Craig Smith

For Those Who Waited 22 Years.

🚨🎙️| Jamie Carragher on the impact of both Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke after each played 45 minutes against Fulham yesterday: 🗣️ “Sometimes we overcomplicate football, we start talking about systems, shapes, all of that… but yesterday was the clearest example, you had 45 minutes of Bukayo Saka and 45 minutes of Noni Madueke, and honestly, it looked like two different levels of the game. Saka starts, and everything makes sense. The tempo, the timing, the decision-making, he doesn’t waste football. He hurts you every single time he gets the ball. Goal, assist, always combining, always thinking one step ahead. That’s not just talent, that’s understanding the game at the highest level. That’s what top, top players do, they make it look simple because they’re decisive. Then you watch Madueke… and I’m not here to disrespect the boy, because he has ability, we can all see that. But ability without control, without intelligence in your decisions, it means nothing at this level. Too many touches, slowing the attack, dribbling into trouble when the pass is there. You beat a man okay, good but then what? Where is the end product? Where is the impact? This is the difference people don’t want to talk about. Saka plays for the team and still shines. Madueke plays for himself and the team suffers. That’s the reality. One is making the game easier for everyone around him, the other is making it harder. And let me tell you something, this is not a small gap, this is a huge gap. People will say ‘give him time’… time for what? At this level, you have to learn quickly or you get left behind. Because what Saka showed in 45 minutes is what elite football looks like. What Madueke showed… that’s potential, but football is not played on potential. So when people try to compare them, I shake my head. One is already delivering at a world-class level, the other is still trying to figure out when to pass the ball. And if that doesn’t frustrate you watching that game, then honestly, I don’t know what you’re expecting from top-level football.”