Remember the rumours that he had signed a contract with ESI (or what ever it was called at the time) not the club. Maybe he is actually owned by the dentist.
As others have said, stats dont always give the full picture so should potentially be taken with a pinch of salt - What I will add though, is if he's our most effective midfielder in that regard, it feels that we should be looking at others and what they're failing to produce instead of him.
Positives: His set pieces and long range passing is top draw and can be a huge asset for us if used correctly. Made some lovely off the ball runs today.
Negatives: Doesn’t do enough to affect the game. Happy to be proved wrong but don’t believe he made a tackle today. Always in the jockey position (Started to call him AP Morgan). Doesn’t take any shots and doesn’t press quick enough on the defence. Need to do a lot more when defending and in the first 3rd in play to be a top player.
There was a moment in second half, ball fell to him 25 years goal. First touch was perfect and allowed him time and space to have a shot from the edge of the box. Took an extra touch and got tackled.
Positives: His set pieces and long range passing is top draw and can be a huge asset for us if used correctly. Made some lovely off the ball runs today.
Negatives: Doesn’t do enough to affect the game. Happy to be proved wrong but don’t believe he made a tackle today. Always in the jockey position (Started to call him AP Morgan). Doesn’t take any shots and doesn’t press quick enough on the defence. Need to do a lot more when defending and in the first 3rd in play to be a top player.
Think he made a couple of sliding tackles today, but those were early on in the game.
One thing that sticks out (that makes me agree on the defensive side) was the fact that Shrewsbury had a throw in midway through the second half - He was right in front of me, and could hear Akin yelling at him... The throw in didnt come to anything, but even after the threat had ended; Akin was still talking to Albie telling him what he'd needed to be doing.
Positives: His set pieces and long range passing is top draw and can be a huge asset for us if used correctly. Made some lovely off the ball runs today.
Negatives: Doesn’t do enough to affect the game. Happy to be proved wrong but don’t believe he made a tackle today. Always in the jockey position (Started to call him AP Morgan). Doesn’t take any shots and doesn’t press quick enough on the defence. Need to do a lot more when defending and in the first 3rd in play to be a top player.
There was a moment in second half, ball fell to him 25 years goal. First touch was perfect and allowed him time and space to have a shot from the edge of the box. Took an extra touch and got tackled.
My recollection of that moment was that the first touch was below par and the second touch to try and correct it was Sunday league - almost as bad as the one that got Ryan Inniss sent off the other week.
The bloke just has no footballing brain, yes he can hit a pass 50 odd yards now and again but his ability to dictate a game doesn’t exist. One moment summed him up for me today, the ball gets cleared comes towards him, rather than attempt to take a touch to control and play it to a team mate he aimlessly boots it into row Z no awareness where he actually was on the pitch. Not good enough for a team wanting promotion.
I agree, said as much elsewhere. Those two dead balls masked the fact the rest of his game was poor. Shame you can't just bring someone on to take dead balls. Not good enough to be a regular starter.
We have mis managed Albie form a teenage prodigy into the verg of a career as a league 1 journey, at best.
He has really been a victim of circumstances.
Maybe he could have done better maybe he never would have improved much regardless, many don't. But we haven't really managed it very well have we.
Agreed
Even this season I don't think he's been managed well. When a player barely gets a look in for 3 months, gets back in the side, then gets dropped completely for 7 matches despite the team and midfield not doing that well, it's hardly surprising he's not playing at his best. When you know that a bad performance means you'll be dumped, that hardly helps you make the right decisions on the pitch.
Gilbey has started 31 games and come off the bench 5 times Morgan has started 20 games and come off the bench just once.
Morgan is a kid with talent and flaws in his game. Most young players are a mix of good and bad so he’s hardly alone in that. Calls for him to be dominating matches every week are unrealistic. Only exceptional players will dominate matches at 22. The question is does he contribute. Well, that stats say he can do that. He leads his teammates in assists by a margin despite playing fewer matches than most. That is, undoubtedly, partly because so few other players have stepped up this season but it’s also partly because Albie is decent at creating chances for others.
