Players v Expectations

[LarryGrayson]

Just my thoughts, not an exclusive list. Players I thought stood out before it began as either making it or not making it.

Rushworth: Disappointing, the pressure of a big fee?
MVE: Had thought he was relying on his pace to get him out of trouble last season, it's showing up more this. He's getting the tough learning curve he's maybe needed to progress however - pace maybe means you can neglect some things until you need to address them.
DaSilva: Genuinely surprised, he's been like a duck to water and been better than the other flank.
Thomas: Always seemed a bit last gasp last season so thought he'd get found out in the division above. OK he's still last gasp but is doing just as well at the higher level.
EMC: Always thought he had the attributes for the top flight, but also thought he lacked confidence even the start of last season so was slightly worried. If he gets belief in himself he can shine, otherwise he'll end up the 21st century David Smith.
Rudoni: Always had faith!
Wright: Haven't had a chance to see yet, but I thought he'd vanish without trace in this division. Let's hope I'm wrong there too...

 

[robin.starling]

Who knows, I'm confused by football now after watching Brandon Thomas Asante.

 

[Ccfc_Addy]

I think you're pretty spot on. JDS, Thomas and Rudoni look like they've made the step up. Rushworth, Grimes, EMC and especially MVE are the disappointments for me.

Wright is the big question mark for me.

 

[Wyken Sky Blue]

Who knows, I'm confused by football now after watching Brandon Thomas Asante.

He isn't the best technically but you can see why he is starting and is rated by Lampard

His energy and tenacity is something some of our other and more technical players should be looking to take inspiration from

 

[PUSB-We_are_going_up]

So far Im convinced these can make the level or have already made the level

Thomas
Amenda
Pinnock
Mfuni
Dasilva
Yirenkyi
Onyeka
Rudoni
Cherif

Havent seen enough from or even seen the rest yet, I think if you look there too there is a base to build from give KKH a run out, bring in the frenchies on the wings and you’ve got an 11

 

[shmmeee]

So far Im convinced these can make the level or have already made the level

Thomas
Amenda
Pinnock
Mfuni
Dasilva
Yirenkyi
Onyeka
Rudoni
Cherif

Havent seen enough from or even seen the rest yet, I think if you look there too there is a base to build from give KKH a run out, bring in the frenchies on the wings and you’ve got an 11

Feel like Rushworth of last year would make this list.

 

[PUSB-We_are_going_up]

Feel like Rushworth of last year would make this list.

He would but so would Milan and Ephron stands firmly in the need to see more catagory

 

[stupot07]

Of those that have played this season that have stepped up from last season's championship team

Rushworth: always thought £25m on a keeper that had never played in the PL was a massive gamble. Joint 3rd most expensive England keeper of all time, not looking worthy of the fee at all at the minute

MVE: really surprised me by how much he has struggled, knew his pace wasn't going to be quite the asset it is at Championship level, but he has really struggled at times.

DaSilva: has really stepped up. has really come on since Lampard came in, has been one of our most consistent players. That said has struggled against pace and his defending for Fulham goal was a disgrace.

Thomas: exceeding all expectations, looks far more assured with the calm presence of Pinnock beside him. His body on the line defending has really been out to the test and his come through it with flying colours.

EMC: thought he would struggle, he's not particularly quick and lacks a footballing brain at times. Against more athletic defenders, he's no longer going to out muscle them.

Rudoni: knew he'd make the step up.

Grimes: always thought he'd struggle and tipped him to make his way out if the first 11 after the first dozen games. The game is much quicker, and we don't dominate possession, it's not his game.

Torp: had faith that despite his limitations in his physicalilty he had the technical ability for the PL. His performance against Villa in the cup and his cameo appearances show he adds something when used, but has been under utilised in the last two games.

Sakamoto: thought he had the technical ability and the work rate to step up, it's taken a while but his performance against Fulham showed a lot of promise.

BTA: you get what you see. He works incredibly high, will land on opportunities, but his lack of football brain is nowhere near good enough for the PL. A presence in the box, offers nothing creative despite playing in the wing.

Onyeka: I wouldn't have signed him as he's a bit hit and miss in possession but it was a loan to buy. However as only 1 of 3 in our squad with significant top flight and PL experience he should be starting most weeks. Genuine PL athleticism.

