The Squad (2 Viewers)

[Mucca Mad Boys]

So you're admitting that Haji is not better as a striker the way we set up at the moment. Simms and BTA both looked better playing in a 5-3-2 as well.

As I say again, the way FL sets this team up doesn't suit Wright at either LF or CF. On the left he wants to cut in but Lampard plays the wide forwards wider to get crosses in like wingers - doesn't suit him. As a striker he either likes getting played in to feet behind the defence or being able to drift between the LCB and LB to cut inside. With Lampard's 1 up front it needs a physical player to keep possession and lay it off to get in the centre to challenge for headers. Again, doesn't suit him.

We're playing a system that none of our current strikers are suited too and hardly surprising they're not scoring many goals. We're reliant on an attacking midfielder to put the ball in the net.

You keep repeating what others are saying but the facts just don’t support what you say. It was true for a portion of the 23/24 season and that’s it. For context, it was also true that Collins was operating at a high level in that same period in goal - with the highest shot save % in the league. Facts change and just as Brad Collins is considered a bust… A closer look at Haji’s output from LW, it’s tailed out massively after Jan 2024. 8 goals from the wing since then and 14 as a striker, in less games iirc. Again, outside that Nov to Jan period, Haji registered 7 goal contributions (4 goals, 3 assists) and since Boro away on NYD, he’s got 2 assists from LW.

Haji has scored more goals playing striker in his career with us in 23/24 and 24/25 even after discounting the penalty goals.

He wasn’t fully fit at the tail end of this season nor was he fully fit coming on at the weekend. So the quickness people have formed these opinions on what Haji suits and doesn’t suit is a bit silly really.

Haji Wright will comfortably score 15-20 goals this season playing up front. That will not address the lack of goals we get from the wing and I’ve demonstrated that Haji’s numbers don’t support that he’d score more goals from LW than EMC over a full season.

 

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[Hobo]

Raphael plays on the right.

 

[Captain Dart]

Raphael plays on the right.

I've already claimed the ITK points for that.

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

Comparing him on goals scored alone for which position he's better in isn't a true reflection, though, is it?
Playing striker he's scored more than playing on the LW. Well fuck my life, who'd have thought a ST would score more than a LW?!
A strikers job is scoring goals, a wingers primary job is creating and assisting. Just because he scored less at LW doesn't mean he didnt play better there or have more of an effect on the game


I mean, by your logic, let's put Saka up top as he'll score more goals from there than he will on RW! Or Bobby Thomas? Surely he'll score more goals as a ST than he will a CB
Your argument is flawed.

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My logic is that Haji is a striker and has been his whole career so we should play him there. When people say LW is his “best” position, you’d expect that to express itself in more goals and assists. It doesn’t.

If the Haji at LW is to ‘create and assist’, he only has 4 assists playing LW in since joining us. Which is less than EMC did in 30 appearances last season… on that basis, Haji isn’t even our best LW.

My question is simple: if playing Haji gets you less goals at LW than upfront and less assists than EMC and Sakamoto… what do you gain from playing Haji out of position? Not a lot.

Wingers are expected to score goals too, hence the among the top scorers in the top divisions are increasingly wingers (Salah, Mbueno, Bowen, Vini, Raphina, Yamal, Olise and so on).

 

[Sky_Blue_Dreamer]

You keep repeating what others are saying but the facts just don’t support what you say. It was true for a portion of the 23/24 season and that’s it. For context, it was also true that Collins was operating at a high level in that same period in goal - with the highest shot save % in the league. Facts change and just as Brad Collins is considered a bust… A closer look at Haji’s output from LW, it’s tailed out massively after Jan 2024. 8 goals from the wing since then and 14 as a striker, in less games iirc. Again, outside that Nov to Jan period, Haji registered 7 goal contributions (4 goals, 3 assists) and since Boro away on NYD, he’s got 2 assists from LW.

Haji has scored more goals playing striker in his career with us in 23/24 and 24/25 even after discounting the penalty goals.

