Ched Evans - What Next ?

[Fiery Blade]

Following the much exalted signing of Ched Evans pre season having beaten several clubs in the race for his signature at a cost of up to £ 3 million have we all now decided he's not good enough!
Whilst not a regular in the side his performances have been extremely disappointing with some national newspapers questioning his ability and desire last weekend especially. Most views on this forum are to ditch him in January!
Is it the type of football we play ? Possibly not because last Saturday was certainly a welcome introduction to passing football and he stilllooked out of his depth!
Is it Blackwell - his scoring record for the Under 21s looks far better than both his goals and performances to date!
Is it too early to judge?
Is he playing out of position?
Blackwell obviously put a lot of faith in the lad yet he won't play him away from home!
He has had great reviews wherever he has played but to me he looks an expensive flop whos just not interested!
I hope that I'm wrong!

 

[Highbury_Blade]

Following the much exalted signing of Ched Evans pre season having beaten several clubs in the race for his signature at a cost of up to £ 3 million have we all now decided he's not good enough!
Whilst not a regular in the side his performances have been extremely disappointing with some national newspapers questioning his ability and desire last weekend especially. Most views on this forum are to ditch him in January!
Is it the type of football we play ? Possibly not because last Saturday was certainly a welcome introduction to passing football and he stilllooked out of his depth!
Is it Blackwell - his scoring record for the Under 21s looks far better than both his goals and performances to date!
Is it too early to judge?
Is he playing out of position?
Blackwell obviously put a lot of faith in the lad yet he won't play him away from home!
He has had great reviews wherever he has played but to me he looks an expensive flop whos just not interested!
I hope that I'm wrong!

Is it too early to judge?

Yes - So don't

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

I think we've got to give him a season. If we don't go up, presumably the fee will remain at around £1.5M and if we decide to move him on, we should be able to get that back for him. If his form picks up then all the better for us. For the record, I don't think we've seen the best of him yet.

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

I think we should just cut to the chase on this posting, as it is probably the not so hidden agenda, and send it the same way as most others.

IT MUST BE BLACKWELL TO BLAME! HELPED BY MCCABE!

 

[Fiery Blade]

I think we should just cut to the chase on this posting, as it is probably the not so hidden agenda, and send it the same way as most others.

IT MUST BE BLACKWELL TO BLAME! HELPED BY MCCABE!

You seem obsessive about Blackwell

I had high hopes for Evans at the start of the season bouyed by some excellent reports from friends who support both Norwich and Man City. The general consensus was that he will be the best striker outside the Premier League but to date I alongside many others have been very disappointed!

 

[oldblade]

Blackwell obviously put a lot of faith in the lad yet he won't play him away from home!

Blackwell doesn't play him away from home because he keeps using a 4-5-1 formation in away matches.

 

[Fiery Blade]

Blackwell doesn't play him away from home because he keeps using a 4-5-1 formation in away matches.

So why not play Evans instead of Henderson!

 

[oldblade]

So why not play Evans instead of Henderson!

Because in a 4-5-1 he wants someone who can hold the ball up long enough for the midfield to get forward. (In theory anyway!). I don't think Evans is a hold-the-ball-up type of player.

 

[Highbury_Blade]

You seem obsessive about Blackwell

I had high hopes for Evans at the start of the season bouyed by some excellent reports from friends who support both Norwich and Man City. The general consensus was that he will be the best striker outside the Premier League but to date I alongside many others have been very disappointed!

I still have high hopes for the lad. Give him time for Christ's sake. Ronaldo dissapointed many in his first Season at Man Utd.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

I still have high hopes for the lad. Give him time for Christ's sake. Ronaldo dissapointed many in his first Season at Man Utd.

As did Drogba

At the end of the day, this is his 1st season as a ''frontline' striker, he's still only 20 and has started 30 odd games. We know from his record that he can finish and my Citeh mates rate him highly so 9 starts for us and a handful of sub appearances in a largely struggling team is hardly enough to be making any rash judgements.

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

Sorry Fiery, just reacting to just about every thread on this site at the moment, which begins or turns into a 'get Blackwell out' theme whatever the original thread was supposed to be about.

As for Evans. He needs time before people start to judge him. I can see some positive stuff on the occasions I've seen him. The style doesn't suit him and I don't think playing off a big man is his forte. Hell, I remember the first impressions of Brian Deane by plenty of Blades fans

 

[oldblade]

And his strike rate is currently 3 in 9 starts. Somewhat better than Billy Sharp who was given substantially more time.

