Higdon - An Enigma

[SandyMcBlade]

It's going to be very interesting to see how Nigel plays O.Donald.
If O,Donald plays the way he wants his center forward to play we should get a better idea of how he means to set up his team because as Keith Edwards has said many times it's all about partnerships.....

 

[Woodwardfan]

What I see with Higdon is a penalty box striker who can contribute little else in general play in other areas of the field. I see a highly skilled penalty box striker both in the air nodding in crosses and also with a decisive touch on the ground. Where have I seen the technique? Just a hint with us v Bristol, MKD and a lovely late goal near post v somebody, but also on videos at Motherwell.

Yesterday I sympathised with the lad. He was thrust into the team as the lone ranger up front, a role which couldn't suit him less, first game back after 4 weeks off injured, he got no service whatsoever - if you think of the service provided to feed his skills mentioned above - one corner got anywhere near his head, nothing else - no he doesn't do channels, nor fighting like a terrier ( it's hard for a St Bernard to fight like a terrier) nor does he get much sympathy from referees who expect him to just shake off ridiculous bodily contact from central defenders because he's a big lad.

If you are a striker who feeds off good crosses into the box or calculated low balls to the near post, you'll starve for sure a BDTBL.

Talking about "B"DTBL, I thought our fans were disgusting yesterday when Higdon was substituted. It was Ugly DTBL As a new player yet to settle how would you feel at this moment in time about our "loyal fans", our "12th man".

They pay their money therefore they are entitled to "do what they want", but that is downright counter-productive and cruel.

 

[metty]

As I said, I've always been in the 'give him a chance camp'. I didn't cheer him off and I can understand your thoughts on the lone striker point, but he didn't give anywhere near 100% and that for me isn't good enough.

 

[bladesman3]

What I see with Higdon is a penalty box striker who can contribute little else in general play in other areas of the field. I see a highly skilled penalty box striker both in the air nodding in crosses and also with a decisive touch on the ground. Where have I seen the technique? Just a hint with us v Bristol, MKD and a lovely late goal near post v somebody, but also on videos at Motherwell.

Yesterday I sympathised with the lad. He was thrust into the team as the lone ranger up front, a role which couldn't suit him less, first game back after 4 weeks off injured, he got no service whatsoever - if you think of the service provided to feed his skills mentioned above - one corner got anywhere near his head, nothing else - no he doesn't do channels, nor fighting like a terrier ( it's hard for a St Bernard to fight like a terrier) nor does he get much sympathy from referees who expect him to just shake off ridiculous bodily contact from central defenders because he's a big lad.

If you are a striker who feeds off good crosses into the box or calculated low balls to the near post, you'll starve for sure a BDTBL.

Talking about "B"DTBL, I thought our fans were disgusting yesterday when Higdon was substituted. It was Ugly DTBL As a new player yet to settle how would you feel at this moment in time about our "loyal fans", our "12th man".

They pay their money therefore they are entitled to "do what they want", but that is downright counter-productive and cruel.

What did our fans do?

 

[crucialkneeligaman]

This lads career at the Lane has been stop start at the moment. I fully understand peoples reactions to his performance last night but want to see him have a run in the team before writing him off.

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

Glad someone mentioned Baxter - really talented, very ineffective. Personally Baxter can NEVER be a midfield player - lazy, ineffective, makes a pass and ADMIRES it (what a waste). Football is about pass and move and Baxter is just plain lazy.

To add - Scoogs - vey busy, runs around, gets a foot in, has work rate - totally ineffective in a football sense in and around the 18 yard box. Completely none productive.

Some of us have said a lot - Scougal and Baxter in the same team - no thanks.

Mcnulty - he makes great runs and is nearly always onside - difficult to see why NC has an issue with him.

Higdon - ok, so not match fit, but he could at least show some interest in proceedings.

UTB

Agree with you . The puzzle is that were other managers seem to get the best out of average players , and play to a tactical formula which can be changed or adopted dependant on the system , flow of game from the opposition , we seem to be too one dimensional . This ultimately lays at Mr Cloughs door , but the coaching staff and players , for me , are equally responsible .

It is becoming a pattern of events that too many players are being ineffective at the same time , due to being much of a muchness.

Baxter and Scougal can play football , but cannot battle . The only analogy i can think of , is how many of the players would you want in the trenches with you. Not many .

Higdon , although you could argue , does not get the service , to compliment his strengths , he has had long enough to prove his worth , and to me is looking more and more of a bad buy.

I have still faith in Mr Clough , but i am starting to question the back room coaching staff , and tactics .

A tremendous amount of pressure is now on COG , who i hope succeeds for all of us , but we are becoming a grave yard of all things CF . Even Marc Van Baston in his prime could struggle in this team.

League 1 is still wide open , and thank god for Mr Clough and the blades , it is still is.

UTB

 

[cahill]

"enigma" Why ?

