Topic: The Indomitable Ibou

[BassTunedToRed]

Ibou competed 95 passes last night, the same total as Sheffield United.

[JackWard33]

Wanted to write something positive this a.m. so just to say thought he looked back to his best yesterday

Whether we win something(s) this year is going to rely on his fitness

[MD1990]

Wanted to write something positive this a.m. so just to say thought he looked back to his best yesterday

Whether we win something(s) this year is going to rely on his fitness

Love Konate's mentality. Big game player
Stepped in at the WC with France as well

I cant remember him having a bad game in a big game.
CL final he was outstanding same last year against Real wheer he absolutely dominated Vinicius at the Bernebeu

[MonsLibpool]

Love Konate's mentality. Big game player
Stepped in at the WC with France as well

I cant remember him having a bad game in a big game.
CL final he was outstanding same last year against Real wheer he absolutely dominated Vinicius at the Bernebeu

He was very good defensively. I just found him too ponderous on the ball like he needed too many touches before playing it into Trent. That slowed down the tempo of our game as well.

[tubby]

He was very good defensively. I just found him too ponderous on the ball like he needed too many touches before playing it into Trent. That slowed down the tempo of our game as well.

He doesn't have a lot of options on the ball in this system when Trent comes inside.  It's why you see both Mo and Dom dropping deep and wide into the right back spot, to give him an angle and an out ball.

[killer-heels]

If we could keep him fit then really there isnt a centreback partnership as good. People talk about Gabriel and Saliba and Dias and Stones/Akanji, but there is no partnership where you have defenders that are as dominant in the air and as quick on the ground.

[MonsLibpool]

He doesn't have a lot of options on the ball in this system when Trent comes inside.  It's why you see both Mo and Dom dropping deep and wide into the right back spot, to give him an angle and an out ball.

At some points, Trent was wide open on the right wing with Ibou on the ball. A decisive pass and they were in trouble but he was taking too long before over/underhitting those passes out wide.

[RedG13]

He was very good defensively. I just found him too ponderous on the ball like he needed too many touches before playing it into Trent. That slowed down the tempo of our game as well.

He been so much better on the ball this year. It also shows in his progressive passes.
He was #2 on the team for them with 12 this game behind Trent.
He at 8.55 Progressive passes per 90 in the league which is 99th percentile he was at 3.25 last season.
Europa league he at 4.65 per 90.
Sample sizes are a little sample. since it 7.8 90s in the PL and 3 in the Europa league.
Im not sure he going be 99th Percentile the whole season in the PL but he looks much better overall in terms of ball progression

[MonsLibpool]

He been so much better on the ball this year. It also shows in his progressive passes.
He was #2 on the team for them with 12 this game behind Trent.
He at 8.55 Progressive passes per 90 in the league which is 99th percentile he was at 3.25 last season.
Europa league he at 4.65 per 90.
Sample sizes are a little sample. since it 7.8 90s in the PL and 3 in the Europa league.
Im not sure he going be 99th Percentile the whole season in the PL but he looks much better overall in terms of ball progression

Everything can be explained away using stats mate. Is there a stat showing how long players dwell on it before releasing it?

It doesn’t mean the pass is not accurate but not playing it on time gives the opposition time to properly mark the recipient.

[RedG13]

Everything can be explained away using stats mate. Is there a stat showing how long players dwell on it before releasing it?

It doesn’t mean the pass is not accurate but not playing it on time gives the opposition time to properly mark the recipient.

Im sure there is tracking data showing long players on the ball etc.
Not every complete pass is an accurate one. I just mostly said he much better on the ball this season and pretty good at progressing the ball doing the game, which shows in the data along watching.
Does this not match what your watching?

[So… Howard Philips]

He was very good defensively. I just found him too ponderous on the ball like he needed too many touches before playing it into Trent. That slowed down the tempo of our game as well.

That’s why we miss Matip’s more penetrating runs.

[tubby]

That’s why we miss Matip’s more penetrating runs.

Personally, I think those little runs of Matip are overrated.  He nearly always ends up running into players because he can't pick an option and there's been more than one occasion where they've led to a dangerous counter from the opposition.

Every now and then, one of his runs will pay off and we'll get a good chance out of it, but in general they don't threaten anywhere near as much as you'd expect.

[MonsLibpool]

Im sure there is tracking data showing long players on the ball etc.
Not every complete pass is an accurate one. I just mostly said he much better on the ball this season and pretty good at progressing the ball doing the game, which shows in the data along watching.
Does this not match what your watching?

Stats aren't everything LOL. Like I said, releasing it early is also important.

[RedG13]

Stats aren't everything LOL. Like I said, releasing it early is also important.

I agree with Releasing early at times. It just depends sometimes you want them press you to help create space too.

[Eeyore]

Personally, I think those little runs of Matip are overrated.  He nearly always ends up running into players because he can't pick an option and there's been more than one occasion where they've led to a dangerous counter from the opposition.

Every now and then, one of his runs will pay off and we'll get a good chance out of it, but in general they don't threaten anywhere near as much as you'd expect.

