In a funny way he's the victim of the improved squad. Less than a year ago when he signed his new contract the reaction was "great, one of our best players signed a new contract, now to get Yann, Dale and Diego to do the same" This season, you look at the players brought in, their touch and passing ability, and in comparison he looks a bit lacking...
He's worrying me. He looks rushed and his reading of situations has been poor. I think he has lost a yard of pace too. Maybe it's a case of getting back to full fitness and has had to face some pretty good opposition which has also knocked his usual composure.
He hasn't gone from being a good tidy player to his current form without reason and I'm betting it's temporary. I think I'm right in saying he started pretty slowly last season too so let's cut him some slack.
He hasn't gone from being a good tidy player to his current form without reason and I'm betting it's temporary. I think I'm right in saying he started pretty slowly last season too so let's cut him some slack.
Worst player on the pitch for us time and again, I have said it for nearly a season now, and won't change my mind. I don't know if the injury has affected him, but he hardly ever overlaps any more and gets skinned way too easily. Unfortunately I think it's largely the same for Solly, no matter how much people on here and in the stadium love him, he is nowhere near our best player any more and many goals we have conceded since he returned from injury were from our right hand side.
I can see us having new full backs by January, whether they are new signings or Gomez and Fox, we'll have to wait and see
If you honestly thought Wiggins was the worst player on the pitch last season then there's not really much anyone can do for you. And if you're lumping Solly in the same bracket...
Was close to the touch line Saturday and couldn't help notice how much negative body language he showed, he certainly isn't the same player as pre injuries.
So interestingly no one thinks he's come up against a run of very good right wingers?
Perhaps, but my main concerns are not his ability but his pace and confidence, which both seem noticeably lower than pre-injury. The Wiggins of a few seasons ago had the speed and tricks of a winger and a decent cross all in addition to his defensive skills. Nowadays he seems to be stuck much further back down the pitch (admittedly he now has Cousins ahead of him instead of a dedicated winger) but even so, more than once he's been caught out by a bounce or misread the trajectory of a long pass whilst normally he would gobble those up and not even break stride.
It may be fair to say that he's been unlucky to come up against wingers who have exploited his relative weakness, but that just shows the weaknesses are there to be exploited. Solly has come up against some equally good wingers and even operating at maybe 80-90% of his full prowess is looking a lot more solid defensively and going forwards than Wiggins.
So interestingly no one thinks he's come up against a run of very good right wingers?
i agree he has and he will continue to be tested
i think he is still coming back from injuries and given support will get back to top form however our expectations are rising a tad ...he wont to be able to skin the opposition the way he was able to in league 1 ...i do think Fox needs as much game time as possible though (short term loans etc)...i have doubts about Fox s pace too (hope i am wrong as i like what i have seen of him )
I think things would have been a lot worse if Fox had played. I think he shows less confidence than Wiggins and he can't cross any better than Wiggins. I couldn't imagine Fox having the stomach to make the match saving tackle Wiggins did. Hard to say who's faster cause Wiggins is a bit slower now.
I think I'll judge Wiggins this saturday, against worse opposition. He has in all honesty played very good wingers. I would say he's probably our weakest defender in our starting line up, someone has to be the worst though and no shame in being the worst out of those four.
Wiggins had a mixed bag of a performance tuesday. He made the odd mistake but gave 100% commitment. We played tougher opponents and wiggins made neccessary and good tackles.
Wasn't there for the Wolves game so won't comment on that but I've always been a bit surprised by the level of praise he got from a lot of our fans. Maybe he just stood out as a good player in an average/poor team, now he is playing with better players he is beginning to get shown up.
I think there's an element of Wiggins' best performances being when we were on top and dominating games in the division below, injuries combined with a better standard of winger opposing him along with us surrendering far more possession in games means he will never quite look as good as he did unless we start to dominate games again. Maybe if we start playing a few of the weaker teams in this division and having more possession he'll get his confidence back and be able to express himself again.
So interestingly no one thinks he's come up against a run of very good right wingers?
Me.
I said as much on the post match views thread. Mcmanaman, Anya and Henry are all decent wingers. I thought he played well against Derby which is the only other match I've seen.
He hasn't played badly in the other 3 games he's just been skinned once or twice which has been unusual for him in the past so is worthy of comment.
I think there's an element of Wiggins' best performances being when we were on top and dominating games in the division below, injuries combined with a better standard of winger opposing him along with us surrendering far more possession in games means he will never quite look as good as he did unless we start to dominate games again. Maybe if we start playing a few of the weaker teams in this division and having more possession he'll get his confidence back and be able to express himself again.
with you on that.
Zaha was the first winger that skinned him, only for 20 mins but that was the match that he did his metatarsal.
That was quite early in his championship career. since then more injuries and has never quite become the player we all hoped for.
I agree with Greenie that the coaches need to encourage him to express his self and bomb forward when ever possible like Francis at Bournemouth who is great at attacking but limited at defending.
Many of as thought that solly and wiggins were the future from that 1st division winners, Solly has proved he is, wiggins is still battling to join him.
