Do you think a guy with his build is going to do well holding the ball up with his back to goal while being battered by bigger, stronger CBs? He's going to get a lot further by developing his link-up play (which is already good) and his movement.
Up until 22 Inzaghi had also been playing Serie B and Serie C. Not that I'm remotely saying Pepi is or is going to be like Inzaghi (or not).
You said without the goal his performance would have been "real bad". I'm not putting words in your mouth. Your attempt to be balanced sometimes gets lost in some hyperbole and ends up distracting from the points since by your own description of his touches, he wasn't real bad. But it's also hard to debate when the conclusion is "something is missing but I don't know what". Thanks for sharing? Madrid is a tough opponent and he's 22. Of course he's not the finished article, but his knack for scoring is really impressive. Without all the goals, yeah he wouldn't be an uncle. I would be interested in what you and others think is missing. It would be even better to hear from PSV coaches what he needs to do to start (fitness, composure, hold up, style of play, prefer more experience, etc.). From what I saw yesterday, it's hard to make big conclusions against a quality opponent for a short time.
I have no idea if this is true, but Pepi also seems to rely less on physicality and more on movement and finishing which is the kind of thing that can bode well for a long career, assuming his knees hold up.
Due to your Mod status, I am unwilling to continue this discussion due to potential yellow card ban on this site. Ha. With that said, I think you are right and I am wrong in my assessment of Pepi's performance yesterday. All good. Moving on to scout Tillman today (and I'll send a review that I'm sure you'll take offense to a word choice that I select). All good man. Pepi is scoring and that's great.
Agree here, he has great movement especially in the box. The CB yesterday was being physical with him when holding their line, Pepi seems to not want (able) to battle physically. Not his game.
All I’m saying is that a striker in the right circumstances can have rough spots, massive deficiencies in fact, and be the leading man for a major club if he scores goals, something that Pepi does at a remarkable clip and has everywhere save with an Augsburg team whose play would have left plenty of potential young A-list attackers out to dry.
"The levels of his game overall are very poor, and not just today... For a player like him, it's very poor, not just today. I think he needs to improve to be almost like a League Two (fourth-tier English) player,"
So wrong as Pepi is a MLS stan via FCD.Or did I miss the memo where the instant say LDLT is in Spain he's terrible, in San Diego he's great and back in Spain terrible again. Of course reverse if you're a Euro snob. I forget all the rules at times and need reminders.
Could you quote a single person on here who's ever said anything remotely like what you're suggesting? Also, that's not the answer to my question, but rather a weird shit-slinging attempt for reasons unknown.
Roy Keane on Haaland. https://www.beinsports.com/en-us/so...ng-him-as-a-fourth-division-player-2024-04-01
It's kinda a mainstream view of him - without the goals he's kinda a donkey on a number of levels. Rooney also has some choice words on him I think. Which is why some of the criticism of Pepi (who is NOT in the same discussion as Haaland) - is perhaps somewhat misguided. It's the goals.....
Haaland completed as many passes last season in 2,700 minutes as Luke Shaw did in 350. If he isn’t actively scoring, he’s useless. But you take that defect when a player is as good a scorer as he is.
You are comparing apples to oranges. What position does Shaw play and how do Haaland's number compare to other dedicated number 9s in the same league? Number 9's usually have the fewest touches of any field player and hence, will have the fewest passes.
Yeah, I know, it's called exaggerating for effect. He had less than half as many completed passes as Isak, with a completion rate 10% worse, if you want a more one-to-one comparison. Of players who played at least 2,700 minutes (30 90-min equivalents), he had the fewest completed passes in the league.
Just to note, saying someone would be better at their overall thing if they were better at one aspect of it is not the same as saying they are not good at their overall thing. I'm an amazing husband, for instance, but my spouse would also tell you I'd be a more amazing husband if I remembered to put the wash into the dryer just once in my life, for crying out loud. Yet, I remain starting husband for the moment, due to my exceptional drip-coffee making ability and willingness to run to the store at all hours skills. Similar for Pepi - he can be (and is) a very good goal-scorer, more productive even than his skills suggest, and can (and would) also benefit from a stronger hold-up game. But I do think for him to get that "next level" move it would be good for him to re-affirm himself as a regular 90 minute contributor to PSV's coming title, for at least a few months.
On an unknown 1950s North of England training pitch, the following exchange occurred between a striker and his manager when said striker disagreed with the instructions given to him. Player: Well 'aa think 'aa should . . . Coach: Thee isn't 'ere for thinking, lad. Thee's 'ere for sticking ball in onion bag.
Add add some decent cooking skills to your repertoire and maybe a transfer to Margot Robbie would be in the offing
It's a good thing for you that spouses don't usually seek replacements for underperforming partners as frequently as soccer clubs do. But, they are sometimes known to secretly interview potential candidates...