| Massimo Luongo 14:19 - May 28 with 2882 views | bosh67 |
Watched him last night and I am still a bit baffled as to what he actually does? Don't get me wrong, I want him to do well with us but I just can't get my head around what he does.
Karl Henry sits deep and breaks up play. He passes the ball left and right and occasionally scores a worldy. All of which he gets booed for.
Ale Faurlin sat in the middle of the pitch and sprayed the ball around. He linked up play and took a great corner. We all loved Ale.
Mass seems to sit somewhere between the two but without the obvious role tagged to him. Last night he floated about occasionally breaking up stuff and passing the ball neatly 5-10 yards to the nearest player.
For 10 minutes he seemed to be everywhere and then for 20 minutes I was trying to work out if he had been substituted or not.
My issue is that he doesn't appear to take a game by the scruff of the neck (yet) and either be a playmaker or the midfield breaker upper. I watched his performances last season and you see glimpses of a real player in there and then he kind of disappears, but in a way where he seems to run about a lot and not really be doing one thing or another.
I'm not saying that he doesn't work hard, it's just that I can't work out what it is he actually does.
Can anyone enlighten me? |  |
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| Massimo Luongo on 14:41 - May 28 with 2831 views | TacticalR |
When he first arrived he seemed to have a free role playing at the front of midfield, then he was switched to sitting at the back of midfield alongside Faurlin. When it was Faurlin and Derry, Derry did the interceptions and Faurlin did the forward passing. Luongo can certainly get a tackle in, but he seems quite similar to Faurlin, which may be the reason the club got rid of Faurlin.
The danger (which I think we saw in the England vs Australia game) is that he is just 'somewhere in midfield' and can disappear into the cracks. |  |
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| Massimo Luongo on 14:50 - May 28 with 2816 views | LadbrokeR |
Wow a post almost praising Karl the Kaiser and calling into question Massimo. Let's see how this plays out  |  | | |
| Massimo Luongo on 15:26 - May 28 with 2741 views | Roller |
I like him pushed upfield, just behind the striker(s). I thought he did well there and created a number of chances which is reflected in him being joint top of our assists. Chery, of course, now has that role and his weight of goals must mean that he retains the position.
Further back Luongo is far less effective where his quick feet and mind are wasted. |  | | |
| Massimo Luongo on 16:27 - May 28 with 2618 views | CiderwithRsie |
Whether or not you like Luongo, the question should be asked of everyone in the team; and the coach should be able to answer it.
Work out what you want them to do, and tell them to do it. If they won't or can't, then get someone else in. | | | |
| Massimo Luongo on 16:39 - May 28 with 2595 views | Dorse |
Chery is better than him in the advanced midfield / free role behind a single striker but that isn't to say that Mass couldn't be effective in that role. I don't see him as a holding player but if he was partnered with a nasty bar-steward (not someone like Barton who was a bit of a div) in a central pair we might get the best out of him. |  |
| 'What do we want? We don't know! When do we want it? Now!' |
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| Massimo Luongo on 18:39 - May 28 with 2411 views | Boston |
I like his name. | |
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| Massimo Luongo on 22:40 - May 28 with 2216 views | enfieldargh |
Feel he needs to add a bit of aggression to his game, good passer and tackler but feel he needs to assert himself a lot more
Hopefully next season we'll see this |  |
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| Massimo Luongo on 23:24 - May 28 with 2139 views | Fearless |
| Massimo Luongo on 14:50 - May 28 by LadbrokeR |
Wow a post almost praising Karl the Kaiser and calling into question Massimo. Let's see how this plays out |
There was a home game last season where all my mates were slaughtering Henry - when I asked what Luongo had done all game - none knew he had been playing! |  | | |
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| Massimo Luongo on 23:34 - May 28 with 2112 views | PunteR |
Luongo was great the first few games of the season.
We started off playing quite a free flowing attacking game which suited him. He looked good on the ball and kept trying to make forward passes. |  |
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| Massimo Luongo on 23:39 - May 28 with 2098 views | ozranger |
I think the problem with Mass is to work out if he needs to change to fit in with what JFH wants or whether JFH needs to find where he will fit within the Grand Plan. These are quite different. I have no idea which is the case. Us Aussies are a complex lot so it might take a little while for JFH to find out which of the above is best. |  | | |
| Massimo Luongo on 23:44 - May 28 with 2090 views | PunteR |
Luongo was great the first few games of the season.
