Jam's balls

[William Henry Foulkes]

Jam puts in some excellent balls. Sometimes 5 or 6 or more a game. Why don't we score hatfuls (or apparently any) off them?
Is it:
a) the time it takes for the ball to come in
b) no natural poacher gambling
c) none of the above you halfwit - the answer is clearly...

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

Jam puts in some excellent balls. Sometimes 5 or 6 or more a game. Why don't we score hatfuls (or apparently any) off them?
Is it:
a) the time it takes for the ball to come in
b) no natural poacher gambling
c) none of the above you halfwit - the answer is clearly...

c). Yer watching the warm up.

 

[wizadry]

D) Not enough bodies in the box.

 

[SwissBlade]

Jam puts in some excellent balls. Sometimes 5 or 6 or more a game. Why don't we score hatfuls (or apparently any) off them?
Is it:
a) the time it takes for the ball to come in
b) no natural poacher gambling
c) none of the above you halfwit - the answer is clearly...

I've said it for a good few years, the balls he puts in can be the best cross in the game but if it's not where the striker is they're no good.

A good winger will put the ball consistently where the striker wants it and the striker will get there to meet it. So JCR needs to look up more often and see the runs.

The counter to this is that the strikers need to also anticipate where the ball will go. I find this a little bit of a weakness off McNulty. He's a poacher when he anticipates, but he doesn't seem to anticipate the balls. Murphy, JCR and Baxter have all been putting intelligent balls in recently and McNulty hasn't seen the ball, so they can look like wasted passes. Diego, Scoogs and formerly Peschisolido all seemed to have this instinct, although Scoogs is making fewer of these defence splitting runs this year.

McNulty will be working on his movement, obviously it won't help to keep chopping and changing wingers, but the more yy hey play together the more theyll learn.

Final thing is that the striker needs to lose his man, get a yard ahead to make the space. Che Adams was quite clever the other night, leaving his runs till late knowing he'd be unmarked and could pick up the ball should it come all the way through.

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

A good winger will put the ball consistently where the striker wants it and the striker will get there to meet it. So JCR needs to look up more often and see the runs.

As I see it looking up and picking someone out is what happens sometimes, but most of the time isn't it about just beating your man (or just working room) then putting the ball into an area? The striker gambles - near post/back post - sometimes they connect, most of the time they don't, but when they do it's usually a goal.

Jam puts in good crosses a lot of the time - I counted six balls played into the area inbetween the penalty spot and the edge of the six yard box in one first half recently - but not even a touch from one of our players.

This happens game after game. Can't figure out why no-one's ever on the end of them.

The best I can come up with is that the time it takes Jam to beat his man messes with the natural timing of runs into the box so there's no-one in the right place at the right time.

 

[SwissBlade]

As I see it looking up and picking someone out is what happens sometimes, but most of the time isn't it about just beating your man (or just working room) then putting the ball into an area? The striker gambles - near post/back post - sometimes they connect, most of the time they don't, but when they do it's usually a goal.

Jam puts in good crosses a lot of the time - I counted six balls played into the area inbetween the penalty spot and the edge of the six yard box in one first half recently - but not even a touch from one of our players.

This happens game after game. Can't figure out why no-one's ever on the end of them.

The best I can come up with is that the time it takes Jam to beat his man messes with the natural timing of runs into the box so there's no-one in the right place at the right time.

It's probably down to inconsistency. If he constantly puts 6 balls into the same position you'd fully expect a striker to get to at least one or two, but then you'd also expect the defenders to cotton on to it. So the winger really has to know where the striker will run, look up and see his movement.

Jamie Murphy seems to put the ball in better as he seems to look up before he beats his man, go past with pace then pick his spot.

We got a freekick on weds as murphy took on his man, but gave him a sniff of the ball to commit the defender so he fouled him. There was nobody in the box in space.

Away at Preston, he was nudging the ball out of reach of defenders as he knew he could put the ball into the danger area. He also did this v Spurs for the goals.

I like JCR, on his day he's unplayable, but even then he doesn't look up enough. His choice of ball into the box is normally decent and he tends to keep it hard and low across the box to give us a better chance.

 

[Guesty]

The best cross in his armoury seems to be the deep cross stood up to the back post, unfortunately Murphy has normally drifted inside during a move so No-one is there. As we saw against Sparse Adams seems more inclined to stay at the back stick so maybe that'll be more fruitful.

The other thing I've noticed is that while Jam varies his crosses game to game, within a game he normally sticks with one type. I remember earlier in the season when everything was drilled to the near post and nothing hit deeper.

 

[Tezza1889]

Nobody else is quick enough to get on the end of them, spurs first leg is a perfect example, if we were to play a bit more positive from midfield i could see scoogs and reed getting on the end of them, but they'd have to be given liscence to break when jcr sets off...

If we want to get players on the end of those crosses, we need two up front, trying to hit one striker is difficult enough, even on the rare occasions they've kept up with him..

He needs to start doing what murphy does, give players time, and try to pick em out, or clough needs to play two advanced strikers, so that he has a better chance of finding a man..

 

[BerksBlade]

Heard Alan Shearer talking about something similar recently. He was saying it's about expectation. If the striker thinks the cross is coming, he'll keep making the runs. JC-R can be brilliant, but he's also inconsistent - some crosses end in row H or beyond the far post.

 

[DronnieBlade]

Heard Alan Shearer talking about something similar recently. He was saying it's about expectation. If the striker thinks the cross is coming, he'll keep making the runs. JC-R can be brilliant, but he's also inconsistent - some crosses end in row H or beyond the far post.

This.

I am simply not getting this JCR love in guys. For the exact reason mentioned above. Inconsistency. When was last time he cut in on his left ? Does he have a left ? If not that is criminal for a footballer in this position.

A right flank pairing of Brayford & Flynn excites me far more than one with JCR in it.

UTB

 

[SwissBlade]

Heard Alan Shearer talking about something similar recently. He was saying it's about expectation. If the striker thinks the cross is coming, he'll keep making the runs. JC-R can be brilliant, but he's also inconsistent - some crosses end in row H or beyond the far post.

Very good point. First half against spurs he beat his man, cut back then beat him again, when does the striker make his run with that.

Murphy and flynn both used to try this. Murphy now is much more direct: beat the man, deliver the ball

 

[Shalalalafenoughty]

I don't think he is a good crosser of a ball at all - he's far too hit-and-miss. It's been a feature of his career. Ask any Barnsley or Notts County fan. At the games against those clubs at Bramall Lane this season you could almost hear them saying "typical Campbell-Ryce" as another cross sailed harmlessly towards the far corner flag.

Although he played a part in the early Murphy chance on Wednesday, it was actually a poor cross - in the air and too near the keeper - and it was Scougall who turned it into something by challenging Vorm and forcing an error.

Flynn's cross for the first goal was one you couldn't see Campbell-Ryce making in a month of Sundays - early, on the deck and angled. Flynn's distribution on Wednesday, especially in the later stages, setting up both goals plus the Scougall and Reed chances, was terrific. I'd start him over JCR every time. Keep JCR back for making an impact as sub.