| Sait-oh? 10:21 - Feb 7 with 5431 views | JohnBurkeQPR |
There is a player there. We saw it last season, we saw it at the start of this season. But since his International break, he has not been the same.
Understand he has come back from an injury so that may have had an effect yesterday - but we did also see form drop off pre-injury.
He was visibly upset at his performance on international break earlier in the season - could it be a mental block after that? Whoever spoke to Madsen during summer should get on the case with Koki if so.
He puts the effort in, and clearly loves playing football. I do hope he finds his form again. |  | | |  |
| Sait-oh? on 10:52 - Feb 7 with 3583 views | stainrods_elbow |
He was really cack yesterday - more lightweight than an origami hanging! Still coming back from injury so I'll cut him a little bit of slack, but he needs to buck his ideas up pronto. |  |
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| Sait-oh? on 10:53 - Feb 7 with 3670 views | Wilkinswatercarrier |
Odd signing in the first place as he had done little last season to warrant a permanent move and said so at the time.
I can't see him ever being physically strong enough and lacks blistering pace to compensate.
Full international now and wouldn't be surprised to see him moved on at a profit, along with Dembele, in the summer. | |
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| Sait-oh? on 10:54 - Feb 7 with 3661 views | Watford_Ranger |
He either won’t or can’t do the ugly stuff. You’ll have games or runs of games where the nice stuff doesn’t come off but he can track back a lot better, get in the way, win a free kick by getting himself between the ball and man etc.
I don’t think there is a lot there but away from home particularly so. Nice bloke I have no doubt but I can’t see it in this league even if we’ve had some obvious moments of magic (Hull away particularly was a ludicrous piece of skill). | | | |
| Sait-oh? on 11:07 - Feb 7 with 3602 views | 1JD |
| Sait-oh? on 10:53 - Feb 7 by Wilkinswatercarrier |
Odd signing in the first place as he had done little last season to warrant a permanent move and said so at the time.
I can't see him ever being physically strong enough and lacks blistering pace to compensate.
Full international now and wouldn't be surprised to see him moved on at a profit, along with Dembele, in the summer. |
Poor and odd signing, even last season only had 1 good game in 6. Same again this season. Far too lightweight and very little end product. Certainly isn’t being sold for profit any time soon. Much more like a loss. | | | |
| Sait-oh? on 11:07 - Feb 7 with 3600 views | Ad99 |
I think he's clearly being coached to work on all elements of his game; his positioning, tracking back, awareness of team shape. Unfortunately, it has eclipsed some of the characteristics that made him exciting and likeable: he rarely seems to take on players any more, and that employ that little surge of acceleration to scare defenders and get him into some useful positions in tight/weird spaces.
When he first came back he also seemed to veer inside, and be quite good at breaking the lines and picking up the ball (something that Kolli did quite decently last night). I'm hoping someone at HQ can start using Saito for his strengths. | | | |
| Sait-oh? on 11:11 - Feb 7 with 3581 views | Mole_Senior |
I suspected a thread like this would start after last night and yet, it’s quite a simple explanation:
1) He’s returning from injury
2) His best position is off the left or, if needed in the 10.
We played him for almost 60 minutes off the right, ironically Paul Smith’s best position and then wonder why he wasn’t a 9 out of 10! Beggars belief 🙄 |  | | |
| Sait-oh? on 11:11 - Feb 7 with 3579 views | nix |
| Sait-oh? on 10:54 - Feb 7 by Watford_Ranger |
He either won’t or can’t do the ugly stuff. You’ll have games or runs of games where the nice stuff doesn’t come off but he can track back a lot better, get in the way, win a free kick by getting himself between the ball and man etc.
