Soumare

[roblcfc84]

Strange how people see the game differently, I thought he was very good and better than Ndidi. Forest had better chances first half I felt, and Soumare played some nice forward passes from congested areas 

[Ric Flair]

On 04/10/2022 at 07:41, Finnegan said:

 

Because, for the Nth time, he's not a defensive midfielder. It's fine playing him there against a team that are as shit as Forest but it can't be his future. He's a ball progressor, he's at his best carrying it forward, his style of play isn't wildly different to KDH. 

Still got abysmal positional sense or natural desire to track players which you have to do in all central midfield roles. I don't know how he excelled in a Galtier team given his high standards of shape and structure as a team. Maybe with a vintage Ndidi alongside him he'd look better but that's harking back to the Ndidi and Mendy/Choudhury days really. 

 

Ball carriers / progressions have to have another key attribute as well, whether that's having a knack for scoring or assisting or their work rate and drive really troubles the opposition, Soumare has very little consistent qualities other than when the opportunity or mood suits him, he can saunter up pitch with the ball and then do nothing with it.

[Guest Mee-9]

17 minutes ago, Oswinner said:

Stats can be misleading. Felt we had a massive gaping hole when he was on the pitch and Forest got in ‘between the lines’ a fair few times. A better team would have punished us.

 

I agree with the notion that he isn’t a DM, he just isn’t aware enough. He’s more of a box to box midfielder.

Absolute nonsense yet again. How can those stats be misleading? Do people go to the game?

A lot of the fault with being ‘caught’ second half on Monday night was poor position from the back four and a lack of tracking back from others. 

He isn’t a CDM, but he had a brilliant second half. 

[LVFox]

Huge few weeks for Bouba with Wilf out.

 

I’ve been critical of him since arriving but these matches could really suit him, as I’ll expect us to have the majority of possession and he is far better on the ball than Wilf is.

 

Hes got to show far more desire and aggression though.

[lcfcsnow]

Wilf even in poor form knows the position and has reactions to whats going on, starting Soumare terrifies me, I just don't see how it can go well. We leak goals like a sieve and chances for opposition are so easy to come by through the middle when he's in the DM position.

[StanSP]

With Ndidi out, now would be the perfect opportunity to prove to fans and Rodgers that the place is yours. A favourable run of games is why it's the best opportunity. 

 

 

[ithuriel]

Just do not rate him,  personally think Mendy is the better option when Wilf is injured.

[LFox99]

6 minutes ago, ithuriel said:

Just do not rate him,  personally think Mendy is the better option when Wilf is injured.

well Mendy is injured as well

Not to mention the thing thats annoyed me by far the most with Wilf/ Mendy is how reliant they are on giving the ball to either Madders or Youri and are completely unable to think of something themselves. Thats where Bouba is supposed to come in

[sacreblueits442]

On 05/10/2022 at 08:47, Oswinner said:

Stats can be misleading. Felt we had a massive gaping hole when he was on the pitch and Forest got in ‘between the lines’ a fair few times. A better team would have punished us.

 

I agree with the notion that he isn’t a DM, he just isn’t aware enough. He’s more of a box to box midfielder.

...it has been well-documented that he struggles to cover the passing lanes when we are without the ball!!!

A very distinct lack of instinctive play and not something that will be corrected, if you haven't got it in you you just haven't got it. So long as there is someone who can mitigate his shortfall, you are going to have a disjointed midfield.

[Tanya]

4 hours ago, ithuriel said:

Just do not rate him,  personally think Mendy is the better option when Wilf is injured.

Agree, unfortunately he is out as well.

 

If Bouba tanks in the next few games, I am done. This is his chance and if he wastes it, ship him back to France.

[Stadt]

Not aware enough to be a DM, not energetic or creative enough to play further forward. Too much of a luxury for PL football 

[SafewayFox]

I’ve become a broken record re: Soumare and don’t think he’ll be a fixture of our starting 11 for the next few seasons BUT what is clear, he’ll be playing the next few….last chance saloon to prove he can play in the PL perhaps?

[st albans fox]

8 hours ago, Stadt said:

Not aware enough to be a DM, not energetic or creative enough to play further forward. Too much of a luxury for PL football 

I agree with the first point and Gary O’Neil should have spotted that 

 

Rodgers had no need to tell the world that mendy isn’t fit either 

 

last season without wilf and mendy was generally in the ECL knockouts which was pretty chess like. Our midfield wasn’t tested as much as it will be away in the PL 

 

I’m uncomfortable- I think this means we just have to go for it and make it a game of basketball- but unlike at spurs, they don’t have kane and son 

 

Edited 7 October 2022 by st albans fox

[taupe]

So what if Soumare's not a CDM? He's not Ndidi, he's not Mendy. All this talk of what he's not. We do have a bigger squad than just him. You balance and adapt to circumstances. 

 

We heard it before he arrived, Soumare was brought in to progress the ball through the midfield, and we've seen he can do that.

 

So let's not go all pear shaped and fearful because Ndidi and Mendy won't be playing (like Papy is a nailed on Ndidi replacement anyway) and we see that as the end of the world. Perhaps, shock horror, we won't shape up reliant on an Ndidi like-for-like replacement. We certainly won't fail simply for the lack of one.

[Pliskin]

Soumare just hasn’t shown enough consistency to prove he’s going to be reliable. He’s erratic even in the game. It’s his complete lack of awareness of anything in behind him, and his complete lack of desire to track back. He may show it in one phase of play, but then he won’t in others. 
 

We can try to argue the pros as much as we want, but the reality is, Soumare simply hasn’t shown enough quality to be considered a regular starter. 
 

