25. Moisés Caicedo

[Mhsc 703]

For me his main weakness is concentration. I can't comprehend the talk about his passing. He is not Enzo but he is certainly very capable, to put it lightly, although he did play it a bit too safe for a while when he was at rock bottom for confidence.

With experience and good coaching he will assert himself as one of the world's top midfielders again. Shouldn't have paid £100m for him but we shouldn't have paid that for Enzo either frankly.

[Stats 6,992]

1 hour ago, King Kante said:

I don't get posts like these either. Has he improved, sure but I equally don't think his passing was that great either yesterday. People in the last two games have been using his through ball to Jackson and his ball to James as examples of him doing 'baller' things.

However, the assit in the WH game was aided by their CB's being around 20m apart, and the Forest one was due to the FB being out of position which allowed him a massive space to knock it into. I would actually say his seeing the pass and hitting first time where the actual better qualities. Additionally, his arched pass to Palmer (who should've done much better) was also his best pass of the day imo. 

However, yesterday against Forest in the middle of the match there were times he gave the ball away easily under pressure. Those are really the moments I worry about him as these types of give aways are the ones that cause the games to get stretched/go 'back-to-front' too much. There have been major examples of him doing this this throughout the season such as the Utd game at home, City at home and Forest at home, Arsenal away etc.  

Now, I appreciate he is a young player and needs time to improve, which is fair enough - and a reason I have said I will give him next season to prove me wrong. However, I personally need to see him playing so well when we aren’t in the tail end of the season where the intensity always starts to drop off. 

People were saying previously that his passing is poor and Gallagher’s passing is better. Caicedo is no Fabregas but I had literally provided proof of games where he has completely dominated the passing game.

Despite his passing not being great, he still had a pass completion of 92% and yes like you mentioned his pass for Palmer was brilliant and should have resulted in the game.

Kante was brilliant but I just disagree with people who say Kante was a better passer because he wasn’t. Caicedo long range passing is hugely underrated and some fans was not seeing it.

He has given the ball under pressure but that is also due to the team set up and not enough protection around him. When he was at Brighton you rarely saw those mistakes at all.

Even asides from his passing, his tackling is becoming a lot better and you can see once the team settles, he will be a key player. 

[King Kante 1,341]

35 minutes ago, Stats said:

People were saying previously that his passing is poor and Gallagher’s passing is better. Caicedo is no Fabregas but I had literally provided proof of games where he has completely dominated the passing game.

Despite his passing not being great, he still had a pass completion of 92% and yes like you mentioned his pass for Palmer was brilliant and should have resulted in the game.

Kante was brilliant but I just disagree with people who say Kante was a better passer because he wasn’t. Caicedo long range passing is hugely underrated and some fans was not seeing it.

He has given the ball under pressure but that is also due to the team set up and not enough protection around him. When he was at Brighton you rarely saw those mistakes at all.

Even asides from his passing, his tackling is becoming a lot better and you can see once the team settles, he will be a key player. 

The problem with the evidence of him displaying his great passing is that this is still outweighed across the season with where is passing directly led to giving a goal away. Additionally, even yesterday he was directly responsible for turn overs when pressed on the ball/had some loose passing.

Therefore, it is not so much I am not seeing his good passing - as I have even provided an example that people supporting him haven't made much reference to - it is more that I am not still not seeing the type of overall passing game over 90 mins that I expect from a midfielder in a team with aspirations for kicking on to try and win the league and competing in the CL in the short to medium term. This isn't to say he hasn't had a good pass here and there, it is more of an all round game thing and how I don't see a Caicedo type player in any of the elite sides in Europe. 

To be honest, I think (me participating in) the Caicedo debate is now better off as one for next season when - hopefully - we have all our options fit in midfield.

It could well be I have got things wrong and he develops quickly or I have been downplaying/not seeing things in his game. However, I am not going to be swayed by odd passes/sliced together highlights, in five-six games in the tail end of the season. 

Edited May 12 by King Kante

[ZAPHOD2319 3,976]

 

[Gundalf 750]

On 17/05/2024 at 13:00, ZAPHOD2319 said:

 

Just another reminder not to write off players too soon. Much more to come from him.

[Stats 6,992]

2 hours ago, Gundalf said:

Just another reminder not to write off players too soon. Much more to come from him.

Fans are too impatient that is the problem. The amount of stick he was getting for a young player settling in his first season in a dysfunctional team was beyond belief. It is not his fault we paid so much for him, but now we are seeing real quality from him. 

Finally he got his first goal for the club and in stunning fashion 🙌

[bluesman2610 1,257]

Put some respect on his name..

[NikkiCFC 7,656]

8 minutes ago, bluesman2610 said:

Put some respect on his name..

[Mhsc 703]

He was definitely frustrating to begin with but he's really looking like a hell of a player now. I could understand the criticism earlier in the season but the recent posts from several members here playing down how good he is just baffle me. Key part of the jigsaw. 

Personally, I think he struggled initially from a huge shell shock of moving from De Zerbi ball where he had really clear instructions and was part of a well oiled machine to joining an awful tactical setup from Poch (initially) and he did not have experience in the top flight playing without precise rules and other players always being EXACTLY where he's been told they will be. He's really come along since then + Poch has finally started to deliver some sensible-ish positional setup.

[Strike 7,009]

26 minutes ago, Mhsc said:

He was definitely frustrating to begin with but he's really looking like a hell of a player now. I could understand the criticism earlier in the season but the recent posts from several members here playing down how good he is just baffle me. Key part of the jigsaw. 

Personally, I think he struggled initially from a huge shell shock of moving from De Zerbi ball where he had really clear instructions and was part of a well oiled machine to joining an awful tactical setup from Poch (initially) and he did not have experience in the top flight playing without precise rules and other players always being EXACTLY where he's been told they will be. He's really come along since then + Poch has finally started to deliver some sensible-ish positional setup.

Has also helped that the midfield is more packed now with Cucu inverting + Gallagher. As opposed to Enzo 

[YorkshireBlue 2,877]

Any one seen lucio? Where you at brother? 🤣🤣

[TheHulk 1,448]

2 hours ago, bluesman2610 said:

Put some respect on his name..

He was never going to continue being shit, he looked to good last season at Brighton to make me believe he is a poor player. Can't wait for Caicedo, Enzo and Lavia all fit and ready to play.

Edited May 19 by TheHulk

[Thor 2,196]

Wow - can't kick, tackle, pass, play football. Somehow keeps being the best player on the pitch. 

 

Some of us here are great evaluators.

[bluesman2610 1,257]

I know it is easy to want instant success from a player you pay that much money for but his age and a team in transition just like other players he needed time and patience to find his feet. I'm glad he's showing more of his value and I long for it to continue into next season.