Rather than replacing Lavery/Done

[ReeceofBDTBL]

The balance of our attacking play might be improved by replacing Duffy with Jay O'Shea in that number 10ish role.

I know Duffy tapped in a cross against Swindon but generally he's rarely a goal threat in the area, never runs beyond the strikers and isn't a threat from crosses.

It's important not to scrap the passing style of play, but it's clear that when teams sit back we end up in a situation of Coutts, Fleck and Duffy just taking he ball off eachother and taking in turns to knock an intricate pass into the box.

Too early to drop Coutts for Carruthers (who'll most likely be the engine of our team long term) so I'd rather have a bit more height, pace, movement and goal threat going through the middle with JOS rather than Duffy.

Duffy might keep the ball better than JOS but the opposition are already sacrificing possession to us anyway.

 

[Bayingblade]

Funny how people see things as, out of the midfield 3, I see Duffy as the most capable of unlocking defences. I would agree that he should get into the box more though and I'd like to see Fleck or Coutts hovering around the edge of the box a little more for the second ball.

 

[ReeceofBDTBL]

Funny how people see things as, out of the midfield 3, I see Duffy as the most capable of unlocking defences. I would agree that he should get into the box more though and I'd like to see Fleck or Coutts hovering around the edge of the box a little more for the second ball.

Fair point, I guess the way I see it is that we don't struggle so much with getting the ball into the box or getting crosses in for players to attack, it's just that we don't have enough/the right players attacking them.

Hanson will be a huge threat in the box but if he starts I think he'll disrupt our style of play in a similar way that Clarke did. So I'd rather us still start with Lavery/Matty Done.

Whatever happens, if we're ever needing a goal in the last 20 minutes we need Hanson, Sharp and Jay O'Shea in the box.

 

[BigBed]

I think we need to start firing in the long range shots, we appear to have dropped that from our game recently, after we just started doing it, hopefully our attacking threat, will actually become a threat again over the coming weeks.

 

[Bayingblade]

Fair point, I guess the way I see it is that we don't struggle so much with getting the ball into the box or getting crosses in for players to attack, it's just that we don't have enough/the right players attacking them.

Hanson will be a huge threat in the box but if he starts I think he'll disrupt our style of play in a similar way that Clarke did. So I'd rather us still start with Lavery/Matty Done.

Whatever happens, if we're ever needing a goal in the last 20 minutes we need Hanson, Sharp and Jay O'Shea in the box.

Agree with most of that Reece. I'd stick with Lavery as a starter as I think he is getting better. I also think Chris Wilder was wrong to mention him in criticising the team after Gillingham. He laid on Sharps first goal on Saturday and was heavily involved in the second. Most people I talk to agree that he's starting to look a threat now and starting to work in partnership with Sharp and that together, they will only get better. It's just that against a packed defence, they need a little more support from midfield.

 

[BushBlade]

Funny how people see things as, out of the midfield 3, I see Duffy as the most capable of unlocking defences. I would agree that he should get into the box more though and I'd like to see Fleck or Coutts hovering around the edge of the box a little more for the second ball.

Duffy is a proper L1 player; very frustrating. Able to play three or four rubbish balls, hit a couple of shots into space, then set up a goal with a perfect delivery. And, as you say, doesn't make enough runs into the box.

I like Duffy and can see what he brings to the side but I wouldn't raise my eyebrows if JOS replaced him for some of our games. Haven't seen enough of him yet to know how effective it will be but I certainly think it's a feasible option.

 

[I should coco]

I also think Chris Wilder was wrong to mention him in criticising the team after Gillingham.

Wilder may have his reasons. Some players respond more to praise, others to criticism. We have to trust that he know how to handle a young lad better than we do.

We also have to bear in mind that CL is not long out of the Sty and has not yet run his trotters off. CW may be using cutting edge advanced psychological methods to 'de-pig' him.

 

[Jesus_was_a_Blade]

Fair point OP, I was thinking the other day that when Carruthers is back (or maybe O'shea) that he should come in for Coutts.

Don't get me wrong I do like the lad, he's been playing well and has come on leaps and bounds since last season. But I just feel that we could do with someone who offers a little bit more in terms of goals and assists. While he keeps the play ticking over nicely, I think the last 3 games have shown that teams are staring to figure us out a little bit. If they get enough men behind the ball we struggle to break them down, and this is where giving the easy pass isn't always enough.

