No campaign mate just common sense which will make us a better team. Hopefully Beale sees that and doesn’t feel under pressure to continually play a weak link because he’s been made captain
You cant compare us to those teams, city had spent 100 of millions to try n find players that can do both. Yes o9 gets dragged out of position at times, but he isnt constantly dragged out of position like you apply. He 100% deserves credit for our improved defensive performance this season. You cant just say its because we dominate games more when o9 is a reason for that. We can push up more now as we have more mobility at cb with him being there n we are better at playing out from the back. Where o9 does annoy me as how grabby he gets at set pieces but a lot of 6ft plus defenders do exactly the same as him. O9 has had some quality performances this season n has covered for the likes of ballard n hume as much as theyve covered for him. To say hes not a decent football is extremely harsh when he has proven to be a good championship footballer. I think its weird that we you are criticising o9 on this match thread where he was really good, nullified their strikers n give them no space to exploit. The danger came from our attacking midfielders not tracking runs in this game
How do you define more dominant? Last season we had 4% less of the ball 58 vs 54 In League 1 we had 56% possession Last season o9 played quite a bit in either lb or RB position and not central defense. So him playing consistently as a Central defender this season has helped the defence? Who would've thought ? See I can do sarcasm as well
Its not common sense its your opinion, others disagree He is not continually our weak link, was really good against preston, against Leeds he was quality and i thought he was decent against rotherham - thats just the last few weeks Btw im not a massive fan but ill give credit where its due n i think hes had as many really solid performance as hes had shockers this season
O'Niens passing numbers against Preston were the lowest they've been since October and his carrying numbers over the last two games are the lowest they've been since September, I think we are seeing a shift under Beale to less reliance on O'Nien to start the attacks and instead the ball is played to the full back or midfielder a lot quicker and earlier.
That's my point though tbf. Posting on here won't make any difference no matter how many times you repeat the same thing. Beale is there to win games to get us into the play-offs and I've no worries about him playing anyone for touchy-feely reasons. The club have shown with Gooch, Batth, Mowbray, etc, that we're no longer afraid to leave out popular players or whatever. In Beale's last three games we've conceded one unstoppable goal so I doubt you'll get your wish unless that changes. Now that Hume is in position, and Alese back, I think we'll improve defensively tbh. And I think Hume will go forward more than O'Nien now which will help Pritchard.
Hopefully that is the case. We need to start shifting the ball quicker. It’s been laboured and far too slow for a while now. We’re at our best when the tempo is raised imo.
Just to further this, Neil had 6 progressive carries against Preston, the most he's had in a single game all season. Definitely some minor tweaks starting to show.
I think the role of CB has evolved dramatically over the last 15 years or so. Being a good defender alone is no longer good enough. They have to be really good in possession too. I have seen the coaching of players change over 20 odd years and one of the biggest is we dont coach defenders and midfielders in different spaces. It is all together and often based on playing possession and in tight spaces. Defenders are expected to be comfortable on the ball, and play the pass, far more than when I played or moved into coaching. I can think of a number of players I have encouraged to play deeper roles to better suit their natural playing strengths. There are many examples of midfielders finding themselves as centre backs over time. Similar to players developing into other positions (Henry, Bale). It is quite common in football for players to evolve. My favourite example of a midfielder becoming a defender is Mattheus. He won the Ballon Dor as a sweeper for Bayern having been regarded as one of the worlds best midfielders. Zambrotta famously was better as a full back. Pep is quite well known for turning midfielders into defenders - Javi Martinez and of course Kompany. Fabinho played well there when Liverpool had injuries. There are others. Of course I am not comparing ONien to Mattheus. But the point is it has become a reasonably well trodden path in the game. The transition isnt so difficult to make for players. It will become easier over time too as the rules of the game evolve and everything is geared toward the ball being on the deck. Coaches and teams will, I believe, look to convert players, or have players comfortable in both positions, more and more. ONien in my opinion is a much more effective player at CB than he was in midfield, his overall game is better, his impact on the game is greater, his ability to impact the performance of others is better. All just in my opinion of course. He could be better, or we could sign better, no doubting it, but for me at this stage in our journey he is an important cog in our wheel. Over to others to convince the coaches they are better, and I dare say they will need to do a lot more than be bigger or less prone to wrestling at corners.
