At first I thought we have made a mistake letting Perkins go. I have in the past thought he was a good player and so did a lot of away fans. Then this year I analysed his game. He is a grafter, and will tackle and also take a man on. When he gets the ball he likes to go on runs and is involved. This brings him into the eyes of those watching, and they sometimes think he is good. He is like a Bee collecting pollen, but forgets he is supposed to produce honey. He never went right in on goal, and any shots which were few, went well over the bar. He did not think shoot, goal. Then in defence he was swept aside, and usually out jumped. He was many a time caught trying to dribble out of defence and lost the ball. It is this lack of going forward and pushing into the opponents goal area which has at times failed our Strikers. He is not alone in this. As time has gone on I think he had lost it at Barnsley. I still wish him all the best and hope he gets a good run in Championship football, he may help to damage some of our bottom teams with Blackpool. I do not think their pitch will help him though.
In my opinion Blackpool have signed a decent player but we needed to change players around in the squad. We had three players who are very similar and taking into account form,age and maybe wages/interested teams the club have possibly made the right decision. Regarding Perkins form how many of our players have shown good form this season Perkins may regain his form very quickly with a change of club.
True, but I doubt that Danny would stick by a striker who doesn't either make or score goals. Danny has assessed the squad he knows from what he has seen in videos, training and matches who the ineffective players are. With Perkins there was no end product. We are top heavy with midfield players and need to get more of them off the books to strengthen the squad.
I think that hits the nail right on the head. The only goal I can recall him scoring was the one against Crystal Palace at home (good one mind). This season in particular he's always had to take the one touch too many, and nearly always losing the ball, really frustrating to watch.
You say he's a grafter, tackles and takes men on. I have not seen any evidence of that. Particularly this season.
Perkins was almost a great player. So close but yet so far away from this feat. Always committed, and his work rate off the ball cannot be questioned both defending and attacking. However, his passing game short/long was a weakness and failure to take on shorts in key areas... Gifted possession to opposition to often and should score more goals than he does. Was it confidence, could this be coached... Who knows. I wish him well but feel there are better players out there. In comparison Nathan Doyle fans favourite, he didn't cover as much ground as Perkins but he was always committed, broke up play and for me was arguably better player in centre of the park at this level. He also scored 2 goals but played far less games just 87. We need a leader in the middle, hardwork is one thing but leadership, experience and influence is something Perkins did not offer
I'm just aghast - really don't know what's going on at Oakwell. Will we actually be able to put a team out today?
Perkins has not been the same player this season as he was in the previous two. He was always going to struggle against a strong muscular type of opponent because of his size, but the trade off was always his work rate and ability on the ball, particularly in finding the right pass in a tight situation. There is no doubt that he has been caught on the ball more this year, but I am unsure whether this is because age has caught up with him or because there has been less movement ahead of him which has allowed him fewer options. Unlike many other posters, I had not lost patience with him and was prepared to wait to see if his form returned. My position has been reinforced by the fact that we have replaced a fit 31 year old with a good 2 seasons behind him with an unfit 32 year old with unknown form following an injury. The position would be much clearer if his replacement was guaranteed to prove successful.
Was a good player. Was the foundation of the hillcroft 'project' midfield that was originally sound before keefy lost the plot. Then davith inherited him and gave him and kelvo the job of being the milner/toure type engine in the midfield. He's sadly now at that age where he can't physically keep the pace up that he's renowned for.
Just the basic, necessary stuff a footballer needs then Completely agree regarding Doyle, much less dynamic in terms of getting around the pitch and looking involved but was a far more effective player imo
