Just how POOR is Hleb

goonermc · Post by **goonermc** » Tue May 22, 2007 12:36 am

I read an Article last week in the press and on Teletext that left me 'slightly' Puzzled to say the least.
It contained Alexsander Hleb saying that Arsene was 'a coach sent by god', now that is quite clearly the Truth.
What puzzled me is that Hleb went on to say that he was Grateful to Arsene for sticking by him through his poor form when he first arrived and how he's glad to be repaying the managers faith in him.
So this must mean that Hleb believes that he's playing at a standard expected of an Arsenal Player.!!
Surely, everyone of us that attends matches on a consistant basis can see that he's woefully short of anything approaching an acceptable level.
My main concern with what Hleb said is that obviously no-one at the club, be it Arsene or anyone else for that matter has had a word with him and told him to pull his socks up.!!
Now if this is happening with one player then it begs the question of how many other players are coasting through matches believing that there playing well enough to keep their places.??
I mean, was Baptista told to sort it out??, you would of thought so, but Hleb obviousley wasn't.!! So who Knows??. What does that say about the relationship between the Coaching staff and Players??

DDignam · Post by **DDignam** » Tue May 22, 2007 9:53 am

Im a fan of Hleb.

He is wildly inconsistent it must be said, sometimes he does not play teh simple ball and sometimes he just makes silly mistakes.

Last season he was good for us in teh CL, I think to see teh best of him you need allot of movement from players around him, he wants to play balls behind people. Think his poor form is partly because of teh teams form and the lack of movement and flair up front

Give him another season, hopefully we will see him play well when teh etams playing well. Its a shame that eh cant pull the teams performance up and get people moving but thats just who he is, worth having in teh side, even if he cant shoot at least he trys, unlike teh rest

Post by **I Hate Hleb** » Tue May 22, 2007 11:03 am

NEED I SAY MORE?

donaldo · Post by **donaldo** » Tue May 22, 2007 11:13 am

Get Helb out and Ribery in.We need a wide player who can beat a man and is not afraid to shoot. Helb does neither.

Trevheff · Post by **Trevheff** » Tue May 22, 2007 12:45 pm

He's massively inconsistent. I certainly don't think he's a bad player but his ability to go from one of the best players on the park to woeful in the space of a few days in hugely frustrating. He was excellent in last years CL run and I think he benefited from being the 'spare' man in a central 3 when we played 4-5-1. The role he was given didn't demand that he be the one to give width so we were spared the frustation of seeing him cut in time and time again!!

But of course we are not going to change formation now just for Alex Hleb. He's definitely had a disapointing season and from being in my first choice 11 back in August, I now see him as a squad player with his old starting position now up for grabs.

As for players not being given the rollicking they deserve, I can only assume that noone has taken Eboue to one side to explain the basics of defending and to ask why he makes the same school boy errors week in week out. Excellent 'footballer', woeful defender and apparently lacking in the brain department. Messrs Dixon, Winterbrun, Keown or Bould, would one of you please devote a week of your time to give him 1 on 1 tuition!!!

Post by **DB10GOONER** » Tue May 22, 2007 12:53 pm

one thing i will say for Hleb is that his tight control is excellent, just a shame he has so much trouble passing and shooting...

Post by **I Hate Hleb** » Tue May 22, 2007 1:47 pm

DB10GOONER,

My old lady has great tight control (never gets a hole in any of them!), but I wouldn't put her in the Arsenal team.

Mind you, she's such a looker that she'd definately stiffen-up the back four(boom, boom!).

U.F.G Anfield '89 · Post by **U.F.G Anfield '89** » Thu May 24, 2007 10:33 am

The simple truth is that although Hleb bashing seems to be very fashionable at the moment, the entire team, barring a few exceptions, has had an incredibly lacklustre season.

Hleb was fantastic towards the tail end of last season, as was the rest of the team, and he has certainly failed to hit that form this season, just like the rest of the team.

the main criticism seems to be that the guy doesn't shoot, if that's the only reason why he isn't arsenal material then we should put the whole team on the transfer list (excluding Toure and Rosicky). Thierry has been a shadow of his former self this season but this does NOT mean that we should sell him, he'll be back next year.

there have performances this season e.g. manu away where Hleb has played a massive role in our performance. having seen what he is capable of in games like manu, real madrid, juventus asertions that he is not good enough are just plain wrong he clearly has what it takes, in my view the only thing he is lacking is confidence. Confidence can be instilled by the coaching staff, and support from the fans.

