Rasendori
Man Of Culture
- Joined
- May 30, 2016
- Messages
- 1,790
Marcus Edwards
He initially caught my interest with his impressive performances for Spurs and England at youth level.
This is taken from a post of mine in 2017
In this post I was proven to be incorrect when I predicted it was only a matter of time before Edwards was introduced in the starting berth for Spurs. Pochettino would reveal how he was disappointed by his attitude, and mentality. As illustrated below:
Marcus Edwards has admitted to having a questionable attitude -
However, it seems like going out of his comfort zone (currently plays in Portugal for Vitória S.C) has brought some much needed maturity.
One area which Marcus Edwards has matured in his game is his eagerness to receive the ball.
The above is from a game against Benfica this season.
Here he receives the ball by the touchline, and his immediate reaction is to pick out his teammates, as opposed to dribbling with his head down in an attempt to do it all by himself. This has been a criticism of him in the past. To digress for a brief moment, it was very recently when Daniel James received criticism for playing with tunnel vision against Man City, going for goal when Bruno Fernandes was in a better position.
I particularly liked this moment against Benfica. Nice vision here, tantalisingly close. It was put to a halt as the keeper came out. But the idea was good.
Before
Now against Porto, he once again has the ball up. This time its when he's moving at pace.
After
Perfect execution here as this defence splitting pass leads to one of the best opportunities in the game.
Marcus Edwards vs the big three in Portugal
Benfica:
It was an encounter where Vitória S.C. put in an admirable performances. Not a one sided affair by any stretches of the imagination. Without mentioning the instances of the pictures above, there was a moment of individual brilliance with a dribble in a tightly congested area. In terms of position, he was consistently situated in dangerous areas. Sometimes he was offering himself as an outlet by staying wide and providing width, other times he was finding himself in between Taarabt and Pires, other times positioned by the half spaces.
Porto:
So apart from the defence splitting pass which is in an image above, he had other noteworthy moments.The game against Porto offered a different dynamic to the one against Benfica, as Porto were very dominant. In any case, Edwards had a shot cleared off the line, with the keeper beaten. In the latter stages of the game he almost got a pre-assist,
Sporting CP:
• 5 of 7 dribbles completed
• 5 shot contributions
• 4 fouls won
• 1 goal
European Stage
Scored against Arsenal and Eintracht Frankfurt.
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There was another moment against Arsenal I liked .... a flee footed dribble which started from his own half and ended by him advancing to the opposing box at a very high pace.
Areas he can improve
Sometimes he can be a bit soft. There was a moment against Benfica where Taarabt barely touched him, and he was on the floor. He did win a free kick, but I felt it was soft myself. Additionally, he's one footed, I remember him shifting his body to do an outside of the boot pass with his dominant left footed, instead of the much simpler option with just using his right foot. In the dying stages of the game against Porto, he did a fantastic job of trapping the ball dead, beat a player from that standing position, and then he spoiled it by attempting another a dribble. A dribble which wasn't neccessary, even if it was successful. The moment needed a desperate shot, or a last ditch pass. On that note, I'd like to see him shoot more.
How difficult would it be to get him?
He has a £13.6 million release clause to my knowledge. Potentially great from his perspective too, as I spotted numerous occasions where he was let down by his teammates.
Ignores the run of Edwards, and squares it instead.
Edwards in space, full back turns around
Edwards free on the right, player dribbles to the left touchline and then gets dispossessed
Stats:
FWR (Forward right) - 4 goals and 1 assist in 7 appearances = 7.85 WhoScored rating
AMR (Attacking midfield right) - 1 goal and 2 assists in 3 appearances = 7.41 WhoScored rating
MR (Midfielder right) - 1 goal and 1 assist in 9 appearances = 6.90 WhoScored rating