The enigma that is Joe Aribo

If we play him and Hagi together I'd prefer them to play Aribo in front and Hagi in midfield. Ianis works harder and is more likely to pick a killer through ball. Joe is capable of magic but he needs to be around the box - the little touches and flicks that hurt teams in their box just slow the game down in midfield.
 
Undoubtedly he has excellent ball control and has shown on one or two occasions he can score from outside the box but nowhere near enough. For someone tall and muscular build he seems very lightweight and gets eased off the ball a lot. He just doesn't have enough aggression or passion for the fight for me. He'd be near the top of the list to sell to the championship for £10m-£15m for me. He'd be a star at a Reading or Cardiff type club.
 
Scaramanga said:
I wonder what happens to him in these games? I mentioned it after Thursday but I’m a huge fan of him, he’s such a gifted player and we’ve seen him produce moments of real quality to win us games and provide us with great entertainment in general.

So why do these games seem to pass him by? That’s a fair few times now in games against them where you’d barely know he was there and when he does get on the ball he’s not exactly being productive. Like I said, I’m a huge fan but I’m mystified by this and hope the gaffer can find a way to get him firing in these fixtures. Far too much talent to not be a factor in these types of games.
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Today and in January (and the 0-2 defeat at Ibrox last season) he was deployed in the middle 3.

That's what happens when that happens. Aribo is better than that, but play him in the correct position and he'll show you that.

In my honest opinion.
 
There is no middle ground with him. When he is good he's brilliant but when he's bad he is absolutely terrible.

Should not be played as one of the midfield 3 in games like that.
 
Agree with most others’ thoughts. I’ll give him my last benefit of the doubt - fatigue and emotions from Thursday caught up with him today. But a period of sub appearances is necessary in the split imo, save him for the Scottish Cup and see what he can do there.
 
We all know he has fantastic skills but a lot more effort required, he has to learn to track back with his man, he just stops outside the box with no attempt to get closer. Also his positioning when he has not got the ball, looks as though he does notknow who to pick up at throw ins or the corner where he he just looked at Eduard and let him have a free header , cannot believe our management cannot see these deficiencies and give us an even better player to frighten the oppositon
 
Far too inconsistent and sometimes a waste of a jersey.
The gaffer has a big decision to make about him in the summer.
 
I'm a fan of Joe Aribo but to reiterate what I said a few weeks ago, I think his form has taken a bit of a dip. He'll sort himself out though.
 
Doesn’t do enough, disappear for most of a game

We need better than aribo
 
Honestly, it was as lazy and poor a performance as we’ve seen in this fixture over a number of years.

Poorly thought out passes, slow to react, not paying attention to runners, at least 3 yards away from his player in possession, I could go on.

I was astounded he stayed on for the second half, I can only assume it was a height/strength thing.

He’s had some amazing moments in a Rangers jersey Joe, including that touch out of the sky that I’ll never forget but he needs to start showing that real, genuine desire to grab a game and show it just why he’s one of the most talented players on the park and deserves to be highly thought of.

He is capable of much, much more.
 
He’s not a player for the middle of the park in these type of games. Much better further forward but on his day he’s unplayable
 
How many times are we going to try this dance in a hard physical game where Aribo is not physical enough for the midfield battle, whilst Hagi is not physical enough to hold up play? This is something that we need to fix at 60mins in just about every tough game we try to do it. It nearly cost us that game. It works ok in one of our easier fixtures, especially at home, but against better pressing opponents in tough games it has to Aribo in the forward line. Hagi should be coming on when the pace of the game has eased.

I actually think we need another physical forward who is a good ‘hold-up‘ player in our squad.
 
BertsEBT said:
He's becoming less enigmatic for me the more I watch him. He's obviously got ability but I've got serious questions over whether he can kick on from here or whether this is as much as we're going to get from him. Its not a footballing problem, more of a desire, game awareness and attitude. Compare him to Kent in the bigger games and there's one we can trust and one that has still to earn that trust.
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Same here, I'm starting to think what you see is what you get regarding his frequent no shows in big games.
 
A passenger in every game against the Scum he’s ever played against.

The push him wide and take Hagi off is tiresome as well.

If Jack was fit he would have started further forward or not at all.

We badly need 2 decent Center Mids in the summer.
 
Vince said:
How many times are we going to try this dance in a hard physical game where Aribo is not physical enough for the midfield battle, whilst Hagi is not physical enough to hold up play? This is something that we need to fix at 60mins in just about every tough game we try to do it. It nearly cost us that game. It works ok in one of our easier fixtures, especially at home, but against better pressing opponents in tough games it has to Aribo in the forward line.

I actually think we need another physical forward who is a good ‘hold-up‘ player in our squad.
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Two teams in a row now who have been more physical and pressed and Hagi and Aribo have struggled. They didn't get near Slavia either.
 
I think the bottom line is if you are as inconsistent and ineffective in the bigger games as he has become you probably shouldn't expect to figure too much moving forward.

The whole midfield needs addressed in the summer - they have been overrun a good few times now whilst creating heehaw.
 
DavieM said:
I think the bottom line is if you are as inconsistent and ineffective in the bigger games as he has become you probably shouldn't expect to figure too much moving forward.

The whole midfield needs addressed in the summer - they have been overrun a good few times now whilst creating heehaw.
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Superb domestically, and when teams open up....but against big, tall, physical lads this midfield isn't quite right.
 
The games he is bad in are starting to outnumber his good games. If it’s because we can’t find his best position then that’s a problem but we shouldn’t be shoehorning him in just to have him play because it doesn’t seem to be working for him or us
 
Scaramanga said:
You’re right. The midfield was anonymous, but it’s just that it’s become a pattern with Aribo. Even if he’s not making things happen on the ball he has to work a lot harder off the ball too. By and large he’s had a very good season but there have been goals we’ve lost too that were really just down to his lack of defensive work and willingness to get back.

It can all be worked on though, I’m sure the gaffer himself will be thinking about it and trying to devise a plan to get the best out of him in these games.
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If this is a good season for him then I have to say he’s a luxury we can’t afford moving forward.
 
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DavieM said:
I think the bottom line is if you are as inconsistent and ineffective in the bigger games as he has become you probably shouldn't expect to figure too much moving forward.

The whole midfield needs addressed in the summer - they have been overrun a good few times now whilst creating heehaw.
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He wasn’t even the first to be brought off mate so if anything Aribo probably feels his position in these games is quite safe, I personally don’t think that’s a good thing. Being dropped might be the boot up the arse he needs. It’s like someone else said, it’s not just the lack of time on the ball and the poor passing, he just generally looked like he wasn’t really pushing himself today which is a lot more disappointing.
 
He's got two of the quickest feet I've seen in football and his close control is wonderful to watch.

However is end product concerns me greatly. When it came to substitutions today Joe would have been first on my list to come off.
 
Thought the game passed him by, in the old firm at Ibrox earlier on in the season aswell. I said Thursday night that CAM is a position we need to buy in the summer
 
Jase said:
He's got two of the quickest feet I've seen in football and his close control is wonderful to watch.

However is end product concerns me greatly. When it came to substitutions today Joe would have been first on my list to come off.
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His issues are not related to talent or technique.
 
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