Player Watch: Bryan Gil

Ghost Hardware said:

So I disagree somewhat with your robust criticism of Gil and I’d actually say the stats in the certain areas you highlight back this up in comparison to Johnson say who you’re championing. Not that I’m saying he was good or Johnson wasn't more effective, Gil struggled I agree, but he wasn’t as awful as you and some others suggest.

Gil in the first half completed 79% of his passes (11/14) which really isn’t bad but he did lose possession 6 times which isn’t great. Johnson by comparison had a 50% pass completion completing only 11 of his 22 passes all game, incidentally the same amount Gil completed in one half, and overall lost possession 13 times which is on par with Gil and equally poor. Essentially the point you make about Gil loosing possession more then anyone isn’t quite true and if you’re going to call him giving the ball away “criminal” then you’d have to do the same for Johnson.

Now obviously Johnson’s big chance creation exceeded Gil’s as he got an assist and almost had 2 plus his defensive stats will naturally be more impressive as he played the whole game. That also goes for his ground duals which are significantly better then Gil's but again he played the full game. On that note I'd be very curious to see how many came in the second half compared to first.

I agree that Johnson was much more effective in the second half and it was a favourable match up against Walker. His pace is truly impressive even if his decision making needs work, as does Gil's. Again tho, as I mentioned in the Lo Celso thread, City very evidently lost focus and tired significantly in the second half all across the pitch. Their marking became much more disjointed and the tight lines in midfield broke down more and more as the game went on. Im assuming this was down to CL hangover plus us stepping up. I don’t say this to dismiss Johnson’s second half performance or question his ability, I think he certainly has potential and he put in a very solid display in the 2nd half, had a great assist and almost had 2, but it’s not a given that if he had started on the left he would have faired any better then Gil. City where on another level that first half and the fact Johnson saw little to none of the ball is testament to that. Anyway my point isn’t about Johnson at all and I wouldn't even mention him here if you hadn't have brought him up, it’s about Gil and the strong criticism he has been getting when at this point IMO only patience and support should be given.

Now look, I know stats can certainly be misleading and one should never fully subscribe to them. Parameters will often be changeable + obscure and making a judgment on a player purely based on numbers is risky at best and frankly often misguided. The eye test is also very important. But in cases like this, where I personally think Gil is being overly criticised and deserves mores chances and you who thinks he was extremely poor and, judging by the match thread, don't particularly rate him, they can be somewhat useful. And you know I rate you and your opinion as a poster, we see eye to eye on many things but this is the beauty and art of football. We can all see different things yet fundamentally believe in the same ideal.

To reiterate my initial point in the post you quoted, i'm not saying he will succeed. He may well never make it here and be shifted out in Jan/summer. Its perfectly possible, I think its almost guaranteed he won't start on Thursday and the criticism on his lack of physicality and pace is justified. BUT as i said in my aforementioned post, speed and physicality can be worked around once you have learnt the nuances of the league. Gil hasn't had time to learn the league, at all, as I said this was only his 4th start since being here, so we really have no idea what he is actually capable of. What he is is very technical and if your not going to be physical or a speed merchant, being technical will go a long way to helping you get around your shortcomings once you've learned how to use that within your surroundings. And I also think there might be some ground to the idea that he isn't a true winger and actually Conte comparing him to Bernardo Silva wasn't actually a million miles away. Time will tell on that one.

But really the bottom line is a 22 year old winger who's had hardly any PL experience, is seriously lacking match sharpness struggled against the best team in Europe when matched up against the best RB in the league away from home. And statistically speaking, one major brain fart aside, he wasn't even that bad, he was just largely ineffective for the most part, yet despite all that he was still instrumental in our first goal. Plus the fact he had no pre season and clearly lacking confidence etc play a big part. I honestly just feel some have unrealistic expectations at times. At this point I don't see why he should be given anything other then support and encouragement tbh, and that goes for every one of our younger players. Personally I hope to see Gil continue to get a good amount of game time so we can see if he manages to develop on his raw ability which he does have.

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guy said:

If you want to compare our wingers, I'd suggest none of Solomon, Johnson or gil have been great this year, they all need to improve. They are however all young, all making a step up and they've all had a stop start time this season.

Give them all more time I say, reassess at end of season.

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SonicSarr said:

I think they have all done well and wish people would stop putting down players before they are given time and a proper crack. Everyone was burying Gio and I got tired sticking up for him. Now you lot love him 'all of a sudden'.

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guy said:

If you want to compare our wingers, I'd suggest none of Solomon, Johnson or gil have been great this year, they all need to improve. They are however all young, all making a step up and they've all had a stop start time this season.

Give them all more time I say, reassess at end of season.

Click to expand...

