Brayford Signing - so much more than just a right back

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Jim Phipps said Brayfords signing was much more than just a right back. He was right in terms of club moral, ambition and the feel good factor. But even more than that, it is the tactical implications of his signing that will hopefully prove he is more than just a right back.

Now we have Brayford, it has several tactical knock-on effects:

  • Brayford brings the best out of Flynn: Flynn has been at his best in a Blades shirt when Brayford was here last season. He came to life and looked a different player. Often in football, a players upturn in form usually corresponds to a good partnership i.e. for Henry see Bergkamp / for Cole see Yorke / for Tonge see McCall and Brown! / for Flynn....see Brayford!
  • Clough said earlier in the season he would love to see Murhpy through the middle. Now we have Brayford, we have a rejuvenated Flynn on the right wing, meaning we can move JCR to the Left, and Murphy can now play through the middle or in a free attacking role...meaning more creativity and directness up top, which we are crying out for...
  • More speed up top from Murphy also complements the fleet footed McNulty, creating more space for his instincts - also, Murphy pairs up well with and complements the more traditional attributes of Higdon. If we need to go direct to the big man and a speedy partner we now can - because we have an adequate replacement out wide in Flynn...because we have Brayford at right back.
  • Even if we don't play Murphy through the middle, just that option alone gives us an extra dynamic and creates more competition for places. All this is down to signing just one player.
Finally, you can't underestimate the importance of good full backs. These players are the players on the field who receive the ball in the most space with the most time on the ball - an intelligent full back can transform a team.

In our 2005-2006 season I still maintain our best player, and the player that changed the dynamic of the team was David Unsworth. If we hadn't have had him we wouldn't have been promoted. His distribution from left back was immense and was a perfect fit for the players we had, and he was so much more than just a left back....hopefully we will be confirming the same about Brayford in May.

UTB!
 

Players who can be identified as a "threat" from other managers have to be planned for in the teamtalks for the opposition.

I have always believed that if a player had to be paid more attention by the opposition it would clearly buy his team mates more time, but let's just say that the player in question is a class above and might just skin the marker, and the guy doubling up as well, then when we bring players like murph, scoogs, flynn, etc into play with more space then we can see that were going to really hurt teams.

We saw the effect that he had last season, I see no reason we can't have a similar effect, I don't see an unbeaten run like last year, but I do see a charge to the play off spots, then, as ever, its a lottery...
 
Players who can be identified as a "threat" from other managers have to be planned for in the teamtalks for the opposition.

I have always believed that if a player had to be paid more attention by the opposition it would clearly buy his team mates more time, but let's just say that the player in question is a class above and might just skin the marker, and the guy doubling up as well, then when we bring players like murph, scoogs, flynn, etc into play with more space then we can see that were going to really hurt teams.

We saw the effect that he had last season, I see no reason we can't have a similar effect, I don't see an unbeaten run like last year, but I do see a charge to the play off spots, then, as ever, its a lottery...


Play offs might be a lottery but our Nige has already got 4/5 of the numbers.
 
You talked about Flynns partnership with Brayford last season, but it's also worth mentioning the Coutts Brayford partnership down the right for Derby in their promotion season into the premiership. Although I imagine Coutts will either be playing to Doyle's CDM role or in the RCM as he wont offer the same pace as the likes of Flynn, JCR and Murphy down the wing that we rely on.
 
You talked about Flynns partnership with Brayford last season, but it's also worth mentioning the Coutts Brayford partnership down the right for Derby in their promotion season into the premiership. Although I imagine Coutts will either be playing to Doyle's CDM role or in the RCM as he wont offer the same pace as the likes of Flynn, JCR and Murphy down the wing that we rely on.


Eh? The last time Derby got promoted into the premiership was 2007. Brayford was at Burton, and Coutts was playing in the Highland league.
 

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