3 minutes ago, Deino said:

Also helped by the fact that he can win aerial balls by way of a good leap, much more dynamic than Matic was for us also the fact that Wanyama and Dembele both had to take note of him and Kante. Matic and Fabregas is always beaten on pace and for Fabregas, physicality. Could be a special player for us in the future

For me his burst forward was what's the key advantage we saw a glimps, I think when he is fit and in a 2 conte will have him box 2 box going forward having kante cover him and tidy up, he has the potential to do that like an Esien and I think that's why we bought him to mould him into a box 2 box something matic could never be 

If he can add a few goals to his repertoire, we could have our own Yaya tour, (of a few years ago)

 

I don't know what people expect, wanyama who bossed us last season was shut down, Baka is coming off a surgery first game in a massive game, London derby, plus the middle was packed, playing 3 as they were it's hard to look pretty and distribute in that congestion.
he sh*t down the passing lanes and stopped wanyama breaking through and stuffing our ability to play out, he wasn't at his best but he is a lot better than matic, he will prove to be a key player. 

This people are actually using this performance to judge him you can't judge him until at least November when he's been fully fit and settled in

Double post.

 

Edited August 20, 20178 yr by JMaher94

We have a player on our hands.

Lets not forget, he wasn't full fit at all.

He's as strong as an ox and has terrific box to box ability. In the bigger games, I would like to see him and N'golo play centrally with Cesc either just in front or just behind. This way we can control more of the tempo.

31 minutes ago, big blue said:

bakayoko was decent. I wasn't too impressed when see in the champions league last season, but I think he is going to be a big player for us. 

Can't agree with this big blue.

He was brilliant in the Champions League apart from one match against Juventus where he was quite poor. He's a terrific footballer.

 

 

Edited August 20, 20178 yr by JMaher94

Considering Wanayama and Dembele are arguably the best midfield pairing in the league I thought a Bakayoko lacking match fitness did okay on his full debut, especially managing to last the full 90.

2 minutes ago, JMaher94 said:

We have a player on our hands.

Lets not forget, he wasn't full fit at all.

He's as strong as an ox and has terrific box to box ability. In the bigger games, I would like to see him and N'golo play centrally with Cesc either just in front or just behind. This way we can control more of the tempo.

Can't agree with this big blue.

He was brilliant in the Champions League apart from one match against Juventus where he was quite poor. He's a terrific footballer.

 

 

I thought he was poor in both games against juve, and while he was better against city, I thought fabinho was more impressive, didn't see the other games. ive only seen him play 4 games though, I hadn't seen enough of him to have a strong opinion. I think he will grow into a top player, espcially under conte. 

Wasn't fantastic but showed glimpses of real quality. Really excited to see how he does when he's fully fit and adjusted to the team.

Can't believe he played the whole match this geezer is gonna be a beast...

Looked loose with the ball at his feet today. Lost possession a bit and gave away a couple poor fouls. I think the quality player we want is there, we definitely saw flashes today. He just needs to refine a bit and play into match fitness, that's all 

We saw glimpses today of what he is capable of. Great effort after 1 week of training to play 90. 

Few fouls (6 I think I read) but he'll improve that with fitness and knowledge of the league. 

His touch is a bit loose agreed but I think that's just his style. We weren't buying him to be Cesc.

 

For a guy that came in for his premier league debut, with no pre-season under his belt, he was very encouraging. Not perfect, not by a long shot...and he was clearly running on fumes by the second half...but I think his physical attributes will end up being perfect for us. He should have the speed and strength to run the midfield once he gets his fitness up.

It's a tricky one, but I understand now why the club would see someone like Matic (depth issues aside) as disposable. 

Matic's style has made him a liability against high-tempo sides in the past, particularly where we are not in control of the game. He was found consistently chasing the shadows of Alli, Dembele etc.  Bakayoko promises to add a dynamic to the midfield that realistically we haven't seen since Essien was at his peak. 

7 hours ago, big blue said:

I thought he was poor in both games against juve, and while he was better against city, I thought fabinho was more impressive, didn't see the other games. ive only seen him play 4 games though, I hadn't seen enough of him to have a strong opinion. I think he will grow into a top player, espcially under conte. 

Fabinho is still the better all-action midfielder.  I am not convinced that Bakayoko is an automatic first choice replacement for Matic and I strongly wish for the club to bring in another midfielder that can contest for a first team spot instead of merely being a back-up player.

We have a player on our hands.
Lets not forget, he wasn't full fit at all.
He's as strong as an ox and has terrific box to box ability. In the bigger games, I would like to see him and N'golo play centrally with Cesc either just in front or just behind. This way we can control more of the tempo.
Can't agree with this big blue.
He was brilliant in the Champions League apart from one match against Juventus where he was quite poor. He's a terrific footballer.
 
 

I also think Baka was great in the champions league for Monaco but I won't criticize Big blue's post because the Sandro we all want the board to sign desperately looks average to me in the champions league for Juventus. Sometimes our views regarding players aren't always correct!

2 hours ago, wallosh said:

I also think Baka was great in the champions league for Monaco but I won't criticize Big blue's post because the Sandro we all want the board to sign desperately looks average to me in the champions league for Juventus. Sometimes our views regarding players aren't always correct!

Agreed. Sometimes we can watch certain games and have a negative/positive opinion over a player, main thing is that we smashed Tottenham!

I thought he was pretty good, considering this is his game. Ideally, Conte would like to introduce him gradually, not debut against the Spurs, but he did well. He covered plenty of grounds, rarely lost track of the runners. He did give away some fouls, but that referee may as well wear a Spurs jersey given the way he referred, every time we won the ball it's a foul, and wave away while Spurs fouling our players.

19 hours ago, Ballack & Blu said:

If he can add a few goals to his repertoire, we could have our own Yaya tour, (of a few years ago)

 

Woooooowwww slow down, Yaya Toure is one of the best midfielders ever seen in the PL.

This was an encouraging debut.

1 hour ago, startedwithglenn said:

Woooooowwww slow down, Yaya Toure is one of the best midfielders ever seen in the PL.

This was an encouraging debut.

While Yaya was an incredible player he wasn't one of the best ever in the League

Lampard, Gerrard, Scholes, Makelele, Vieira, Keane, Essien, Alonso, Fabregas are all ahead of him IMO 

8 minutes ago, Sparkz said:

While Yaya was an incredible player he wasn't one of the best ever in the League

Lampard, Gerrard, Scholes, Makelele, Vieira, Keane, Essien, Alonso, Fabregas are all ahead of him IMO 

I agree with the first 6, Essien close... Alonso and fabregas no.

PL is 25 years old, I think being an almost unarguable top 10 midfielder in those 25 years qualifies as "one of the best".

1 hour ago, startedwithglenn said:

I agree with the first 6, Essien close... Alonso and fabregas no.

PL is 25 years old, I think being an almost unarguable top 10 midfielder in those 25 years qualifies as "one of the best".

Fabregas is highly underrated on this board. I will never forget him destroying teams on his own in the 09/10 season.

If true that's a great way to instantly gain respect from your new fans, teammates and coaches. 

If true,  to Bakayoko and Drogba for making that phonecall.