Is it better to create and then to miss a chance or to create nothing. As far as I can see, the conclusion on here since Saturday is that the defeat to Reading was mainly Odejayi's fault because he missed 2 chances. So Odejayi played for 20 minutes during which time we created 2 chances. He did not play for 70 minutes, during which time we created nothing and we conceded a very poor goal. From what I could see, our keeper made 2 excellent saves and Reading had other chances to win by a greater margin. Even though Reading played with a back 3 for 70 minutes, with full backs pushed tighter on the only centre half our wingers failed to make use of the space that the system should have allowed them. Even when Davey pushed 3 up to occupy the back three, the wingers failed to make use of the space. And yet once again it is all Odejayi's fault, why, because it is all the fault of the guy who misses the chances and not the guys who created nothing. One thing that I have learned in all my years of watching football is that playing two guys up front of the same stature, with the same skill set and the with the same instincts for space rarely works. Whilst Macken and Cureton were together on Saturday it was clear to me that their skill sets were too close. Principally, there was no-one to win the ball in the air. Reading simply closely marked our midfield forcing our keeper and defenders to hit the ball long and in the air or pass the ball in front of them. With Odejayi on from the start, he would have been winning more of those balls. My point is not that Odejayi is brilliant, he clearly is not. He will never be a goal scorer, but then again Shipperley and before him Aylott did not get that many (and before the statos start I know that they scored more than Odejayi). Their function was to facilitate. Frankly, I could have scored goals playing with Trevor Aylott. If we accept Davey's point that Odejayi is a target man then the question should be, why is Macken not scoring more goals because Macken is a striker. Here is the main problem, we had 2 guys on the field and 3 more on the bench who call themselves strikers on Saturday and I have no confidence that any of them would have scored based on past performance. In my opinion, and I am probably alone in this, I would try Odejayi and Cureton as a partnership because their skill sets are most different.
odejayi didn't create either of the chances that he missed he just happened to be stood looking lost in the right place to get utterly shocked when the ball fell to him causing him to swing wildly at the ball
I agree, he did not create the chances, but that is not how it works. Odejayi's presence means that defenders have to think about his strengths. His strengths are pace, strength and ability in the air. His pace means that the defenders begin to worry about the space behind them. As a result they drop deeper so that there is less room between them and the keeper/the goal line. As a result, either their midfield has to drop deeper or there is more space between their midfield and their defenders. This space can be exploited by our midfield. If you look at only the last pass you fail to notice why there was the space to deliver that pass.
That all sounds very logical and sensible. However, there are one or two things that don't quite add up. 1) I wouldn't argue about his pace, except to say that he very rarely makes good use of it. 2) The same with regard to strength. It is not a formidable weapon because he rarely uses it to good effect. 3) This is the one that I struggle with. Ability in the air. If he has any, it is no more than that of being able to jump quite high because if the ball does manage to make contact with him, neither he, Simon Davey, the other 21 players on the field, the 14 substitutes or the 4 officials have got any idea where that ball is going to go next.
Half chances. Hume and Macken have missed those in the past. How you can call them proper chances is beyond me. He did miss and should maybe have done better come on, he must think at times why do I bother playing when moron fans react like this. I’d like to see him one on one with one of his worst critics and let them have a go face to face. You might say yeah but he missed against Cardiff when clean through, and against Watford and against Burnley. Didn’t Hasselebank miss a one on one against us late in the semi, didn’t Macken miss a one and one against Bristol City, Hume the same. You can go one forever the players who miss one on ones. If Odejayi misses chances when he is a regular in the starting 11 and finishing games then yeah have a go. But not when he’s only staring the odd game and coming on for 10 mins etc. He’s never going to have confidence in the atmosphere we create at times. First back to goal and he had a go when nothing was on, the second was the ball behind him and he tried to hook it towards goal. To blame him is pathetic.
My points are about achieving balance in the team. OK, you may argue whether Odejayi is a good header of the ball, but you cannot argue that he is the tallest forward that we have and consequently has more chance of winning the ball in the air. If the forward line is about a mixture of abilities, then he possesses an ability that no other forward has. This ability would be of particular value against Swansea because we have few tall players fit.
Far, FAR too complex and informed an answer for most on here to understand. Football is simply about buying good players, picking them and watching them pummel the opposition. Every time. Simple. Tap the X, hold down L2, then press O = GOAL.
you simply cannot relate Shipperley or Aylott in any way to KO,their tally of goals is what you would expect friom a centre forward (or target man if you like). Totally agree we need someone of a bigger build up front but the simple fact is you cannot afford to have a player up front with a conversion rate as poor as KO's.As for is it better to make chances and miss them or create nothing,if he's creating them for himself the end result is virtually the same.
In an ideal world we would have a forward line with a better big man than Odejayi. As a matter of fact, in an ideal world we would also have better strikers than we currently have on our books. For the next month, we can do nothing about the situation we find ourselves in. However, in January the picture changes. Then we will not have sufficient money to clear out all the players that we don't want and replace them with players that we do. As I am fond of saying to my mate, if Odejayi could score goals as well he wouldn't be playing for Barnsley. In the mean time, what sense is there in ruining our players' confidence because it certainly is not going to make them better players.
sorry you lost me on the cofidence thing and if Odejayi was scoring goals he would still only be very average so why would'nt he be playing for us?
Great post Red Rain, probably the best two players that I have have seen together at Barnsley were Wilkinson and Hendrie two different players but right players together. If Odejayi could form a partnership with a player he's going to have to be a lot better class player than we currently have to bring some confidence out of him, he needs someone to form a bond with him, something we have lacked up front for a long time.
Kayode is a confidence player - get rid. Players whose heads go down when things go wrong for themselves or the team are a waste of space.
