Mousset needs to up his game

[Harry's Game]

His last good half was the first half at Man City away, once the City game on Tuesday is out of the way i would like to perhaps see us take a gamble and play McG in the fabled ‘Duffy role ‘ behind Moose and McBurnie

 

[Cheesebored]

His last good half was the first half at Man City away, once the City game on Tuesday is out of the way i would like to perhaps see us take a gamble and play McG in the fabled ‘Duffy role ‘ behind Moose and McBurnie

The half when he missed a one on one and another headed chance?

 

[SwissBlade]

A few games back he was going past players lightning fast, he's dropped a bit of pace as well as the little magic touches.
Sure it'll come back after a bit of a rest. I didn't know about his personal loss, that affects peoplenin different ways. He'll be back on form soon.

Yeah I agree, about his pace.

It's also understandable though as the strikers get through a lot of work every game. Its also worth noting that its not possible to be at the peak of fitness for every game of the season

 

[Kevincarterversion2.0]

The original post is a bit harsh. Mouss didnt have much of a pre-season and has been carrying a few injuries. I'd say he has done pretty well for us so far!

 

[1889]

Interesting to see in the Robinson/McBurnie Q and A bit, that they agreed Moose was worst in training.

I think that is the crux of it, he isn’t fit, and appears to be pretty blasé about his football career.
I notice he’s always pissing about with McBurnie and Robinson in the stretches and warm up. Maybe he just needs to wake up, possibly it’s just immaturity and trying to fit in, but it all tends to corroborate what they jokingly said about his training intensity.

It’s such a shame because the lad has the world at his feet, if he did but realise it. He has the size, physique and pace to be amongst the best strikers in the Premier League, even Europe and could own a fleet of Lamborghinis, if that’s what he wants.

It’s all there for him, just for the want of a bit of single minded dedication and determined physical application.

I’m a big fan of Moose but I sincerely hope he doesn’t look back in twenty years and wonder ‘What if?’

 

[Guesty]

I don't Mousset is much of a natural goal scorer.

A bit of a grandiose comparison perhaps, but in style he reminds me of George Weah with his combination of pace and power. Weah was never the most prolific striker (certainly in Europe) but capable of wrecking a defence by himself.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if Mousset is handily outscored by McBurnie come the end of the season.

 

[awblade]

Does anyone else think Moose could do with losing half a stone?

I can’t be right because if he did, the club would’ve sorted it by now, it’s just that he looks to me like he’s carrying a bit too much timber

This is an issue that I have seen a few Bournemouth fans say of his time with them, that he was just too big and never lost that weight while with them. Then they saw him for us earlier in season and couldn't believe how trim he looked.

He possibly could do, whether that is fat or muscle, it is still weight he has to shift accelerating/decelerating, which is a obviously major part of his game

 

[bartman]

They dont tell all the facts those stats really ,Coutts had very few assists ,I think Jamal Blackman had more ,but he was the catalyst behind almost everything we produced.

Agree to a certain extent but DM a lot further forward so I would expect him to be involved in more goals( I.e part of the build up to a goal rather than just assists and goals)

 

[Speedracer]

I think the op is a bit harsh on him to be honest. Yes it hasn't quite gone for him recently & he does look a touch heavier & a bit slower to react, but it is fine margins & the sadness in his private life will have dulled his senses until he gets his head around it, but for me he is still looking a real threat, & given his attributes he could produce an explosive end product at any time.
We also haven't quite settled on the right partnership up front, but when we do I expect him to be a part of it; it may be we will have to wait until he has a proper pre season with us to see him firing on all cylinders, but make no mistake he has everything that you would want in a striker & if we can get him in the right frame of mind the sky is the limit for him, & us.

 

[metalblade]

He wasn't fully fit when he arrived at the club and was behind the rest of the players. Let's not forget too he hadn't played much at Bournemouth so maybe he has to learn how to pace his game nobody can run at 100mph for 90 minutes, I don't think there is much to worry about he will come good and get over this blip.

 

[cahill]

I don’t know how well or even if he can speak English but Sheffield’s not noted for its well established French community, so I wonder how settled he is in Sheffield ?

 

[PokerBlade]

I thought he was good for half

Arguably the toughest month in our season and people start to criticise one of the shining lights in our team for his last months performance ffs


Does need some heading practice with McB

I'm genuinely confused by this thread. It's not like he's even played much in the last month and I definitely haven't seen him play poorly.

 

[Beans]

I thought he was good for half


I'm genuinely confused by this thread. It's not like he's even played much in the last month and I definitely haven't seen him play poorly.

