Now, don?t get me wrong: Shevchenko is pure class, and I?m behind him 100%, and always have been. But are we coming to the point where we can no longer ignore how out of sorts he is? How long can we keep playing him? Is it fair to leave Cole out when Sheva?s clearly not up to it at the moment? We surely bought him for the big occasions, like tanking Man U, but he looked completely lost yesterday, and is clearly not happy. What is to be done?
Like most players, a transition from Italy/Spain to England can be way too much. No other league in Europe is played as such a frantic pace and such a high level of physicality as the Premiership. It'll take him a long time to adjust from the very negative, defense-based game of Italy to the positive, fast-paced game of the premiership. It's like someone going from Lawn Green Bowling to Drag Racing.
Problem is he isn't getting any younger, lets hope it don't take him anymore then a season to reach his point.
I honestly don't think he will adapt. It's too late in his career, IMO, for him to adapt to a style of play that is pretty much the polar opposite to his previous employers.
