This is what I struggle with. Even when I'm making it as clear as I possibly can that I think he's got some quality, you still seem to think that the arguement is just that he works hard. It seems totally unimaginable to some people that he can be anything more than a trier. Coyle has been maybe the best crosser at the club for the last few years. He's probably the most two-footed player we've got, but people never seem to notice that, as if his aura of 'hard worker' just stops people seeing anything but that. It's the inverse of the argument I used to get into a lot about Tufan, where for a lot of people it was absolutely cast in stone that he was an immensely skillful player and people would never budge on that no matter how he played. At times he'd go weeks without a meaningful attacking or creative contribution but it didn't register at all because his immutable status of quality player trumped all else. He would be in and out of the team whilst supposed cloggers like Slater would start every week in what was supposedly his position, and people would say that that was because the manager had his favourites (whatever that actually means) because it couldn't possibly be that he just offered less than others.
This is the problem. The likes of Coyle, Jones and Slater got away with their lack of technical ability last season because others in the team were more technical. Coyle and Jones could do the simple, basic things in and out of possession last season because 1. the style of play was slow, methodical and risk-averse in possession and 2. Greaves was more aggressive, more courageous with carrying the ball out and a better progressive passer than Jones. Coyle and Jones could knock the ball around side to side with easy short passes because that was the style of play and it was within their comfort zone. However, Walter and now Sellés wanted/want a more vertical style of play. Still playing out from the back and dominating possession but the expectation is to make progressive passes to people in space rather than simply keep the ball in our own third safely. That’s where Coyle and Jones struggle because they can’t make those vertical passes. Either they don’t look up to see who’s in front in space to pass to, or they can see but opt not to make those passes because they lack confidence in their passing ability. Either way, it’s a problem. Slater has always been a versatile player who runs a lot but doesn’t possess great vision or passing range like Seri, isn’t that good defensively, not particularly quick etc. I would call him a box-to-box midfielder but he doesn’t really get involved near either box. Next to Seri, he did okay but he’s struggled massively this season. When all of our most gifted players from last season left, there was an expectation that the likes of Coyle, Jones and Slater, being the most capped and senior players in the squad, were to step up and fill the void and they just haven’t. They look average now because they were always average but being average with better players around them was fine, for the most part. It isn’t fine now.
‘most two-footed player in the squad’ Come on. This must be high-level bait or gaslighting. Nobody who has ever seen Coyle’s crossing, especially his left-footed crosses, would say he’s the best crosser and most two-footed player in the squad.
coyles capable of whipping a ball in, but thats not a surprise, professional footballers technique to hit a ball is, well high level at a baseline his crosses are quite one dimensional though, the sort that are 'easier' to defend but also 'easier' to get onto the end of for an attacker compared to a whipped low ball across the 6 yard box lately though, his crosses are usually over or under hit
Who is a more two-footed player? How many right backs in our history have scored multiple left-footed goals for us? There's a massive cross-field ball with his left foot in the Watford highlights. He's extremely comfortable with his left foot. You can see this sort of thing when you're not devoted to simplistic and inflexible FIFA-like profiles of players.
its also not a surprise, coyle has some quality hes a professional footballer, but its also obvious he has some big limitations, which he has done amazingly well to expand his game past with extreme hardwork and effort but his last ditch defending is becasue he is caught out a lot, hes also very clumsy on the ball but being surprised hes not a sunday league player at kicking a ball means hes got immense quality?
There were multiple questions in there you can answer for me if I'm wrong. Who's a more two-footed player than Coyle in our squad? How many right backs have scored more than once for us with their left foot in our history? Or left backs with right foot even. There won't be many of either. Is any other player in our squad comfortable pinging a cross-field ball out with their wrong foot?
I like Coyle, but come on mate. How many times this season has he cut inside to the angle of the area, then hit a left footed in-swinging cross that soares over everyone, and bounces on the goal line, 10 yards wide of goal?
Odubajo scored with his left foot against Derby. As for more two-footed players in the squad, Hughes is far better than Coyle and comfortable with either foot.
Coyle still our 3rd best player according to Fotmob this season. He was in the Championship team of the season as the best right back after a half dozen games or so. His form has obviously dropped off dramatically in the last month. He needs to trust himself more to play a forward pass which I think Selles will encourage. He’s not the quickest but has been able to relying on reading the game so well to make him an effective defender. Perhaps someone else who is devoid of confidence at the moment but we have so many in the team I’m not sure how Selles instils this in all of them. The pile on Coyle is way over the top though.
I'm not saying that doesn't ever happen. The fact he's comfortable even attempting crossing with either foot puts him above pretty much anyone else. Of course he puts in some poor ones but he also puts in some good ones, and outside of Kamara that's as good as crossing gets in this squad. Inverse example: Millar's crossing looked pretty awful before his injury, and he's a multi-million pound winger. Great dribbler obviously but his crossing was poor. But not much was made of that, whereas people can't wait to wring their hands and write off Coyle when one of his goes out of play. It shouldn't be that way around.
I have always liked Coyle, think he's a decent player. Wins quite a few Man of the match's on here. However, not been at his best for quite a few games, pressure might be getting to him. (I'd also like to point out a significant number of our players are totally one footed)
Coyle has been placed in the top three on ten occasions so far this season. Three first places, three second places and four third places. His overall standing is currently tied second with Pandur, both of whom are behind Hughes. He hasn't being placed for a number of games now however, which obviously reflects his drop in form.
