Boubakary Soumare

[KingsX]

The issue for me isn't so much his overall performance, as that we are not seeing anything pointing toward improvement.  Even though the player himself has stated an understanding of what he needs to improve.

 

He's almost got to play against PSV, with Mendy not in the squad and two games most weeks to the end of the season?  Grab that last, best chance lad. 

[Guest Chocolate Teapot]

11 minutes ago, Collymore said:

Not the same player I saw confidentiality strutting his stuff at Burton in the preseason friendly. 

Did you have to sign a non disclosure form?

[Ric Flair]

7 hours ago, SemperEadem said:

I know his fee was not his doing but wow we hugely overspent on this one.

And yet if it wasn't for his contract being up in a year we'd have paid a considerable amount more. Newcastle had a bid double what we paid for rejected/Soumare rejected them only a year or so earlier.

 

He might not work out here abut at £17m we ought to recoup over half if not most of it back in France.

[ARTY_FOX]

1 hour ago, murphy said:

The way I see it, we are entitled to criticise a player that is failing to perform, so long as we are prepared to give him the credit due, should he turn it around.

 

It is true that he is a young kid making a change into a foreign league but it is also true that he has over 150 appearances under his belt, he is a Ligue 1 title winner and came with a reputation, a hefty price tag and no doubt, huge wages.  We are perfectly entitled to expect more.

 

If he turns it around in season two, great.  I will be more than happy to give the necessary acclaim, but right now, we can only say it as we see it.  This is a football forum and it exists in the present.  It would be pretty quiet around here if we are forever having to reserve judgement until some arbitrary time in the future.

 

I'm not saying people aren't allowed to pass judgement. What I'm saying is some are judging way to quickly and way to harshly and won't let it go. Even after performances that weren't bad people were jumping in this thread to say how awful he is. Some have made up their mind and nothing the bloke can or will do will change it any time soon. 

[sacreblueits442]

5 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

And yet if it wasn't for his contract being up in a year we'd have paid a considerable amount more. Newcastle had a bid double what we paid for rejected/Soumare rejected them only a year or so earlier.

 

He might not work out here abut at £17m we ought to recoup over half if not most of it back in France.

.....the injury to Wilf has opened up an opportunity for Soumare once again, where he has the chance to play as a DM alongside Tielemans or KDH in Europe!!!

Let us see if with the game infront of him, as opposed to be running back and trying to support the forwards, he will be much better with his on field decisions.

[SouthStandUpperTier]

1 hour ago, mozartfox said:

Ffs  - People should get off Soumare´s back. There are some on FT that love crucifying young players. It stinks - in my opinion.

Calm down. I seriously doubt Bouba spends his spare time Google Translating FoxesTalk into French before crying into his croissant because we're all such meanie-weanies.

[Spudulike]

1 hour ago, Phenom said:

It’s difficult for players to be consistent when they’re not playing consistently. Way too early to judge Soumare.

There's a reason why he's not playing consistantly and we saw that yesterday. The team cannot afford passengers. Top level professional football is a harsh business with little sentiment. He knows what is needed and has to produce if he wants to remain a Premier League player. Fortunately for him, he still has that chance. I think we all hope he takes it. 

[Ric Flair]

1 minute ago, sacreblueits442 said:

.....the injury to Wilf has opened up an opportunity for Soumare once again, where he has the chance to play as a DM alongside Tielemans or KDH in Europe!!!

Let us see if with the game infront of him, as opposed to be running back and trying to support the forwards, he will be much better with his on field decisions.

Yeah, opportunities have to present themselves to players to grasp and take. Everyone crying over Mendy not being available, he has been out in the wilderness about 10 times and come back and made varying degrees of an impact with some of them being very decent. Nothing stopping Soumare doing so, still very early days to write him off but he needs to try and keep some self belief and then step up to the plate.

[Guest Col city fan]

6 hours ago, An Away Move said:

I really like him and think he could become a brilliant player. At the moment though he looks off it and a bit lackadaisical. I can’t tell if it physical or mental. He could do with an injection of Vardy’s aggression. Then he’d be a beast! 

What are you basing this on?

Brilliant player? Why?

Or is this just more hyperbole?

[filbertway]

1 hour ago, sacreblueits442 said:

...if physicality is the issue, it does not excuse lack of awareness and application on the pitch!!!

  Why would he be unfit, getting up to speed (moving the ball quicker, not getting caught on the ball and tracking back) are things that he maybe struggling with, but him allowing the game to pass him by, is a strange way to endear yourself to the club and supporters. 

