Weston “Royale Avec Fromage” McKennie (49 Viewers)

[Snobist]

5th choice backup midfielder that was played out of position. You guys are expecting too much from him. We are in the middle of an extremely tough schedule and we were playing at home to what was on paper a really weak opponent... Calma.

I expect nothing from him. I expect him to go back where he came from, Schalke.
Pirlo and other coaches realized that he offers no threat going forward. Nobody cares about his runs no one will follow him they know he can cause no danger. Pirlo is outsmarting them by placing him and cuads in same flank so opposition confuse Cuads with McDonald and let him run freely. Thats how our goals came last game. Two assists from Cuads

 

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[duranfj]

I believe he can be useful in some way in a 3 MF as CM with a proper set up in attack and as FB, I can´t see how can he be useful in other position so far... we'll see

 

[Adrian]

Jack of all trades at the moment. He is versatile but clearly has 1 or 2 positions in midfield...cant go play him wherever...he'll line up in goals soon.

 

[Snobist]

Jack of all trades at the moment. He is versatile but clearly has 1 or 2 positions in midfield...cant go play him wherever...he'll line up in goals soon.

Love your humor.

 

[jukazem]

|He's supposed to go into the half-space between Cuadrado and Morata. And CR7 goes into the opposite half-space between Berna and Morata.

Then when we lose the ball, he's capable of running back into a 4 man midfield, while CR7 stays forward.

Ideally, we use Kulu or Ramsey (or Dybala, but I think Pirlo is trending away from that) in that position because they can actually do something with the ball and also can put in a decent effort to come back into midfield.

Right now when McKennie plays, he's mostly used as an off-ball player to drag defenders around. Because obviously, he's not going to do much in that Dybala/Kulu half-space (he's not going to curl a shot with his left foot lol).

Against Ferencvaros I felt his role was to run behind the lines when Dybala drops in midfield or atleast make sure the defender isn't following Dybala. And also make runs so that teams aren't able to double up on Cuadrado as he's our main ball carrier right now.

 

[JuveJay]

Against Ferencvaros I felt his role was to run behind the lines when Dybala drops in midfield or atleast make sure the defender isn't following Dybala. And also make runs so that teams aren't able to double up on Cuadrado as he's our main ball carrier right now.

That's a nice idea, actually. Almost like a babysitter for Dybala in a physical sense, as he doesn't have the legs right now to break his own lines.

 

[Alin]

Proved to be a decent rotation option so far, flashes of a Sturaro + Lemina hybrid(and i ain't even joking ) , think he'll keep on doing just fine in the role of filling in when needed, there's definitely some promise/potential about him but it also happens that he still gives the impression of being very basic and a bit too raw altogether.

Definitely not starter material though, not yet at least, and not sure he will ever get to that level tbh but imo surely good enough for the depth/cover role he is embracing right now.

 

[Robee]

The amount of guys already writing of McKennie is laughable at best. He's a youngster who made a big transfer and had Covid a few weeks ago...

 

[Lion]

liked his energy and hustling. useful player and his manager's instructions would have been go on and make yourself a nuisance, and he did just that.

 

[Boksic]

Excellent pressing but a lot of turnovers.

 

[GarfielD]

Solid game. Lost a couple of balls but recovered a lot too. He did good.

 

[DanielSz]

I think he’s best used in a three man mid where he can do a lot of the dirty work, or as an AM where his pressing is valuable. Ramsey was a big reason why Kiev was able to control the ball so much late in the first half/early second. He was struggling so much defensively, at one point I saw him waving Bentancur over to help cover his space. McKennie would be a better option there.

 

[Suns]

I think he’s best used in a three man mid where he can do a lot of the dirty work, or as an AM where his pressing is valuable. Ramsey was a big reason why Kiev was able to control the ball so much late in the first half/early second. He was struggling so much defensively, at one point I saw him waving Bentancur over to help cover his space. McKennie would be a better option there.

McKennie, Bentancur and Arthur.. I mean all of our CM's are way better suited for a 3 man midfield.

 

[DanielSz]

McKennie, Bentancur and Arthur.. I mean all of our CM's are way better suited for a 3 man midfield.

yeah the problem is none of them are Registas

 

[spurdo]

Great game, was involved in a lot and helped shuttle the play nicely. McKennie+Benta as the anchors supporting Ramsey as the trequartista worked very well last night and is exactly the kind of balance that we've been lacking. We were significantly less prone on the counters with the midfield cutting off passing lanes nicely.

 

[Juve_fanatic]

I think he’s best used in a three man mid where he can do a lot of the dirty work, or as an AM where his pressing is valuable. Ramsey was a big reason why Kiev was able to control the ball so much late in the first half/early second. He was struggling so much defensively, at one point I saw him waving Bentancur over to help cover his space. McKennie would be a better option there.

Eelxactly. I saw that situation too when Ramsey asked for help. My opinion is that every team needs a player like McKenie and we need him too. You just have to have a player that will do the dirty work but preferebly not at the expence of technique and knowledge with the ball (like Matuidi). McKenie is obviously and update over Matuidi and we need to use McKenie more often. He just needs to be careful not to loose the ball close to our goal otherwise im satisfied.

 

[JCK]

yeah the problem is none of them are Registas

We are not obliged to play with a regista.

 

[Tak!]

Eelxactly. I saw that situation too when Ramsey asked for help. My opinion is that every team needs a player like McKenie and we need him too. You just have to have a player that will do the dirty work but preferebly not at the expence of technique and knowledge with the ball (like Matuidi). McKenie is obviously and update over Matuidi and we need to use McKenie more often. He just needs to be careful not to loose the ball close to our goal otherwise im satisfied.

I agree and I really like him. For us, he is an update unless we're playing against WC teams. Matuidi is still a more useful player in my opinion because he is - basically - older. Having all his experience his movement off ball is a bit better, positioning too and makes much less mistakes. On the ball they are not even comparable. Mckennie looks like Messi in comparison, however, without facts I'd still hold Matuidi's passing above Mckennie's. Technically Matuidi falls short, his passing is slower etcetera but they hit their intended target as he tends to make easier and shorter passes. Passes that are more forward going tended to be fairly risk-free too. Mckennie so far spreads his passes a bit here and there, actually surprised how many easy passes he has missed or forced someone to chase after. Again, I still prefer Mckennie better. Over a season he fits us a lot better. Matuidi is a champion suited for destroying strong opponents in knock outs while Mckennie is a "league" player with a lot of potential.

In summary; I agree but Matuidi is better than many make him out to be. It all depends on what we mean by update.

 

[Juve92]

The amount of guys already writing of McKennie is laughable at best. He's a youngster who made a big transfer and had Covid a few weeks ago...

lol he is shit. Going back to Schalke in the summer.

 

[Robee]

lol he is shit. Going back to Schalke in the summer.

That is never going to happen and you better start accepting it