James Hanson

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DronnieBlade said:
His winning the headers is not questioned. Certainly not today. It's where the headers go that I have issue.

I'll admit it. My view is a blinkered one. Sue me.

But retaining and winning possession of the football is the name of the game. Other than freakish incidents in the 120 year history of the game it's unheard of for a team with possession to concede a goal or for the team without possession to score one. And when you boil it down scoring and not conceding is what it's all about !!

UTB
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Indeed, I don't disagree. And if our only tactic was to lump the ball forward aimlessly to a Hanson type hoping it would bounce favourably (Ala Blackwell with Darius *shudder* or Wilson with Kitson post January) then I'd agree but, what I've seen with Hanson (and granted today was just the second half on a pretty good alternate method) is someone who is a good reader of the game, will come deep to get the ball and recycle possesion comfortably. You saw it in the build up to the winner at Peterborough (late on yet we didn't resort to lumping it forward to the 'big man') and numerous times in the second half today.

Also we will of course at times need to win and contest headers in order to gain, keep or at the very least stop the oppositon having easy possession of the football. Hanson makes a difference on that front and defenders must hate playing against him.

Granted he should score more and he isn't the quickest but, in our team, with the players we have around him and with his qualities that he brings to the team from a footballing sense, he will be an integral part of the run in. With a team playing attacking possesion football.
 
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Fine as long as we don't lump it up to him all the time; it is good to have an alternative outlet. On his heading, just after half-time he made a good header across the box, which Billy shot wide when a goal looked on. In the second half, there were several attempts to put crosses from the bye-line onto his head, rather than put in hopeful crosses.
 
It bemuses me and amuses me at the same time - how fans don't see the difference Hanson has made to us. Bolton are a bunch of very tough and tall bruisers. Bristol City bullied us into submission and walked this Division. The Wendy were the same; they mugged us (and the rest of the Division) with their long throw, long ball, crowd-out-the-goallie tactics. We all know that it only worked for them because Cardiff CC did a Hatchet job on us too. When they went up though they knew they had to change their team and tactics dramatically in order to survive in the Championship.
Without James Hanson today we would not have made Bolton look 2nd class. We took them apart in that 2nd half. Who on earth expects a tall striker to win a ball in the air every time and direct it to a colleague? Watch for the 2nd ball folks...... and where those defenders are when the ball is up for grabs on the ground. On the ground is where we play the opposition off the park - and our midfielders must feel as though James has been heaven-sent. In truth there is no heaven (anyone with a brain and logical thought knows that much) but there are "Gods" of sorts in our beautiful game..... and Chris Wilder is one of those.
He knows the value of BLEND and BALANCE. John Harris knew it too ...... "win the ball - give it to Currie"

WELL PLAYED TODAY JAMES!!!!!
 
I was really impressed with Hanson's work rate today. Yes, there were occasions were he flicked on to nobody, but he gave the Bolton centre halves a proper game and occupied them enabling space for Billy. He was big, strong and for a 'big lad' moved well off the ball.
I was a bit disappointed second half when there were 2 or 3 balls pulled back from the touch line, only for Hanson to be 5-10 yards away but I guess at this level you can't have everything.
It would have been nice to see Lavery on for Hanson 10 minutes earlier to really push for another goal when the Bolton back 4 were tired as. they were really struggling towards then end when we ran at them.
 
Blend-it-like-Harris said:
It bemuses me and amuses me at the same time - how fans don't see the difference Hanson has made to us. Bolton are a bunch of very tough and tall bruisers. Bristol City bullied us into submission and walked this Division. The Wendy were the same; they mugged us (and the rest of the Division) with their long throw, long ball, crowd-out-the-goallie tactics. We all know that it only worked for them because Cardiff CC did a Hatchet job on us too. When they went up though they knew they had to change their team and tactics dramatically in order to survive in the Championship.
Without James Hanson today we would not have made Bolton look 2nd class. We took them apart in that 2nd half. Who on earth expects a tall striker to win a ball in the air every time and direct it to a colleague? Watch for the 2nd ball folks...... and where those defenders are when the ball is up for grabs on the ground. On the ground is where we play the opposition off the park - and our midfielders must feel as though James has been heaven-sent. In truth there is no heaven (anyone with a brain and logical thought knows that much) but there are "Gods" of sorts in our beautiful game..... and Chris Wilder is one of those.
He knows the value of BLEND and BALANCE. John Harris knew it too ...... "win the ball - give it to Currie"

WELL PLAYED TODAY JAMES!!!!!
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What I'm struggling to work out is how we were top and Bradford weren't when we signed Hanson?

We managed to get to the top without a big physical striker, but now all of a sudden it's a must to be able to do anything in this league!
 
