So what's the general verdict on Shelvey on the left - worth further investigation or a bad idea and not worth perservering with?
Seems to me a spot out wide could be a reasonable way to get Jonjo some game time in a 4-4-2 and in a position where his inexperience and current defensive frailties (which will surely improve with age) are less likely to do us serious damage - IIRC Gerrard played right midfield a lot when he first broke into Liverpool's team. If we're going to do it though it would seem to me he should play right midfield - at least then he's on his natural side if away from his natural position, but would we want to switch Sam to the left with the way he's been playing this season?
Do we have any resonsibility to try and find space for Shelvey at all? The kid's got talent but the midfield has been functioning well without him - does he just need to be made to bide his time and wait for someone's form to drop sufficently for him to get a start and make do with developing his game from substitute cameos for now?
If we don't continue experimenting with Shelvey what do we do about left midfield? Is it time for Wagstaff or Holden to start or have we given up on Racon too soon? How about Basey in front of Youga (once Youga and Richardson are fit)?
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It wasn't that long ago that a number of people on here just simply couldn't imagine a radical world in which we wouldn't have the same starting 11 in the same 451 formation. For various reasons things change. Jonjo's chance will come again and he's capable of being the most valuable player in the team, he just needs to be handled right.
For the life of me i cant see how you can write such a stupid sentence????? If as you say your not sure how he'd been detailed to play,how could you possibly know if he was ever out of position JESUS CHRIST
I still feel that he has yet to be played in his favoured centre mid with a partner. Saying that the 2 in there at the mo are doing well.
I would stick with him out wide as i feel he has the vision to pick out a pass, although he will not go past the full back to often. he still has a big part to play this season and as seen on so many occasions injuries, suspensions, sending offs during games will all give him opportunities to move around.
Keep with it JJ it will come for the mean time all you can do the best where you are
So people can sit here and say Shelvey didn't play well, he didn't do anything etc etc but what is he supposed to do when the ball is 50 yards away on the other flank.
Was very tiresome.
He's 17 FFS!
However he played some good passes and helped Basey out too which is easy to overlook.
I'd give it another go.
Do you think this was exacerbated by Youga being over on the right as well (to begin with at least) - did Basey overlap much?
As for on the left i think sounded like he did ok but nothing more then expected, but cud be worth for a few games there as was only his first game there! also is an asset to have a passer of his quality in the side so will give our fowards more chances
and i do think he can beat a player on the wing, however due to pacey fullbacks may have to beat them a few times
The lads got a lovely touch and vision and his workrate is as good as any. Use him or lose him I say.
Didn't really get chance to run at the fullback but I certainly wouldn't have a problem with him getting a run in the side at that position.
At the moment we don't get much coming from the left but do get a lot that is channelled to the right via Sam, I don't think that the preponderance of ball from the right suits Jonjo or that because he tends to lurk in an inside left position that he sees it. Essentially I'd like to see us get the players around Jonjo sorted and settled, especially getting a left wing and go from there. Bear in mind that while he's afantastically talented player that we should be looking to build the side around that he can't do everything and be everywhere at once.
I think there was a feeling at the start of the season by a lot of fans, and probably JJ himself, that by this point of the season he would be THE MAIN MAN, like say Delph was for Leeds last season.
It hasn't worked out that way, but i do not see that as a bad thing.
JonJo is not the finished article, quite a way from that, and has very obvious strengths and weaknesses that are probably being highlighted. His strengths are that he has a good first touch, excellent vision and quality to his ball play. His weaknesses are that he lacks a burst of exceleration, a bit of snap to his play, .
His long-term position is of a centre mid, with a decent, busy defensive foil next to him. Spending time in other positions like he has done over the last 4 months shouldn't be something that frustrates him, but be seen as a good opportunity to get a better understanding of different positions / situations on the pitch.
Very little comes naturally in football, it has to be worked out all the time, and how you react to setbacks etc is key. The top players are normally that because they worked the hardest to improve.
This is a long, gruelling season and with our squad things will change with every injury, suspension, drop in form. At present, Bailey and Semedo look our best central pairing on the proviso that Sam is being effective on the wing. JonJo will get his chance in the centre berth at some point, for now he just needs to keep his head, not get too frustrated or put too much pressure on himself, and keep working hard to develop.
Quality lol
Good post, agree with that. His chance will come and each game, even out of position, is more experience for him.
I know what you mean about his weaknesses, and he's never going to be the quickest, but with experience, with the right players around him, in time it won't be as much of a problem.
(Does that make any sense?)
I really believe he would be a far better player if we were in the championship or even higher. He was making runs that none of our players were even aware of at times, and was also playing balls that the same said players couldn't read.
Please god, we get out of this division and then he could really start to shine.
Holy shit!
OK, just to be really clear, he wasn't operating on the left as much as you'd expect a traditional left sided midfileder, which IMO wasn't good for the team. I even made it clear that I wasn't sure whether this was his fault because he was playing out of position and tended towards his natural place, or whether the manager had given him a free role (which IMO doesn't work with wide players). So just so we don't get anymore hysterics what I was saying is
Based on the Bristol Rovers game, because Jonjo operatated inside for a lot of the game - we as a team were less effective
What I wrote didn't warrant your over the top response response, it was an attempt to have a reasoned football debate. I appreciate that it's always a sensitive subject for you, but the meaning was pretty obvious.
faded a bit after that but it was his close control, run and shot just wide at 2-2 which seemed to give the team some self-belief back and not long afterwards we made it 3-2
What I mean is that we play a 3-1-4-2 format that would suit JJ very well but leaves us exposed at the back if the wingers do not get back and cover. This is a possibility when playing schmucks like Tranmere:
Richardson Dailly/Sodje Youga
Semedo/Sodje
Sam Bailey JJ Racon/Basey/Holden (yes I want to see more of him)
Burton Mooney/Sodje
But I fear that the back line will be very exposed indeed!
Its not a sensitive subject for me and my reaction wasn't over the top,you wrote something that you clearly had no facts on. Are you telling me that you know where he was told to play and what to do??? No i guess you wasn't. So if Parky had told him to keep cutting in all the time would HE have been out of position??? No i think not, he might not have stayed hugging the touchline like some would want but you cant say HE was out of position if you dont know what was said to him. Wether he was played out of position or asked to do something that isn't quite the norm then that is the mangers chioce. It doesn't make HIM out of position does it?
He showed tremendous technique to sort his feet out before shooting against Mooney and if that had gone in then I think many opinions on his performance would have been different.
Of course it was HIM out of position, as he is the 'object' that is moving around the pitch - rather like a chess piece is moved by a chess player, it may not necessarily be of his choice but it's still HIM who is in the 'wrong' place - it may not be his fault, but it is HIM.
John