This video is poor quality and only 2 minutes long and you'll have to turn the volume down, but it's quality throughout. I especially like the pass on 1min30secs. It looks a simple pass but it's the pace on the ball and he hits it with such confidence. Frank talks a lot about switching the play and shifting our opponents around the pitch. That can only be done if you move the ball quickly. Nobody moves it faster than Kovacic. I just enjoy watching this boy play.

 

 

7 minutes ago, Davey Baby said:

This video is poor quality and only 2 minutes long and you'll have to turn the volume down, but it's quality throughout. I especially like the pass on 1min30secs. It looks a simple pass but it's the pace on the ball and he hits it with such confidence. Frank talks a lot about switching the play and shifting our opponents around the pitch. That can only be done if you move the ball quickly. Nobody moves it faster than Kovacic. I just enjoy watching this boy play.

 

 

Yes, good spot. And the pace and accuracy of that pass really drives home for me that he should be able to score a goal.

2 hours ago, just said:

He did not play well last season Dean. That is an inescapable fact. His highlight of the whole season was a 15 -20 minute spell in the 2nd half against Arsenal in the final. 

I understand you have a link to him and have followed his career and had high expectations of him. I haven't, and didn't, so could only base my opinion on what he was doing on the pitch last season. If I'm supposed to be stupid for having had that view I must share my stupidity with a lot of others on here who said Willian was a total waste of space.

 

He definitely had quality, he just didn't fit the system. But yeah for a lot of the season he was definitely a passenger but I think he definitely had talent. Don't forget him and Barkley are literally the same age, why write him off? I was delighted when we signed him, his first year in the Premier League and he was good, nothing special but I liked what I saw, particularly his dribbling and workrate. He just didn't fit well as the additional midfielder who was supposed to play higher up the pitch. Now it looks like he's been played to the best of his ability. 

A lot of Madrid fans weren't happy about getting rid of him, it was difficult for him to break into a team of Modric and Kroos, and he always had talent at Inter when he was 19-21, that's why Madrid bought him. 

2 hours ago, just said:

Not really. You can only base your opinions on what you are seeing and how a player is performing at the time. Last season he was absolute pants. Even Glenn Hoddle in commentary yesterday said he didn't look like he knew what he was supposed to be doing under Sarri last year.

Yeah I agree here. Not with the pants bit but I can see why people did write him off I just don't agree with it, and you're not a moron for it. 

I didn't write Torres off, or Morata after a season, even though I should have done. It's very rare I actually write players off, the last player I did write off completely was Bakayoko, and I ended up being correct, he was garbage. But still doesn't mean he couldn't have became a great player here if we gave him another season, just very very unlikely. 

Only big disagreements I've ever had with you Just is the Barkley comparisons, that's it, other than that nothing else I usually agree with most of what you say. I don't think you're a moron for writing off Kovacic or saying he's average, many people did last season and that's fair, like I said in my other post, he was a passenger in many games last season and his output was pretty poor. I think with him being from Madrid we also had much higher expectations, but I don't think he would've ever hit the ground running there, they would never give him the patience that we've given him here, and it looks like it's paying off, he looks very comfortable at the moment. He can still be a bit sloppy, particularly with the final ball, but he's definitely a fantastic midfielder at the moment, and you haven't denied that either. 

2 hours ago, Dean said:

Yes, good spot. And the pace and accuracy of that pass really drives home for me that he should be able to score a goal.

It's also a case of if you don't shoot you don't score, Kovacic rarely shoots. I believe he's been on a 3 or 4 year goal draught also, but he's scored numerous of good goals at Inter Milan, so he can obviously score goals, he just chooses not to. 

It doesn't bother me quite honestly, look at the Liverpool team, their midfielders very rarely score goals, it's their front 3 that get 95% of them. 

10 hours ago, just said:

Not really. You can only base your opinions on what you are seeing and how a player is performing at the time. Last season he was absolute pants. Even Glenn Hoddle in commentary yesterday said he didn't look like he knew what he was supposed to be doing under Sarri last year.

So how come i rated him last season then?.

First name on the teamsheet currently. He's so good that if it came down to him or Kante beside Jorginho (who's also been fantastic this season) i'd choose Kovacic.

Great again on saturday and great work for Abrahams goal as well for those that don't think he does much offensively.

Kovacic's been fantastic. Who saw that after last terms indifferent performances? Not me.

His confidence is Sky high and his runs in midfield are silky and powerful. Wonderful to see him bombing forward

Kovacic is making it incredibly hard for Lampard to not select him in the this team. He's been absolutely fantastic in the middle of the pitch this season.

