Theo Corbeanu

[Shway]

Just beat his marker, and played it across for the early Grasshoper lead. 

Another assist. 

[Ruffian]

On 8/2/2023 at 9:58 AM, Ruffian said:

I think Theo looks great and hope he keeps improving but I worry his team play is the reason he is being dropped from starting positions after having seemingly great attacking games. He seems to be always looking to create his own shot and passing up on passes to his team mates. This wouldn't be a problem if he was scoring every game. He has also been caught out of position when his team is on the defensive side of play.

He can pass the eye test all day long on the attacking side of the game but if the manager doesn't think he is helping the team win he will be back on the bench.

I spoke too soon! Great assist!

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

6 minutes ago, Shway said:

Just beat his marker, and played it across for the early Grasshoper lead. 

Another assist. 

I mentioned I didn't see last game but in the others it seems like he is making a conscious effort to try more early passes.

[Shway]

18 minutes ago, WestHamCanadianinOxford said:

I mentioned I didn't see last game but in the others it seems like he is making a conscious effort to try more early passes.

It's a mixture of both. I've been seeing a good balance.

Still wants to dribble, but he's throwing in the early pass which will make him very dangerous.

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

4 minutes ago, Shway said:

It's a mixture of both. I've been seeing a good balance.

Still wants to dribble, but he's throwing in the early pass which will make him very dangerous.

I agree. 

Too be honest, trying early passes that amount to more than none seems a conscious effort compared to the last time I saw him regularly.

Which was a season ago to be fair.

 

Also still getting the right side corners.  Decent deliveries.

[DeRo_Is_King]

Quiet second half imo. Wasted some crosses, but took virtually all the corners and was dangerous on those. Looked completely gassed toward the end.

[Floortom]

3 assists in 3 league matches - Corbeanu getting off to a good start as he has for every one of his loans so far. Hopefully he keeps this up.

 

[Mitchryan11]

3 assists theo is just a gangster conor mccorbeanu

[DeRo_Is_King]

40 minutes ago, Mitchryan11 said:

3 assists theo is just a gangster conor mccorbeanu

He's a special player. Has a rare combo of size / strength, superior dribbling and speed. He needs to continue playing more regularly, but his passing is improving and he's a fun player to watch. At only 21, I could very well see him being a leader on the CMNT one day. 

[Obinna]

I tuned in and out of the match and only caught glimpses, but from what I saw Theo was more aggressive with the ball than Millar.

It Reminded me of a comment @Shway made not so long ago (or maybe it was someone else). He said (and I paraphrase) that Millar needs take players on more. I believe I ran to the defense of Liam at the time, but contrasting him to Corbeanu gave me another perspective.

Theo gets criticism for not playing within the team, but he looked fine today. Millar on the other hand could have recycled the ball less, I felt. Just me?

Edited August 6, 2023 by Obinna

[blueseeka]

31 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Theo gets criticism for not playing within the team, but he looked fine today. Millar on the other hand could have recycled the ball less, I felt. Just me?

Completely agree. Liam plays good team ball with his give and goes but lacks aggressive drives. Theo is usually way too aggressive with one on one play. Today, Theo had a very good team game thou.

I am still hoping we are able to merge them somehow into a great player

[DeRo_Is_King]

51 minutes ago, Obinna said:

I tuned in and out of the match and only caught glimpses, but from what I saw Theo was more aggressive with the ball than Millar.

It Reminded me of a comment @Shway made not so long ago (or maybe it was someone else). He said (and I paraphrase) that Millar needs take players on more. I believe I ran to the defense of Liam at the time, but contrasting him to Corbeanu gave me another perspective.

Theo gets criticism for not playing within the team, but he looked fine today. Millar on the other hand could have recycled the ball less, I felt. Just me?

I agree. Millar had a decent game and did show his talent in the first half, skipping away from his marker for a good run into the box and low shot off-target (could have done better with the finish).

But I just think Corbeanu has physical attributes that you can't teach, and that by nature fits better with his aggressive style. 

[Floortom]

I don’t want to turn this into a Theo vs Millar thread but Theo has as many Swiss Super League assists as Millar in about 3,500 less minutes 

[spitfire]

Liam had 10 goals and 7 assists in all competitions in his first year at Basel. Theo has played really well and had 3 great assists. Let’s hope he keeps going!!
 

