Post by andyl on Sept 17, 2017 13:12:23 GMT
Few would argue that Madine had an excellent campaign last season, was integral to our goals and victories and indeed has had several good games this season- better than some others.
At the start of the season I argued with a friend, fiercely resistant to the argument, that we would get no further than two years ago if we kept on selecting Madine, Pratley and Dervite. PP seems to have bought the argument re the last two named.
Re Madine
PRO : is a focal point for long balls, set pieces ; can chest the ball down really well, is quite good facing away from goal with the ball at his feet, and he can achieve knock ons, knock backs and so on. He will score the occasional headed goal if in the goal box. He can place shots quite well given time. He's quite strong and can make life uncomfortable for centre halves when he challenges and harasses them. He can win some free kicks. He is excellent on defensive set pieces and makes many headed clearances
CON : is really slow moving and this is magnified in the championship; he is outmuscled much more readily in the championship and does not always contest every challenge, preferring instead to try and win ( con?) free kicks; he gets demoralised sometimes and stops running and challenging; he may have hit one excellent half volley but in general he is either dispossessed before shooting or scuffs or mishits shots and invariably his shots lack power; he is not good at heading for goal from any distance and doesn't have any subtlety to heading for goal, often he mistimes his jumps;he sometimes makes silly passes and starts counter attacks; he is no use to any counter attack of ours because he can't keep up; he'll be pushed to get 6-8 goals a season and we need more from strikers; his presence slows the whole team down and all too often determines our tempo and strategy; and he cannot function as a sole striker if circumstances require one; and ( not his fault) we don't seem to have the sort of box to box midfielder necessary to complement his style of play with energy, goals and positional nous ( especially with Vela injured)
The overall argument for his omission some of the time is that if we can speed up the tempo of play and anchor more of the game to the ground and the flanks ( where we now have four pretty competetent wingers and a good overlapping full back, wing back, we just might find an avenue to goalscoring. I remember McGinlay and Blake as perhaps our best pairing in the 96/7 championship side but prior to that Walker and McGinlay ( Mixu - a much better aerial centre forward was not used all the time). SKD , also far better than Madine and challneging 100% of the time albeit with some speed issues was for a while moved to the wing to accommodate Anelka and Diouf. OK we aren't comparing like with like but most teams seem to opt for fast and mobile most of the time.
OK we have lesser players perhaps and it will be a tough season but if we are to escape we need goals and yes tight defences ( another post) but above all goals.. and the question is as to whether Madine is a route to more goals or a barrier ( I accept he will over a season assist some and at a lower level last year assisted many- so it's not a clearcut argument)
At the start of the season I argued with a friend, fiercely resistant to the argument, that we would get no further than two years ago if we kept on selecting Madine, Pratley and Dervite. PP seems to have bought the argument re the last two named.
Re Madine
PRO : is a focal point for long balls, set pieces ; can chest the ball down really well, is quite good facing away from goal with the ball at his feet, and he can achieve knock ons, knock backs and so on. He will score the occasional headed goal if in the goal box. He can place shots quite well given time. He's quite strong and can make life uncomfortable for centre halves when he challenges and harasses them. He can win some free kicks. He is excellent on defensive set pieces and makes many headed clearances
CON : is really slow moving and this is magnified in the championship; he is outmuscled much more readily in the championship and does not always contest every challenge, preferring instead to try and win ( con?) free kicks; he gets demoralised sometimes and stops running and challenging; he may have hit one excellent half volley but in general he is either dispossessed before shooting or scuffs or mishits shots and invariably his shots lack power; he is not good at heading for goal from any distance and doesn't have any subtlety to heading for goal, often he mistimes his jumps;he sometimes makes silly passes and starts counter attacks; he is no use to any counter attack of ours because he can't keep up; he'll be pushed to get 6-8 goals a season and we need more from strikers; his presence slows the whole team down and all too often determines our tempo and strategy; and he cannot function as a sole striker if circumstances require one; and ( not his fault) we don't seem to have the sort of box to box midfielder necessary to complement his style of play with energy, goals and positional nous ( especially with Vela injured)
The overall argument for his omission some of the time is that if we can speed up the tempo of play and anchor more of the game to the ground and the flanks ( where we now have four pretty competetent wingers and a good overlapping full back, wing back, we just might find an avenue to goalscoring. I remember McGinlay and Blake as perhaps our best pairing in the 96/7 championship side but prior to that Walker and McGinlay ( Mixu - a much better aerial centre forward was not used all the time). SKD , also far better than Madine and challneging 100% of the time albeit with some speed issues was for a while moved to the wing to accommodate Anelka and Diouf. OK we aren't comparing like with like but most teams seem to opt for fast and mobile most of the time.
OK we have lesser players perhaps and it will be a tough season but if we are to escape we need goals and yes tight defences ( another post) but above all goals.. and the question is as to whether Madine is a route to more goals or a barrier ( I accept he will over a season assist some and at a lower level last year assisted many- so it's not a clearcut argument)
