Our midfield - do we have problems? (21 Viewers)

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shepardo01

shepardo01

Well-Known Member
Few thoughts here.... Thread to discuss

So, a midfield of:

Sheaf - Eccles

Palmer

Gap between Sheaf/Eccles and Palmer too big?
Sheaf/ Eccles both like minded.
As Robins alluded to - nothing at present to properly knit front to back (and we didn't sign anything either)
Today's change of Ayari for Eccles was pretty disasterous - Ayari not suited to play there and was all over the shop.
Ayari for Palmer would have been like for like. Ayari for Eccles opened us right up.
Only like for like change is Kelly. (Offers nothing)
Lose Sheaf and midfield is below average.Carried the middle today.

OHare coming back is a like for like for Palmer/Ayari...

For me, we are lacking.....

Let the thread commence......
 
M

Macca

Well-Known Member
Eccles isn’t Championship yet. Sheaf is solid but not creative. Palmer is the best of the bunch but fades and end product is lacking. To be fair Gus raised all of their games. Further up the pitch though I think Wright could end up the new Vik
 
SeaSeeEffCee

SeaSeeEffCee

Well-Known Member
clint van damme said:
Ayari, while clearly talented, is so far off competitve football at this level is unbelievable
How some Brighton fans thought he should be around their first team is beyond me.
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It’s only one game so won’t judge him as a player based purely on it, but he was shocking when he came on today. Constantly out of position and gave the ball away pretty much every time he had it. One nice pass through to Simms shows what he’s capable of but he’s going to need to learn fast if he’s going to play that role.
 
shepardo01

shepardo01

Well-Known Member
TomRad85 said:
We've dropped a bollock failing to replace Hamer. End of thread really.

Looking forward to seeing O'Hare again though.

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That's the thing....
It's Sheaf Eccles..... And OHare.
Or Sheaf/Kelly..... And OHare

And god forbid

Eccles/Kelly..... And OHare

OHAre replaces Palmer (or Ayari) and it doesn't do anything to change the Eccles/Sheaf(Kelly) "dynamic"
 
TomRad85

TomRad85

Well-Known Member
SeaSeeEffCee said:
It’s only one game so won’t judge him as a player based purely on it, but he was shocking when he came on today. Constantly out of position and gave the ball away pretty much every time he had it. One nice pass through to Simms shows what he’s capable of but he’s going to need to learn fast if he’s going to play that role.
Click to expand...
He has to come good, Eccles with Sheaf is so bland.

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TomRad85

TomRad85

Well-Known Member
shepardo01 said:
That's the thing....
It's Sheaf Eccles..... And OHare.
Or Sheaf/Kelly..... And OHare

And god forbid

Eccles/Kelly..... And OHare

OHAre replaces Palmer (or Ayari) and it doesn't do anything to change the Eccles/Sheaf(Kelly) "dynamic"
Click to expand...
Eccles and Kelly... *shudders* don't do that to me mate.

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S

StrettoBoy

Well-Known Member
SeaSeeEffCee said:
We have a massive Hamer shaped hole in our team that we didn’t fill. Absolutely criminal that we didn’t bring in a replacement and it’ll probably cost us this season.
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True but it's not that easy. A ready-made Hamer replacement would be unaffordable and wouldn't want to play in the Champioship.

The only option would be to get in an unpolished diamond - as Hamer himself was when he arrived - and turn him into the finished article. Such a player won't be easy to find and it will probably take at least a whole season to bring him on.

We may have to accept that we will never truly replace him unless and until we get promoted to the Premiership. I do think that, with another player or two, we could have a very decent squad.
 
covcity4life

covcity4life

Well-Known Member
clint van damme said:
Ayari, while clearly talented, is so far off competitve football at this level is unbelievable
How some Brighton fans thought he should be around their first team is beyond me.
Click to expand...
Too early to say that I think.

Was it you or shmee that said sakamoto was a definite championship wing back after came on Vs Boro? Today said different

It's just too early to tell(for both)
 
C

CCFCSteve

Well-Known Member
clint van damme said:
This time last year we didn't have a hamer that was the same as the one that dragged us to the play offs.
Let's see what happens.
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Yeah, early days. Sheaf and Eccles were very good last week but unfortunately struggled as a pair today, a lot due to Watford’s press and our apparent unwillingness to change our style. Our wing backs showed we’ll have threats/creativity from different areas this season.
 
clint van damme

clint van damme

Well-Known Member
covcity4life said:
Too early to say that I think.

Was it you or shmee that said sakamoto was a definite championship wing back after came on Vs Boro? Today said different

It's just too early to tell(for both)
Click to expand...

Me, and he is! And today didn't say different, in my humble opinion
 
clint van damme

clint van damme

Well-Known Member
CCFCSteve said:
Yeah, early days. Sheaf and Eccles were very good last week but unfortunately struggled as a pair today, a lot due to Watford’s press and our apparent unwillingness to change our style. Our wing backs showed we’ll have threats/creativity from different areas this season.
Click to expand...

I think Eccles was the issue today. Really went off the boil after his booking which I thought was unfair but am prepared to be corrected on.
 