I don’t think there is a lot there but away from home particularly so. Nice bloke I have no doubt but I can’t see it in this league even if we’ve had some obvious moments of magic (Hull away particularly was a ludicrous piece of skill). |
That’s the odd thing though. Last season he was doing all that ugly stuff despite being smaller than the average player. His ground duels/ball recovery stats were really good. This season he seems unwilling to put his foot in or battle for the ball. He also seems to give it up very easily when in a duel and not try to beat his man. I hope it is a mental issue because he can turn that around. I really hope it’s not that he’s got the contract and doesn’t need to try as hard. Because really it was the effort he put in that made the difference last season. |  | | |
| Sait-oh? on 11:19 - Feb 7 with 3510 views | mart_Goblin |
As I said on another thread , JS has a real issue with the wide players . Either never fit or never good enough . The players starting never look as good as the ones replacing them towards the end of the game no matter who or what combination it is .
Opponent fatigue comes into play to a degree but god knows what he does about it . Poor Koki looks a complete shadow of the player that came on against Charlton earlier this season.
Smyth manages to get himself into good situations but 8 or 9 times out of 10 nothing really happens. Dembele the same really, just more lightweight.. and Poku …..that’s the biggest worry of the lot really .
And just as a little note, for those saying the communication to the fans has improved , Chair got injured on December 6th. It’s not just that we don’t know when he is likely to return (yes they said this week but they’ve said lots of things regarding his return) , but we don’t even know what the injury is ? Absolutely no clue as to what’s even the issue? Even his departure from that game was weird. He didn’t go down . He didn’t get treatment . He didn’t try to get to halftime to asses it (only a couple of minutes) . He just limped off . Really strange. And the silence regarding it has really given us an advantage over our opponents since .
Anyway, the lack of quality from our wide players is really adding to the stodge we are seeing away from home . They are either to narrow or when they receive the ball they are pinned to the touch line . They don’t seem to ever lose a marker. They need help but they also need to work stuff out themselves . They don’t get close enough to Kone to get involved and they don’t give options to the full back with the ball .
A real conundrum that I can see square pegs being put into because the ‘wingers’ simply ain’t doing it |  | | |
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| Sait-oh? on 11:30 - Feb 7 with 3446 views | Lblock |
The little fella could be a great player -- but he needs to be on the left!!!!!
This is a bloke who actually filled in at left wing back / LB on a couple of occasions last year, so I totally disagree that he's not got it in him to do "the dirty stuff". The yin to that yang is, however, that he's quite lightweight and lacks the niggle that Smythy has.
I've no idea what the coaching team are seeing to justify him playing where he is. You look back at all the good stuff he's done and he's all about weaving runs hugging the left touchline, getting to the by-line and cutting it back into the box. Our man Kone would love that surely?
I do agree it's an odd way to have spent £4mill and then do what we are doing.
I think he'll come good again and should never be mentioned in the same breath as Dumbele, Koki is a far superior player. |  |
| Cherish and enjoy life.... this ain't no dress rehearsal |
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| Sait-oh? on 11:46 - Feb 7 with 3344 views | stevec |
| Sait-oh? on 11:19 - Feb 7 by mart_Goblin |
As I said on another thread , JS has a real issue with the wide players . Either never fit or never good enough . The players starting never look as good as the ones replacing them towards the end of the game no matter who or what combination it is .
Opponent fatigue comes into play to a degree but god knows what he does about it . Poor Koki looks a complete shadow of the player that came on against Charlton earlier this season.
Smyth manages to get himself into good situations but 8 or 9 times out of 10 nothing really happens. Dembele the same really, just more lightweight.. and Poku …..that’s the biggest worry of the lot really .
And just as a little note, for those saying the communication to the fans has improved , Chair got injured on December 6th. It’s not just that we don’t know when he is likely to return (yes they said this week but they’ve said lots of things regarding his return) , but we don’t even know what the injury is ? Absolutely no clue as to what’s even the issue? Even his departure from that game was weird. He didn’t go down . He didn’t get treatment . He didn’t try to get to halftime to asses it (only a couple of minutes) . He just limped off . Really strange. And the silence regarding it has really given us an advantage over our opponents since .
Anyway, the lack of quality from our wide players is really adding to the stodge we are seeing away from home . They are either to narrow or when they receive the ball they are pinned to the touch line . They don’t seem to ever lose a marker. They need help but they also need to work stuff out themselves . They don’t get close enough to Kone to get involved and they don’t give options to the full back with the ball .
