Sloppy today, seems to be struggling to keep up with the other players in the team. The moment kovacic came on there was a clear difference.

 

Don't want to pick on him and I've defended him a lot but he was absolutely useless today and he needs to be on top form now more than ever. A good game in the midweek for sure, but we need him to be proving a point at the top level. I'm struggling to see where he plays or where he fits in, it's definitely not in deep midfield. 

Kante and RLC are out, when they come back which it looks like they will together I can't see how he gets a game. 

2 minutes ago, Slojo said:

Kante and RLC are out, when they come back which it looks like they will together I can't see how he gets a game. 

We have 7 midfielders listed in the first team squad on the club website ... Ross would probably be 6th best out of the 7 if they were all fit, and you could easily argue that a fit Van Ginkel is better than Barkley as well, so he could even be 7th.

Ross continually takes too many touches.  His decision making is so poor.  He looked great in the preseason, but once again offers nothing in competitive matches.  We really should loan or sell him in January.  Ruben should be back by then, and we should have no problem getting a nice profit considering we only paid 15m for him.

Just now, Sexyfootball said:

We have 7 midfielders listed in the first team squad on the club website ... Ross would probably be 6th best out of the 7 if they were all fit, and you could easily argue that a fit Van Ginkel is better than Barkley as well, so he could even be 7th.

I would say he's above MVG, MVG looked quite a talent but he had a very unfortunate knee injury that sidelined him for a long time, they're horrible for players. I haven't seen enough of MVG to know he's above Barkley. 

Ross at times offers something different, he likes to run at the defence and get a shot away, it can be useful. But his inconsistency is annoying, he becomes a very frustrating player at times and I really don't like watching him in the big games. I'm not mad at him for missing a penalty, it can happen to anybody, he stepped up and missed, it is what it is. But this is his chance to shine, with two of our best midfielders out and he's lucky enough to rotate with Kovacic he has to do better.

I don't hate him as a player but I don't rate him from what I've seen of him lately, there were certain times last season where I thought he could be a special player but he's too hit and miss. 

26 minutes ago, mwblue10 said:

Ross continually takes too many touches.  His decision making is so poor.  He looked great in the preseason, but once again offers nothing in competitive matches.  We really should loan or sell him in January.  Ruben should be back by then, and we should have no problem getting a nice profit considering we only paid 15m for him.

Not sure we will, think he will go down to the Championship after us.

Just now, Strider6003 said:

Not sure we will, think he will go down to the Championship after us.

I wouldn't go that far, he's still a PL level player, he's just not Chelsea material at the moment, and by the looks of it I don't think he ever will be. 

He doesn’t think quickly enough when playing and that’s what’s holding him back from making the step up to the next level.

He doesn’t seem to have the speed of thought to really put his stamp on a game.

He literally had the whole ground shouting ‘man on’ today at one point, and that summed him up today.

A likeable lad and a decent player on his day but definitely only a squad player as it stands.

Agree with everyone else he’s out of his depth and it’s obvious, he’s been upgraded by Mount and he has no business playing in a double pivot left Jorginho high and dry too many times today that would of cost us points against a better side. He just looks clumsy unaware and awkward when he plays its kind of uncomfortable to watch because you can see he’s trying so hard. Wish it worked out but he’s the exact same player he was at Everton but with maybe less confidence, frustrating, inconsistent and noT showing any signs of improving.

I think he is probably best to play as an attacking midfielder though we have better options.

He does seem disciplined playing as a holding midfielder yet doesn't do enough on the ball even there for me.

35 minutes ago, 2211 said:

He doesn’t think quickly enough when playing and that’s what’s holding him back from making the step up to the next level.

He doesn’t seem to have the speed of thought to really put his stamp on a game.

He literally had the whole ground shouting ‘man on’ today at one point, and that summed him up today.

A likeable lad and a decent player on his day but definitely only a squad player as it stands.

Unfortunately this is my problem with Ross. I really wanted him to succeed when we signed him but the flaws in his game are flaws that I think are difficult to remove from a 25 going to 26 year old player. Thinking quickly on the ball is something that either comes naturally to a player at a young age or takes years of hard work to attain. If he was 20 there would always be room for improvement, but at this age I think he may has just peaked as a player.