Well there's being fit and then being so fit that you dominate in the middle.

 

Hes clearly gonna have basic fitness but compare him to KDH and its chalk and cheese.

 

Hes a young lad adapting to a faster league, doesn't mean he will improve. There's scope for him to improve though and good enough reasons as to why he is finding his first season a struggle.

 

If we don't see improvements in the first half of next season, then id be looking to shift him on as his attitude clearly wouldn't be right.

[An Sionnach]

The definition of young on here creeps ever upward, I suppose this is what happens when your main man is 35 . Soumare and KDH  are 23 and should be approaching their prime at 25 or 6. Vardy was a massive exception to the rule. In general if you are not at the top of your game by 25 you never will be. KDH is going to be a formidable player by the time he is 25 , you just know it. Soumare should stop making excuses for himself and shape up quick. He certainly can do it but the clock is ticking.

[sacreblueits442]

4 minutes ago, filbertway said:

Well there's being fit and then being so fit that you dominate in the middle.

 

Hes clearly gonna have basic fitness but compare him to KDH and its chalk and cheese.

 

Hes a young lad adapting to a faster league, doesn't mean he will improve. There's scope for him to improve though and good enough reasons as to why he is finding his first season a struggle.

 

If we don't see improvements in the first half of next season, then id be looking to shift him on as his attitude clearly wouldn't be right.

...you would believe from the way he plays that his level would have been akin to KDH and in pre-season he would have judged if he was not hitting certain levels!!!

The problems as another poster has said, we see no improvement, and surely if it was just physicality, then the other parts of his game would be apparent and we would be able to read what he is trying to achieve, and make allowances for any failure.

  When words like lazy are banded about, you know that a player is not giving his all and unlike Under who was judged to be unsuitable for this team, at least he tried to affect games, even if it was simply to highlight himself. 

[An Away Move]

37 minutes ago, Col city fan said:

What are you basing this on?

Brilliant player? Why?

Or is this just more hyperbole?

There was a time when we were a bit lightweight and missing physical presence in midfield. I saw exactly what we were missing in The Charity Shield match in which Soumare played really well. His level has gone down since then. I still believe he could come good. I hope he does. It could go the other way which would be a great shame. 

[An Sionnach]

1 hour ago, An Away Move said:

There was a time when we were a bit lightweight and missing physical presence in midfield. I saw exactly what we were missing in The Charity Shield match in which Soumare played really well. His level has gone down since then. I still believe he could come good. I hope he does. It could go the other way which would be a great shame. 

I think the meat and potatoes approach of KDH has shown some of the others that its no use playing pretty football if you are going to get steamrolled. Even Maddison is putting his boney frame about a bit more now. The physical side of our team is getting better and that is good news. Soumare is a big guy and you have to use all your advantages.

[Claridge]

3 hours ago, mozartfox said:

Ffs  - People should get off Soumare´s back. There are some on FT that love crucifying young players. It stinks - in my opinion.

They should definitely get off his back when he is playing. Mind you it might explain why he is so slow and lethargic.

[sacreblueits442]

1 hour ago, An Away Move said:

There was a time when we were a bit lightweight and missing physical presence in midfield. I saw exactly what we were missing in The Charity Shield match in which Soumare played really well. His level has gone down since then. I still believe he could come good. I hope he does. It could go the other way which would be a great shame. 

....the timing of acquiring Soumare and the emergence of KDH has caused a situation that would not have materialised had KDH come through earlier!!!

We would not have been looking for a player like Soumare and it would have been more on the Tielemans spectrum instead.

[dynamark]

Looks half asleep and then wakes up .There is a player on there just need to get it out

[volpeazzurro]

6 hours ago, murphy said:

The way I see it, we are entitled to criticise a player that is failing to perform, so long as we are prepared to give him the credit due, should he turn it around.

 

It is true that he is a young kid making a change into a foreign league but it is also true that he has over 150 appearances under his belt, he is a Ligue 1 title winner and came with a reputation, a hefty price tag and no doubt, huge wages.  We are perfectly entitled to expect more.

 

If he turns it around in season two, great.  I will be more than happy to give the necessary acclaim, but right now, we can only say it as we see it.  This is a football forum and it exists in the present.  It would be pretty quiet around here if we are forever having to reserve judgement until some arbitrary time in the future.

 

True, but is there another possibility?

He was clearly used regularly and valued highly by his last club. Not only that, he was valued highly enough by those connected to the French national team to play him in every age group over the past few years. 

