Joe Aribo tonight.

If we have 1 DM and a CM like minded like Aribo, he will thrive even more. 2 DMs who don't have the urgency like Aribo to get the ball forward he'll be handicapped. Was hoping Hagi would have started instead of Davis.
 
Agree with the OP but Aribo is the only midfielder we have that is able to move with the ball and maintain possession when challenged. I think that pulls him deeper. Get another midfielder who can confidently carry the ball and it frees up the big man to be more creative.
 
He played the same role tonight as he did on Saturday, when he was close to being our best player. He simply played poorly tonight against a far higher standard of opposition. I don’t put it down to the formation or where he played.
I thought he was disappointing for the first hour, I agree with Jan, he seemed deeper and I blame the management for that and the poor first hour in general. We can at least hold our heads up for the last 20-30 minutes when Hagi seemed to bring a spark and we saw big Joe playing as only he can.
 
What did I say or when did I make that exact claim of knowledge?

He tried to make a claim of my interpretation of the game is based on a game, when in fact as I’ve discuss before on here I’ve played the game up to reserve level before injury and now have coaching badges.

I would hope that the fact that I’ve been in the footballing system I know a little and that I’ve did the work earn my badges, that I understand tactics, formations and instructions.

As I’ve put across Aribo all pre season and against Aberdeen was given license to get out of the three and get at the box to support the forward three. This is something Lampard mastered.

Last night he was far too glued to the midfield three and offered glimpses of could if allowed he could draw out defenders and put them on edge with his close control and foot work.
There's honestly no point on here sometimes mate folk just moan for the sake of moaning. Fwiw I agree with you 100% aribo is best suited in an advanced cm role. Clear as day to see from pre season.
 
I absolutely love the boy as a player. But i have no idea what his best role/position is. Cant work it out.
Will never happen in this day and age but if you made him stay on the wing and play only as a winger he would rip most full backs with his dribbling ability. Problem is that he wouldnt have many people to play the ball into. As it stands, i also have no idea what his best position is.
 
It was hard for Joe Aribo. For 80mins we hardly had the ball. They pressed us so high even when McGregor took a goal kick. We surrendered possession and sat right off their back line. Only in the last 10mins did we on occasion press on their backline. They didn’t look so comfortable then for all their comfort on the ball. It’s a lesson I hope we take into our league games where most defenders are hammer throwers who panic with the ball at their feet. Press high in numbers and feed off forced mistakes high up around their penalty box. It’s how we can beat packed defences who refuse to come out if we suffocate them with numbers and increases the chances of the ball breaking to one of our players favourably.
 
It was hard for Joe Aribo. For 80mins we hardly had the ball. They pressed us so high even when McGregor took a goal kick. We surrendered possession and sat right off their back line. Only in the last 10mins did we on occasion press on their backline. They didn’t look so comfortable then for all their comfort on the ball. It’s a lesson I hope we take into our league games where most defenders are hammer throwers who panic with the ball at their feet. Press high in numbers and feed off forced mistakes high up around their penalty box. It’s how we can beat packed defences who refuse to come out if we suffocate them with numbers and increases the chances of the ball breaking to one of our players favourably.
Our management sat and watched us meekly accept our fate, that was our biggest failing last night.
 
I thought he was disappointing for the first hour, I agree with Jan, he seemed deeper and I blame the management for that and the poor first hour in general. We can at least hold our heads up for the last 20-30 minutes when Hagi seemed to bring a spark and we saw big Joe playing as only he can.

I agree we changed shape a bit when Hagi came on. I think the improvement at that stage was more down to both teams realising it was no more than a ‘bounce match’ by then.

In truth the tie was done months ago and I viewed it as no more than a part of our pre-season. We were played off the park by a much better team and spent most of the night chasing shadows.
 
Last edited:
Our entire midfield looked absolutely lost last night.

I’m not having a go at the individual players. All three midfielders are fine players. However, Leverkusen absolutely ran rings round them.

Our midfield looked outnumbered and under pressure constantly from some really good pressing from Leverkusen. Probably explains why Aribo found it so hard to get forward.

