Was he injured or just not selected? Silva did seem to talk to him during the friendliess more than with anyone else.. Silva not think he is quite ready?
He was pretty anonymous against Real Sociedad, but I'm sure his time will come. Cleverly isn't suited to what we now have to call the number 10 role (which certainly isn't Success's), but his chasing and harrying on Saturday was a perfect example of Klopp's beloved Gegenpressing. We've got a strong group of midfielders now, and I suspect there will be a fair amount of rotation.
How did this lad play on Saturday? According to the Hertfordshire Merc, Silva effectively said he only came on as there were literally no other options! Quite a fall from grace for someone I and others had high hopes for. I'd have thought he needs to be looking to get some game time before January or we could see him making a loan move back to the Championship
Hardy got any time to impress but one or two good balls - one where Gray had a snap shot from. Clearly Silva isn't a fan of Hughes though.
If Silva wasn't a fan of Hughes then he'd be getting the Okaka treatment. Silva has already said he was too slow on the ball in pre-season so if he works at that then he'll get his chance. It hasn't helped him that Cleverley has been turning in brilliant performances this season. Also, I didn't take Silva's comments on Saturday to mean that Hughes was only on because we had nobody else. I think he meant we had to try something different because we were out of wide options so Hughes was stuck out there. Ideally I'm sure Silva would have preferred to have used him in Capoue's role if the game played out differently. His comments are more of a slap in the face for Janmaat surely!
Wasn't on very long, was out of position and didn't get the ball that much. Still created our best chance of the game though with a clever cushioned touch to Gray.
Just seems to me that Clev/Chalobah/Doucoure are the types of players to run themselves into the ground, both with the ball and without. Chasing down etc etc. If they tire, depending on the score line, Silva likely see’s Watson and Capoue as more direct replacements. Hughes to me comes across as slightly different, more attacking. Can only see him getting decent game time, if or when the formation changes.
Hi Jim Tim again. My sources are indicating that Hughes may be offered a chance to go out on loan in January. I am wondering if you have heard this as well. Looking forward to your reply. Tim
I wouldn't mind seeing Hughes in the same role as Pereyra. Without Pereyra and Chalobah, we are lacking creativity and teams know that we are going to go wide. If we're winning and want to hold on to a lead, we could take off Hughes and play Janmaat and Femenia together.
Thought he did well yesterday . Has the technique required to play in compressed space around the box , which is requirement for all Silvas attack minded players. If I had to criticise he's a bit of a 'neat and tidy ' Jurado type player, which is kind of backed up by his poor goal and assists ratio to game played in Championship. However he's young so no reason he can't work on this like Doucoure has. He's so much more suited to Silvas fast passing and transition based tactics than Capoue who generally passes backwards or sideways and takes an age to do even that.
Yep, he did well - much better than I was expecting if I'm honest. I was preparing to boo the **** out of him, but there was no need at all. Hopefully the nature of the defeat wont shatter his confidence - I dont think it will. And despite being a big Capoue fan, I can see that he has no place in silvas teams. Therefore hughes is my go-to back up midfielder.
Even then, he did more effective play than Jurado when it comes to pushing forward and involving himself in the game. He can put a foot when needed and carry it. His only criticism is what you've highlighted; he very rarely shoots when in a good position.
Mazzarri was correctly criticised for his misuse of Doucoure. Does Silva deserve some for not utilising Hughes? He looks made for this level.
It took Mazzarri far longer to be fair. Agreed though, Hughes was excellent yesterday. Controlled the game. I love Cleverley but a midfield 3 of Doucoure Chalobah and Hughes would be a joy to watch. Pereyra and Richarlison on the wings. Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
Our side was calling out for someone like Doucoure though. It's easy to see why Hughes has missed out with Pererya and Cleverley ahead of him.
I can see why Cleverley was used for games against big sides, and he’s been brilliant. BUT, Hughes looks perfect for that number 10 role, whereas Clevz doesn’t really have that creative streak imo
I think he's done some work with Hughes behind the scenes changing his style of play a bit. He seemed very willing to through himself around yesterday which surprised me as I as always considered him a bit of a luxury player. Either way fair play to him for breaking through and giving such impressive performances.
One of the nice things about being a (getting well-established) PL side with a good squad. You can sign such a player and not feel you have to immediately throw him into the first team, instead allowing him to find his feet and develop.
who do you drop for hughes though? He was brill on sunday, but I just cant see a place for him in our first eleven (obviously this is a nice problem to have!) He cant possibly be picked ahead of our argentinian rolls royce can he? It is unthinkable that Richarlison/Doucoure could be dropped and cleverley hasnt put a foot wrong. The situation is compounded further when chalobah comes back. Dropping gray and throwing richarlison up top is a possibly answer. He is our weakest link by a million miles, but I am not sure richarlison would shine up front. It's a tricky one for sure.
He definitely deserves criticism for thinking that Capoue was a better option than Hughes in the central attacking midfielder role in the Stoke game.
