Match Report and moM v Newcastle

Tbf I am not really sure anyone knows where Brooks best position will end up. He is going to put on so much more strength and muscle I the next year or two that l think he could end up being a real powerful and skillful centre midfield player, or he may develop in to a great no10.
 
Tinpot Club said:
Brooks does need to toughen up a little but I think it’d be a mistake to put on too much strength and muscle. He has a different dribbling style to more powerful players, in that he sort of ice skates across the pitch. I’d worry too much power and he’d lose the finesse which is vital to his game
Click to expand...
:agree:

He does need to beef up a little - he does still look a bit like a schoolboy lining up with the rest of the team
 
Tinpot Club said:
Brooks does need to toughen up a little but I think it’d be a mistake to put on too much strength and muscle. He has a different dribbling style to more powerful players, in that he sort of ice skates across the pitch. I’d worry too much power and he’d lose the finesse which is vital to his game
Click to expand...
It's very difficult to determine how much he needs to bulk out. His skills are obvious but he tends to get knocked of the ball too easily. Maybe he's still a bit affected by the glandular fever he suffered. Get that out of his system and we might see a difference. Looking foward to see what he's like next season.
 
Tinpot Club said:
I think a lot of people didn’t realise how much the wind affected the play yesterday. Those sat near me were frustrated we weren’t playing fast enough, but it’s tricky to play slick one touch football when the ball is moving all over the place in the wind.
Click to expand...

This.

For example, the wind was blowing directly across the pitch from Main stand across to East stand. This gets distorted at pitch level thanks to turbulence from the stands to the extent that, for example, the goal net at the North Stand end was billowing towards the Main Stand instead of East as you would expect. When it's like that, it affects confidence of players because they don't even know hoiw the wind will affect their pass.

This, combined with two of the Fab Four getting kicked around, hardly surprising we found it difficult to get our best game going.
 
Topfarrier said:
He had no partner yesterday...a one man midfield....and was still incredible.
Click to expand...
My man of the match yesterday. Amazing engine, keeps it simple. Some of the passes he was pinging into the forwards in the second half were glorious. That languid South American style. We have never had a player remotely like him. Yes he has his flaws, but just love watching him play.
 
siggyboy said:
My man of the match yesterday. Amazing engine, keeps it simple. Some of the passes he was pinging into the forwards in the second half were glorious. That languid South American style. We have never had a player remotely like him. Yes he has his flaws, but just love watching him play.
Click to expand...

Exactly this, he's definitely a bit reckless at times but I love watching the bloke play, which is what it's all about.
 
He actually had a really poor first 20 mins. Diame dribbled passed him twice and he misplaced a few straightforward passes. When he got booked for a borderline red tackle I feared the worst.

The way he got his act together and ran our midfield is testament to his ability and composure. Get a quality partner for him or play him in a midfield 3 and his class will ooze through.
 
Neil Dawson said:
You might be right. I can only see it from angle I saw it and I was kind of behind it. It looked to me like he tried to foul him, the lad stayed on his feet and then he clipped him again. In the Fletch stand it may well have looked differently. MOTD will show all angles.
Click to expand...

Neil,

I've got to say I thought it was a foul and certainly one that we would have been screaming on if the show was on the other foot.
 
My random thoughts:

1. Diame is an absolute mountain, the bloke's HUGE
2. Brooks is not really the man for the role he was playing, even before they started kicking him
3. Lerma was brilliant, just what we've needed for ages, but we do need someone as good playing the "other" CM role
4. Was really surprised Brooks and WeeMan made the full 90 given how painful their injuries looked. Hope they'll be ok for Leicester
5. I thought Ibe's challenge was definitely a foul
6. Why does Rondon seem to play well only against us?
7. Much though I was gutted, I was still in a way pleased for Matt, it was a strange emotion. In my view, the goal was coming anyway, given the way we always go backwards when in the lead near the end of the game, and how we can't really cope well with pressure, so I'm glad he did it rather than one of their other players

And finally....

Remember those dire old games in L2 with continual unforced errors, overhit and underhit passes, balls going to the opposition and balls going straight into touch?

I'm so glad we don't have to put up with all that now we're in the "Best League In The World"(TM).......

:grinning:
 
...it would seem obvious that Fraser and Brooks are 'targeted' opponents in their brief about how we play and how important that they are to our passing game. The thing that bugs me is that referees don't probably protect them from heavy challenges in games, even if they are legitimate. A referee should probably have a word with players during a game and warn them that he won't tolerate 'roughing up' of players? When you see Lerma getting booked for virtually every foul he commits (although he was lucky to escape a straight red on Saturday) then you realise that referees have things in their minds with certain players.
Obviously I am biased towards our players, but to keep the game as an entertainment and to make sure that skillful players are encouraged tehn officials have a role to play. For all my disgust at Zaha and how he acts, he does have a point that he doesn't get the right protection from referees and there are others like Hazard who are in the same boat.

I want to see playmakers and those with great skills perform and not get kicked all over the park.
 
wingsnwheels said:
It's very difficult to determine how much he needs to bulk out. His skills are obvious but he tends to get knocked of the ball too easily. Maybe he's still a bit affected by the glandular fever he suffered. Get that out of his system and we might see a difference. Looking foward to see what he's like next season.
Click to expand...

Nobody says that about Bernardo Silva at Man City who must be 8 stone soaking wet!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

;