No player in the last 3 years has had the unfair press he has had and I’m certain it’s because he is so ‘unflashy’.
In his first season for us, he was faultless. He then had a couple of tricky moments in the championship (sending off and one nightmare game) and he was written off.
Was crying out for him to be playing as soon as he was back from injury. Thank goodness he has been given his chance.
He’s only just coming into his prime and I really think he can help take us up over the next couple of seasons.
I also think Jackson is the perfect manager for him. He’s a hard worker but seems to thrive with an arm round the shoulder.
Got a lot of unfair stick on this forum. Always a steady Eddy now adding goals to his repertoire. Comes across well on CTV interviews and apparently a nice guy.
Playing very well. Earns his goals because he's willing to gamble and get into the box and doesn't mind the extra yards he has to run. Always been a solid defender. Looks very confident going forward at the moment, a side of his game I've not seen before.
Has he ever come under massive criticism on this site? Not that I've seen. He's been one of the more popular players. Personally, based on the performances of the last two seasons, I think he was very average, but I was in the minority there. Some people liked that whole steady eddy thing. Nevertheless he's smashing it at the minute.
I’ve been critical of Ben in the past. Always struck me as quite limited despite being a good lad and a legend if nothing else for that goal..! Got found out at championship level. However, the Humble pie has been egg washed and is baking away nicely in the aga (I know, I know…..). I’m limited to streaming these days, but from what I’ve seen and from what others who watch in the flesh have said, he seems to have really stepped up. I had high hopes for Soare as a dashing left wing back but Ben seems to have seen him off. Now a fixture in the side. Good luck to him.
Chunes nails it. Look at the difference between Purrington and Matthews now if both played in this position. Matthews has real limits and has decided his play stops on a certain print in the grass.
Some Messi'esque skill comes out every now and again as it did V Doncaster squeezing between 2 players.
Get behind players, coach them and they can improve! Purrington has also put in some useful crosses. I think he could be quite a good set piece taker too going forwards. Some variety of right/left foot corners would be good. This will be moving him away from seeing the back of the net which could be counter productive.
It's funny isn't it. The wing backs are concentrating more while playing as wingers, rather than how they were defending either as defenders or wingers!
That said, Purrington doesn't operate like a classic wing-back either. He doesn't get the cross in very often. He sort of goes from being a wide defensive presence to being a support striker, with little in between
That said, Purrington doesn't operate like a classic wing-back either. He doesn't get the cross in very often. He sort of goes from being a wide defensive presence to being a support striker, with little in between
Agreed, it's a most unusual role
DJ on the right is playing as a wing back, as he's up and down the touchline, getting in crosses. Purrington doesn't have the pace to charge up and down the flank, so instead seems to be alternating between defensive and attacking roles, and is as much there to be a goal scorer as he is to provide attacking width
That said, Purrington doesn't operate like a classic wing-back either. He doesn't get the cross in very often. He sort of goes from being a wide defensive presence to being a support striker, with little in between
It will be interesting to see how successful a tactic it is over the course of the season - will someone come up with a successful counter? It's an unusual set up to face.
Big fan of Ben. Much better full back than Maatsen. Never understood the criticism of him in the champ. Yes he had a bad spell in the champ, but he also was good in our start. Maatsen's better on the ball, but manages to position wrong defensively or offensively. Ben is a metronome, although he did run out of steam sometimes last season whilst Maatsen didn't: If that happens he needs subbing, but doesn't sound like it is this season.
That's what makes him danger - diagonal runs! It's no accident as look at who his manager is.
This is a good point, he is actually quite a similar type of player to Jacko and can see his influence on Ben Purr. You wouldn't describe Jacko as particularly creative, but you would say he was very solid, works hardcovers ground and can do a bit of everything. He had that knack of being in the right place at the right time, perfectly timing his runs into the box, attacking the ball and always wanting it more. I see the exact same thing with Ben in how he attacks the ball the only difference is the starting position of the run.
That said, Purrington doesn't operate like a classic wing-back either. He doesn't get the cross in very often. He sort of goes from being a wide defensive presence to being a support striker, with little in between
It's a new style of wing back, I think we've taken a lot from how Chelsea operate with their wide players. Chilwell and Alonso are basically there to get on the end of cross-field balls and finish chances if they're not defending, coming very narrow, and aren't really expected to do much else. On the other side Reece James is tasked with being the key creative presence out wide and maintaining the width as much as he can. Tuchel has also put Hudson-Odoi there when he's wanted to dominate teams, and when he didn't know if James could provide the attacking end product he was after. We're doing a similar thing with ours, expecting the right-sided WB to drive up the pitch and get crosses in, and Purrington to be on the end of them once Stockley draws the entire defence to him (assuming he hasn't tried to murder someone yet that game).
Interesting that you make the comparison to Chelsea of all teams. I'm not saying that in a sly way, just shows that for all the disparity in resources (and quality, let's face it) Jackson and Euell are clearly taking notes from the top table of football and clearly have ambition of being better than "League One cloggers."
And more power to them for that. Purrington has done very well in the new role and deserves credit for it but kudos also to whoever made the connection of putting him into the position and having the faith in him to execute it.
That said, Purrington doesn't operate like a classic wing-back either. He doesn't get the cross in very often. He sort of goes from being a wide defensive presence to being a support striker, with little in between
It's a new style of wing back, I think we've taken a lot from how Chelsea operate with their wide players. Chilwell and Alonso are basically there to get on the end of cross-field balls and finish chances if they're not defending, coming very narrow, and aren't really expected to do much else. On the other side Reece James is tasked with being the key creative presence out wide and maintaining the width as much as he can. Tuchel has also put Hudson-Odoi there when he's wanted to dominate teams, and when he didn't know if James could provide the attacking end product he was after. We're doing a similar thing with ours, expecting the right-sided WB to drive up the pitch and get crosses in, and Purrington to be on the end of them once Stockley draws the entire defence to him (assuming he hasn't tried to murder someone yet that game).
Going back to Conte, Chelsea played with a back 3 and I remember Alonso scoring a number of goals at the back post. Indeed he has 22 goals in 132 league games for Chelsea!
Comments
He’s only just coming into his prime and I really think he can help take us up over the next couple of seasons.
I also think Jackson is the perfect manager for him. He’s a hard worker but seems to thrive with an arm round the shoulder.
JJ best be careful!
Has he ever come under massive criticism on this site? Not that I've seen. He's been one of the more popular players. Personally, based on the performances of the last two seasons, I think he was very average, but I was in the minority there. Some people liked that whole steady eddy thing. Nevertheless he's smashing it at the minute.
Crucial goal at Wembley, very good one yesterday and a hard working decent player!
Some Messi'esque skill comes out every now and again as it did V Doncaster squeezing between 2 players.
Get behind players, coach them and they can improve! Purrington has also put in some useful crosses. I think he could be quite a good set piece taker too going forwards. Some variety of right/left foot corners would be good. This will be moving him away from seeing the back of the net which could be counter productive.
Always saw him better as a standard Left-Back, rather than a Wing-Back
DJ on the right is playing as a wing back, as he's up and down the touchline, getting in crosses. Purrington doesn't have the pace to charge up and down the flank, so instead seems to be alternating between defensive and attacking roles, and is as much there to be a goal scorer as he is to provide attacking width
It's an unusual set up to face.
Great work Ben, keep it up.
And more power to them for that. Purrington has done very well in the new role and deserves credit for it but kudos also to whoever made the connection of putting him into the position and having the faith in him to execute it.
Always had faith in his ability, although never expected him to be so prolific in front of goal