That extraordinary emphasis on his lack of pace from his own coach is a tiny bit concerning, given that not only is he playing against League One attackers, but it's in the middle of a back three. One or two divisions up, as part of a centre back pairing, that could really start to be a problem in the modern game, if he really is as slow as this suggests. No idea whether he's over-egging the pudding for some reason, though, or just being dramatic for effect - certainly won't write him off, since I wrote a post literally yesterday on the possibility of him joining the squad to compete as a starter if we're relegated...
Maguire has carved out a decent career with similar attributes. I do think most defending it done in the initial one vs one stage, so if you're strong and aggressive enough pace doesn't matter, especially if you've got pace around you
I hope that's right and it turns out to be the case, but it is worth nothing that Maguire very clearly has enough pace to operate at the highest level - I could be wrong, but I don't think a League One coach would be waxing lyrical about just how slow he is. That's entirely yet to be proven in Pollock's case. Again, though, there are reasons why he might be saying that, anything up to it not really actually being that true, so I'll definitely reserve judgement. Would have loved it if he'd said 'he's solid as a rock and fuccking rapid to boot!', though
Hard to assess whether it’s the manager’s fixation on his pace or if he’s just responding to questions put to him, which are obviously not included in the article. Either way I think Grimsby fans made it very clear that mobility was not a particular attribute of Pollock’s but as long as his reading of the game is good enough he can still easily be Championship level, or even lower-end PL if he’s really otherwise gifted.
You could just watch the video analysis vid of him earlier in the thread. My judgement of him and his mobility after watching it was: "The analysis actually claims 'pace' to be one of Pollock's strengths, though I'm not convinced by the examples given to illustrate it. In some of the clips it appears that pace isn't too much of an issue for him and he doesn't seem a complete slouch, but in others it looks like he's running through treacle - pretty odd. Maybe the inconsistency is a fitness issue in relation to his age, or a side-effect of his recent niggling injury problems? It doesn't seem like it should hold him back too much though, and as the comment above me suggests he should be able to gain another yard." Seems like he's not yet gained that yard. I certainly don't think Cheltenham's coach is exaggerating though when he indicates most players will beat him in a foot race, which could cause issues with balls over the top. There's def that Maguire thing with him of his mobility generally seeming fine, but then every now and then he'll get massively caught out from it. He'll def be at least a solid Champ player imo, but it's the major question mark as to whether he has the potential to be one good enough for a promotion-winning team and even the PL. Unlike with Wilmot though, who I stated that I never thought would be a PL player, I reckon there's at least a very slim chance with Pollock in future. Grimsby fans also recognised his lack of mobility when he was there: '"Waterfall & Pollock are equally interesting. Given the success of Menayese & Hewitt it's difficult to see us needing both of them (W&P), as they seem very similar (unless of course Pollock can lose a bit of weight and develop a turn of speed"" https://wfcforums.com/index.php?threads/mattie-pollock.58386/#post-3005561
Or I could continue to not, as I have up to this point, because I haven't really been bothered? Thanks for the tip, though
He possibly might be in the same mould as Matt Clarke, who is seemingly too good for the Championship but not deemed quick enough for the Prem
He has a lot of time on his side. There are around 10 CBs in the Championship/League One who have played a good deal of football this season who were born in 2001 or later. Most of them are on loan from City, United, Liverpool or Brighton. I think his development is going very well and there is a lot to work with here. Players like Colwill, Van Den Berg at Preston, Van Hecke (Brighton) at Blackburn, Mengi and Bernard (both United and at Birmingham and Hull respectively). In L1 the only other one is Callum Doyle (Man City) at Sunderland. The only ones who have played a fair amount of football who are club owned are Mark McGuiness at Cardiff and Ronnie Edwards at Peterborough. I think pace is less terminal a flaw for a high level CB than being poor in the air/challenge (Wilmot’s issue) although I think the solution to both is just hiding them in a three alongside two players who compensate for the flaw. That’s why it has gone well for Wilmot at Stoke.
I agree with your first point about terminal flaws, but it's not a particularly good solution you propose though - a CB is unlikely to go very far if they can only function alright in a 3 given how unpopular a formation it is. Pollock currently playing in a 3 is alright as it ensures game time, but next season it would be good for his development to play somewhere in a back 4. That could well be at another League One club as I'm not sure a Champ club would take the risk yet of signing him loan with with a commitment to starting him regularly. Depending on who we let go we may keep him here next season as a backup, though his development would probably be better served at his current stage by playing every week.
I broadly agree although there are players at the top of the game who have made a career out of excelling exclusively in a back 3 (Rudiger is probably the best example).