William Large said:
I was really impressed with Hanson's work rate today. Yes, there were occasions were he flicked on to nobody, but he gave the Bolton centre halves a proper game and occupied them enabling space for Billy. He was big, strong and for a 'big lad' moved well off the ball.
I was a bit disappointed second half when there were 2 or 3 balls pulled back from the touch line, only for Hanson to be 5-10 yards away but I guess at this level you can't have everything.
It would have been nice to see Lavery on for Hanson 10 minutes earlier to really push for another goal when the Bolton back 4 were tired as. they were really struggling towards then end when we ran at them.
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'Disappointed when there were 2 or 3 balls pulled back from the touchline only for Hanson to be 5-10 yards away...'

Agree entirely with this and I feel this is an area of the team overall that Wilder and Knill need to work on. We play with wing backs and yet the most we seem to get from a cross from the byeline is a corner as the defender gets there first.

We don't have an abundance of pace up front but we need to get a player to that near post far quicker than we are at present. Carruthers could be the answer.
 
DronnieBlade said:
His winning the headers is not questioned. Certainly not today. It's where the headers go that I have issue.

I'll admit it. My view is a blinkered one. Sue me.

But retaining and winning possession of the football is the name of the game. Other than freakish incidents in the 120 year history of the game it's unheard of for a team with possession to concede a goal or for the team without possession to score one. And when you boil it down scoring and not conceding is what it's all about !!

UTB
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this possesion thing is a myth.. the idea is to score more goals than the oppo .. there are no style marks in football
 
The thing you have to really think about with Hanson, is how he takes the focus away from Sharp.

It's no coincidence that Sharp's form and goal scoring consistency has increased since Hanson arrived.
 
DronnieBlade said:
Can you give examples of how he creates huge amounts of space ?

The positives outway the negatives do they ?

I made a point of counting his first five inputs in today game. They were :-

Header to a blue shirt.
Header to a blue shirt.
Header to a blue shirt.
Header to a blue shirt.
Foul (needlessly) given against.

Get the DVD. Tell me I was wrong !!!!

UTB
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He wasn't heading it to a blue shirt. He was firstly ensuring it wasn't coming back at 90mph into the heart of our defence thus bypassing our midfield, secondly making sure the rest of the Bolton defence had to worry about the chance of it reaching a Blades shirt and thirdly it's not his fault if Billy stands in the wrong places ;)

He gives us a different option when a team stifles your midfield creativity and I'm glad we have that option. You can't pass teams to death every game. IMHO

Sorry TC. Missed your post. Mine now irrelevant.
 
super_pig said:
this possesion thing is a myth.. the idea is to score more goals than the oppo .. there are no style marks in football
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Than I assume you have countless examples of when teams score WITHOUT possession ?

And countless examples of when teams concede when WITH possession.

Style does NOT come in to it. Where did I mention style ?

Your flippant ascertion regarding "this possession thing is a myth" is simply staggering. Only in S2 ;)

Thankfully our players and manager know better !

UTB
 
Snowman said:
He wasn't heading it to a blue shirt. He was firstly ensuring it wasn't coming back at 90mph into the heart of our defence thus bypassing our midfield, secondly making sure the rest of the Bolton defence had to worry about the chance of it reaching a Blades shirt and thirdly it's not his fault if Billy stands in the wrong places ;)

He gives us a different option when a team stifles your midfield creativity and I'm glad we have that option. You can't pass teams to death every game. IMHO

Sorry TC. Missed your post. Mine now irrelevant.
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He wasn't heading it to a fucking Red shirt was he ? The first four touches of the ball Hanson had in yesterday's game( all headers) were STRAIGHT to a blue shirt. Fact. Not fiction. Not my impression or opinion. FACT.

The fact that possession was lost ensured that Bolton came straight back at us EACH AND EVERY TIME. Fact. Watch the DVD. Tell me I am wrong !

UTB

P.s. Did you see the game or are you suffering from the same Mandela effect as hundreds of others ?
 
Hanson has done pretty well and worked his socks off yesterday, extra yard of pace and he'd be playing in a higher league than this one
 
Seems I'm pretty much on my own with this. So I'd be grateful for some help.

When our crowd cheers raucously when Hanson wins a header that comes to nothing / goes straight to an opponent, can someone please explain to me why everyone seems to be cheering ? Why what has just happened is "good" in any way shape or form. I know of NO other clubs fans that cheer when it's own player heads it straight to an opponent. Why do so many Blades fans, on the face of it, love the fact the header is "won" and couldn't care less what happens next !

In words that a four year old could understand please as it's pretty clear I'm just not getting this. Thanks in advance.

