Luke Thomas

Finally someone on here that talks bloody sense. At least the lad is getting in those positions. He’s not the finished article by a long stretch. If he was, he’d still be at derby or he would’ve gone on to a so called bigger club

There’s definitely a player in there, he just needs to work on his final ball but no one can come away from yesterday’s performance saying they were not wasteful in the final third. Woodrows finishing let him down again for example, but again he’s a quality finisher on his day

Lay off the lads and get behind them, I know this is a forum for opinions but to lay into Thomas like we are is a bit harsh in my opinion. With the right guidance, these lads will flourish.

 

Thomas clearly has natural ability, and real pace. But my main worry is that he appears to have absolutely no footballing brain whatsoever. I really don't know whether that can be taught, or it's more an innate thing. Maybe @Red Rain can enlighten us?

 

There was plenty of games last season where his link up play with Chaplin was excellent. He’s good a slipping a ball through to beat the offside trap. He definitely has the brain and the ability but you can tell his confidence is shot. That can have a massive effect on player’s performances, just look at how much it did to Andersen and look at him now.

Stick with him cause I can see we have a good player on our hands. He’s just very inconsistent which most players are his age

 

Thomas really frustrates me , he has pace & he has potential but a simple basic of the game is to lift your head when passing the ball & he simply does not do it on a regular basis & in my opinion thats why his decision making is so poor , I would liked to have seen him loaned out to a lower league club to try & get his development on track , I fear the quality of the championship at this stage is a step too far for him , hope he proves me wrong .

 

Fair point. I guess maybe his poor decision in the final 3rd making may well be a confidence issue. Certainly he got in some fantastic positions yesterday, only to do something inexplicable with his final pass or shot.

 

Bit of talk in here about him getting a run in his natural position. What is his natural position? He's played in a "10" where he would often drive forward at defences before wasting the final ball. He's also played on the right, cutting in and wasting his final ball. He's also played at the top, and either side of the diamond. He reminds me of Ryan Williams in that respect - he also had no actual position. Too lightweight to play midfield, not quick enough to play wide, not clinical enough to play up front.

He's so frustrating.

 

Tend to agree with this if James if fit . It's our powder puff attack that's of concern.
I'd give Woodrow and Schmidt a go up front at Stoke. But I do feel we need a big centreforward who can challenge for the ball in the air which Woodrow and Chaplin have not got the stature to do. Chaplin was awful yesterday as he was up against a big strong back line.

 

Thomas best position is right winger. When we changed formations and went 4 4 2 second half yesterday, Thomas went wide right and there were several times where he got into great positions but he consistently pulled the ball back the the edge of the penalty area. First time Woodrow was there and failed to connect properly but the other twice it went straight to their defence.

Was it therefore a tactic he had been told to do to pull the ball back or was he simply not looking up to find the best option at that particular time? The best option in those positions is to hit the ball hard and low into the 6 yard box where any deflection from attacker or defender could score a goal. I'm sure Luke knows that so not sure what happenening

 

The No10 position has been a problem for us ever since we started with 3-4-1-2. No-one has ever fitted. Having said that, the No10 needs movement ahead of him. The forward players need to create angles for the pass, but they must try to remain onside. It is not easy, and the No10 can only make a pass at the precise moment that the forwards run gets him open, and before he either strays offside, or the gap is closed, or the ball carrier is challenged. No10 is a tough job and it is even tougher if those ahead of you are not creating opportunities for the pass, because it is not they who look bad. It is the No10, who is stuck with the ball at his feet. I cannot remember Chaplin getting open for a pass at all, and although Woodrow did get open on a couple of occasions, he was not good enough to take the chances. That triangle of players should really be grouped as one, because their performance is dependent upon one another, and in that respect, they were not good enough as a trio. In fact, we have not scored in open play this season, so they have not been good enough all season.

I hope that Kane was bought to play No10. I hope that he will be better. But just like everyone else, he will rely upon the other two players in the triangle.

 

It looks to me like Kane will be playing the deeper midfield role, to pass the ball about

 

The problem with that is that our forwards have neither the height, nor the pace to get on the end of long passes.

 

Need to be pushing the wing backs up then to lessen the distance between the two. That's the main reason to play wing backs.

Or instead of it being a 3 4 1 2, play a 3 1 4 2 with a holding midfielder in front of the 3. Push the others further upfield when we get the ball

 

I think there’s a decent player in there with Thomas.

He’s put in a handful of really good performances. He was brilliant against Boro in the cup earlier in the season, for example. It’s his decision making and final ball that needs to improve.

 

My comments on Thomas aren’t based on just yesterday’s game. Yes I agree he gets into decent positions but his end product is absolutely woeful. I keep hoping he will prove me wrong but time and time again he never does. People give Ritzmaier grief but this guys had even more chances than him.