He wasn’t fully fit at the tail end of this season nor was he fully fit coming on at the weekend. So the quickness people have formed these opinions on what Haji suits and doesn’t suit is a bit silly really.

Haji Wright will comfortably score 15-20 goals this season playing up front. That will not address the lack of goals we get from the wing and I’ve demonstrated that Haji’s numbers don’t support that he’d score more goals from LW than EMC over a full season.

Can we agree that he works better when he can drift a bit to the left to cut in between the LB and LCB, regardless of whether he plays CF or LW? And that Lampard's tactics don't suit him being able to do that?

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

Can we agree that he works better when he can drift a bit to the left to cut in between the LB and LCB, regardless of whether he plays CF or LW? And that Lampard's tactics don't suit him being able to do that?

Haji is good at working in the spaces, between the lines, from both side. The best example is Sunderland where all of his goals came from picking the ball up in space and cutting inside to shoot/win a penalty. He scored a lot of goals on the cut back centrally.

I’m not Lampard nor a mind reader, but to me it seems like his preferred system is having Haji in a free-ish role and his wingers being able to attack the space that can cause, we nearly seen that in action where Haji drifted out wide and BTA burst through the middle which ultimately lead to nothing because Haji didn’t square it. That is a footballing ‘meta’ atm where your forward players attack space rather than having set positions.

EMC is v good at this because he has a knack for being in the box at the right place and time.

 

[DT-R]

My logic is that Haji is a striker and has been his whole career so we should play him there. When people say LW is his “best” position, you’d expect that to express itself in more goals and assists. It doesn’t.

If the Haji at LW is to ‘create and assist’, he only has 4 assists playing LW in since joining us. Which is less than EMC did in 30 appearances last season… on that basis, Haji isn’t even our best LW.

My question is simple: if playing Haji gets you less goals at LW than upfront and less assists than EMC and Sakamoto… what do you gain from playing Haji out of position? Not a lot.

Wingers are expected to score goals too, hence the among the top scorers in the top divisions are increasingly wingers (Salah, Mbueno, Bowen, Vini, Raphina, Yamal, Olise and so on).

I agree EMC is better on the left than Wright.
To be clear, I'm neither in the Hadji as a LW or the Hadji as a ST camp. I'm in the "Hadji isn't good enough and hasn't lived up to his price tag, and we need a new striker" camp! Pure and simple. Whatever position he's played in, he's not good enough, or hungry enough!

He genuinely looks more interested in YouTube videos playing basketball at Ryton than he looked in either of the Sunderland play-off games!

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[pusbccfc]

Look how good he is off the left. Punishing full backs who are half his size.

It's actually fucking bonkers putting him down the middle. He's better at crossing with his weak foot than Ephron too.

That performance against a Sunderland side who gave him all the time in the world has blinded people.

 

[Skyblueabo1111]

LW has objectively not been Wright’s best position. The correct question is whether or not he’s better in a 2 striker or 1 striker formation.

He scored 19 goals from that position, so did Simms, in the centre

 

[Fusilier]

Raphael plays on the right.

Raphael can play on the right but played mainly on the left at his previous club. This is clear from the videos of him on YouTube and on Transfermarkt. Raphael Borges Rodrigues - Player profile 25/26

 

[Skyblueabo1111]

Look how good he is off the left. Punishing full backs who are half his size.

It's actually fucking bonkers putting him down the middle. He's better at crossing with his weak foot than Ephron too.

That performance against a Sunderland side who gave him all the time in the world has blinded people.

Spot on. Any teams that presses us and Wright is the lone striker, he struggles

 

[fatso]

Raphael plays on the right.

Actually he doesn't really play at all.

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

He scored 19 goals from that position, so did Simms, in the centre

Incorrect. I've broken this down elsewhere and he has scored more goals as a striker than LW.

We played 3-4-1-2 to start the season and he scored a few goals, had a great start to his new role at LW 4-2-3-1 and this dropped off after NY Day v Boro. Scored 3 goals v Wolves, Leeds & Ipswich and the remaining goals he was playing upfront as a lone striker or back to a 3-4-1-2.