I think it was the system that was wrong last night. We probably needed to pack the midfield more, play this if this was a one off game. However, I do understand Gerrard feeling he had to go as strong as possible up front when we needed 3 to progress.

With hindsight, maybe wouod have been better to be a bit less adventurous and hope for a set play goal or a goal on the break and then see what happened after that.

In any event, Aribo looks like he’s really growing into the jersey. Like that young man a lot.
 
Agree
I think I can cash in enough currency with my fellow FF'rs and say that I have never posted a negative about a Rangers player, and I'm not about to start. In fact I hope this is seen as positive thread. My previous posts attest to my admiration of the player.
Using Aribo as a deep lying/covering midfield player or tying him down to tactical system is a chronic waste of his talents. His mercurial off the cuff talents should be given freedom and used in the last third of the park. He will pull defenders and their system apart. He looked lost tonight.
Walter Smith told the newly signed Brian Laudrup "get on the ball, we have plenty of defenders". We should afford Joe Aribo the same licence.

Agree - as with Hagi we won't see their best if not played in their best positions.

Both have the creativity that is lacking in Jack, Davies and Kammara. Creativity we are sorely lacking from a midfield who need to contribute more assists and goals.

SG needs to get more and better balance from his midfield.
 
The issue is we went with an ageing barely seen Davis and a half fit limited player like Jack and left Hagi on the bench. I hope we realise soon he's a midfielder. Aribo, Hagi and a budget Viera type and we are sorted.
 
I think he's our best player and we need him in the middle. Jack and Davis didn't really turn up last night, Aribo was the only one pushing the team on.
 
What did I say or when did I make that exact claim of knowledge?

He tried to make a claim of my interpretation of the game is based on a game, when in fact as I’ve discuss before on here I’ve played the game up to reserve level before injury and now have coaching badges.

I would hope that the fact that I’ve been in the footballing system I know a little and that I’ve did the work earn my badges, that I understand tactics, formations and instructions.

As I’ve put across Aribo all pre season and against Aberdeen was given license to get out of the three and get at the box to support the forward three. This is something Lampard mastered.

Last night he was far too glued to the midfield three and offered glimpses of could if allowed he could draw out defenders and put them on edge with his close control and foot work.
It was a question.
My inference was that being a coach gave the ordinary Joe more knowledge.
I’ve read your post again and cannot see it any other way.
I’ve tried to think of another reason to include the line but I’m failing this one as well.
 
I’m not overly concerned by our shape against a side like Levekusen, they are a far, far superior football team to us, and that’s OK – when plying a side who is so measurably better shape can and will look ragged at times, that’s what happens.

I much preferred the look of our general shape against Aberdeen when we were in control and to me that looked like a combination of Hagi, Aribo and Kent being given freedom to roam and wander around the park to find areas they could damage teams, fluidity of players is the look I would like to see from us in attacking sense and it seems that is what we have signed players to do.
 
He has to be the most advanced of a midfield 3 (a sort of no.10 role). He comes alive in and around the opposition box.

Just wish he would drive forward with the ball more.

Completely wasted as a deeper lying midfielder. Was sick of seeing him tucked in left to allow Barisic to go forward & was a big reason why he had a pretty ordinary season
 
Funnily enough, speaking of Walter, I had the the feeling last year that Aribo reminded me of Mikhailichenko - a player of clear and at times outrageous ability who was shoehorned into a system that never got the best out of his talents.

Admittedly Walter can point to a glut of titles and cups to swat away any suggestion he got it wrong and if Gerrard is able to do similarly in a few years I doubt many will argue, but I do fear Aribo could be a similar sort of enigma given how wedded to the system Gerrard and his coaching team seem to be.
 
I'm a big fan of Aribo but he wasn't played in the same position/role as against Aberdeen because there's quite a difference in quality between the team who finished 4th in the SPFL and the team who finished 5th in the Bundesliga.

I'm also afraid you don't get really get away with the free role players in modern football when you're the inferior team. Leverkusen have players more talented than any of ours and the shift they still put in individually was at a scary level.

Finally, Walter's 'Give the ball to Brian' tactics aren’t really a template for European football since our performances with them there were more often than not a complete shambles a quarter century ago.
 
