Early Doors Stock-Take/Reflection

Part 2

It is, touchwood, clear that we have some 'moment' players and some workhorses. There's no-one who doesn't look capable. Forini has speed and power and a brain, Matete can make sharp forward bursts, Schon is fairly nippy and dogged and can overlap ( but is small). Osei Tutu has a turn of speed. and can shoot with both feet. Arfield showed at Shrewsbury that he can link play up and has an eye for goal. We have yet to see Llolos. We know Mendez Gomes can do the unusual. Collins can see runners around him and has an eye for goal and position. Dempsey has energy and forward momentum but little passing skill. Dacres-Cogley is an ok full back. McAtee and Charles are niggly nuisances and both can shoot and pounce on loose balls. Toal is slow and in my opinion better on his wrong left foot than on his right where his lack of passing ability cramps forward movement. Johnson is not great aerially but has a thunderous challenge and can make a good pass 1 in 3. Baxter and Southwood are both good shot stoppers, Baxter is better aerially, Southwood with the ball at his feet, I think. Thomason can hold the ball ,if spinning in circles, he can also prompt an attack and shoot. Adeboyejo is improving as a line leader and looks better against better teams and with overlaps. It's a stongish squad if the pieces are assembled properly and trained to full fitness. So, we have to put the jigsaw together and then encourage the right movement and mobiity. At present I think IE is part trying to play from the back and part trying to launch balls to channel runners. Sheehan is our only bona fide midfielder and often illustrates just how much we miss Kieran Lee, our best player in the Evatt era.. To the jigsaw:

1. Jones must play on the right of defence. I think he would suit a back four better than three and have more time to overlap. I'd prefer to see a central pairing of two from Forini, Toal and Johnston and would be happy with either Schon or Williams at left back, with the same licence to push up as Jones. I think the three named central defenders could be a force on our attacking set pieces.

2. I'd rather like to have two defensive midfielders but we haven't got them ( Lee was ever so good at this as at times was MJ Williams), so unless one of the defenders can step out and do the screening role as Stubbs, Campo, Hierro, Faye managed then this is a problem. Matete and Sheehan seem to have some skills but only really Thomasson gets stuck in ( and he isn't getting booked this year, so a definite improvement.) For all that I'd rather seem him more forward.But unless the free agent is a Kieran Lee type to release him, I doubt it will happen Could Santos be redeployed.? I doubt it? Johnston? Maybe? Schon - quite possibly ?

3. We need width. On the right D-C and Jones might function but I think either Adeboyejo or Dempsey must play a part over there. On the left Osei-Tutu might develop but we sorely need a winger
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4. Upfront McAtee and Collins are too alike and Charles lacks basic skills but will make twice the number of chances he takes. I think Adebpyeo should probably start but we need two up front and more emphasis in midfield so one of these must make way. It probably comes down to McAtee or Charles at any one time with Adeboyejo or Collins alongside but they must run laterally especially Adeboyejo.

5. Defending set pieces we must pull McAtee back to defend the left side far post rather than Schon and we must mark men. We must also pick up edge of box threats.

6 Out of possession we are doing quite well this year but if we had a solider defensive base we could maybe push up more aggressively from the back and at quicker tempo. I'm all for slick passing and manoeuvring one on ones with high tempo and alacrity of lateral and forward movement

7. We must shoot when we have sight but at the same time the emphasis must be on getting to byelines and creating in box opportunities with pull backs

8. On attacking set pieces if Santos plays he must not be allowed near them . I think a mix of fast short corners and the odd long cross suits us. We need to be much more creative when we do have set pieces. Morley is a big loss but Collins can surely practice some shooting

OK I've convinced myself that we do have the resources to move up the league but unless say Llolos comes through I doubt we can contend without a major rethink of style and selection. Fortunately though we have a manager paid to work out the jigsaws and be accountable for all this. But most of all he will need to change and be more flexible, proactive and decisive than he has thus far shown and he will have to be right about the players he chooses.

Good analysis Andy. I would not disagree with much. I saw one of the pre-season friendlies that featured Lolos. Unfair to criticise on one pre-season game against what was a superior team perhaps, but dead loss came to mind at the time.

I suggest you send your CV to Sharon - you never know what may happen!

For me we’ve got lots of good players but not a team. I can’t really work out who’s playing where these days and I’m not even sure the players can as they seem to fall over themselves. If you asked me to name our best team right now I’d have no idea and that for me is the nub of the problem. I really don’t think we needed to sign all these players, just a solid defensive midfielder would have done for me and whilst I’d probably have replaced CJ I’d have definitely kept Bod. With Johnson back in the middle Iredale and Williams would have been more than adequate on the left and with an ever improving Forrester and Toal on the right I’d have been happy with JDC and Gethin covering the right back position. Now I’m just confused because I don’t know where these new players fit in yet we still haven’t fixed the defensive midfield position vacated by MJ all that time ago. Personally I just think Evatt’s lost the plot now and doesn’t know who to play where because he has so many options and so many to keep happy which is a problem in itself and means we’ll never see a settled side. ☹️

Fully agree with this rioch and I think that’s what I was trying to say. I don’t see a team, I no longer know what the players are and I’m not sure from what I see that they do. Is Schon a winger, wing back or wide midfield, same with Desmond. Are Collins and McAtee strikers, wide players or forward midfield players. Our defenders are central but not the best at it and I completely agree on Johnston, he’s nowhere near physical enough to play in a 3 but I’m sure would be fine with a strong left back with him like we had with Iredale. Matheson early on had pace and flew down the wing but latterly has lost that and now looks like Cogley mkII who has also lost his early edge. 

Its now being reported that some of the England players, especially the attackers, are glad to see the back of Southgate and his negativity and lack of use of the quality attackers we have and it just sounds so similar to our situation with Evatt. Surely players like Collins and McAtee want to get forward and use their skill rather than being constrained by Evatt’s system? I can’t remember the last time I saw a player smile and look happy, they all seem to be concentrating so hard on making sure they stay within Evatt’s system rather than looking for individual ways to break teams down and do something individual. Surely it can’t be a coincidence that all these players suddenly fail to deliver what they did previously and seem to have gone backwards and I do wonder if some of them have also given up on Evatt?

I was going to comment on that Whites. All Summer we were told how good camp was and how everyone was doing it for Southgate. 1 game in and now "players are playing with the freedom they didn't have"

Ian Evatt thinks the side believe in him. I've no doubt that the never get dropped probably due but I'm sure there will be a lot thinking I can't wait for him to go and i can play in a proper system.

Saw a highlight reel of Dions goals. What strikes me is how much energy he had. Proper pace and chasing defenders down. Seems really sluggish these days. Collins too I really rate him but as a No 10 it isn't working.

In fact through lack of options Evatt was forced to play Collins and JDB he described it as "fighting Armada with water pistols." Scored 5 against Reading and 5 against Oxford with those two. Guy couldn't see what was always there.

Admittedly the pair were home players and did little away but again that probably tells you more about the system exposed.

It’s very hard to give an honest opinion after four games so I’ll wait until we have played maybe ten to fifteen games then our players should be fully upto speed and understanding of what Ian wants of them. We know what we want wins and more wins but we never get what we want. COYWM