Enough games to rotate the three of Jorginho, Kovacic and Kante as three different pairings. Probably best as well to keep them all relatively fatigue-free. 

Croatians are hard bastards. They're fighters. They're not drama queens. They produce good, technical footballers. Kovacic just goes about his business, without screaming for attention. He keeps this team ticking along. He gets his hands dirty. Every game he's unfazed, he wants the ball all the time. He has a superb temperament. He's a throwback. I love him.

1 hour ago, Davey Baby said:

Croatians are hard bastards. They're fighters. They're not drama queens. They produce good, technical footballers. Kovacic just goes about his business, without screaming for attention. He keeps this team ticking along. He gets his hands dirty. Every game he's unfazed, he wants the ball all the time. He has a superb temperament. He's a throwback. I love him.

That probably explains why Pulisic is so talented with the ball at his feet. He may be born and raised in Hershey, Pennsylvania, but at the end of the day his roots are Croatian. It's in his genes.

1 minute ago, Amputechture said:

That probably explains why Pulisic is so talented with the ball at his feet. He may be born and raised in Hershey, Pennsylvania, but at the end of the day his roots are Croatian. It's in his genes.

 

I didn't know that Amputechture. As well as being talented he's also got a bit of that old warrior spirit. He's a tough boy, mentally and physically I reckon.

14 minutes ago, Davey Baby said:

 

I didn't know that Amputechture. As well as being talented he's also got a bit of that old warrior spirit. He's a tough boy, mentally and physically I reckon.

http://sportklub.hr/Video/Nogomet/Premier/a100954-SK-EKSKLUZIVA-Christian-Pulisic-i-Neven-Cvijanovic-na-casici-razgovora.html

25 minutes ago, Amputechture said:

http://sportklub.hr/Video/Nogomet/Premier/a100954-SK-EKSKLUZIVA-Christian-Pulisic-i-Neven-Cvijanovic-na-casici-razgovora.html

 

That video's not working for me unfortunately.

1 hour ago, Amputechture said:

http://sportklub.hr/Video/Nogomet/Premier/a100954-SK-EKSKLUZIVA-Christian-Pulisic-i-Neven-Cvijanovic-na-casici-razgovora.html

 

Watched it now thanks.

On 11/11/2019 at 05:59, Dean said:

 It has to be mental as he knows how to hit a target, plus the video you post... Score one - just a tap-in, a nothing goal will do - and he’ll score more. Just a matter of time.

When he was younger, he had the desire and confidence. The move to Real probably put a dent in it because it was a team full of superstars and had prime C. Ronaldo + the fame and money.

11 hours ago, Deino said:

When he was younger, he had the desire and confidence. The move to Real probably put a dent in it because it was a team full of superstars and had prime C. Ronaldo + the fame and money.

Yeah it was definitely a mistake for him to move to Real Madrid when he did. But not as big a mistake as the one they made selling him to us! 

started on the bench for Croatia and only came on for about 15 mins at the end with little to do. Good for us.

On 11/11/2019 at 15:10, evissy said:

Kovacic's been fantastic. Who saw that after last terms indifferent performances? Not me.

His confidence is Sky high and his runs in midfield are silky and powerful. Wonderful to see him bombing forward

I knew he had it in him, but then I am biased as I’ve always been a huge fan of Kovacic, since Inter days. I knew he had the quality, which is why I really hoped we’d sign him.

It is disappointing how he can’t shoot though, I wonder if Frank can improve that side of his game?

3 hours ago, dansubrosa said:

I knew he had it in him, but then I am biased as I’ve always been a huge fan of Kovacic, since Inter days. I knew he had the quality, which is why I really hoped we’d sign him.

It is disappointing how he can’t shoot though, I wonder if Frank can improve that side of his game?

I think he can shoot, we saw him score long range goals at Inter, I think it's more of a case that he doesn't shoot. He always looks for the pass rather than the shot. 

 

Good read. 

Ladies and gentlemen, the video you've all been waiting for. His best bits from this season. This is what a proper midfielder looks like. Take a bow Mateo. You are definitely my kind of player. As the title says, world class.

 

 

1 hour ago, Davey Baby said:

Ladies and gentlemen, the video you've all been waiting for. His best bits from this season. This is what a proper midfielder looks like. Take a bow Mateo. You are definitely my kind of player. As the title says, world class.

 

 

Brilliant. Been looking for a video showcasing his highlights from this season. Thanks for sharing.

Edited November 21, 20196 yr by Amputechture

One or two additions next summer and I'm confident Kova and Jorginho can take us to the title next season. Arguably the best midfield pair in the world.