Bad
3 lost his marker
2 lost possession
1 dribbled past
1 poor pass
1 poor cross
Like so many, easy to play against
5/10
I do wonder about that dreadful ball FULL in the face has anything to do with it. He was out flat for a very long time and didn't play for quite a while. That really was a big wallop in the face he took.....might never recover from something like that
whiteswan wrote: ↑Tue May 23, 2023 11:42 pm
I do wonder about that dreadful ball FULL in the face has anything to do with it. He was out flat for a very long time and didn't play for quite a while. That really was a big wallop in the face he took.....might never recover from something like that
JoeDenver wrote: ↑Tue May 23, 2023 10:12 pm
Thanks Leon, confirmed my suspicions…he isn’t ideal anywhere on the pitch. I somehow think he’d be a decent Serie B center half for Sampdoria if Radz were to acquire them.
Pascal seems to be unaware of what is going on around him.
I think it is more that, like a lot of our other players, he is simply lost due to the constantly changing tactics/style of play. For 3 1/2 years he was drilled into a certain way of playing and for a player that is a long time and it takes a while to almost be de-programmed. A lot of our fringe players could come into the team and look okay because they had been training a specific way and playing that specific way for the U23s. They come into the first team and the team is playing that way so they fit in like a cog into a well oiled machine. Maybe not as good as the cog they are replacing but still able to do the job and not look too out of place. Fast forward to where we are now and he has been in and out of a team continually changing the way it is playing, he has been playing full back some matches and then centre back others. It is no wonder at times he looks lost as he won't be totally convinced as to where he should be on the pitch or where his team mates should be. The auto-pilot system we had which made it easier for every player has gone.
weasel wrote: ↑Wed May 24, 2023 8:26 am
I think it is more that, like a lot of our other players, he is simply lost due to the constantly changing tactics/style of play. For 3 1/2 years he was drilled into a certain way of playing and for a player that is a long time and it takes a while to almost be de-programmed. A lot of our fringe players could come into the team and look okay because they had been training a specific way and playing that specific way for the U23s. They come into the first team and the team is playing that way so they fit in like a cog into a well oiled machine. Maybe not as good as the cog they are replacing but still able to do the job and not look too out of place. Fast forward to where we are now and he has been in and out of a team continually changing the way it is playing, he has been playing full back some matches and then centre back others. It is no wonder at times he looks lost as he won't be totally convinced as to where he should be on the pitch or where his team mates should be. The auto-pilot system we had which made it easier for every player has gone.
Weasel, I get it to some degree. But Rasmus, Ayling, and Wober get shifted between CB, fullback, and wing back (even DM for Wober). None look as lost as Struijk when playing any one of those positions. Struijk is seemingly always lost irrespective of which position he’s playing. It will take a very unique manager and system to get a tune out of him. I think at best he’s a squad player on a Championship side…. Like Meslier, we need to cut our losses and admit failure.
JoeDenver wrote: ↑Wed May 24, 2023 12:28 pm
Weasel, I get it to some degree. But Rasmus, Ayling, and Wober get shifted between CB, fullback, and wing back (even DM for Wober). None look as lost as Struijk when playing any one of those positions. Struijk is seemingly always lost irrespective of which position he’s playing. It will take a very unique manager and system to get a tune out of him. I think at best he’s a squad player on a Championship side…. Like Meslier, we need to cut our losses and admit failure.
Pascal's current form reminds me of his debut vs Cardiff when we were 3-1 up & he came on as a sub with 15 minutes to go, he seemed lost then as we conceded two goals, drawing the game 3-3.
JoeDenver wrote: ↑Wed May 24, 2023 12:28 pm
Weasel, I get it to some degree. But Rasmus, Ayling, and Wober get shifted between CB, fullback, and wing back (even DM for Wober). None look as lost as Struijk when playing any one of those positions. Struijk is seemingly always lost irrespective of which position he’s playing. It will take a very unique manager and system to get a tune out of him. I think at best he’s a squad player on a Championship side…. Like Meslier, we need to cut our losses and admit failure.
I was also trying to suggest that the Biesla system made him, and others, look like better players than perhaps they really are. Take Shackleton for example and never really looked out of place when he played for us yet is in and out at Millwall. Similarly players like Robbie Gotts ho did okay against Arsenal in the FA Cup but has dropped down a few divisions and also others who made an appearance or two. The opposite example being to take someone like Roca who would probably look comfortable playing for Barca or Bayern because the rest of the team is running on auto - but for us he has looked lost as we haven't had any tactics or way of playing that he is familiar with.
