Mario Lemina - Official: Signs for Nice

[suewhistle]

No space in first tea, means player is unhappy. He would be content with rotation, but Juve are in a hunt of world-class midfielder, so this was the best option mutually

 

Thanks. I was going to reply in Italian, but then noticed you were in Lithuania. It's an interesting language but this is terrible, I don't even know the words for 'beer' and 'thank you' in Lithuanian!

[Surman4no7shirt]

Opinions are like ar5eholes. Everyone has one and they all stink.

 

The saying in Italian is even better - to smell, to feel and to hear is all the same verb - sentire.

 

Worth keeping in mind with Juve fans, the worst plastics on the planet,

[suewhistle]

Yep, Juve bars/clubs all over Italy. I used to tell people that term using the direct translation. One or two Toro fans were particularly pleased..:-)

[Ponty]

I was chatting to an Italian guy (am currently near Naples) during the Juve vs Lazio game last night and he was slightly dismissive of Lamina as a prospect, although he conceded that he hadn't had enough game time to really call his future. He was very enthusiastic about Gabbi, mind.

[Window Cleaner]

I see that Juve are buying Matuidi for about 18 million to replace Lemina, pity we couldn't get the Matuidi. Still I expect it's a question of salary rather than transfer fee.

[SuperSAINT]

I see that Juve are buying Matuidi for about 18 million to replace Lemina, pity we couldn't get the Matuidi. Still I expect it's a question of salary rather than transfer fee.

 

Interesting to see the sale going on at PSG for them to desperately claw some FFP monies back after the Neymar deal.

 

Surprised Prem sides aren't all over Grzegorz Krychowiak.

[Le Timmier]

I see that Juve are buying Matuidi for about 18 million to replace Lemina, pity we couldn't get the Matuidi. Still I expect it's a question of salary rather than transfer fee.

 

Do you? I expect it's because he's 30 years old

[Chris27687]

Do you? I expect it's because he's 30 years old

 

Errr, Blaise Matuidi would never be joining saints.

[Lighthouse]

I was chatting to an Italian guy (am currently near Naples) during the Juve vs Lazio game last night and he was slightly dismissive of Lamina as a prospect, although he conceded that he hadn't had enough game time to really call his future. He was very enthusiastic about Gabbi, mind.

 

F**k me, who dug you up?

[Patrick Bateman]

I was chatting to an Italian guy (am currently near Naples) during the Juve vs Lazio game last night and he was slightly dismissive of Lamina as a prospect, although he conceded that he hadn't had enough game time to really call his future. He was very enthusiastic about Gabbi, mind.

 

You're still around!!

[Le Timmier]

Errr, Blaise Matuidi would never be joining saints.

 

I couldn't agree more. What are you quoting me for?

[Chris27687]

Interesting to see the sale going on at PSG for them to desperately claw some FFP monies back after the Neymar deal.

 

Surprised Prem sides aren't all over Grzegorz Krychowiak.

 

I couldn't agree more. What are you quoting me for?

 

Not because he's 30 though. He's one of the best CM in the world.

 

I'm sure they would cut a nut sack off to attract a player of his quality.

[Le Timmier]

Not because he's 30 though. He's one of the best CM in the world.

 

I'm sure they would cut a nut sack off to attract a player of his quality.

 

And I'm sure they wouldn't. It's completely against the business model.

[SuperSAINT]

How did he do today?

 

Probably his 1st game for a while - Did he give a glimpse into what he might give us?

[Convict Colony]

How did he do today?

 

Probably his 1st game for a while - Did he give a glimpse into what he might give us?

 

yeah bro he good

[Saint_clark]

Thought he was poor in all honesty, passing in the first half was abysmal and we looked a lot more composed in the second half with Davis dropping back.

I have no doubt though that he will improve massively. I think him and Davis are too similar players to play in the same team though, trouble is Davis won't be dropped due to captaincy even though our best team probably features Lemina in DM and JWP on the right.

[SuperSAINT]

He has an almighty cut on his shin courtesy of Mark Noble according to Instagram.

[Wimborne_saint]

Lemina's shin after that noble tackle..

 

 

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[James]

Thought he was poor in all honesty, passing in the first half was abysmal and we looked a lot more composed in the second half with Davis dropping back.

I have no doubt though that he will improve massively. I think him and Davis are too similar players to play in the same team though, trouble is Davis won't be dropped due to captaincy even though our best team probably features Lemina in DM and JWP on the right.

 

Blimey, talk about harsh. Thought he looked very promising, good on the ball and the kind of physical player we need. A bit rusty for sure but "poor"? I don't think so.

[Saint_clark]

Blimey, talk about harsh. Thought he looked very promising, good on the ball and the kind of physical player we need. A bit rusty for sure but "poor"? I don't think so.