Just one final thought; this constant need to find a scapegoat can actually be incredibly damaging to a club. What is wrong with just saying "yes, we were shit this season and the team has to get it's act together." with an attitude like that something may actually change. but if we start going down the road of "Everything will be alright if we just sell this player or sack that manager." well beware for that way lies madness and a white shirt with a chicken (or whatever the f**k it is) on it.

Cheers, and sorry if it was too long. Hey wait, that's what i said to my girlfriend last night! BooYA!

tenementfunster5 · Post by **tenementfunster5** » Thu May 24, 2007 10:50 am

The main critisism isn't the fact that Hleb doesn't shoot its that he seems incapable of passing to an Arsenal player, runs down blind alleys and loses the ball, always looks for the difficult pass, doesn't give us width.....

U.F.G Anfield '89 · Post by **U.F.G Anfield '89** » Thu May 24, 2007 11:06 am

When i said main criticism, what i meant was the criticism i have heard most often. what you've done is actually given an intelligent assessment of the main problems the player has rather than just saying he's shit because he doesn't shoot.

what i would say is that those are mainly issues to do with bad decision making which can be rectified with proper managerial advice. a player can improve a lot simply by the manager telling him where he's going wrong and what he should do instead. for example, think of all the stupid crap that parlour did before wenger came along and then think of the player he became.

tenementfunster5 · Post by **tenementfunster5** » Thu May 24, 2007 11:09 am

Had a discussion at work the other week and we came up with a solution. Paint a miniature pitch on the right wing so that Hleb thinks he is playing a free role when in truth he is sticking to his position.

U.F.G Anfield '89 · Post by **U.F.G Anfield '89** » Thu May 24, 2007 11:12 am

Gunnerz4life · Post by **Gunnerz4life** » Thu May 24, 2007 11:51 am

U.F.G Anfield '89 wrote:The simple truth is that although Hleb bashing seems to be very fashionable at the moment, the entire team, barring a few exceptions, has had an incredibly lacklustre season.

Hleb was fantastic towards the tail end of last season, as was the rest of the team, and he has certainly failed to hit that form this season, just like the rest of the team.

the main criticism seems to be that the guy doesn't shoot, if that's the only reason why he isn't arsenal material then we should put the whole team on the transfer list (excluding Toure and Rosicky). Thierry has been a shadow of his former self this season but this does NOT mean that we should sell him, he'll be back next year.

there have performances this season e.g. manu away where Hleb has played a massive role in our performance. having seen what he is capable of in games like manu, real madrid, juventus asertions that he is not good enough are just plain wrong he clearly has what it takes, in my view the only thing he is lacking is confidence. Confidence can be instilled by the coaching staff, and support from the fans.

Just one final thought; this constant need to find a scapegoat can actually be incredibly damaging to a club. What is wrong with just saying "yes, we were shit this season and the team has to get it's act together." with an attitude like that something may actually change. but if we start going down the road of "Everything will be alright if we just sell this player or sack that manager." well beware for that way lies madness and a white shirt with a chicken (or whatever the f**k it is) on it.

Cheers, and sorry if it was too long. Hey wait, that's what i said to my girlfriend last night! BooYA!

Gotta agree with that one. Hleb did have a pretty time towards the end of last season. He played well in the 5 man midfield which got us to the Champion's league final. And he had a good game at Old Trafford this season and also in Anfield in the FA cup. I think hes a decent squad player, i really wouldnt want him to be sold. However the criticism of his about not providing width is fair. I wouldnt put him in the starting line up if we are able to get Ribery.

Post by **T.S** » Thu May 24, 2007 11:57 am

If my Dad's theory about Alex Hleb is true, then I think we should all cut him a little bit of slack.

His theory is that Alex is actually ninety years old. It makes sense; I'm sure the bones are very brittle at his age. He wouldn't want to risk breaking something by doing something rash like shooting. Also, he wouldn't be the first pensioner to turn out for us - Kanu, anyone?

Chunky The Gooner · Post by **Chunky The Gooner** » Fri May 25, 2007 12:22 pm

I think his close control and balance is great. His passing needs some work on (and thats being generous!) and his shooting is virtually non existant. I think he has become the target though more than other players. Some players can get away with a few things before the crowd start to moan but I find with HLEB the first time he makes a mistake the crowd are on to him. He doesnt seem the most confident player and maybe this effects him more than it would do other players. He certainly not the worst player we had.

Just how POOR is Hleb

Just how POOR is Hleb

hleb