Not sure why there is a debate. Vocal, leader, superb positioning (bar when he was rusty and kept getting booked), on field coach, very impressive second half performance on Saturday. In fact I think our fans just like moaning about every and anything possible.
Not sure why there is a debate. Vocal, leader, superb positioning (bar when he was rusty and kept getting booked), on field coach, very impressive second half performance on Saturday. In fact I think our fans just like moaning about every and anything possible.
Did you see the MK Dons game? Our fans were moaning because there was (not for the first time) an opponent that was constantly giving Watson the slip. It is possible for a player to have positive and negative attributes. Not everything has to be black and white.
Too slow to play at base of diamond. He did show willingness to reach their box at the weekend(he was good going forward). His lack of pace sitting in the diamond means he sits so deep so people can’t run behind him. That just invites pressure. Before the weekend I did not appreciate that he could play higher up the pitch (a poor man’s Pirlo). So useful to the squad for that. But please find someone with legs that can play that holding role with pace and sweep up. Bowyers defence of him was that he got a yellow card every match because of the position that he played. I’m not convinced. It’s because he plays that position and has no pace to cover effectively. Playing someone with more legs there(they don’t have to super pacy but at least Cullen speed) will allow us to attack more. COYA
Watson is not really the kind of player who will win you many games on his own. But he's very useful as the platform for the more direct and attacking players to build from.
You are unlikely to see spectacular things from him, but he's there to allow others to do those things instead.
Watson sees the picture faster than any of our players. Watch when he receives the ball how quickly he moves the ball on. This means that he doesn't need pace, he already knows where the ball is going. If that is backwards or sideways that's because he is not confident that he can make the pass. I believe Watson will become our most important midfielder this season.
He’s the sort of midfielder some fans never appreciate but managers certainly do.
This is very good point. Some people never quite understand why a manager persistently picks a player that they, the fans, don't rate.
There's more to watching a match than always following the ball - otherwise you'll never see the tracking and covering, players dropping back to keep the team shape while a team mate moves forward/overlaps without the ball, etc.
Curbs would invariably pick Kishishev every game. 'Captain Clean Shorts', Matt Holland, was another ..... people would post on here saying that Holland never got involved, never made a tackle - yet, every game, he was the 1st name on the team sheet and skipper.
The answer, of course, is that he has a job to do in the team, a key player who makes the team tick off the ball as well as on it. Even if he never got his shorts dirty.
Things need freshening up. I think him being out for a few games could actually work to our advantage. He is very pedestrian and his role in the team seems to dictate the tempo the whole team play at.
Things need freshening up. I think him being out for a few games could actually work to our advantage. He is very pedestrian and his role in the team seems to dictate the tempo the whole team play at.
Didnt he play every game our wining spell earlier this season where others were in and out of the side ?
Things need freshening up. I think him being out for a few games could actually work to our advantage. He is very pedestrian and his role in the team seems to dictate the tempo the whole team play at.
Didnt he play every game our wining spell earlier this season where others were in and out of the side ?
He missed one game (Portsmouth or Fleetwood) because he was suspended
A hamstring injury early in the game is a sign that something is not right in the fitness/ conditioning dept. As if we didnt already know...but I thought new people were coming in.
Sadly I don't feel we have greatly. We really need to realise that either him or Pratley are required in that role and use either depending on the opposition. I'm sure Bows sees this now?!
If we think back to Fraser at the Valley to Fraser this week.....
Sadly I don't feel we have greatly. We really need to realise that either him or Pratley are required in that role and use either depending on the opposition. I'm sure Bows sees this now?!
If we think back to Fraser at the Valley to Fraser this week.....
It's more the case that we benefit from having Pratley OR Watson but we don't need both at once. Pratley is better in cases like Tuesday where he shackled their dangerous player, if we wanted someone to set the tempo and get play going from the back then Watson gets the nod instead.
Sadly I don't feel we have greatly. We really need to realise that either him or Pratley are required in that role and use either depending on the opposition. I'm sure Bows sees this now?!
If we think back to Fraser at the Valley to Fraser this week.....
Having lost and drawn so many games these past few months I’d suggest we’re definitely missing something. Whether that’s Watson or not is open to debate. There’s too many unknowns but I’m very hopeful BW will still play a big part for us.
Personally think Pratley is a more mobile version of Watson. Watson is probably a better passer but in that role I'm more interested in how they protect the back 4, which I think Pratley does better.
Sadly I don't feel we have greatly. We really need to realise that either him or Pratley are required in that role and use either depending on the opposition. I'm sure Bows sees this now?!
If we think back to Fraser at the Valley to Fraser this week.....
Yes and no. Two things stick out in my mind Fraser, as you mentioned and the crazy half an hour against Wimbledon.
If we ever see Pratley and Watson in the team together it's got to be the other way round. With Pratley at the base of the diamond.
