I don´t think you can really argue that mental gymnastics are being used to criticism him, but not be able to accept that it is happening the other way too. It isn't just about his finishing for example, it is people who will blindly refuse to accept when someone says something negative about him or asks questions.
I prompted a debate on here recently with some pretty fair questions, although in hindsight the thread title was a bit out of order and sensationalist. Granted despite that slight regret, I must admit it has made for some amusing throwbacks when he does something good. Anyway, the frustration where a lot of that came from is that some fans are so desperate to defend him though hell or high water, that they will start saying silly things such as ´he made a great run for the goal´, when he was no where near anyone making the assist or putting the ball in the net. Or ´he won a throw in there´ just to deflect from the fact he missed a sitter two minutes previously. Either that or 'unlucky not to score'. How many times have we heard that?
He is clearly a fantastic asset for the club, and one thing I have certainly touched upon before is that his attitude is superb. When it comes to not giving up and getting stuck in, but also how he comes across in interviews. He is hungry to do well and you can see how much it means to him. It is something I think a lot of other players could learn from. That all being said, his end product is shocking and it is of serious detriment to the team. A lot of it is in his head as well. You know that because in the two games he has scored in this season, he then played the rest of the game like Messi, and that has sometimes continued for a game or two afterwards, before we see him fluffing his lines again a few weeks later. Again, possibly because he gets frustrated with himself and loses his head.
We have missed sitters all over the park this season, so you cannot just say COH's assists are low because only the times he plays the balls the other players miss. It all balances out, but is part of a bigger picture. 1) That our overall end product as a team isn't good enough, but 2) He is still a massive part of that. For the sake of balance people need to know how to give credit at times better, granted, but also that when he does do something shit, not just to start talking about something completely irrelevant in desperation because they cannot bear the overall reality. I think that is what spills over, because now every match we have two extremes taking over the match thread.