To me, Albie looks like a midfield version of KAG. He’s often been asked to carry too much responsibility too soon. He may have 100 appearances but it’s been in fits and starts. He’s been shunted around every position in the midfield. He’s never been given a really good run of games in a specific role and been allowed to try and develop his game to that role. And then when he can’t come in and look the complete player within 4 or 5 games he gets dropped and sometimes singled out publicly by mangers. Unsurprisingly his confidence and development have been hurt as a result but I’ve never seen him hiding or lacking effort. He tries to step up and take responsibility for making the things happen even when it’s not working out for him. We’ve had a few senior pros who have not shown that commitment recently.
I don’t think you’ll find anyone advocating for him to be first choice next season, but personally, out of Lee, Gilbey, and him, he’d be the one I’d choose to form part of our squad next season. I think he’s still showing just enough to warrant perseverance. Perhaps a loan deal away from the club for the first half of the season could be a good option for both parties.
Morgan is a kid with talent and flaws in his game. Most young players are a mix of good and bad so he’s hardly alone in that. Calls for him to be dominating matches every week are unrealistic. Only exceptional players will dominate matches at 22. The question is does he contribute. Well, that stats say he can do that. He leads his teammates in assists by a margin despite playing fewer matches than most. That is, undoubtedly, partly because so few other players have stepped up this season but it’s also partly because Albie is decent at creating chances for others.
To me, Albie looks like a midfield version of KAG. He’s often been asked to carry too much responsibility too soon. He may have 100 appearances but it’s been in fits and starts. He’s been shunted around every position in the midfield. He’s never been given a really good run of games in a specific role and been allowed to try and develop his game to that role. And then when he can’t come in and look the complete player within 4 or 5 games he gets dropped and sometimes singled out publicly by mangers. Unsurprisingly his confidence and development have been hurt as a result but I’ve never seen him hiding or lacking effort. He tries to step up and take responsibility for making the things happen even when it’s not working out for him. We’ve had a few senior pros who have not shown that commitment recently.
I don’t think you’ll find anyone advocating for him to be first choice next season, but personally, out of Lee, Gilbey, and him, he’d be the one I’d choose to form part of our squad next season. I think he’s still showing just enough to warrant perseverance. Perhaps a loan deal away from the club for the first half of the season could be a good option for both parties.
A loan for at least half of next season to a club where he can play regularly and consistently in the same position would help to build his confidence. And de-Charltonise him! Can't see our coaching set up being able to do that at present.
Big clubs have specialist coaches who work one to one with players to improve them, especially those younger players transitioning from the academy to the first team.
Such a coach might help Morgan improve his around game (I'm laughing at how assists suddenly don't matter much when they come from Albie).
If Thomas wants the club and team to be premier league ready he should fund just such a coach.
I'm sure such an appointment would be welcomed by those fans who point out flaws in the players' game and in no way be used as yet another thing to whine about.
Yesterday he seriously over hit that free kick and I was still bemoaning his lack of quality from a set piece when a few minutes later he delivered that corner.
I still believe that if Albie had been loaned out to league 1 or 2 when we were in the championship, he could have developed into a really good league 1 player. Unfortunately he was forced to play at a level way above his capabilities at the time and it has really stunted his development.
Unfortunately he just doesn’t have enough of an impact on games to be offered a new contract in my opinion.
Think the moaning is more over at the amount of overhit / underhit / weywood balls the team plays in general, not just AM, tbh.
Whether that's a fact, or just seems like it happens a lot, is another matter. Sure theres going to be a pass success rate stat. that can be shared to prove it one way or another?
I still believe that if Albie had been loaned out to league 1 or 2 when we were in the championship, he could have developed into a really good league 1 player. Unfortunately he was forced to play at a level way above his capabilities at the time and it has really stunted his development.
Unfortunately he just doesn’t have enough of an impact on games to be offered a new contract in my opinion.
Instead he had that brief loan with Ebbsfleet in the National League... Not sure why he's never attracted a League One | League Two loan, its not like the Football at these two levels is mud pitches and ultimate physicality anymore.
Of course it might be Albie himself who has been reluctant to move away from home.
