Manuel Pellegrini has been quizzed about the form of Felipe Anderson, and rightly so. For a £36 million signing (rising to £40 million) we needed someone who can both score goals and change games. But there's also a case for showing some patience with Anderson. As Manuel says, he's not the first foreign player to have difficulty adjusting to the Premier League. Statistically most foreign signings are usually better in their second season, argues the book Soccernomics. Anderson has shown real class in the games against Arsenal, Everton and Man United. But he's not done enough in the other matches and has infuriated everyone by taking a succession of poor corners and dead balls.
Felipe certainly needs to learn to pay it simple when he's out of form. But we've not bought him for his tackling, so it seems pointless for haranguing him for not getting stuck in, as the bloke behind us does every match. Is he happy off the pitch and settled in London yet? Anderson has had his bedding in period, so let's hope the next ten games see an upturn. He's not lived up to his price tag so far — but we still need to give him a little more time.
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