More recently, 4 goals from LW last season.

 

[Skyblueabo1111]

Incorrect. I've broken this down elsewhere and he has scored more goals as a striker than LW.

We played 3-4-1-2 to start the season and he scored a few goals, had a great start to his new role at LW 4-2-3-1 and this dropped off after NY Day v Boro. Scored 3 goals v Wolves, Leeds & Ipswich and the remaining goals he was playing upfront as a lone striker or back to a 3-4-1-2.

More recently, 4 goals from LW last season.

He certainly seems more effective on the left, especially against teams who press..

 

[Grendel]

I agree EMC is better on the left than Wright.
To be clear, I'm neither in the Hadji as a LW or the Hadji as a ST camp. I'm in the "Hadji isn't good enough and hasn't lived up to his price tag, and we need a new striker" camp! Pure and simple. Whatever position he's played in, he's not good enough, or hungry enough!

He genuinely looks more interested in YouTube videos playing basketball at Ryton than he looked in either of the Sunderland play-off games!

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He is far better than EMC full stop.

 

[stupot07]

Incorrect. I've broken this down elsewhere and he has scored more goals as a striker than LW.

We played 3-4-1-2 to start the season and he scored a few goals, had a great start to his new role at LW 4-2-3-1 and this dropped off after NY Day v Boro. Scored 3 goals v Wolves, Leeds & Ipswich and the remaining goals he was playing upfront as a lone striker or back to a 3-4-1-2.

More recently, 4 goals from LW last season.

That's not true he played and scored from the left against Sheffield Wednesday, Millwall and his pen Vs Man United and creating the 'torp' goal had come after we had changed shape and he went on the left.

Tbf I'm sure you were arguing last season that Wright should be on the right with EMC off the left and Simms up top, because you don't rate Sakamoto.

 

[SeaSeeEffCee]

Look how good he is off the left. Punishing full backs who are half his size.

It's actually fucking bonkers putting him down the middle. He's better at crossing with his weak foot than Ephron too.

That performance against a Sunderland side who gave him all the time in the world has blinded people.

Yes but instead of using your eyes what about the precious stats?

 

[stupot07]

Look how good he is off the left. Punishing full backs who are half his size.

It's actually fucking bonkers putting him down the middle. He's better at crossing with his weak foot than Ephron too.

That performance against a Sunderland side who gave him all the time in the world has blinded people.

You rarely see EMC doing any of that, it's stop, check back pass backwards.

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

He certainly seems more effective on the left, especially against teams who press..

If you're going off this highlight reel, most of the highlights he was playing in a 2 striker formation where he had a free role. Particularly the Watford games (home and away) and drove from the right as well as the left - as he did v Sunderland last season.

It's worth noting that there

That's not true he played and scored from the left against Sheffield Wednesday, Millwall and his pen Vs Man United and creating the 'torp' goal had come after we had changed shape and he went on the left.

Tbf I'm sure you were arguing last season that Wright should be on the right with EMC off the left and Simms up top, because you don't rate Sakamoto.

In the league, he played LW where got an assist. In the FA Cup, he played upfront in both games, where he scored in the 4-1 win.

That's right and in an ideal world, I'd like for you all to be right on Wright. When you delve into the data, I'm sorry but it doesn't support the opinions many on here repeat ad nauseam. The facts have changed materially and therefore, my opinion has. With all due respect, only Robins has actually played him at LW for a prolonged period in Haji's career.

I do rate Sakamoto, it's just that he's not a top Championship RW and 4 goals in a full season is not good enough. Particularly when you had 10+ wingers scoring more than him in generally less games. Being an impact player off the bench isn't a bad thing, every team needs them and we don't have anything.

On the bench on Saturday, who was going to make a difference? We have only defensive options or strikers on the bench. No AMs, no wingers, no creativity. That's why we struggle to break teams down because the bench isn't strong enough to keep pressure on for 90m.

You rarely see EMC doing any of that, it's stop, check back pass backwards.

