Did Berry offer much against Stockport? 5.7 on statbank.
No, but with how physical and aggressive they were Gilbert wouldn’t have had much time and space on the ball.
I sometimes wonder if having a player with quality can be the difference in those games. I remember how good Claus Jensen was at getting the ball down and playing other people into the game, even against the physical sides.
Did Berry offer much against Stockport? 5.7 on statbank.
No, but with how physical and aggressive they were Gilbert wouldn’t have had much time and space on the ball.
I sometimes wonder if having a player with quality can be the difference in those games. I remember how good Claus Jensen was at getting the ball down and playing other people into the game, even against the physical sides.
Imagine how good Claus would’ve been if he had been if he’d he’d been more athletic and aggressive, though. You’re comparing Gilbert to a player a) from an era of football when some players were still smokers and could get away with it and b) who had technical attributes good enough that he probably could’ve played for a top four premier league team if he’d been a bit fitter and faster (and in fact did for half a season of so).
Gilbert did not play as well as yesterday in his previous start. Burton were not going at it 100% and that helped him get on the ball yesterday. When he did, he looked good. Everyone struggled to get into the game at Stockport partly down to the referee being inexplicably reluctant to give any free kicks that day (I remember Leaburn being pretty much strangled at one point and it being ruled legal) and it’s hard to see someone like Gilbert making much difference in those circumstances.
I do think Gilbert can have his moment still though - perhaps as this year’s Johnnie Williams coming off the bench at Wembley to help swing a tight game in our favour. It was a timely reminder to NJ that if we need a goal he might be able to change a game attackingly in a way Anderson probable would not. Or perhaps you bring them both on and leave just one of Dic or Coventry sitting deeper. That way Anderson can do Gilbert’s running and pressing for him.
Did Berry offer much against Stockport? 5.7 on statbank.
No, but with how physical and aggressive they were Gilbert wouldn’t have had much time and space on the ball.
I sometimes wonder if having a player with quality can be the difference in those games. I remember how good Claus Jensen was at getting the ball down and playing other people into the game, even against the physical sides.
Imagine how good Claus would’ve been if he had been if he’d he’d been more athletic and aggressive, though. You’re comparing Gilbert to a player a) from an era of football when some players were still smokers and could get away with it and b) who had technical attributes good enough that he probably could’ve played for a top four premier league team if he’d been a bit fitter and faster (and in fact did for half a season of so).
Gilbert did not play as well as yesterday in his previous start. Burton were not going at it 100% and that helped him get on the ball yesterday. When he did, he looked good. Everyone struggled to get into the game at Stockport partly down to the referee being inexplicably reluctant to give any free kicks that day (I remember Leaburn being pretty much strangled at one point and it being ruled legal) and it’s hard to see someone like Gilbert making much difference in those circumstances.
I do think Gilbert can have his moment still though - perhaps as this year’s Johnnie Williams coming off the bench at Wembley to help swing a tight game in our favour. It was a timely reminder to NJ that if we need a goal he might be able to change a game attackingly in a way Anderson probable would not. Or perhaps you bring them both on and leave just one of Dic or Coventry sitting deeper. That way Anderson can do Gilbert’s running and pressing for him.
I might be remembering wrong, but don't think we dropped Claus for the games against Stoke, Allardyce teams, etc.. just because he wasn't up for the physical battle and barely put a tackle in. He got us playing and could come up with the moment of quality to settle those games.
I'm not comparing Gilbert to Claus, I'm just saying generally, in football, you have to earn the right to play, but you don't always have to try to out-physical the physical sides in every position.
Very good player but one of those you can't rely on to do the dirty work. Not a negative but just means you need to have a team around him that means he doesn't have too.
You could say exactly the same about Berry.
That is incredibly harsh on Berry. He does a lot of important work without the ball. He is often the one instigating or coordinating our press, does pretty well with winning flicks and headers or nudging defenders so their headers go wayward. And he gets stuck in
Gilbert is class on the ball but doesn’t offer as much as Berry does without it. That’s why he hasn’t been able to get in the team
Cant argue with the quality of his passing. I am concerned how generally weak he seems though and pulled out of a couple of winnable challenges in second half yesterday. Get away with that against Burton who were generally poor at finishing, could be different situation in play offs though.
There were plenty of pre-son friendlyesque pull outs from both teams yesterday.
a good good footballer - can 'handle' a football, no problem, pick a pass, first touch is good, awareness is good and his set pieces are great - just shows however that what you can do with a football is only part of what counts coz he's probably a better 'baller' than 90% of our squad - however, ,modern day football is so much about what you do off the ball and how physical you are and that is clearly why he isn't in anybody's first team plans atm - i like him but can see why he's struggling to nail down a first team spot. Terry Taylor was similar but neither are gonna fit into a nathan jones team
Very good player but one of those you can't rely on to do the dirty work. Not a negative but just means you need to have a team around him that means he doesn't have too.
You could say exactly the same about Berry.
That is incredibly harsh on Berry. He does a lot of important work without the ball. He is often the one instigating or coordinating our press, does pretty well with winning flicks and headers or nudging defenders so their headers go wayward. And he gets stuck in
Gilbert is class on the ball but doesn’t offer as much as Berry does without it. That’s why he hasn’t been able to get in the team
Agree that Berry offers so much off the ball as well as when he has possession. He also sees and grabs the shooting chances outside the box to very good effect. But he may have been carrying an injury for some time as his recent performances have seen him purring for around 25 minutes of a game and then fading away a bit as the game progresses.
What Gilbert does offer is a point of difference in midfield. Whilst we have runners and chasers a plenty, Gilbert provides finesse in his passing. He made three first half through passes on Saturday which were a different class. Agree he needs to bulk up like TC, and his shooting hasn't hit a target as yet, but his passing game could prove a potent weapon in the games to come, particularly (fingers crossed) on a Wembley playing surface.
Comments
I do think Gilbert can have his moment still though - perhaps as this year’s Johnnie Williams coming off the bench at Wembley to help swing a tight game in our favour. It was a timely reminder to NJ that if we need a goal he might be able to change a game attackingly in a way Anderson probable would not. Or perhaps you bring them both on and leave just one of Dic or Coventry sitting deeper. That way Anderson can do Gilbert’s running and pressing for him.
I'm not comparing Gilbert to Claus, I'm just saying generally, in football, you have to earn the right to play, but you don't always have to try to out-physical the physical sides in every position.
Gilbert is class on the ball but doesn’t offer as much as Berry does without it. That’s why he hasn’t been able to get in the team
What Gilbert does offer is a point of difference in midfield. Whilst we have runners and chasers a plenty, Gilbert provides finesse in his passing. He made three first half through passes on Saturday which were a different class. Agree he needs to bulk up like TC, and his shooting hasn't hit a target as yet, but his passing game could prove a potent weapon in the games to come, particularly (fingers crossed) on a Wembley playing surface.