We started off playing a free flowing attacking game which suited him. He looked good on the ball and kept trying to make forward passes and get the ball forward.
He's a good player. I thought he would be an ideal replacement for Faurlin but he doesnt seem to have the same defensive and play making instinct and composure. | |
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| Massimo Luongo on 23:45 - May 28 with 2089 views | Neil_SI |
He's a talented young player with lots of room to improve, but you have to remember he's making a step up from League One football into regular or semi regular Championship football. He certainly has the pedigree to play and do well at this level, and with the right development, he can easily play in the top flight because of his attributes and style.
What does he do?
From a technical perspective he has got a decent first touch and is comfortable on the ball. He's one of the few players able to take it off the defenders at the base of the midfield and dictate play and encourage defensive and midfield units to move forward in tandem.
In pre-season, we utilised him in that role, which excited me. Partly because that is important, but partly because he has an engine to get up and down the pitch. I've seen him support both defensive and attacking phases of play with relative ease. However, once the season started, we moved him into a more advanced role and that's probably because there were some doubts about his defensive capabilities as well as not wanting to run the risk of him making mistakes back there and crushing his confidence.
But his other attributes, from a technical perspective, are also useful higher up the pitch. He has excellent decision making when on the ball and has a crisp pass on him. If you watch the way he passes to a team-mate, he rarely makes that player break stride and often passes at the right time to keep all options open; for himself and the receiver and that's why he created and played a part in a lot of goals for us. His contribution is telling even when he is not the person making the final pass, because he's kept the play alive for others and giving them a better chance of making a successful decision on the ball themselves.
I was also surprised at how well he did in the air when he played behind the striker under Chris Ramsey. He won numerous headers and flick ons.
I don't think he's played as well under JFH, however he's played in a more flat two man midfield, where he's answered some of those doubts about his defensive work rate. He's not a typical defensive midfielder, but he can be a deep lying playmaker from there with the right players around him and he's more likely to end up there if we keep hold of Chery as he would be the man most people would say is most effective behind the striker.
Luongo also dribbles and carries the ball well; the latter being a different kind of style, by moving the ball intelligently forward to gain yards and force the units around him to travel forwards too and if you watch this closely, sometimes he runs directly forwards and other times he travels at an angle, so he's still going forwards but not too fast and he times that well based on what he thinks is needed in terms of people supporting him; i.e. he knows when to give them a chance to catch up or keep up. His diagonal passing and angles he creates is excellent and some of this stems from that style.
There is one other tale tell sign of why he's a good player and that's his ability to keep situations alive in his or our favour in one or one scenarios. There were a few times last season when he was in a more advanced role, where perhaps he was isolated out wide and in need of support, and he always managed to keep the ball alive and not get dispossessed, or concede goal kicks or throw ins to the opposition. You see lots of other players getting this part of the game wrong and it's crucial for probability and success.
The comments about him for Australia against England are fair enough, but you have to remember he is playing against a quality of opposition much higher than he has been playing against in League One and the Championship. And it was just a friendly — so there does need to be some perspective.
Personally I'm pretty pleased with the progress he made in his first campaign and really like him. I thought he started fantastically well and then lost his way a bit, but he came back into the mix and has a really solid season and experience under his belt going into the next campaign. You want him to try and better what he did before, and ask him to try and add some goals to his game.
For all of that, Faurlin, Henry, Tozser and Luongo managed just two goals between them, so it's an obvious area where we should be looking for a little more. [Post edited 28 May 2016 23:49]
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| Massimo Luongo on 00:20 - May 29 with 2024 views | PunteR |
| Massimo Luongo on 23:45 - May 28 by Neil_SI |
He's a talented young player with lots of room to improve, but you have to remember he's making a step up from League One football into regular or semi regular Championship football. He certainly has the pedigree to play and do well at this level, and with the right development, he can easily play in the top flight because of his attributes and style.
What does he do?
From a technical perspective he has got a decent first touch and is comfortable on the ball. He's one of the few players able to take it off the defenders at the base of the midfield and dictate play and encourage defensive and midfield units to move forward in tandem.