 

[beightonblade]

cheap as chips cud fcuk anybody up......
s

 

[SwissBlade]

Too early to judge yet, but here are my comments.

He looked very unfit at the start of the season, he's shown moments (in games that I've seen), he's strong when he wants to be and isn't afraid to have a pop from distance, looks like he's got a shot on him ..if he can find his radar that is.

Its also worth mentioning that he came back early from International Duty due to an Injury and has been patched up for the last few games.

So for me its not exactly fair to criticise too much too soon. If anything, he's playing before he's fit and ready. If Camara can get match fit soon then it takes the pressure off Ched and I reckon he'll start to click after Xmas.

 

[Highbury_Blade]

as did drogba

at the end of the day, this is his 1st season as a ''frontline' striker, he's still only 20 and has started 30 odd games. We know from his record that he can finish and my citeh mates rate him highly so 9 starts for us and a handful of sub appearances in a largely struggling team is hardly enough to be making any rash judgements.

yes but i want it now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

[Flatulent_Bob]

Following the much exalted signing of Ched Evans pre season having beaten several clubs in the race for his signature at a cost of up to £ 3 million have we all now decided he's not good enough!
Whilst not a regular in the side his performances have been extremely disappointing with some national newspapers questioning his ability and desire last weekend especially. Most views on this forum are to ditch him in January!
Is it the type of football we play ? Possibly not because last Saturday was certainly a welcome introduction to passing football and he stilllooked out of his depth!
Is it Blackwell - his scoring record for the Under 21s looks far better than both his goals and performances to date!
Is it too early to judge?
Is he playing out of position?
Blackwell obviously put a lot of faith in the lad yet he won't play him away from home!
He has had great reviews wherever he has played but to me he looks an expensive flop whos just not interested!
I hope that I'm wrong!

Firstly anyone who has written him off at this stage is an idiot pure and simple.
He is a kid and by design young players are inconsistent and their confidence it easily knocked. On top of this we seem to have a manager who doesn't really support the younger players, look at the treatment of Cotts who is obviously shitting himself every time he plays.

I think Evans will be a very good player given games and confidence.
My only doubt is do we have the manager, or the crowd to get the best from him. I would also say the same about Cotts.

One for the believe it or not Clayx who I think most people on here would admit is ITK at least at some level seems to think the actual figure of the transfer is closer to £500,000 downpayment with the rest tagged on the end. While I think this number might be on the low side I would be surprised if we paid more than £1 Million upfront.

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

cheap as chips cud fcuk anybody up......
s

...and there it is right on cue

 

[beightonblade]

...and there it is right on cue

Truth hurts ...............

 

[Bladesman]

cheap as chips cud fcuk anybody up......
s

Sounds abit brutal.

What does he use a baseball bat?

 

[S64 Blade]

I don't think we should be writing him off. He's only young, adding that to the overall team performance and it's no wonder he's not performing to such high expectations.

Give him time!

 

[Bladesman]

Truth hurts ...............

You want the truth? You want the truth?! You can't handle the truth! Because when you reach over and put your hand into a pile of goo, that was your best friend's face, you don't know what to do! FORGET IT MARGE! ITS CHINATOWN!

 

[Fiery Blade]

Firstly anyone who has written him off at this stage is an idiot pure and simple.
He is a kid and by design young players are inconsistent and their confidence it easily knocked. On top of this we seem to have a manager who doesn't really support the younger players, look at the treatment of Cotts who is obviously shitting himself every time he plays.

I think Evans will be a very good player given games and confidence.
My only doubt is do we have the manager, or the crowd to get the best from him. I would also say the same about Cotts.

One for the believe it or not Clayx who I think most people on here would admit is ITK at least at some level seems to think the actual figure of the transfer is closer to £500,000 downpayment with the rest tagged on the end. While I think this number might be on the low side I would be surprised if we paid more than £1 Million upfront.

I for one has not written him off but I do believe we need to nutre the boy and develop him
Unfortunately the £3 million price tag (whatever the terms) puts pressure on the boy.
He seems to score for fun in the internationals but I'm not that sure how competitive the U21s matches are!

 

[Trevor Hockey]

I for one has not written him off but I do believe we need to nutre the boy and develop him
Unfortunately the £3 million price tag (whatever the terms) puts pressure on the boy.
He seems to score for fun in the internationals but I'm not that sure how competitive the U21s matches are!

Do you really want to nutre him Fiery - it'd be better to nurture him I think !

