I bet Matt Holland had a 96% pass completion rate .
In all seriousness, Fraser is clearly playing far better than he did last season .
Where as I don’t doubt he was off colour last season, which is clearly why Ipswich off loaded him - I don’t think any midfielder (apart from Dobson in a purely defensive capacity) was going to excel under Jackson’s coaching and the brand of football he wanted to play.
So I think we’re seeing both a return of fitness and confidence as well as a coaching style that clearly allows him to get on the ball and effect the game more. So a double whammy of improvement.
I bet Matt Holland had a 96% pass completion rate .
In all seriousness, Fraser is clearly playing far better than he did last season .
Where as I don’t doubt he was off colour last season, which is clearly why Ipswich off loaded him - I don’t think any midfielder (apart from Dobson in a purely defensive capacity) was going to excel under Jackson’s coaching and the brand of football he wanted to play.
So I think we’re seeing both a return of fitness and confidence as well as a coaching style that clearly allows him to get on the ball and effect the game more. So a double whammy of improvement.
Total insult to Johnnie Jackson and absolute rubbish. Just to let you know I went to 7 games at the valley last season after JJ took over and we won them all and didn't concede a goal. JJ didn't have the match fit Fraser to play like he has in the last few games. Aneke turned up more crocked than before despite being able to score a goal for every 90 minutes he plays.
Jackson overachieved if anything with the worse squad in living memory according to so many on CL. 22nd to 13th with the squad he inherited was decent.
By the way I like Ben Garner and his honesty and he is a good young coach but it shouldn't have taken him 12 games to realize that a mix and match system was best and 4-3-3 just never seems to work for more than the odd game and normally when we play Plymouth home or Plymouth away on occasions. Tempo was the main thing for me as a manager(knowing when to slow it down and when to speed up) and seeing that second goal by CBT in a fast tempo in transition was magic for me. Ok we didn't go for the jugular at 3 up against 10 men but it was important that CBT stays fit and we didn't get any more injuries. 83 minute masterclass from Scott Fraser backed up by the guy who had his back, George Dobson. Very rare for no one to have a bad game even though Sean Clare struggled at LB after replacing SS which is no real surprise as it's his wrong side but needs must.
You play the best system that you can with the players available, of course Garner had to change after he wasn't backed in this window and he had admitted that even though Thomas Sandgaard will no doubt be pissed off if he hears that said out loud. A flexible 4-4-2 in possession and 4-4-1-1 out of possession was the obvious short term solution but we may need to change again depending on players available.
Until we improve away we are a mid table team but light at the end of the very dark tunnel. I thought I would end with a train reference.
It’s indicative of the tribalism within football towards players and teams, that you accuse my view of being rubbish and insulting because it differs to yours - before then going on to criticise Ben Garner for doing something that Jackson neither has the coaching ability or confidence to do by changing his favoured formation to suit the squad he has.
I also pretty much watched every game last year, and pointed out time and time again how we lacked a distinct pattern of play and that our ‘attacking’ midfielders never ever got on the ball in pockets of space in the middle of the park.
It’s indicative of the tribalism within football towards players and teams, that you accuse my view of being rubbish and insulting because it differs to yours - before then going on to criticise Ben Garner for doing something that Jackson neither has the coaching ability or confidence to do by changing his favoured formation to suit the squad he has.
I also pretty much watched every game last year, and pointed out time and time again how we lacked a distinct pattern of play and that our ‘attacking’ midfielders never ever got on the ball in pockets of space in the middle of the park.
Johnnie Jackson had the balls to change a 4-3-3 to a 3-5-2 after one training session before Sunderland(win 1-0) after taking over with Charlton in 22nd place. We then got 20 point from 10 games. I'm surprised JJ didn't go 4-4-2 when we were in a rut later on but I wasn't at Sparrows lane on training days so it's hard to know why ? I can tell you JJ's players were never coached to hoof the ball 10 yards above Stockley's head just like they aren't under Ben.
I will defend JJ when they he is spoken about as if he never had a clue. Do I agree with all his decisions ! of course not and Garner could well go on to be a more successful coach at Cafc or somewhere else with more ambition.
Amazing JJ was highly thought of as a coach by Cullen, BFG, Aribo etc but CL members seem to disagree with professional players.