Edited September 28, 20196 yr by Frankie8Lampard

Ross the Boss seems to have turned into Ross the give away merchant. He takes way too many touches and is constantly getting caught in procession. Frank really needs to school Barkley on playing one touch football. Also he's a flipping ball magnet every odd bounce or deflection today seemed to go straight to Ross never to Mason. 

 I think this is the problem with Barkley, he wants too much time. He dilly dally's too much instead of just getting the job done. He likes to take an extra touch when it's not needed, he likes to fake a shot too much instead of just hitting it first time. Even when he's bursting forward, there is a bit of hesistancy in him. Maybe that is just how he is as a player, I'm not sure it suits us though. He needs to be quicker with his decisions because you can see he's not on the same wavelength as the rest of the team right now.

Today was the first time I actually got frustrated with him he takes an age on the ball move it quicker

Today it felt he ran into a wall every bloody time.

He’d probably be an amazing player in over in Italy when you get 20 minutes on the ball to decide what to do. 

5 hours ago, Frankie8Lampard said:

Sloppy today, seems to be struggling to keep up with the other players in the team. The moment kovacic came on there was a clear difference.

I like Barkley and wouldn't write him off yet. He wasn't the best today accepted. But I can't remember a single thing, not one, that Kovacic did when he came on. 

But  I won't write him off either. The fact is, when everyone is fit and available neither will be starting, but I think both will be needed during the season, and both have the capacity to improve. 

43 minutes ago, just said:

I like Barkley and wouldn't write him off yet. He wasn't the best today accepted. But I can't remember a single thing, not one, that Kovacic did when he came on. 

But  I won't write him off either. The fact is, when everyone is fit and available neither will be starting, but I think both will be needed during the season, and both have the capacity to improve. 

 

Wasnt it kovacic that put Abraham through when he tried to lift it over the keeper? 

I dont think there was much between barkley and kovacic last season, but this season, kovacic has perfomanced much better.

1 hour ago, big blue said:

 

Wasnt it kovacic that put Abraham through when he tried to lift it over the keeper? 

I dont think there was much between barkley and kovacic last season, but this season, kovacic has perfomanced much better.

Yeah it was him that slipped Tammy in. 

I think he is much more solid all round. I think Kovacic is more comfortable playing a role rather than needing to be the focal point and trying to take a touch too far and dribble someone or try the Hollywood ball.

One thing is for certain Ross won't be taking any more penalties for us. There wasn't even a discussion today. 

Barkely blows hot and cold. He is way better than Championship level. Starts for England for goodness sake. However I rate Kovacic way more highly in the box to box role. Jorginho, Kante and Kovacic is the second best midfield in the premier league, and maybe even the best.

5 hours ago, Munkworth said:

He’d probably be an amazing player in over in Italy when you get 20 minutes on the ball to decide what to do. 

I was going to say the same. I think he would be a hit in Italy. I actually think this could be why he looks so much better at international level. The pace of the game is a lot slower at that level and Barkley is often pretty decent for England. He was decent in the Europa League too I thought, and that is another competition that plays at a slower pace.

I don't think Barkley is a bad player, it's just that I'm not sure his playing style and the pace of the Premier League are a good match. 

Not a great performance but could have been so much better with commitment to a proper finish in the first half. That was an absolute sitter he missed. 

21 hours ago, ozboy said:

Barkely blows hot and cold. He is way better than Championship level. Starts for England for goodness sake. However I rate Kovacic way more highly in the box to box role. Jorginho, Kante and Kovacic is the second best midfield in the premier league, and maybe even the best.

Really? I have to say, for me, that midfield has a glaring lack of goals, creativity, physicality, pace and height. 

 

On 29/09/2019 at 02:33, ozboy said:

Barkely blows hot and cold. He is way better than Championship level. Starts for England for goodness sake. However I rate Kovacic way more highly in the box to box role. Jorginho, Kante and Kovacic is the second best midfield in the premier league, and maybe even the best.

You might be right though they have only played together twice and both times versus Liverpool. So for me too early to judge.

Kovacic seems our only box to box midfielder besides Kante (with the latter being plagued by injuries so far this season).

Jorginho seems the better partner and it looks like against weaker opposition SFL might just opt for two in midfield to give us more firepower further forward.

If Kante's season does become a write off we are likely to see more of Barkley though certainly not every match unless we pick up more serious injuries.

Given our spectacular influx of home grown talent this last year, ross' value to us has halved. He is no longer needed to fill the quota. Sell ASAP before the brain dead media finally realise he's crap and his value falls.