He was let’s down by husband team mates tonight. At one point he got the ball on the left hand side he driven us forward Andy topknot on a player or two, he kept looking for a pass but no one showed. He ended up doing brilliantly fighting off 4 players showing great strength before he eventually lost the ballot.

It wasn’t his best game, however I feel most of that wasn’t. Durban to husband team mates. Jacob and Davis in midfield were horrible, we need to replace them.
did you have a stroke writing that?
 
was let down by his attacking team mates tonight imo. Thought him, Borna, Helander and Goldson done well considering nothing would stick up top
I thought borna was actually quiet poor last night his positioning was all over the place and he was at fault for the chance Havertz hit the post with and then the diaby volley he just stopped running back even his balls into the box were below par
 
We just came up against a team from one of the big 5 countries. No need for a post mortem.

Superiour team who some believed we might catch cold. That was never happening.
 
He was let’s down by husband team mates tonight. At one point he got the ball on the left hand side he driven us forward Andy topknot on a player or two, he kept looking for a pass but no one showed. He ended up doing brilliantly fighting off 4 players showing great strength before he eventually lost the ballot.

It wasn’t his best game, however I feel most of that wasn’t. Durban to husband team mates. Jacob and Davis in midfield were horrible, we need to replace them.
Are you drunk mate?
 
He has to be the most advanced of a midfield 3 (a sort of no.10 role). He comes alive in and around the opposition box.

Just wish he would drive forward with the ball more.

Completely wasted as a deeper lying midfielder. Was sick of seeing him tucked in left to allow Barisic to go forward & was a big reason why he had a pretty ordinary season
Is Barisic getting forward not one of our biggest attacking threats?
 
I disagree with the OP, I think aribo is more effective driving forward from deep positions. Defenders have their hands full marking our forward players & that allows aribo to drive forward & cause havoc imo
 
I thought borna was actually quiet poor last night his positioning was all over the place and he was at fault for the chance Havertz hit the post with and then the diaby volley he just stopped running back even his balls into the box were below par
For what it’s worth, I agree.
If he was as unpopular as Tavernier, you’d have read more about this.
 
For me he's our best player and the only player on the park who looked capable of playing at that level.

Neither his teammates, nor the position he's being played in are suited to his talents. He'll go right to the top but he's not going to shine with us in Europe. I could see him easily fitting into a Chelsea side for example.
 
He was let’s down by husband team mates tonight. At one point he got the ball on the left hand side he driven us forward Andy topknot on a player or two, he kept looking for a pass but no one showed. He ended up doing brilliantly fighting off 4 players showing great strength before he eventually lost the ballot.

It wasn’t his best game, however I feel most of that wasn’t. Durban to husband team mates. Jacob and Davis in midfield were horrible, we need to replace them.
That reminds me, i'll need to remember to enlist for a Swahili language course.
 
We just came up against a team from one of the big 5 countries. No need for a post mortem.

Superiour team who some believed we might catch cold. That was never happening.
yup and it was also sadly obvious that if we had scored first then they would have scored 2 the talent in that team is immense
 
He was let’s down by husband team mates tonight. At one point he got the ball on the left hand side he driven us forward Andy topknot on a player or two, he kept looking for a pass but no one showed. He ended up doing brilliantly fighting off 4 players showing great strength before he eventually lost the ballot.

It wasn’t his best game, however I feel most of that wasn’t. Durban to husband team mates. Jacob and Davis in midfield were horrible, we need to replace them.

So my phone is buggered and does not press the right buttons, this makes typing on it very tricky....I'm going to leave this without editing though as i'm pissing myself at how it auto corrected this one.

Basically I was saying Aribo is good, He needed help and Jack and Davis are not good enough...
Funny as!!!! Hahahha
 
I thought borna was actually quiet poor last night his positioning was all over the place and he was at fault for the chance Havertz hit the post with and then the diaby volley he just stopped running back even his balls into the box were below par

All opinions mate
 
Aribo was decent last night against a great side. Him, Helander, Goldson and the subs are the only ones that get pass marks for me.

Aribo will be a star - I’m sure of it.
 
Back
Top