Don_Simon Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 3 hours ago, chrisvilla4 said: Put him on Acorns visits, might help him mature a little. Why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam2003 Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 2 hours ago, Made In Aston said: People said the same of Ballotelli We cite Balotelli as a cautionary tale but tbf if Duran ends up with four league titles across the Prem and Serie A, team of the tournament in the Copa America, team of the season in the league, an FA Cup medal and a treble-winning season including the Champions League we will think he’s done ok. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyp102 Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 20 hours ago, Adam2003 said: We cite Balotelli as a cautionary tale but tbf if Duran ends up with four league titles across the Prem and Serie A, team of the tournament in the Copa America, team of the season in the league, an FA Cup medal and a treble-winning season including the Champions League we will think he’s done ok. How does an Italian get into a Copa America team? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marka Ragnos Posted August 20 VT Supporter Share Posted August 20 (edited) Personally, I don't feel references to Balotelli make much sense. Super Mario's off-pitch behavior was far more extreme and consistent and extended well beyond his youthful years, and his style of play possesses more differences than similarities to Duran, IMO. I feel like we do a mild disservice to Duran as fans and set up a classic "confirmation bias" and self-fulfilling prophecy. If anything, Duran has been wildly eager to please, and I don't get the faintest sense of arrogance in him. Very different young player who deserves to be seen for himself directly and not through a weird, borrowed lens. Being so young and talented, he's having to grow up in public. But his supposed "discipline" issues have really been pretty minor if you ask me, and I'm certain Unai has the sense to see that. Don't get me wrong: He's got a personality that attracts attention, but I think he mostly wants to be accepted wherever he goes, sometimes despite himself? Edited August 20 by Marka Ragnos 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam2003 Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 (edited) 3 hours ago, mikeyp102 said: How does an Italian get into a Copa America team? Balotelli got into the Euros team of the tournament, but I thought if I said ‘Euros’ here some smartypants would say “how does a Colombian get into a Euros team?” Edited August 20 by Adam2003 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Anything11 Posted August 21 Popular Post Share Posted August 21 7 hours ago, Adam2003 said: Balotelli got into the Euros team of the tournament, but I thought if I said ‘Euros’ here some smartypants would say “how does a Colombian get into a Euros team?” 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jas10 Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marka Ragnos Posted August 22 VT Supporter Share Posted August 22 27 minutes ago, Jas10 said: Must be the life of the party. I love the cheekily expressive version he does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marka Ragnos Posted August 22 VT Supporter Share Posted August 22 (edited) Jader wears the same expression today. Love it. Edited August 22 by Marka Ragnos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post alreadyexists Posted August 22 VT Supporter Popular Post Share Posted August 22 (edited) 36 minutes ago, Marka Ragnos said: Jader wears the same expression today. Love it. Has he got Tommy Elphick’s legs in this picture? Edited August 22 by alreadyexists 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marka Ragnos Posted August 22 VT Supporter Share Posted August 22 16 minutes ago, alreadyexists said: Has he got Tommy Elphick’s legs in this picture? It's funny. Musta been one-size-all fit kits that year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwi1890 Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aston_Villan4 Posted August 24 Share Posted August 24 As much as I love chaos this was one of those games where we needed a better, more composed striker to come on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted August 24 Share Posted August 24 Out of possession he either doesn't understand what he's supposed to do, or he thinks he doesn't have to. Their goal comes from them building out to the right in some space that didn't have at all when Watkins was on. Wouldn't be surprised if that's the end of him v the top sides until he changes. Bit of arm throwing as well. That can shove off. I think he scores both of Watkins sitters though. He'll think that as well. There's drama ahead with this wally. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomC Posted August 24 Share Posted August 24 3 hours ago, Tomaszk said: Out of possession he either doesn't understand what he's supposed to do, or he thinks he doesn't have to. Sometimes he doesn't do the right thing with the ball, either. He hits the ball better than anyone else in the team but he has a lot to learn to build his overall game. Otherwise, he's another El Ghazi, whose game Duran's reminds me of a little. Someone who would have been a perfect striker 20 years ago when strikers who weren't supposed to do much besides score, but not good enough for the modern game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skarroki Posted August 24 Share Posted August 24 3 hours ago, Aston_Villan4 said: As much as I love chaos this was one of those games where we needed a better, more composed striker to come on. We had a better more composed finisher on the pitch for an hour and he missed two absolute sitters. His positioning might be out for one goal but if Emery starts Duran we're 2 up at that point and it's hardly his fault alone. I'd start him ahead of Watkins for the next game, Watkins needs to show he's actually fully fit and not playing like it's a pre-season training session. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom13 Posted August 24 Share Posted August 24 26 minutes ago, skarroki said: We had a better more composed finisher on the pitch for an hour and he missed two absolute sitters. His positioning might be out for one goal but if Emery starts Duran we're 2 up at that point and it's hardly his fault alone. I'd start him ahead of Watkins for the next game, Watkins needs to show he's actually fully fit and not playing like it's a pre-season training session. Ollie is not a better finisher than Duran. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anything11 Posted August 25 Share Posted August 25 13 hours ago, Tomaszk said: Out of possession he either doesn't understand what he's supposed to do, or he thinks he doesn't have to. Their goal comes from them building out to the right in some space that didn't have at all when Watkins was on. Wouldn't be surprised if that's the end of him v the top sides until he changes. Bit of arm throwing as well. That can shove off. I think he scores both of Watkins sitters though. He'll think that as well. There's drama ahead with this wally. This is the problem with Duran. He appears not a fan of the "work" and hasn't quite got the head yet to see it as a necessary part of the game. Hopefully it comes with time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted August 25 Share Posted August 25 11 hours ago, skarroki said: We had a better more composed finisher on the pitch for an hour and he missed two absolute sitters. His positioning might be out for one goal but if Emery starts Duran we're 2 up at that point and it's hardly his fault alone. I'd start him ahead of Watkins for the next game, Watkins needs to show he's actually fully fit and not playing like it's a pre-season training session. I suspect we're 2 or 3 down as Arsenal have gone through the middle of us several times. It takes everyone to defend against a team like Arsenal. When their keeper has the ball, everyone has to be switched on and covering their space/man. Duran doesn't want to do this and it'll cost him his top-tier career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexicon Posted August 25 Share Posted August 25 On 21/08/2024 at 05:47, Anything11 said: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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