Nope. TM spoke many times about him wanting them running at defenders and to not get worried if they give away possession. How can an inverted wingers create chances cutting inside against teams that normally sit back on us? They get crowded out nearly all the time. I personally think we play Clarke and Roberts too deep. They tend to star their runs from the halfway line, where I think they'd be more dangerous playing another 15 yards further up. Drop Pritchard and go with a three of Bellingham, Neil and Ekwah until we get a CDM to allow them to play further up like Liverpool do.
You mean players like Rusyn, etc? The Stewart money is staggered and we've probably paid out more than has come in ... . whether you like Mayenda, Pembele, etc, or not, they had to be paid for, not to mention agents fees, etc..
Drop Pritchard? And keep Bellingham in when he's dead on his feet?! I like Bellingham, but he needs a few weeks off and everyone apart from club staff can see that. He's lost any sharpness or drive. Also, the midfield need to actually look up through the middle at times, it's not all about the wingers. Plenty runs from Rusyn go unseen. One simple pass and he'd be clean through.
Unfortunately Pritchard can't play centre mid. I agree Bellingham needs a break, but who else covers there for the next couple of games? Rigg is not ready to play in this sort for environment.
A thought struck me during the Hull game that may well be completely wrong ... .... what if Belingham isn't exhausted and it's just his natural game?
Agree... Also, Rusyn makes plenty of runs but these day's Ekwah and Neil tend to look for the least risk pass, something they weren't doing 6 month's or so ago... most of our other players don't have the skills to slot the ball through (O9 and Ballard sometimes try, but again, they seem to have stopped trying these through balls).
Just a thought, but would a tactics, formations & line ups thread be an idea? This thread is wandering off into that sort of realm (as do a few), so wondered if people think its a good idea so this thread stays more on topic?
He looked much sharper early on. We've made the same mistake we did with Neil imo. Too much too soon, he looks jaded.
He could play as a 3 which is what was being suggested. Just not in a 2. And try anyone in there. Ba, Aouchiche, Rigg, Pritch... the point is, we're killing Bellingham and it isn't doing him or us any good.
https://x.com/skysports_keith/status/1749738840711979391?s=46&t=lGmS7t3fhKmjcaf4pF4tQw Callum Styles linked. Good player.
I agree it seems that way mate. I'm personally wondering if he looked sharper because we were playing quicker and others players running harder off the ball ... ... just a thought, I'm trying to work out why he isn't being rested if he really needs it.
Yes please. Like you say a good player, and could look even better in our side with better players around him.
I said something similar to my son just after the mags game, my son raves about him, I think he’s done ok but nothing out of the ordinary, he seems a bit slow on the ball for me but he’s only a kid and that will come hopefully. I see more potential in Chris Rigg personally and would like to see him given more of a chance.
I wouldn't trust any of the other players to sit and contribute defensively. You either push JC and BA off the wing further up with a shielding midfield, or go with Hemir leading the line and JC, Rusyn and Ba off him.
We all want the best for our club, we all want to be challenging and be vying for the best available players. However, it looks like the club can't afford or don't want to pay over odds to secure the top end champ players. Thats just the way it is. Theyve been pretty open about it and want to try something else which might take longer and be more sustainable. I'm.alright with that. You can't say the likes of Ballard, Neil, Clarke, Hume haven't developed under current regime and we now have value in squad from little outlay. How do we know Mayenda, Seelt,hemir, anouche and ba won't come good with another six months of coaching and development. That brings me to Beale. His appointment suggests that the club are sticking with this approach as he is supposedly very good at developing young players. That might not show instantly on pitch but if they want to bring in young players and develop them then he might be better than most. If that means giving up.promotion this season then that's fine. As long as we don't get relegated, which we won't, we can build and go again next season. We will probably lose some fans along the way but they Will.come crawling back again.
I rate Chris Rigg more highly but I also recognise he’s 16. This is his breakthrough year and should be done so with caution.