Theo has had players on the end of his good chances. Liam atm doesn’t. 
have a look at the actual stats of the game between them … if you watched the game liam put balls in the box on a plate(like Theo’s assists today) and they weren’t scored… two teams (Basel and grasshopper) going in different directions atm..

 

[GasPed]

32 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Theo gets criticism for not playing within the team, but he looked fine today. Millar on the other hand could have recycled the ball less, I felt. Just me?

It could be down to coaching too.  Some coaches are much more happy to let players "express themselves" on the pitch.  Others will bench you on your first turnover.  Some prioritize creativity; others, responsibility.

 

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

3 minutes ago, GasPed said:

It could be down to coaching too.  Some coaches are much more happy to let players "express themselves" on the pitch.  Others will bench you on your first turnover.  Some prioritize creativity; others, responsibility.

 

Whether down to coaching or himself, I personally think he is making an effort to play a little different.  So far decent results in playing time, importance of role (set-pieces), and results. 

Edited August 6, 2023 by WestHamCanadianinOxford

[DeRo_Is_King]

He's posting a lot on X these days and seems happy. Great start to the season. 

 

 

[Aird25]

I didn’t get to watch much of the game but I remember checking Fotmob part way through, and Liam had the most successful dribbles, the most duels won, and the most chances created. He finished the match with decent stats in those categories too. Tactics and phases of the game obviously play a role too. It might be harder to isolate players when you’re trailing by 2 goals from the first 37th minute

[maccaliam]

1 hour ago, Aird25 said:

I didn’t get to watch much of the game but I remember checking Fotmob part way through, and Liam had the most successful dribbles, the most duels won, and the most chances created. He finished the match with decent stats in those categories too. Tactics and phases of the game obviously play a role too. It might be harder to isolate players when you’re trailing by 2 goals from the first 37th minute

Good point. ‘Game state’ is an important consideration when looking at player statistics. 

[Stryker911]

Made team of the round for the second straight week.

[Shway]

16 hours ago, Obinna said:

I tuned in and out of the match and only caught glimpses, but from what I saw Theo was more aggressive with the ball than Millar.

It Reminded me of a comment @Shway made not so long ago (or maybe it was someone else). He said (and I paraphrase) that Millar needs take players on more. I believe I ran to the defense of Liam at the time, but contrasting him to Corbeanu gave me another perspective.

I did say that. They definitely have different playing styles. Theo is a 1v1, I want to score kind of player, where Liam is a keep the ball safe, I want to try to create kind of player. 

16 hours ago, Obinna said:

Theo gets criticism for not playing within the team, but he looked fine today. Millar on the other hand could have recycled the ball less, I felt. Just me?

No I saw that as well. I was happy to see him on the right side (where he’s always wanted to play) and be direct down the line with his dominant foot…but I still was seeing him at times cut in very early, only to play a negative pass to the CB.

From a CMNT perspective…none of these guys are sure starters atm. But it’s knowing the personnel. For me it’s who’s coming in to make an aggressive impact off the bench when we are down? I’m choosing Theo or even Jakey…who’s coming off the bench to maintain the lead?….Liam is first for me. 

It’s really hard to not compare the two because they both are “competing” for the same spot in the CMNT while also playing in the same league. 

A lot of the times the game has to be watched, because these opta stats tell a different story from when you actually watch the game. A player completed more passes, but how many of those were backwards? A player completed more take ons, but how many of those were direct vs going horizontal?

Watch the game if you can, and if you can’t - try not to read stats to make a (positive or negative) decision  based on how someone played. Not everyone is data analyst specialist.

…It’s kind of the reason I stopped listening to NFP.

Edited August 7, 2023 by Shway

[jordan]

The assist 

 

[maccaliam]

1 hour ago, jordan said:

The assist 

 

Fantastic early ball. You see the defender consider trying to make a play on the ball but stops as the ball was played into such a dangerous area that any touch would likely result in an own goal. 

[Hawkguy]

A couple more games like this and maybe people will start to believe me about him. 

We have no other player like him except maybe Davies. 

A guy like Theo would have looked great in the Gold Cup when we created so little. 

[dyslexic nam]

2 minutes ago, Hawkguy said:

A couple more games like this and maybe people will start to believe me about him. 

We have no other player like him except maybe Davies. 

A guy like Theo would have looked great in the Gold Cup when we created so little. 

I think people are being cautious since he hasn’t lit it up during past loans but I doubt anyone disagrees re the GC.  I think everyone would have liked to see what he could do against that calibre of international opponent.