 

[SandyMcBlade]

Nobody plays to Higdons strengths because nobody cares what Higdons strengths are. Their probably all to busy trying to work out what they are supposed to do to be in the team next time out,in the last 6 months every partnership that has formed in the team over the last two seasons has been broken,.
If Mr Edwards is right about a team being everybody forming little partnerships all over the field it's never going to happen, and if you add to that the fact that the C/Half and our expected C/forward could both go back to or have been sold by their respective clubs by the end of January, especially if they are playing well, it's not likely to become one is it ...

 

[blade too long]

in spain so didnt see him last night , but wasnt it his first game back after injury , seen players take time to hit match level , just saying
remember going back to work after a leg injury not being as nifty up the scaffolding as Id been before injury on my first day back

 

[judge]

I'm best described as a clapper, but if that useless lump of a professional footballer represents my team again then I would seriously apply to join the Judge fan club. . I've always thought that he might come good but on last nights showing I wouldn't have paid him in washers. He was totally inept, never moved when we were on the front foot and never asked for the ball once. In 50 years I'm struggling to recall as bad an individual performance as that and believe me I've seen some dross.

What do you mean ?

 

[judge]

It's going to be very interesting to see how Nigel plays O.Donald.
If O,Donald plays the way he wants his center forward to play we should get a better idea of how he means to set up his team because as Keith Edwards has said many times it's all about partnerships.....

Who the fuck o'Donald ?

 

[wizadry]

Aye, but the daft thing is he looks the best finisher at the club.

Just for the record,Higdon was shite on Friday and i'm more than willing to give him a chance if they play to his strengths but he'd just come back from injury,Cloughy shouldn't have started him against the joint best away side statisticly in the league,but the main gripe i have JohnDenver is the statement above which imo is incorrect as i think McNulty is by far the best finisher we have at our club,a couple of McNultys' goals have oozed in class and he has to get a run in the team for me now he's back from injury.

 

[Rossb123]

Following the loan signing of O'Grady and return to fitness of McNulty, Michael Higdon got the nod to start last nights game with a chance of showing Mr Clough and the United fans that he was the man to lead the line and that he could really make a statement of intent !
What did we get - Probably the most enept performance of the season - He didn't jump, hold the ball up, chase and harry, get into scoring positions, make runs down the channels - In fact Nothing!
He doesn't appear to have any heart whatsoever and very limited talent - A poor mans Darius Henderson and I thought he was garbage (apart from that one game at Bristol City)
Higdon came here wanting to make his name in English football - to date he has not done a very good job and on last nights performance he certainly isn't good enough !

A poor mans Henderson is a great comparison!

 

[JJ Sefton]

Enigma - 'a person or thing that is mysterious or difficult to understand.'

Shithouse - 'a footballer with no visible talent or heart without the ability to carry out the most simple pass, play or shot'

Not sure 'enigma' is the most accurate description.

I can only agree. The Mona Lisa is enigmatic, Higdon is shit.

 

[Treeton Blade]

I like Higdon, he`s often in Taybarns, when I go in. Burger, sausage,gammon, eggs, and chips, followed by a Sunday dinner, then Fish & Chips, with 6 bowls of ice cream, and 3 slices of cheesecake to finish. Gordon Ramsey eat your heart out!

 

[JohnDenver]

Just for the record,Higdon was shite on Friday and i'm more than willing to give him a chance if they play to his strengths but he'd just come back from injury,Cloughy shouldn't have started him against the joint best away side statisticly in the league,but the main gripe i have JohnDenver is the statement above which imo is incorrect as i think McNulty is by far the best finisher we have at our club,a couple of McNultys' goals have oozed in class and he has to get a run in the team for me now he's back from injury.

You could be right - we've not got much game time to judge them both on. Certainly only one of them is an option beyond this season.

 

[Lane Ender]

What a field day for the Higdon haters led like a lamb to the slaughter by our beloved leader.
Lone striker after a lengthy lay off fed scraps by our clueless midfield.
Wouldn't it have made sense to start with Mcnulty a front man who would have run the channels and who would have retained a fair level of fitness.
The so called fans who cheered when Clough substituted him fucking hell that was disgusting.

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

What a field day for the Higdon haters led like a lamb to the slaughter by our beloved leader.
Lone striker after a lengthy lay off fed scraps by our clueless midfield.
Wouldn't it have made sense to start with Mcnulty a front man who would have run the channels and who would have retained a fair level of fitness.
The so called fans who cheered when Clough substituted him fucking hell that was disgusting.

My view is that Higdon , for whatever reason is not fully fit , and playing him on Friday was a sign of desperation by Mr Clough and his back-room staff .

The guy in this instance who should get the flack is Mr Clough , not Higdon. Higdon should not have played , he is not match fit like Wallace , Baxter and Scougs ( What is the training regime )

Its the dynamics at the lane , which is the problem . We are getting static thinking . My reading is that Higdon will go the same way as Butler . Mr Clough should start with Higdon , which would show confidence in the player he brought in . That is what man management is about . Lets get the basics right .

Has Mr Clough lost his aura / respect with the playing staff . I would like to know. Let us see how COG performs , or how fit he is.

What are we lacking that MK , Oldham , Bristol City , Swindon have got . -- No it is not better players , its innovation from Mr Clough.

