The best player to come out of our Academy in decades is Archie Gray. Better than Phillips by miles and to be honest I'm struggling to think of anyone better since maybe Milner.
No problems with defenders/goalkeepers making mistakes. It's when those mistakes are recurring with no signs of improvement that it becomes a red flag. Meslier, Struijk and left back are glaring red flags for over two years now. Ayling ain't gonna improve from here as good as he has been for us. How's that conceding only a goal a game stat going for you this season? I'll help...played 5 conceded 8.
Struijk never had a proper run in the Championship as he only played a bit part towards the end of our promotion campaign. Let's give him time to find his feet after playing at the giddy heights of the PL shall we ? So far in my opinion he's done well and will improve as he's only this month turned 24. Apparently centre halves don't mature until their mid twenties according to some
He's certainly well ahead of the curve of maybe even Milner. He's 17. Very young. Bellingham has played lots of games and is still flying. The likes of Byram, Delph and Cook have certainly been affected by playing lots of games at a young age. The one fear I have for Archie is that he constantly flies in to tackles. He's gonna do himself a nasty injury unless he wisens up. Other players are already starting to attempt kicking him off the park. Apparently there's more Grays showing the same, if not more, potential in the youth sides.
Cup games don't count so it's 7 conceded in 4 and if we keep going in with four forwards then that's not likely to improve much. Better buckle up then
He's 24. Played 100 games. He hasn't improved. In fact, we've learnt that when the going gets tough he shies away from responsibility and inevitably gets dropped by multiple managers. He's mentally weak. Very quiet. Doesn't utilise his size. Isn't aggressive enough. Lacks pace. Almost looks shocked to see attackers anywhere near his vicinity and tends to just ignore that they exist.
As I said nearly all those games have been at PL level with a lot of them at left back as well. The understanding with Byram was excellent so we now have to see how he copes without him.
Afternoon all, I see todays weather report from Spain is missing so here it is. Temperature dropped a little so a perfect 28c with a light easterly wind, goes without saying it is sunny.
Good to hear. Had a lovely 5 mile run this morning in the Yorkshire Dales. Nice and sunny but a bit cooler at around 17C. Perfect running weather. Pasta and Chicken for lunch. A walk this afternoon. Going over the local crag (1 mile from home, about 4.5 miles in total) and round the reservoir. Can't post personal photos but this is it.... please log in to view this image I run over this beauty at least once a week. I've missed it. This is the view from the top... please log in to view this image It's even more stunning on a frosty winters morning.
He's not bad on the ball to be fair. He finds his full back regularly. He's just not mobile enough to play further forward. Maybe re-train him as a keeper?
The best thing for the club is they do well. The only stat that matters to them is their wage packet. So it’s them laughing at us, not the other way round.
Not had chance to look and work out why Struijk and Rodon had switched sides during the play leading up to Ipswich's 2nd goal but it certainly seemed to effect Rodon's ability to deal with the bad back pass. If we're going to improve at the back then we really need for minor details like that to be ironed out.
Marc Roca had good reviews despite a 4-2 loss for Betis. He's played every minute so far this season.
