Say What? – Gameweek 32

We round up some of the key quotes from the Gameweek gone by this afternoon. Yannick Bolasie discusses his new central role, Brendan Rodgers explains Philippe Coutinho’s change of position, Mauricio Pochettino criticises Tottenham’s lack of battle and Garry Monk is unconcerned over Gylfi Sigurdsson’s lack of goals and assists as a result of Swansea’s new system.

Bolasie relishing No. 10 role..

Yannick Bolasie quadruped his goal haul for the campaign courtesy of an 11-minute hat-trick over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. In a ploy to increase the DR Congo winger’s attacking threat, Crystal Palace head coach Alan Pardew fielded Bolasie in “the hole” behind lone striker Glenn Murray, with Jason Puncheon shifting out to the left flank in a 4-2-3-1 formation. After racking up an incredible 24-point haul, Bolasie thanked Pardew with affording him the opportunity to operate in a central role:

“The gaffer has been onto me about getting goals so I got some for him and credit to him for putting me in the position he put me in today. He changed the tactics and had me in a number 10 role behind Muzza and everyone has seen why he’s put me there. Playing off Glenn I knew chances would come, and we’ve got a lot of quality in the middle with Punch, Mile and Wilf so I think today was a great team performance and to top it off with my goals was great. Everyone’s braver since the manager came in, he’s fired everyone up and given us plenty of confidence, and since I’ve come back from the Africa Nations Cup it’s been a pleasure to play for him. We’re a group that works hard and we all know that we won’t be slacking between the end of the season.”

Rodgers on fielding Coutinho as a false nine…

In light of Daniel Sturridge’s fresh injury setback, Brendan Rodgers elected to experiment with Philippe Coutinho as a false nine for Monday’s visit of Newcastle, with wingers Raheem Sterling and Jordon Ibe free to exploit the space in behind Newcastle United’s centre-backs. Rodgers wanted the Brazilian playmaker to orchestrate the match for the Reds, which seemed to transpire, given only four midfielders executed more successful passes in the opponent’s half (42) than Coutinho in Gameweek 32. As the Reds edge towards a double Gameweek 34, Rodgers commended Coutinho’s display through the centre after a recent tactical tweak saw Liverpool switch from 3-4-2-1- to 4-3-3:

“I played him in that role just in front of the centre-halves, thinking that we could exploit the space in between their midfield and the centre-halves and create space for players to make runs in behind. I thought he was sensational. He was a kid that always had the ability, but he’s become stronger, become more tactically aware and I think you see him now really orchestrating the game for us. It was an outstanding performance, he looked very fit and strong, and he’s had a wonderful season.”

Pochettino bemoans lack of fight…

Tottenham Hotspur’s slim hopes of securing Champions League football next term have all but dissipated following two insipid performances against Burnley and Aston Villa that yielded just one point combined. The North London outfit have engineered just one big chance and five shots on target in the last two Gameweeks and have failed to score in three of their last four, with Harry Kane’s captaincy prospects taking a real turn for the worse. Manager Mauricio Pochettino concedes that his side haven’t played with the same sort of commitment as opponents in recent matches and admits that his players need to find another gear in their upcoming fixtures if they are to improve:

“Maybe there was a lack of intensity in the first half, we increased that in the second half but it wasn’t enough. When you play a team like Aston Villa or Burnley, they play for survival, they increase their levels and are more aggressive. You need to match that aggression and maybe we were one step behind. In the last two games it’s been difficult for us, we haven’t scored and we need to push hard and to increase our performance.”

Hughes lauds Arnautovic’s display..

Marko Arnautovic twice had a goal disallowed before sealing a late point for Stoke in their 1-1 draw against West Ham United. The Austrian winger’s driven effort into the bottom corner was his first goal of the campaign, having failed to net in 1314 minutes prior to the Hammers clash. With Victor Moses likely to remain on the sidelines for the rest of the season due to a hamstring injury, Arnautovic could be poised to cement a role on the flank for the run-in, Potters boss Mark Hughes hopeful the Vienna native can continue his form over the remaining match-ups:

“He really had to give us that attacking threat that we know he can produce and I thought he did just that. I thought he was a constant worry all day to the West Ham backline and he worked exceptionally hard for the team. When he puts in performances like that, then we know what talent he really has and just how effective he can be. The key for Marko now is to keep that consistency and keep performing to those levels for the rest of the season.”

