You must understand seethi that unless you're running around the pitch like a headless chicken then you're deficient as a footballer. Despite how you've seen e.g. Messi play (if Lee -o -Nell was playing for us he'd still get stick.) And after you've exhausted yourself running around quite often for no good reason, you're supposed to shoot off on your own, up the pitch, dribble past all of the other side's defence, and stick it in the net (with your tongue, on your knees just to prove how knackered you are ). Then you might get someone thanking you.
But because of the level of quality of the lads in our squad, we do need all hands on deck going over and above in terms of workrate if we're to compete. Just look at the reaction of our players (Hammill and Gardner at least) on Saturday compared to the Wolves lads. Out on their feet. Not because they're less fit, but because they were given the run around by a set of very talented footballers. Plus, there's a difference between running around like a punctured balloon for 90 minutes and pulling out of tackles, not changing direction to challenge someone when they're close to you and standing sulking at a misplaced pass rather than immediately chasing after it and trying to win it back. Moncur is guilty of all of the latter and that's why he gets stick.
That's a very good response and I find little to disagree with. I do think that midfielders tend to bear the brunt of these "idle" accusations (along with wingers) because of their positions. Plus it's the way of the world, and unavoidable, that if you think of any midfielder with a modicum of creativity who ran his blood to water as well, then he wouldn't be anywhere near our team. Moncur's problem is that he can't do enough creative-wise to be cut some slack in the the chase- the- ball hook. A more creative player would get away with it.
Midfielders get away with so much these days, they're labelled as Defensive or attacking. Good midfielders could always be effective doing both, hence why they're midfielders and not forwards or defenders. What happened to the Roy Keanes, Patrick Vieiras and Steven Gerrards.
They will come near our team if we recruit them. They might need work to start with, like Hourihane, but the key is to spot the potential. You can train competence but not attitude. Moncur showed his attitude when he first got here, we then had what I thought was going to be his coming good when he seemed to knuckle down for a bit. I think that's over now.
Good point but it's easier to 'blood ' players in league 1 rather than the Championship ,they've got to be match ready in this league. Moncur has certainly got the talent and aptitude to succeed but he doesn't seem to have the attitude or dedication to his proffesion Shame really .
He looked good at the end of last season, as if his loan spell had made him hungry and I expected him to be a big player for us this season. He certainly looks like a big player who is hungry, just literally.
Chris Lumsden reincarnate. Heart of a pea. I don't have any other people in the squad that piss me off. Some have greater talent than others. George has talent in terms of being able to run with the ball when he's got it. I don't see him running without the ball a lot?
If Moncur could be realistically compared with Messi in any footballing ability way, I'd forgive him most things! But he can't, so I won't.
Mmm... well just because a footballer doesn't run about enough to your satisfaction, does not mean he has the heart of a pea. And it seems you're forgiven the lesser effort if you're quite talented, which was my point yesterday.
I'd say if you have the heart of a pea, but the end product of Messi you have a good footballing career. If you have the end product of George Moncur you'll be back in L1 soon enough.