Johnnie Jackson had the balls to change a 4-3-3 to a 3-5-2 after one training session before Sunderland(win 1-0) after taking over with Charlton in 22nd place. We then got 20 point from 10 games. I'm surprised JJ didn't go 4-4-2 when we were in a rut later on but I wasn't at Sparrows lane on training days so it's hard to know why ? I can tell you JJ's players were never coached to hoof the ball 10 yards above Stockley's head just like they aren't under Ben.
I will defend JJ when they he is spoken about as if he never had a clue. Do I agree with all his decisions ! of course not and Garner could well go on to be a more successful coach at Cafc or somewhere else with more ambition.
Amazing JJ was highly thought of as a coach by Cullen, BFG, Aribo etc but CL members seem to disagree with professional players.
He may well be a great coach but he isn't a great manager unfortunately.
Five assists for Kirk, all in the league. You can see why Garner wants him on the pitch. He’s not exciting to watch like CBT but he’s got an end product and rarely giving the ball away.
Unusual for an English attacking midfielder in that he doesn’t stand out for his pace, skill, strength or running. I do feel that’s why some don’t get him, his style isn’t what we usually see in his position.
Actually, I wasn't being entirely flippant. The 'Style of Play' section here basically describes Kirk to an uncanny degree, except, y'know, a version that played for Barcelona
It’s got a chance of working for him as long as we don’t go too direct. With CBT and JRS out wide you’ve got the threat of pace running in behind which Stockley can’t offer. They need to make those runs through the middle as CBT did for his goal rather than only offer width.
I bet Matt Holland had a 96% pass completion rate .
In all seriousness, Fraser is clearly playing far better than he did last season .
Where as I don’t doubt he was off colour last season, which is clearly why Ipswich off loaded him - I don’t think any midfielder (apart from Dobson in a purely defensive capacity) was going to excel under Jackson’s coaching and the brand of football he wanted to play.
So I think we’re seeing both a return of fitness and confidence as well as a coaching style that clearly allows him to get on the ball and effect the game more. So a double whammy of improvement.
He caught Covid pretty much as soon as he got here, and then had a weird injury as a result of that. It's no wonder he wasn't at his best, the coaching had nothing to do with it.
Comments
So I think we’re seeing both a return of fitness and confidence as well as a coaching style that clearly allows him to get on the ball and effect the game more. So a double whammy of improvement.
Total insult to Johnnie Jackson and absolute rubbish. Just to let you know I went to 7 games at the valley last season after JJ took over and we won them all and didn't concede a goal. JJ didn't have the match fit Fraser to play like he has in the last few games. Aneke turned up more crocked than before despite being able to score a goal for every 90 minutes he plays.
Jackson overachieved if anything with the worse squad in living memory according to so many on CL. 22nd to 13th with the squad he inherited was decent.
By the way I like Ben Garner and his honesty and he is a good young coach but it shouldn't have taken him 12 games to realize that a mix and match system was best and 4-3-3 just never seems to work for more than the odd game and normally when we play Plymouth home or Plymouth away on occasions. Tempo was the main thing for me as a manager(knowing when to slow it down and when to speed up) and seeing that second goal by CBT in a fast tempo in transition was magic for me. Ok we didn't go for the jugular at 3 up against 10 men but it was important that CBT stays fit and we didn't get any more injuries. 83 minute masterclass from Scott Fraser backed up by the guy who had his back, George Dobson. Very rare for no one to have a bad game even though Sean Clare struggled at LB after replacing SS which is no real surprise as it's his wrong side but needs must.
You play the best system that you can with the players available, of course Garner had to change after he wasn't backed in this window and he had admitted that even though Thomas Sandgaard will no doubt be pissed off if he hears that said out loud.
A flexible 4-4-2 in possession and 4-4-1-1 out of possession was the obvious short term solution but we may need to change again depending on players available.
Until we improve away we are a mid table team but light at the end of the very dark tunnel. I thought I would end with a train reference.
You are not.
I will defend JJ when they he is spoken about as if he never had a clue. Do I agree with all his decisions ! of course not and Garner could well go on to be a more successful coach at Cafc or somewhere else with more ambition.
Amazing JJ was highly thought of as a coach by Cullen, BFG, Aribo etc but CL members seem to disagree with professional players.
He may well be a great coach but he isn't a great manager unfortunately.
Unusual for an English attacking midfielder in that he doesn’t stand out for his pace, skill, strength or running. I do feel that’s why some don’t get him, his style isn’t what we usually see in his position.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Román_Riquelme
Would Riquelme have worked on the wing? Would he hell. It's quite possible we've stumbled on something here