I didn't go yesterday as I was away, but in his few starts he's the only player we've got who takes the ball and commits defenders - you can tell they're scared of him - and that is something we have sadly lacked. I for one don't want to see him playing in our half with the ball or closing down, I agree he could lose maybe 1/2 stone max (lets not exaggerate about his weight.). But he is a genuine talent who can create goals - we can play him and maybe stay up or play the 2 holding midfielders and we'll go down with a whimper.
He does do that but usually to no effect. He reminds me of a junior player; he’s never matured beyond being the best player at 13
That's exactly what he is like. He reminds me completely of a boy I taught, who we'll call Geoffery*. Geoffery was great at basketball, much better than anyone else in the class, but he was the most selfish player I've ever seen. He'd get the ball at one end of the court and try single-handedly to dribble all the way to the other end and score, completely ignoring everyone else who was on his team, except maybe one other kid who he thought was alrightish. He'd dribble past 3 or 4 players and then inevitably end up losing it or throwing it badly because he'd rather shoot from really far out with no chance than pass it to someone in a better position. No matter how good he was, he wasn't going to beat the entire other team single-handedly but he'd try time and time again without learning. Whenever I tried to have a quiet word with him he'd sulk and blame it on everyone else not being good enough, it was never his fault for trying to play every single position in the team by himself. *Not real name.
To me he should not be playing wide.If we have any hope of getting the goals to stay up he should be playing in the centre if it means dropping Moore then so be it.
It probably all depends on why you watch football I like to see players of skill rather than purely graft. Players who can take on defenders and do things out of the ordinary like McCourt, Glavin, Hignett. At the moment we have Moncur, Hammill and McBurney in that category yet none of them or those mentioned previously won or will win player of the year. Your typical Barnsley fan would rather vote for Chris Morgan than Hignett, Potts rather than Moncur. Yet away fans tend to rate the flair players above the grafters. The ideal scenario is both but a grafting flair player isn't going to play for Barnsley. Whether you rate him or not, Moncur is undeniably our most eye-catching creative player.
Just noticed that he was performing important sock maintenance whilst Hammill was taking the corner that led to Gary's goal. Is that really the most important thing he could be doing during a corner?
There is an element of truth in that for me - I watch football to see players do things I can only dream of, for excitement. Moncur can excite you that is true but all too often said excitement is for nought as he fizzles out with a weak shot. Or when he does get it almost right as per Sheff U when he hit the bar when he did incredibly well, he then turned his back to the still live ball and waved his hands about, just like the junior footballer he still is. I don’t think Any of those talented players you Name were ever as unfit as he is.
I don’t know about excitement, Moncur normally just makes me angry when he does an extra turn or step over instead of playing the best available pass
He really looked knackered when he scored, picked the ball out of the nets and ran back to the centre circle.
That throwing yer hands int air and feeling hard done by was a trait of Hourihane in his early days with us, after 18 month he started just gerrin on wi game and tracking back trying to win the ball. Moncur aint learnt, he is still the same as he was when he first came here from Peterbro (oops Colchester) thats the difference in two players with talent.
That's a good question which I respect. I do truly rate him, although I agree with you and others about his fitness levels. I don't agree that he doesn't try or doesn't care, although none of us can read his mind and know what he's thinking during games. He undoubtedly has a level of skill and trickery above that of our other players. He was unlucky against the Blunts when he hit the bar but that move showed what he's capable of. He's far from the perfect midfielder, and of course if he was he wouldn't be playing for us. I just think he's the most creative option we have, at a time when we have to score lots of goals to try and win, because we usually concede 1 or 2. I realise I'm in a minority, but my opinion stems from what I see on the pitch and not what people post on here. I also like Brad Potts, but once again he doesn't seem to manage 90 minutes. In my opinion it's fitness, not ability, that's messed up our season. I'm at a loss to explain why that is.
I take it that you preferred the Williams/Gardner combination then? I stick by my assertion that he put in plenty of effort on saturday and produced a fair bit in terms of attacking intent - as much as anyone else in the team.