15 hours ago, Argo said:

His save last night isn't getting the attention it deserves, the save in itself was excellent but the way he quickly reacted to it bouncing of his foot with Rennes players ready to pounce was sensational.

Yep and the way Kova and Azpi immediately surround him shows that our players are at least smart enough to manage some situations in-game. 

Did you see how Nzonzi followed through to lightly kick him in the head? Love how Azpi took control from there, like a protective father. Big fan of how Azpi has reacted to losing game time to Reece James. Consumate professional.

33 minutes ago, Shweaves said:

Did you see how Nzonzi followed through to lightly kick him in the head? Love how Azpi took control from there, like a protective father. Big fan of how Azpi has reacted to losing game time to Reece James. Consumate professional.

100 % agree - it’s difficult to know if he’s happy to stay with the unlikelihood of a starting place, but my hope is that he pins his future to the club and that the club reward his loyalty in return

Edited November 26, 20205 yr by Paddy

46 minutes ago, Paddy said:

100 % agree - it’s difficult to know if he’s happy to stay with the unlikelihood of a starting place, but my hope is that he pins his future to the club and that the club reward his loyalty in return

Upto this season he played pretty much non stop ever since 2011, whether he see's it this way is another matter but given his miles on the clock settling down as a squad player is probably the best way for him to prolong his career at this point.

2 minutes ago, Argo said:

Upto this season he played pretty much non stop ever since 2011, whether he see's it this way is another matter but given his miles on the clock settling down as a squad player is probably the best way for him to prolong his career at this point.

Again I agree 100% - what a servant.

I don’t know Azpi personally, but he just comes across as a capable , decent, likeable, well regarded and respected leader of men who I suspect has a positive influence on the dressing room ? 

He’s worth his weight I reckon, hope the club are decent with him .

When his Barry Manilow chant gets going at games please note it was my idea! 

On 26/11/2020 at 14:41, Munkworth said:

When his Barry Manilow chant gets going at games please note it was my idea! 

Still can't believe I've had to wait this long for 'That's Tomori'

35 minutes ago, PloKoon13 said:

Still can't believe I've had to wait this long for 'That's Tomori'

Dude I’m still waiting for the Azpilicueta remix of the Macarena.   

Didn't do much but was alert when needed to be. 

Solid again, and really calm with the ball at his feet as well.

Might as well get what we can for Kepa come January, this guy is miles better.

8 clean sheets now. 

Kepa got 10 last season. 

In all honesty as good as our back 4 has become if you put Kepa or Willy behind them I would have little confidence in a clean sheet.

With Mendy in goal it is now far more of a surprise of we dont get one.

Kane and Son have 16 goals between them. Could not better Mendy today though.

On 27/11/2020 at 00:56, Argo said:

Upto this season he played pretty much non stop ever since 2011, whether he see's it this way is another matter but given his miles on the clock settling down as a squad player is probably the best way for him to prolong his career at this point.

He's Basque and never gets picked for Spain anyway, so I doubt he cares about getting minutes for international selection. Given his natural fitness and ability I think he could still have another 3-4 years at the top level if he manages himself well.

I think last night shows that he is truly the most important player at this club right now until we get a competent back up.

Last night he took on the Europa League winners with our horror back line of last season and they barely got a sniff.

As much of a revelation as Thiago Silva has been we still looked shaky even with him when he was playing with Caballero (he hasn't had the 'honour' of playing with Kepa yet) Mendy has made a defense that was a national joke a couple of months ago look watertight.

4 hours ago, Argo said:

I think last night shows that he is truly the most important player at this club right now until we get a competent back up.

Last night he took on the Europa League winners with our horror back line of last season and they barely got a sniff.

As much of a revelation as Thiago Silva has been we still looked shaky even with him when he was playing with Caballero (he hasn't had the 'honour' of playing with Kepa yet) Mendy has made a defense that was a national joke a couple of months ago look watertight.

I wonder if he is just that inspiring and commanding that he improves those in front of him.

We all know Rudiger, Christensen and Emerson are all prone to regular brainfarts but yet I think I can recall only 2 from Rudiger, which led to one from Emerson, all game. 

Apart from the mad scramble in the first half from the free kick we looked assured and I felt confident they would not score.

It is also great having a big keeper back in between the posts. We will need to find a reliable number 2 to him though, willy is not that and Kepa certainly is not.

I thought he was a stop gap and upgrade on Kepa, but it continues to look more and more like we have a 4-7 year player in place here.  Incredibly athletic and at 28 doesn't concern me (no one talks about Allison).

Just continue to be impressed.  Positioning, communication, presence, bravery, ownership of box.  What a great player he is, and could go down as one of those great signings in the modern era (like Dave, Ivanovic etc).  A fan favorite already.

Think he is proving that all the abuse some of our defenders get is maybe not reflective, and infact maybe it was just solely down to kepa afterall. It doesnt seem to matter who we play in defence, we seem solid with him there. Maybe its time for some of our fans to go a bit easy on some of our defenders and cut them a bit of slack now. 

I'm always amazed by how smooth he looks on the ball. Expected an excellent shot stopper and general keeper but not this as well!

I've always felt that Christensen is a very very good player. Hope he gets the confidence to step up this year.

Name:  Mendy

D.O.B:  25/12/0000

7 hours ago, Oli said:

Think he is proving that all the abuse some of our defenders get is maybe not reflective, and infact maybe it was just solely down to kepa afterall. It doesnt seem to matter who we play in defence, we seem solid with him there. Maybe its time for some of our fans to go a bit easy on some of our defenders and cut them a bit of slack now. 

Our CBs definitely made horrific schoolboy mistakes, less now though but you do wonder if it's because of the lack of confidence from having Kepa behind them.

When is the next ACoN? We need a much better number 2 ready for that.

52 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

When is the next ACoN? We need a much better number 2 ready for that.

Next year. With Cech and Christophe at the wheel we'll probably find the best number 2 in PL history. I'd also look at getting a stop gap number 2 in January as we are still one injury away from our season going down the pan, if United are prepared to let Romero go for a free we should be all over that.

If he keeps his recent form up we should look at Karl Darlow (as the longer term option), I was unbelievably impressed with his performance against us and by all accounts he's been flawless since he's got in Newcastle's side.

Love Mr Mendy, looks so solid!

What a difference he’s made to our team ,since his arrival.