16 minutes ago, EdinburghBlue said:

If he was to play the registra role all the time then he would worth the £40m that it would probably cost to sign him, he links the defence to the midfield 100x better than the midfield to the attack. Unfortunately I don’t think Sarri will ever give up on Jorginho in there so as I’ve said before, not worth the money for the LCM role!

I wouldn't really judge Kovacic in the registra role until he has had a decent run in that position against some good teams. The teams in the Europa have been awful so far.

 

I really want to like Kovacic as a player but he ain't making it easy.

Yesterday summed up his time here. I just don't know what he actually offers. There were a few times he made bursting runs with the ball until there is one two many opponent in his way and he loses it. He doesn't create, never looks like scoring and yesterday the Cardiff goal came from him giving the ball away carelessly.

For me it's a toss-up between Kovacic and Jorginho as to who has been the biggest flop of the season - neither would currently be in my starting line-up.

 

I won't shed any tears about him not being here next season. 

He's not a bad player but when you've already got Kante you don't need him. 

If anything I'm frustrated that he's stood in the way of RLC getting more minutes this season. 

I said from the start he seems like he's just there to make up the numbers and move the ball around with minimal fuss and now near the end of the season he's not done anything of note that's made me change my mind. I can only remember him making one great pass the whole time he's been here. 

He's a squad player being forced into a starting XI role cause our other options are so bad. 

42 minutes ago, Remodez said:

I said from the start he seems like he's just there to make up the numbers and move the ball around with minimal fuss and now near the end of the season he's not done anything of note that's made me change my mind. I can only remember him making one great pass the whole time he's been here. 

He's a squad player being forced into a starting XI role cause our other options are so bad. 

Are other options really so bad though? We haven't seen them often enough as the manager seems unwilling to change anything.

Exactly.

I would put Kovacic behind RLC and I would also prefer Barkley and even Ampadu start ahead of him. He just hasn't shown anything like enough to warrant the minutes he's been getting.

 

Half of the time I forget he is even on the pitch. Every game he plays he gets to the point where he goes missing and the only time you notice him again is when he gets subbed off.

17 hours ago, Remodez said:

I said from the start he seems like he's just there to make up the numbers and move the ball around with minimal fuss and now near the end of the season he's not done anything of note that's made me change my mind. I can only remember him making one great pass the whole time he's been here. 

He's a squad player being forced into a starting XI role cause our other options are so bad. 

I think RLC can count himself unlucky to have lost out on minutes due to Kovacic being here. 

Kovacic has had the majority of his starts in the LCM position that is often the most advanced of the 3 midfielders. But he offers little creativity in the final third and is less of a goal scoring threat than John Obi Mikel. 

Quite honestly I haven't seen Kovacic doing anything that I don't think Danny Drinkwater could have done. Considering Drinkwater is picking up £100k a week I think it's ridiculous we went and bought in another midfielder leaving us overstocked and having to basically banish someone who was on a permanent contract. 

Complete stupidity for a manager to pick/play much more a loan player that we cant currently sign over our own players that need game time.

Makes you wonder if there's a clause in his loan agreement that he had to play so many minutes or a certain percentage of the games we have. Wouldn't surprise me with Madrid.

Its funny how much things change over the long season.  When Kovacic was brought in, a lot of posters, myself included, believed that we had one of the best midfields in the PL.  Then Kovacic and Jorginho actually played some games, and I think most would agree that we have a horrible midfield most of the time.

I really think Kovacic’s best role would be at RCM, but he’s not going to displace Kante, so we may as well let him go back to RM.

9 hours ago, RIP Mourinho said:

Makes you wonder if there's a clause in his loan agreement that he had to play so many minutes or a certain percentage of the games we have. Wouldn't surprise me with Madrid.

That’s an interesting thought, could very well be the case.

9 hours ago, RIP Mourinho said:

Makes you wonder if there's a clause in his loan agreement that he had to play so many minutes or a certain percentage of the games we have. Wouldn't surprise me with Madrid.

