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I started playing 11-aside again about 4 years ago aged 30, after only playing 5s or 7s since being at school. Absolutely worlds apart. I'm 6'4 and naturally more defensive (read not very good but get stuck in) so went in at CB and christ alive, really struggled with reading balls over the top. Found myself either getting caught underneath them or having them bounce over my head - really take it for granted how accomplished these lot are at what we consider the real basics of the game.
I get where you're coming from, but it's a balance. At the moment if a player is too good for our Dev Squad we have to loan them out or they stagnate, but we then lose control over the quality of training, whether they get picked, how they play - Emmerson Sutton's Morecombe experience a prime example of that, out of the team for much of it or playing RB for an absolute shambles of an outfit. He would have the opportunity to continue his development here while still playing more competitive and higher quality games of football, until the point where we find a better loan option for him. Players would also get better opportunities on loan coming from a Cat 1 as well.
I'm definitely not proposing a return to the Rafferty Pedder days, where we keep 22 year olds on our books just for the sake of it.
One of the big underappreciated positives of getting Cat 1 would be the quality of opposition and competitions it would open up, playing football league/national league sides, academies from abroad, and other Cat 1s. Means we can afford to keep squad players like Pearman and Bennie in-house and have a better quality of games for them and still have them training with the first team.
The last time we said this... Maybe as part of the medical we need to drop him off outside the Grosvenor Casino for an hour or two, see what state he's in when you pick him up. Check his bank balance and blood alcohol, then make the call.
From somebody who watches a LOT of the development squad, described him as: "Suits the striker role much more than a creative midfield slot. Hard working, stretches defences and fast enough to threaten high lines. Also shown himself capable in the box. Generally very good decision making. Maybe a bit lightweight and not enough of a natural finisher to play ST in the championship but time will tell"
Bennie is far far too good for the Development Squad, head and shoulders above the rest. Nothing to do with a lucky streak. He's improved a lot since he's been here as well. I'll be really interested to see how he fairs in the Championship.
Re: starting over Kolli, definitely odd but surely fitness related? Stephan was quoted as asking Kolli if he was tired before his brace and wondering if he needed a sub, so there are clearly still issues there. He's come back from a couple of long lay-offs and hasn't played much football recently, so must be quite a way off full match-fitness.
Chair will be a real boost if we can get him back soon. Picks it up from deep and progresses the ball forward in a way that only Madsen is doing for us at the moment. Would allow us to continue playing forward while giving Varane a rest.
A lot of talk on their forums about him being one of their players of the season and keeping them in games. One comment seemed ominous though:
"another side scores from one of the 8 or so corners they put into our box yesterday. Not one of them from memory was dealt with by our keeper, despite most being in and around the 6 yard box. Cooper is another in a long line of keepers we've had who are good shot stoppers and not much else."
Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory - that's Ravens football for you. Can't say we'd have troubled the play-offs if we're being honest. Big question on what we do with Harbaugh, Monken, and Orr this off-season, as well as Lamar's contract and massive cap hit. Can't waste another year of Derrick Henry and Lamar.
Ye, they're the sprinklers. If you were there early enough, you saw them popping up and creating little puddles.
The pitch looking so cut up this early on - it's only going to get worse and more churned through Jan and Feb with all the sht weather. God knows what we're going to be playing on come March
Absolutely love the lad, hope he can keep fit and build up some sharpness. I think he's the best striker of the ball at the club, absolutely leathers the thing.
He'd misplaced a couple of passes and skied that one chance, but he didn't let it get to him and he kept on going. Compare that to Dembele missing that chance and going missing for the rest of the game. Kolli has the exact amount of arrogance and confidence you want in a forward.
I'm thinking the other way round - boo him to start with, crank up the atmosphere which I'm hoping will be nice and hostile, then give him a nice polite applause once we've walloped em.
Wild celebrations in the garden of the Crown and Sceptre, that's for sure. Social distancing out the window, Clive climbing on my back spraying his Peroni everywhere. Landlady was not best impressed at all, give us a right ticking off.
What shitty hospitality. At £7.30, no wonder he couldn't keep buying pints. If he's not causing any trouble, let him be. Can't be that busy at 3pm on a Thursday. I popped in there a few months back for a quick one and was surprised at how expensive it was - not a particularly nice part of Fulham either.
Respectfully, I'm not sure I agree with you here Lazy. I think Madsen does get up and down the pitch now. Whether it's picking the ball up from the CBs to play forward or drifting over to the left to pop it about with Chair and RND, he is pretty mobile. West Brom was a perfect example of this, crossing from the right for Varane and pressing on their edge of their box for Burrell's goal
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He doesn't move with electric pace, but he certainly gets through his fair share of running. I also think at the moment he gets through more defensive work than Varane does, smashing through players and winning defensive headers. He's protecting Varane, not the other way around.
Making Y standing doesn't make much to me. I'd want to concentrate all the standing blocks in the same corner, rather than dot bits around. For my money, I'd expand standing through the whole of R Block
Feels like a 400 odd pitch doesn't it? Such a lack of situational awareness, as per - stop us leaking boundaries, keep things tight, and put yourself in a good position to get stuck into them in the trickier second session.
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