Emi Buendia

[algy]

Think it's worth bearing in mind that we had a game on Saturday, which won't have left a huge amount of time for Emery's very focussed methods - individual instructions for each player, presumably based on a certain amount of video analysis around the opponents - to take hold.

Yeah, Buendia should've been a bit more intelligent with his runs, but he may well have been had he been given more time to mentally prepare. I'm not sure one iffy performance, in a game we hadn't a huge amount of time to prepare for and one which, in the end, we won anyway ... it's not something I'd be overly concerned with right now. Particularly in the sort of flair/creative player that do tend to blow a bit hot & cold in any case.

[chrisw1]

There was an analysis somewhere on him last week that showed how he creates space with his clever movement even when he doesn't have the ball.

He's clearly getting knocked off the ball too easily, but I think it's easy to underestimate the contribution he has made during this good run under Emery.

[Monty]

Suspect he'll have competition at 10 next season, but that's great! We'll need a squad, and he's a proven contributor when he's on it and can do so in a number of roles in an Emery team.

[Drummond]

I like him a lot. He tries stuff, and if it doesn't work it doesn't cost us. He's not losing the ball in key areas, but he does make space, chases a lost cause, defends like his life is on the line and tries lots of lovely creative stuff. I get why he's frustrated because he doesn't get passed to when he's open in a goalscoring position, Watkins is particularly bad for that (though given his form you can't blame him).

[paul_e]

What I meant by weak link is that whilst he can make things happen he has an odd habit of, on a bad day, going to extremes and either playing passes without thinking or over-thinking and getting caught. Last night had perfect examples of both.

The one where he went down from the bang on his hip was a great example, he tried to play a one-touch lay-off to Ramsey but because it was hurried it looked like he had just taken a heavy touch and it broke down. Some people will say it shows he's thinking quicker than other players but for me it's that he gets a bit manic and tries to do too much.

But then there were 2 or 3 others where he just wanted far too much time and he got crowded out.

When he's playing well he's much more in the middle of those extremes but he needs to work on how to turn things around during a game because when he has a bad spell it tends to throw his whole game off and he becomes a liability. If Bailey put in a performance like that he'd be being ripped to shreds on here.

[Smithy]

On his good days he easily looks like an £80m number 10.  The fact he still has a few too many off days is the reason he's only a £30m one.

If Emery can get some serious consistency out of him, he'll be an incredible asset next season. That might come from genuine competition for his place, either from a fit Coutinho, or someone new.

[Risso]

I think at his best he just about looks £30m, let's not go overboard.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Last night he got clattered a few times and as usual the ref waved play on. Of course he gets pissed off with it but it does seem to wind him up more than most.

[Smithy]

I think at his best he just about looks £30m, let's not go overboard.

£30m doesn't buy you very much these days. Certainly not for a player with premier league credentials. A number 10 capable of scoring and creating in the premier league carries a big premium.  Look at Richarlison and Gordon, Leeds paid over £30m for Aaronson. Gibbs-White was £30m despite having 1 goal in 60-odd prem appearances for Wolves.  I'd have Emi ahead of any of those.

[danno]

What I meant by weak link is that whilst he can make things happen he has an odd habit of, on a bad day, going to extremes and either playing passes without thinking or over-thinking and getting caught. Last night had perfect examples of both.

The one where he went down from the bang on his hip was a great example, he tried to play a one-touch lay-off to Ramsey but because it was hurried it looked like he had just taken a heavy touch and it broke down. Some people will say it shows he's thinking quicker than other players but for me it's that he gets a bit manic and tries to do too much.

But then there were 2 or 3 others where he just wanted far too much time and he got crowded out.

When he's playing well he's much more in the middle of those extremes but he needs to work on how to turn things around during a game because when he has a bad spell it tends to throw his whole game off and he becomes a liability. If Bailey put in a performance like that he'd be being ripped to shreds on here.

The difference to Bailey or even Maddison is that he works so hard without the ball.

[Drummond]

I think at his best he just about looks £30m, let's not go overboard.

£30m doesn't buy you very much these days. Certainly not for a player with premier league credentials. A number 10 capable of scoring and creating in the premier league carries a big premium.  Look at Richarlison and Gordon, Leeds paid over £30m for Aaronson. Gibbs-White was £30m despite having 1 goal in 60-odd prem appearances for Wolves.  I'd have Emi ahead of any of those.

A number 10 in the team who are 5th in the Premier League......

[Toronto Villa]

Yeh he’s way more than £30m now. There are numerous players that don’t even come close to what Buendia provides and has provided this season. Some critical goals and would have more assists if they’d been converted as many should have been. He’s frustrating but if was consistently playing at his best level he’d probably be at a better club. But he’s important to us, still a relatively young player at 26. I don’t think he’ll be a starter next season but he will be impactful when he does play.

[OCD]

What better clubs?

[Toronto Villa]

What better clubs?

We're not exactly at the top of the food chain. Ok, better clubs..agreed, bad use of words by me as there are no better clubs than us, but there are more successful ones right now.

[ChicagoLion]

What better clubs?

Ouch.