Maybe Struyjk just isn't as good as he looked, though if I am being honest I don't think I ever thought he was first choice anywhere when everyone was fit.
weasel wrote: ↑Wed May 24, 2023 4:40 pm
I was also trying to suggest that the Biesla system made him, and others, look like better players than perhaps they really are. Take Shackleton for example and never really looked out of place when he played for us yet is in and out at Millwall. Similarly players like Robbie Gotts ho did okay against Arsenal in the FA Cup but has dropped down a few divisions and also others who made an appearance or two. The opposite example being to take someone like Roca who would probably look comfortable playing for Barca or Bayern because the rest of the team is running on auto - but for us he has looked lost as we haven't had any tactics or way of playing that he is familiar with.
Maybe Struyjk just isn't as good as he looked, though if I am being honest I don't think I ever thought he was first choice anywhere when everyone was fit.
No, caught your point. This leads back to the whole, “if we could’ve just recruited better” angle under Bielsa. Which is my main observation/takeaway of why we are in this predicament.
Bielsa’s system and fitness levels helped mask many player shortcomings. However, we had no business relying on those same players by year three in the Premiership. We needed real Premier League quality players that were never supplied. Could you imagine what Bielsa might’ve been able to do with average Premier League players? But Orta couldn’t be bothered with “settling” for average players that would’ve cemented the profile of the club as an upper half table team (under Bielsa), instead favoring the next possible big thing to exploit for a payday that isn’t at all guaranteed.
JoeDenver wrote: ↑Wed May 24, 2023 5:41 pm
No, caught your point. This leads back to the whole, “if we could’ve just recruited better” angle under Bielsa. Which is my main observation/takeaway of why we are in this predicament.
Bielsa’s system and fitness levels helped mask many player shortcomings. However, we had no business relying on those same players by year three in the Premiership. We needed real Premier League quality players that were never supplied. Could you imagine what Bielsa might’ve been able to do with average Premier League players? But Orta couldn’t be bothered with “settling” for average players that would’ve cemented the profile of the club as an upper half table team (under Bielsa), instead favoring the next possible big thing to exploit for a payday that isn’t at all guaranteed.
Superbly put and something that so many of our fans don't understand. Give Bielsa average premier players and we likely finish top 6. Give him average championship players and he has them challenging for promotion and then getting promotion fromt he championship. But there was always a ceiling to how high those players could reach yet instead of improving we ended up having to have players regularly starting games that weren't even starting for us in the championship such as Struyjk, Tyler Roberts, Shackleton. Since we got promoted I would say we only signed 1 player, Raphnha, that was a significant improvement on the player who was playing before him.
Going forward and my trust in Berts eye 100%, i look for players that came out of Orta's lucky fcking dip machine that might stand a chance, this because Bert looked at them and thought 'ffs, i've got to try and use some of this shite somewhere'
So with that in mind, i think back to whom Bert was prepared to a least give a go to.
Pascal was one of them (can't think of any other fcker tbh)
Now if Bert thought he was next in line to introduce into the team, then that's good enough for me`.
A back 4 of...Ayling - Rodon - Pascal - Byram...will manage in the Championship, the rest is still a mystery for the time being.
Still being proven right years on.
Radz is a businessman - and knows nowt about football.
Orta is a fraud - and knows nowt about footballers.
Bert - A footballing mastermind that they both got lucky with, end of.
Cresswell hasn't done anything wrong but I think Rodon and Strujik will be 1st choice
Few things in Strujik's favour. He's got plenty of first team experience, especially against some top quality premier league strikers. He also fits that left foot right foot combo.
When Strujik started games for us in the 1st PL season he looked like he was going to be a star. There have been inconsistencies. Playing at LB most of last season didn't help. And his shy/quiet nature work against him developing into a commanding CB.
But I think he's got all the right tools to establish himself again.
I too think he’ll keep the CBs Cressy and Pascal, ok I didn’t see the Brum game but THEY didn’t concede, which is as close to a Leeds miracle as you can get these days. And making Rodin work hard to get a starting spot is no bad thing either.
It’s the closest thing to consistency as we can expect get right now.
WARNING: During game time, any post I make is not to be taken seriously, neither is it meant as offence. I'm a hot-blooded creature prone to moments of exasperation and expletive.
Still being proven right years on.
Radz is a businessman - and knows nowt about football.
Orta is a fraud - and knows nowt about footballers.
Bert - A footballing mastermind that they both got lucky with, end of.