Mendy really has to play, and it’s mad that he doesn’t, because for a manager who’s been moaning about careless turnovers of possession, it’s the one thing that really can’t be said about Mendy, he looks after the ball probably better than most of our players. 

[SafewayFox]

25 minutes ago, taupe said:

So what if Soumare's not a CDM? He's not Ndidi, he's not Mendy. All this talk of what he's not. We do have a bigger squad than just him. You balance and adapt to circumstances. 

 

We heard it before he arrived, Soumare was brought in to progress the ball through the midfield, and we've seen he can do that.

 

So let's not go all pear shaped and fearful because Ndidi and Mendy won't be playing (like Papy is a nailed on Ndidi replacement anyway) and we see that as the end of the world. Perhaps, shock horror, we won't shape up reliant on an Ndidi like-for-like replacement. We certainly won't fail simply for the lack of one.

Or, maybe just maybe….we worry that we’re broken records for amount of goals conceded WITH a natural DM playing in the majority of these games?

We don’t seem to adapt to play differently either so that’s two quite reasonable concerns to be fair.

 

[taupe]

35 minutes ago, SafewayFox said:

We don’t seem to adapt to play differently either so that’s two quite reasonable concerns to be fair.

No we don't, or don't seem to - let's put it like that anyway. I'm not quite so sure it's as simple as that though. I think there's an attempt to address how the absence of a certain player, and what they bring to our game, effects our game (and game plan) in general. I don't think Rodgers is quite so simple as to say 'same plan, stick x in as a direct replacement'... as much as I do struggle to understand exactly what his thinking is sometimes, we certainly do see him asking players to change their games;  Maddison and Tielemens for example. 

 

I don't hold Soumare responsible for any of that though (and this thread is about him rather than tactics and shape) He plays his game to his strengths and I do think (or am hopeful anyway) that we'll see better things from him - once we've worked out how to incorporate him in the overall shape, and he learns to adapt himself, (as I say, a matter of balance) Like any player (I assume) they'll play anywhere the manager asks (I would when I played anyway!) so if Soumare is shoe-horned into a position that isn't one he is naturally suited to then he'll do his best. But I don't think anyone ought expect him to be a like-for-like Ndidi replacement. He isn't and wasn't brought in to be one. The way we play will subtly change, even if they overall plan doesn't, and naturally evolve as we incorporate different players.

 

Soumare is still new to us, still finding his way and the team is equally finding its way with him. I'm just keen to not judge him on the basis of what he is not. I've seen what he can do and, as I said, we were told he was brought in to do and 'so far, so good' imho. A ways to go, for sure, but I'm hopeful. 

 

 

Edited 7 October 2022 by taupe

[Realist Guy In The Room]

I really, really, really, really, really hope he shoves all my negative words and thoughts about him down my throat in these coming games.

 

Some relatively easier fixtures coming up where he can really lay down a marker and show us he’s the player we thought we were signing.

[Jakemoore]

I think Bouba is getting a hard time myself. I think he’s alright. He’s always shown me signs of potential but without ever having a run of games to build on it. When we signed N’didi we didn’t really have a better CDM option and so he was thrown in to an FA Cup tie in January having just arrived and he did well. He’s been our first choice 6 ever since. Bouba came in with N’didi still comfortably the best CDM in our team and with Mendy and Hamza to compete with. I don’t necessarily know 100% that he is a CDM but without seeing him play 10/15 games on the bounce how can we possibly know? 
 

What we can see is that he’s better on the ball than Wilf. In the second half v Forest he had a 100% pass completion rate. He’s also brilliant at shielding and protecting the ball whilst carrying it forward which breaks lines. I worry about his ability to sense danger but let’s be honest, Wilf hasnt been very good at that himself lately so we may as well give the lad a try.

[funkyrobot]

I lay claim to be the originator of the never heard chant ‘Whoop Whoop this is the sound of Nampalys.’ I was thinking that Bouba deserves a chant using the old Dean Martin song ‘That’s Amore.’ I can’t be arsed to come up with any lyrics other than ‘That’s Soumare’ so if anyone can be arsed with adding lyrics I’ll go fifty fifty on the originator credits. 

[whoareyaaa]

7 minutes ago, funkyrobot said:

I lay claim to be the originator of the never heard chant ‘Whoop Whoop this is the sound of Nampalys.’ I was thinking that Bouba deserves a chant using the old Dean Martin song ‘That’s Amore.’ I can’t be arsed to come up with any lyrics other than ‘That’s Soumare’ so if anyone can be arsed with adding lyrics I’ll go fifty fifty on the originator credits. 

He comes from Ligue 1

He's Leicesters No.1 (if only he was a keeper)

 

That's Soumare 

 

That's all I've got

[Tuna]

Big opportunity for Bouba now with Wilf out to really establish himself, he needs to take it.

[funkyrobot]

5 minutes ago, whoareyaaa said:

He comes from Ligue 1

He's Leicesters No.1 (if only he was a keeper)

 

That's Soumare 

 

That's all I've got

What about 

He comes from Ligue 1

And he tackles for fun

thats Soumare

[sacreblueits442]

10 hours ago, Realist Guy In The Room said:

I really, really, really, really, really hope he shoves all my negative words and thoughts about him down my throat in these coming games.

 

Some relatively easier fixtures coming up where he can really lay down a marker and show us he’s the player we thought we were signing.

....it really is down to what you believed he was brought here to do!!!

[Realist Guy In The Room]

He’s equally shite

With his left or his right

Thats Soumare….