SUFC Vs. Macc

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knockoffnigel said:
Another Sufc got a win tonight.. 4-2 against pigs
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Either SWFC are crap or Scunny are going to be a threat this season . Blades could be the biggest threat of all , and confidence is the key , which we seem to have in abundance . Looks like the mojo is back .

UTB
 
My obs from last night.

Howard. Nowt to do at all.
Freeman. Impressive again and was up against their best player #11. Beard may not be a shoe in to get back in side when he is fit.
Collo and Macka as CBs where solid enough and did what they needed to do well. Strong combination in the air and of course afford more of a threat from set plays and corners. Looked comfortable when presented the ball from Howard's goal kicks and were not looking to just hump it forwards. Encouraging sign this.
McFadzean (sp) looked comfy and has a good leap thus making him reasonably strong in the air. Again, looked comfy with ball.
JCR. This bloke confuses the shit out of me. Consistently makes a lot of poor decisions. Goes forwards when he should be coming back and vice versa. Was unlucky to have been on pitch for only 20 mins or so as was holding his Hammie and went off injured. Having been negative on the bloke, you then HAVE to consider that in his brief stint on the pitch he put the free kick in that led to the first goal (og), saw Sharps perfect diagonal run and supplied the telling dink pass in to Billy's stride, and played in at least one delicious back stick cross that was begging to be nodded in !!!!
Baxter & Basham. Starting to think that this is the CM pairing that will start in the league, and with very good reason. Baxter is a sublime footballer, no doubt about that. He does have weaknesses, he isn't tall or fast and not particularly mobile or combattive. Which brings me on to Basham, who is tall, reasonably fast, mobile and combative !! It's a good blend.
Woolford- shan't go to town on him cos he has just joined up but on the night was our least effective player. If his form does not improve, he will surely find himself behind the likes of Murph, Flynn, Che and Done.
Sammon. Didn't get much supply and was therefore under-utilised. Was busy and I have a feeling that while not a great footballer, he will win the crowd over with work rate.
Sharp. The prodigal son returns !!! Billy is Billy. You know what you are gonna get. Does not get the credit he deserves for being a more rounded CF than a lot will give him credit for. Was effective in what he did. Slotted his one and only chance in to the onion bag. Stating the obvious but lacks height and more importantly pace. Add these two attributes and you have a £10m striker that would not be plying his trade in L1 !
Subs came on and did OK, chief of which was Adams, who had a good 70 minute or so stint having come on for JCR. Scored two good goals and in between these missed a sitter which would have put him on a trick. For all the positive vibes that surrounds this player atm, which is fair, he really really needs to work on his first touch of the football, which has to improve a lot if the obvious potential that is there is to be fulfilled.
Higdon. A lot has been made of the weight loss. Still looks like he is carrying way too much. He is however a big old unit and it would be interesting to know exactly how his body fat compares to,others. Suspect it won't be anyway near the 10% figure required for modern footballers. He isn't my kind of player, won a Few headers which typically went in random directions and was more or less static for his entire time on the pitch ! Unless there is a major overall improvement, Will almost certainly find himself behind Sammon in the pecking order, which may lead to a move away either on loan or Perm.

Very encouraging performance in terms of tactics, play patterns and overall balance to,the team. That said, Macclesfield were not in the game at all for the entire 90 mins and provided not resistance at all.

Was my First trip to Moss Rose so that's another one ticked off !!!

UTB
 
As no ones stuck anything on here about last night other than the odd reference in other threads, heres a few observations ....
The opposition presented little threat as much as they tried with energy and toil.

