Crossley was on his case all game abart it sticking and then he laid off 2 in under a minute he then went quite for a while. Nowt stuck is just wrong.
Yes it was winding me up - every time Victor did something OK it didnt get a mention but every time his control was poor (which in fairness was too often) Crossley went on and on about it. I though for a guy who is only just breaking into the team he did OK. A lot better than Thomas on Saturday and to pick on someone on only their first league start for us was bang out of order in my view
Got to start again. He offers so much more than other options even though hes raw. well done Vic after been out in the cold for so long. Confidence into friday.
Maybe if Val shoves some sponges down the front of Victor's shin guards they'll help absorb the ball. He played well though, conspicuous by his constant involvement, which is no bad thing.
I know it might sound daft but I thought he did very well off the ball , however his first touch let him down at crucial times but he can work on that . I for one wrote him off 2 years ago but I hope he proves me wrong
Best option we have currently as he did cause some issues for the Birmingham defence. But overall he still isn't good enough for this level currently.
I think we need to accept Victor for what he is. He`s not Ashley Ward or Trevor Aylott but the lad offers us something a bit different to our other forwards and I,for one, welcome that. Not sure what anyone wants from the manager at the current time - he has already said that he wants to be active in updating the squad in the transfer window. I don`t think he or Victor deserve that much criticism at present.
Put a shift in just frustrating that the couple of times he was in goal scoring situations his control was poor , it’s the difference between good and poor at this level for a striker , maybe if he gets a run in the side he’ll do better when it matters and he’ll be a decent player , he’s got strength and work rate which is a start
Strong display for me. Sort the first touch out and develop a bit of shithousery....the nasty, dirty stuff that the likes of Shearer had in his locker and you'll go far lad. Just to see someone in a tarn shirt holding the ball up looked genuinely weird - we've got so used to long balls coming straight back.
He looked strong and did excellently holding the ball up and bringing players into attack. However when played to him along the deck his first touch was often heavy and poor - but he is capable of better than that and his strength and link play alone warrant him a place, the ball didn’t come back as quickly or as regularly when cleared. If he had a great first touch and was a brilliant finisher he wouldn’t be at the club to be fair. We need a big lad up top in this system to do the physical stuff and he’s the best we have currently for me. Frieser is a better footballer but the team was more effective with big Vic in it, with Frieser coming on to play in and around tired defenders late on. I think Ismael got it right last night, though i would start James on Friday against Bournemouth.
I was vocal about getting rid, but my mind is changed. He has persevered and deserves a shot. He's not going to be a 20 goal a season man, and he is not brilliant in the air for a big man. And he can trap a ball further than I can kick one at times. But: He is strong. Holds it up a fair few seconds more than others are able, meaning over the course of a game the ball doesn't come straight back at us as often. That was the main cause of our defensive woes last season. Whether he deserves to start every game remains to be seen, but I'm happy to see what he can do. After a few games am sure his confidence will be enough to give us a fantastic option off the bench against tired defenders on winter pitches. To his credit, his hold up play won us the pen; it was intelligent with a good lay-off. And there was one phenomenal turn that bamboozled Brum and won us a free kick / gave them a yellow. If Styles had done that we'd all be creating GIFs today. If he'd controlled the ball in the box first half and stuck it away, we'd all be waxing lyrical about another superb team goal. So yes, Vic, cheers for shutting me up, keep working hard and shut a few more up. Oh, and just work on that first touch!
I was listening to the Sky commentary, sounds like Crossley had made his mind up about him. Thought Victor was ok. His control clearly needs work, but more stuck with him than it generally does with Thomas, Schmidt and Simoes, and probably on a par with Frieser. On top of that, he made a nuisance of himself and caused problems, and ultimately was involved in another goal (well, penalty win). Ironically, his poor touch actually created the chance that Chaplin should've scored.
I hope we’re going to see a lot more from Victor. I can think of a couple of times when his touch was heavy, but there were plenty of positives to offset that, the main one being his contribution in the build up to the penalty. Add the goal at Derby, his substitute performances and last nights run out, and I think he definitely should start on Friday, when hopefully he’ll do enough to keep his place again, and benefit the forward line. He’s in fantastic shape as well. Hopefully this is his time to shine.
Think he proved that the role he was in is the role that we need filling..although he did ok he may be one for the future..imagine last night if we had the quality hold up player with a decent touch and lay off...we wouldn't be coming from 1-0 down
Sorry can I disagree he,s just temp really till we get somebody better then he,ll end up non league or summary or packing for Iceland.
plus did excellent work on the byeline to set up the first goal for Styles (via Woodrow) against Forest
Its pretty obvious to anyone watching that our main area to strengthen is our forward line. Given we've tried all of those options now, I think Victor has earned the right to be considered one of the regular front 3 starters alongside Woodrow and Chaplin. He showed plenty of character, especially after being smashed in the face with the ball early on and knowing he was unlikely to win aerial duels with the Brum centre halves. Yet he kept going, kept trying and showed a few nice touches along the way. We still need additions to our front line, but I think we should be more inclined to try and offload Schmidt rather than Victor. Well done lad. Keep at it.