D

djr8369

Well-Known Member
CCFCSteve said:
Yeah, early days. Sheaf and Eccles were very good last week but unfortunately struggled as a pair today, a lot due to Watford’s press and our apparent unwillingness to change our style. Our wing backs showed we’ll have threats/creativity from different areas this season.
Click to expand...

This is it. Both have been good for us and both are decent players. Although I think they are a bit too like minded and neither are very creative any midfield pairing would have struggled today because Watford used their two banks of three to overload the midfield. Out of possession they pressed hard and once they won the ball always had an extra player or two.

Palmer did some good work helping out at times but wants to be in the final third. We probably needed to go one up front and have an extra midfielder today IMO.
 
D

djr8369

Well-Known Member
Evo1883 said:
We just miss a busy box to box midfielder
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I do agree but then at times last week both looked to be playing more of a box to box role. This week as mentioned above I think Watford pinned them then worked the ball around them. They had a thankless task.
 
Evo1883

Evo1883

Well-Known Member
djr8369 said:
I do agree but then at times last week both looked to be playing more of a box to box role. This week as mentioned above I think Watford pinned them then worked the ball around them. They had a thankless task.
Click to expand...

It's amazing really these issues only really manifest because we're not doing what we could and should be really ...

You can't score 3 at home and not win
 
J

Jarvo87

Well-Known Member
I do agree. Today highlighted why investment in a CM was needed (not necessarily a direct Hamer type replacement) and we have little options to change personnel on like for like basis. We’ve invested heavily in defensive options and 2 strikers so it seems unlikely we will change formations therefore squad looks a bit unbalanced/lightweight and we become highly reliant on Eccles performing week in, week out - I’m not convinced sadly but looking forward to being proven wrong. I believe we have improved the overall squad from last year but we are short in a key area.
 
Hobo

Hobo

Well-Known Member
shepardo01 said:
Few thoughts here.... Thread to discuss

So, a midfield of:

Sheaf - Eccles

Palmer

Gap between Sheaf/Eccles and Palmer too big?
Sheaf/ Eccles both like minded.
As Robins alluded to - nothing at present to properly knit front to back (and we didn't sign anything either)
Today's change of Ayari for Eccles was pretty disasterous - Ayari not suited to play there and was all over the shop.
Ayari for Palmer would have been like for like. Ayari for Eccles opened us right up.
Only like for like change is Kelly. (Offers nothing)
Lose Sheaf and midfield is below average.Carried the middle today.

OHare coming back is a like for like for Palmer/Ayari...

For me, we are lacking.....

Let the thread commence......
Click to expand...
Watford were excellent with their high press, they practically suffocated Sheaf and Eccles. This is when we need McFadz and Wilson to engage their in game brain and occasionally go a bit longer. Because there is a gap behind the press. We actually started to do it last season to effect.

We don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water and abandon playing out from the back, but we do need to be flexible and have variation.

Watford have a few players that can really hurt you. But the main problem is we let them fluster us and never really got a grip of the game. But there was also plenty of positives.

I don't think Ayari was played out of position at all. I don't think he was all over the shop either. I do think he was trying to influence the game and put us on the front foot when he came on. He is still settling in and will be a good player for us this season.
 
Hobo

Hobo

Well-Known Member
The main problem wasn't players individual ability or skill base, it was our failure to cope with the opposition's tactics and react to them. Our decision making on the pitch was poor. We aren't far off it is just little things

For me there were signs Wright and Gooden are starting to understand each others runs and where each other are on the pitch

Keep the faith.
 
Sick Boy

Sick Boy

Super Moderator
Hobo said:
The main problem wasn't players individual ability or skill base, it was our failure to cope with the opposition's tactics and react to them. Our decision making on the pitch was poor. We aren't far off it is just little things

For me there were signs Wright and Gooden are starting to understand each others runs and where each other are on the pitch

Keep the faith.
Click to expand...
We looked like an upper mid-table side to me, not a lot more.
 
SkyblueDad

SkyblueDad

Well-Known Member
Sick Boy said:
We looked like an upper mid-table side to me, not a lot more.
Click to expand...
Don’t agree. At the moment we look like a team getting used to each other, we will get better I’m confident about that.
Todays game you couldn’t have written it behind three times, penalty miss, joke goals, both teams, Obviously wanted a win but happy we grabbed a draw in the end.
Been a funny weekend all round this week all sorts of surprise results.
 
Saddlebrains

Saddlebrains

Well-Known Member
For me theres 3 things as to why Sheaf Eccles doesnt work from what I've see

Firstly there doesnt seem to be an understanding or much cohesion. They are either treading on each others toes, or so far apart there is a huge gap allowing runners to go at the CB's

Secondly, Eccles first thought is to always go sideways or back. Doesnt have defence splitting passes in his locker.

Lastly, its always Sheaf who gets the ball, turns and tries to build an attack. Eccles 9 times out of 10 knocks it back to a centre half.

Sheaf is class, and Eccles is a good player, but they don't work. Too much of a muchness, and i really think not bringing someone in who can drive us forward from deep or play a 50 yard crossfield ball to switch the play, is already costing us and to be honest, will cost us a chance of top 6 this season. Caveat that of course with Ayari, if he comes good maybe he will be the one
 
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