Brooks vs Rak-Sakyi (per 90)

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jono_t2000

jono_t2000

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Was listening to a Watford podcast this morning, and the 2 hosts were saying that Rak-Sakyi was the best player they had come up against so far all season.

So just for fun, I thought I would do a comparison on Brooks vs Rak-Sakyi per 90 just to see how it looked;

It does look like Rak-Sakyi is the busier player with more shots, more dribbles, more passes and more touches in the opposition box per 90.

1725534290502.png
 

itsinyerblood said:
Rak-Sakyi has a far better shot whereas Brooks can't deliver with conviction, and that is telling and could be the reason why RS gets the nod over Brooks.
Don't get me wrong, Brooks has loads of potential but our need is immediate.
Click to expand...

Brooks seems too afraid to shoot sometimes.
 
I don't know much about Brooks at youth level or prior to his time at United, but I would hazard a guess that Rak-Sakyi has been playing as a RW/RAM for longer, where as Brooks was more of a box to box mid before, so it's probably taking him longer to fully understand the role and adapt.

For Rak-Sakyi, it's probably all now 2nd nature. Brooks on the other hand is getting there, but doesn't always beat his man and also can't seem to make up his mind on what to do once he has beaten them, until it is too late.

Either way, I am just delighted to have them both in the squad.
 
For the goal on Sunday, although it went in off keeper - JRS was following it in sniffing for a tap in, which was great to see. I’m not sure Brooks has quite the same killer instinct, he strikes me as much more midfielder than forward. Both will get plenty of minutes this year, maybe in different positions.
 
Perhaps Brooks needs to learn to place his shot rather than putting more power through it. Rak-Sakyi is better in both powering and placing his shots.

I'm not in the predictions business, but I think Brooks will probably have the better season.
 
Very misleading comparison. We were dominating Watford at home and even the QPR game we were pushing for a winner when JRS came on.

Brooks does a lot more work defensively and was our star player in by far our most difficult game of the season away at Norwich.

I think it’s all up for grabs for both players who are both huge talents. Would also like to see Brooks played through the middle with JRS on the right at some point.
 

mattbianco1 said:
Just 1 isn't it, at Preston?

It was Brooks' cross which led to the goal at Norwich, but it won't be credited as an assist.
Click to expand...
Indeed - wrongly. Brooks doesn't cross, there's no goal
 
I thought Rak-Sakyi was excellent on Sunday and that his performance went under the radar somewhat for some reason. I think he got the nod to start to help pin back Watford's wing backs and it worked to a large degree. When running at defenders he's really comfortable going either inside or outside the defender which means he's a nightmare to play against.
He's going to be a massive player for us this season and the prospect of having him start and Brooks to come off the bench, or vice versa, is an exciting once.
 
Blade45 said:
Brooks is better than Rak-Sakyi
Click to expand...

What does better mean? Doesn't say much, they both have strengths and weaknesses.

Based on about 2 matches.
Strengths: My opinion is Rak-Sakyi is more talented, just like N'Diaye he's more able to create chances and score goals.....just by himself.
Notice how Watford tried to put 2 defenders on him because 1 defender was too risky, he can go past 1 defender virtually every time.
He's more of a winger specialist, a better dribbler than Brooke's and a far better shooter, a cleaner striker with accuracy and power.
Weaknesses: Doesn't look comfortable out of possession, it's as though he doesn't know what to do, not that good at tackling.
His overall work rate doesn't seem as high as Brooks.

Strengths for Brooks: He's more an all-round player than JRS, more consistent because he's a better defender and a better tackler.
Weaknesses: Tends to always look to pass instead of shooting and when he does shoot, it's more of a scuff shot without much power.

It's early days but in matches where we play weaker opposition, especially at home I'd start JRS.
When we have tougher games, especially away where we'll be doing more defending and need more discipline
I'd start Brookes and bring on JRS as a late sub to give us a spark.....both are good and have a good future.
 