Bearing that in mind, its hard to be too analytical on our performance, both team and individual. However..
Howard had very little to do and seemed to kick without any discomfort.
Freeman was excellent last night, strong and determined against what was probably their most lively and threatening player.
McFad did his bit but not sure he's a competent deputy for Harris long term.
Collins & McEv were largely untroubled all evening, is Adkins going with these two initially and looking to improve in time, I'd like to think so.
JCR made Sharps goal with a good run and pass but it looked like a hamstring that forced him to limp off painfully and allow Adams to come on 1st half, I'll deal with him later.
Woolford, jury out, looks ponderous in style but his effectiveness was a little more apparent last night, lots to do to win me over.
Sammon, big, strong and..... Well, we'll see but his role will be one that doesn't get appreciated by lots.
Interestingly Higgy looked far more effective when he can on, linking the attack astutely in several occasions.
They do fulfil the same role but with different qualities, Higgy did moe last night for me.
Billy Sharp - what you'd expect, worked hard, held it up, ran channels well, took his chance with aplomb and ruthlessly. Give him the ball in the box and he'll score.
Otis Khan came on for an interesting cameo. I've always liked this kid hes compact, simple and uncomplicated, comfy on the ball, tricky tenacious and delivers a wicked ball. Could be a surprise package this season, who knows...
And so on to Che Adams... This kid can go far, very far... He has it all and can play Premiership football if he so desires. Took his goals serenely, strength, pace power and shooting all are there in abundance. Awarenes has arrived too and he was astute in his decision making and execution.
Can we hold on to him? In a word, No!

In summary, so far, so good. Injuries being the slight dampener at this stage
 
DronnieBlade said:
Higdon. A lot has been made of the weight loss. Still looks like he is carrying way too much.
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Thanks for the low down on the match.

I have to agree re Higdon. Ive been to a couple of the friendlies and I would definitely say he is carry too much weight/fat as are a few of the other lads and would be light years from 10%. The contrast with the Newcastle players was there for all to see.

It really disappoints me as within reason a player can't suddenly be gifted with finesse, pace or technical ability but being fit in shape and not overweight shouldn't be too difficult.

NA has eluded to it with comments such as 'some of the lads look to have had better holidays than others'.
 
;):(
LSF said:
As no ones stuck anything on here about last night other than the odd reference in other threads, heres a few observations ....
The opposition presented little threat as much as they tried with energy and toil.

Bearing that in mind, its hard to be too analytical on our performance, both team and individual. However..
Howard had very little to do and seemed to kick without any discomfort.
Freeman was excellent last night, strong and determined against what was probably their most lively and threatening player.
McFad did his bit but not sure he's a competent deputy for Harris long term.
Collins & McEv were largely untroubled all evening, is Adkins going with these two initially and looking to improve in time, I'd like to think so.
JCR made Sharps goal with a good run and pass but it looked like a hamstring that forced him to limp off painfully and allow Adams to come on 1st half, I'll deal with him later.
Woolford, jury out, looks ponderous in style but his effectiveness was a little more apparent last night, lots to do to win me over.
Sammon, big, strong and..... Well, we'll see but his role will be one that doesn't get appreciated by lots.
Interestingly Higgy looked far more effective when he can on, linking the attack astutely in several occasions.
They do fulfil the same role but with different qualities, Higgy did moe last night for me.
Billy Sharp - what you'd expect, worked hard, held it up, ran channels well, took his chance with aplomb and ruthlessly. Give him the ball in the box and he'll score.
Otis Khan came on for an interesting cameo. I've always liked this kid hes compact, simple and uncomplicated, comfy on the ball, tricky tenacious and delivers a wicked ball. Could be a surprise package this season, who knows...
And so on to Che Adams... This kid can go far, very far... He has it all and can play Premiership football if he so desires. Took his goals serenely, strength, pace power and shooting all are there in abundance. Awarenes has arrived too and he was astute in his decision making and execution.
Can we hold on to him? In a word, No!

In summary, so far, so good. Injuries being the slight dampener at this stage
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Good post. So much so that it practically mirrors my own from earlier ;).

Only difference being that Higdon did see more of the ball than Sammon, giving the impression of being "involved" more. We can agree on that.

Quite how effective Higdon was, well we can always agree to disagree !!

UTB
 
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I thought Higdon looked alright when he came on, with a few good knock downs, even outmaneuvering their defender a couple of times to win the ball.
 
awblade said:
I thought Higdon looked alright when he came on, with a few good knock downs, even outmaneuvering their defender a couple of times to win the ball.
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Can you explain exactly what you mean by "a few good knock downs ?

