Boubakary Soumare

[TJB-fox]

5 minutes ago, murphy said:

The trouble is that he seems to me to be a bit of a stroller.  A bit like Inler was.

 

I'm not sure how he will ever to adapt to the PL because I'm not sure he has the physical attributes.  He has the strength but not the pace or the engine and I'm yet to discover what role he was actually signed for.

 

He's the player we never knew we didn't need.

 

 

Big jump from Lille and Ligue 1, on and off the pitch especially for a young chap. 
 

There’s a lot of little mistakes in his game I’m highly confident he can eradicate. Got to give him time

[moore_94]

3 minutes ago, murphy said:

The trouble is that he seems to me to be a bit of a stroller.  A bit like Inler was.

 

I'm not sure how he will ever to adapt to the PL because I'm not sure he has the physical attributes.  He has the strength but not the pace or the engine and I'm yet to discover what role he was actually signed for.

 

He's the player we never knew we didn't need.

 

 

Probably doesn't help that so far this season he has had to play about 4 different roles

 

He has gone from a ball carrying role when with Wilf and Youri

 

To a defensive role when in a pivot with Youri

 

To more of a playmaker role/going forward role in a pivot with Wilf

 

Then seemingly back to a bit of a defensive one again last night

 

It is very easy to see he already has the "battling" side of the game down, most games he is winning the most ground duels, aerial duels, and recoveries

 

We have seen it plenty of times with new players in the league needing a bit more time to just get used to the pace of it

[murphy]

15 minutes ago, moore_94 said:

Probably doesn't help that so far this season he has had to play about 4 different roles

 

He has gone from a ball carrying role when with Wilf and Youri

 

To a defensive role when in a pivot with Youri

 

To more of a playmaker role/going forward role in a pivot with Wilf

 

Then seemingly back to a bit of a defensive one again last night

 

It is very easy to see he already has the "battling" side of the game down, most games he is winning the most ground duels, aerial duels, and recoveries

 

We have seen it plenty of times with new players in the league needing a bit more time to just get used to the pace of it

So three roles.  You can't count the same one twice and call it four

 

Time will tell, but my concern is that he may not have the physical attributes to adapt to the intensity of the Premier League.  Most concerning is his seeming inability to track back when he loses possession.  He seems a mile off.  Is that fitness that can be improved or is he just not built for it at PL pace?  

 

We have seen players take time to adapt as you say and we have also seen good players that just don't have the raw materials to cut it in the PL such as Iborra, Inler and Ghezzal.  They are better suited to the continental game and that is my point really.  I'm not saying the kid can't play. 

[Claridge]

6 minutes ago, murphy said:

So three roles.  You can't count the same one twice and call it four

 

Time will tell, but my concern is that he may not have the physical attributes to adapt to the intensity of the Premier League.  Most concerning is his seeming inability to track back when he loses possession.  He seems a mile off.  Is that fitness that can be improved or is he just not built for it at PL pace?  

 

We have seen players take time to adapt as you say and we have also seen good players that just don't have the raw materials to cut it in the PL such as Iborra, Inler and Ghezzal.  They are better suited to the continental game and that is my point really.  I'm not saying the kid can't play. 

Pretty useless every game, can't see much improvement myself to be fair, the worry is he looks lazy , which doesn't give me confidence that he will do the required work to improve. Hopefully i'm wrong

[moore_94]

17 minutes ago, murphy said:

So three roles.  You can't count the same one twice and call it four

 

Time will tell, but my concern is that he may not have the physical attributes to adapt to the intensity of the Premier League.  Most concerning is his seeming inability to track back when he loses possession.  He seems a mile off.  Is that fitness that can be improved or is he just not built for it at PL pace?  

 

We have seen players take time to adapt as you say and we have also seen good players that just don't have the raw materials to cut it in the PL such as Iborra, Inler and Ghezzal.  They are better suited to the continental game and that is my point really.  I'm not saying the kid can't play. 

You should see that I said "about 4", not exactly 4. As not all of them will be the "exact" same.

