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What are people's thoughts on him up to now?

For me he is a good crosser of the ball but fir a winger he doesn't take the full back on half as much as I'd like to see. He seems to stop and pull the ball back in to midfield.

Thoughts?

Great to have that option of true width. As Dzeko has slipped put of the starting 11 so has Navas. He hasn't really progressed from a solid debut into becoming anything better.

If we could play 12 men I'm sure he'd be in but at the moment there are others ahead of him.

I think he's pretty easy to coach against.

Force him to go inside and guard against the ball down the line. If he does go down the line give him a nudge and the ball is yours. Or at least you've nullified him.

I can't remember seeing him make a tackle.

To me, he needs to learn off Bale - knock the ball 5 yds past the fullback then race him to it. The only way to defend that is to commit another man as cover - midfielder or centre half. We did that to Spurs and it was fine, as there was no one else there to hurt us. Do that against us and you're giving Silva, Aguero, Yaya, Nasri etc an extra few yards of space.

So far, he hasn't tried to take the fullback on nearly enough. Some of that may be a Spanish keep the ball mentality, whereas I'm willing for him to lose out to a defender that far up the pitch as he'll still get past them or win fouls enough of the time.

Bizarrely for such a lightweight looking player, I think his best work has been done defensively and I've been impressed by how much covering he does.

Blue Since 76 wrote:To me, he needs to learn off Bale - knock the ball 5 yds past the fullback then race him to it. The only way to defend that is to commit another man as cover - midfielder or centre half. We did that to Spurs and it was fine, as there was no one else there to hurt us. Do that against us and you're giving Silva, Aguero, Yaya, Nasri etc an extra few yards of space.

So far, he hasn't tried to take the fullback on nearly enough. Some of that may be a Spanish keep the ball mentality, whereas I'm willing for him to lose out to a defender that far up the pitch as he'll still get past them or win fouls enough of the time.

Bizarrely for such a lightweight looking player, I think his best work has been done defensively and I've been impressed by how much covering he does.

He clearly isn't just a flying winger as some believed when we got him.He is a wide player who often comes inside with the ball but also simply tucks in to become a midfield rather than wide player.That's what Pellegrini knew he was getting and what he wanted.

Yes he can play like a winger at times and maybe he hasn't done that enough because we know he can cross a ball but I am confident he plays to Pellegrini's instructions rather than just bomb down the right.And yes he is defensively aware too ,getting back where needed which included late on v Moscow when Zaba was strangely at center forward rather than defending.

dazby wrote:I think he's pretty easy to coach against.

Force him to go inside and guard against the ball down the line. If he does go down the line give him a nudge and the ball is yours. Or at least you've nullified him.

I can't remember seeing him make a tackle.

Really Daz? As far as wingers go I have been quiet impressed with his efforts off the ball to try and retain possession for the team.He's certainly not the hands on the hips type when he doesn't have the ball.

Most teams defend so low against us, that there is no room for him to "kick the balk five yards ahead". For a winger index those circumstances it's more about making your man than about out-pacing him.

I think he's been alright so far, but think we should try to use him more at counters and quickly switching from defending to attacking.

Douglas Higginbottom wrote:

Blue Since 76 wrote:To me, he needs to learn off Bale - knock the ball 5 yds past the fullback then race him to it. The only way to defend that is to commit another man as cover - midfielder or centre half. We did that to Spurs and it was fine, as there was no one else there to hurt us. Do that against us and you're giving Silva, Aguero, Yaya, Nasri etc an extra few yards of space.

So far, he hasn't tried to take the fullback on nearly enough. Some of that may be a Spanish keep the ball mentality, whereas I'm willing for him to lose out to a defender that far up the pitch as he'll still get past them or win fouls enough of the time.

Bizarrely for such a lightweight looking player, I think his best work has been done defensively and I've been impressed by how much covering he does.

He clearly isn't just a flying winger as some believed when we got him.He is a wide player who often comes inside with the ball but also simply tucks in to become a midfield rather than wide player.That's what Pellegrini knew he was getting and what he wanted.

Yes he can play like a winger at times and maybe he hasn't done that enough because we know he can cross a ball but I am confident he plays to Pellegrini's instructions rather than just bomb down the right.And yes he is defensively aware too ,getting back where needed which included late on v Moscow when Zaba was strangely at center forward rather than defending.

Imo, if Mancini had been coaching him, he would be as good or better defensively than Milner. His tracking & interception of Wellbeck during one of Utd's few dangerous moments in the derby, was one of the highlights of the game for me.

As far as his attacking play goes though, I don't know what has happened. When we first signed him, he was going at the fullback frequently, & either getting in a cross or getting a corner. He has always had times where he cuts inside, if he didn't he would be very easy to stop, but the Count should be telling him to take the ball down the line & do what he is successful at. He was one of the top creators in Spain doing exactly that & he looked fantastic doing it here. It's as if the Count has been possessed by the spirit of Mancini & is turning him into yet another narrow attacking mid playing 'safeball' rather than whacking a cross in.

Order him to get some chalk on his boots & smack the bal into the box & tell him he's not playing if he doesn't do it.

I think he's a real threat on the ball but he really has not been utilized effectively enough in my opinion.I find quite often the way Zabs/Micah tend to overlap is hindering his opportunities of getting at the full backs.

I like him, not only has pace but is good with the ball at his feet. It's not just what he does, it's what he brings and when he gets going he forces the oppo towards him opening space for others to exploit.

I was genuinely excited when we bought him & though he has not set the Prem on fire i am still excited. He has pace to burn and in the latter stages of season he will terrorise tired defences on heavy pitches. As with all new signings some take longer to adapt than others, like Fred, but once they hit their straps they are mint. Navas is this type of playet

Said at the time he was overrated. Don't mean hes a bad player.. but he was overrated. On the other hand however I said Negredo was underrated.. so it kind of evens out.

I don't think Navas is overrated. I like him, he is seriously fast, Faster than Gary Glitter when the police where after him. Great workrate, excellent crosses and cross field passes. Great understanding with Zab. Excellent signing.

Brought up on Buzzer. If Jesus had half of Mike's determination to get a cross in he'd be a world beater.

He has the pace and crossing ability to do a lot more damage to teams than he has so far. I still hope that this will come later this season when he settles in and the team learn how how best to play him in

Mmmmm, not too sure, always looks a bit of a one trick pony at the moment.

He's a typical winger as far as consistency goes. Touches of brilliance mixed with quiet spells.

What I've been impressed with is how little he gives the ball away and how much he tracks back. Definitely got the Spanish appetite to keep ball.

Have you noticed how much he has quieted since Silva's return?

Slim wrote:Have you noticed how much he has quieted since Silva's return?

I mentioned in pre season I didn't see him starting every game ad that was largely due to the fact that the players we have don't really play with huge width.

Yes we lacked it and cries out for it at times, but it's simply not our plan a when everyone is fit.

He's looked fantastic when we are not in possession Dazby you fucking spastic....time and again he has popped up to tackle and/or recover the ball way back in his own half

Clueless Aussie fuckwit