2 hours ago, pamery said:

For a club that has featured Makelele, Essien, Lampard, Ballack and Kante in its midfield during the last decade, Drinkwater is a descent to League two. No pace, no forward play, no passing ability. Thanks Marina, you got us a bargain there for 35m. Add the tosser Giroud to the mix and we might as well be booking tickets to Boston, Barnsley and Preston now

You forgot one 

He remind me a bit of another ex Utd academy player Tom Cleverly but with a bit better passing range. Embarrassing signing, better off chucking that £35M out the window and letting the public have a good time with it. Surely if they knew Matic wanted to go they could of persuaded Chaloboh more game time especially with CL to get hm to stay.

His issue seems to be he can't make a quick pass. Happened a few times last game when he was passed the ball on the edge of the box and instead of a quick pass either side he takes a touch and gets tackled. Sadly, was never likely to be more than a squad player for us. For the money paid though, we could have done so much better. 

Thought he was solid yesterday. It was also clear that his presence allowed Kanté to thrive. He played one absolutely beautiful ball forwards to set up a chance, but also skewed a ten-yard sideways pass (I could hear Mikel tutting at him in my head).

On the CFC midfielder scale (1 being Jokanovic, 10 being Mikel), I would give Drinkwater's performance yesterday a 7.

Always felt he was a decent squad player we overpaid a bit for him but he is solid defensively and has a decent passing range. Made some good diagonal passes yesterday

Felt he should have played more than Bakayoko this season. Only thing Baka is better than him is in pace and making forward runs

DW also had a shot yesterday that surprisingly troubled De Gea thuough we were not positioned sufficiently to take advantage.

9 minutes ago, Strider6003 said:

DW also had a shot yesterday that surprisingly troubled De Gea thuough we were not positioned sufficiently to take advantage.

He's got a good dig on him. His shot took a slight deflection then bounced just in front of De Gea, and he was scrambling. I thought he did well yesterday. Covered a lot of ground and positioned himself well around the pitch. By the way, did anybody else think that Matic has bulked up since going to United? Him and Pogba looked like a couple of mountain men patrolling the midfield.

22 minutes ago, DG19 said:

Always felt he was a decent squad player we overpaid a bit for him but he is solid defensively and has a decent passing range. Made some good diagonal passes yesterday

Felt he should have played more than Bakayoko this season. Only thing Baka is better than him is in pace and making forward runs

Maybe we should have signed Usain Bolt - he has plenty of pace running forwards.

He played well yesterday but he's just to safe for me when he has the ball.

Yeah he was decent yesterday. I still think he needs some more time to show his abilities. He is starting to.

I do like how in tight areas he can often turn his man well and free himself space to move into. 

Like with Barkley, he's  returning from a long period out and think he just needed to get up to pace. Of course he's  not a world beater, but he's still a solid player. 

He's better than I ever expected, I don't know why so many people are so harsh on him, he's barely played yet he's been reliable in big games, Liverpool away and Manchester United away. 

The only thing that annoys me is how much we spent on him, other than that I don't class him as deadwood, I think he's a good squad player I just wish Conte would make use of him more. 

Going to nail my colours to the mast, probably to be shot down.

This guy will end up, with Kante by his side, running our midfield and will be the workhorse, fetcher and carrier for all of the fast, on touch attacking midfielders and wing backs that we will look to use.

Having watched him play in person a couple of times and seen him become more comfortable with his teammates, i am convinced thsi guy will be top drawer for us.

We need to get out of the Pirlo ,and Fabregas CM mindset. These are few and far between in the modern game. The central midfielders of the future are big, strong, athletic, run all day long with a range of simple effective passes. The defense splitting pass, the round the corners, the quick give and gos are all with different players now.

I would love Bakayoko to be the man, he certainly has the physique for it, but he just can't do good for constantly doing bad.

Drinkwater could be really good for this club.

I like Danny Drinkwater. He has done pretty well when called upon this season and I think he will only improve if given an extended run in the side.

5 hours ago, Slojo said:

He's better than I ever expected, I don't know why so many people are so harsh on him, he's barely played yet he's been reliable in big games, Liverpool away and Manchester United away. 

