Robin Olsen

[pauliewalnuts]

Yes he did and showed he can step in should anything happens to Emi.

Hmmmmmm. He did alright tonight but didn't really have much to do. I'd feel significantly less comfortable about him stepping in in the premier league.

[VillaTim]

Yes he did and showed he can step in should anything happens to Emi.

Seems to be improving, must be easier though playing in a team buoyed with such confidence and feel good factor. Even after the Kamara mistake for example it was high 5's all round rather than frosty looks etc

[tomd2103]

Had very little to do tonight, but one thing I noticed was that when he kicked the ball long from the floor, he kicked it miles.  He put Bailey in on goal with one of them. 

[paul_e]

He didn't have much to do but what he did was good and, importantly, was much more in line with how we play when Emi is there. He made himself available as an out ball and he didn't give much away playing it out. He was a lot more controlling of his box as well, I thought there were clear signs of training and of him learning from it.

[ChicagoLion]

He did well, maybe he is improving.

[Smithy]

Had very little to do tonight, but one thing I noticed was that when he kicked the ball long from the floor, he kicked it miles.  He put Bailey in on goal with one of them. 

That was a really good pass. I don't think it was just a long kick. Credit where it's due, I think he deliverately put him through, and he was inches from getting a well-deserved assist. Bailey's first touch was sensational.

Olsen did fine last night, I'm not sure Emi would have done better with their goal either - it was an excellent finish.  I'd have concerns about him playing in the league, but last night showed he is competent enough.  If that performance had come from one of our young keepers coming through, we'd be lauding them as a perfectly adequate understudy for Emi.

I'd still like to see a young up-and-coming keeper come in as number 2, but Olsen did pretty much everything asked of him last night I thought.

[Lastfootstamper]

I can't fault him. He came for everything he needed to, didn't fumble anything, and his distribution was intelligent (the pass for Bailey rightly gets the acclaim, but there was a superb throw out to Moreno too. He bided his time and delivered it perfectly). He's obviously not got Martinez's bollocks when it comes to facing down two attackers with the ball at his feet outside his box, but then there's very, very few in the world that do.

[eamonn]

Man has serious distribution chops. Maybe we could play him as a quarter back with those Barry Bannan Hollywood passes from deep.

[Brend'Watkins]

Thought he did okay last night with the little he had to do, looked more competent with the passing out from the back than in previous games.

[Smithy]

Man has serious distribution chops. Maybe we could play him as a quarter back with those Barry Bannan Hollywood passes from deep.

I noticed Lenglet played a couple of similar inch-perfect quarter-back balls, too.  It actually surprised me as I didn't know he had that in his locker.

[Ads]

His distribution was much improved and he looked a lot better. Had nothing to do, but that's not his fault.

[caster troy]

He definitely looked more comfortable on the ball last night. I feel a bit sorry for him because it can't be easy being deputy to the best keeper in the world, there is going to be a major drop off in quality for 99% of keepers out there compared to Emi. When you see £40m Onana dropping clangers regularly it does show there are no guarantees when it comes to keepers. I've changed my mind since the summer and wouldn't be rushing to replace him for the time being.

[Risso]

I would. He's not good enough. One game where they hardly had any shots isn't enough to change that.

[eamonn]

Man has serious distribution chops. Maybe we could play him as a quarter back with those Barry Bannan Hollywood passes from deep.

I noticed Lenglet played a couple of similar inch-perfect quarter-back balls, too.  It actually surprised me as I didn't know he had that in his locker.

Yes - Lenglet showed clear signs of his Barcelona training. Lovely through-ball into the box in the first half to McGinn, I think it was.

[KevinGage]

Still gave me kittens in the first half with some of his passing - and that's not even counting the goal which is largely on BK.

The defence are noticeably more panicky with him there and even the co commentator picked up on it.

Some of the nippier forwards in this division would have had a field day.

It's prob important we gave Martinez some downtime with the volume of games we have coming up, mind. Along with Cash, he might need an extra week or so off around the winter break following their World Cup exploits and the shorter pre season.