Albie's problem has always been that he doesn't know where to be. On paper he has the skillset of a central midfielder but he has absolutely no concept of how to flow with a game. He's creative and a brilliant, instinctive passer. He can set players away before defenders even have time to realise the game's kicked off, but he rarely does it from a dangerous position. He'll work to win the ball back and put tackles in and he clearly wants to succeed. The problem is he doesn't know how. We've tried him at CM in a two and a three and he's not sure where to be. We've tried him at 10 and he was nowhere. We've tried him deeper to dictate tempo and you'd swear he was in the stands sometimes. He just doesn't have an instinct for positioning, and evidently it's proving hard to coach him too. There's a reason playing in central midfield is so tough and a lot of that is because reading a game while you're in the middle of it and then taking control of it is bloody hard. If you look at his recent positioning charts I don't think he's consistently where he needs to be. He's rarely providing the right kind of defensive support in terms of shape, and charging in and winning a tackle here and there is a lot less good than knowing where to be in the first place so that that passing channel is never available. I'm not expecting him to be Xabi Alonso on that but we offer so many avenues to opposition teams through the middle. Albie isn't the only one guilty of this, and our well known issue in the channel between RWB and RCB would be punished a lot less if the midfield actually knew how to shut the door on it, but despite his assists and his work Albie will never consistently look good for 90 mins unless he can fix his knowledge of where to be and I don't think he has the ability to do that. The best he ever looks is as the wide midfielder in a flat midfield 4, because he knows he has to be wide when the opposition have the ball down his side, and narrow when it's on the other side. It's simpler and we've benefited from it in the past, but we can't and shouldn't change our whole way of playing just to accommodate Albie because he's not really good enough to merit it. Maybe the penny will drop one day and he'll become brilliant. I hope so.
Albie's problem has always been that he doesn't know where to be. On paper he has the skillset of a central midfielder but he has absolutely no concept of how to flow with a game. He's creative and a brilliant, instinctive passer. He can set players away before defenders even have time to realise the game's kicked off, but he rarely does it from a dangerous position. He'll work to win the ball back and put tackles in and he clearly wants to succeed. The problem is he doesn't know how. We've tried him at CM in a two and a three and he's not sure where to be. We've tried him at 10 and he was nowhere. We've tried him deeper to dictate tempo and you'd swear he was in the stands sometimes. He just doesn't have an instinct for positioning, and evidently it's proving hard to coach him too. There's a reason playing in central midfield is so tough and a lot of that is because reading a game while you're in the middle of it and then taking control of it is bloody hard. If you look at his recent positioning charts I don't think he's consistently where he needs to be. He's rarely providing the right kind of defensive support in terms of shape, and charging in and winning a tackle here and there is a lot less good than knowing where to be in the first place so that that passing channel is never available. I'm not expecting him to be Xabi Alonso on that but we offer so many avenues to opposition teams through the middle. Albie isn't the only one guilty of this, and our well known issue in the channel between RWB and RCB would be punished a lot less if the midfield actually knew how to shut the door on it, but despite his assists and his work Albie will never consistently look good for 90 mins unless he can fix his knowledge of where to be and I don't think he has the ability to do that. The best he ever looks is as the wide midfielder in a flat midfield 4, because he knows he has to be wide when the opposition have the ball down his side, and narrow when it's on the other side. It's simpler and we've benefited from it in the past, but we can't and shouldn't change our whole way of playing just to accommodate Albie because he's not really good enough to merit it. Maybe the penny will drop one day and he'll become brilliant. I hope so.
All true. But he's Xabi Alonso compared to the gutless hiding headless chicken waste of space next to him
I still believe that if Albie had been loaned out to league 1 or 2 when we were in the championship, he could have developed into a really good league 1 player. Unfortunately he was forced to play at a level way above his capabilities at the time and it has really stunted his development.
Unfortunately he just doesn’t have enough of an impact on games to be offered a new contract in my opinion.
He's under contract for another season. Needs a good year to win another deal.
