For how much you slate fryatt and big up Simpson, how do you feel about simmo going out and doing everything you accuse fryatt of, but worse? I mean how many times have you seen fryatt completely miss the ball when just a little tap on target would have scored?
I thought Simpson had a decent game personally. Held it up well. But he should have scored when he blasted it over.
I don't particularly think he had a bad game but he was crap in front of goal when it mattered tonight. He had a few chances, completely missed the ball and kicked thin air with one which could only be considered a sitter, blasted a good chance over and scuffed the rest. Not once did he hit one cleanly with power in the corner. Also looked like he overhit his first touch when through on goal in first half from where I was in the south, not sure about that though. Just thought it be interesting to see his views in his favourite committing the same acts he condemns our best for.
All players make mistakes, all strikers miss chances, even Van Persie etc. So to critize Simpson after one performance dreadful, his finish on saturday was top class and has been putting chances away all season. We should be happy that we have a firing Simpson and not a fat, useless one that we had last season. If we are looking to point a finger, then as one of the other posts says, we need to look at the players who can play crap and still be immune from criticsm...Robert Koren. Love the guy, think he has singe handedly won us games, but the past two games from the captain ahve not been good enough.
That's balls. Simpson had two decent half chances yesterday but the 1-on-1 was a tricky ball to control cos it was behind him (the one you said he over-ran with a heavy touch). The one in the second half was behind him and it really shouldn't have been, it meant he was leaning back trying to get it, if that ball was in front of him he'd have smashed the corner like he did against Peterborough. I find strikers missing really frustrating, but I don't blame him for that. Simpson has been like a new signing this year, he's done everything you could want from a striker and he's shown he's a goalscorer, his goals against Milwall and Peterborough in particular proper strikers finishes the likes of which Fryatt hasn't hit in 2 years for us.
Anyone criticising Simpson or Fryatt especially, are idiots, both would be snapped up by other teams in an instant.
please log in to view this image PS. Bob's right. Simpson did a great job of holding the ball up and keeping possession, but he was shocking in front of goal! Some really good chances came his way and he well and truly ****ed up
If they were really good chances, then why do people cry so hard when I have a go at Fryatt for the ones he misses? Simpson didn't get a shot properly facing the goal one yesterday, partly his fault maybe for not making the runs, and maybe Fryatt would have got on the end of more of them perhaps, but you can't question Simpson's shooting and I really don't think there was a chance he had to score yesterday. Aluko's finishing worries me more (obviously he's good from distance like Koren, but not so clever in the area).
He had a ball chipped in to him in the first-half and he had the touch of an elephant. Then I remember him having a shot at goal at one stage when he was being closed down by two defenders, instead of playing-in the unmarked Aluko I've never said anything about you and Fryatt, so that point's irrelevant. Aluko's not that bad in the area either, his finish against Millwall was excellent.
I think Simpson is too greedy at times and it's a weakness a lot of strikers have - but it wasn't a bad shot it was a bad decision. The one in the first half was tricky because it was behind him and he had to turn on it whilst trapping. He'd have done well to bring it under control and I don't really blame him for not doing.
The much larger point that should be made here is that the Simpson/Fryatt argument was more valid when Simmo wasn't even making the bench. My problem with the squad rotation under Pearson/Barmby was that it was non-existant. Fryatt would miss, miss and miss - once or twice he would play every single match but go 2 months+ without scoring. Under Bruce I think we'll see far more rotation between our strikers according to form. I never claimed that Simpson was better than Fryatt, simply that they should be given equal opportunities. And, considering Simpson bagged five before the end of September, I think my 24-month wait for my point to be proven may finally be over.
There was one which was nothing more than a tap in which he missed completely, didn't even make any contact with the ball whatsoever just air. There was one he scuffed right into the floor which trickled straight into the keepers hands, and another which he went to ground and slid into directed straight at the keeper. There's 3 with the ball infront of him, one difficult one, one bad scuff and one he never even managed to kick.
Not that I've made it to any of the games but I can't see how that argument can be valid considering we've conceded 3 per game. And I don't think you could drop Simpson or Aluko at the moment.
simpsons done really well this season i think we have all been surprised how good he has been and deserved his place in the side, having said that how did fryatt get 16 goals in a team that rarely created chances last season. For me Simpson has done better than i thought but Fryatt in this side would get 25 goals a season, i know he misses chances but he is still a top scorer in this division. why not play them both
I think Simpson just needs to get into the flow of the games again, silly mistakes like not passing it and shooting or bad touches are probably because he missed pretty much all of last Season and has basically been thrown in the deep end. He'll get to grips with it again, it's fine. He's playing brilliantly and connects with Aluko/Elmo/Quinn and Koren well too.
