| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? 10:57 - Feb 3 with 1502 views | BlueOura |
Much has been made of our failure to land a new number 9, and it is without doubt disappointing, but I wonder if the solution to the problem is already with us?
Akpom has not really looked the part as a 10 but now we have Mehmeti and Nunez for that position I wonder if Akpom should get an extended run as a number 9?
It strikes me that we seem overly obsessed at times with the number 9 being able to press and do the hard yards, but what we really need right now, more than anything, is a finisher, somebody to start converting those chances into Goals.
We haven't seen it yet from Akpom but you don't score 28 goals in a Championship season without being a decent finisher. Time for Chuba to step up maybe?
Nb. I am aware he played mostly as a 10 for Boro, but I still feel he could score goals from playing as a 9, if we create the chances. |  | | |  |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 11:13 - Feb 3 with 1388 views | bsw72 |
We already have 3 answers in Hirst, Azon and Akpom, but confidence/form has deserted them.
Good players don't just become bad players, if we weren't making chances I would be worried, but between the 3 players above they have missed a combined 31 "big chances", and all have had little niggling injuries.
I think it has resulted in certainly Hirst and Azon almost trying too hard and then the fans get on their back etc.
I am hoping that with 4 away games on the bounce, and so not the home crowd pressure, we might see a corner turned. |  | | |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 11:14 - Feb 3 with 1360 views | darkhorse28 |
We don’t create chances for any 9, wide players invert. Take the shot, and we play a double pivot.
We scored in the EFL by pressing and getting the ball high up the pitch. We don’t do that very well now - it’s poor blaming Hirst because he can finish .., but we don’t creat many quality chances.
We’ve played in moments this season, we haven’t dominated May games, maybe even just one or two, and our pressing without Sammie, Chaplin, and Burns is way short.
It is what it is. We have the quality on the left to hurt teams even when the press isn’t there …, we don’t offer much else though.
Clarke and Philogene - without them we’re a mid table side in a very poor league…, but we do have them.., and Burns is fit, which will help .., Nunez isn’t amazing in the press and Akpom is awful at it, not great when we don’t play an 8 for Nunez, Taylor, Jens .., we need at least two of those in the side for their quality in the ball, but with no natural position for them.
We’ve made some odd signings relative to the system we play. For about 18 months it’s just bizarre.
And my conjecture woukd be KM like to coach difference in to players. He enjoys that.
Not what football management and results dictate though is it. Indulging a coaches needs as a priority.
Nunez can’t play six, neither can Taylor, or Jens, and we need a 10 to press, which Akpom can’t do, or Phil or Clarke on the left.
It’s weird.
Like we don’t watch players or understand their traits before we sign them - clearly a huge problem.
McAteer the opposite - can press but no quality.
It’s like KM wants to coach them better - it will cost him his job.
Sign players with th right attributes in the first place, and improve them, that’s a coaches job.
It’s like a god complex. And it is about ego. Proving himself, to himself. |  | | |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 11:16 - Feb 3 with 1363 views | Cheltenham_Blue |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 11:13 - Feb 3 by bsw72 |
We already have 3 answers in Hirst, Azon and Akpom, but confidence/form has deserted them.
Good players don't just become bad players, if we weren't making chances I would be worried, but between the 3 players above they have missed a combined 31 "big chances", and all have had little niggling injuries.
I think it has resulted in certainly Hirst and Azon almost trying too hard and then the fans get on their back etc.
I am hoping that with 4 away games on the bounce, and so not the home crowd pressure, we might see a corner turned. |
"I am hoping that with 4 away games on the bounce, and so not the home crowd pressure, we might see a corner turned."
This. Thought the same yesterday. |  |
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| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 11:19 - Feb 3 with 1338 views | andyblue231 |
I feel like sometimes football fans think the answer is whichever player has played the least recently, cos they're the player whose limitations you've seen less recently. Like when I grow a beard and then think I'd be more handsome clean shaven. Then you shave and it's just you again. | | | |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 11:22 - Feb 3 with 1317 views | bsw72 |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 11:16 - Feb 3 by Cheltenham_Blue |
"I am hoping that with 4 away games on the bounce, and so not the home crowd pressure, we might see a corner turned."
This. Thought the same yesterday. |
Now 3 games on the bounce . . . | | | |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 11:54 - Feb 3 with 1228 views | BlueOura |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 11:14 - Feb 3 by darkhorse28 |
We don’t create chances for any 9, wide players invert. Take the shot, and we play a double pivot.
We scored in the EFL by pressing and getting the ball high up the pitch. We don’t do that very well now - it’s poor blaming Hirst because he can finish .., but we don’t creat many quality chances.
We’ve played in moments this season, we haven’t dominated May games, maybe even just one or two, and our pressing without Sammie, Chaplin, and Burns is way short.
