| George Hirst 08:43 - Dec 11 with 1180 views | homer_123 |
I really like Ivan - as someone posted last night. He's not perfect but there is something about him that just makes you like him.
A real shame he didn't bag that goal - would have been great.
I've banged on recently about Hirst and his work 'out of possession' or without the ball. Last night illustrates, again, just how important he is to our overall game.
Ivan was decent (still learning and young) and Akpom didn't really have long enough last night but it's clear to see that we were not quite as effective without Hirst. He triggers the press and boy does he chase and harry, more than Ivan and Akpon. His angles and runs off the ball are a level above as well. Ivan was frustrating in that he spent a 'lot' of time on the ground (though I will give him a shout out for the lovely bit of work on the left, leaving their defender for dead with a lunging challenge nowhere near Ivan).
Now, Hirst isn't perfect, but you can see why KM rates him - what he brings to the way we play is immense. I repeat myself, Delap was/ is a better 'goal scorer' more selfish in that regard than Hirst. But we are a better 'team' with Hirst in that role.
I'm not saying that we shouldn't look to improve that position but just felt it important to credit Hirst as there seems to be an undercurrent of frustration with him this season.
I recommend people watch him and just him for a few minutes each game - 5 or 10 mins, if you can. [Post edited 11 Dec 8:46]
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| George Hirst on 09:25 - Dec 11 with 1048 views | Europa |
I get the impression that Hirst is more rounded and definitely has more of a killer instinct than Ivan. If Ivan were a second faster to realise what was going to happen in some situations, he would have bagged another couple of goals this season. Also, he needs better studs (he was slipping and sliding all over the place, especially in the first half!). Straying off-topic, another thing I’ve noticed, and that I don’t understand, is that, at times, the players tend to overlook/ignore Egeli even when he is in acres of space and on the edge of the penalty area rather than out wide. He got frustrated by that a couple of times yesterday. I assume there’s a tactical reason for this, but I don’t have the football brain for it. |  | | |
| George Hirst on 09:45 - Dec 11 with 958 views | Guthrum |
| George Hirst on 09:25 - Dec 11 by Europa |
I get the impression that Hirst is more rounded and definitely has more of a killer instinct than Ivan. If Ivan were a second faster to realise what was going to happen in some situations, he would have bagged another couple of goals this season. Also, he needs better studs (he was slipping and sliding all over the place, especially in the first half!). Straying off-topic, another thing I’ve noticed, and that I don’t understand, is that, at times, the players tend to overlook/ignore Egeli even when he is in acres of space and on the edge of the penalty area rather than out wide. He got frustrated by that a couple of times yesterday. I assume there’s a tactical reason for this, but I don’t have the football brain for it. |
It's very difficult - in the stands or on TV - to really tell what a player can and cannot see from where they are. Pathways for the ball may not be so open as we think. Or more so, as when players find a shot to score through what seems an impenetrable mass of bodies.
Plus they are making split-second decisions, in the heat of the action, with the tunnel-vision that sort of situation can bring. Constant training and playing since childhood will give them far better instincts and awareness than us normal humans, yes, but they don't have our level of detatchment as mere observers, nor our often superior field of vision. In half the time it takes for you or I to think "He should pass it to ...", the moment and opportunity is gone.
On another note, I find it very hard on the TV to see players out wide, with their blue shirts against blue advertising hoardings topped by rows of dark-and-blue clad fans. Perhaps the players also get unsighted sometimes? |  |
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| George Hirst on 10:22 - Dec 11 with 845 views | ArnieM |
Hirst would have LOVED being in that game last night . So much space... hed have torn their defence apart in my view... |  |
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| George Hirst on 11:03 - Dec 11 with 742 views | OldFart71 |
| George Hirst on 10:22 - Dec 11 by ArnieM |
Hirst would have LOVED being in that game last night . So much space... hed have torn their defence apart in my view... |
If we get into the Premier League we still need a 20 goal a season man. I don't see that in Hirst, Akpom or Azon. Difficult I know as they are few and far between and everyone is looking for that player and if he's about then the team, as with Newcastle want stupid money for them and even then there's no guarantee that the following season he get's the 20 goals for you.
In history there are very few players around that are consistent over a number of seasons. |  | | |
| George Hirst on 11:07 - Dec 11 with 721 views | _CliveBaker_ |
Hirst is levels above Azon right now. Ivan is fine as an option off the bench but he's really not in the same league as Hirst.