Last edited:
itsinyerblood said:
Rak-Sakyi has a far better shot whereas Brooks can't deliver with conviction, and that is telling and could be the reason why RS gets the nod over Brooks.
Don't get me wrong, Brooks has loads of potential but our need is immediate.
Click to expand...
Though Rak-Sakyi is more keen to come inside and shoot, I do wish he'd do a bit more work off the ball, especially tracking back to help Gilchrist sometimes.

Brooks does track back and makes himself available as the outlet ball whenever possible, but seems to be more willing to try and make a chance for someone else rather than shooting, even when he's in the position to have a shot himself.

Think of Hamer at LW on the other side, 9 times out of 10 he knows when to have a shot himself and when to cross/pass, and that's from a player playing out of position.
 
I think Brooks may benefit from JRS like Ndiaye did from MGW. Brooks is a good player that could be great. The attributes he is missing seem to be JRS's strong points.
 
Didn’t need to see the stats to confirm what the eyes saw for me.

Brooks is ok. He will improve but I think he’s near his ceiling. Nothing against the lad at all, but the lack of much end product is the issue for him. He’s just not going to push on to be a very good player, and if most of us were honest we would admit he’s getting more leeway because he’s made it out of the academy.

He will do a job for us, but if we are to become a better team and squad in the future I do t see him being in it. After all, there’s a reason the other lad is at Palace, highly regarded and of interest to several clubs for a big fee.

We had a star forward in the making but chose to sell him to Newcastle.
 
Grizzly blade said:
Didn’t need to see the stats to confirm what the eyes saw for me.

Brooks is ok. He will improve but I think he’s near his ceiling. Nothing against the lad at all, but the lack of much end product is the issue for him. He’s just not going to push on to be a very good player, and if most of us were honest we would admit he’s getting more leeway because he’s made it out of the academy.

He will do a job for us, but if we are to become a better team and squad in the future I do t see him being in it. After all, there’s a reason the other lad is at Palace, highly regarded and of interest to several clubs for a big fee.

We had a star forward in the making but chose to sell him to Newcastle.
Click to expand...
That post has to be a wind up.
 
Sheffsteel said:
What does better mean? Doesn't say much, they both have strengths and weaknesses.

Based on about 2 matches.
Strengths: My opinion is Rak-Sakyi is more talented, just like N'Diaye he's more able to create chances and score goals.....just by himself.
Notice how Watford tried to put 2 defenders on him because 1 defender was too risky, he can go past 1 defender virtually every time.
He's more of a winger specialist, a better dribbler than Brooke's and a far better shooter, a cleaner striker with accuracy and power.
Weaknesses: Doesn't look comfortable out of possession, it's as though he doesn't know what to do, not that good at tackling.
His overall work rate doesn't seem as high as Brooks.

Strengths for Brooks: He's more an all-round player than JRS, more consistent because he's a better defender and a better tackler.
Weaknesses: Tends to always look to pass instead of shooting and when he does shoot, it's more of a scuff shot without much power.

It's early days but in matches where we play weaker opposition, especially at home I'd start JRS.
When we have tougher games, especially away where we'll be doing more defending and need more discipline
I'd start Brookes and bring on JRS as a late sub to give us a spark.....both are good and have a good future.
Click to expand...
Brooks is still quite a raw attacking player, but I think Brooks offers more to the team. Rak Sakyi, as you said, offers little defensively. Brooks is still a productive player when attacking, and he will get better if we continue to play him.

If it’s one or the other, I’d take Brooks for the reasons above, plus he’s our own player. We should prioritize our own before loanees, especially when they’re close in ability like these two clearly are.

No bias towards anyone 😉

To be clear though, I’d like them both to play.
 

Booker4 said:
Where's Hamer play though? If he comes in the centre that means Arblaster or Souza drops out?
Click to expand...
Well, I’ll tell you my idea.

Drop Moore and play OHare as a false 9. Rak Sakyi on left Brooks on right. Out of every single player in our starting eleven, he has probably been the worst.
 
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