Albie's problem has always been that he doesn't know where to be. On paper he has the skillset of a central midfielder but he has absolutely no concept of how to flow with a game. He's creative and a brilliant, instinctive passer. He can set players away before defenders even have time to realise the game's kicked off, but he rarely does it from a dangerous position. He'll work to win the ball back and put tackles in and he clearly wants to succeed. The problem is he doesn't know how. We've tried him at CM in a two and a three and he's not sure where to be. We've tried him at 10 and he was nowhere. We've tried him deeper to dictate tempo and you'd swear he was in the stands sometimes. He just doesn't have an instinct for positioning, and evidently it's proving hard to coach him too. There's a reason playing in central midfield is so tough and a lot of that is because reading a game while you're in the middle of it and then taking control of it is bloody hard. If you look at his recent positioning charts I don't think he's consistently where he needs to be. He's rarely providing the right kind of defensive support in terms of shape, and charging in and winning a tackle here and there is a lot less good than knowing where to be in the first place so that that passing channel is never available. I'm not expecting him to be Xabi Alonso on that but we offer so many avenues to opposition teams through the middle. Albie isn't the only one guilty of this, and our well known issue in the channel between RWB and RCB would be punished a lot less if the midfield actually knew how to shut the door on it, but despite his assists and his work Albie will never consistently look good for 90 mins unless he can fix his knowledge of where to be and I don't think he has the ability to do that. The best he ever looks is as the wide midfielder in a flat midfield 4, because he knows he has to be wide when the opposition have the ball down his side, and narrow when it's on the other side. It's simpler and we've benefited from it in the past, but we can't and shouldn't change our whole way of playing just to accommodate Albie because he's not really good enough to merit it. Maybe the penny will drop one day and he'll become brilliant. I hope so.
Lots of valid points here.
That he played in different positions, in different formations and under different managers alongside different team mates and then often as sub or only for a few games are all factors, IMHO, in why that is the case.
If only Sandgaard would spend money on a specialist one to one development coach!
I still believe that if Albie had been loaned out to league 1 or 2 when we were in the championship, he could have developed into a really good league 1 player. Unfortunately he was forced to play at a level way above his capabilities at the time and it has really stunted his development.
Unfortunately he just doesn’t have enough of an impact on games to be offered a new contract in my opinion.
He's under contract for another season. Needs a good year to win another deal.
Cheers, didn’t realise that. I’d still try to loan him out in that case and see if he comes back a more complete player
I think Albie has come on a lot this season and personally, I would have thought an ex-midfield mentor - like an Alan Curbishley - not to disrupt what the coaches are doing, but to support Albie through advice in the areas commented on above would be helpful. I may be misinterpreting this, but I also see quite a bit of very frustrated body language on the pitch - like more extreme than any of our other players when a pass is mis-hit or ball overrun. Surely a sports psychologist could help him become stronger to help brush off those moments a bit and also not give his counterpart opposition midfielders an edge knowing/perceiving him as frustrated?
Albie's problem has always been that he doesn't know where to be. On paper he has the skillset of a central midfielder but he has absolutely no concept of how to flow with a game. He's creative and a brilliant, instinctive passer. He can set players away before defenders even have time to realise the game's kicked off, but he rarely does it from a dangerous position. He'll work to win the ball back and put tackles in and he clearly wants to succeed. The problem is he doesn't know how. We've tried him at CM in a two and a three and he's not sure where to be. We've tried him at 10 and he was nowhere. We've tried him deeper to dictate tempo and you'd swear he was in the stands sometimes. He just doesn't have an instinct for positioning, and evidently it's proving hard to coach him too. There's a reason playing in central midfield is so tough and a lot of that is because reading a game while you're in the middle of it and then taking control of it is bloody hard. If you look at his recent positioning charts I don't think he's consistently where he needs to be. He's rarely providing the right kind of defensive support in terms of shape, and charging in and winning a tackle here and there is a lot less good than knowing where to be in the first place so that that passing channel is never available. I'm not expecting him to be Xabi Alonso on that but we offer so many avenues to opposition teams through the middle. Albie isn't the only one guilty of this, and our well known issue in the channel between RWB and RCB would be punished a lot less if the midfield actually knew how to shut the door on it, but despite his assists and his work Albie will never consistently look good for 90 mins unless he can fix his knowledge of where to be and I don't think he has the ability to do that. The best he ever looks is as the wide midfielder in a flat midfield 4, because he knows he has to be wide when the opposition have the ball down his side, and narrow when it's on the other side. It's simpler and we've benefited from it in the past, but we can't and shouldn't change our whole way of playing just to accommodate Albie because he's not really good enough to merit it. Maybe the penny will drop one day and he'll become brilliant. I hope so.
The reason for this is lack of game time in the 18-21 years. Due to a multitude of reasons, so "our" fault, some happenstance.