Good post mate. It reminded me of why I find it a little irritating when people keep insisting, and complaining, we're playing a midfield player in defence ... ... 'if it's good enough for Guardiola' as the saying goes
It's all about opinions mate, Luke seems to split the fans more than others but I think he is our best option. No doubt there are better defensive pairings at other clubs but I don't see that at ours. I think the benefits massively outweigh the negatives and you think the opposite...which is fine. I have this argument with my mate at the match all the time!
The one he had in the first half where he took it from our half to the right wing was majestic. They couldnt get near him
I mean it’s common sense that you play natural defenders there as all of the best teams do mate. There’s a reason 99% of CB’s are big physical blokes it’s ridiculous people saying oh well what about Cannavaro for arguments sake. He was a defender his entire career and pretty much a one off who also played with other world class defenders. His job was to defend not to bring the ball out so it’s not the same comparison. If O’nien was as good as Cannavaro defensively then it wouldn’t be a problem. He does have decent games of course he does but you could put a lot of players there to do the job he does and they would do a job IMO. He doesn’t have a great deal or defensive work to do most games. If we were to replace one player in our current Xl it would be O’nien therefore to me he’s our weak leak.
Good point mate I hope this is the case, feel like a DM would be deeper and closer to the CB’s picking up the ball constantly and creating space for others but we don’t really have that with Ekwah.
I get some of the arguments for and against 09 and can see both sides of it. He is not great in the air which can limit us defensively but he is pretty good with the ball at his feet. He does push high up the pitch and can win possession back early however if he gets turned this then makes him look positionally naïve (problem is he probably gets more pelters for this than praise for the early balls won or interceptions which often lead to counter attacks) and have on occasion cost us goals. I do think that he is very good in and around the squad and it certainly seems like his team mates like and respect him. he has a cheeky exuberance on the pitch and a lot of fans like him for that and squad/team morale is very important as we as fans know. For me I think it may well become horses for courses and I think we will see more of Seelt second half of the season as our defense rotates depending on the needs and opposition.
Height is mainly needed at set pieces where we can muster plenty. It would help if Ekwah wasn't so timid of heading a ball ... ... his clearance at Rotherham was feeble imo. Having said that he's learning on his feet as many of the squad are. Hence why I like O'Nien being there. He went down at 2-0, in the second half, just as Preston were pushing ... we need that tbh.
Common sense is picking your best pairing tho and at the minute o9 n ballard are our best pairing and deserve to start. Of course if we had someone who had all of o9s technical qualities n mobility but was 6ft4 then he would likely to start - seelt might become that player. You mentioned cannavro, so common sense means he shouldn't be a cb as hes under 6ft, same for puyol - 2 of the best cbs ive ever seen. Yes most cbs are big lads but the best of them are ones that have mobility and techincal ability, the bonus is that they are big Height is only one aspect to look at in a player tho, even CBs - o9 is a lot better than a lot of the big 6ft plus cbs in the league. Like i said im not a massive fan of him at cb but i find it ridiculous to say hes not even a decent player even tho hes had more good games than bad this season. If thats your opinion none of us will change it. Further down the line we will upgrade that position with a player that they believe could become a good pl cb. At the minute o9 desrves to start and is showing he is more than good enough to hold his own at championship level
Not quite sure I'm understanding why every movement, pass, decision, even facial expression of 09 is analysed for faults? Hes a solid championship centre half doing a good job for the team. I don't see massive inquests when Ballard steps out of the back line, chases the ball and misses, Hume being more and more one footed or even Cirkin who gets into some horrible positions when he goes for tackles as he tries to tackle with his left foot. I appreciate everyone's opinions are valid, but it's every single game doesn't matter if we win, lose or draw
