Wright-Philips has come in for a lot of stick on this (and other) forums, I have been as critical of him as anyone. I thought yesterday he looked much better. On a number of occasion received the ball facing the Wigan goal rather than ours and was more willing to run at defenders. He linked up nicely when he drifted infield and looked to be troubling Wigan. He still needs to work on his end product, but there were many signs of an improvement.
I thought he did well yesterday, I also thought he was arguably our best player v MK too. What with the recent performances of the team, he has had to do more donkey work for the benefit of the team. Once we become more stable, SWP will be set free. Only then will we get to see his true effectiveness.
This may be a fair point. I am SWP's biggest critic so hope there is some truth in it. I still don't think that he is as good as others felt when he first signed but I didn't expect him to be as poor as he has been.
SWP was good yesterday ,not very good but good. He use his pace so we always get the ball quickly up from the midfield. It was SWP who laid thae ball to Smith for the third goal wasn't it?
I think there are several players, including fringe players, who may surprise us under MH. I, for one, thought Buz was history, it's been a good three years since we've seen the sort of bristling swagger to his game that is now again evident. As another thread says, it's like signing a new player. Tommy Smith used to score for fun in the Championship, that is an art you don't lose, MH can utilise him to get into those sort of positions and confidence then breeds more confidence. I'm not saying these will be long-term solutions but some of our players have not been played in positions that show their strengths...
Unlike many on here, I've been more than happy with SWP's inclusion and performances to date. Sure, some have been better than others, and sure, there have been reasons for frustration at times. However, I don't see him as a regular goal scorer in either management regime. His gift is the ability to confuse and befuddle opposition defences. Fact is, from their point of view, regardless of the quality of team we're playing, he doesn't let defences settle. Always likely to open gaps with his confident ball skills and low centre of gravity, so in that sense it doesn't really matter where he's positioned. As I just wrote on the Traore thread, 'the only reason I can think of for playing SWP on the left is to compensate in some way for Clint's (slight) inadequacies. This provides balance for the Young Mackie performance on the right. To do the other thing (i.e. Young SWP on right, Hill Mackie on left) makes us vulnerable on the left'. When we've got the ACoN guys back, I'm sure he'll move to the right wing when we're full strength. Still won't be much of a crosser (Traore will sort that on the left wing) but will alway cause problems for opponents.
SWP is almost the real deal - he takes on one too many players each time - should release the ball a little sooner before he runs into traffic - Adel had a similar problem two seasons but resolved it last season Smith - I'd love to see him do well - intelligent player but not effectual of late - His goal was well taken but would he get that much space from many other teams in the Prem? Buz - we are seeing the man we knew was there, the white Pele - outstanding yesterday - and some good distribution of the ball too - and we've all known how he can strike the ball - hardly put a foot wrong yesterday
SWP has come across as a "confidence player" and maybe MH coming in has given him a lift as it appears to have done to others. Buzz did very well yeserday - lets just hope he can keep repeating those performances and prove he has what it takes to be a premier league player. One thing i will say about yesterdays game is that its been a long tme since we have seen three fantastic goals from outside the box.
SWP already looks QPR his work rate and his desire to run and shoot us outstanding He is a class act and I believe will be sensational with both Adel and him get it on as the two have already shown in bit parts that we can be a highly creative team He is a great player
I think the fact that hughes has moved SWP around in each of 3 games in charge so far shows how much faith he has in him. Also do you think that by playing him just off the front man in recent games is perhaps preparing the team for when Adel is back? If that is the case a team with Buzz in the middle, SWP on the right and Adel off the front man looks to be pretty exciting, though i would worry that HH would get a little isolated as he did towards the end yesterday
His main value comes from him being able to roam freely behind the striker. As a winger, he isnt particularly good and as a striker slightly worse yet most of that could be due to confidence, seeing as the player we saw against Newcastle is completely different to the player we've seen over the last 3 months. Trouble is, his 'good position' as such is the same one as Taarabt, and Taarabt has been significantly better this season. So unless he improves his play as a winger, I cant see him sticking around past the end of the season
Wright Phillips is being played out of position to allow us width on both flanks. But his talent is highly specialized and he goes from being a top flight winger to a Sunday park player when played on the left rather than the right. My one criticism of MH's tactics yesterday was that he did not recognize this. His options are very limited right now of course.
Agree entirely with this Brix. His running at defenses draws in defenders and opens room for others. He will do better to release it earlier sometimes, and improve his shooting. Hope MH can help him with this as maybe he has done with Buz and Smith!