 

Soumare has easily shown he has the physical ability about him to not just be "pushed" out of games, we have seen it plenty of times where he can hold off 2 or 3 players on his own, his tracking back is certainly something that can be improved over time.

 

You mention Iborra and Inler who were both 30+ and it would have been impossible to add the physical side to their game to match the PL, and Ghezzal who for all the technical ability he was easier to push off the ball than a blade of grass.

 

Soumare has played the equivalent of 16 games for us so far this season, all in different systems and positions etc in a team that in general has struggled.

 

I think he deserves more of a chance before we say we didn't need him.

[MalletFox]

Bouba’s still a bit of a concern for me, not wanting to detract from a great team performance last night, but …. He’s still far too lethargic on the ball, too many misplaced passes and looks bit of a weak point in the team. That said, off the ball I thought he was a LOT better, which is where he has been particularly poor this season. 

[Ric Flair]

The biggest worry is he's not even doing the things he's supposedly good at which is carrying the ball from deep. The other bits to his game that people were sure could be improved by Rodgers is never a guarantee (becoming a creative and attacking midfielder) but he the defensive side and his ball carrying are not that impressive so far, been a huge disappointment.

[HighPeakFox]

7 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

The biggest worry is he's not even doing the things he's supposedly good at which is carrying the ball from deep. The other bits to his game that people were sure could be improved by Rodgers is never a guarantee (becoming a creative and attacking midfielder) but he the defensive side and his ball carrying are not that impressive so far, been a huge disappointment.

How's the head Ric?

[MalletFox]

5 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

The biggest worry is he's not even doing the things he's supposedly good at which is carrying the ball from deep. The other bits to his game that people were sure could be improved by Rodgers is never a guarantee (becoming a creative and attacking midfielder) but he the defensive side and his ball carrying are not that impressive so far, been a huge disappointment.

Completely agree with this Ric, I’ve said in the past on this forum that I’ve been totally underwhelmed by Bouba almost on a weekly basis, which was/is expected for a period of time whilst he gets upto speed, but it’s the basics and what I thought his “bread & butter” strengths were meant to be, such as being a powerful running box-to-box midfielder, yet players are running off him and he’s lagging behind. On the ball, he’s also coming up short, doesn’t appear to have much awareness of what’s around him from an opposition pressing perspective and he continues to do this ball roll under the foot in the same direction, getting closer to the player he’s about to pass to, then passes it and said player now has an opponent on his first touch! Needs to improve vastly ASAP otherwise I’ll start to be really concerned that he’s not the player we were hoping for.

[Ric Flair]

4 minutes ago, HighPeakFox said:

How's the head Ric?

Got away with it pal, minor hangover and just a bit tired but still buzzing from yesterday's heroic team performance.

 

 

[murphy]

1 hour ago, moore_94 said:

You should see that I said "about 4", not exactly 4. As not all of them will be the "exact" same.

 

Soumare has easily shown he has the physical ability about him to not just be "pushed" out of games, we have seen it plenty of times where he can hold off 2 or 3 players on his own, his tracking back is certainly something that can be improved over time.

 

You mention Iborra and Inler who were both 30+ and it would have been impossible to add the physical side to their game to match the PL, and Ghezzal who for all the technical ability he was easier to push off the ball than a blade of grass.

 

Soumare has played the equivalent of 16 games for us so far this season, all in different systems and positions etc in a team that in general has struggled.

 

I think he deserves more of a chance before we say we didn't need him.

OK, well I've already said that he has strength.  He should have because he's built like a tank. 

 

When I question whether he was the type of player that we needed, it is because I'm unsure what his role is.  He doesn't match up to Wilf as a defensive mid, he is not a playmaker and he has little to add offensively either.  If we sign a player, it is surely to fulfil a role or to address a weakness in the team.  If Soumare is the answer, I am at a loss as to what the question is, so, to be clear, I am not saying we didn't need him because his performances have been disappointing but because we have no obvious need for a Soumare type of player.  It has nothing to do with giving him a chance.  I am all for giving him chances as it happens.  He's here now.