UTB
 

DronnieBlade said:
He wasn't heading it to a fucking Red shirt was he ? The first four touches of the ball Hanson had in yesterday's game( all headers) were STRAIGHT to a blue shirt. Fact. Not fiction. Not my impression or opinion. FACT.

The fact that possession was lost ensured that Bolton came straight back at us EACH AND EVERY TIME. Fact. Watch the DVD. Tell me I am wrong !

UTB

P.s. Did you see the game or are you suffering from the same Mandela effect as hundreds of others ?
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1. No need to get irate. We all have opinions.
2. He wasn't trying to head it to a blue shirt or do you seriously believe he was? Can I suggest that you try and deliver a perfectly weighted header into the path of a striker 100% of the time with a muncher like Wheater all over your back?
3. Yes they dropped to a Blue shirt. See 2 above.
4. Now lets get over the first four touches upon which you seem to base your entire opinion of Hanson and let me know how he fared over the following 85 minutes?
5.Possession was lost. It may not have been in different circumstances. However it was lost in a Bolton defensive area and not in midfield which at the time was actually having a bit of a problem, hence the out-ball to Hanson.
6. No idea what you mean as to a Mandela effect.
7. Don't need a DVD. I was there and worrying as usual.
8. No need to be insulting just because someone else has a different and balanced opinion.
 
Compare yesterday to the opening game of the season at Bolton's place. The great Leon Clarke got bullied for 90 minutes against the Bolton Bruisers - Hanson did the opposite and bullied them. You could see how much he pulled them out of position for the entire game. Yes, I will agree (although the DVD proves it!) that his flick ons didnt go to a Blade every time - but he was against 2 bruiser defenders, he cant be expected to win every header and find Sharp every time. Hanson has been an excellent signing and far better than Clarke who was brought in to do the job that Hanson does so well.
 
Hanson's job is to win headers, put the defenders through hell and win some more headers. He is doing that, winning the header as has been stated several times, stops the ball flying back, over our midfield. It gives us time to press, which funnily.. Is what most of our game is built on.

The fact that he doesn't seem completely incapable, just seems like a bit of a bonus.
 
Snowman said:
1. No need to get irate. We all have opinions.
2. He wasn't trying to head it to a blue shirt or do you seriously believe he was? Can I suggest that you try and deliver a perfectly weighted header into the path of a striker 100% of the time with a muncher like Wheater all over your back?
3. Yes they dropped to a Blue shirt. See 2 above.
4. Now lets get over the first four touches upon which you seem to base your entire opinion of Hanson and let me know how he fared over the following 85 minutes?
5.Possession was lost. It may not have been in different circumstances. However it was lost in a Bolton defensive area and not in midfield which at the time was actually having a bit of a problem, hence the out-ball to Hanson.
6. No idea what you mean as to a Mandela effect.
7. Don't need a DVD. I was there and worrying as usual.
8. No need to be insulting just because someone else has a different and balanced opinion.
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I thought we were tactically naive in the first half. We played in to Bolton hands, played them at their own game. Tufty has said as much post match. MUCH of this (not all) was down to launching high (hopeful ?) balls in to Hanson. Hardly the lads fault as such as he isn't the one doing the launching. I accept he isn't deliberately aiming for a blue shirt but the fact remains that's where it ended up. Turnover of possession, in whatever area of the pitch, is never to be accepted so lightly in my book. It's so so hard to win possession back, it should be cherished. Possession for possessions sake, in the fairness of balance here, not what I'm on about. Meaningful possession is where I'm at. But that's a whole new chapter (or book) that's not for now !

Over the 85 mins or so Hanson was on the pitch he worked his socks off. That's good. He closed the defenders down well. That's good. He won lots of headers. Mmmm. I fail to see, in a general sense what's good about this when the VAST MAJORITY result in a possession turnover. Over said 85 minutes I would estimate 80%-90%. I don't believe that's a good enough strategy for a progressive forward thinking side like this 2017 SUFC side. I could be wrong.

My apologies if you felt insulted. Was not my intention.

UTB
 
DronnieBlade said:
Discredited myth of many moons ago, hopelessly perpetuated by the S2 hoards.

Did Burton have one last year ?
Wigan ?
Barnsley ?

Year before that.
None of them did either ?

And we are top of the league on the back of pro basket ballers Billy Sharp, Matt Done, Caolon Lavery.

Only in S2 !!!!!

UTB
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Aaron Wilbraham.
 