We didn't see Haji do that at all last season from LW either, much the same under Lampard which consolidates the point that Haji at LW and Lampard is night and day. Under Robins in 23/24, the wingers receive the ball deeper because they're counter attacking. In 24/25, being more possession-based certainly impacted certain players more than others.

 

[shmmeee]

Haji is good at working in the spaces, between the lines, from both side. The best example is Sunderland where all of his goals came from picking the ball up in space and cutting inside to shoot/win a penalty. He scored a lot of goals on the cut back centrally.

I’m not Lampard nor a mind reader, but to me it seems like his preferred system is having Haji in a free-ish role and his wingers being able to attack the space that can cause, we nearly seen that in action where Haji drifted out wide and BTA burst through the middle which ultimately lead to nothing because Haji didn’t square it. That is a footballing ‘meta’ atm where your forward players attack space rather than having set positions.

EMC is v good at this because he has a knack for being in the box at the right place and time.

Problem is you’ve got Rudi and Haji in free ish roles and no one securing the centre so all our play goes out wide and makes us predictable because no one want to play centrally in the final third.

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

Problem is you’ve got Rudi and Haji in free ish roles and no one securing the centre so all our play goes out wide and makes us predictable because no one want to play centrally in the final third.

It's potentially an issue. In reality, Haji needs time to settle in upfront and get a good run of games because last season it was swapping around too often due to injuries to EMC. Which again, highlights a need for wide players if you're playing a formation with wingers, you need a minimum of 4 wingers and 3 strikers because it's a position with a high attrition rate. Up front, people won't like it. but if Haji gets injured, you'd have to back Simms and BTA on their previous seasons.

Too many hasty conclusions are being drawn after one game. EMC and Wright have barely played together and you'd expect the tactics to be tweaked following on from last season.

 

[Briles]

All this players don't fit the system doesn't fly with me. You have to play a system to your squads strengths, not just play 1 system regardless.

 

[Hobo]

All this players don't fit the system doesn't fly with me. You have to play a system to your squads strengths, not just play 1 system regardless.

You also get to a certain level with players and systems and tactics are actually coached less. Because really good players just know how to react to the situation. You also have to give them the freedom to create and do something different.

I am not saying we are at that level yet as a squad. But you certainly need, as you say, to play to your players strengths. But finding the balance between rigid system and freedom to play.

 

[shmmeee]

It's potentially an issue. In reality, Haji needs time to settle in upfront and get a good run of games because last season it was swapping around too often due to injuries to EMC. Which again, highlights a need for wide players if you're playing a formation with wingers, you need a minimum of 4 wingers and 3 strikers because it's a position with a high attrition rate. Up front, people won't like it. but if Haji gets injured, you'd have to back Simms and BTA on their previous seasons.

Too many hasty conclusions are being drawn after one game. EMC and Wright have barely played together and you'd expect the tactics to be tweaked following on from last season.

The conclusions are because it’s a continuation of the issues last season.

 

[stupot07]

The conclusions are because it’s a continuation of the issues last season.

Yep, if you include the the play off semi finals, we'd already started to stutter

Our last 10 games

Played 10 Won 3 drew 1 lost 6 GF 12 GA 15

Of which our last 5 games were even worse.
Played 5 Won 1 drew 0 lost 4 GF 6 GA 9

You the then start the season with the same issues as we were experiencing towards the end of last season.

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

The conclusions are because it’s a continuation of the issues last season.

In the case of Haji, he’s not even had a good stretch playing striker under Lampard. If he had a 5-10 game drought the questions being asked would be fairer.

 

[shmmeee]

In the case of Haji, he’s not even had a good stretch playing striker under Lampard. If he had a 5-10 game drought the questions being asked would be fairer.

That’s fair, but we’ve seen a fair amount of him and he’s yet to have a decent game bar Sunderland really.

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

That’s fair, but we’ve seen a fair amount of him and he’s yet to have a decent game bar Sunderland really.

We now know that he was struggling with an injury so in my mind, he gets the benefit of the doubt.

People don’t like Wright’s demeanour but his stats speak for itself and find this undercurrent hankering for a lump like Keiffer Moore or Carlton Morris really strange.