Yeah while only being able to play in back 3 formations is definitely a handicap to reaching the top, let's not pretend that back 3 formations are actually that unpopular
Mobility can look so much better once his positioning setup improves, so imo that gets better with age and experience. As you said Maguire's not the fastest but somehow he was sold for 80m and plays for England. But it's pleasing to hear the reviews and that atleast one of our loan players is showing some progress in the football league. I can quite easily see him as a squad player next season. Totally agree with Wilmot, never saw anything in him that screamed Premier league player and in all honesty I'd forgotten about him, so it shows he made zero impression on me.
With his season finished, he had a chat with Hive Live, saying how desperate he was to play for us, the poor ****er. Wonder if he actually will play a key role for us one day, or whether we'll mess him around like Wilmot
I'm sure we'll show him how wanted he is throughout pre-season and then dump him out on loan 10 minutes before the transfer window closes.
If good enough he might play. Don't think Wilmot ever was. Pollock has had a decent season and with us going down he might have more of a chance next season. The fact he was on loan at Cheltenham suggests he was not ever going to play for us this season
He's one of those players that may be good enough to be back up, but who would be better off having another season on loan. Suspect he'll be loaned out, we'll probably have enough OAP defenders in front of him for the time being
There's no way we're shifting the dross at centre back so he'll probably stay as backup and get a few games for the U23s. A great season for his development.
The club told us last summer that they were keen on signing young talent. With that in mind I really hope we see Pollock and Baah occasionally next season. Otherwise it will have been another well intended but ultimately short-term and unsuccessful policy.
The trouble is that "young talent" isn't ready for the first team for a couple of seasons. If they were close to being ready they'd have been signed by someone else.
I'll be surprised if Baah is in the first team next season, he should've been loaned in the summer but wasn't and he's barely played for the U23s (affected by injuries but still!). He's had half a season in L1 at a team that got relegated, he showed some raw talent and has some good qualities but really needs minutes to showcase that he can do it consistently - minutes that I don't think he'll get next season. Pollock I'm a little more certain could be around the first team next season, but there's again question marks over some of his game (been playing in a back 3, lacks pace, could improve his passing) that makes me think he could struggle if he's with us next season and might need another loan to see how he adapts his game.
I almost don't care if these guys are good enough. The only way they'll improve is by playing and I'd sure as hell rather see Pollock make a few mistakes for us than Cathcart and Kabasele make a few mistakes for us.
He didn't make any big errors, but he is fundamentally raw and slow. He's not going to break into a Championship side this season, so it's best he goes on loan to a League One team. That's probably his level right now.
Like Sierralta in that he's great in the air, loves defending but is a bit slower than Francisco. His inexperience showed at times, I always feel bad for these youngsters that they have to make their debut in the cup games where the whole team is playing like a pile of sh!te.
Unfortunately for Pollock, as long as we're in the hunt for promotion, we're not going to take any risks on a young lad like him, very much like Quina and Wilmot
I wonder what the plan is for him, you'd have to think he's bottom of the pecking order, but given that we're playing a back 3, we'll probably need 6 options. If we keep him at the club, he's useful in the sense that he doesn't take up a squad place, but on the other hand, he's much better placed going out on loan to a League 1 or maybe a lower Championship side
I’m not so sure we’re going to play 3 at the back. If Sarr stays we’re going to have to rethink it all. I’d expect we’ll switch to a 4-3-3. That way we don’t need a RWB (cost saving) and Sarr can play on the right.
Clearly you didn't hear about that RWB we signed from Udinese yesterday! I don't know, I think with our current LW options, is it worth Rob ripping up his plans when Sarr could play as a striker with Davis? Besides, whatever system we play, we still need another right-sided defender, as Gaspar is the only one we have discounting Ngakia
He is on the cusp. Could develop into a good player or could be the next Paul Mayo. Needs game time. A loan to a team in the Scottish Premier or League 2
Pace is so important in the modern game. Gone are the days where a defender's ability to read the game would bail him out of certain situations. Especially at the top level. Let's hope he develops into a player, but if he's lacking any pace then he's not going to last long at this level.
Don’t entirely agree with that. Terry was never blessed with pace but was a top CB playing at the highest level. He simply read the game better than most and his defensive positioning made up for his lack of pace. At his young age we could definitely help him on his lack of pace but he will never be rapid. However I would pour everything into him about defensive positioning and reading of the game.
Pollock isn't simply not "blessed with pace" but is abnormally slow. I think it'll probably prevent him ever rising above the Championship.