 

Maybe i'm focussing too much on the misplaced passes in the first half, but there were more than a few of them, and some of them straight out of play. It's in my nature to be critical.

[S-Clarke]

Looks like a player to me, has an edge to his game and isn't afraid to get stuck in. He will add a lot more dynamism to our midfield.

[Disco Stu]

Lemina's shin after that noble tackle..

 

 

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That's what shin pads are for.

[Saints foreva]

His passing seems quite poor. Think he found more West Ham players than Saints players. Hopefully that's just rust.

[Disco Stu]

Clearly needs a few games to get up to speed and form that chemistry with his team-mates but I very much liked his efforts trying to ping diagonals into the channels. It's another option for us going forward which is obviously a good thing. I'm sure we'll see him improve this season.

[S-Clarke]

His passing seems quite poor. Think he found more West Ham players than Saints players. Hopefully that's just rust.

 

It got better once he started playing it simpler and get to grips with the pitch, but yeah his first 15 mins were a bit wtf...! Read the game well and gets up and down the pitch pretty quickly.

[shurlock]

Some good moments, some poor moments. Largely kept things safe as the deepest midfielder. Rightly brought off after an hour as he looked knackered. Biggest plus was getting a game under his belt. Hopefully we see a bit more of him going forward in sunsequent weeks.

[tajjuk]

That is above the shinpad, all the pros where stupidly small ones.

 

He needs time, not many players instantly get used to the league and MP said he wasn't fully fit so expect more to come from him but the potential is there for him to be a beast I reckon.

[Give it to Ron]

His passing seems quite poor. Think he found more West Ham players than Saints players. Hopefully that's just rust.

Sorry thats rubbish first 10 mins maybe but after that was very sound in control of the ball. He reads it broke it up competed and distributed it well.

 

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[St_Tel49]

Maybe i'm focussing too much on the misplaced passes in the first half, but there were more than a few of them, and some of them straight out of play. It's in my nature to be critical.

 

I think that in some of his "misplaced" passes the target of the pass was simply not on the same wavelength as Lemina. I can think of one clear case where he passed into a space that someone should have been running into and the ball wass given away. I thought that we looked much more solid with him and Romeu in the midddle. I like Davis a lot but a DM he isn't. I also liked that fact that Lemina always seemed available for a pass and that he dropped into the CB position if the CB went forward. I think that he will evolve into our replacement for Wanyama.

[SuperSAINT]

Cheers for the replies. Good to get some views from people who saw it live.

 

He had decent passing % stats for Juve, so I'm sure we forgive him some early nerves. Lets be honest, he's not even likely match-fit at the moment.

[egg]

I wasn't impressed. Poor distribution unless he gave it 3 yards sideways. Sure he was rusty but clasie or hjoberg would have been no less effective today.

[SuperSAINT]

I wasn't impressed. Poor distribution unless he gave it 3 yards sideways. Sure he was rusty but clasie or hjoberg would have been no less effective today.

 

Fair enough. Difference is that they've been here 1 & 2 seasons respectively, and Lemina's been here a week.

[Give it to Ron]

I wasn't impressed. Poor distribution unless he gave it 3 yards sideways. Sure he was rusty but clasie or hjoberg would have been no less effective today.

I guess it's all about opinions but that's way off. How many times did they walk through our middle?

None...many times with the 2 you mention.

Are you one of those Dutch Eggs that are off because you watched different player than many.

 

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[Shance]

Honestly, from what I've seen today, we have a little gem on our hands. Yes he wasn't perfect today but he gave us a glimpse of what's to come. Very hard working and isn't afraid to put in a tackle. His positional awareness looked good and so did his reading of the game. Little rusty with his passing but that's to be expected. Let's be honest though, we managed with Wanyama and his passing was atrocious on many occasions.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing more of him tbh.

[shurlock]

Honestly, from what I've seen today, we have a little gem on our hands. Yes he wasn't perfect today but he gave us a glimpse of what's to come. Very hard working and isn't afraid to put in a tackle. His positional awareness looked good and so did his reading of the game. Little rusty with his passing but that's to be expected. Let's be honest though, we managed with Wanyama and his passing was atrocious on many occasions.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing more of him tbh.

 

He's nothing like Wanyama though. Not sure where this comparison came from. Is it an African thing?

[egg]

I guess it's all about opinions but that's way off. How many times did they walk through our middle?

None...many times with the 2 you mention.

Are you one of those Dutch Eggs that are off because you watched different player than many.

 

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Hilarious. I assume you were there? No they didn't walk through the middle but they set up with noble in the middle, a kid plus one other who was so anonymous I can't remember who he was. They were never gonna walk through any midfield, let alone our 2 plus Davis, Gabby dropping off, the wide men tucking in and the full backs pushing on. Our set up nullified them (most of the time) not the new boy. He did the long hem though by the number of times he gave the ball to them. Today he wasn't great but will hopefully improve.

