Summer Transfer Thread and Gustavo Cisneros Type Rumours.

[PaulWinch again]

I really don't think that Nakamba is decent enough though. I think if he played regularly his flaws would be massively exposed.

Agree. He’s too careless with the ball.

[malckennedy]

Agree with the positive comments on Luiz. He’s still very young and destined to be a genuine star. I also think Nakamba will surprise some people who have written him off this season.

Once everyone, including Sanson and all the new signings, are fit and available there is little doubt that we have a far stronger squad than last season. I’d expect a strong challenge for top 6.

[Ads]

I hope we keep pushing for JWP. The writing looks on the wall for them anyway and I'd imagine he'd be keen to leave.

[LeeB]

I hope we keep pushing for JWP. The writing looks on the wall for them anyway and I'd imagine he'd be keen to leave.

A forward line of Adams and Armstrong looks proper Championship.

[frank black]

I really don't think that Nakamba is decent enough though. I think if he played regularly his flaws would be massively exposed.

Personally I’ve seen enough to see that he’s adjusted his game to cut out the passes he shouldn’t make. He’ll have a good season

[Des Little]

I really underestimated Idrissa Gueye when he was here, when he was surrounded by better players his ability became evident. I think the same is possible with Marvelous...I’m keen to see him in our better team.

[VILLA MOLE]

Marvellous is the best tackler we have in there

[Pat Mustard]

I'm a bit torn on Marvellous.  We were clearly a lot stronger with him in the team towards the end of last season, and with an extended run of games I think his distribution would improve and he would cut out some of the errors he has made in the past. 

On the other hand, I look at our squad now and think that with a proper high level DM in place we start to threaten the top 6.  We have serious competition in every position now (we could name a second XI now that is considerably stronger than the first team of just 18 months ago), but we are just missing that absolute beast in the middle of the park.  It's unrealistic, but if we could sign Renato Sanches we would be a danger to everyone.

[manic-road]

Marvellous is the best tackler we have in there

Yes at the end of last season against Spurs and Chelsea I thought he was outstanding.

[KRS]

We can only really go off what we have seen on the pitch so far rather than speculate on players improving, and I wouldn’t like us to be reliant upon Nakamba and Luiz for the whole season as they are both error prone (mainly mistimed challenges/fouls and misplaced passes just outside our box). SJM can also be found guilty of this, so I’d rather we used him further up the pitch where he is most effective. I would love us to sign a really statement player in that position as it will only strengthen the spine of the team and improve us.

Also, referring to a post a few pages back…there’s no way we should be looking to offload our Scottish and Brazilian international midfielders. They both have a part to play in our team and will be integral to the squad.

[paul_e]

I really don't think that Nakamba is decent enough though. I think if he played regularly his flaws would be massively exposed.

Personally I’ve seen enough to see that he’s adjusted his game to cut out the passes he shouldn’t make. He’ll have a good season

My worry with Nakamba isn't the sloppy passing, that was always something we could coach out of him. What worries me is that he can't read the game anything like well enough. Watch the full game of one his appearances for us and count how many times he's caught out of position as a team breaks on us and he has to rely on his pace and energy to even get close to doing his job. Coming in for a few games here and there it's fine but I don't think you can sustain what he does, in a league like ours, for a long run in the team.

It's a lot like when we signed Yacouba Sylla, he looked great when he arrived because he was a bundle of energy pressing the ball and disrupting teams but he couldn't sustain it and then didn't have the technical ability or game knowledge to fall back on. Nakamba is a much better player but still has similar problems. I'd keep him and I'd fine ways to use his natural aggression to help us but I wouldn't rely on him.

[danno]

Twitter has us linked to Cheick Doucouré. ( RC Lens ). Anybody know much about him?

[Sexual Ealing]

Twitter has us linked to Cheick Doucouré. ( RC Lens ). Anybody know much about him?

0.7 goals and assists (each) per game according to a graphic I saw on Twitter. Sign him up.

[Drummond]

In 2018, RC Lens picked up Doucouré for an undisclosed fee, giving him his debut in the same season, aged 19. His capability of playing as a central defender, but more prominently as a ball-winning holding midfielder, soon made him a mainstay in the Lens side.

Fast-forward two years and you’ll see a mature 21-year-old central midfielder operating in a double-pivot in a 3-4-1-2 formation, under the tutelage of manager Franck Haise. With most of the eyes on rising star Facundo Medina at the back, Doucouré may often go under-appreciated, but the Malian’s performances have been nothing short of fantastic.