It is what it is. We have the quality on the left to hurt teams even when the press isn’t there …, we don’t offer much else though.
Clarke and Philogene - without them we’re a mid table side in a very poor league…, but we do have them.., and Burns is fit, which will help .., Nunez isn’t amazing in the press and Akpom is awful at it, not great when we don’t play an 8 for Nunez, Taylor, Jens .., we need at least two of those in the side for their quality in the ball, but with no natural position for them.
We’ve made some odd signings relative to the system we play. For about 18 months it’s just bizarre.
And my conjecture woukd be KM like to coach difference in to players. He enjoys that.
Not what football management and results dictate though is it. Indulging a coaches needs as a priority.
Nunez can’t play six, neither can Taylor, or Jens, and we need a 10 to press, which Akpom can’t do, or Phil or Clarke on the left.
It’s weird.
Like we don’t watch players or understand their traits before we sign them - clearly a huge problem.
McAteer the opposite - can press but no quality.
It’s like KM wants to coach them better - it will cost him his job.
Sign players with th right attributes in the first place, and improve them, that’s a coaches job.
It’s like a god complex. And it is about ego. Proving himself, to himself. |
I agree with your points about signing the wrong players for our system at times but I don't agree with your opening line.
I think the stats clearly show that Hirst and Azon in particular are right up there for big chances missed, so to say that we don't create any chances for them is factually incorrect. | | | |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 11:57 - Feb 3 with 1205 views | BlueOura |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 11:19 - Feb 3 by andyblue231 |
I feel like sometimes football fans think the answer is whichever player has played the least recently, cos they're the player whose limitations you've seen less recently. Like when I grow a beard and then think I'd be more handsome clean shaven. Then you shave and it's just you again. |
Sometimes yes, but in this instance it's more that we have not seen Akpom given an extended run in that particular position. It's also the case that football fans often think the only soultion is to keep signing players, when sometimes it just needs a few tweaks to utilise the qualities that already exist within the squad. [Post edited 3 Feb 12:09]
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| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 11:57 - Feb 3 with 1196 views | jonny1964 |
agreed! | | | |
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| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 11:59 - Feb 3 with 1185 views | Cafe_Newman |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 11:22 - Feb 3 by bsw72 |
Now 3 games on the bounce . . . |
I mean, just when we finally get a long run of away fixtures so that our out of form strikers can find some consistency without the home fans on their backs, this happens. Unbelievable!
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| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 12:07 - Feb 3 with 1113 views | Herbivore |
I can't see it personally but I'd love to be proved wrong. I've seen very little from Akpom to suggest he's what we need as either a 9 or a 10. He shows the occasional flash of quality but I'm not at all convinced he's got what we need. |  |
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| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 12:15 - Feb 3 with 1026 views | BlueForYou |
McKenna could have played Akpom & Szmodics together up front, but refuses to try. We stick blindly to the one striker option which just isn't working! Why don't we try something different? If we tried it & it didn't work then fine. Has he done everything he can with the players we have? |  | | |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 12:15 - Feb 3 with 1020 views | BlueOura |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 12:07 - Feb 3 by Herbivore |
I can't see it personally but I'd love to be proved wrong. I've seen very little from Akpom to suggest he's what we need as either a 9 or a 10. He shows the occasional flash of quality but I'm not at all convinced he's got what we need. |
He would certainly need to show some qualities that we havent seen from him yet, I agree, but I just look at the chance Hirst missed on Saturday and feel that Akpom circa 22/22 was burying chances like that for fun. Maybe that version just doesn't exist any more. Time will tell, I guess. | | | |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 12:23 - Feb 3 with 954 views | itfcsuth |
It's possible - discussed this yesterday.
Watch his time at Boro, he's a goalscorer, really good finisher, has personality and character for the game, has that bit nastiness about him as well.
Problem of course is that he had no flow to his season, part due to selection, part to injuries.
I think he's due a good run of games, but also of course gamble with what we have seen so far this season we are relying upon the in-house options. |  | | |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 12:26 - Feb 3 with 932 views | Wright1 |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 12:15 - Feb 3 by BlueForYou |
McKenna could have played Akpom & Szmodics together up front, but refuses to try. We stick blindly to the one striker option which just isn't working! Why don't we try something different? If we tried it & it didn't work then fine. Has he done everything he can with the players we have? |
You honestly would have liked to see a front two of Akpom and Szmodics? Really? Wowwwww....