Bearing in mind he is played way up the pitch, rather than in defence :-

Did any of these DIRECTLY lead to any opportunities ?

Did any of these INDIRECTLY lead to any opportunities ?

See where I am going with this ??

Would be much more positive if we could agree that "Higg won a few good knock downs that led to this that or the other". From my view point, they didn't !!


UTB
 
NA's comments were refreshing to hear, positivity, I like that.

He says "could have scored" rather than "should have scored" or "should have done better".
 
Keeping Che is down to Adkins.
Everyone has a price,
Young players get their heads turned,
We are known as a selling club etc etc, but if his management skills are good, if he gives the lad confidence and security- proving that here is the best place for his progression then we should keep him for longer than players like Slew and Maguire at least.
 
Woolford looked decent, good crosses and build up - all be it not match fit
Some good link up play from Sammon and Sharp
Adams, unsurprisingly looked the part
JCR was good before he went off
Sharp looks the part. Should have had a penalty
Sammon might just surprise us all

Don't bother asking about the defence, they had the square root of fuck all to do.
 
Thanks for the report.

Higdon might just be BIG but this comes with its own problems: his ligaments, tendons, muscles will be under an awful lot of strain. I wonder what his career injury record is.

For now it looks like we're going with what we've got with CBs but if and when we get injuries we've got little or no cover.
 

Just a thought.......................Could Mr Adkins and his team convert Higdon to a Centre Back ???
It has happened before John Charles, Chris Sutton, even (forgive me for even mentioning his name !!!) Paul Warhurst !
As everyone said he is a big unit, could be commanding in the air and may even score from corners......................................
Just a thought..........................I'll get my coat !
 
Fiery Blade said:
Just a thought.......................Could Mr Adkins and his team convert Higdon to a Centre Back ???
It has happened before John Charles, Chris Sutton, even (forgive me for even mentioning his name !!!) Paul Warhurst !
As everyone said he is a big unit, could be commanding in the air and may even score from corners......................................
Just a thought..........................I'll get my coat !
Click to expand...
if you could get him to raise his feet 6 inches off the ground, then maybe.

Maybe not !!!

UTB
 
Only a thought ......................... Dean Wilkins seems to have a good reputation as a coach.......................now there's a challenge !
 
Thanks for posting the highlights, BB.

Is it me, or is the ball moving from back to front far more quickly?
 
secretchief said:
Thanks for posting the highlights, BB.

Is it me, or is the ball moving from back to front far more quickly?
Click to expand...
Suspect the answer is both yes ..... and no.

The recycling the ball from side to side was more pronounced last night. I reckon this is and will be a deliberate tactic and will frustrate the heck out of many. Where I think and hope it will be different from NC regime is that the transition, as you quite rightly have picked up is far quicker.

There was one move last night which was sublime, where we effectively drew Macclesfield up the pitch with above tactic, moved it down the right flank quickly, Che Adams with a nice Skill to keep the ball in play from on the touch line, and counter attacked with a flowing move that should have brought a goal.

I do hope that fans can be a little bit more patient with this as is does work.

UTB
 
A good night last night - but they didn't offer us much of a threat.

Woolford definitely falls into the 'unspectacular' category - but I did think he linked well in midfield in the second half. Most of our good stuff saw him receiving and playing simple balls to keep posession going. He was blowing out of his arse at a couple of points though.

Adams looks outstanding when he gets the ball where he wants it - but little boy lost the rest of the time. Always interesting in friendlies when you can hear the players talking to each other. He was having to be told what to do a lot of the game when he came into the middle - it was good to see that after he scored his second a couple putting their arms around him and telling him some more. Collins at one point had to remind him that he had to 'face the ball' as he was wandering around the half-way line doing absolutely nothing when they had the ball. He was unlucky not to have a hat-trick - the chance he missed was gilt-edged (although he'd done well in the build up and arrived perfectly in the right place at the right time for it).

