I think turning Morris from a totally inadequate FB to even a ‘steady’ LCB is in itself a massive upgrade.
I think Pollock has the most potential in view of his physical presence, aerial dominance and good passing ability. These attributes are in short supply. Chak has reached his level and does not have the end product to be a Premier League player. Kayembe is way below Premier standard. Bah still has a way to go to show he has more than just pure pace. He could reach a much higher standard, but the jury is still out on that.
Hmm, interesting - I think Pollock, whilst hugely improved, has to tidy up his game a little to be considered a viable Prem player. I totally agree his passing range is a big plus though. I'd politely disagree with you re: Chak; I think there's more to come and he has clearly raised his levels after a really good Euros. I can see him being a £15-20m sale next summer. Kayembe probably is below Prem standard, but I see him as the sort of player that a Leicester or Southampton may go for in January or perhaps a newly promoted PL side next year. Baah is still very, very raw, but he looks extremely exciting and I can see him getting a good move if he continues developing.
The lack of pace , being one footed or little end product so far might affect those first 3 and their chances of great progress but Georgi is obviously a very talented player . Agree Baah is an exciting talent with raw pace and physical power .
The good thing is we are now getting to the stage where we have fewer assets that we are likely to lose to premier league sides for £15m+. The bad news is we may have the odd one or two who we could lose to richer champ sides including those with parachute funds for £2m+.
Surely that depends what position the buying team are looking to fill. Maybe not this January window, but next summer if Pollock keeps his current trajectory I can see quite a few interested eyes cast his way. Just my opinion, but Chak flatters to deceive, and Baah is still very, very raw.
To be fair, we were only a fraction away from being 2-0 down after 20 minutes. Things could've looked a lot different.
Then the same bloke gave away a penalty I think. Good for a opposition defender to have a bad day at last in an away game.
Having seen a lot of the players in the division thus far this season, I think Morris deserves to be considered ‘steady’ in comparison. I have no doubt that is his absolute upper limit at this level, however.
Although it’s early days I feel Cleverly has shown signs of being able to spot a weakness and go for the jugular in quite a ruthless way. He did it vs Stoke and vs Wednesday. Probably easier to do this against some of the ‘weaker sides ‘ . I don’t think I’ve seen that ability much over recent years from our managers . Hopefully we will see more of this over the coming weeks . At the moment that still require us to stay in the game given the slow starts we he really seem to have which isn’t ideal but good that we are able to turn things round .
I get that a formation doesn’t tell you everything about a manager, but that’s 3 main formations he’s used since taking the reins, I think it shows that he is flexible and isn’t wedded to one idea. He’s also managed to get more out of Chak, Baah (two undoubted talents who have suffered injuries in the past) and Pollock than any other manager too, which is impressive as with the possible exception of Chak, I don’t think anyone was expecting too much from those three
Poor selection, no idea what he was thinking with the setup at all. Not all on him as the players couldn't give a rat's arse, but then again that does look bad on TC when nothing is getting across to the players pre-match. Swansea had us figured out from minute one and pinned us back by dominating our midfield. I think we are very lucky it wasn't 3 or 4, because we were so lethargic.
We have been second best in most games and managed to win more than we have lost through luck. Hopefully the points we have accumulated will be enough to ensure we finish clear of the bottom 3 but make no mistake, we are a bottom 8 side backed up by Reids xG analysis. Even the 2-6 win was an even game and had an xG of 1.65 each based on chances created as below. This run of good luck won't continue but has hopefully kept us from a relegation battle this season. Data Sheffield Wednesday Watford Possession 48% 52% Shots 15 15 Shots On Target 7 8 Shots Off Target 7 6 Cards 3 3 Corners 7 2 Fouls 14 16 Offsides 2 1 xG 1.65 1.65
We were not great for 45 at Sheffield but no one cares because we scored 6 against the run of play . The same thing happened last season at Preston where we were dreadful for 40 minutes. When the team scores 6 or 5 no one moans at the left back or GK but I am concerned that we shall go on another long term goal drought and that our best hope away from home is either a plucky 0-0 , which is difficult when your striker can't get good possession, a SW\PNE anomaly or someone smashing a worldie in . Given the obvious deficiencies in our squad ,that a blind man could see, is TC part of this or are his hands tied and it is someone else's responsibility and that TC is just carrying the can and soldiering on as best as he can ?, which is what I believe to be the case .
This might be an unpopular opinion but I have seen , admittedly not a lot , from Jebbison that if he smashed 4 goals in a match then we would see a different player thereafter.
I agree with this, but also want to add that it's only just November now. Swansea were hovering around the bottom eight and are now three points behind us. You lose a chain of games, even two in a row and you can plummet down this division. We have seen that with other sides and ourselves have seen a playoff push turn into a relegation scrap almost. Inconsistency is going to mean we finish nearer the bottom than the top. However our home form is keeping us away from any immediate danger early doors. As soon as we lose that spark at home and the away form continues we will be in serious danger of getting pulled into a relegation fight because we do not have the players able to cope with pressure games. It's not all on TC, the players need to stand up and be accounted for such poor away performances but ultimately Gino will swing his axe at one person as he cannot fire the playing squad. We have seven odd months left. Time to turn things around or get the balance of home and away in ratio, but I do not think Clevs will get that time.
