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Jan Paul van Hecke (rumour)

To clarify, I’m not writing him off just yet - that would be daft. What I will say, the very early signs aren’t that great and that opinion seems to be shared from the match threads of the few glimpses we have had (natural talent normally stands out and given the West Ham fan views I thought we would have seen those glimpses even after a minimal game time). When Neil stuck 09 on for Ballard instead of Alese that spoke volumes and Neil sees him a lot in training. Hope he becomes the greatest thing since sliced bread but only time will tell.

Alese is first massively inexperienced and also completely left footed. Neil has already spoken about having left siders in left side of defence when he signed Alese so it's no surprise at all. Given Cirkin is already there then there's no surprise Alese hasn't played right side.

The only surprise is Bailey Wright. Though the current trend is fullbacks or even midfielders on either side of the main central defender.
 

Hi Blackburn fans. If you’re reading this and just in case you haven’t noticed, the big boys are back in the Championship now. Know your place you tinpot chicken-breading fuckwits.
Chicken breading fuckwits😂😂😂😂🍗🐔
 
Must admit, i wasn't too happy about Phillip's signing and nobody on here or any other Sunderland fan can say they were :lol:

Not true. I noticed Phillips scored about 9 in the last 11 games or so at the back end of one season which saved Watford from relegation after he came in from non league and kept an eye on him. He then scored a bit less sharing game time with Connolly who we were repeatedly linked with over a season or so.

Watford were then relegated and Phillips had suffered a bad injury, but regained his form a division lower only playing briefly.

I'd only seen Phillips briefly but I was quite happy with the signing. Obviously no one had the first clue just how good he would be.
 
Not true. I noticed Phillips scored about 9 in the last 11 games or so at the back end of one season which saved Watford from relegation after he came in from non league and kept an eye on him. He then scored a bit less sharing game time with Connolly who we were repeatedly linked with over a season or so.

Watford were then relegated and Phillips had suffered a bad injury, but regained his form a division lower only playing briefly.

I'd only seen Phillips briefly but I was quite happy with the signing. Obviously no one had the first clue just how good he would be.
You must be the only one then.
 
Roberts is left footed and plays right wing.

Huggins plays either side if ever fit. O’Nein and Neil have both played left back. Every single CM we have is right footed (Embleton isn’t a CM), and we usually play two right-footers in there.

The best players, play.

That's all well and good but asking a left footed centre half to potentially carry the ball forward in the right sided position isn't really going to work and isn't similar to having players out wide cut inside.
 
Dear me
Alese wrote off already.
Are you surprised though, it's normally the same posters year after year who post the same shite about a player they've seen for about 30 minutes of football. Christ if these people were managers they'd go through about 80 players a season
 
Not true. I noticed Phillips scored about 9 in the last 11 games or so at the back end of one season which saved Watford from relegation after he came in from non league and kept an eye on him. He then scored a bit less sharing game time with Connolly who we were repeatedly linked with over a season or so.

Watford were then relegated and Phillips had suffered a bad injury, but regained his form a division lower only playing briefly.

I'd only seen Phillips briefly but I was quite happy with the signing. Obviously no one had the first clue just how good he would be.
Aye Reid asked Roeder about Connolly and I think Roeder offered Phillips instead, something like that.
 
To clarify, I’m not writing him off just yet - that would be daft. What I will say, the very early signs aren’t that great and that opinion seems to be shared from the match threads of the few glimpses we have had (natural talent normally stands out and given the West Ham fan views I thought we would have seen those glimpses even after a minimal game time). When Neil stuck 09 on for Ballard instead of Alese that spoke volumes and Neil sees him a lot in training. Hope he becomes the greatest thing since sliced bread but only time will tell.
It 100% didn’t speak volumes - unless it was the volumes of evidence across football that you really need to have the wide centre halves playing on their ‘correct’ side wherever humanly possible.
Not disagreeing (and don't think he's ready to start anywhere yet) but it's funny how we say that about left footed centre backs but don't seem to have the same issue with a right footed CB playing on the left side.
We absolutely do. The issue is that there’s a shitload more of them.
 
Are you surprised though, it's normally the same posters year after year who post the same shite about a player they've seen for about 30 minutes of football. Christ if these people were managers they'd go through about 80 players a season
One of them used to be a massive happy clapper, the king of happy clappers. Now we've improved he's critical of nigh on everything. Very strange
 
Not true. I noticed Phillips scored about 9 in the last 11 games or so at the back end of one season which saved Watford from relegation after he came in from non league and kept an eye on him. He then scored a bit less sharing game time with Connolly who we were repeatedly linked with over a season or so.

Watford were then relegated and Phillips had suffered a bad injury, but regained his form a division lower only playing briefly.

I'd only seen Phillips briefly but I was quite happy with the signing. Obviously no one had the first clue just how good he would be.
I remember he was quite high up in the goalscorers charts on shoot, match and the like but always seemed to get stuck on 11 or 12. Also was always injured.i thought that he was an everage enough signing at the time.
 
I only realised at HT who the keeper was. Recognised Fosu from somewhere, Clucas and Gayle on the bench and then Ian Wright's grandson came on ffs.
Roberts is left footed and plays right wing.

Huggins plays either side if ever fit. O’Nein and Neil have both played left back. Every single CM we have is right footed (Embleton isn’t a CM), and we usually play two right-footers in there.

The best players, play.
Not in defence if it can be helped. Going forward on the wrong side is one thing, defending is a different prospect.
 
Reid went to watch Connolly.
I've heard Reidy at a talk in say Roeder told him to sign SKP. Roeder apparently thought SKP was just having a purple patch because he'd started off as a full back and not a striker. Reidy joked at the talk in saying Roeder must have thought he was doing a number on us and it back fired. Mind when we signed Quinny I thought why have we bought this donkey.
 
Not in defence if it can be helped. Going forward on the wrong side is one thing, defending is a different prospect.
Indeed it’s better for them to be in their right side when going forward too - for the defensive players at least. Having players in deep wide areas on their wrong foot is generally debilitating for the attacking shape. The whole point is usually for inverted attacking players to come inside and leave space for overlapping players to come from deep. People should listen to what Neil us said after yesterday about why cirkin is so good at this lch role. Being on their ‘right’ side helps open up the pitch for them.

Using the Onien sub as evidence for Alese’s place in AN’s thinking is a total straw man. If anything it was a slight on Bailey Wright - albeit AN explained his thinking on that and it was a perfectly reasonable POV. Yesterdays performance from BW in that role may have changed his view, though.
 
Clark is all Right footed and plays Left Wing
I think that there is a significant difference between a left-footed defender playing on the left side and a right-footed midfield player playing on the left side.

The defender will routinely need to be making tackles and interceptions with his stronger foot and additionally be comfortable clearing the ball upfield with his stronger foot.

I can remember Flanagan playing on the left side and looking very awkward making tackles and slowing the tempo down by having to shift the ball to his right foot to make a pass or clearance. Additionally, the trajectory of the ball is different when kicked with the right foot.

A right-footed midfielder playing on the left side can use his ‘alternative footedness’ to his advantage. For example, John Robertson, the former Nottingham Forest and Scotland winger gained great success from the technique.
 
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