I think he is very poorly coached. He is reactive not proactive, he seems to see a ball directed to him a split second after his marker, he never gambles on a defender missing the ball. He never makes near post runs, I have lost count over the past 2 seasons where there has been a hard low driven dangerous ball towards the near post and he is always at the far post behind his marker, even at set pieces that is where you will find him, near post runs often takes defenders away from danger areas and allows others to profit at the far post. I like him and I think he does have it in him but I think he needs a Alby Wilbraham to bring it out of him.
Some of those are without doubt coaching; however, most of these traits are natural and instinctive, and I maintain his natural ability as a striker is not where it should be. Maybe LJ should consider turning him into a CB, he fares much better there!
Actually, there are many on THIS forum who, like you, are quite balanced. I’d like to think I’m the same (but I know that one poster in particular on here who would disagree!!) I have criticised LJ sometimes, but overall I feel he’s doing ok.
I think all things considered , regarding having to pretty much rebuild each year and yet still yearly progressing LJ has done a good job, the trouble is the home form has not been great the last couple of years. That said I do believe he has this year and next to get promotion. If he doesn’t then I agree we maybe should look to give someone else a go. As others have said exactly who else I don’t know .
SC cooked his goose in the tunnel …. [ SL is a family man and pretty austere with his attitude ] we saw it with AYLING after his Cheltenham debacle and SC WAS HIS OWN EXECUTINER "you do not lose it, use bad language in front of [and to a family] in response to a comment made at you in public …. . cant totally agree, we had some bad luck with injuries, midfield was OK till then ..other departments were at fault at that time working on them brought a complete reschedule and a very good period of everything hunky dory … then in keeping with "financial stability" started selling off the family silver …. again the odd injury didn't help as we did not have the additional strength in depth and no way due to 2 transfer windows only to compensate for it...... …. really, I must be watching a different player ….. that was part of his downfall, give LJ his due he does change it around a bit when he can
We obviously are watching something different. The midfield has been inconsistent since LJ's arrival, it is weak and lacks leadership, organisation and creativity. Injuries all teams have injuries but not having a back up specialist left back this season and a back up right back when Pisano got injured will always eventually show up weaknesses. Bringing back the injured Vyner, Why? Not bringing back 2 of the best players on loan in the first division, Why? especially given exactly how poor our midfield has been this season. Weimann, he runs around a lot.
no one argues there hasn't recently been lack lustre appearances in midfield the problem is the the 2 set in stone windows for transfers and loans clubs are still getting to grips with the format .. it is now getting more popular not to go on a season loan but to January and then extend.... getting rid of Pack and Brownhill didn't help … besides cashing in ...good business a number of others … we were told the club needs to get real … to get organised after a couple awkward seasons back in the championship … and we have .. we have to go through the mangle and iron out all the bits that were causing us the problems... a new manager ever season loan players that were only here for the money... and some dead end transfers in of players at end of careers … i didn't expect us to get promoted this season as top 2 … in fact being in top 8 was my hope ...with the possibility top 6 and wembglee …...
Hes nutting it because hes the spare man not because hes good at defending 1v1. He cant hold a line defending goal kicks he would be a liability at the back with his concentration.
Fam is frustrating, the worst thing about him , for me , is the lack of near post runs and his inability to anticipate crosses, as someone else put it he is reactive rather than proactive. He has good points too though, if we had a team full of players with his attitude for instance we’d be top of the League. Also his defensive work at corners and set pieces is outstanding (I accept this may be because he’s the spare man), but non the less that doesn’t change the fact . Whether his shortcomings are due to lack of coaching I’ve no idea , but it does beg the question. Unlike some though I believe is an asset at this level and for what it’s worth he would get my vote for player of the season so far. If he could improve on the aspects of his game I’ve mentioned then I think he would be not be playing at our level.
A quick question, if we got offered £5m for Fammy and we could then buy Afove for £5m to partner Nakhi Wells, who would you go for? For me Fammy is one of the reasons we can't break the top 6 (as was Pack), despite his obvious graft, it's his guile that is missing
we bought a cf and his game time was limited due to cv19 maybe fam and nakhi can develop as a pair ….
The midfield has been that way since the day LJ took over and it has remained that way ever since. Pack and Brownhill moving on yes to a slight degree did not help. The problem is this we have never during that time had a midfield organiser, somebody who can control games, organise the midfield to work as a proper unit, we have had individually very good midfielders. Last season and before with Smith and Pack in midfield teams worked us out. If they could hold us until just before half time they then knew Smith and Pack would take more and more chances going forward, both would eventually get caught out ahead of the ball when an attacking move broke down, the wing backs were also attacking so we had 2 centre backs unprotected and exposed to balls over the top with 2 strikers and sometimes 2 midfield runners who have not been picked up. Having good midfield players is great but without the organiser it becomes a lottery. Smith is/was the only talker but he is not and will never be an organiser, Brownhill was very quiet and a strange choice as captain in my book, Pack could sometimes have a lot to say but usually after a near miss or a goal conceded. For me we have quality all over the park, from goalkeeper, to defence, to strike force with Wells and Afobe now in the mix, we have talented midfielders but we will never IMHO step up to the next level without a midfield fit for purpose.
Any club in this league that has a little bit of guile and/or quality about them, and who can grind out 1-0 wins when they're not even playing well can easily finish in the top 2, or at worst the top 6 come the end of a season. I don't think we have, or have had that under LJ's steer, and we still seem to lack real leadership (a Gerry Gow) on the pitch when the going gets tough. Yes I know we have to sell our best players, but we're in the same boat as 90% of teams outside of the Premiership. Our home form, as has been noted on here many times is a major MAJOR factor in our inability to really push for promotion year after year.
Nagy seemed to take the role of playmaker/ organiser until his injury, but seems to have really struggled since, I can’t decide if he’s not up to the demands of the championship or whether he’s still affected by his injury, for me the jury is out, if he can return to his pre injury form we will really push on with the introduction of Wells as well, I’m unsure what will happen with Afobe but if he returns to fitness and remains with us that could make a hell of a difference , imagine Wells, Afobe. and Fam , what a strike force to chose from.
Wells, Afobe and Fam would be great, but only if the midfield can supply them, Wells has been given 2 chances and buried both, but it is plainly not good enough. I agree totally about Nagy, the injury was unfortunate but exacerbated unnecessarily, I get the impression that he was not completely honest about his injury to coach of Hungary's national team. I am not sure that he is happy here. And also it still does not help with organisation in our midfield, we do not have a player like that on our books.
I also thought the guy from Hull (can’t remember his name, and can’t be arsed to look it up)would be better than he’s turned out to have been, again may be due to lack of fitness , but still he’s been disappointing, I do agree though it’s midfield that let’s us down.
