Man, I was sooooo happy to see the ‘he starts!’ post and then see there were only 2 more posts here. That which shall not be named did not transpire!
The first goal was a bit because he’s so short in the PL and he got knocked aside on a corner (which is rarely called) and the ball was headed to Wissa who buried it. Otherwise not at fault I don’t think but wasn’t a very notable performance.
He got little bro’d on that corner that led to the goal. I thought He moved around the pitch quite well
Lil bro’d describes the play much better than all my words - thankfully no one did the basketball - “you so small” - hand gesture.
subbed out at 65 mins. They are losing 2-0 at home but now playing a man up with only 9 mins to go in regulation.
Not a great game from him. Involved in both Brighton goals - on the first, maybe guilty of trying to do too much and marked the wrong man, then tried to recover (too late) on the shooter, leading to a rebound and a goal. On the second, did not actively close down the midfielder with the ball leading to a pass to a cutting player who scored. On the plus side, he looked athletically fine with all of his normal quickness still intact. Hopefully some of this is just rust and he will get his game feel and timing back to where it was pre-injury.
Good win for them against a team that from all indications is going down. Have to watch some highlights.
Adams helped with the build-up for Bournemouth's second goal (6:10 mark in the video).: BTW, wasn't Adams originally given number 18 when he signed with Bournemouth? Now he's number 12.
Not sure where to post these either famrday or here. Whatevs. Just watched. Here's the deal. He's a MONSTER in helping the backline. It's his #1 focus, obviously being told to play that (or is just gravitating there). The back four have to love that cover and protection. Since I literally only watched him for 98 minutes, micro/hyper watching his ever second.. I'll just throw my thoughts out here: Pros: - bro.. this guy is a back 4 dream. - his sole focus on protecting the back allowed Christie to be more creative and push the ball forward. It worked. - Heat map had to be tops, all over the place and vocal and directing teammates - easy on the ball, simple possession stuff. Cons - did he win any tackles? I'm being serious. I don't recall any.. and lost out on most of the 50/50s. - on some defensive transitions he'd fall way back to support but would allow the guy with the ball to dribble with no pressure. Got ripped by a few teammates at times for not stepping. - practically zero offensive impact. Never beat anyone on the dribble or turned into space. Again. Maybe not his role but I do worry. He's a CM in the PL. Overall. He was world class in protecting the back 4. And if that was his sole role then 10/10. But really no tackles won, little bite, extremely active and covered tons of ground defensively to hold up the attack and let the team regroup. Love watching him in the PL!
He's a poor man's Kante. I'll take it. So glad he's back and the 90' must've felt really good -- hopefully he recovers well.
6.9 FotMob rating 23/29 passing 1 shot (blocked) 5/11 duels won 3/3 tackles won 4 interceptions 4 recoveries 3 clearances
I think a lot of your observations are sound but they are built off: 1) One 90 minute game 2) After what can only be described as a SERIOUS injury layoff. Adams went thru a very long injury struggle with RBL and it took him a while to get back to 100% even when he was back on the pitch. Just because a player is trusted to play 90 doesn't mean they are 100%. I think we need to give weight to what we saw from him when he was playing every game for Leeds. The knock on Adams at RBL was that he did all the dirty work but did not progress the ball in transition or break lines when in possession. I thought he really did well for Leeds in this regard and I am hoping that we see more of that as the season progresses and his health improves. Remember... it took CP a long time to get back to what he was before the hammy injury. A player like Lang for PSV looked like he was going to be all world but he is a shadow of his former self right now. Sometimes it takes months of playing before a player is actually back to their top form.
Still a very serviceable player even with a wonky hamstring tied behind his back, limiting his top-end production. Hope he can stay healthy and continue to contribute.