Steven Pienaar

[Kinsale Toffee]

I think he's looked lethargic most of the season apart from one or two performances and seems more than happy to play for free kicks.

 

[JamesChangingInThailand]

For those that know my opinion on Baines, forgive me for the repetition...

I totally and utterly disagree with you here mate.

He's NEVER going to get you more than 5 goals a year. He's highly unlikely to get you more than 5 assists.

It's these two points which I believe lead people like yourself mate to state that, in a word, he's cr@p.

Steven Pienaar is, on the ball, our best player (soon to be displaced by Barkley I must add).

He was worse than bad last night, but he look about 25% fit. He was risked and it didn't pay off.

He is one of the few players we have that can take the ball, under pressure or not, ANYWHERE on the pitch and distribute it sensibly.

His performance against Arsenal was only slightly shy of perfect. Between the lines of arsenals back four and midfield, he linked with the forwards and Oviedo brilliantly. Against Southampton he was fantastic too. There's other games, like Hull, where he's come on and made a difference with a piece of brilliance.

His partnership with Baines is still the best in the league.

I don't mean to rant mate, because it's a forum and your entitled to your opinion... It's just I think that being an everton fan is more than being a utd fan or, dare I say it, a kopites where players abilities are based on their goal/assist stats. We recognise and appreciate quality, and Steven pienaar is quality.

This is pretty much spot on.

He's absolutely integral to the way we play. He's always the one who takes responsibility for the ball and keeps things ticking over. Yes he's not a world beater and doesn't bang in goals all the time but his hold up play is outstanding, creates a real base for us to build from and the amount of fouls he wins is ridiculous. He's not a classic winger and lacks pace but he shouldn't be judged as a winger, he's more of a wide sitting play maker and the role he does is invaluable.

Look at the Albion game where we couldn't get the ball to stick and had no base to build momentum from, the one man missing was Pieenar. He picks up the ball in tricky situations and makes it ours. He's not the that exciting, but his class and the role that he plays for the team for me can not be called into question.

Having said that he was dire last night but he was injured.

 

[Tubey]

When he's great, he's great. He's tidy in possession and everything goes through him as he takes the ball in tight and distributes well, and with variance.

Problem is, when he has an off day, boy does he have an off day. And he does every five games or so where he completely disappears.

That's the issue, and why I can't define him as a top player. He can't influence the major games consistently. Hence why we need another creative attacking midfielder, and the reason I think Martinez has brought in McGeady to offer the "Plan B" when he's off colour.

 

[Baines' left foot]

He's been better under Martinez so far than he was under Moyes (after his second transfer), in my opinion. We do need a replacement for him in the next couple of transfer windows, though.

 

[dannyboy]

Posted in another thread, 1 goal and 1 assist in 18 games. We've so many matches and that's all he's been able to manage.

Was fantastic in that loan period he spent back here, underwhelming since. In fact this year he's been a weak link in the team. Needs replacing with a dynamic footballer capable of scoring 10+ goals a season and unlocking a defence.

 

[DanEFC92]

Let's hope the same doesn't happen to Rom!

Lukaku has been poor since November.

 

[slimspek]

If you look at our goals this season he is often the 3rd or 4th pass before the shot. He may not being getting the assist but he is creating things and his distribution in the final 3rd has been essential to our play. Maybe its to Pienaar's detriment sometimes but every single game he is getting on the ball and making sure he is involved.

 

[dannyboy]

If you look at our goals this season he is often the 3rd or 4th pass before the shot. He may not being getting the assist but he is creating things and his distribution in the final 3rd has been essential to our play. Maybe its to Pienaar's detriment sometimes but every single game he is getting on the ball and making sure he is involved.

Not having that. It's his job to create chances and score goals in the position he plays within our system. He doesn't do either.

That's why we enjoy so much possession against teams without creating much in terms of chances.

 

[messymascot]

Think when he's fit again he should be cover for Barkley in the number 10 position. We've got other options for out wide. Last night he clearly wasn't fit but I do feel he has been treading water in a lot of games in the last year. I think move inside would suit him as he could come on with 20 minutes to go to unlock defences.

 

[caught]

He's been keeping the ball for far too long recently, resisting the simpler pass for something smarter. Trouble is a lot of the final balls he makes aren't as clever as he thinks and the mentality tends to slow down our movement and pull players out of position as they look to give him an option. It's fine if you're in the Barca midfield, but he's not, and it results in us being vulnerable if we lose possession. He was terrible last night, but he's been doing this for most of the season and he's seemed to be often out of sync with other players.

 

[dannyboy]

He's been keeping the ball for far too long recently, resisting the simpler pass for something smarter. Trouble is a lot of the final balls he makes aren't as clever as he thinks and the mentality tends to slow down our movement and pull players out of position as they look to give him an option. It's fine if you're in the Barca midfield, but he's not, and it results in us being vulnerable if we lose possession. He was terrible last night, but he's been doing this for most of the season and he's seemed to be often out of sync with other players.

Yeah, his retention of possession in the final third used to be fantastic. It's so hit and miss now, you're almost expecting an attack to break down at his feet.

Most of the time he just looks absolutely knackered to me as well. He's never been pacey but I always classed him as a busy player, seems to have lost that over the past year.

 

[AaronTheBlue]

Been crap this season, bar one or two games. I'd let him go at the end of the season and focus on bringing in a younger player or letting another player i.e mcgeady built up a relationship with baines.

 

[mkrudden]

He's been keeping the ball for far too long recently, resisting the simpler pass for something smarter. Trouble is a lot of the final balls he makes aren't as clever as he thinks and the mentality tends to slow down our movement and pull players out of position as they look to give him an option. It's fine if you're in the Barca midfield, but he's not, and it results in us being vulnerable if we lose possession. He was terrible last night, but he's been doing this for most of the season and he's seemed to be often out of sync with other players.

Yeah, his retention of possession in the final third used to be fantastic. It's so hit and miss now, you're almost expecting an attack to break down at his feet.

Most of the time he just looks absolutely knackered to me as well. He's never been pacey but I always classed him as a busy player, seems to have lost that over the past year.

Been crap this season, bar one or two games. I'd let him go at the end of the season and focus on bringing in a younger player or letting another player i.e mcgeady built up a relationship with baines.

Bonkers stuff. Especially that in bold.

Absolutely bonkers.

 

[deipnosophist]

He's been keeping the ball for far too long recently, resisting the simpler pass for something smarter. Trouble is a lot of the final balls he makes aren't as clever as he thinks and the mentality tends to slow down our movement and pull players out of position as they look to give him an option. It's fine if you're in the Barca midfield, but he's not, and it results in us being vulnerable if we lose possession. He was terrible last night, but he's been doing this for most of the season and he's seemed to be often out of sync with other players.

he seems to be constantly playing for a foul

 

[dannyboy]

Bonkers stuff. Especially that in bold.

Absolutely bonkers.

You must be watching something completely different to me then.

What do you think when you watch games like last night and Arsenal away? We enjoy a lot of possession without any cutting edge. In his position he's got to be giving us more if we want to get into Europe.