Emi Buendia - Injured

[Simon Page]

I hope people are starting to see it now. 

I'm one of the (slight) doubters. Said on another thread that so far I think he has the air of a mercurial 90s star turn - unplayable at times but too inconsistent. Again, really hope I'm proved wrong about that and we'll only know the answer when he's been here a lot longer than half a season. Thought some of his play last night was magical.

[sickbeggar]

Thought he was our best player last night. If only he was a bit more substantial. There was a moment last night when he bounced off a Man U player and he resembled one of those cartoon stick figures in a flip book.

[Brazilian Villain]

I know it doesn't need saying, but a proper defensive midfielder is an absolute must. A Bissouma type in the middle, with two of Luiz, Ramsey, McGinn and Sanson either side, behind two 10s of Coutinho and Buendia feeding Watkins or Ings, and we'd be well set. I think we need a proper top notch striker in the summer though. That Haaland fella would do. At the moment our midfield three are all a bit samey, and Buendia often drops too deep doing a sort of Luiz job, when he should be spending his time trying to hurt the opposing team as he did a couple of times last night.

That's it for me, it would improve us a lot plus an upgrade for Mings eventually but a good DCM would help that in the interim. 

Not 100% convinced by Emi B but we lost a lot of impetus when he went off. Didn't really threaten from 80 mins on despite it being a cup tie.

[Hookeysmith]

I think he is really showing his ability now - hopefully this will get even better with the Introduction of Phil

I like to see talented skilful players doing their thing - Players like Traore, Phil, Emi can be frustrating at times and will lose the ball. But when it comes off ......wow

[PeterWithe]

He did a lot better and some of his link up play was excellent, but he continues to frustrate, not so much that he gives the ball away when trying to create as that will happen, but that he does it so often with seemingly easy short passes. Good that the arrival of PC has shown him he needs to get better.

[Villafirst]

Gradually getting better and becoming more and more influential in each game. He's showing genuine quality..

[Smithy]

I like him, he's not perfect, but he's getting better, and some of his link-up up play in the final third is brilliant.  His little give and go with Ollie for his shot deserved better, as did his run past the defensive line for his cross/shot.  If he can continue creating two or three decent chances a game, he'll be doing well.

It will be interesting to see if Gerrard can find a way of playing him and Coutinho in the same side (either side of Ollie or Ings?), as I imagine they would be an absolute nightmare to defend against when we can get decent possession in the midfield.

[Mister E]

I felt the 20 mins before half time were him in a nutshell so far.
He was magic, running the game for 10 mins, then he must have given possession up 3 or 4 times in a row, culminating in getting in Dougies way and then kicking the ball at him and send them on a counter.

Yes. I was close to apoplectic with some of the crappy passes that led to opponent attacks. However, he has some real magic and needs to know when to use it better.
I've been a fan of his for a while (i wanted to get him into Villa when Naaarrrich got relegated) but it is currently very much a balance between the good he brings and the liability he sometimes offers.

[Dante Lavelli]

Also agree that a striker upgrade might be in order in the summer.

I don’t think we could afford a player that would be a guaranteed upgrade on Watkins/Ings.

[brontebilly]

I felt the 20 mins before half time were him in a nutshell so far.
He was magic, running the game for 10 mins, then he must have given possession up 3 or 4 times in a row, culminating in getting in Dougies way and then kicking the ball at him and send them on a counter.

Yes. I was close to apoplectic with some of the crappy passes that led to opponent attacks. However, he has some real magic and needs to know when to use it better.
I've been a fan of his for a while (i wanted to get him into Villa when Naaarrrich got relegated) but it is currently very much a balance between the good he brings and the liability he sometimes offers.

Definitely a talented player but can lose the ball a lot alright.  I think he would be a lot happier if there was only one central striker to thread balls through to.

Maybe part of the problem is that we are comparing him more to his predecessor in the 10 jersey as opposed to Barkley who has realistically replaced. Barks started well but by about this time last season he was starting to taper off. Buendia started poorly but is definitely improving.

[Drummond]

Ah he's bloody great, unpredictable, but clever. It's what football is about. Fuck the safety first option of Guardiola. I want players to try stuff, entertain me. There are other players to do the dull stuff.

[supertom]

Our entire midfield lose the ball too much at the moment (Ramsey seemed tidier than anyone yesterday, but you'd expect him to make a few errors at 20 still), but that will improve in time when we get the system going. A player like Beundia is going to try a little more ambitious things. He'll lose the ball, what we want is a solid base behind him, which is where Nakamba/Upgrade comes in. It's McGinn that needs to be a bit more composed on the ball, and let the flair players be more elaborate. Right now we're trying to rush everything, where we might just want to pick when to calm it down and play it simple and safe. Once Gerrard gets a midfield that he's fully happy with, and the balance of the front 3, that will improve. At the moment we still don't know if Watkins and Ings can work together. I don't think Douglas will be long term for Gerrard either. He's place setting somewhat.

I think Emi2 will revel playing with Coutinho, even if he's got to watch him from the bench on occasion. At the very least, he's improving. There are still just those moments where players get on top of each other, get in each others ways, misread runs, don't anticipate a forward ball. But it's a symptom of new players, systems and a new manager.

[eamonn]

Thought he was our best player last night. If only he was a bit more substantial. There was a moment last night when he bounced off a Man U player and he resembled one of those cartoon stick figures in a flip book.

If he put on muscle I think it would slow him down. He just has that pudgy demeanour. The best through-baller we've had since...Merson/Hendrie ?

[olaftab]

Also agree that a striker upgrade might be in order in the summer.

I don’t think we could afford a player that would be a guaranteed upgrade on Watkins/Ings.

We need to improve other areas of our team to get the best out of our current forwards.

[Footy-Vill]

Buendia and Coutinho ? Or only one to start  matches ?