If I had to pick out a particular defining display for Doucouré, it would have to be that outstanding show against Montpellier at the tail end of January. It began with a small ounce of fortune: a ricochet that allowed the ball to sit up on the half volley around twenty-five yards out. I’ll confidently say that what happened next was one of the cleanest strikes you’ll ever see.

So rarely do you see a player hit the ball so low and so clean, driven with the force of an Apollo rocket. No hesitation. No backlift. Bottom corner. Dimitry Bertaud in the Montpellier goal should be inducted into the hall of fame for even getting within a touching distance of that strike. Of course, this is all exaggerated, but Doucouré’s overall performance was sublime.

The assist for Lens’ second goal had more of a Sergio Busquets – Lionel Messi air to it, but the sharp control, the flicked, outside of the foot pass inside; Doucouré does the basics perfectly. It’s easy to measure the tangibles: four tackles, six interceptions in that Montpellier game, for example. But unless you dive deep into more passive statistics, you rarely see how effective a player like he can be.

In Haise’s 3-4-1-2 shape, Doucouré has regularly found himself paired with Ivorian and former Manchester City academy graduate Seko Fofana. The 25-year-old didn’t play a game for City, spending two years on loan at Fulham and French side Bastia. Now at Lens after four years in Italy, he has joined Doucouré to form an effective presence in midfield for Haise’s side.

Doucouré is certainly more proactive defensively than Fofana, making almost double the ball recoveries per 90 (9.35 v 5.85), but the way they are both so adaptable to their team’s shape is what makes the Lens machine work so well. A great example of this is in the wingbacks.


By comparing the defensive action areas of both Doucouré and Fofana, you get a greater idea of the responsibilities either midfielder has, both defensively and going forward. To add context to these graphics, Lens’ right wingback is Jonathan Clauss. Clauss is not only third in ball progressions of any full-back/wingback per 90 in Ligue 1 (3.18), he also attempts more crosses than any other player in the French top-flight (5.83 per 90).

Consequently, there is space left behind for the opposition to exploit in transition. This is where you get an idea of the sheer quantity of work Doucouré gets through on the pitch. As you can see, the majority of his defensive actions come in the central areas, where, in the absence of Clauss during a counter-attack, he drops into the back three to make it a back four, allowing the right central-defender (usually Jonathan Gradit) to fill in as an auxiliary right-back.

Looking at the average position’s in Haise’s 3-4-1-2, you see that Gradit (RWB) is dragged wider and that space opens up for Doucouré (RCM) to cover. This is not only a testament to Doucouré’s incredible work-rate and concentration but also Haise for maximising his team’s attacking output by playing to the strengths of the central midfielders.

Lens were 2nd in Ligue 2 before the 2019/20 season abruptly ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and whilst last season’s Ligue 2 champions Lorient are currently hovering above the relegation zone after an impressive run of form under manager Christophe Pélissier, Sang et Or currently sit sixth in the table, despite the fact that star striker Ignatius Ganago has had his season curtailed with various injuries. Crucial to their form has been Doucouré, who at 21 is emerging as one of the finest box-to-box midfielders in France.

Haise’s system is effective and every player is important to it working. Fofana shifts onto the left-hand side to support Issiaga Sylla whilst Doucouré covers the bombarding runs of Clauss. It’s a fine-tuned, team effort. However, Doucouré should still be recognised as a crucial cog, allowing Lens to function at full capacity.

If there’s a stylistic summary for you to take away from this article, let it be this: Cheick Doucouré works incredibly hard, covering large areas of the pitch in both a defensive and attacking sense, but he’s also both technically and mentally very acute.

His concentration and defensive awareness to proactively disrupt the opposition and retain possession in a simple but highly effective manner make him an incredibly underrated talent emerging from France. He can also test the goalkeeper with well-struck curling efforts, as Bertaud, Anthony Lopes and Denis Petrić have found out in recent weeks. Keep an eye on him, and Lens as the season progresses.

By: Tom Quartly Breaking the Lines

[Richard E]

Twitter has us linked to Cheick Doucouré. ( RC Lens ). Anybody know much about him?

0.7 goals and assists (each) per game according to a graphic I saw on Twitter. Sign him up.

Gonna be a bummer if we lose a lot of games 2-1.4