 

When excelling at his last title winning club, what role was he being asked to perform in midfield?

 

Now at Leicester, notwithstanding the obvious need to adapt to the pace and physicality of the Premiership compared to France, in tandem with adjusting to a new culture and country as a young man, how, compared with his aforementioned role in France, is our manager trying to utilise him now? Are they the same roles or, on top of the other adjustments he's having to take on board,  is he having to adjust to a new role also? If the latter, why not just buy a player suitable for the role required? What pre-existing evidence was there to suggest he'd be successful in a new role?

[Guest SO1]

4 hours ago, An Sionnach said:

I think the meat and potatoes approach of KDH has shown some of the others that its no use playing pretty football if you are going to get steamrolled. Even Maddison is putting his boney frame about a bit more now. The physical side of our team is getting better and that is good news. Soumare is a big guy and you have to use all your advantages.

That's a good shout about Maddison. Was going to say the same in his thread just now but didn't want to be negative when he's clearly doing so well as a result of his hard work and god given talent.

Soumare should take heed as I'm sure Rodgers and the coaching staff work with him very hard going over match tapes and such. Considering the improvement of Amartey into a improving center defender its not like we don't have the resources and knowledge at his disposal. It's up to him to apply himself.

Its a relentless game at this level. I hope he has the tools to play it.

[Guest SO1]

52 minutes ago, volpeazzurro said:

True, but is there another possibility?

He was clearly used regularly and valued highly by his last club. Not only that, he was valued highly enough by those connected to the French national team to play him in every age group over the past few years. 

 

When excelling at his last title winning club, what role was he being asked to perform in midfield?

 

Now at Leicester, notwithstanding the obvious need to adapt to the pace and physicality of the Premiership compared to France, in tandem with adjusting to a new culture and country as a young man, how, compared with his aforementioned role in France, is our manager trying to utilise him now? Are they the same roles or, on top of the other adjustments he's having to take on board,  is he having to adjust to a new role also? If the latter, why not just buy a player suitable for the role required? What pre-existing evidence was there to suggest he'd be successful in a new role?

I suspect that he is a Rodgers project and that he is being asked to make changes. It could be that we can't afford the caliber of player or find one that fits into the mold of what Rodgers wants. I'll leave the grist for the mill to you.

[Lesta2014]

Remember Rogers mentioned the amount of touches he takes, for someone used to have lots in France to only getting one or two because of the pace of game is a big adjustment. He wants him to move the ball quicker in less touches but he hasn’t done that yet.

 

looked a beast pre season and in community shield holding players off. Maybe his a confidence player who needs a run of games to get going? Give him time I think he comes good still. 

[sacreblueits442]

12 minutes ago, Lesta2014 said:

Remember Rogers mentioned the amount of touches he takes, for someone used to have lots in France to only getting one or two because of the pace of game is a big adjustment. He wants him to move the ball quicker in less touches but he hasn’t done that yet.

 

looked a beast pre season and in community shield holding players off. Maybe his a confidence player who needs a run of games to get going? Give him time I think he comes good still. 

....strange that Rodgers wants him to take less touches on the ball as his game is very much winning or picking the ball up from the defence and transitioning the play up the field by himself or with support!!!

  If his game is to play in a certain way, why breakdown his game into something he doesn't do. Rodgers has done this with Ndidi, and he now struggles with his own game. Mendy goes to play for Senegal and comes back a more progressive game player, Amartey goes to AfCON and excels as a CB and comes back and played as a Right Back. Injuries and desperation sees him lining up as a CB and he can hold his own. You start to question what Rodgers sees and why he fails to recognise players strengths.

[Vardinio'sCat]

Too big for box to box imho, at least Wilf's absence might give him some opportunities in an easier position for him.

[volpeazzurro]

13 hours ago, SO1 said:

I suspect that he is a Rodgers project and that he is being asked to make changes. It could be that we can't afford the caliber of player or find one that fits into the mold of what Rodgers wants. I'll leave the grist for the mill to you.

I think you're right. Therefore I think as a young player, all circumstances considered, he needs to be afforded a little more slack by some people. It's a hell of a lot for him to take in and unreasonable to expect instant performance. 

[sacreblueits442]

18 minutes ago, volpeazzurro said:

I think you're right. Therefore I think as a young player, all circumstances considered, he needs to be afforded a little more slack by some people. It's a hell of a lot for him to take in and unreasonable to expect instant performance. 

...there is a certain level of application that you would expect to see, even with a player nowhere near at the top of their game!!!