist statistics, it’s pointless because like yesterday, a player can RUN the game, have people miss chances (Bernard created four) and then someone else can get an assist even though the key component was earlier in the move. It’s a pointless stat.

Pienaar never got great numbers but anyone with a football brain could seee his importance. Same with Bernard.It just so happens they’re both a wide left midfielder, who have a good relationship with the left back.

Peoples obsessions with assists is crazy.

While it is a limited stat as literally everyone knows and yet you've taken the time to point out, it's certainly not pointless. If Bernard lays on a 1-on-1 for DCL, I'm backing DCL to miss it every time. If he lays on 10, I'd back DCL to slot maybe 2 and get Bernard 2 assists. As a forward, the more effective you are in the box, the more assists and goals you get. We can focus on goals if you like as it's the same weaknesses at fault, largely.

There are a huge number of players who are great through the middle of the park or in build-up/link play and are then found wanting in the box where you're looking to complete the often most difficult (final) passes of the game and finish chances. Bernard's a classic example. They usually don't play as a very advanced player as Bernard has done for us, especially under Silva (hopefully less so under Carlo). The more advanced you play, the more you'll be required to execute a final pass or finish. I simply don't believe anyone would argue that Bernard doesn't struggle in this regard. We've seen him do some genuinely bizarre things when through on goal or when given the option to try and play a final pass, many many times and this is why he doesn't have more goals/assists.

Unfortunately that's really important if you're part of a front 3, for example. He does great work for Digne (not to the standard Pienaar did, but still excellent), but ideally it wouldn't come at the cost of his goal and assist stats at 1s and 2s for a season as our goals have to come from somewhere.

 

[CahillsCornerFlag]

Having watched the odd highlight of his in the CL when he was in the Ukraine I thought he would be
great. And he can do good things but overall he is a disappointment: too slow on the outside, no goalscoring capability,
and too many games when he is peripheral.

He is not a Top 6 forward and would not get in their teams. A great attitude can only carry you so far. Big upgrade required
from Uncle Carlo.

Always find it a laugh when our fans crap all over our most talented footballers. He’s literally the most creative player in our squad, yet he’s the one we need a ‘big upgrade’ for? He’s the absolute least of our problems.

 

[royvernon39]

Always find it a laugh when our fans crap all over our most talented footballers. He’s literally the most creative player in our squad, yet he’s the one we need a ‘big upgrade’ for? He’s the absolute least of our problems.

In the league 'our most talented footballer' has two goals so far this season, one last season.

That is why we need an upgrade.

 

[Toffe3m4n]

Baller.

 

[Zeitgeist]

Having watched the odd highlight of his in the CL when he was in the Ukraine I thought he would be
great. And he can do good things but overall he is a disappointment: too slow on the outside, no goalscoring capability,
and too many games when he is peripheral.

He is not a Top 6 forward and would not get in their teams. A great attitude can only carry you so far. Big upgrade required
from Uncle Carlo.

Sorry but just no

 

[EFCINLONDON]

Reminds me of pienaar. We play better when he plays because he can link play between midfield and attack.

 

[okellypj]

Bernard can receive the ball, walk it past opposition, change direction, pick out a pass. also dictates play when he drops centrally. No one else in our team can really do that. Walcott tries to run in behind. Richarlison runs at ppl and bulldozes through a bit when on the wing.