Our midfield - do we have problems? (2 Viewers)

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Johhny Blue

Johhny Blue

Well-Known Member
covcity4life said:
He is better than Shipley imo

Today he just dwelled on ball too long or made poor passes.

It happens but the bigger issue is him and sheaf too similar. We something else in the middle 2
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I think Eccles could play a major role for us. Remember he’s still very much in the developing stage and will have a few nightmares
 
Osabisa3256

Osabisa3256

Member
Adge said:
It’s not the first time this season that Eccles has thrown himself on the ground to try and get a foul and today it caught up with him and he was correctly cautioned. Had an absolute stinker of a game and to me is always going to be one of them ten a penny midfielders and another one is playing in the academy somewhere.
I thought against Sunderland last week that he had a reasonable game and some argued that he was man of the match. But a pal stated that he couldn’t recall any standout moments of quality and to be fair he
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Johhny Blue said:
I think Eccles could play a major role for us. Remember he’s still very much in the developing stage and will have a few nightmares
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Eccles is not good enough for a team looking to get into the premiership he’s a division one player and no better. don’t get all this bullshit about him being anything better
 
skybluecam

skybluecam

Well-Known Member
Earlsdon_Skyblue1 said:
It is irrelevant. Up until yesterday Eccles has been our best midfielder this season. Kelly also has been written off a million times but was exceptional in the last few games of last season. Whilst he isn't the solution, it is another thing people seem to forget.
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It really isn’t irrelevant whether or not the best midfielder in the league was playing alongside him.

You could’ve put a sack of potatoes in there with Hamer last year and he’d have made it work.
 
skybluecam

skybluecam

Well-Known Member
Brighton Sky Blue said:
Also the last time I checked, 88+4 adds up to more than 90. And I didn’t see someone ‘out on his arse’ after 70 minutes either.
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Adding stoppage time on to minutes played is a new one, do you know where that time comes from? 🤣

Palmer was noticeably tired last 20 min.
 
Mucca Mad Boys

Mucca Mad Boys

Well-Known Member
CCFC54321 said:
The simple facts are a midfield of Eccles, sheaf and palmer is not going to get you into the top 6.

Palmer although probably the most technical player probably in the championship isn’t consistent enough or delivers enough. A nearly man. I like him but you won’t win anything with Palmer as he has no end product.

A holding midfield of Eccles and sheaf will give you one thing and a defensive structure and that’s it.

How many goals you going to get out of those three this season? 6,7 or 8? Not enough or good enough from three midfielders. That area needs revamping next and hope we can stay around the mix until January I’m convinced it’ll be strengthened.
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I wonder what your thoughts were on the team this time last season? We looked far from being a top 6 team then too.

This season, we’ve played Leicester, Middlesborough, Swansea, Sunderland and Watford. Lost once, and with a bit more luck could’ve won 2 or 3 more of those games.

Things take time to click. We look a decent outfit and if Ayari can play in that CM role well, we’ll be fine.
 
BlueSkiesForever

BlueSkiesForever

Well-Known Member
Completely agree with others on here, Eccles is just not good enough at this level yet, maybe he will be in time but I don’t think he’s going to come on leaps and bounds overnight. Maybe Latibeaudiere could play there, I’ve heard others talk about him playing CDM, he’s got pace and stamina so could be something in it.

I know loads of us have banged on about it before but it really is quite shortsighted of the management not to have found a Hamer replacement, even if it wasn’t Hamer quality just yet I don’t think it would have mattered, at least it would have been someone we could use in midfield that’s not Kelly or Eccles. Even just a £3m midfielder that can put a shift in and be decent on the ball, I’m sure it wouldn’t have been that hard to find. Be prudent, as others have suggested, and save the big money for the proper Hamer replacement when they find him but just for this season (and for squad depth at the very least) I think £2m-£4m would have been well spent on a defensive CM that can actually move the ball into dangerous areas quickly and effectively.
 
Balli001

Balli001

Well-Known Member
BlueSkiesForever said:
Completely agree with others on here, Eccles is just not good enough at this level yet, maybe he will be in time but I don’t think he’s going to come on leaps and bounds overnight. Maybe Latibeaudiere could play there, I’ve heard others talk about him playing CDM, he’s got pace and stamina so could be something in it.