If you watch the 2 minute odd clip the club put on twitter of the unedited 2 goals against Wimbledon notice the positions Watson was in. He did the same thing to us playing for Forest last season. Pratley can't do that. Equally Watson can't chase a Fraser round for 90 minutes either.
We haven't missed him really but I still think he has got a big part to play of we are going to be successful this season.
Personally think Pratley is a more mobile version of Watson. Watson is probably a better passer but in that role I'm more interested in how they protect the back 4, which I think Pratley does better.
That said, I'd be ok with a 4-2-3-1 with Watson and Pratley in the 2 as it would allow a lot of freedom for those in front of them
Personally think Pratley is a more mobile version of Watson. Watson is probably a better passer but in that role I'm more interested in how they protect the back 4, which I think Pratley does better.
That said, I'd be ok with a 4-2-3-1 with Watson and Pratley in the 2 as it would allow a lot of freedom for those in front of them
JFC is perfect for one of those roles in the 2. Still only space for one of them in that formation IMO.
i don't think so - i can't see how we can afford to have a midfielder who just sits in front of the back 4 - its synonymous with the negative, over defensive tripe we were watching for me
i don't think so - i can't see how we can afford to have a midfielder who just sits in front of the back 4 - its synonymous with the negative, over defensive tripe we were watching for me
Depends who the others around him are though. If he's tidying everything up and you've got 3/4 attacking players around him it works well.
i don't think so - i can't see how we can afford to have a midfielder who just sits in front of the back 4 - its synonymous with the negative, over defensive tripe we were watching for me
Depends who the others around him are though. If he's tidying everything up and you've got 3/4 attacking players around him it works well.
Sadly I don't feel we have greatly. We really need to realise that either him or Pratley are required in that role and use either depending on the opposition. I'm sure Bows sees this now?!
If we think back to Fraser at the Valley to Fraser this week.....
I think the way that some teams have just waltzed past our midfield, while pausing for a breather, yes we have.
Sadly I don't feel we have greatly. We really need to realise that either him or Pratley are required in that role and use either depending on the opposition. I'm sure Bows sees this now?!
If we think back to Fraser at the Valley to Fraser this week.....
I think the way that some teams have just waltzed past our midfield, while pausing for a breather, yes we have.
I seem to remember many runs past him either standing on the spot or appearing highly immobile.
JFC has shown what we miss by having too many sitting CMs.
Sadly I don't feel we have greatly. We really need to realise that either him or Pratley are required in that role and use either depending on the opposition. I'm sure Bows sees this now?!
If we think back to Fraser at the Valley to Fraser this week.....
I think the way that some teams have just waltzed past our midfield, while pausing for a breather, yes we have.
To be fair I think the most our midfield has ever been waltzed through was the previous MK Dons game, which he played in.
I don't feel like we've missed him. He looks like his age has hit him hard all of a sudden and he is having trouble keeping up with the pace of the league. As mentioned above, people only have to tap it either side of him and he either has to make a foul or let them go because he doesn't have the legs to get across or stay with them.
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You are unlikely to see spectacular things from him, but he's there to allow others to do those things instead.
He thinks Palace lost when he played in the Fortune game ( I guess in some ways they did) and he wanted to join us last season.
There's more to watching a match than always following the ball - otherwise you'll never see the tracking and covering, players dropping back to keep the team shape while a team mate moves forward/overlaps without the ball, etc.
Curbs would invariably pick Kishishev every game. 'Captain Clean Shorts', Matt Holland, was another ..... people would post on here saying that Holland never got involved, never made a tackle - yet, every game, he was the 1st name on the team sheet and skipper.
The answer, of course, is that he has a job to do in the team, a key player who makes the team tick off the ball as well as on it.
Even if he never got his shorts dirty.
Once our medical team get hold of the hamstring, he'll be out for 9 months
Sadly I don't feel we have greatly. We really need to realise that either him or Pratley are required in that role and use either depending on the opposition. I'm sure Bows sees this now?!
If we think back to Fraser at the Valley to Fraser this week.....
If we ever see Pratley and Watson in the team together it's got to be the other way round. With Pratley at the base of the diamond.
If you watch the 2 minute odd clip the club put on twitter of the unedited 2 goals against Wimbledon notice the positions Watson was in. He did the same thing to us playing for Forest last season. Pratley can't do that. Equally Watson can't chase a Fraser round for 90 minutes either.
We haven't missed him really but I still think he has got a big part to play of we are going to be successful this season.
JFC has shown what we miss by having too many sitting CMs.
I don't feel like we've missed him. He looks like his age has hit him hard all of a sudden and he is having trouble keeping up with the pace of the league. As mentioned above, people only have to tap it either side of him and he either has to make a foul or let them go because he doesn't have the legs to get across or stay with them.
someone can now look it up and prove me wrong