Wiggins has been one of our weak links every game. Tucudean is the other main weak link. There is no doubt Wiggins has lost a yard of pace, since his injuries. He is regularly beaten for pace every game and is being targeted by the opposition. He also seems to slip over frequently. He is not getting forward much & when he does his crossing is poor. In mitigation he has been up against some strong wingers in the last few games. Personally, I'd have left him out after the first game at Brentford & given Fox a go. I thought Fox looked more solid than Wiggins, when he played last season. Ok Fox may have been worse, but we won't know, unless he is given a run.
I'm pleased to say Rhoys must have read the above. It was the kick up the arse he needed and he's played well/very well ever since. But seriously, what surprised me, was Damien Matthew saying that he was fully fit. So I was thinking if he's fit and there's no ongoing problems with his injuries, then I thought his form was looking permanent. Well done Rhoys, your great turnaround in form has been excellent. Great to "have you back".
No idea what's going on here, but in the process of trying to find out discover that Rhoys expects to graduate in August with a sports nutrition MSc. He says on his LinkedIn-
'I started my career as a professional footballer playing for a number of clubs such as Crystal Palace, Charlton Athletic, AFC Bournemouth, Sheffield Wednesday and finally Birmingham City where I suffered a career ending injury in October 2016 age 28.
With retirement from professional football looking likely, I decided to focus my time on studies and started with a sports science and Nutrition qualification with the renowned educators at The Institute of performance nutrition, London,
I passed my ISSN (international society of sports nutrition) in October 2019, The IOPN, postgraduate diploma in March, 2020 both with distinction.
I am now a MSc student in applied sports nutrition at Oxford Brookes university, due to graduate, August, 2021
I’m also accredited ISAK Level 1 anthropologist.
UKAD advisor.
Also holding an Active IQ level 3 Diploma in fitness instructing and Personal training gained in August 2018.
UKAD advisor.'
Comments
This season, you look at the players brought in, their touch and passing ability, and in comparison he looks a bit lacking...
He hasn't gone from being a good tidy player to his current form without reason and I'm betting it's temporary. I think I'm right in saying he started pretty slowly last season too so let's cut him some slack.
He hasn't gone from being a good tidy player to his current form without reason and I'm betting it's temporary. I think I'm right in saying he started pretty slowly last season too so let's cut him some slack.
you are right SHG and i agree cut him some slack
Try at the next home game seeing how many times the opposition LB/RB get beaten by someone and compare.
I can see us having new full backs by January, whether they are new signings or Gomez and Fox, we'll have to wait and see
It may be fair to say that he's been unlucky to come up against wingers who have exploited his relative weakness, but that just shows the weaknesses are there to be exploited. Solly has come up against some equally good wingers and even operating at maybe 80-90% of his full prowess is looking a lot more solid defensively and going forwards than Wiggins.
i think he is still coming back from injuries and given support will get back to top form however our expectations are rising a tad ...he wont to be able to skin the opposition the way he was able to in league 1 ...i do think Fox needs as much game time as possible though (short term loans etc)...i have doubts about Fox s pace too (hope i am wrong as i like what i have seen of him )
I think I'll judge Wiggins this saturday, against worse opposition. He has in all honesty played very good wingers. I would say he's probably our weakest defender in our starting line up, someone has to be the worst though and no shame in being the worst out of those four.
I think the potential is there, however I think the coaches need to get inside his head.
I said as much on the post match views thread. Mcmanaman, Anya and Henry are all decent wingers. I thought he played well against Derby which is the only other match I've seen.
He hasn't played badly in the other 3 games he's just been skinned once or twice which has been unusual for him in the past so is worthy of comment.
Zaha was the first winger that skinned him, only for 20 mins but that was the match that he did his metatarsal.
That was quite early in his championship career. since then more injuries and has never quite become the player we all hoped for.
I agree with Greenie that the coaches need to encourage him to express his self and bomb forward when ever possible like Francis at Bournemouth who is great at attacking but limited at defending.
Many of as thought that solly and wiggins were the future from that 1st division winners,
Solly has proved he is, wiggins is still battling to join him.
But seriously, what surprised me, was Damien Matthew saying that he was fully fit. So I was thinking if he's fit and there's no ongoing problems with his injuries, then I thought his form was looking permanent.
Well done Rhoys, your great turnaround in form has been excellent. Great to "have you back".
'I started my career as a professional footballer playing for a number of clubs such as Crystal Palace, Charlton Athletic, AFC Bournemouth, Sheffield Wednesday and finally Birmingham City where I suffered a career ending injury in October 2016 age 28.
With retirement from professional football looking likely, I decided to focus my time on studies and started with a sports science and Nutrition qualification with the renowned educators at The Institute of performance nutrition, London, I passed my ISSN (international society of sports nutrition) in October 2019, The IOPN, postgraduate diploma in March, 2020 both with distinction.
I am now a MSc student in applied sports nutrition at Oxford Brookes university, due to graduate, August, 2021 I’m also accredited ISAK Level 1 anthropologist. UKAD advisor.
Also holding an Active IQ level 3 Diploma in fitness instructing and Personal training gained in August 2018. UKAD advisor.'