[SaveloyMush]

( Romeu + Lemina ) > (Schneiderlin + Wanyama ).

[LGTL]

Thought he looked a hell of a player for what we brought him for. He's never going to be Iniesta on the ball but that wasn't what we needed.

[shurlock]

( Romeu + Lemina ) > (Schneiderlin + Wanyama ).

 

Behave - we've already gone through cycles of hype and disappointment with Clasie and Hoj. Why we don't we wait and see and let him acclimatise before casting judgment.

[Give it to Ron]

Hilarious. I assume you were there? No they didn't walk through the middle but they set up with noble in the middle, a kid plus one other who was so anonymous I can't remember who he was. They were never gonna walk through any midfield, let alone our 2 plus Davis, Gabby dropping off, the wide men tucking in and the full backs pushing on. Our set up nullified them (most of the time) not the new boy. He did the long hem though by the number of times he gave the ball to them. Today he wasn't great but will hopefully improve.

Yes I was there and saw him put in a decent performance after the first 10.

I even had a loud mouth bloke next to me moan we had paid 18m for a bloke who doesn't create anything in Lemina..I politely corrected him too.

Clasie would have been battered and Hoj hardly put a foot right since first 6 games last year but hope he comes good again.

 

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[Latheal]

Very rusty early on and gave the ball away a hell of a lot...but grew into it, not afraid to mix it up, doesn't back out of anything and showed one or two glimpses of those bursts from midfield, something I think we have been missing (ball carrier from the centre of midfield who is willing to drive at the opponents). Looks like he has a hell of a turn of pace as well.

 

Promising. Early days though.

[Shance]

He's nothing like Wanyama though. Not sure where this comparison came from. Is it an African thing?

 

I never said he was.

 

I said, we managed with Wanyama for a couple of years who couldn't pass so i'm sure we can let Lemina off one game when he hasn't played for a while. Surely I didn't really need to explain that did I?

[shurlock]

I never said he was.

 

I said, we managed with Wanyama for a couple of years who couldn't pass so i'm sure we can let Lemina off one game when he hasn't played for a while. Surely I didn't really need to explain that did I?

 

We managed because Wanyama gave us things that Lemina is unlikely to give us, so the expectation is that other parts of Lemina's game, including distribution will be more polished. Wanyama didn't need great distribution when he could simply bully his way through players or if did misplace a pass, he could use his physicality to win it back. Lemina isn't as physical a player - indeed if you believe some of the Juve write ups on here, they sold him in order to bring in a more Wanyama-type player. I agree its his first game and will need time to adapt but that's a somewhat different point.

 

How did Titus Bramble do for the scousers today?

[John Boy Saint]

For a first showing out of the box, I like the cut of the boys jib. The premier league is not a place for the feeble, yes his passing radar needs a bit of calibrating. But for the time he was on the pitch I thought Romeu looked very relaxed and less in need of going in hard on oppo players. The lad ain't scared of the ball, give him a few more games and he will be pretty good for us............ and Romeu

[Shance]

We managed because Wanyama gave us things that Lemina is unlikely to give us, so the expectation is that other parts of Lemina's game, including distribution will be more polished. Wanyama didn't need great distribution when he could simply bully his way through players or if did misplace a pass, he could use his physicality to win it back. Lemina isn't as physical a player - indeed if you believe some of the Juve write ups on here, they sold him in order to bring in a more Wanyama-type player. I agree its his first game and will need time to adapt but that's a somewhat different point.

 

How did Titus Bramble do for the scousers today?

 

My comment was made with my tongue firmly in my cheek mate. Again, I wasn't comparing the two players.

[Lord Duckhunter]

Opinions seem to range from one extreme to the other. Very hard to make too many judgements, it's his first game in England & against 10 men for most of it. I thought he was ok, nothing spectacular but steady enough. The big tests will come when Silva, Micky T & others are drifting into the 10 position or when top sides hit us on the transition. OR was superb last couple of years, but it took him a while to find his feet.

 

 

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[benjii]

For a first match in the country I thought that was pretty impressive.

 

He looked nervous for the first 15 mins or so but once he settled down he showed the qualities we've been missing. Definite upgrade on Davis in that role.

[jamesfp1]

Looked a bit rusty, there were two passes that went wrong early on and got some big groans. Got stuck in however, looked confident and freed up Romeu. I like the him. JWPs delivery though. Competition is good.

[St Jim]

84% pass rate in his first premier league game and people on here are moaning about his passing. That number is on a par with Romeu's accuracy last season. We're a difficult forum to please.

[shurlock]

84% pass rate in his first premier league game and people on here are moaning about his passing. That number is on a par with Romeu's accuracy last season. We're a difficult forum to please.

 

You must have loved Jim Magilton pal.