He’ll be really key in the Championship, so stick with him and get him right up to speed this season. Then hopefully after a much better pre season next summer he can hit the ground running and show some quality to try and get us to challenge for promotion/stop a second relegation (delete as appropriate).
Just love the way he trots about watching but doing chuff all - see Southampton's equaliser as prime example. Zero covering for Holebas or any desire whatsoever.
I think he'll see his contract with us out then retire. You can't be a professional footballer if you can't sprint or change direction, even at a lower level. How Quique saw him as a better option yesterday than Pereyra or Quina is beyond me, was like going down to ten men. His corner was a particular lowlight, was like a ten year old that can't get the ball off the ground.
He seemed to hurt his knee towards the end of the game as well. Hopefully it's ok and will do him good mentally knowing that he can get a knock on it and be fine. He looks like he's done a Deeney and bulked up too much. That, along with the whole knee issue, means he's not very mobile and people just run past him now. I'm trying to remember if he was always like this though, he's always had a sort of lazy style about his play. Not that he's not trying, just one of these players who look like they're just having a jog around the park.
Such a sad thing that another lad with so much natural talent has had his career ruined by injury, but that is a harsh fact in professional sport and we can't afford to be overly sentimental about it. Sadly we have to say thank you for the memories Nathaniel, let him go and move on.
It does appear that he cannot achieve the levels of mobility that are needed. Very sad but always possible in sport.
I can't for the life of me understand how, with all the monitoring and testing that they should be doing at the training ground, he is being passed as fit to be in the squad. He looks shot.
I think he'll be an asset in the Championship. We need to stick with him for now and give him some game time.
Shame we'll most likely not see him reach the levels he hit at the start of Silva's season. Himself and Doucoure looked brilliant in those first few games.
Another chitshow from him at the weekend. It's beyond belief that we are still persevering with him. I'm sure he's a lovely bloke but come on, it's just farcical now.
I don't want to completely write him off, but he's been very poor since coming back, and not just in a 'lack of confidence' kind of way. Like others have noted, he's not very mobile, and his first touch seems to have disappeared. I just don't understand how he's been getting the nod ahead of Quina this season. Quina has looked excellent pretty much every time he's played for us, and is surely the brighter prospect. He's more of an attacking player sure, but he's also played a holding role for us, buzzing about and breaking up play, and looked just as good.
I agree, I like Quina and I hope he gets a decent run with the next manager. He can't be worse than any of our midfield bar Doucoure and Capoue, and potentially better than all of them, in my view.
Why would he be an asset? He can’t change direction, can’t sprint and is nervous in the tackle despite a decent amount of action this season. He’s finished. Bringing him on is like electing to play with 10 men.
Maybe he means ‘asset’ in the same way as in spy movies. Could send him out on loan to an unwitting rival to sabotage them.
Quina must be absolute dung in training. There's just no other explanation. Remember when our reserve team looked just as good as our first team in the league Cup, and both comfortably could have held their own in the Premier league? Feels like a lifetime ago. How have things gone so wrong?
A distant while ago I was quite excited for the day to arrive when Capoue, Chalobah and Doucoure played together. Size and physicality alone would suggest they would be difficult opponents as a unit. Great to see it today. Chalobah's game is so much about his fitness and eagerness. When he was good for Silva he was like the big kid running around little kids. It has taken a long time for him to build that last few percents of fitness, but he is getting there. I'm not even sure he should keep Hughes or even Cleverley out of the team when they are ready to return, but it's a good problem to have.
At his best - I'm talking pre-injury - I think he's a much, much better player than Cleverley, who is bang average and getting past his prime. Hughes is hard to gauge because he's spent most of his career here being wasted out wide.
I'd agree, but I don't think he's quite there (where he was) yet. In time he could be and that's a great thought.
Is really starting to grow in confidence and fitness. I would stay with Chalobah even when Hughes comes back to fitness. We really do have a quality midfield.
Thought we'd never see him play this well again. Pearson deserves a lot of credit to get him to believe in himself and get back to his best.
It's clear Pearson rates Nate highly and will give him as much game time as possible...which is what he needs.
I thought he was gone,mentally and physically. Pleased to say I was wrong. Growing every game and so pleased for him. Nice to hear his song as he took a corner late on.
Have to agree with others I too thought he was not going to get back to the player he was, but recently he is looking as though he might just do that, though he is not quite there yet.
Of all the turn arounds under Pearson, seeing Chalobah rediscover his footballing ability is one the most enjoyable to witness. It was painful to see him so far off the pace, and clearly struggling to deal with the demons of not performing at the level with which you’d expect from him. Having had a run of games and a manager who clearly believes in him, it’s been a joy to see him grow in confidence, culminating in an absolutely excellent performance today. If he’s able to stay fit for the next couple of months, I’m fully confident that he’ll cement his place in the side and continue to improve.
Imagine being such an aching simpleton that you'd make a post like this. Just ***** LOL at some of our fans.