 

[Highbury_Blade]

I for one has not written him off but I do believe we need to nutre the boy and develop him
Unfortunately the £3 million price tag (whatever the terms) puts pressure on the boy.
He seems to score for fun in the internationals but I'm not that sure how competitive the U21s matches are!

No it doesn't. It's muppets like you who question his ability after 10 or so games that does that.

Is there anything about the club that you actually like?

 

[Blades-7]

I know a Man City season ticket holder and he says he cannot believe Ched isn't ripping up this division because he's a brilliant player and he didn't want City to let him go.

Personally, I think Blackwell's style of play doesn't suit him and I feel sorry for him tbh. I bet he's regreting signing for us!

 

[Cheshire Cat]

I know a Man City season ticket holder and he says he cannot believe Ched isn't ripping up this division because he's a brilliant player and he didn't want City to let him go.

Personally, I think Blackwell's style of play doesn't suit him and I feel sorry for him tbh. I bet he's regreting signing for us!

The Man City fans I live near, work with and play sport with are all the same.

I do think that our way of playing is a problem for most strikers - if your main skill is beating players in the box and shooting that's not something that happens too much in United's game. That isn't distinct to Blackwell - it was the same under Warnock.

Most of the game is spent either without the ball chasing and harrying defenders / midfielders, without the ball with your back to goal trying to get it under control at head or chest height, or trying to get on to the end of a flick-on or knock-down.

I'm pretty sure that we brought Sharp into the team at the ideal time, but in the wrong circumstances and the wrong style of play. We're fast doing the same with Evants (on the rare occasion that we put him in the side). Evans is about taking chances that are worked in open play (take his rasping shot from distance against the pigs as an example) - whereas our style demands someone who can score on the floor in a scramble or from a set-piece.

I wonder how many goals Beattie would have scored if he hadn't taken penalties. Take away Cotterills assists and set-pieces and the total tumbles.

For me we've got to mix up our style of play some more - look how many chances we created for Craig Beattie to miss over two legs against Preston when we worked the ball around and opened up space. I'm sure that over a season of doing that the likes of an Evans or a Sharp would look like completely different players.

It's no surprise that the strikers who have been favoured at the Lane and prospered under Blackwell and Warnock are Hulse and Henderson. Strikers who have looked like doing well - take Ward and Kabba, able to take half-chances and like lightning onto a knock-down and flick-on.

 

[Revolution]

If it were up to me, I'd stick Evans in the team week in week out with someone else up front, play 4-4-2, and see how it goes for 4 or 5 games. heaven knows 4-5-1 isn't working anymore so what do we have to lose?

It is unfair to castigate Evans (and Cotterill, for that matter, who has a similar issue) when he is not given an opportunity to have a decent run in the side week in week out.

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

If it were up to me, I'd stick Evans in the team week in week out with someone else up front, play 4-4-2, and see how it goes for 4 or 5 games. heaven knows 4-5-1 isn't working anymore so what do we have to lose?

It is unfair to castigate Evans (and Cotterill, for that matter, who has a similar issue) when he is not given an opportunity to have a decent run in the side week in week out.

My Blackpool mates couldn't understand why we played Hendo last week and left our £3M striker on the bench.

I'd love to see Evans and Wardy upfront but it's not going to happen through choice under Blackwell. Leaving aside the pros and cons of Hendo, I guess time will tell when he gets his 5th booking which can only be a game or so away.

 

[Blavdes]

Lets not forget he's scored 1 in 3 and hasn't even had a pre-season, which all professionals say is the most vital time in the season to get fitness.

As an aside - both Sharp/Ward and Evans know where the net is - if only we played a style where we got them the ball to feet in the penalty area i'm sure we'd walk this league. Steve Coppell would be ideal.

 

[Ollessendro]

Something which is worrying me more than solely Evans form is that he and henderson seem to be completely incompatbile. It's strange that people are complaining Evans 'plays with his back to goal' or 'is left to harry defenders', but he spends most of his time mooching around between midefield and attack. He drops deep looking for the ball, but then is way off the pace when Henderson flick on or knocks the ball down. There is no chemistry between the two. I am not an Evans knocker before anyone starts. I haven't written him off and hope he comes good.

My solution. Either

Henderson and Camera.

Potentially deadly. We hoof it to Henderson and he flicks on or knocks down and Camera uses his pace to get in behind.

Or

Ward and Evans

Again potentially very good. We have to play the right tactics though. It's no use hoofing it long. But with Coterill, Harper, Williamson and Treacy at our disposal then why can't we play it on the deck. Wards trickery and pace will be a problem for anybody. Evans clearly has ability, we are just not utilising it.