In pre-season, we utilised him in that role, which excited me. Partly because that is important, but partly because he has an engine to get up and down the pitch. I've seen him support both defensive and attacking phases of play with relative ease. However, once the season started, we moved him into a more advanced role and that's probably because there were some doubts about his defensive capabilities as well as not wanting to run the risk of him making mistakes back there and crushing his confidence.
But his other attributes, from a technical perspective, are also useful higher up the pitch. He has excellent decision making when on the ball and has a crisp pass on him. If you watch the way he passes to a team-mate, he rarely makes that player break stride and often passes at the right time to keep all options open; for himself and the receiver and that's why he created and played a part in a lot of goals for us. His contribution is telling even when he is not the person making the final pass, because he's kept the play alive for others and giving them a better chance of making a successful decision on the ball themselves.
I was also surprised at how well he did in the air when he played behind the striker under Chris Ramsey. He won numerous headers and flick ons.
I don't think he's played as well under JFH, however he's played in a more flat two man midfield, where he's answered some of those doubts about his defensive work rate. He's not a typical defensive midfielder, but he can be a deep lying playmaker from there with the right players around him and he's more likely to end up there if we keep hold of Chery as he would be the man most people would say is most effective behind the striker.
Luongo also dribbles and carries the ball well; the latter being a different kind of style, by moving the ball intelligently forward to gain yards and force the units around him to travel forwards too and if you watch this closely, sometimes he runs directly forwards and other times he travels at an angle, so he's still going forwards but not too fast and he times that well based on what he thinks is needed in terms of people supporting him; i.e. he knows when to give them a chance to catch up or keep up. His diagonal passing and angles he creates is excellent and some of this stems from that style.
There is one other tale tell sign of why he's a good player and that's his ability to keep situations alive in his or our favour in one or one scenarios. There were a few times last season when he was in a more advanced role, where perhaps he was isolated out wide and in need of support, and he always managed to keep the ball alive and not get dispossessed, or concede goal kicks or throw ins to the opposition. You see lots of other players getting this part of the game wrong and it's crucial for probability and success.
The comments about him for Australia against England are fair enough, but you have to remember he is playing against a quality of opposition much higher than he has been playing against in League One and the Championship. And it was just a friendly — so there does need to be some perspective.
Personally I'm pretty pleased with the progress he made in his first campaign and really like him. I thought he started fantastically well and then lost his way a bit, but he came back into the mix and has a really solid season and experience under his belt going into the next campaign. You want him to try and better what he did before, and ask him to try and add some goals to his game.
For all of that, Faurlin, Henry, Tozser and Luongo managed just two goals between them, so it's an obvious area where we should be looking for a little more. [Post edited 28 May 2016 23:49]
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We havnt had a goal scoring midfield for a while.
Luongo doesnt seem so have a shot in him. I dont remember too many anyway. But he's more attacking minded than Tozser who has got a shot in him .
Luongo can put tackles in and can hold the ball but like you say theres a fair bit of room for improvment.
He's a great young player with loads of potential and im looking forward to see how he does next season. | |
| Occasional providers of half decent House music. |
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| Massimo Luongo on 10:35 - May 29 with 1763 views | stevec |
1995 - Ned Zelic
2005 - Nick Ward
2015 - Massimo Luongo
And with that M'Lord, I rest my case.
Vote Leave |  | | |
| Massimo Luongo on 15:03 - May 29 with 1599 views | Antti_Heinola |
Great post by Neil.
Patience, as always, is needed. A year ago people were up in arms at Vardy being in the England squad after not scoring many all season. Now, the only question is whether he starts or comes on as an impact sub.
For too long our club has been obsessed with the short term and it's rubbed off on some fans. A player's not working out? 'Get rid' 'buy someone else'. |  |
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| Massimo Luongo on 15:22 - May 29 with 1570 views | kensalriser |
Get those scapegoats lined up early, that's the ticket. |  |
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| Massimo Luongo on 16:24 - May 29 with 1498 views | FredManRave |
| Massimo Luongo on 15:22 - May 29 by kensalriser |
Get those scapegoats lined up early, that's the ticket. |
Feed the scapegoat and he won't score. |  |
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