Haji Wright was 4th joint top goalscorer playing a fraction of the games and that counts for something.

 

[shmmeee]

We now know that he was struggling with an injury so in my mind, he gets the benefit of the doubt.

People don’t like Wright’s demeanour but his stats speak for itself and find this undercurrent hankering for a lump like Keiffer Moore or Carlton Morris really strange.

Haji Wright was 4th joint top goalscorer playing a fraction of the games and that counts for something.

Yeah you can’t argue with his goals

 

[wingy]

He certainly seems more effective on the left, especially against teams who press..

No doubt about it in my opinion, just looking at that video those runs on the left are all about pace, not run dither a bit they're pure pace, it's amazing that Simms got 19across the season also, watching that he's pretty selfish too!

 

[Skyblueabo1111]

That's not true he played and scored from the left against Sheffield Wednesday, Millwall and his pen Vs Man United and creating the 'torp' goal had come after we had changed shape and he went on the left

Sakam

If you're going off this highlight reel, most of the highlights he was playing in a 2 striker formation where he had a free role. Particularly the Watford games (home and away) and drove from the right as well as the left - as he did v Sunderland last season.

It's worth noting that there


In the league, he played LW where got an assist. In the FA Cup, he played upfront in both games, where he scored in the 4-1 win.

That's right and in an ideal world, I'd like for you all to be right on Wright. When you delve into the data, I'm sorry but it doesn't support the opinions many on here repeat ad nauseam. The facts have changed materially and therefore, my opinion has. With all due respect, only Robins has actually played him at LW for a prolonged period in Haji's career.

I do rate Sakamoto, it's just that he's not a top Championship RW and 4 goals in a full season is not good enough. Particularly when you had 10+ wingers scoring more than him in generally less games. Being an impact player off the bench isn't a bad thing, every team needs them and we don't have anything.

On the bench on Saturday, who was going to make a difference? We have only defensive options or strikers on the bench. No AMs, no wingers, no creativity. That's why we struggle to break teams down because the bench isn't strong enough to keep pressure on for 90m.



We didn't see Haji do that at all last season from LW either, much the same under Lampard which consolidates the point that Haji at LW and Lampard is night and day. Under Robins in 23/24, the wingers receive the ball deeper because they're counter attacking. In 24/25, being more possession-based certainly impacted certain players more than others.I don't trust on t

In the case of Haji, he’s not even had a good stretch playing striker under Lampard. If he had a 5-10 game drought the questions being asked would be fairer.

hat

In the case of Haji, he’s not even had a good stretch playing striker under Lampard. If he had a 5-10 game drought the questions being asked would be fairer.

On that basis, nor has Simms

 

[Skyblueabo1111]

It's potentially an issue. In reality, Haji needs time to settle in upfront and get a good run of games because last season it was swapping around too often due to injuries to EMC. Which again, highlights a need for wide players if you're playing a formation with wingers, you need a minimum of 4 wingers and 3 strikers because it's a position with a high attrition rate. Up front, people won't like it. but if Haji gets injured, you'd have to back Simms and BTA on their previous seasons.

Too many hasty conclusions are being drawn after one game. EMC and Wright have barely played together and you'd expect the tactics to be tweaked following on from last season.

He had time 2 games against Sunderland..he was dreadful

 

[Skyblueabo1111]

Yeah you can’t argue with his goals

You can't be argue with 19 Simms got! So what is wrong? One striker, is my guess..

 

[shmmeee]

You can't be argue with 19 Simms got! So what is wrong? One striker, is my guess..

Wright did it again the season after and scored more in the league. He’s a better striker all round.

 

[Skyblueabo1111]

We now know that he was struggling with an injury so in my mind, he gets the benefit of the doubt.

People don’t like Wright’s demeanour but his stats speak for itself and find this undercurrent hankering for a lump like Keiffer Moore or Carlton Morris really strange.

Haji Wright was 4th joint top goalscorer playing a fraction of the games and that counts for something.

Why is he playing,if injured?