Akpom's a strange one, he's a talented player but I'm not really sure where he fits in. If we go up we're obliged to take him permanently and financially I don't think we'll be too worried at that point in the context of premier league money, but I don't know where he fits in as it doesn't look to be at 10 or 9. |  | | |
| George Hirst on 11:23 - Dec 11 with 640 views | LankHenners |
Always find the stuff about people not understanding Hirst's role a bit patronising really. I think everyone knows what he can bring to the team but he just simply hasn't been doing it very well (or often) this season.
Think the Delap comparison is (still) a bit of nonsense as well - he's evidently absolutely streets above Hirst and while it was never going to happen, had we kept him I feel very confident saying we'd be on more points than we currently are.
We've yet again failed to recruit in that position properly though. I like Azon but he seems more like a wildcard 3rd option to develop over time but we've got him for one year only and he's having to play more of an important role than he perhaps should. |  |
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| George Hirst on 11:41 - Dec 11 with 562 views | mikeybloo88 |
Delap would have pissed all over this division...Hirst is an ok starting option if there is regular scoring contributions from around him, but unlike two seasons ago, there is no equivalent to Chaplin, Broadhead and Burns....only JP really looks consistently dangerous. Azon is not a good enough option at the level we are competing at. Will KM and the club decide that a more potent option is probably required to get automatic promotion? Or will they improve the midfield and hope enough goals will come by being a bit more solid there? |  | | |
| George Hirst on 11:43 - Dec 11 with 540 views | djgooder |
| George Hirst on 11:03 - Dec 11 by OldFart71 |
If we get into the Premier League we still need a 20 goal a season man. I don't see that in Hirst, Akpom or Azon. Difficult I know as they are few and far between and everyone is looking for that player and if he's about then the team, as with Newcastle want stupid money for them and even then there's no guarantee that the following season he get's the 20 goals for you.
In history there are very few players around that are consistent over a number of seasons. |
Could it be Egeli?
I know a long shot at the moment, but maybe given time. |  | | |
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| George Hirst on 11:46 - Dec 11 with 524 views | WestSussexBlue |
| George Hirst on 11:03 - Dec 11 by OldFart71 |
If we get into the Premier League we still need a 20 goal a season man. I don't see that in Hirst, Akpom or Azon. Difficult I know as they are few and far between and everyone is looking for that player and if he's about then the team, as with Newcastle want stupid money for them and even then there's no guarantee that the following season he get's the 20 goals for you.
In history there are very few players around that are consistent over a number of seasons. |
Oh how I’d love a young Daryl Murphy type to come in.
Would that be Evan Ferguson? I actually don’t know what type of striker he is although his name often crops up. [Post edited 11 Dec 11:48]
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| George Hirst on 12:31 - Dec 11 with 365 views | CobboldCrusty |
there is a group near me in the north stand who insisted on calling him a c u next Tuesday every time he touched the ball on Saturday...
when I gestured with my hand maybe they cool it with that a bit... I was told very loudly to shut up right in my face
funny when he scored they celebrated facing the other way |  | | |
| George Hirst on 13:47 - Dec 11 with 231 views | itfc48 |
| George Hirst on 11:03 - Dec 11 by OldFart71 |
If we get into the Premier League we still need a 20 goal a season man. I don't see that in Hirst, Akpom or Azon. Difficult I know as they are few and far between and everyone is looking for that player and if he's about then the team, as with Newcastle want stupid money for them and even then there's no guarantee that the following season he get's the 20 goals for you.
In history there are very few players around that are consistent over a number of seasons. |
I don't think Mckenna see's the striker role like that. He'd obviously love a 20-goal-a-season man, but he puts higher value on a striker that can press and also connect the play with our 10s with the goals shared around. | | | |
| George Hirst on 14:32 - Dec 11 with 139 views | Deano69 |
| George Hirst on 10:22 - Dec 11 by ArnieM |
Hirst would have LOVED being in that game last night . So much space... hed have torn their defence apart in my view... |
We had the same opinion among our group. Suspect the score line might have looked a touch different, especially as I like to see Azon coming on once the defence have been run ragged for 70mins or so |  |
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| George Hirst on 14:39 - Dec 11 with 110 views | mikeybloo88 |
| George Hirst on 14:32 - Dec 11 by Deano69 |
We had the same opinion among our group. Suspect the score line might have looked a touch different, especially as I like to see Azon coming on once the defence have been run ragged for 70mins or so |
But do you really want him to be the guy who gets the chances once the defence has been run ragged? It doesn’t matter when he plays, he simply doesn’t look like a natural goalscorer imo...he must improve or he serves no purpose. | | | |
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