Manuel Locatelli (76 Viewers)

Robee

Senior Member
Jun 21, 2011
7,004
He's been one of our most consistent players of the season so far, imo. He's basically the only reliable midfielder we currently have.
Exactly. But people expect him to play like Pirlo. He's transformed into a reliable defensive midfielder, not a playmaker. And I guess because we still don't have one in midfield, people want him to do it...
 

Vlad

In Allegri We Trust
May 23, 2011
23,990
I guess the standards we hold our midfielders to became so low that when Loca, once in a blue moon, manages to complete a forward pass instead of few dozen of sideways or backwards, one twos with Gatti or Perin, he is praised for a great game. As we will get stronger, hopefully, and competing for trophies, players like Loca, Mckenny or Fagioli can at most come off the bench.

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He's been one of our most consistent players of the season so far, imo. He's basically the only reliable midfielder we currently have.
:lol2:
 

Xperd

Allegrophobic Infidel
Jun 1, 2012
34,831
Sometimes I wonder if people actually watch the games? Locatelli had been a revelation this season, as I suspected he would under a proper coach.
The moment people see an Italian midfielder playing in front of defense, they expect him to play like Pirlo or something.

His role this season is more of a DM and you can see his defensive stats has improved tremendously while guys like Cambiaso and Koopmeiners have taken the role of playmaker.

He's been nothing spectacular but he's been solid and consistent. You need players like that to compliment the creative players in the team.
 

Bjerknes

"Top Economist"
Mar 16, 2004
115,907
Loca is obviously much improved under Motta, but still needs to impose himself on games more. He's also still making mistakes around our own box with bad passes. Going to cost us big soon.
 

Vlad

In Allegri We Trust
May 23, 2011
23,990
it's based on opta, the best you can possibly get

an other one:

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Tnx but stats in football arent as useful as in some other sports. This whole americanization of football through stats can make players like Loca good on paper but eye test tells a different story. For me he is the same as always, decent game followed by several nothing games. But thats just how I see it, which is alright if people disagree with. I dont expect him to be Pirlo but Loca under pressure is prone to making errors around our box like yesterday after a pass from Savona that a better team would take advantage of. We played a side that lost 4/5 of their last matches. I maintain my stance we will need better midfield going forward to be competitive. For transitional season he is alright but being alright is not the standard I expect from a starting mid. Yildiz has to drop deep to help with build up, Cambiaso has to move to the middle as well.
 

s4tch

Senior Member
Mar 23, 2015
33,523
Tnx but stats in football arent as useful as in some other sports. This whole americanization of football through stats can make players like Loca good on paper but eye test tells a different story. For me he is the same as always, decent game followed by several nothing games. But thats just how I see it, which is alright if people disagree with. I dont expect him to be Pirlo but Loca under pressure is prone to making errors around our box like yesterday after a pass from Savona that a better team would take advantage of. We played a side that lost 4/5 of their last matches. I maintain my stance we will need better midfield going forward to be competitive. For transitional season he is alright but being alright is not the standard I expect from a starting mid. Yildiz has to drop deep to help with build up, Cambiaso has to move to the middle as well.
i'm not a huge loca fan either but trying to make him look bad because he doesn't make forward passes is simply inaccurate

he's not pirlo, far from pjanic too. let's just get over it. he's a useful defensive mid who's instrumental in our holding game, that's what he is. i also wish we had better options but that's on the club, not the player. at least he doesn't have to play regista in a team that was afraid of the ball. he's one of the players who benefit from the different approach
 

Siamak

╭∩╮( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)╭∩╮
Aug 13, 2013
18,312
i'm not a huge loca fan either but trying to make him look bad because he doesn't make forward passes is simply inaccurate

he's not pirlo, far from pjanic too. let's just get over it. he's a useful defensive mid who's instrumental in our holding game, that's what he is. i also wish we had better options but that's on the club, not the player. at least he doesn't have to play regista in a team that was afraid of the ball. he's one of the players who benefit from the different approach
He's a hard working player and put his best in the work but he is far from a top player, he is a mediocre player at the best. People expect him more than his ability.
 

GrandeGigi

Senior Member
Sep 18, 2012
1,880
you might have missed this:

Don’t let facts get in the way of the narrative created here around him.

He looks like a lock for Motta’s system as was expected with a 4-2-3-1 and is doing what is asked of him. Always shows for the ball, protects the back 4 and has a long diagonal that few of our current players are able to execute.
That said Motta did randomly drop him for a few games at one point.
 

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