 

I blame FT of course.  You all promised me Yaya Toure!

[Wolfox]

6 hours ago, sdb said:

Pretty appalling passer for this level, but I thought his positioning, physicality and ariel ability were much needed yesterday.

There was a point first half where there was a clear defence splitting pass to Maddison right in front of him…. He just nudged it back to Amartey instead…. He has some great qualities and had a reasonable game,  but, he’s just a little timid on the ball

[Buzzell]

Seems like he lacks a bit of confidence when he receives the ball. There’s been plenty of times where he hesitates going forward with it and will either play it safely backwards or chooses the wrong option resulting in giving away possession.

 

He just needs games and maybe Brendan to put his arm around him, give him a vote of confidence. There was a few instances in last nights game though where Kasper threw the ball to him and put him under pressure instantly, with him losing possession and you could see his head drop. Someone just needs to encourage him in there and hopefully, with games, he will get up to speed of things because he definitely has the strength that is needed to become a good PL midfielder.

[mozartfox]

We need Susie the Fox to put her arms around him….

[Lad1966]

He one for the future. Perhaps he has been been exposed to a little early then planned and in an environment which has been chaotic to say the least. How many different systems and different combinations have we played so far this season. It difficult enough for a seasoned PL player, let alone for a player in their 1st PL season in a foreign country. Give the boy a chance before judging him. He is a LCFC player, lets get behind him

[Rigga]

It has been a rocky  ride so far for Soumare..

whilst he has all the attributes to be a decent player, he doesn’t really do any one thing that well.

 

too many touches on the ball, careless with his passing and the one real obvious one to me is his total lack of awareness of the opposition when he is defending.

 

He did though win plenty of ball in the last 15 mins whether it be on the ground or in the air..

[notnow john]

His lack of energy is a worrying factor, he gives the ball away and stands watching!

Maybe needs a season to adjust to the pace

[justfoxes]

Bouba has had some dreadful games first half last night had a few mares but thought when he settled down in the second half he played some amazing football played a few decent passes and defended like a beast, he tries too hard sometimes but looked really top quality at times last night a lad that will definitely be a barest player for us.

[Tanya]

Can someone please explain to me the point of Soumare as a player? He's not alert and proactive enough as a DCM and he's not progressive enough as an ACM...so...what is he for? What is he meant to do for us?

[Charl91]

5 minutes ago, Tanya said:

Can someone please explain to me the point of Soumare as a player? He's not alert and proactive enough as a DCM and he's not progressive enough as an ACM...so...what is he for? What is he meant to do for us?

Maybe he makes a great coffee? 

[eblair]

thought he would be garbage when all the football hipsters telling us he was the real deal

 

been shite for us so far; he offers very little atm

 

still got some faith he will turn out to be quite good, but it will not be this year or next, long term project this one

[Mark]

45 minutes ago, Tanya said:

Can someone please explain to me the point of Soumare as a player? He's not alert and proactive enough as a DCM and he's not progressive enough as an ACM...so...what is he for? What is he meant to do for us?

He doesn't seem to understand his role at all, even when in a midfield three the opposition have been running through us at ease all season. He couldn't have played like this at Lille for them to win the league.

[jimmer]

He does shield the ball well when in possession, but its his off the ball playing that is ruining his game. Doesn't track runners and just seems to running through treacle all the time.... a desire issue? Far too pedestrian in games so far. Not ready for the premier league from what I have seen, that's for sure. 

[fuchsntf]

Other players also not ticking this season...So many avg/below average performances,in an average season..

He  as had some Good moments, But still not into that consistent regular PL pace needed.

IMO still worth persiveriering  with...

[Ric Flair]

2 hours ago, Mark said:

He doesn't seem to understand his role at all, even when in a midfield three the opposition have been running through us at ease all season. He couldn't have played like this at Lille for them to win the league.

Our entire midfield hasn't been in control this season positionally, somethings off. Whether it's the uncertainty at the back but Sounare ought to not require complete stability to do the basics like tracking runners, but he wouldn't be the first to come in to a new team and not look very good until the problems around him are sorted.