Ghost Hardware said:

So I disagree somewhat with your robust criticism of Gil and I’d actually say the stats in the certain areas you highlight back this up in comparison to Johnson say who you’re championing. Not that I’m saying he was good or Johnson wasn't more effective, Gil struggled I agree, but he wasn’t as awful as you and some others suggest.

Gil in the first half completed 79% of his passes (11/14) which really isn’t bad but he did lose possession 6 times which isn’t great. Johnson by comparison had a 50% pass completion completing only 11 of his 22 passes all game, incidentally the same amount Gil completed in one half, and overall lost possession 13 times which is on par with Gil and equally poor. Essentially the point you make about Gil loosing possession more then anyone isn’t quite true and if you’re going to call him giving the ball away “criminal” then you’d have to do the same for Johnson.

Now obviously Johnson’s big chance creation exceeded Gil’s as he got an assist and almost had 2 plus his defensive stats will naturally be more impressive as he played the whole game. That also goes for his ground duals which are significantly better then Gil's but again he played the full game. On that note I'd be very curious to see how many came in the second half compared to first.

I agree that Johnson was much more effective in the second half and it was a favourable match up against Walker. His pace is truly impressive even if his decision making needs work, as does Gil's. Again tho, as I mentioned in the Lo Celso thread, City very evidently lost focus and tired significantly in the second half all across the pitch. Their marking became much more disjointed and the tight lines in midfield broke down more and more as the game went on. Im assuming this was down to CL hangover plus us stepping up. I don’t say this to dismiss Johnson’s second half performance or question his ability, I think he certainly has potential and he put in a very solid display in the 2nd half, had a great assist and almost had 2, but it’s not a given that if he had started on the left he would have faired any better then Gil. City where on another level that first half and the fact Johnson saw little to none of the ball is testament to that. Anyway my point isn’t about Johnson at all and I wouldn't even mention him here if you hadn't have brought him up, it’s about Gil and the strong criticism he has been getting when at this point IMO only patience and support should be given.

Now look, I know stats can certainly be misleading and one should never fully subscribe to them. Parameters will often be changeable + obscure and making a judgment on a player purely based on numbers is risky at best and frankly often misguided. The eye test is also very important. But in cases like this, where I personally think Gil is being overly criticised and deserves mores chances and you who thinks he was extremely poor and, judging by the match thread, don't particularly rate him, they can be somewhat useful. And you know I rate you and your opinion as a poster, we see eye to eye on many things but this is the beauty and art of football. We can all see different things yet fundamentally believe in the same ideal.

To reiterate my initial point in the post you quoted, i'm not saying he will succeed. He may well never make it here and be shifted out in Jan/summer. Its perfectly possible, I think its almost guaranteed he won't start on Thursday and the criticism on his lack of physicality and pace is justified. BUT as i said in my aforementioned post, speed and physicality can be worked around once you have learnt the nuances of the league. Gil hasn't had time to learn the league, at all, as I said this was only his 4th start since being here, so we really have no idea what he is actually capable of. What he is is very technical and if your not going to be physical or a speed merchant, being technical will go a long way to helping you get around your shortcomings once you've learned how to use that within your surroundings. And I also think there might be some ground to the idea that he isn't a true winger and actually Conte comparing him to Bernardo Silva wasn't actually a million miles away. Time will tell on that one.

But really the bottom line is a 22 year old winger who's had hardly any PL experience, is seriously lacking match sharpness struggled against the best team in Europe when matched up against the best RB in the league away from home. And statistically speaking, one major brain fart aside, he wasn't even that bad, he was just largely ineffective for the most part, yet despite all that he was still instrumental in our first goal. Plus the fact he had no pre season and clearly lacking confidence etc play a big part. I honestly just feel some have unrealistic expectations at times. At this point I don't see why he should be given anything other then support and encouragement tbh, and that goes for every one of our younger players. Personally I hope to see Gil continue to get a good amount of game time so we can see if he manages to develop on his raw ability which he does have.

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fishhhandaricecake said:

Johnson has been absolutely fine.

Solomon was looking half decent before his injury.

Gil did ok vs Villa, not so good away to City.

But yes all young and can develop a lot more.

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guy said:

If you want to compare our wingers, I'd suggest none of Solomon, Johnson or gil have been great this year, they all need to improve. They are however all young, all making a step up and they've all had a stop start time this season.

Give them all more time I say, reassess at end of season.

Click to expand...

taidgh said:

I have been a big believer in his talent for a while now while others have written him off. I'm not ready to be done with him quite yet, but he was really, really ineffective today. Couldn't beat a man, misplaced passes, a bit selfish with the shot at the end. I will maintain hope that he comes good, but I have serious doubts now.

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mabolsa_ritchey said:

He’s never making it with us as long as I have a hole in my arse

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