They create uncertainty though.

One of our biggest issues is how predictable our initial build-up is. Even if the initial run doesn't pay off it alters the oppositions press for subsequent build-up phases.

[Coolie High]

They create uncertainty though.

One of our biggest issues is how predictable our initial build-up is. Even if the initial run doesn't pay off it alters the oppositions press for subsequent build-up phases.

Agreed, those runs are great for unbalancing the opposition teams structure, its one thing a midfielder doing it but when you're making the runs Matip does from an even deeper position at cb, it creates an uncertainty in the opposing teams shape on how to deal with it, i can think of many an occasion when those marauding runs ended up with us creating a chance.

Ibou was good against United but i think on the ball he is probably the lesser of our cbs, when comparing him to Gomez VVD and maybe even Quansah passing wise, he is probably at a similar level to Matip, but Matip dribbles better than all our other cbs.

[Bobinhood]

Giraffe runs were a precious, priceless non-renewable entertainment resource and Humanity has yet to fully appreciate the enormous consequences should Girrafus Lonsgstridus truly have galloped his last midfield for us. A tragic situation. 100's of millions of thrilled and fascinated Matip Watchers, cut off cold turkey with poor prospects going forward. There's a real anguish in the air. Despair even.  His enduring comic offerings and diffident personality somehow mis matched with his incredible level of skill so much, you just had to love the guy.

That said, Konate Beast Runs inevitably leading to an effortless ownership of the ball are also a priceless resource and with any luck they should be in abundant supply for many years to come. Hes awesome. usually needs a small run of games to really hit his stride if hes been out injured so im looking for him to pick it up nicely right here.

[Rosario]

Did that satisfy everyone’s appetite for those lazy runs from the back?

[newterp]

Did that satisfy everyone’s appetite for those lazy runs from the back?

He didn't seem that lazy.

[Rosario]

He didn't seem that lazy.

Ah fuckin autocorrect! What I get for not proofreading 

[afc tukrish]

Ah fuckin autocorrect! What I get for not proofreading 

Hazy?

Mazy?

Crazy?

[Rosario]

Hazy?

Mazy?

Crazy?

Was going with mazy

[newterp]

Was going with mazy

Good thing it wasn't Snoop Dogg - then it would blazy.

[afc tukrish]

Good thing it wasn't Snoop Dogg - then it would blazy.

Rollin down the street
Smokin Endo
sippin' on gin and juice...

[tubby]

Brilliant today.

[naYoRHa2b]

Thought he was brilliant defensively. He doesn't need to dribble with it though

[Coolie High]

Special centre back.

[killer-heels]

Probably the most underrated defender in England.

[ShrewKop]

That was as good of a defensive displays I’ve seen. His only hiccup was the mix up with Ali, but I’m presuming he couldn’t hear the shout.

[BeingJohnMarkovic]

Sensational display from Ibou. Right back to his best.

[nerdster4]

Swatting flies all day long

[Hedley Lamarr]

Absolutely brilliant, best defender on the pitch.

[Bread]

Should've won MOTM. Was the main reason Arsenal offered very little threat from the 5th minute onwards. His reading of the game was class.

[jepovic]

Absolutely brilliant, best defender on the pitch.

Yes, and there were many good defenders

[B0151?]

Even before the MOTM I was thinking that they barely praised Konate despite him shutting attacks down time and time again. Especially considering the problems Martinelli has posed us in the past and how they love to point out Trent's side as an area of weakness. Really seemed like it should have been highlighted a lot more.

[gerrardisgod]

Colossal performance.

[killer-heels]

Even before the MOTM I was thinking that they barely praised Konate despite him shutting attacks down time and time again. Especially considering the problems Martinelli has posed us in the past and how they love to point out Trent's side as an area of weakness. Really seemed like it should have been highlighted a lot more.

Like I said, he is underrated. He can sometimes make mad decisions but he dominates attackers on the deck and the air.

As Jack said we need to keep him fit. Keep him fit, save the cheerleader, win the league.

[Coolie High]

Even before the MOTM I was thinking that they barely praised Konate despite him shutting attacks down time and time again. Especially considering the problems Martinelli has posed us in the past and how they love to point out Trent's side as an area of weakness. Really seemed like it should have been highlighted a lot more.

Agree he has more to do than Saliba today, both Carra and Neville are just up Salibas arse, both just feed on already existing narratives. Konate doesn’t have the hype train behind him so they won’t praise him as much, Saliba is probably a bit more elegant as well which helps, but if weee talking about actual defending today it was Konate who was being isolated and came up against Martinelli one on one a few times due to Trents freedom, Saliba didn’t really have the same issues to deal with.

[tunred]

The best French CB on the pitch. Colossal

[slotmachine]

Saliba never made a mistake while Konate still did 2 or 3 stupid things. It was still Konate's best performance of the season by a mile. We need him to maintain a level of consistency and fitness for the rest of the season. We are bare bones at the back now we cant have Ibou picking up another niggling injury.