unsung heros

[Colinwhite]

Yesterdays great performance by the team ,and superb win wasn't done to any players in particular with a superb team performance.
But I have to say that Berge and Lukic and Smith Rowe  were at the heart of it all. They were superb yesterday and although Iwobi has played well in the middle we looked much stronger side with lukic IMO.
Anderssen was also superb . Those four  players have received quite a lot of stick from various posters, unjustified mostly IMO.
Our midfield stifled and stressed Villa ,making them look off the pace, but that was down to us ,not them . 

[Hatch007]

I agree Berge and Lukic worked very effectively together yesterday but I think I the nature of the opposition helped.

I wouldn't want to rely on that CM midfield combo against teams that sit back in a low block.

Lukic and Berge are a very respectable pairing against top teams where we won't be expected to dominate possession

[SerbianLad]

Lukic and Berge are a very respectable pairing against top teams where we won't be expected to dominate possession

We had more possession than Villa in the first half. Us taking a lead was always going to change things against a team as good as Villa.

Our best performance this season was probably against Brentford at home and there we were up against a low block in the first half and we battered them with Berge-Lukic duo, with both players often joining our attacks and contributing offensively too. It's a myth we are terrible with them as a midfield duo. They were also starters for most games last season and we achieved the record points tally last season.

Ideally we'd get another, more progressive midfielder in the summer (we should have got one in one of the last two windows already), but they are still by far the best pairing we have at the moment, regardless of the opposition.

[WindyCity]

Just to add to the unsung, I thought Bassey had a very good game, solid.

[Colinwhite]

Have to agree with Serbian lad .smith Rowe was also very important.his best game this season for me . and most of it without the ball

[bencher]

Lukic and Berge are a very respectable pairing against top teams where we won't be expected to dominate possession

We had more possession than Villa in the first half. Us taking a lead was always going to change things against a team as good as Villa.

Our best performance this season was probably against Brentford at home and there we were up against a low block in the first half and we battered them with Berge-Lukic duo, with both players often joining our attacks and contributing offensively too. It's a myth we are terrible with them as a midfield duo. They were also starters for most games last season and we achieved the record points tally last season.

Ideally we'd get another, more progressive midfielder in the summer (we should have got one in one of the last two windows already), but they are still by far the best pairing we have at the moment, regardless of the opposition.

They may be our best pairing on their day, but they're not consistently so. They can get too passive and then they are quite ineffective.

[SerbianLad]

They may be our best pairing on their day, but they're not consistently so. They can get too passive and then they are quite ineffective.

Even in those games, I'd rather a midfield that is a bit passive than a midfield with Iwobi that has more holes than a Swiss cheese defensively. We have 4 players in front of them, that should be more than enough to break most teams. And btw, Lukic has more direct goal contributions this season than Iwobi does when he plays in the middle, and Iwobi played more minutes in the middle this season than Lukic. The only thing he actually adds is more progressive passing.That's it.

TC is much better in a back 5, although him and Lukic looked decent vs Brentford in a 4, but he's also at an age where he can't start every week or play full 90 minutes. Reed is a useful option to have, but he's significantly worse than all other options. We really should have got another midfielder in one of the previous two windows, but since we didn't, I firmly believe Berge-Lukic is our best midfield duo we have.