The only thing that annoys me is how much we spent on him, other than that I don't class him as deadwood, I think he's a good squad player I just wish Conte would make use of him more. 

leicester were never going to give us another one of their best players from that title winning season for cheap since they got rinsed for kante haha. they have learnt their lesson now with wanting 100m for mahrez ha. 

Edited February 26, 20188 yr by enigma

52 minutes ago, WhiteWall said:

Going to nail my colours to the mast, probably to be shot down.

This guy will end up, with Kante by his side, running our midfield and will be the workhorse, fetcher and carrier for all of the fast, on touch attacking midfielders and wing backs that we will look to use.

Having watched him play in person a couple of times and seen him become more comfortable with his teammates, i am convinced thsi guy will be top drawer for us.

We need to get out of the Pirlo ,and Fabregas CM mindset. These are few and far between in the modern game. The central midfielders of the future are big, strong, athletic, run all day long with a range of simple effective passes. The defense splitting pass, the round the corners, the quick give and gos are all with different players now.

I would love Bakayoko to be the man, he certainly has the physique for it, but he just can't do good for constantly doing bad.

Drinkwater could be really good for this club.

Conte clearly isn't interested in the Kante-Drinkwater partnership.

I was VERY surprised when I saw Drinkwater in the lineup especially next to Kante, I'm pretty sure that's the first time he's ever done it with just Kante-Drinkwater in the double pivot. They won the league title with Leicester and DD was exceptional in that season despite many disagreeing (I've had plenty of arguments with others about it on this forum)

He is a good player, that's why I don't consider him deadwood at all, but I'm just surprised at how little Conte rates him. I really hope it's something to do with fitness but it can't be, it's near March and Drinkwater has barely played. If you're consistently getting benched for Bakayoko the manager can't think that much of you. 

He had a good game and I don't see how people can say that Conte doesn't rate him. It took a little while but the slow build is often the best. Bakayoko needed games to improve him but it hasn't worked out. If both these players are playing well we will have very good strength in depth in the midfield.

 

Adds a bit of depth to the midfield, and although not flashy he does a job.  I do think we paid a little too much for him, but fully support him while he's here.

think he's a good player, type of player you always need in your squad. I think what we are lacking most is creativity from the midfield, someone who can drive with the ball and take the pressure off the forwards a bit 

Was actually satisfied with the signing but have just realised its Albrighton who I liked in their midfield. Gets around the pitch much faster. I always get the impression Drinkwater is hobbling around.

DD seems to be playing a very safe brand of football since joining us and I wonder if that's down to orders, injury or his own caution of not wanting to make mistakes.

14 hours ago, PloKoon13 said:

On the CFC midfielder scale (1 being Jokanovic, 10 being Mikel), I would give Drinkwater's performance yesterday a 7.

You've finally seen through Mikel I see. Slightly surprised to see you rate Jokanovic at the top of your scale though. I would disagree on Drinkwater and would give him a 3 as I thought he did ok.

Always happy when I see Danny in the lineup. Tidy midfielder. Miles ahead of that d**khead Bakayoko. Give him a go now and see him shine. Champion for a reason is the lad. 

Edited February 26, 20188 yr by Famous CFC

Think he is a tidy player with better technique than gets credited for. 

He seems a conte sort of player. Unselfish, hard-working, not flashy. So is a mystery why he does not play more.

46 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Think he is a tidy player with better technique than gets credited for. 

He seems a conte sort of player. Unselfish, hard-working, not flashy. So is a mystery why he does not play more.

I think he struggled with various injuries for a chunk of the season, otherwise we would have seen more of him. With Bakayoko currently injured supposedly, this finally gives him a chance to play a few games.

Hopefully. I like him. Think he could be really good for us.

10 hours ago, Slojo said:

Conte clearly isn't interested in the Kante-Drinkwater partnership.

I was VERY surprised when I saw Drinkwater in the lineup especially next to Kante, I'm pretty sure that's the first time he's ever done it with just Kante-Drinkwater in the double pivot. They won the league title with Leicester and DD was exceptional in that season despite many disagreeing (I've had plenty of arguments with others about it on this forum)

He is a good player, that's why I don't consider him deadwood at all, but I'm just surprised at how little Conte rates him. I really hope it's something to do with fitness but it can't be, it's near March and Drinkwater has barely played. If you're consistently getting benched for Bakayoko the manager can't think that much of you. 

They played together in a pivot against Stoke. DDW scored an excellent goal then