Luke Thomas

[Stadt]

35 minutes ago, Nicolo Barella said:

I wish he showed us his ability to cross more often, when he first came into the team he had some amazing ones

This what I find a bit odd about him, he’s clearly technically quite capably yet we’ve never really seen him deliver in the final third.

 

After that Sheff Utd game I thought we had a TAA on our hands yet he’s been more of a Danny Simpson since then.

 

I’ve not been shy about wanting Rodgers out but I think Thomas would massively benefit from a new manager, aside from my own biases. BR gave him his chance but more so than all of our players, I think Thomas needs a manger to provide him with a very clear idea of how to play - whereas Rodgers is actually quite laissez faire at an individual level.

[Strokes]

Wasn’t his best game on Sunday but he is having a brilliant season overall. 
Hopefully when Vardy is back, he will start whipping in some of those  crosses again.

 

[Guest Chocolate Teapot]

20 hours ago, StanSP said:

Same. I don't get the stick he's getting. 

It's basically one idiot with an agenda.

[ian__marshall]

Seems to be improving as time goes on, and will only get better the more first team football he plays. I think people are forgetting how young the lad is. He still has a lot of development left in him and he's working off an already high baseline. Definitely a very important player for the future. 

[brookfox]

If it wasn’t for injuries he’d almost definitely be on loan in the Championship (or even playing U23s) learning his trade against weaker opposition. As it is he’s up against some exceptional players where the media spotlight and pressure is on him. He’s going to make mistakes and lose some personal duals but overall he’s been one of the highlights of the season for me. Definitely parts to his game he can develop, and I’m not sure how his potential ceiling is, but he’s had a very solid season.

[cropstonfox]

A big future ahead for him.

Better than Many his age and gaining solid experience

[CloudFox]

Easily been our best defender this season. You could say that's a given considering how slapdash our defence has been as a unit, but I think if anything that emphasises how well he has played! 20 years old and pocketing Salah is quite something. I dread to think how many more goals we would have conceded if it wasn't for his goal line clearances, well-timed challenges and blocks too.

 

I agree he should get back to his crossing though - I loved the reverse crosses he used to pull out to players running in at the edge of the box. Not sure where they've gone to, but perhaps that's just not our game at the moment.

 

Get him playing in a settled backline and he will only get better and better. The triumvirate of Thomas, KDH and Barnes has been exceptional recently too. They work together so so well. Why would you want to disrupt that?

[Jimmy]

I think he is now the first choice left back when all are fit, he's been superb and has earned the shirt, so for me its his until he does something to lose it, especially as JJ seems to be at fault for a goal in most of his games since his comeback

[coolhandfox]

Just now, Jimmy said:

I think he is now the first choice left back when all are fit, he's been superb and has earned the shirt, so for me its his until he does something to lose it, especially as JJ seems to be at fault for a goal in most of his games since his comeback

100% but could do with a rest. 

[Jimmy]

1 minute ago, coolhandfox said:

100% but could do with a rest. 

true but right now we need to rotate JJ and Riccy as neither are fully fit, with Fofana back maybe you could play Amartey at RB for a game and use them at left back to rest him

[coolhandfox]

1 minute ago, Jimmy said:

true but right now we need to rotate JJ and Riccy as neither are fully fit, with Fofana back maybe you could play Amartey at RB for a game and use them at left back to rest him

In the England U21 as well so not going to get a rest during the international break.

 

 

[Raw Dykes]

2 hours ago, Jimmy said:

true but right now we need to rotate JJ and Riccy as neither are fully fit, with Fofana back maybe you could play Amartey at RB for a game and use them at left back to rest him

 

2 hours ago, coolhandfox said:

In the England U21 as well so not going to get a rest during the international break.

Castagne's meant to be back now. He probably shouldn't be starting after quite a long time out, though.

[themightyfin]

Got to be a contender for player of the season. Yes he's struggled on a few occasions but who this season hasn't?

He's come on leaps and bounds.

[PAPA LAZAROU]

The lad never let us down at Wembley despite his age and inexperience. A future star who can only get better . If nothing else he is an fa cup winner and one of the youngest to do so. no one can take that away from him.

 

[HankMarvin]

The CIES Football Observatory have published their list of the 100 best performing U21 outfield players from across 32 European leagues this season.

 

 

 

 

Best performing outfield U21 players in Europe 

 

1. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)

2. Mason Greenwood (Manchester United)

3. Patrick Wimmer (Arminia Bielefeld)

4. Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig)

5. Michael Olise (Crystal Palace)

6. Piero Hincapie (Bayer Leverkusen)

7. Castello Lubaka (Lyon)

8. Goncalo Ramos (Benfica)

9. Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao)

10. Georginio Rutter (Hoffenheim)

 

 

Other notable inclusions 

13. Armando Broja (Southampton)

14. Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal)

18. Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain)

22. Rayan Ait Nouri (Wolves)

23. Joao Pedro (Watford)

24. Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund) 

 

33. Valentino Livramento (Southampton

40. Luke Thomas (Leicester)

41. Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich)

49. Billy Gilmour (Norwich)

76. Rede Khadra (Blackburn) 

77. Liel Abada (Celtic)

83. Calvin Ramsay (Aberdeen)

88. Levi Colwill (Huddersfield) 

[Claridge]

On 18/03/2022 at 15:51, Jimmy said:

I think he is now the first choice left back when all are fit, he's been superb and has earned the shirt, so for me its his until he does something to lose it, especially as JJ seems to be at fault for a goal in most of his games since his comeback

not even in the top 2,nowhere near Justin or castagne's level

[FLINTHAMFC]

Greenwood 2nd, yikes! Well he did ask nicely.

