He was bossing the air. It was also a point of emphasis to play it to his head as part of the attack. Even a moron like me saw that once he came on.
This may be my favorite description of Wes's game right now: Mckennie per me è un giocatore senza precedenti.Non fa mai una giocata conservativa, mai.È come guardare un film di Von Trier, c'è qualcosa di ascetico nel suo modo di giocare: un pellegrino che tira dritto per la sua strada in mezzo alla giungla qualunque cosa succeda intorno pic.twitter.com/RLyjyzgCgr— Il Lalalandiano (@turtunz) December 21, 2021
In a tactical league, where people think of the game as if it were a chess board*, a guy like McKennie comes across as a breath of fresh air: a bull who wants to break through, get done with the thinking and just score, dang it. ---- * Specially in midfield.
Google translate: Mckennie for me is an unprecedented player. He never makes a conservative play, ever. It's like watching a Von Trier movie, there is something ascetic in his way of playing: a pilgrim who goes straight on his way through the jungle no matter what happens around him.
I don’t think that’s how I’d describe his game - it makes it sound like he’s Arriola or something. Yes - he covers a lot of ground and yes he sometimes does have dangerous runs (with the ball) - but he’s also gotten good at reading the defense, making the right choices with passes, and making skill plays - one touches, cute turns, etc. Sometimes his back heels don’t come off but we want him to try stuff, or at least I do. He’s a chaos merchant - bringing order out of chaos, with a dash of French pastry and the occasional finishing touch. He’s not the finished product - I think he needs to improve defensively, improve his positional awareness, and improve composure in the pass and possession - but man he’s doing so many good things right now that it’s both surprising and awesome. He’s so much more than a work rate runner.
They tried him at Schalke as the CAM but he was too uneven (inconsistent, sloppy)in a role that requires consistency in possession because of the area of the pitch. Allegri was smart to put him at outside mid in 442 because it is a less dangerous area to give up the ball and when he does get forward into a position as a forward (mezzala?)it tends to crop up as an obvious move and his mates can cover his defensive assignment. I.o.w., Allegri understood right away that the problem with McKennie was that nobody had ever given him an assignment he could complete and accordingly he gave him a clearly delineated role on the team which would hilite his strengths and minimize his weaknesses. He also gave him Cuadrado as a partner.
you wonder if Marina would see him as the heir apparent to Kante at Chelsea. Put him with Jorginho and that could be an impressive center midfield ... he has the work rate that TT likes. just sayin.
Wes is just very good at finding space when in attack. He sees someone move, or a defender shift and he runs right into the empty space and looks for the ball. The kinda thing Gregg talks about a lot but we don't see a lot. He's on a mission right now and definitely feeling himself. After he came in today his entire being was just screaming "Hey, the goal is that way, let's go!" at his teammates and they did well to get the second goal and kill off the game. Allegriball isn't always going to be pretty, but Juve seem to be falling into form and our son in a key player for them. Good times.
You should try reading Italian restaurant reviews. There's a reason why continentals are stereotyped as pretentious in England (and the USA).
I was just about to post that. that ball he played to morata, are you kidding me? as someone on their forum said after that "is that snacks in midfield or douglas costa?" lol.
Not really a ton about his game that screams Kante to me. McKennie pressures a lot but interceptions, tackles, blocks? - he’s no Kante, but few are.
Oh, I remember. He was played everywhere, more out of necessity imo. Not because it was where his talents shined the brightest. He played just about every position minus LB and GK if I remember correctly. I think you are pretty accurate with your second paragraph. He is being put in a pretty clearly defined role. We saw beginnings of this last year under Pirlo.
Weston is more of a Mason Mount type player than a Kante. He doesn't have Mount's shot but he scores goals from midfield fairly often and busts a lung most games running box to box. He's getting quite a bit of praise from their fans right now they are starting to appreciate what he brings and they are saying while he's not a superstar he's a solid player that can still improve and has a likeable personality. They really seemed to get a kick out of the expresso video.
I have been praying for Wes to start receiving balls on the half turn to then drive at the defense a la Gio. Great to see him do that yesterday
I hope you don't coach kids. Such a silly thing to say. In terms of dribbling and technical skills, flicks etc, I would put Wes right below dest and cp10 in usmnt. And the skills and flicks he uses are highly functional
Is it really pretentious though? Seems fairly accurate to me. Wes is fearless and has a pretty good drive to move forward. He often also gets himself into a problem but can also spot an opportunity. Neither is guaranteed in flight though!
Von Trier is more considered artsy-fartsy in the USA though. You have to keep in mind in Europe he's more like talking of David Lynch in the USA (while Lynch is considered artsy-fartsy in Europe). Twin Peaks is considered a cult classic over there, the way, say, Red Dwarf is a cult classic in the USA.
There's something fascinating about someone who centers many of his films in the US, but has never even visited here.