Weston “Immovable” McKennie (131 Viewers)
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A game of two halves for him. In their half when attacking he did well and created a couple of decent chances. His passing was sloppy at times but much improved on last week. In our half, defensively he was poor, far too much space behind him and not aggressive enough.
He's an AM based on his current skillset. The question is whether he can get the goals and assists to play that role. A good guy to have in the squad though.
He's an AM based on his current skillset. The question is whether he can get the goals and assists to play that role. A good guy to have in the squad though.
A game of two halves for him. In their half when attacking he did well and created a couple of decent chances. His passing was sloppy at times but much improved on last week. In our half, defensively he was poor, far too much space behind him and not aggressive enough.
He's an AM based on his current skillset. The question is whether he can get the goals and assists to play that role. A good guy to have in the squad though.
He's an AM based on his current skillset. The question is whether he can get the goals and assists to play that role. A good guy to have in the squad though.
You'd be surprised to know that he was our best passer tonight. As usual, he didn't make many passes, a little less than 30, but with 90% pass accuracy he was better than everyone else.
Most of his passes are in the final third and they are forward passes. Hence he has a terrible PS% (second worst in Juve, with only Morata behind him). But tonight those passes were fine and that is why he created 6 chances. This is the first time since he came here that he created so many chances and had such a high PS%.
But as many here asked: what is it that we expect from him? His passing stats, and pretty weak defensive stats, say that he's an attacking midfielder, though an AM who doesn't make assists and scores less than one would expect from an AM.
He must become a better passer. He must be doing what he was doing tonight match after match. He'll never be a good CM. But with tonight's PS%, and his usual usefulness in the box, he'll be very useful. So, work on those passes McKennie.
Most of his passes are in the final third and they are forward passes. Hence he has a terrible PS% (second worst in Juve, with only Morata behind him). But tonight those passes were fine and that is why he created 6 chances. This is the first time since he came here that he created so many chances and had such a high PS%.
But as many here asked: what is it that we expect from him? His passing stats, and pretty weak defensive stats, say that he's an attacking midfielder, though an AM who doesn't make assists and scores less than one would expect from an AM.
He must become a better passer. He must be doing what he was doing tonight match after match. He'll never be a good CM. But with tonight's PS%, and his usual usefulness in the box, he'll be very useful. So, work on those passes McKennie.
I think it's impossible to expect him to become a full time-AM. He will never be a fantasista, this is a bit too much to ask.
He's a proper material for a classic b2b in 433 IMO. Just like Conte taught Hakimi how to defend and position himself, the same job needs to be done on McKennie. Once he positions himself better and reads the game as he should, his defensive game will improve massively, considering how little tackles/interceptions he tends to have now. With better positioning, he can hopefully have more consistent passing, it's really all about making it easier for yourself rather than becoming another Pirlo.
He's a proper material for a classic b2b in 433 IMO. Just like Conte taught Hakimi how to defend and position himself, the same job needs to be done on McKennie. Once he positions himself better and reads the game as he should, his defensive game will improve massively, considering how little tackles/interceptions he tends to have now. With better positioning, he can hopefully have more consistent passing, it's really all about making it easier for yourself rather than becoming another Pirlo.
He looks way too erratic for a midfielder, I don't know. And like someone else said, he doesn't have the end product to be an attacking midfielder, neither the technique imo. He really needs to work on the fundamentals, although those should have been sorted by now. Not sure he can cut it as a midfielder for us or any other big club, maybe try him as wing-back? He has moments when he looks lost out there, positioning-wise. Like we took Cuadrado and made him play CM overnight. I like the guy don't get me wrong, but he wouldn't get minutes in the midfield at any other big club.