There is a reason all but the most exceptional players follow very similar career paths.
Don’t think he will get any better staying here next year as he will again be at best 4th/5th choice for the midfield 3 like he has been the last few years. Needs to go to league 2 and play 40 games.
Still think he hasn’t really nailed down what kind of midfielder he is going to be. When we have the ball he’s better deeper where he can get on the ball with a bit more time and use his range of passing. But defensively he isn’t good enough to play the deeper role.
Defensively he’s better further forward pressing from the front, but he’s not good enough technically in tight spaces or a goal threat which you need in that more advanced role.
Dont see why Morgan has to drop to League Two if he leaves us.
We've been surrounded by mediocre sides this season having been one ourselves, even the likes of Shrewsbury would be silly not to take a punt on him if he were to leave.
Comments
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/league-one/top-scorers/assists
As others have said, stats dont always give the full picture so should potentially be taken with a pinch of salt - What I will add though, is if he's our most effective midfielder in that regard, it feels that we should be looking at others and what they're failing to produce instead of him.
Negatives: Doesn’t do enough to affect the game. Happy to be proved wrong but don’t believe he made a tackle today. Always in the jockey position (Started to call him AP Morgan). Doesn’t take any shots and doesn’t press quick enough on the defence. Need to do a lot more when defending and in the first 3rd in play to be a top player.
There was a moment in second half, ball fell to him 25 years goal. First touch was perfect and allowed him time and space to have a shot from the edge of the box. Took an extra touch and got tackled.
One thing that sticks out (that makes me agree on the defensive side) was the fact that Shrewsbury had a throw in midway through the second half - He was right in front of me, and could hear Akin yelling at him... The throw in didnt come to anything, but even after the threat had ended; Akin was still talking to Albie telling him what he'd needed to be doing.
Will have to find a way to watch it again.
He has really been a victim of circumstances.
Maybe he could have done better maybe he never would have improved much regardless, many don't. But we haven't really managed it very well have we.
Even this season I don't think he's been managed well. When a player barely gets a look in for 3 months, gets back in the side, then gets dropped completely for 7 matches despite the team and midfield not doing that well, it's hardly surprising he's not playing at his best. When you know that a bad performance means you'll be dumped, that hardly helps you make the right decisions on the pitch.
Gilbey has started 31 games and come off the bench 5 times
Morgan has started 20 games and come off the bench just once.
To me, Albie looks like a midfield version of KAG. He’s often been asked to carry too much responsibility too soon. He may have 100 appearances but it’s been in fits and starts. He’s been shunted around every position in the midfield. He’s never been given a really good run of games in a specific role and been allowed to try and develop his game to that role. And then when he can’t come in and look the complete player within 4 or 5 games he gets dropped and sometimes singled out publicly by mangers. Unsurprisingly his confidence and development have been hurt as a result but I’ve never seen him hiding or lacking effort. He tries to step up and take responsibility for making the things happen even when it’s not working out for him. We’ve had a few senior pros who have not shown that commitment recently.
I don’t think you’ll find anyone advocating for him to be first choice next season, but personally, out of Lee, Gilbey, and him, he’d be the one I’d choose to form part of our squad next season. I think he’s still showing just enough to warrant perseverance. Perhaps a loan deal away from the club for the first half of the season could be a good option for both parties.
Can't see our coaching set up being able to do that at present.
Such a coach might help Morgan improve his around game (I'm laughing at how assists suddenly don't matter much when they come from Albie).
If Thomas wants the club and team to be premier league ready he should fund just such a coach.
I'm sure such an appointment would be welcomed by those fans who point out flaws in the players' game and in no way be used as yet another thing to whine about.
Whether that's a fact, or just seems like it happens a lot, is another matter. Sure theres going to be a pass success rate stat. that can be shared to prove it one way or another?
Of course it might be Albie himself who has been reluctant to move away from home.
That he played in different positions, in different formations and under different managers alongside different team mates and then often as sub or only for a few games are all factors, IMHO, in why that is the case.
If only Sandgaard would spend money on a specialist one to one development coach!
There is a reason all but the most exceptional players follow very similar career paths.
We've been surrounded by mediocre sides this season having been one ourselves, even the likes of Shrewsbury would be silly not to take a punt on him if he were to leave.