Baines cites Lennon’s work ethic as key to Toffees turnaround..

Aaron Lennon has made a big impact for Everton in the last four Gameweeks, chipping in with two goals and assist in a run that has seen his side drop just two points. Although the wide man’s exploits in the final third have impressed, team-mate Leighton Baines reckons his tireless work ethic has been the catalyst to an about-turn in fortunes as the Toffees prepare for four home matches in the final six rounds of fixtures:

“It’s clear for all to see. Before Saturday, his work-rate had, in some respects, been the catalyst for us to get the results. We haven’t played great but if you think about the games with Newcastle or QPR and the amount of times you see him tracking back and nicking the ball off people and doing that work, it makes a massive difference. It starts to embarrass people into doing it as well. If you’re not doing it and someone, who is not only giving you loads at the top end of the field but is also coming back and doing that, it embarrasses people into doing that.”

Dyche counsels balance in search of goals…

Burnley’s finishing has left a lot to be desired in recent Gameweeks, with the Lancashire club netting just one goal in six matches. During the same stretch, no Premier League outfit has carved out fewer big chances (four) than the Clarets, demonstrating a dearth of quality service up to the likes of top scorer Danny Ings. Manager Sean Dyche is pleased with how his side’s defence have stifled opposing attacks of late – only conceding three goals in four – but is now searching for a little more offensive flair.

“It was an awful goal, but other than that we defended well and limited them to breakaway chances, rather than them building, which they normally do. We’ve been very good lately in keeping the back door shut, and now it’s about that balance between the two. We’ve shown this season that we can score goals. We’ve got to bring that on thick and fast, we know that. There’s six big games coming.”

Koeman critical of Mane following spot-kick incident…

James Ward-Prowse converted a penalty to give Southampton a 1-0 lead in the 56^th minute of their clash against Hull City – but not before Saints boss Ronald Koeman had to intervene and prevent winger Sadio Mane from taking the spot-kick. The Dutchman took umbrage to the fact that Mane tried to take control of the situation when Ward-Prowse was second in the hierarchy of penalty takers behind the benched Dusan Tadic. Speaking on the incident, Koeman was openly critical of the Senegal international, only weeks after dropping him for arriving late for the Gameweek 26 showdown against Liverpool:

“I was surprised he (Ward-Prowse) accepted that Sadio took the ball because he is the number one and Tadic was one of the two penalty takers and Schneiderlin is one of the two or three penalty takers. I had to shout to Jose to change that because it looks that Sadio take the penalty and Prowsey accepts that and I don’t understand that, because he knows the first choice. That’s the problem about Mane. The rules in the team are more important and nothing else. Already I had one word to him but we will talk in the team about that because maybe I have to mention a bit more clear to the players.”

Monk unconcerned over Sigurdsson’s lack of output..

Since Gylfi Sigurdsson returned from injury for Swansea City’s 2-1 victory over Manchester United, the Iceland international has shifted from the No. 10 role to operating at the tip of a midfield diamond behind a front two. These six fixtures have been less productive for Sigurdsson than the season as a whole, yielding just one goal and an assist. Despite admitting that the ex-Tottenham midfielder’s new role reduces his potential for attacking returns, Garry Monk insists he’s more than happy with the recent change in set-up:

“He’s got two in front of him so he’s more of the supply, link man. When Gylfi plays with the one up front, the onus is on him to provide more of the attacking side of things like a second striker. Now he’s more of a midfielder again, but he’s still a threat, still very dangerous. He links very well, sets attacking play up really well and is showing how clever a player he is because he can adapt like that. I still think he’s in effective positions to do well and I think he’s shown that. Just because he might not have assisted as much or scored the goals some would expect of him does not mean he is not playing well. I don’t think he cares or anyone cares who does it as long as we are creating, scoring and playing good football, which we are. That’s the most important thing.”