Just starting to really get into football. Aware of the basics but still got a lot of gaps in her knowledge as far as the finer points go. Yesterday was her second game of the season and she's already identified Liam Kitching as being a complete and utter footballing wild card.
Thought his tackle to stop a certain goal was outstanding. Hopefully he continues to get better and better
Don't get me wrong, I think that there was a lot more bad than good yesterday from him and I love watching him play. It just seems that half the time even he doesn't know what he's going to do next.
To be fair, he might look a little better if he ever got any help from Cadden.. the lads brilliant going forward with an excellent cross, but never tracks back.. kitching usually ends up having to defend against two players now opposition team have identified that side as a defensive weakness.
We play him in an attacking centre half role. It's brand new. For what would usually appear blindingly obvious reasons, no one has ever tried it before. But we're going for it. And yesterday we saw Kitching make tackle of the season, get megged like a school boy, rugby tackle the opposition winger round his neck, make more overlaps than a professional origamist, cover more yards than an antelope on amphetamine, and (genuinely) complete more successful dribbles in a game since, I dunno, Hammill or McCourt. He's a lunatic, and often looks a terrible centre half, but he's starting to look a good player and if attacking centre half is where he fits into the team, so be it.
I like him and he’s got the right mentor in MD. Makes some mistakes but we’re Barnsley not Man City! Give me someone with his enthusiasm and commitment over some others who I won’t name who I would say look like playing for Barnsley doesn’t matter to them.
In my humble opinion he is not a centre back or a last ditch defender . He terrifies defenders when he’s running at them but leaves a gaping hole when they don’t come off . I’d give him a role to run at the opposition with someone given instructions to cover his position when he does , maybe the pressure of not having to get back quickly will give him more confidence with his decision making and final ball/shot . At the current rate of picking his bookings up many for naivety well not see much of him from mid season .
Yep - he played Basham as attacking centre half - it’s a great tactic, very difficult to pick them up!
Her first match (excluding one she went to when she was too small to remember) was Poland v Sweden in Euro 2020. Lewandowsky ran the show despite Poland losing. I tried warning her on many occasions that what she's likely to witness at Oakwell would not be of a remotely similar quality, but she doesn't seem in the least bit worried. In fact, I don't think she's actually noticed. She just likes the noise and watching Liam Kitching charging around a field kicking people.