I know loads of us have banged on about it before but it really is quite shortsighted of the management not to have found a Hamer replacement, even if it wasn’t Hamer quality just yet I don’t think it would have mattered, at least it would have been someone we could use in midfield that’s not Kelly or Eccles. Even just a £3m midfielder that can put a shift in and be decent on the ball, I’m sure it wouldn’t have been that hard to find. Be prudent, as others have suggested, and save the big money for the proper Hamer replacement when they find him but just for this season (and for squad depth at the very least) I think £2m-£4m would have been well spent on a defensive CM that can actually move the ball into dangerous areas quickly and effectively.
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So you wanted to spend almost half of our record transfer fee on a 1 year squad player?
 
Saddlebrains

Saddlebrains

Well-Known Member
Sheaf and Eccles doesnt work

They either tread on each others toes, they ran into each other 4 times on Saturday

Or they are so far apart a massive gap appears through the middle allowing opposition a clear run at the back 3.

I dont know what the answer is but i know its not them 2 playing together every game until January
 
TomRad85

TomRad85

Well-Known Member
Saddlebrains said:
Sheaf and Eccles doesnt work

They either tread on each others toes, they ran into each other 4 times on Saturday

Or they are so far apart a massive gap appears through the middle allowing opposition a clear run at the back 3.

I dont know what the answer is but i know its not them 2 playing together every game until January
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It's not even that I don't like Eccles, I think he's decent enough. But as I've said all along he's the bloke you bring on for Sheaf, or play to rest Sheaf, whatever... together it just doesn't really do anything.

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
 
Saddlebrains

Saddlebrains

Well-Known Member
TomRad85 said:
It's not even that I don't like Eccles, I think he's decent enough. But as I've said all along he's the bloke you bring on for Sheaf, or play to rest Sheaf, whatever... together it just doesn't really do anything.

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
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I agree

Eccles is a decent championship player and I'm happy we have him. But playing him alongside Sheaf just doesnt work. We want to hope Ayari comes good because i believe him and Sheaf could work well
 
BlueSkiesForever

BlueSkiesForever

Well-Known Member
Balli001 said:
So you wanted to spend almost half of our record transfer fee on a 1 year squad player?
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Firstly, I said somewhere between £2-£4m, not necessarily £4m.
Secondly, I never said he would be a 1 year squad player, it’s not like he stops becoming an option when the proper Hamer replacement comes in, players will get tired or injured, we will need back-up players, something we really lack in midfield atm.
Thirdly, people forget that players tend to keep their value, yes there are wages to pay but it’s not like that transfer fee money disappears once you’ve bought him.
Fourthly, somewhere between £2m-£4m is not a lot of money these days in terms of player prices. You’d struggle to get a decent quality midfielder for less than that, but if our scouting can then great, even better.

I felt like we were in a tricky situation with Hamer but we never explored the possibilities of buying someone that can fill a gap until we find the proper replacement. There’s absolutely no doubt we will struggle to break into the top 6 this season without someone in the midfield that’s not Eccles or Kelly, the fact we’re playing either of them week in week out is poor tbf.
 
BlueSkiesForever

BlueSkiesForever

Well-Known Member
Saddlebrains said:
Sheaf and Eccles doesnt work

They either tread on each others toes, they ran into each other 4 times on Saturday

Or they are so far apart a massive gap appears through the middle allowing opposition a clear run at the back 3.

I dont know what the answer is but i know its not them 2 playing together every game until January
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100%, I like both of them but just doesn’t seem to work together, and I’m just not convinced Eccles has the ability to pick up the ball and either run with it or pick out a killer pass.
Atm we simply pass the ball around in a horseshoe shape and hope the opposition makes a defensive mistake. (Love the effort and work rate we put in but it just seems all in vain atm, could put in a lot less work if they had the confidence to take players on or look for decisive passes.)
 
The Philosopher

The Philosopher

Well-Known Member
We’ve spent £10m or as near as makes no difference on wing backs and defenders.