A real conundrum that I can see square pegs being put into because the ‘wingers’ simply ain’t doing it |
It’s the difference between us being mid table or top six, a crying shame really as the defence, central mid, centre forward are all good enough to take us there.
It’s a puzzle putting Saito on the right, going forward he has one particular trick and that won’t even work on the right!
Feels like we’ve got a thousand wingers and yet the only one you’d trust over 90 minutes is Chair.
If we ever get Chair fit again, I’d play horses for courses on the right, Bennie/Kolli/Smyth and tell them you’ll get 45 minutes as appropriate and don’t piss me off. I just think if we could get wide men who had an intent to get behind the defence, Vale would be a revelation. |  | | |
| Sait-oh? on 14:25 - Feb 7 with 3090 views | 1BobbyHazell |
| Sait-oh? on 11:11 - Feb 7 by nix |
That’s the odd thing though. Last season he was doing all that ugly stuff despite being smaller than the average player. His ground duels/ball recovery stats were really good. This season he seems unwilling to put his foot in or battle for the ball. He also seems to give it up very easily when in a duel and not try to beat his man. I hope it is a mental issue because he can turn that around. I really hope it’s not that he’s got the contract and doesn’t need to try as hard. Because really it was the effort he put in that made the difference last season. |
Agree with all of that Nix. He just seems a bit lacklustre, same when we have the ball, his movements are not particularly dynamic or threatening. Subdued.
On top of that his technical level has really dropped. I was watching him closely yesterday, and whilst he may well not be playing in his best position, you still expect the basics of a good first touch and decent decision making (not dribbling down dead ends/straight into touch). He loses the ball a lot at the moment and not because he's trying something risky to open up the defence, just when doing the basics.
Whilst I wasn't desperate to resign him, after his second debut I thought 'fair enough' but since then...
Some seem to give him pass because he's not called Dembele, and I'm not saying he can't come good, but recently he's been pretty woeful. |  | | |
| Sait-oh? on 14:29 - Feb 7 with 3073 views | Superhoops2808 |
So annoyed last night that they put Smyth on the left and Saito on the right. Made no sense whatsoever. One of the best crosses last night was from Smyth when he was still on the right side after a long throw had been taken a few moves earlier.
Saito and RND would be very dangerous there on the left |  | | |
| Sait-oh? on 14:54 - Feb 7 with 2991 views | Wegerles_Stairs |
He just doesn't look strong enough. At Portsmouth last season he was being flung around like a rag doll.
The irony is we've signed all these wingers and the much criticised Paul Smyth is still the most reliable of them.
Saito was dreadful last night and I do not understand how Kolli sits on the bench for 75 minutes. | | | |
| Sait-oh? on 15:42 - Feb 7 with 2935 views | Dorse |
I said on the Match Thread that he looked lost in the first half. I don't think he's a bad player: my concern is that he seems unable to keep the ball under pressure. This is more of a recent thing because he was far better at it last season.
Yesterday was not a particularly good example of what he can do. He was out of the game for long periods and didn't seem to offer very much going either forward or in support of his fullback. I don't know what the plan was, but if that was it I'd be very surprised. I get the feeling that if Chair was fit, we probably wouldn't have seen him start.
Much like Dembele, I always think he looks better as a sub than a starter. Not sure why. There is definitely something there but I'm at a loss as to explain what he needs to do to improve: I mean, he's hardly going to get any taller and he's already pretty pacy. |  |
| 'What do we want? We don't know! When do we want it? Now!' |
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| Sait-oh? on 15:54 - Feb 7 with 2889 views | Bluce_Ree |
I like the guy but I feel like my wife could probably beat him in an MMA fight, so that's not great. It's Steve Slade all over again. |  |
| Stefan Moore, Stefan Moore running down the wing. Stefan Moore, Stefan Moore running down the wing. He runs like a cheetah, his crosses couldn't be sweeter. Stefan Moore. Stefan Moore. Stefan Moore. |
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| Sait-oh? on 16:30 - Feb 7 with 2824 views | Burnleyhoop |
| Sait-oh? on 15:42 - Feb 7 by Dorse |
I said on the Match Thread that he looked lost in the first half. I don't think he's a bad player: my concern is that he seems unable to keep the ball under pressure. This is more of a recent thing because he was far better at it last season.