Really impressed with Khan - he worked all over the pitch and had some really good runs.

Baxter was excellent - even after he tired / got closed down in the second half (which is when Woolford came into the game more). I hesitate to use the word 'danced' - but that's exactly what he did through the midfield to set up the third. A good surging run, beat 2-3 players and played an excellent ball at the end of it.

Freeman was the star for me last night. Quick, strong and used the ball well. Their no.11 was supposed to be their outlet and he never got anything out of Freeman. He got forward well too.

I really enjoyed McEverley's shout of "Bash, Bash - where the fuck are you going?" when he decided to make a random run forward when we had possession.
 
DronnieBlade said:
;):(
Good post. So much so that it practically mirrors my own from earlier ;).

Only difference being that Higdon did see more of the ball than Sammon, giving the impression of being "involved" more. We can agree on that.

Quite how effective Higdon was, well we can always agree to disagree !!

UTB
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Sorry mate, totally missed yours on the earlier Mac thread, didn't realise folk who'd been had posted their thoughts there :-( Anyway, no plagarism intended :), maybe we see things the same way, well nearly!
And I forgot to mention Baxter who strolled around imperiously all night prompting from deep. He must love that situation as it plays to his strengths. However, when it begins for real, I fear he won't enjoy the same freedom.
As for Higgy/Sammon, they are different in that Sammons mobility allows him to run the channels more effectively, his work in the air so far has not impressed, hopefully will improve. Higgy needs the ball to feet as he just can't run around effectively, he got that last night and it made his the better of the two contributions imo.
 
United goals v Macc Town....
Ahhhh,sorry...didn't realise BB had already posted until I read back through the thread.
 
Last edited:
Who provided the assist for the 3rd goal? Is that Woolford? #32
 
DronnieBlade said:
Suspect the answer is both yes ..... and no.

The recycling the ball from side to side was more pronounced last night. I reckon this is and will be a deliberate tactic and will frustrate the heck out of many. Where I think and hope it will be different from NC regime is that the transition, as you quite rightly have picked up is far quicker.

There was one move last night which was sublime, where we effectively drew Macclesfield up the pitch with above tactic, moved it down the right flank quickly, Che Adams with a nice Skill to keep the ball in play from on the touch line, and counter attacked with a flowing move that should have brought a goal.

I do hope that fans can be a little bit more patient with this as is does work.

UTB
Click to expand...

You'll be lucky, mate!

Gerrituptfield will be the cry from the sophisticated S2 masses...
 
Firstly, thought their number 11 looked quality, be interested to see if he makes it into league football.

I said last year Freeman was as good, if not a better RB than Brayford and I stand by that, no reason for Brayford to walk back in once fit. Freeman is skillfull, quick, can cross and shoot, as well as defend. Collins and McEveley are solid enough, but obviously still like someone new to play there. Nice to see McFadzean involved, perfectly decent back up in my eyes. Would like to see him get forward more and use his pace.

Always been a massive Baxter fan, pleased to see him in the side at CM. I was skeptical that he could play there but he looks good alongside Bash, first choice pairing for me. You can tell Woolford has missed a good chunk of pre-season (something some don't seem to be acknowledging) but he's had his moments and looks decent. Not the biggest JCR fan but he's done well in pre-season, great run and pass for Sharp's goal.

Sharp looked good as you'd expect, took his goal well, had an obvious pen turned down and generally impressed. Sammon does what you'd expect from looking at him, decent player to have in the squad to complement others even if he doesn't get much glory.

Che Adams looks unbelievably good. Most potential of any player in recent years, and Id be surprised if he wasn't in the Premeirship in 3 years time. He's strong, quick and can finish, and should only get better. I'd play him with Sharp up top, and you'd hope both could get near 20 goals.

Always liked Otis Khan, does as much as JCR for me so I feel we should develop him rather than someone in their 30's. Higdon did well I thought, good flick ons but Che wasn't on same wavelength.

Good performance overall, hopefully it carries on.
 

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