Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall

[Cods]

Issue with KDH is he's quite lightweight and doesn't seem particularly creative.

I think he'd be fine if we could hit on the counter with a striker who could hold it up, quick interchange with KDH and one of the widemen and use his energy and passing in space... As it stands we don't have that and we need someone more industrious in there. Alcaraz drives forward with it, and that's more useful with the strikers unable to handle any sort of quick direct transition.

I don't disagree, but the flipside to that is that only a few weeks ago Alcaraz was getting rightly pasted on here for very bad decision making, loss of possession, poor passing (amongst other negatives) and badly letting us down at important points, but because his last appearance was the opposite, he did well and turned the game was definitely MOTM, but we maybe forget the previous bad bits and inconsistency. Not sure KDH has had quite as many bad games, he has been pretty quiet, but seems more composed and has contributed in more important moments for the team.

At some point, for consistency sake we do have to stick with something and suck it and see. We've all got different opinions on how that line up should look. Even N'Diaye has had some quiet games, but at the important moments what he has provided to the team is unquestionably very good. I'm not sure Alcaraz has yet displayed that more than once or twice. Inject him when he's hungry and frustrated being on the bench, it seems to work.

This isn't directed at you btw, but generally we've got to take into account playing style will impact player performance. Also a half repaired squad hasn't helped. Some will shine and some won't, despite their underlying qualities.

EDIT: just got to your next post where you say this

[Shogun]

Imagine giving so many minutes to this fella in the number 10 role. Weak AF. Unless he's being played in by Grealish to put in a cross then he's absolutely terrible.

Will start for us all season. Moyes absolutely loves a little pet and he's got a few of them in this team.

[kramer]

I’d like to see him deeper at least once or twice.

Sure, maybe it makes us soft defensively but it’s a worthy experiment for a team that isn’t getting much passing from its deep midfielders.

Carrying and passing the ball forward is something he’s rated well at across clubs and levels and we’ve stuck him in the one position where he can’t really do it much.

Either switch to a proper midfield three where his starting position is deeper or play him as one of the two defensive midfielders. He has never been, is currently not, and will likely never be a number 10.

[AjaxAndy]

Imagine giving so many minutes to this fella in the number 10 role. Weak AF. Unless he's being played in by Grealish to put in a cross then he's absolutely terrible.

Will start for us all season. Moyes absolutely loves a little pet and he's got a few of them in this team.

Unfortunately Moyes will take Alcaraz's poor cameo as further proof KDH should be starting, even though Charli was clearly struggling to get the pace of the game but utterly desperate to make something happen.

Tried too hard whereas KDH did....well nothing really? Give me the guy who tries hard and is desperate to make an impression than a guy who runs short sprints near where the ball is and then to near the next place it goes without ever touching it.

[AjaxAndy]

I’d like to see him deeper at least once or twice.

Sure, maybe it makes us soft defensively but it’s a worthy experiment for a team that isn’t getting much passing from its deep midfielders.

Carrying and passing the ball forward is something he’s rated well at across clubs and levels and we’ve stuck him in the one position where he can’t really do it much.

Either switch to a proper midfield three where his starting position is deeper or play him as one of the two defensive midfielders. He has never been, is currently not, and will likely never be a number 10.

Yeah he'd be fine in a 4-3-3 but we don't play that so not really sure why we thought he'd be a key figure for us when we scouted him.

I actually don't think he's a terrible player, he's just a terrible 10 and doesn't suit a double pivot. So unless we plan to switch formations (which Moyes never will) then who the fuck signed off on buying him?

[TheRam]

Tonight showed how much we are missing the duke.

He was a monster presser and second ball winning machine. When the game turned into a scrap he was always the one dropping in and getting us back on the front foot.

This fella is too slow to press, too weak in duels, always five yards off the play and isn’t a particularly good passer of the ball.

Takes the ball well on the turn but that’s all I’ve seen from him so far. Look every bit a player who’s played more games in the championship at the moment. He was bullied out of that game today.

[Shogun]

We're not missing Doucoure, we're missing anyone with some presence in there. We look infinitely better when Alcaraz gets a chance in that role. We'd do better with Soucek up there but that doesn't mean we should have spent the money on him either.

[Bumble]

Just a nothing player. Doesn’t create anything, doesn’t win the ball, no pace or strength, looks unlikely to ever get on the scoresheet which from a No 10 is a shocker of an attribute and for some reason looks like he thinks he is a baller.

[Lazarou II]

It's all gone a bit Tom Davies.

Busy doing nothing.

[weimaranerblues]

Played ok like the rest of them for 30 mins linking up with Jack but gradually disappeared, and hid behind Sunderland players in the 2nd half.

[brap2]

First 5 mins good, rest shite.

[kramer]

I think he has something to offer in a deeper role.

Our midfield is poor at moving the ball forward, KDH has generally been good at this. So of course we have him receiving the ball back to goal in the final third.

Might be a worth a bit of added softness deeper if you swap him out for Garner. Can be mitigated a bit by moving Röhl into the ten and letting Moyes have his brute there.

[Jamokachi]

Thought he was excellent there against Fulham, for most of the game. Can see why managers like him when he puts such a shift in.

[Bumble]

Was decent yesterday but that will probably be the easiest game he’ll play all season. They were woeful and just allowed him to turn and decide what he wanted to do, no closing down.

I’ll chalk this game down as an outlier, based on the season so far.

[Gary1878]

KDH fills that Moyes role so well in terms of what he wants from a player at 10. That’s not to say that he is doing everything he would want - the final pass from KDH has generally been poor this year, and he has to improve on that to keep the position his own.

However, his leadership, stamina, pressing and character are super traits to have. He will contribute wherever and whenever is needed in the game, without question. Those parts of the game are so important, as it stops the opposition from getting any sort of foothold in the game. Defending well from the front has always been a big part of the game when you don’t have the ball, and he is superb at it, a bit like Douc was.