Yesterday was not a particularly good example of what he can do. He was out of the game for long periods and didn't seem to offer very much going either forward or in support of his fullback. I don't know what the plan was, but if that was it I'd be very surprised. I get the feeling that if Chair was fit, we probably wouldn't have seen him start.
Much like Dembele, I always think he looks better as a sub than a starter. Not sure why. There is definitely something there but I'm at a loss as to explain what he needs to do to improve: I mean, he's hardly going to get any taller and he's already pretty pacy. |
Should only be used as a sub in truth. Useful when the opposition is tired, where he can add some fresh legs on the wing. Gets battered by defenders when starting games.
The two wingers we have needed all season haven’t been available, leaving us to use the squad players brought in to cover their absence.
The injuries to Chair and Poku have effectively ruined what might have been a decent chance of a play off push.
Would prefer Bennie and Kolli to Smyth and Saito. | | | |
| Sait-oh? on 17:08 - Feb 7 with 2742 views | baz_qpr |
| Sait-oh? on 14:29 - Feb 7 by Superhoops2808 |
So annoyed last night that they put Smyth on the left and Saito on the right. Made no sense whatsoever. One of the best crosses last night was from Smyth when he was still on the right side after a long throw had been taken a few moves earlier.
Saito and RND would be very dangerous there on the left |
They started the other way around with Saito on the left Smyth on the right. But Charlton got in twice on the first few minutes down the left and were very physical down there and we switched it for defensive reasons.
I'd give Saito a pass for those reasons absolutely not his game last night, physical and direct and he was coming back from injury. He had an impact last week coming on against Coventry when we needed an attacking impetus. |  | | |
| Sait-oh? on 17:55 - Feb 7 with 2653 views | VancouverHoop |
| Sait-oh? on 11:11 - Feb 7 by Mole_Senior |
I suspected a thread like this would start after last night and yet, it’s quite a simple explanation:
1) He’s returning from injury
2) His best position is off the left or, if needed in the 10.
We played him for almost 60 minutes off the right, ironically Paul Smith’s best position and then wonder why he wasn’t a 9 out of 10! Beggars belief 🙄 |
Yeah. Has anyone asked Jules why that was? Playing Koki and Smyth on their weaker side all game seemed bizarre. The latter can do it on the left but Saito has shown no conviction on the right, even when he was on form. | | | |
| Sait-oh? on 18:20 - Feb 7 with 2576 views | WestbourneR |
He was extremely hardworking, good at all the defensive stuff - and absolutely thrilling in one on ones. His fast footwork to go past people in the box and byline was exceptional. Oh and he could shoot.
All of that has gone. He’s was a total passenger yesterday.
He’s been poor poor poor ever since his first Japan cap.
As in, he is an effectively a waste of position atm. I cannot understand it and I cannot understand why the management seem to totally oblivious.
That said it really doesn’t help that Stephen is bizarrely determined to neuter both Saito and Smyth by playing them on their wrong wings. It’s just f—king stupid. Boils my piss. |  |
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| Sait-oh? on 18:34 - Feb 7 with 2543 views | bosh67 |
| Sait-oh? on 10:52 - Feb 7 by stainrods_elbow |
He was really cack yesterday - more lightweight than an origami hanging! Still coming back from injury so I'll cut him a little bit of slack, but he needs to buck his ideas up pronto. |
I agree he needs time to get fully match fit and I agree he's too lightweight at the moment. He probably needs to undergo a Madsen style physical bulk up, even if it is at the end of the season. I still think he was brought in with the idea that he'd one day replace Chair. However, Chair has hardly played so his value isn't as high as it was a season ago.
