Leo Bonatini

[Elephant Pyjamas]

And his finish v Boro was very composed too.

He just seemed to lash at it on Saturday.

 

[GLASGOWOLF]

The one from Jota's through ball? Not having that, he only just missed and he was running at pace when he hit it. A lot harder chance than it looked.

Nope not having that there was no composure, it was a snatched shot into the southbank, in that situation he could have hit it a fraction later when it was steadied, he had a wild swing

 

[Derby Wolf]

Nope not having that there was no composure, it was a snatched shot into the southbank, in that situation he could have hit it a fraction later when it was steadied, he had a wild swing

It hit the supporting post behind the goalposts rather than flying straight into the South Bank.

 

[YoungWolf]

Yeah I think people are being somewhat harsh about that shot personally, it wasn't THAT far off being a decent effort. He just hit it slightly late but you could see what he was going for, bit of an Aguero type finish that rise's into the near post side of keeper.

 

[Tony Towner]

I think the frustration at that shot came because of when it happened rather than the miss itself. For the first time in the game we seemed to building up a bit of a head of steam and that miss felt like we weren't going to break through.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

It hit the supporting post behind the goalposts rather than flying straight into the South Bank.

This - it missed by inches. It was a cracking effort, but that doesn't fit the agenda of a poster that wants Leo to fail as he isn't some 20 goal a season type.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

It was a fair way wide, let's be honest. Not a very good effort, he rushed it really if anything.

Nothing that the best strikers in the world don't do. Let alone a Championship striker who's working his way into the English game. If Bully got castigated for every miss like that then there'd be multiple threads about it after every single game.

He's scoring at about 1 in 3 and assisting slightly better than that. I expect that (injury permitting) to be around the ratios we'll end up getting from him come May. He's top drawer for what we need now.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Well, hitting the side support is hardly a wide of the extent of Harmison first up at the Gabba, shall we say...

I do agree with you about the 1 in 3 continuing, as long as fitness permits. So 15 a season, plus plenty of assists. That would be a very impressive return.

 

[Boozad]

It was a fair way wide, let's be honest. Not a very good effort, he rushed it really if anything.

Nothing that the best strikers in the world don't do. Let alone a Championship striker who's working his way into the English game. If Bully got castigated for every miss like that then there'd be multiple threads about it after every single game.

He's scoring at about 1 in 3 and assisting slightly better than that. I expect that (injury permitting) to be around the ratios we'll end up getting from him come May. He's top drawer for what we need now.

Agreed. It wasn't the best attempt but nowhere near as bad as made out above, a bit of a snatch but as you say, you'll get that from every striker in that situation.

His output really shouldn't be in question though, it's there in black and white for all to see, he's been involved in 7 goals in 9 games which is a massive improvement on last season's forwards. I know that doesn't fit the agenda of some people but that's just white noise, he's a quality player and his assist for the winner on Saturday was absolutely first rate.

 

[Dinowolf]

It's like I've said before, Bonatini is a quality player and some of his assists have been brilliant. However, when he has to take on the final part of a move that requires him to shoot rather than a tap-in, he is not clinical enough, IMO. He had to test the goalkeeper in that situation on Saturday and he failed miserably.

 

[Parkins left foot]

Any player that we can entice into the Championship is never going to be the complete deal or finished article - Leo is still a massive upgrade on what we were putting out last season

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

It's like I've said before, Bonatini is a quality player and some of his assists have been brilliant. However, when he has to take on the final part of a move that requires him to shoot rather than a tap-in, he is not clinical enough, IMO. He had to test the goalkeeper in that situation on Saturday and he failed miserably.

Miserably?

That is really harsh.

 

[slink]

It's like I've said before, Bonatini is a quality player and some of his assists have been brilliant. However, when he has to take on the final part of a move that requires him to shoot rather than a tap-in, he is not clinical enough, IMO. He had to test the goalkeeper in that situation on Saturday and he failed miserably.

If he had all that he has to his game plus the fact that he was more clinical then he wouldn't have been playing in a shit league last year and probably wouldn't be on loan to us. His work in the build up to attacks is outstanding and he is not playing as an orthodox striker does. He has an assist in the last 4 league games and 1 goal, i'll take that if someone else is scoring the goal which they are like Jota who has 5. If Leo was a fox in the box who wasn't asked to combine deep and was just stood in the box then fair play you could possibly criticse a little but he isn't.

To say he failed miserably is poor to be honest especially when that was the only chance he got all game.

 

[AndyWolves]

Our game would totally fall apart if we had someone who just operated in the box

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Yes - I think you are right Andy. Our style is not fox in the box. We want the fluid front three and everyone getting in on the act. So the "final touch" type isn't going to contribute a lot as he only wants the finish, and that isn't our style.

To have a finisher like that, who ALSO contributed, the hold-up play, the assists, the general runs, would cost us an absolute FORTUNE. And we would be trying to beat Real, Bayern, the Manchester Clubs, and Chelsea off the hand.

 

[slink]

Would also like to add that two players so far have contributed to 7 goals this season, Bobby Reid for Bristol City who has 6 goals and 1 assist and Leo who has 3 goals, 4 assists. Of the 14 players who have scored more than Leo, 8 of them have 0 assists and only 1 has 2 assists, the others have 1. Fans need to assess Leo in different ways than they would any striker we have had in the past.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Yep. As I said last night, we really haven't had this kind of striker before. Nathan Blake was the closest I could think of as he was no longer explosive off the shoulder and had adapted his game, but even he didn't really play like Leo. Never dropped that deep for a start.

 

[Del Woppio]

Tbh the way we play, the front three share the chances out pretty evenly, so expecting one to score 5-8 more than would be par for the other two - particularly if they're all looking at double figures for assists - is pretty prehistoric. Zomg the one in the middle should score the most!

What's *really* impressed me about Leo, is actually the scouting and decision making that chose a player that completely complements the system, because that won't have been easy at all. I doubt if more than 100 people in the UK had heard of him three months ago. And I certainly haven't seen a Championship forward that I'd want performing that role in the games I've seen this season

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Arrrr - you have it right there Del. I (like the entire fanbase) would have never heard of him when the deal was looking likely. Now I would hate the idea of him playing for anyone else.

Cheers Jorge. Definitely a tick in the box from me.

 

[Tony Towner]

As I said earlier in the thread we will score more goals with Leo in the side than a pre injured SEB would up front in the same system even though the latter would score more individually.