 

[RJASkyblue]

Of those that have played this season that have stepped up from last season's championship team

Rushworth: always thought £25m on a keeper that had never played in the PL was a massive gamble. Joint 3rd most expensive England keeper of all time, not looking worthy of the fee at all at the minute

MVE: really surprised me by how much he has struggled, knew his pace wasn't going to be quite the asset it is at Championship level, but he has really struggled at times.

DaSilva: has really stepped up. has really come on since Lampard came in, has been one of our most consistent players. That said has struggled against pace and his defending for Fulham goal was a disgrace.

Thomas: exceeding all expectations, looks far more assured with the calm presence of Pinnock beside him. His body on the line defending has really been out to the test and his come through it with flying colours.

EMC: thought he would struggle, he's not particularly quick and lacks a footballing brain at times. Against more athletic defenders, he's no longer going to out muscle them.

Rudoni: knew he'd make the step up.

Grimes: always thought he'd struggle and tipped him to make his way out if the first 11 after the first dozen games. The game is much quicker, and we don't dominate possession, it's not his game.

Torp: had faith that despite his limitations in his physicalilty he had the technical ability for the PL. His performance against Villa in the cup and his cameo appearances show he adds something when used, but has been under utilised in the last two games.

Sakamoto: thought he had the technical ability and the work rate to step up, it's taken a while but his performance against Fulham showed a lot of promise.

BTA: you get what you see. He works incredibly high, will land on opportunities, but his lack of football brain is nowhere near good enough for the PL. A presence in the box, offers nothing creative despite playing in the wing.

Onyeka: I wouldn't have signed him as he's a bit hit and miss in possession but it was a loan to buy. However as only 1 of 3 in our squad with significant top flight and PL experience he should be starting most weeks. Genuine PL athleticism.

I like your comment about EMC lacking a football brain at times. The number of times he is caught offside when he is looking all the way across the pitch, and when he uses his size to blatantly push other players over, or just fall over himself. I think he does lack confidence in his own ability but he is so infuriating at times.

 

[Londonccfcfan]

Feel like Rushworth of last year would make this list.

Mental strength is a massive part of football at the highest level.
Mental strength seperates men from boys.

 

[shmmeee]

Of those that have played this season that have stepped up from last season's championship team

Rushworth: always thought £25m on a keeper that had never played in the PL was a massive gamble. Joint 3rd most expensive England keeper of all time, not looking worthy of the fee at all at the minute

MVE: really surprised me by how much he has struggled, knew his pace wasn't going to be quite the asset it is at Championship level, but he has really struggled at times.

DaSilva: has really stepped up. has really come on since Lampard came in, has been one of our most consistent players. That said has struggled against pace and his defending for Fulham goal was a disgrace.

Thomas: exceeding all expectations, looks far more assured with the calm presence of Pinnock beside him. His body on the line defending has really been out to the test and his come through it with flying colours.

EMC: thought he would struggle, he's not particularly quick and lacks a footballing brain at times. Against more athletic defenders, he's no longer going to out muscle them.

Rudoni: knew he'd make the step up.

Grimes: always thought he'd struggle and tipped him to make his way out if the first 11 after the first dozen games. The game is much quicker, and we don't dominate possession, it's not his game.

Torp: had faith that despite his limitations in his physicalilty he had the technical ability for the PL. His performance against Villa in the cup and his cameo appearances show he adds something when used, but has been under utilised in the last two games.

Sakamoto: thought he had the technical ability and the work rate to step up, it's taken a while but his performance against Fulham showed a lot of promise.

BTA: you get what you see. He works incredibly high, will land on opportunities, but his lack of football brain is nowhere near good enough for the PL. A presence in the box, offers nothing creative despite playing in the wing.

Onyeka: I wouldn't have signed him as he's a bit hit and miss in possession but it was a loan to buy. However as only 1 of 3 in our squad with significant top flight and PL experience he should be starting most weeks. Genuine PL athleticism.

agree with most of that. On Onyeka: My concern with our transfers is we’ve done a Spurs and over indexed on athleticism at the expense of technical ability. Yes PL players are a lot bigger and stronger. But they’re better at football too. I feel Onyeka needed to be paired with a technician in midfield and Yirenkyi is more of the same.