[MalletFox]

18 minutes ago, HankMarvin said:

The CIES Football Observatory have published their list of the 100 best performing U21 outfield players from across 32 European leagues this season.

 

 

 

 

 

Best performing outfield U21 players in Europe 

 

1. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)

2. Mason Greenwood (Manchester United)

3. Patrick Wimmer (Arminia Bielefeld)

4. Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig)

5. Michael Olise (Crystal Palace)

6. Piero Hincapie (Bayer Leverkusen)

7. Castello Lubaka (Lyon)

8. Goncalo Ramos (Benfica)

9. Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao)

10. Georginio Rutter (Hoffenheim)

 

 

Other notable inclusions 

13. Armando Broja (Southampton)

14. Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal)

18. Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain)

22. Rayan Ait Nouri (Wolves)

23. Joao Pedro (Watford)

24. Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund) 

 

33. Valentino Livramento (Southampton

40. Luke Thomas (Leicester)

41. Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich)

49. Billy Gilmour (Norwich)

76. Rede Khadra (Blackburn) 

77. Liel Abada (Celtic)

83. Calvin Ramsay (Aberdeen)

88. Levi Colwill (Huddersfield) 

How do they actually rate this? What’s the criteria that they’re graded on?

 

Olise for example, has played 22 PL games and has 7 goal/assist contributions, that doesn’t seem as amazing to have him ranked as the 5th best U21 in Europe, although maybe contributions per minute could be quite high? 

[HankMarvin]

26 minutes ago, MalletFox said:

How do they actually rate this? What’s the criteria that they’re graded on?

 

Olise for example, has played 22 PL games and has 7 goal/assist contributions, that doesn’t seem as amazing to have him ranked as the 5th best U21 in Europe, although maybe contributions per minute could be quite high? 

There website says this

 

Issue number 375 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the 100 best performing U21 outfield players from 32 European leagues according to a brand-new approach taking into consideration players’ performance compared to teammates, the employer team’s sporting level, as well as that of opponents. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) outranks Mason Greenwood (Manchester United) and Patrick Wimmer (Arminia Bielefeld).

For all players listed, the study does not only mention their pitch position, but also the role played within the team according to fifteen technical profile categories. The latter are built from eleven game indicators collected by our partners InStat, covering eight different game areas as detailed in the 74th edition of the CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report: air defence, ground defence, recovery, distribution, take on, chance creation, air attack and shooting.

Bukayo Saka, for example, is part of the “infiltrator creator” category, defining players particularly active in the “take on” and “chance creation” areas. Mason Greenwood has a “shooter infiltrator” profile (“shooting and take on”), while Patrick Wimmer a “shooter creator” one (“shooting and chance creation). Players from 26 leagues and 14 technical profiles are in the top 100, with the French Ligue 1 (14 players) and the “infiltrator creators” (24 players) being the most represented.

 

minimum  1000 mins  played

Edited 4 April 2022 by HankMarvin

[st albans fox]

Bellingham 24th?  Should be 1st!

[CrispinLA in Texas]

Thought he was so poor on Sunday...got out muscled acouple of times and passing was poor.

He's only 20 and would have been better if he was out on loan like what we did with KDH

Edited 12 April 2022 by CrispinLA in Texas

[Guest SO1]

4 minutes ago, CrispinLA in Texas said:

Thought he was so poor on Sunday...got out muscled acouple of times and passing was poor.

He's only 20 and would have been better if was out on loan like what we did with KDH

That's what Bertrand was for.

Now that we're playing matches every three days it feels like we're back to rotating the squad.  The other players in that position need rest on occasion. Sad that we have no one else to make the step up.

[Lesta Legend]

8 minutes ago, CrispinLA in Texas said:

Thought he was so poor on Sunday...got out muscled acouple of times and passing was poor.

He's only 20 and would have been better if he was out on loan like what we did with KDH

He has made about 50 appearances for the first team. He’s put in some pretty decent performance for us and has been vital with so many injuries this year. His progress has been best served playing regularly for a top end premier league club. 

[jeffschlupp]

11 minutes ago, CrispinLA in Texas said:

Thought he was so poor on Sunday...got out muscled acouple of times and passing was poor.

He's only 20 and would have been better if he was out on loan like what we did with KDH

Couldn't disagree more...gave it away a couple of times but going backwards he remains solid. No poorer than a 6/10 at the very worst. Didn't let the substitution of Eze get to him either.

 

I think he is a superb talent and is getting to the point where he is a good Premier League player every week.

[moore_94]

I thought he was good, only got dribbled past once and made the correct decision in pulling Ayew down so he didn’t get away (our players need to do this more often)

 

Played a great low cross in that Lookman stuck a toe on and probably should’ve left for Daka

 

As alway did a decent job defensively as well

 

Definitely not in need of a loan (I actually think it is a bit stupid this suggestion keeps coming up) good enough to be an option for us at left back and has had plenty of standout performances for us at just 20

Edited 12 April 2022 by moore_94