Snowman said:
He wasn't heading it to a blue shirt. He was firstly ensuring it wasn't coming back at 90mph into the heart of our defence thus bypassing our midfield, secondly making sure the rest of the Bolton defence had to worry about the chance of it reaching a Blades shirt and thirdly it's not his fault if Billy stands in the wrong places ;)

He gives us a different option when a team stifles your midfield creativity and I'm glad we have that option. You can't pass teams to death every game. IMHO

Sorry TC. Missed your post. Mine now irrelevant.
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I disagree slightly mate and I think our boys are proving it: Hans is not an alternative to passing teams to death, he's part of it. We are playing fantastic football with him in the team. Many other footballing teams have done it down the years as well, Giroud being a notable example.
 
DronnieBlade said:
I thought we were tactically naive in the first half. We played in to Bolton hands, played them at their own game. Tufty has said as much post match. MUCH of this (not all) was down to launching high (hopeful ?) balls in to Hanson. Hardly the lads fault as such as he isn't the one doing the launching. I accept he isn't deliberately aiming for a blue shirt but the fact remains that's where it ended up. Turnover of possession, in whatever area of the pitch, is never to be accepted so lightly in my book. It's so so hard to win possession back, it should be cherished. Possession for possessions sake, in the fairness of balance here, not what I'm on about. Meaningful possession is where I'm at. But that's a whole new chapter (or book) that's not for now !

Over the 85 mins or so Hanson was on the pitch he worked his socks off. That's good. He closed the defenders down well. That's good. He won lots of headers. Mmmm. I fail to see, in a general sense what's good about this when the VAST MAJORITY result in a possession turnover. Over said 85 minutes I would estimate 80%-90%. I don't believe that's a good enough strategy for a progressive forward thinking side like this 2017 SUFC side. I could be wrong.

My apologies if you felt insulted. Was not my intention.

UTB
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Ta x Insulted was the wrong word. Patronised maybe! That's my game!:D:D:D:p
 
Pinchy said:
I disagree slightly mate and I think our boys are proving it: Hans is not an alternative to passing teams to death, he's part of it. We are playing fantastic football with him in the team. Many other footballing teams have done it down the years as well, Giroud being a notable example.
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I agree he's part of it. I suspect many like you (and me to a lesser extent) were concerned at his signing, but so far my fears are unfounded and now no team knows what to expect.
 
DronnieBlade said:
Than I assume you have countless examples of when teams score WITHOUT possession ?

And countless examples of when teams concede when WITH possession.

Style does NOT come in to it. Where did I mention style ?

Your flippant ascertion regarding "this possession thing is a myth" is simply staggering. Only in S2 ;)

Thankfully our players and manager know better !

UTB
Click to expand...

Quite right. In fact there are marks for possession based, pass and move football. It's known as the 'right way' for a reason. It wins matches, points, leagues and trophies. Pretty good 'marks', those! It's also wonderful to watch, is the beautiful game.

My only slight disagreement with everything you are saying on this topic is that it's perfectly possible to play great pass and move football with a big centre-forward in place. Have we not proved that twice in two games?
 
Pinchy said:
Quite right. In fact there are marks for possession based, pass and move football. It's known as the 'right way' for a reason. It wins matches, points, leagues and trophies. Pretty good 'marks', those! It's also wonderful to watch, is the beautiful game.

My only slight disagreement with everything you are saying on this topic is that it's perfectly possible to play great pass and move football with a big centre-forward in place. Have we not proved that twice in two games?
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And my only slight disagreement with the masses appears to be said big lads role and function in this great pass and move football we are delighting in. It's very very unclear to me.

UTB
 
DronnieBlade said:
He wasn't heading it to a fucking Red shirt was he ? The first four touches of the ball Hanson had in yesterday's game( all headers) were STRAIGHT to a blue shirt. Fact. Not fiction. Not my impression or opinion. FACT.

The fact that possession was lost ensured that Bolton came straight back at us EACH AND EVERY TIME. Fact. Watch the DVD. Tell me I am wrong !

UTB

P.s. Did you see the game or are you suffering from the same Mandela effect as hundreds of others ?
Click to expand...
don`t forget Dronnie, Hanson and Sharpe are out numbered 4 to 2, so heading to a team mate with a 6`5" centerback climbing all over you can be tricky at times.
 

Pinchy said:
Quite right. In fact there are marks for possession based, pass and move football. It's known as the 'right way' for a reason. It wins matches, points, leagues and trophies. Pretty good 'marks', those! It's also wonderful to watch, is the beautiful game.

My only slight disagreement with everything you are saying on this topic is that it's perfectly possible to play great pass and move football with a big centre-forward in place. Have we not proved that twice in two games?
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The team performances have been good and you can't argue with the results but I don't believe that Hanson has made that big of a impact that others seem to think.

You are a big critic of Done, but I can't see how you think Hanson is an improvement on him. He's got the same work rate but to me is just a taller and slower version.
 
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