 

[Sick Boy]

agree with most of that. On Onyeka: My concern with our transfers is we’ve done a Spurs and over indexed on athleticism at the expense of technical ability. Yes PL players are a lot bigger and stronger. But they’re better at football too. I feel Onyeka needed to be paired with a technician in midfield and Yirenkyi is more of the same.

Yirenkyi is still young and should ideally have been playing alongside someone with more PL experience / able to better adapt to it than Grimes.

 

[Boicey]

In some ways it's quite hard to judge, particularly wide, forward players because they've had so little of the ball. Mainly because our midfield is so weak and Grimes is so tactically deep. A few thoughts...

Rushworth has gone from a very active last line of a weak defence in the Championship to a nervous bystander. Not doing much, dropping clangers in more packed defences. Maybe he'd be better if we pushed up and he had more space.
MVE rarely gets forward and is a weak full back. Now increasingly tucking in and needing a lot of wide support from the likes of Sakamoto which wastes him. Need to try KKH.
JDS not a great defender, a tidy player who gets a fair amount of ball as Grimes sits deep and left and he is a major outlet. Probably over rated but he is tidy.
Thomas, Pinnock. Solid old school central defenders. Lack pace and ability to bring the ball forward. Thomas not scoring now, probably because our set pieces are so poor.
Grimes the biggest problem. Sits too deep and towards the left. Like a quarterback who doesn't have a good long throw. So cramps the defence, passes short, doesn't link up with other central midfielder. TBF much of this is a Lampard tactical issue. At least move him 10 yards forward or replace by Torp and let Yirenkyi cover deep.
Sakamoto, EMC need more ball from central midfield. And some overlap threat from MVE, JDS.
Rudoni, centre forward too isolated upfront. 2 man press doesn't work. Don't cover much in midfield.
Bottom line is we have to get central midfield working properly and then judge.

 

[robin.starling]

Yirenkyi is still young and should ideally have been playing alongside someone with more PL experience / able to better adapt to it than Grimes.

Best midfield in the Championship next season

 

[shmmeee]

Yirenkyi is still young and should ideally have been playing alongside someone with more PL experience / able to better adapt to it than Grimes.

I don’t disagree, but if we couldn’t afford another CM and had already committed to Onyeka he’s a strange signing. We’d have been better off spending the money on someone with PL passing ability.

 

[SBAndy]

I don’t disagree, but if we couldn’t afford another CM and had already committed to Onyeka he’s a strange signing. We’d have been better off spending the money on someone with PL passing ability.

In a roundabout way, though, we’ve hedged by bringing in players like Yirenkyi and Cherif where we should be able to sell at a significant profit even if we went down. Probably add Tchaouna to that list as well assuming he actually gets on the pitch at some stage.

We definitely needed someone with supreme technical ability though, and we need to drop the 442 out-of-possession shape. For my money, Angel Gomes in a genuine midfield 3 would have been far better.

 

[skybluecam]

In a roundabout way, though, we’ve hedged by bringing in players like Yirenkyi and Cherif where we should be able to sell at a significant profit even if we went down. Probably add Tchaouna to that list as well assuming he actually gets on the pitch at some stage.

We definitely needed someone with supreme technical ability though, and we need to drop the 442 out-of-possession shape. For my money, Angel Gomes in a genuine midfield 3 would have been far better.

how will we turn a profit on Tchaouna

 

[Grendel]

how will we turn a profit on Tchaouna

Hope we actually bought him for 20 million Zimbabwe dollars

 

[SBAndy]

how will we turn a profit on Tchaouna

Burnley turned a fairly significant profit on a rather underwhelming 12 months. You’d be surprised what people will pay for potential.

 

[Captain Dart]

Don't worry Bassette is begining to knock a few goals in his fee will cover the loss.

 

[skybluecam]

Burnley turned a fairly significant profit on a rather underwhelming 12 months. You’d be surprised what people will pay for potential.

I’m not sure us paying a lot for him after an underwhelming season is good evidence we’ll be able to sell him for even more