No idea what TT was thinking. He once was a top player but he is nowhere near where he needs to be and is just a sad state to see. Just stop it TT, you have to be smarter than this.

Great performance tonight, easily his best so far.

If he plays like this every game then he wouldn’t be far from first team. Fingers crossed he keeps it up.

19 minutes ago, dansubrosa said:

Great performance tonight, easily his best so far.

If he plays like this every game then he wouldn’t be far from first team. Fingers crossed he keeps it up.

At the risk of getting carried away, if he can play like this for the rest of the season perhaps just perhaps he can change everybody's opinion to making his loan a permanent move. From now I think he should have a blank slate for the second half of the season and given a fair chance to prove himself.

Thought he was our MOTM tonight. Great energy, great tackling. Very positive performance.

24 minutes ago, dansubrosa said:

Great performance tonight, easily his best so far.

If he plays like this every game then he wouldn’t be far from first team. Fingers crossed he keeps it up.

He would still be nowhere near it. Based on tonights performance, he is still way behind Kovacic, Kante and Jorginho. He had a decent game, but I didn't think he was THAT good. He worked hard and made a few decent tackles, but I still thought his passing in certain situations was poor, especially when put under any pressure. 

7 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

He would still be nowhere near it. Based on tonights performance, he is still way behind Kovacic, Kante and Jorginho. He had a decent game, but I didn't think he was THAT good. He worked hard and made a few decent tackles, but I still thought his passing in certain situations was poor, especially when put under any pressure. 

Fully agree he is not on the verge of breaking into the first team but he was far better than decent tonight. For me he was the best player on the park and I couldn't understand why he was taken off. 

He will if he stays turn into a more Mobile and physical version of Jorgi, he learnt his trade in a very very good Atletico side, i thought he was MOTM, get a goal to settle him, i thought he was going to replicate the famous Zola flick as well

He won't be staying that ship has long sailed.

But hopefully tonight is the start of him becoming a squad player we can rely on for the next 5 months.

39 minutes ago, LongtimerLurker said:

At the risk of getting carried away, if he can play like this for the rest of the season perhaps just perhaps he can change everybody's opinion to making his loan a permanent move. From now I think he should have a blank slate for the second half of the season and given a fair chance to prove himself.

Wouldn’t be the first time it  happened 😉. 

16 minutes ago, Dean said:

Wouldn’t be the first time it  happened 😉. 

Exactly what I was thinking Dean. Comparison with the Kovacic situation.

He would need a banger of a 2nd half of a season for us to sign him, I wouldn't be completely surprised if the club would be keen to add to the aging midfield, an experienced player for £30m.

But then he would get in the way of Gilmour and Gallagher.

Saul Niguez's game by numbers vs. Tottenham:

100% long ball accuracy
89% pass accuracy
69 touches
55 passes
6 tackles (most)
3 interceptions (=most)
2 shots
2 chances created

Edited January 6, 20224 yr by azpi28

2 hours ago, Dean said:

Wouldn’t be the first time it  happened 😉. 

Ah this would be one of those I would be so delighted to be wrong. Saul seems like such a humble and likeable guy, would be great if he got his form back so he became a clear option when Jorgi and Kante need a rest or are out.

Splendid performance. 

Where has that been?  Was a great performance.  His tempo, energy, aggression - spot on.  His passes were zipped into other players.  That's the Saul I remembered from Madrid.  Best moment was the tackle he put in on Son I believe - crunching slide tackle.

I saw something against wolves, I commented on it, amazing composure, very mobile, moved effortlessly playing with a lot of comfort on the ball and I thought where was he hiding this?
 

Tonight backed that up, defiantly worth keeping if he can play like that, 4 top CM’s would be perfect.

We are a team that excels with 2 elements one is our inverted wingbacks when fit and the other our CM turning over possession quickly and smothering the opponents, making it too hard to get into a tempo.  
 

That’s what made great teams look average last season and that style of play needs rotation it’s very taxing so 4 CM’s are necessary he isn’t quite as good as the others perhaps but on tonight’s performance not far behind. 

Got to love a guy who is complete sh*te all season, then steps up against Tottenham in a cup semi-final and is the best player on the pitch.

I'm delighted, and not just because we won. It's the first time we saw him put in a performance worthy of the brilliant Saúl of a few years ago. Hopefully he can do it with some consistency.

I've been critical of him because he's put in some shockers for us, but he was great yesterday! I'm really happy for him because he seems like a really nice guy too who is enjoying being part of the club.

Played really well yesterday. I agree i wouldn't want him to block Gallagher/Gilmour, especially Gallagher who i reckon can play Saul's role but he did play well.

Fingers crossed he can deliver a good end to the season and put us through to trophies. Who knows what will happen.

In a perfect world he plays well, goes back and either gets back into Athletico's starting team. I assume as his family hasn't moved, maybe he sees it as a short term option.

He's struggled with us, but at least he will have something positive to take away from it

Thought he added good energy and physicality to the midfield when he came on. So much so that we looked far more in control than in the first half.

Good job Saul, if he is willing to be a back up he may well yet earn his permanent move.

Yeah not having it that he is a worse option that Alonso at WB/LB or RLC in midfield. 

Chilwell ahead of him? Of course.

Kante, Jorgi and Kova ahead of him? Absolutely.

Sarr ahead of him? Not sure on that...

Alonso or RLC ahead of him? Bad joke TT...

15 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Yeah not having it that he is a worse option that Alonso at WB/LB or RLC in midfield. 

Chilwell ahead of him? Of course.

Kante, Jorgi and Kova ahead of him? Absolutely.

Sarr ahead of him? Not sure on that...

Alonso or RLC ahead of him? Bad joke TT...

I think Bob Odenkirk would do a better job at LB than Alonso…

Just now, Munkworth said:

I think Bob Odenkirk would do a better job at LB than Alonso…

On that we completely agree.

Just now, axman2526 said:

On that we completely agree.