Id like him to shoot more when he cuts in .. thats my main gripe with him
Exactly. Shows his final ball is wank when he does actually attempt to pass instead of cut back again, hes had loads of touches in the penalty area yet has only 1 goal 1 assist, and doesnt get enough shots off
Im not saying hes shit, im saying for a player whos playing in a free scoring attacking team, he's not come on as much as the others
He doesn't look fully fit and firing yet , still has been performing more than adequately
m
we won, and he’s playing his part today. There are times to whinge and today isn’t one
His final ball and final decision making needs to improve but he’s a constant threat. He’ll get there
Its like he’s not learned refs aren’t falling for that this season and it wastes so many good opportunities.
Been disappointed with him for a while. Just doesn’t seem to be finding his groove and I think he’s lucky there’s no other options at the minute tbh.
12 games unbeaten and you still think half the squad are underperforming or need replacing ....
Do you have anything positive to say about any of the squad ?
Is there anything you don't moan about @Saddlebrains 
He does get into good positions and seem to fluff the chances.
He does get into good positions and seem to fluff the chances.
Nah, BTA and Haji need to remain central if they keep up their form. BTA is getting most of goals playing centrally.
If anything, there’s a more compelling case to play 5-3-2.
I've not been impressed at all so far this season, which is strange considering the run we are on, and our record goals tally.
For me there is just far too little end product to anything he does, and I think his place will be taken by BTA once Rudoni and Torp are back.
I also expect another wide player to join us in January putting further pressure on his place.
Here’s the problem, I think Asante has been the most effective he’s ever been since playing the 10 role! I’d not want to move him out left whilst he’s consistently scoring goals!
Don’t think that’s true at all about BTA. We played 5-2-3/3-4-3 on Tuesday
Yes, lots. And I want to win the league this season. I don’t think we’ll get a better shot so yes I want us to be ruthless. If players aren’t performing I want better. That will continue until we’ve won everything in football several times over tbh.
My issue with 5 at the back is that Grimes at his best often slots into make a 3 in possession. We go 5 at the back we have one less forward and crowd an area of the pitch that has been working well.
It’s true he’s scored a few goals playing RW/LW but as a player, he makes all his big plays in central positions. I could wrong here, most of his goals playing wide comes from the right rather than the left. If that is the case, the solution isn’t as straightforward as putting BTA at LW.
Frankly, Sakamoto and EMC did better at fulfilling the role of a winger v Pompey. BTA’s movement for both goals was fantastic.
The form he is in, he has to play. Right now, it makes sense in my mind to stick Rudoni out wide because he’s got the work rate and crossing ability. In any case, we have the luxury of easing Rudoni in when he returns from his injury.
The idea of our front 3 this season though is that they are playing narrower generally. His position has largely been dictated by who else in the squad is available - Sakamoto out for a few games so he played on the right, ditto EMC on the left, now short in the middle so he’s gone there. I don’t think you can necessarily say positions do/don’t work for him based on such a small sample size.
I’d at the very least be trying him at LW a bit more as EMC doesn’t seem fully fit, and my hunch is we’d probably be seeing that if we had another (capable) central player to shake it up.
"Coventrian Contrarians" are at it again on here this morning. EMC is a fine winger.
Our No 11 in my book , every week.
Our No 11 in my book , every week.
Playing Rudoni out wide and BTA in the 10 would be ridiculous lol
From memory Rudoni did used to play off the left with us in the earlier days
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He does quite a bit, they are nearly always blocked as he waits too long to get his shot off.
Including at LB at the end of the Robins days! Maybe that’s how we keep everyone in the side once Rudi’s back (sorry Jay)
If you look at BTA's goals playing LW, RW or in the 10 this season they have all been scored in the center forward position and a decent portion from set pieces, so it doesn't matter where he plays in the front line at the minute. For me we've looked really light in midfield since Rudoni has been out, especially when we are out of possession.
For me EMC comes out, BTA off the left and Rudoni in the 10. They'll rotate in possession anyway.
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The formation when we play BTA and Haji is 4-4-2. When Rudoni plays, it is a distinctively different shape. It really isn’t ridiculous to suggest keeping our two top scorers centrally and BTA not only our top scorer now, but also 3 goals shy of Rudoni’s goal tally for last season.
Add onto that, Rudoni got a lot of his assists drifting out wide and crossing the ball and has played on both wings throughout his career (and for us). He may have ended the Leicester game at RW iirc.
They will rotate but our wingers hold v wide positions and whenever BTA is in those positions, he’s not impacting the game. Rudoni actually likes being in those positions and has got several crossed assists from out wide.
I agree on the being light in midfield point, it’s certainly a consideration Lampard needs to balance.
They’re not sitting narrower at all, when we attack the wingers hug the touch lines.
On EMC specifically, he’s playing well but the only thing missing has been the lack of goal contributions. The underlying xG and xA numbers for he and Sakamoto are similar (EMC edges xG, Sakamoto edges xA).
mrtrench
Well-Known Member
There was an article in the Daily Telegraph recently entitled "How Frank Lampard turned Ephron Msson-Clark into the Championship's best winger". It's behind a paywall but I might post an extract later, when I have time.
Got to disagree, Sakamoto is the only winger that hugs the touch line, there's lots of examples of EMC coming very narrow I got the CF position when we agreed building down the left.
In terms of BTA he's scored 5 and has 3 assists playing from wide (with licence to rotate an come inside) this season, and 4 goals from the number 10.
Rudoni did indeed get a few assists from crossing from the left hand side last season, but that was floating out wide form the 10 position creating overloads or exploiting space left by EMC when he goes inside.
We will need that extra man in midfield as we go into the run of games against the stronger teams.
It's a moot point anyway, as Lampard makes the decisions not us. Just like when you wanted Sakamoto benched and wright on the right, but Lampard kept picking Sakamoto.
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