It was pretty unlikely that he'd continue to score more or less every game - the one-on-one vs West Ham was literally the first time a keeper had saved a Mousset shot in his United career, he was 5 goals from 5 shots on target before that. So there's a bit of drop-off from those goalscoring levels, but I still think he's been basically fine in fairly limited minutes - from Boxing Day on he's played 289 minutes, so just over 3 full games - half of those minutes were against the best two teams in the country.

He was excellent against City I thought - I know he missed those chances, but no one else in our team would've got to most of those chances in the first place (including the one that got VAR'd out). Liverpool he just didn't get a touch as they starved us of possession. Watford he had a cameo and created what should have been a winner for Fleck. West Ham he had half an hour and got into a one-on-one situation. Yesterday he had a decent start but we just couldn't get him the ball after about 20 minutes (9 touches for the rest of the time he was on the pitch).

We're not a high volume team in terms of creating/taking shots (17th in the league for shots per game) so there'll definitely be spells where individuals just don't score for 4-5 games purely because we don't create too much for them or they're under instruction not to shoot on sight. Haven't seen much that concerns me with Mousset yet and hope he's good to start against City.

Nerdy stat corner, he has the highest expected goals + expected assists per 90 minutes of anyone on our team who's played serious minutes (Sharp is higher but has only played 311 mins). That stat basically measures how involved a player is in creating chances and getting on the end of them. For context, Mousset's rank is 11th highest in the league and every other player above him plays for City, Liverpool or Chelsea.

 

[PokerBlade]

It was pretty unlikely that he'd continue to score more or less every game - the one-on-one vs West Ham was literally the first time a keeper had saved a Mousset shot in his United career, he was 5 goals from 5 shots on target before that. So there's a bit of drop-off from those goalscoring levels, but I still think he's been basically fine in fairly limited minutes - from Boxing Day on he's played 289 minutes, so just over 3 full games - half of those minutes were against the best two teams in the country.

He was excellent against City I thought - I know he missed those chances, but no one else in our team would've got to most of those chances in the first place (including the one that got VAR'd out). Liverpool he just didn't get a touch as they starved us of possession. Watford he had a cameo and created what should have been a winner for Fleck. West Ham he had half an hour and got into a one-on-one situation. Yesterday he had a decent start but we just couldn't get him the ball after about 20 minutes (9 touches for the rest of the time he was on the pitch).

We're not a high volume team in terms of creating/taking shots (17th in the league for shots per game) so there'll definitely be spells where individuals just don't score for 4-5 games purely because we don't create too much for them or they're under instruction not to shoot on sight. Haven't seen much that concerns me with Mousset yet and hope he's good to start against City.

Nerdy stat corner, he has the highest expected goals + expected assists per 90 minutes of anyone on our team who's played serious minutes (Sharp is higher but has only played 311 mins). That stat basically measures how involved a player is in creating chances and getting on the end of them. For context, Mousset's rank is 11th highest in the league and every other player above him plays for City, Liverpool or Chelsea.

Only part I'd question is whether we'll go long without scoring. I think last season we had a relatively low shots per game given, especially given our league position, but it largely comes from a tactical choice of creating high % opportunities over shots from range and such. Hence why people were always getting frustrated by us not putting in early crosses and choosing an extra pass.

 

[Beans]

Only part I'd question is whether we'll go long without scoring. I think last season we had a relatively low shots per game given, especially given our league position, but it largely comes from a tactical choice of creating high % opportunities over shots from range and such. Hence why people were always getting frustrated by us not putting in early crosses and choosing an extra pass.

I don't think we will go long without scoring, just that individuals might (and have - Mousset now, McBurnie before, Lundstram now) purely due to a lack of volume of shots/chances and the fact no striker takes every single chance. Not exactly a bold take, admittedly - more that it's not really anything to worry about at this stage, IMO.

Apologies if I've misunderstood your reply.

 

[itsinyerblood]

Whatever lies at the root of Mousset's current problems, he's been one of this season's undoubted successes for the Blades. Don't forget, before signing for the Blades he hadn't played much football in his time under Eddie Howe, so the fact that he's gradually beginning to establish himself is testament to the fella. Of course he's got so much to learn, but we have superb teachers at this club, and if he pays attention Moose will improve in ways that enable him to compete against the very best.

The home game against Man Utd showed just how effective Mousset can be. His speed, his aggression, his willingness to put in the hard yards and beginning our defending from the front, this lad's a potentially great player and for what Wilder paid for him we have a 'steal' in our squad. The key is to be found on the hours he spends on the training ground, both in getting fitter and in what he needs to do to improve his game, and no doubt Knill and his colleagues will be hard at work ensuring that no stone is unturned in achieving that.

 

[Yoonited]

His standards have slipped in the last month. Ball control, aggression, finishing, alertness, all round sharpness.... he just hasn't been the same.

