Better on the ball than Jones. Really good in the air too. I’d just be wary of a 21-year-old and a 19-year-old as a centre-back pairing. Young centre-backs, no matter how talented they are, tend to be too eager to step out of the defensive line to win the ball or make rash decisions at times, like Hughes did when he gave away a penalty against Coventry. Greaves was the same for a while. He would often step up, leaving space behind and making the defensive line uneven which allowed teams to beat the offside trap. He matured a lot and by last season, he was much better at judging when to hold position or step up. Bindon’s quite aggressive, as is Hughes. Jones tends to be defend more conservatively. He doesn’t dive into tackles and his defensive positioning is pretty good. I remember when Bernard was on loan with us from Man Utd. He was really aggressive and careless at times. He just used to step up and leave huge gaps behind him. Great if you win the ball back first time but if you don’t, the opposition can just play a ball through on goal quite easily.
Three senior keepers, three number tens, two left backs with a further two on loan are probably the main issues.
Callum Jones getting a contract extension is one of the most bizarre things that has happened in recent years that has gone under the radar. A player who is too old to be considered a ‘prospect’ anymore and should’ve been released when his contract was up as nobody inside or outside the football club considered him as someone who would make the step up like Lewis-Potter and Greaves did. He’s found his level at League Two. He should’ve gone permanently years ago. When you say ‘kicked off’, what exactly do you mean? Is the club really giving contract extensions to players who aren’t good enough for this level and never will be just because they throw a paddy and we loan them out indefinitely to League Two? Bizarre.
I’m not really sure how it happened, but was told he kicked off while injured and a week or so later he had a new deal
Just shows how good Rosenior’s scouting was that Yuriel was at a club that finished 7th last season. Impact.