Over £10m on strikers to develop.

£0 on central midfielders. We have a teenage loanee who we might develop but never own.

There is little doubt that MR wanted to bring in midfielders, so anyone saying we are ok in that department needs a reality pill.

Sheaf and Eccles and Kelly are not top level championship midfielders.

Our attacking midfielders cannot be relied upon fitness wise, the loanee and Tats are completely unknown quantities.

We needed a midfielder or two. We didn’t get one.

That means we still need one.

Fairly straightforward.

We either wait until Jan, hope for the best or sign a free agent.

Fairly straightforward.
 
B

Brighton Sky Blue

Well-Known Member
BlueSkiesForever said:
100%, I like both of them but just doesn’t seem to work together, and I’m just not convinced Eccles has the ability to pick up the ball and either run with it or pick out a killer pass.
Atm we simply pass the ball around in a horseshoe shape and hope the opposition makes a defensive mistake.
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The one goal *we* scored from open play on Saturday came from midfield being bypassed and Watford being caught out of shape. Thought in general we threatened most when Wilson just hit it straight down the middle or when MVE had the ball played over the top and his pace would do the rest.
 
JSL

JSL

Well-Known Member
So who is out there thats available on a free thats better and can plug the gap? If there no transfer fee, then wages surely cant be an issue for one year
 
Julie SBA

Julie SBA

Well-Known Member
I think Eccles always gives 100%, is he top end championship quality, no, is he bottom end championship, maybe?
The fact is Robins clearly rates him (4 year contract) and has shown repeatedly that he goes out of his way to fit Josh into his teams.
None of this is on Eccles, this for me is the blinkers that Robins has when it comes to certain players.

The reality is our midfield was stronger last season, Hamer has not been replaced and I don't feel the answer is currently at the club. Hamer was the heartbeat of the team and nobody is currently capable of stepping into the gap.
 
Matt smith

Matt smith

Well-Known Member
letsallsingtogether said:
He wanted to go and replace him with who?
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What are you on about?

it’s like you can’t criticize the club for not replacing our best player on here.

it’s laughable

agree on the points made on Eccles and sheaf, too similar. I’m really unsure on what the 3 should be in midfield, maybe the box to give us more legs and defensive solidity.
 
Sky_Blue_Dreamer

Sky_Blue_Dreamer

Well-Known Member
covboy9 said:
Desperately need ohare back

palmer is a talented footballer but sadly not a professional because he cannot do 90mins
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Why the obsession with being able to do 90mins? There are these things called subs. If someone is a supersub that bangs in goals do you write them off because they don't do it for 90mins?

People's natural athleticism differs from person to person and no matter how hard they try their aerobic capacity etc will be limited. But if they have natural footballing ability bin them off because they get tired after 60mins? Would you prefer a player giving it everything for 60mins or coasting a bit so they can get through 90? Of course you couldn't have every player like that as there aren't enough subs, but 2 or 3 you could get away with. Wing backs especially it should be looked at as it's a very demanding position.

I'm not saying Palmer is some amazing superstar, but he does have technical ability and we should look to use it, and if we need to replace him after an hour so be it. Or use him as an option off the bench for 30.
 
C

Ccfcisparks

Well-Known Member
Eccles and Sheaf individually are good enough, if they play next to someone like Hamer. Problem is, and has been highlighted by others, is that they are extremely similar. This gives us a lot of depth in that particular role, but leaves us extremely limited on the creative side. I do wonder if given license to go forward Sheaf could be a lot better. He played really well against Middlesbrough getting forward.
 
N

napolimp

Well-Known Member
That CDM role needs an extra (good quality) body in anyway, whether Sheaf and Eccles can play next to each other or not. Who the hell do you put in there at the moment if 2 of the 3 pick up injuries?
 
edgy

edgy

Well-Known Member
napolimp said:
That CDM role needs an extra (good quality) body in anyway, whether Sheaf and Eccles can play next to each other or not. Who the hell do you put in there at the moment if 2 of the 3 pick up injuries?
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Lati drops in there, now a new Kitching has been fitted.
 
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