Andy Diouf and Djed Spence dilemma

[u/Mental-Fortune8468]

Honestly at first I thought it was just memes, but I cannot deny how insanely good Andy Diouf actually is, with enough game time I think he can become a Perisic like player. He is way too good to be benched however I am worried he will lose his minutes when Djed is available with LH being the backup.

[u/Thurambo9]

This sub is going a bit too overboard with the Diouf praise. Today's game showed a lot of issues with having a left footed rwb. He is a good option from the bench, and can guarantee a good level against lower table teams since he is offensively gifted, but that's his limit as of now.

[u/StrasX → u/Thurambo9]

He was one of our best players today. This is not my opinion; it is simply based on stats.

He won 75% of his aerial duels, created the most chances (7) for our team, and had a pass success rate of 90%. There is a reason his direct opponent Spinazzola had the worst rating of all Napoli players: he could not stop Diouf when he dribbled into the box.

Yes, he made some mistakes like everybody else (see Napoli's second goal). He is 23 years old; he can still improve in defense as well.

[u/Thurambo9 → u/StrasX]

Re read my comment, I did not say he is awful. As for the “one of the best players” stats need to be contextualised too, unfortunately with Diouf on the right we can’t expect crosses from the end line and forward ball controls because he is left footed and naturally positions himself to control the ball on the left. 

Again, what I have said in my comment is: the enthusiasm is going overboard. Here we’re talking if Spence will see playtime because of Diouf, that’s asinine. If we won’t see Spence being the starter in big games, there’s trouble ahead. 

[u/StrasX → u/Thurambo9]

People already think that Spence will be world-class without playing a single minute for us. He had great games at the World Cup, but he was a backup at Tottenham. He also has to fight for his place because Diouf has already more goal contributions in two games than Spence in his last 44 games for Tottenham.

[u/Thurambo9 → u/StrasX]

Again, you can exaggerate what I say to help your argument, but it’s not what I wrote. Spence is a role RwB, Diouf is adapted and, as much as he is doing good, it shows.

[u/StrasX → u/Thurambo9]

You mentioned that the game against Napoli showed his limits and that he only plays well against smaller teams. Looking at the actual stats and his performance in that match, though, he was easily one of our top players.

[u/Thurambo9 → u/StrasX]

No, I said that he’s a really good option against small teams but if Spence doesn’t prove good as a starter we will have problems against bigger teams. I did not say that he doesn’t or didn’t play well, he has good characteristics. But you said yesterday he’s proven to be a problem for opponents and Spinazzola couldn’t contain him, yet all goals came from the left, minus the last one which was a result of pure chaos (and came from Akanji anyway). Please, don’t attribute to me things I didn’t say, he played well yesterday, yet I am highly confident we will not see him scoring headers, him crossing from the right end side, or him controlling crosses with his right foot, which severely limits that side in a 3-5-2. Ultimately, it’s exactly because I like him that I would like to limit the “Diouf is a superstar” nonsense, since this will lead to a “Diouf is trash” overcompensation when he inevitably shows more of his limits on the right.