Samuel Saiz finally felt the wrath of Marcelo Bielsa as he was dropped against Nottingham Forest in favour of Adam Forshaw. Bielsa went on to praise the former Brentford man and explain the decision why he preferred Forshaw over Saiz. Bielsa was quoted as saying,”Very good( On Forshaw’s performance). He’s a player who compared himself very well to play the game he played today.”
On why he dropped Saiz, Bielsa said, “Because I thought that the association between Forshaw and [Mateusz] Klich could give us agility in the building of offensive play.”
This was Forshaw’s first start of the season, and it seems like the manager has had enough of Saiz. The 27-year-old Spaniard has been guilty of wasting way too many chances in the attacking third, and it was high time the manager took the stern step of dropping him.
One of the major problems of Saiz is that he is too individualistic when he has the ball. The attacking midfielder tries everything by himself and keeps on running with the ball by keeping his head down and venturing into no man’s land. Often he gives the ball away cheaply. Bielsa too seemingly explained his decision on similar lines as he believed that Forshaw had more capabilities of linking up play with his midfield partner.
This indeed is a sorry state of affairs for the Whites as concerning abilities, Saiz is one of the best players that United possess. He is hard working, can dribble out of tough situations and also shows a decent pace when on the ball. However, his solo play hasn’t impressed anyone, and even though United play such an attacking brand of football, Saiz is still waiting for his first goal of the season.
Forshaw happens to be more of a central midfielder, and even against Nottingham Forest, he was playing in a slightly deeper role in midfield than what Saiz would have played. However, he was impressive in his displays, and we expect him to keep his place for the next two crucial clashes against Wigan Athletic and West Bromwich Albion
As for now, Saiz needs to go to the drawing board, and he should work hard in training and on his game to be back in contention for a place. Even without having much competition for places, Bielsa had to replace him for his poor displays, and until and unless he picks his head up and starts linking up play, we expect him to be out of favour. However, with such a thin squad, Saiz is likely to get some game time as a substitute, and he would probably get an opportunity soon to showcase his worth.