Others here think he needs to stay wide left, I'm not so sure. He's quite good at carrying the ball and on the occasions that he's done that down the middle, kind of as a 10, he looks comfortable and reads the game better than out wide. If he can get stronger and fitter, perhaps he'll start playing that role next season, although Vale seems to fit in quite as a 10 at the moment and has the passing range.
Saito is still only 24 so again, hopefully his best years ahead of him. But I agree totally on the lightweight thing. He needs to be built up in the gym. I think he has a decent mentality, but it's much easier to sustain that mentality if a change in the way he copes physically can be affected. |  |
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| Sait-oh? on 18:49 - Feb 7 with 2498 views | VancouverHoop |
| Sait-oh? on 18:20 - Feb 7 by WestbourneR |
He was extremely hardworking, good at all the defensive stuff - and absolutely thrilling in one on ones. His fast footwork to go past people in the box and byline was exceptional. Oh and he could shoot.
All of that has gone. He’s was a total passenger yesterday.
He’s been poor poor poor ever since his first Japan cap.
As in, he is an effectively a waste of position atm. I cannot understand it and I cannot understand why the management seem to totally oblivious.
That said it really doesn’t help that Stephen is bizarrely determined to neuter both Saito and Smyth by playing them on their wrong wings. It’s just f—king stupid. Boils my piss. |
Yeah there's clearly something up with the lad. Always used to play with a smile on his face and a spring in his step but that's just vanished. Someone mentioned homesickness, which in today's world of multi-cultural soccer teams seems a bit strange but maybe there's something in it, or related to it. There are several Japanese Major League Baseball players in North America, and one or two bring personal "coaches" with them. Clearly they are really close friends who are around to make the player more comfortable in a new and possibly strange environment. Could be that would help, especially if the player in question is not married. | | | |
| Sait-oh? on 00:11 - Feb 8 with 2173 views | Myke |
| Sait-oh? on 10:53 - Feb 7 by Wilkinswatercarrier |
Odd signing in the first place as he had done little last season to warrant a permanent move and said so at the time.
I can't see him ever being physically strong enough and lacks blistering pace to compensate.
Full international now and wouldn't be surprised to see him moved on at a profit, along with Dembele, in the summer. |
I think the signing was made as a knee-jerk sop to the fans following the 7-1 shellacking at Coventry, as was Hayden, who at least now is coming into his own. Saito didn’t impress me last season, Flashes of genius, but anonymous most of the time. Started off on fire when he came back, but that was quickly extinguished. Nice guy and all, but someone we would almost certainly not have signed if Coventry and Eze’s move to Arsenal hadn’t happened… | | | |
| Sait-oh? on 01:02 - Feb 8 with 2124 views | 7374Ranger |
| Sait-oh? on 11:11 - Feb 7 by Mole_Senior |
I suspected a thread like this would start after last night and yet, it’s quite a simple explanation:
1) He’s returning from injury
2) His best position is off the left or, if needed in the 10.
We played him for almost 60 minutes off the right, ironically Paul Smith’s best position and then wonder why he wasn’t a 9 out of 10! Beggars belief 🙄 |
This is why he is not performing well.
I watched the game on a stream with commentary from Charlton fans. One of them was questioning why Saito was on the right wing. He recalled seeing him at the earlier fixture coming on as a sub and playing in a central role and how good he played.
I also noted a comment on the BBC site about the lack of crosses, not surprising given our inverted wingers. I watched MotD and noted a few goals scored from crosses put in by wingers using the correct foot for the wing they were playing from.
There's a reason why QPR are not scoring goals like those.
Perhaps Stephan should watch the highlights and take note. Maybe we can see Smyth & Saito on the correct flanks against Blackburn and even see attempts or goals from crosses into the penalty area. | | | |
| Sait-oh? on 17:27 - Feb 14 with 1135 views | 1JD |
Goal aside, absolutely woeful today. I’d be trying to get my money back on him this summer if I was the club. | | | |
| Sait-oh? on 17:36 - Feb 14 with 1081 views | StreathamRanger |
He's rubbish. Shouldn't even be on the bench but we've got no one else | | | |
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