Need more from him, and every single one of the attackers.

None of them have been good enough past few games. 

3 hours ago, Dubair said:

Needs to show more than he has done lately. As our star player he is going to be held to a higher standard than the others. 

And there in lies the problem,  just because he's undoubtably performed exceptionally well until recently, it's wrong to call him our star player and expect him to be held to a higher standard.  He's a young lad still learning the game and other teams have been learning how to nullify him in the meantime.  His undoubted talent will hopefully prevail but lets be patient.

Just a waste sticking him in the middle where centre backs and central midfielders pick him up much easier. Get him back starting wide and roaming.

56 minutes ago, dkw said:

Just a waste sticking him in the middle where centre backs and central midfielders pick him up much easier. Get him back starting wide and roaming.

I generally agree, and look back to last season, when his best performances came out wide for us. The issue I see with that by moving Palmer out wide (right), you would lose Neto or Maduekes pace and tracking back on that side.  It does however make space for Felix in the middle - who I know you love deep down.

1 hour ago, dkw said:

Just a waste sticking him in the middle where centre backs and central midfielders pick him up much easier. Get him back starting wide and roaming.

He certainly looks less potent in the middle. Hope he can adjust if not, then he certainly does a lot more damage out wide. 

Part of the problem is that last year he was really an unknown quantity. No teams had figured out how to defend against him. This season they all have plans, usually double teamed, and as seen yesterday, a third player quickly joining in goal side. So as last year he'd pivot and be gone, making the defender look a right twat, this year he's turning into a set blocker, who usually nicks the ball. It's something he has to adapt to. Also he's never allowed a shot oppertunity on his left side, there's a wall of players blocking. This is where we need midfield runners coming into the space this opens up, he has to realise they are so worried about him, that he needs more than ever to assist the others, he'll score fewer goals, but could have many more assists.

it doesnt help that players pass it to him when he has 2 or 3 players around him, other players need to step up, Sancho got the ball and then waited until Young had help before cutting inside and passing

@Sexyfootballyour the man for stats not related to Nico around here.

How does Coles form this season in G and A compare to this stage last season.

12 hours ago, axman2526 said:

@Sexyfootballyour the man for stats not related to Nico around here.

How does Coles form this season in G and A compare to this stage last season.

This season he's on 12 goals and 6 assists in 19 PL games

Last season 8 goals and 4 assists from 16 PL games (12 starts 4 sub appearances) to the end of December. He had had a couple of assists in the League Cup at this point as well.

 

 

Edited January 1, 20251 yr by Sexyfootball

1 minute ago, Sexyfootball said:

This season he's on 12 goals and 6 assists in 19 PL games

Last season 8 goals and 4 assists from 16 PL games (12 starts 4 sub appearances) to the end of December. He had had a couple of assists in the League Cup at this point as well.

 

 

Interesting, I thought he would have done better off the right under Poch. 

So far better under Maresca then, wonder what his end of season numbers will be.

6 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Interesting, I thought he would have done better off the right under Poch. 

So far better under Maresca then, wonder what his end of season numbers will be.

Probably better comparing to 2nd half of last season, when the team was performing at Top 4 level. 

2nd half of last season he scored 16 goals and had 8 assists from 18 PL games (he missed the Arsenal debacle).

54 minutes ago, Sexyfootball said:

Probably better comparing to 2nd half of last season, when the team was performing at Top 4 level. 

2nd half of last season he scored 16 goals and had 8 assists from 18 PL games (he missed the Arsenal debacle).

Aye let's see. 

My gut feeling is he is better on the right than in the middle.

He's created the most chances in the league this season, by an absolute mile.

11 hours ago, dkw said:

He's created the most chances in the league this season, by an absolute mile.

The Bash Street Kids' very own Florent Malouda

18 hours ago, axman2526 said:

Aye let's see. 

My gut feeling is he is better on the right than in the middle.

I think he can be as good in both positions. The games he scored 4 goals in, against Everton last season and Brighton this season, he was amazing. It would really benefit us and him if we mixed it up though. We are making things a bit easy for the opposition in their approach. Putting him back on the right would throw off the opposition before a ball is kicked.

4 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

I think he can be as good in both positions. The games he scored 4 goals in, against Everton last season and Brighton this season, he was amazing. It would really benefit us and him if we mixed it up though. We are making things a bit easy for the opposition in their approach. Putting him back on the right would throw off the opposition before a ball is kicked.

Yep. Tactics are getting stale

https://www.footballfancast.com/psg-willing-to-table-sensational-150m-offer-to-sign-cole-palmer-chelsea/

7 minutes ago, POCH OUT said:

https://www.footballfancast.com/psg-willing-to-table-sensational-150m-offer-to-sign-cole-palmer-chelsea/

More clickbait.

The PSG bubble has truly burst. If they could not win the UCL with Messi, Neymar and Mbappe, they never will. Two rounds to go in this UCL campaign and they are 25th in the table. If City beats them next round while PSV and Stuttgart also win their matches, then PSG is almost out of the competition. Stuttgart would only need a point in the last round.

It'll be a long time before PSG sign another big players. They are back again to being irrelevant as they always were.

1 hour ago, POCH OUT said:

https://www.footballfancast.com/psg-willing-to-table-sensational-150m-offer-to-sign-cole-palmer-chelsea/

150 million quid is not a "stunning bid" for a player worth at least 250 million quid.  Victor James Osimhen is more in their price range

What in the f**k was he thinking? Losing the ball by doing too much, AGAIN. 
 

 

He has a lot of good will in the bank so can't kick off too much but he cost us the equaliser, not sure why he's pissing around with the ball there 

36 minutes ago, timetowaste said:

He has a lot of good will in the bank so can't kick off too much but he cost us the equaliser, not sure why he's pissing around with the ball there 

 

42 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

What in the f**k was he thinking? Losing the ball by doing too much, AGAIN.

Coaching. We have a manager not managing a game and players are back to playing chaos ball. Even Caicedo was getting caught in the same situation. Our two best players this season getting into the same trouble. Why isn't Maresca on the touchline shouting at the defenders and Sanchez to slow it down when teams are clearly starting to overwhelm us? All of our players are suffering the same issues. We keep pointing out that this is a young team learning, well one of the things they need to learn most is to wrestle control of the game back when teams step up, that is Maresca's job.

First off, credit where it’s due - Cole’s finish for the goal was top-notch. He showed composure and class in a moment when we needed it. It was a highlight in an otherwise frustrating performance from him.

That said, I think today was a clear example of him trying to do too much. There were far too many extra touches when a quick pass would have been the better option. Several times, he slowed down the attack by holding onto the ball instead of keeping it moving. In those moments, he made the game harder for himself and the team.

The silly touches and overcomplication of simple plays ended up costing us today - as seen when losing the ball for the palace goal. Football is a team game, and sometimes less is more - especially when you're up against a disciplined defense.

Palmer is obviously talented - but he needs to recognise when to simplify his game for the good of the team. Let’s hope he learns from today and comes back sharper in the next match.

You don’t try to do tricks in that part of the pitch, he knows better also he’s been playing for Pep for ages.

This isn’t the first time he’s done it only this time it’s cost us big time.