Why does T.Campbell keep getting selected

If we had signed TC for 2 million in the summer what would peope think ? I would personally think we had blown our money. The reason i think Jones plays him is to try to cash in looks like that is failing too. His song dosent help at all my oppinon 🤷‍♂️

How about a straight swap for the Blades "T. Campbell"? We could pretend that they're both worth £2m and not even change the song, albeit the other one might need a positional change for that to work. 

Bedsaddick said:

CafcWest said:

He gets selected because he is the only player who drives the game forward.  He doesn't get enough decent crosses into the box or always beat his man but we have no real alternative.

Apter on the left is the alternative.

Apter does not have the same strength as TC to hold defenders off. He is too lightweight for any position in this league, sadly. Stoke's winger Manhoef is what you need, twice Apter's size but fast and skilful.

It will be interesting when TC moves on, my guess he goes to another Championship team and if they are a bit more attack minded he becomes an established mid range Championship player.  Not the decisiveness to be top draw but in a team with more attacking flair where he isn't always double and crippled marked he will do well.

NabySarr said:

TC isn’t the problem, he was playing well enough and contributing to a team that was in the top 6 not long ago. Our issue is the lack of balance to our team due to defensive injuries. Once that is sorted the whole team will look better again, TC included

What is a problem is how some fans seem to be so keen to jump on anything TC does wrong (or even blame him when he’s done nothing wrong). There are plenty of others players who have been a lot worse over the last 2 games but for some reason it’s all TC’s fault 

This with bells on.

I think people sometimes forget how young TC is and, as I have said elsewhere, how he is still finding his feet at the level. I don't think that, tactically, we play to his strengths and he shouldn't be considered a striker. He has also been deployed as a WB on more than one occasion, and that's another position that doesn't suit him. I think he would shine as a traditional wide, winger as either 3 in attack or 4 in midfield, but needs the comfort of a traditional WB/FB behind him to allow for his best work of running at defenders, either to the byline or mixing in cutting in.

The weak centre midfield right now (both Docherty and Coventry both underperforming in recent games) will make him look worse. Even Carey has dipped as a result while we are leaking goals. Every attacking player looks worse because our priority as a team has been stopping the rot. 

I think it's also prudent to remember that TCs contract is up in the summer. Giving the lad pelters every game isn't exactly going to make those conversations easy. I think the lad is definitely less like Small, but would anyone be surprised if he took up a double(ish)-your-salary deal for free in the summer to play at a comfortably mid/top-half Championship team? Even as a backup player, I'm sure teams are keeping their eye on him. Singing his song and sentimentality about the Academy goes only so far in a fleeting football career.

I just think expectation levels are just a little too high for where he is. I still remember Aribo being incredibly raw until that L1 playoff run and look at his peaks in comparison now. TC will get there and has shown glimpses. He's still one of the only difference makers we have, but tactically, I think he's regularly employed as a bit of a square peg in a round hole.

fenaddick said:

Bedsaddick said:

CafcWest said:

He gets selected because he is the only player who drives the game forward.  He doesn't get enough decent crosses into the box or always beat his man but we have no real alternative.

Apter on the left is the alternative.

He's only ever played 8 games on the left compared to 82 on the right, it's not a serious option

how many games had Thierry Small played on the right before he was switched their last season? How many games had Kayne Ramsay played at CB before we moved him there? How many games had Jacko played CM before we switched him to that role from LB/LM? How many games had Ryan Giggs played at DMC before Man U switched him to that role?

Footballers adapt and alter positions all the time. Apter likes to drive forward with the ball, has a decent cross, it's commonplace for wingers to switch sides anyway. 

It's a perfectly palatable option to try and adapt him to that role.

fenaddick said:

paulsturgess said:

fenaddick said:

I’m still convinced he’s being given instructions to slow the game up to allow runners to arrive and that’s why he doesn’t take his man on. 

Watch our attacking play on both wings. So often what happens is wide player gets forward towards the edge of the box, stops his run and passes it 5 yards back to (usually) Coventry who then plays it onto the runner, crosses (rare) or resets back to the defence. Yesterday there were times where TC was playing the Coventry role in that routine over on the right, it’s a clear pattern of play. 

Second half he actually took his man on a couple of times and played an early cross both of which looked dangerous. Some of that is the state of the game but I’m sure he was told to be more free. 

He’s at his best when acting on instinct, the assist for Leaburn, what was effectively the assist for Carey, the cross yesterday, his goals last season. All of them are outside the usual structure of how we play and have been seemingly based on his gut 

*allow defenders to get back.

Yeah that's the major flaw in the pattern but outside of TC we don't have a huge amount of pace on the pitch to play any quicker

The fact we don't have a huge amount of pace on the pitch is exactly why we should be playing quicker, certainly when Kelman was on the pitch.

Kelman, Godden (May before him) benefited from early crosses, passes, balls in behind when their timing, movement etc gives them the edge to find a bit of space. If you hold the ball up and delay playing a decisive pass, as has been so common this season, what we're doing is just letting their players get back behind the ball and because we don't have any pace once they have men behind, we have no ability to pass them and it's just the loft it towards a sole striker who in Kelman's case is never gonna do anything in those circumstances, Leaburn stands a better chance but when he's basically alone in the box / edge of box, it's difficult

Olaofe similarly seems like someone who is better suited to driving through into space from an early pass versus battling for a header or trying to make himself space to get a shot off 

no easy solution and TC at least holds the ball up for us, but he is creating no chances and the fact it is basically an accepted role that he is our forward but essentially isn't expected to score goals, is pretty crazy

AndyG said:

NabySarr said:

TC isn’t the problem, he was playing well enough and contributing to a team that was in the top 6 not long ago. Our issue is the lack of balance to our team due to defensive injuries. Once that is sorted the whole team will look better again, TC included

What is a problem is how some fans seem to be so keen to jump on anything TC does wrong (or even blame him when he’s done nothing wrong). There are plenty of others players who have been a lot worse over the last 2 games but for some reason it’s all TC’s fault 

Im very much in the camp that he should not be starting mate but it isnt because I have it in for the lad. I actually feel sorry for him as he is being asked to do what at the moment is simply beyond him and I honestly dont think it is doing him any good at all. I would take him out of the starting 11 for a while and bring him on late on. The trouble is who do we start in his place ?

I think he’s needed to come out of the starting eleven for a while. He looks knackered and that’s no surprise considering he’s had barely any break for about a year. I still believe he’s in our best eleven, but if we don’t give him a breather at some point he’s going to continue to struggle 

The problem is your last point, at the moment he’s in our best eleven and fits that left sided role better than anyone else we have. If we take him out of the team then who do we play? 

Our system is based on pressing and TC is the best we have at that. Olaofe "could" do that job but has been nowhere near as effective so far and doesn't seem to be fit enough to play 60+ minutes. Apter has shown nothing to suggest he would press and get us higher up the pitch. So to answer the question of why TC is starting, the answer is that we haven't got anybody better for our chosen style of play.

We should have signed a player in the summer to start in that role and for TC to learn off. I like Tanto but he is also raw and developing. We should have gotten somebody proven in (easier said than done I know)