I have wondered this.  I've stated it elsewhere too, that I can't understand why we are playing a Madrid loanee ahead of one of our own prospects, who gives us more as a box to box midfielder?  The only time Kovacic should be ahead of RLC is when RLC needs rested.

22 hours ago, RIP Mourinho said:

Makes you wonder if there's a clause in his loan agreement that he had to play so many minutes or a certain percentage of the games we have. Wouldn't surprise me with Madrid.

I doubt there is a clause like that, but if there was one, what would happen if he meet the percentage? The only way it would make sense putting in a clause like that is if there was a recall option. After the January window closed it wouldve been impossible for him go back to Madrid, but he has been getting a consistent amount of minutes all season. 

I just think sarri rates him higher than RLC and Barkley. Theres certainly no clause on Alonso's contract but he gets picked most weeks. 

I think there is a player in their with kovacic, maybe being a squad player at Madrid, has hindered his development, and pushed him into a habit of shying away from responsibility. 

When I saw him at inter, he was captain, and he was a driving force in the team, but for most of his appearances for us, he seems to blend into the background. 

Maybe once he gets a permanent move and he is settled for a couple of seasons, he might start to fulfill his early potential, but I'm not sure it is a risk worth taking on our side, should that even be an option.

On 02/04/2019 at 05:15, RIP Mourinho said:

Makes you wonder if there's a clause in his loan agreement that he had to play so many minutes or a certain percentage of the games we have. Wouldn't surprise me with Madrid.

I wish it was that easy to rationalize...

but 

Luiz - Over 30 and last year of his contract
Pedro - Over 30 and one more year on his contract
Willian - Over 30 and one more year on his contract
Kovacic - last (only) year of deal

I think it's just another example of short-sighted decision making by our manager. Ironically, many of those decisions make us worse in the short term as well.

He does know how to run with the ball but wow how much does it matter to have a good agent...

Another appearance where you're left wondering "what does he actually do?". 

Hopefully returns to Madrid at the end of the season with our thanks. 

Must be only a handful of fans left that still like him, im one of them. 

2 minutes ago, jack_super_class said:

Must be only a handful of fans left that still like him, im one of them. 

I do as well to be honest. 

He's a tidy player for the most part, but he doesn't do enough to warrant playing in that offensive position. He isn't as good as Kante in the box-to-box position. And Sarri has his favourite Jorginho in the deep lying position. So I don't see where he fits in really. I'd let him go back to Madrid to be honest.

2 hours ago, jack_super_class said:

Must be only a handful of fans left that still like him, im one of them. 

I like him. He just shouldn't be in the starting XI.

Not his fault we have terrible options so he's forced to play. 

30 minutes ago, Zeta said:

He's a tidy player for the most part, but he doesn't do enough to warrant playing in that offensive position. He isn't as good as Kante in the box-to-box position. And Sarri has his favourite Jorginho in the deep lying position. So I don't see where he fits in really. I'd let him go back to Madrid to be honest.

Out of interest next time Kante is crocked who would you replace him with?

Kovacic is not great yet currently is the next best in terms of box to box movement at pace, don't see either Barkley or RLC offering that speed of movement. 

16 minutes ago, Strider6003 said:

Out of interest next time Kante is crocked who would you replace him with?

Kovacic is not great yet currently is the next best in terms of box to box movement at pace, don't see either Barkley or RLC offering that speed of movement. 

He does okay in that position, but he would cost about £50m, just to be a backup for when Kante is rested/injured. We could spend that money far better. Well... that's not true, our board couldn't, but in theory it could be.

25 minutes ago, Strider6003 said:

Out of interest next time Kante is crocked who would you replace him with?

Kovacic is not great yet currently is the next best in terms of box to box movement at pace, don't see either Barkley or RLC offering that speed of movement. 

If the players available to me didn’t fit the role in the system I’d change the system.