I know he's had a difficult time personally. Maybe that explains a lot.

But I hope he hasn't become complacent, thinking he's 'made it'. Because given his attributes, he shouldn't have even got started yet.

I hope it doesn't take a run of games on the bench to give him a kick up the arse but if he doesn't improve that's what might be needed.

And I wish he'd learn to head the ball, FFS. Would've had goals today and at Man City if he could.

Can be a top player if he switches on.

Do you get a kick up the arse when you aren't performing to your maximum ability at work? Or have you perfected your job and are flawless mate

 

[Niceguyeddie]

The header he missed ( the second one ) looked onside to me and was a great chance

 

[wizadry]

The header he missed ( the second one ) looked onside to me and was a great chance

I have tried telling this to a lot of people but they’re having none of it, he should’ve also scored it. I don’t know how he managed to head it that poorly, something he needs to train very hard to improve on.

 

[Carlton Blade]

He's inconsistent. That's why we got him for that price. The only time I saw him be really poor was Villa at home. Apart from that, sometimes he's great, sometimes he looks a bit lost.

Hasnt started 60 league games yet, I think he'll get there

 

[Cerberus Blade]

His standards have slipped in the last month. Ball control, aggression, finishing, alertness, all round sharpness.... he just hasn't been the same.

I know he's had a difficult time personally. Maybe that explains a lot.

But I hope he hasn't become complacent, thinking he's 'made it'. Because given his attributes, he shouldn't have even got started yet.

I hope it doesn't take a run of games on the bench to give him a kick up the arse but if he doesn't improve that's what might be needed.

And I wish he'd learn to head the ball, FFS. Would've had goals today and at Man City if he could.

Can be a top player if he switches on.

The only thing that concerns me about Mousset is how his hair comes down to a sharp point at the back. This is what us kids used to call an “arrowroot” and it’s really not a good look and no kid who ever made our school first XI ever had one. FACT!

 

[biggey blade]

The header he missed ( the second one ) looked onside to me and was a great chance

He looked onside to me as well as soon as I saw it I said he was onside and still watched it back and it definently looked onside. Also on the Match of the day the commentator on the game also said he was onside. Was a really bad header just seemed to get straight under it and poke it straight up in the air they need to be on target at the very least he needs to work on his heading ability the strength and height is there he just needs to work on the timing and the execution and fingers crossed he starts putting them away.

 

[true99blade]

Even though he’s been off it slightly recently, he offers so much more than Callum Robinson.

 

[corner_flag]

Mousset's USP is explosive bursts of speed. In an explosion the fuel gets used up pretty quick. You've got to choose - do you want explosive acceleration or staying power?

I heard Usain Bolt say he had never run further than 600m. But you want Mousse to run Olympic sprints for 90 mins?

I'd prefer 22 minutes of sheer power

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Even though he’s been off it slightly recently, he offers so much more than Callum Robinson.

Robinson isn't a striker, he's now a no.10

 

[Cerberus Blade]

Robinson isn't a striker, he's now a no.10

Based on 20 minutes yesterday? He's nowhere near a number 10, if we are considering a number 10 as the creative play-maker in a team, which is what I see it as.

A number 10 is a player like Duffy was for us, or like McGoldrick is for us (which is why he's not a striker). Or going back in time, like TC was for us. Someone who can pull the strings, create openings out of nothing, link midfield with attack. I think you're getting a bit carried away with a 20 minute cameo yesterday. I've seen nothing from the lad that suggests he's got that sort of creativity about him. I know you want to be first to predict it, but I think it's very premature and based on little or no evidence. To go further, I think he'll be out of here next summer.

 

[Cheesebored]

I'd prefer 22 minutes of sheer power

Have you told him yet?

 

[Crabstick]

Roy Keane once wisely said, "Give him time".

In the case of our Moose, I think Roy might be on to something.

 

[bongleblade]

the initial emotions from bereavement process takes around 3 months to pass on average, can take upto 6 months or longer in some cases, i would imagine he will be back to best in march/april again

 

[Tongeincheek]

Mousset contribution:
-forced equaliser vs Chelsea: 1 point
-secured all three points at Everton: 3 points
-scored only goal vs Arsenal: 3 points
-volleyed equaliser vs West Ham: 1 point
-set up all three goals at Burnley: 3 points
-set 1 up and scored arguably our best goal of the season so far against Man U: 1 point
-Cruyff turned a ball out of the fucking air and slotted it in against Wolves: 1 point

Then unfortunately came the first of his two bereavements...

But, thats 13 points this majestic French wizard has gotten us/helped us to - in fairly limited game time.
I agree with a few others on here that after a full season of being CWAK’ed he’ll look an absolute world-beater.