For fun can you tell us what the rest of that line up looks like? | | | |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 12:27 - Feb 3 with 929 views | Herbivore |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 12:15 - Feb 3 by BlueForYou |
McKenna could have played Akpom & Szmodics together up front, but refuses to try. We stick blindly to the one striker option which just isn't working! Why don't we try something different? If we tried it & it didn't work then fine. Has he done everything he can with the players we have? |
I think it's a stretch to say it's not working when you look at the big chances we create and the number of goals we score, despite missing more big chances than anyone else in the league. I also don't think playing Akpom and Szmodics up front is any kind of workable option, both prefer being a second forward playing off someone else. | |
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| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 12:42 - Feb 3 with 838 views | itfc48 |
I think he's probaby strongest finisher of the three and is also very good at hold-up play. He is however, the weakest went it comes to work off the ball. | | | |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 12:54 - Feb 3 with 773 views | RetroBlue |
Im sure Akpom could well be the answer if only the manager would play him regularly AND in his correct position.its not rocket science really. |  |
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| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 12:56 - Feb 3 with 756 views | tractorboy1978 |
We need at least one of Akpom, Hirst and Azon to really step up now. The window is shut now and there is little point moaning about what we could/should have done. This is our squad and they need to step up to the plate and do enough to get over the line this season. | | | |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 13:09 - Feb 3 with 686 views | Bluedandy |
It's hard for any of our number 9s to play themselves into form because of the endless rotation.
Akpom is arguably the best finisher and would get us goals but needs regular starts to build the required self-belief.
Looked sharp in that role against Oxford at Portman Road and once fully fit deserves more opportunities.
He could well be the answer. | | | |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 13:09 - Feb 3 with 678 views | Ryorry |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 12:54 - Feb 3 by RetroBlue |
Im sure Akpom could well be the answer if only the manager would play him regularly AND in his correct position.its not rocket science really. |
Exactly. His highlights video posted when he arrived showed his talent & strengths as a 9 - almost all of the goals he scored in that clip were as a strong 9, iirc. |  |
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| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 13:41 - Feb 3 with 503 views | BouncebackIpswich |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 12:42 - Feb 3 by itfc48 |
I think he's probaby strongest finisher of the three and is also very good at hold-up play. He is however, the weakest went it comes to work off the ball. |
Yeah, think that's a fair summary. His movement in the box in tight areas is noticeably better than Hurst or Azon, and he does seem able to play back to goal, if not exceptionally well.
I'd give him a run and to hell with the pressing.
On the other hand Azon shows lots of promise but at 5'10 he just doesn't occupy your typical championship centre backs enough, (not through want of trying) |  | | |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 13:42 - Feb 3 with 500 views | LankHenners |
He'll almost certainly play more as a 9 now but think it's been a bit strange to see shouts about how he's suddenly going to become our main goal threat given the season he's had so far.
If there's one forward who looks most likely to step up it's Azon imo - performance levels have risen quite sharply over the last month or so but like the others still needs to find the finishing touch. |  |
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| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 13:57 - Feb 3 with 428 views | Herbivore |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 13:42 - Feb 3 by LankHenners |
He'll almost certainly play more as a 9 now but think it's been a bit strange to see shouts about how he's suddenly going to become our main goal threat given the season he's had so far.
If there's one forward who looks most likely to step up it's Azon imo - performance levels have risen quite sharply over the last month or so but like the others still needs to find the finishing touch. |
Players often get better when they aren't playing, it's one of the laws of football fandom. Based on what we've seen so far I'm struggling to see how Akpom is the answer, he's been way off it when he's featured. Azon is improving all the time, Brizzle at home was a really top drawer centre forward performance from him and he looked decent first half against Preston before he had to come off. The shirt is his for now, imo. | |
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| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 14:06 - Feb 3 with 364 views | SuffolkPunchFC |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 12:07 - Feb 3 by Herbivore |
I can't see it personally but I'd love to be proved wrong. I've seen very little from Akpom to suggest he's what we need as either a 9 or a 10. He shows the occasional flash of quality but I'm not at all convinced he's got what we need. |
At Boro he was really playing a false 9. That doesn't really fit our current system, but to be honest a false 9 does much of what we want from a 9 - create space, pull defenders out of position, play on the turn, ...
I think these skills could be translated to our demands from a no.9, but won't necessarily be contributing loads of goals. However, with the introduction of Mehmeti and Neil, we may see the uptick in goals from elsewhere that is needed. | | | |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 15:31 - Feb 3 with 148 views | BlueForYou |
| Akpom - is the answer already in the building? on 12:27 - Feb 3 by Herbivore |
I think it's a stretch to say it's not working when you look at the big chances we create and the number of goals we score, despite missing more big chances than anyone else in the league. I also don't think playing Akpom and Szmodics up front is any kind of workable option, both prefer being a second forward playing off someone else. |
It's about time out forwards just rolled their sleeves up & got on with it. My point was that we haven't exhausted all ideas yet. How do we know if player a plus player b won't score in a front two, if we never try it. Doesn't matter who it is, it's the fact that we don't try anything different & then get rid of a player who might well have made a difference. That's what thoroughly disappoints & rather saddens me. | | | |
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