UTB

 

[Canterbury Blade]

Anyone know what formation Higdon played in at his previous clubs? Clearly, he knows how to score goals but were his previous teams asking him to be the lone striker? I'd lay a pint that he played alongside someone else and that his contribution was to finish and play off someone else or be the finisher from the work of others.

Equally, from what part of the park were the goals he scored? Again, another pint says that the bulk were from within 15 years of the goal.

I'm sure those stats are out there somewhere and would be illuminating if we've signed a player who is used to knocking em in from close range and as a result of others doing the leg work...

A player who we then ask to play alone and lead the line in the way we would a more mobile athletic man.

I'm convinced that Higdon and COG have 20 goals in them for the remainder of this season (assuming COG stays beyond January and to the end of the season).

Give em the next 6 games together, frankly what other options have we to try and push on?

 

[Silent Blade]

Anyone know what formation Higdon played in at his previous clubs? Clearly, he knows how to score goals but were his previous teams asking him to be the lone striker? I'd lay a pint that he played alongside someone else and that his contribution was to finish and play off someone else or be the finisher from the work of others.

Equally, from what part of the park were the goals he scored? Again, another pint says that the bulk were from within 15 years of the goal.

I'm sure those stats are out there somewhere and would be illuminating if we've signed a player who is used to knocking em in from close range and as a result of others doing the leg work...

A player who we then ask to play alone and lead the line in the way we would a more mobile athletic man.

I'm convinced that Higdon and COG have 20 goals in them for the remainder of this season (assuming COG stays beyond January and to the end of the season).

Give em the next 6 games together, frankly what other options have we to try and push on?

we do not have two strong and hardworking box to box CMs that would make 442 work. Wallace might be one but he has been injured for most of the time

 

[wizadry]

What a field day for the Higdon haters led like a lamb to the slaughter by our beloved leader.
Lone striker after a lengthy lay off fed scraps by our clueless midfield.
Wouldn't it have made sense to start with Mcnulty a front man who would have run the channels and who would have retained a fair level of fitness.
The so called fans who cheered when Clough substituted him fucking hell that was disgusting.

I would have agreed mate but we all know McNulty doesn't run the channels well,apparently anyway.And Cloughy is always right,remember

 

[Lane Ender]

Higdon is a opportunist,a poacher, a predator

Like most strikers of that kind he's a lazy fucker

 

[wizadry]

we do not have two strong and hardworking box to box CMs that would make 442 work. Wallace might be one but he has been injured for most of the time

I do think Wallace and Reed could do it as they can keep the ball well.I'm not saying it would definately work but it's worth a try imo,obviously when Wallace is fit as you rightly mentioned.

On a side note from this,and it has nothing to do with your post Silent Blade,i don't agree that Reedy can't play more than he is like some are mentioning,the lad is 17 ffs,when i was 17 i was playing Saturday and Sunday and training twice a weak,including doing a dry lining job,he should be as fit as a fiddle and propably is but Cloughy is shoe horning other players in,instead of playing him a lot more.He isn't playing enough for me and it is stoping us from being more adventurous.Come on Cloughy,play the lad,wtf do we have to lose eh!

 

[wizadry]

Higdon is a opportunist,a poacher, a predator

Like most strikers of that kind he's a lazy fucker

Higdon will score goals for us mate,no two ways about it!

 

[Lane Ender]

="wizadry, post: 682754, member: 13101"]Higdon will score goals for us mate,no two ways about it![/QUOTE]
I wonder how many of the knowledgeable students of the game will applaud him when he does.

 

[wizadry]

When he does they'll go ape shit (in a good way),don't worry about that

 

[Blade]

I also think he has the ability to score goals for us. I don't think he put in 100% on Friday however which is unacceptable. Hopefully he'll adjust that.

 

[Bladesway]

On one hand he appears to be never fit. I have never known a player take so long to get match fit, get suspended, get match fit, get injured and get match fit again. It appears to me he is worse than Porter but gets thrown the "he will be great when he is fit" card.

On the other hand I do have some sympathy as a fully paid up member of the strikers union. If the crosses aren't coming in and you are supposed to be the lump on the end of them its bloody frustrating. Then you get the ball delivered into you and it bounces off you so you look like the worlds worst player. He isn't the first and he won't be the last to suffer this. We just don't play down the line and crosses into the box. When we do we score goals. Look at the goals Higdon scored against MK. Crosses into the box and feeding on scraps. How often does that happen for us in a game? We don't throw bodies forward so he has little to no support and nothing to feed off. I'm not saying he helps himself but I do think he is one of a long list that hasn't made it with us because we don't actually try to use our strikers in a way that gets the best out of them. I'm sorry but they can't all be shit otherwise someone needs firing.

 

[DronnieBlade]

Poor excuse for a footballer IMHO.

Exactly what we do not need right now.

Justifying plain shitness by stating he will score goals will not wash.

Any half decent lad off the kop could score 10 in a season.

If that is the benchmark, god help us.

UTB.

 

[Bladesway]

Who the fuck o'Donald ?

He had O' farm