Normally I'm a huge fan of the easy ball, but when we get the edge of their box and they're sat with 2 banks of 5 we need more ideas to get through them.

That been said, there's no reason Chris couldn't just have a word with him and tell him to take a couple more risks in the final 3rd. Think I'm right in saying it was Coutts who did the great 1-2 against Bury to set EEL up for the winner.

 

[JohnDenver]

Funny how people see things as, out of the midfield 3, I see Duffy as the most capable of unlocking defences. I would agree that he should get into the box more though and I'd like to see Fleck or Coutts hovering around the edge of the box a little more for the second ball.

Agreed. In the games where we've struggled to score from lots of crosses, midfielders arriving from deep are very useful. I'd like to see Fleck or Coutts get nearer the goal more than they do when we get round the back.

 

[Baaaaaaa Blades]

Fair point OP, I was thinking the other day that when Carruthers is back (or maybe O'shea) that he should come in for Coutts.

Don't get me wrong I do like the lad, he's been playing well and has come on leaps and bounds since last season. But I just feel that we could do with someone who offers a little bit more in terms of goals and assists. While he keeps the play ticking over nicely, I think the last 3 games have shown that teams are staring to figure us out a little bit. If they get enough men behind the ball we struggle to break them down, and this is where giving the easy pass isn't always enough.

Normally I'm a huge fan of the easy ball, but when we get the edge of their box and they're sat with 2 banks of 5 we need more ideas to get through them.

That been said, there's no reason Chris couldn't just have a word with him and tell him to take a couple more risks in the final 3rd. Think I'm right in saying it was Coutts who did the great 1-2 against Bury to set EEL up for the winner.

completely agree, Coutts has got that in his locker and any time he does burst in to the box and does a 1-2 etc it does eitehr create a goal /great chance
i think he will have to up his game as like you , i believe Caruthers would be able to play his role.
i think Coutts and Fleck roles are the most under pressure as Duffy although frustrates ( as stated above he is in LG1 for a reason!) ,he is the main one looking for the ball in forward positions and looking to do something most positive

the 3 midfielders have done great but they could really do with being more brave sometimes !

 

[Bladesman]

I think we need to start firing in the long range shots, we appear to have dropped that from our game recently, after we just started doing it, hopefully our attacking threat, will actually become a threat again over the coming weeks.

The space is there to have a shot but instead we keep trying to find Freeman or Lafferty out wide.

 

[BigBed]

Exactly, just stick a size 10 behind it n watch the net bulge!

 

[kennyblade]

The balance of our attacking play might be improved by replacing Duffy with Jay O'Shea in that number 10ish role.

I know Duffy tapped in a cross against Swindon but generally he's rarely a goal threat in the area, never runs beyond the strikers and isn't a threat from crosses.

It's important not to scrap the passing style of play, but it's clear that when teams sit back we end up in a situation of Coutts, Fleck and Duffy just taking he ball off eachother and taking in turns to knock an intricate pass into the box.

Too early to drop Coutts for Carruthers (who'll most likely be the engine of our team long term) so I'd rather have a bit more height, pace, movement and goal threat going through the middle with JOS rather than Duffy.

Duffy might keep the ball better than JOS but the opposition are already sacrificing possession to us anyway.

i agree with your point about coutts and fleck with lafferty usually being the more cautious of our 2 wing backs we have 4 at the back so at least one of coutts or fleck surely dont have to sit deep

 

[BushBlade]

Agreed. In the games where we've struggled to score from lots of crosses, midfielders arriving from deep are very useful. I'd like to see Fleck or Coutts get nearer the goal more than they do when we get round the back.

So would I but every time you run forward, you have to make another run back if the team loses possession. That's why 'running around a lot' is a good attribute for a footballer.

I'm not sure Coutts is athletic enough to make a lot of runs into the box and I'm not sure Fleck has the composure, although I think he scored a few for Cov playing in a more forward role so perhaps I'm doing him a disservice. I wonder if he doesn't want to leave Coutts too exposed?

Both players have great attributes so you can see why they play but, like most L1 players, they have deficiencies we have to accommodate. I think long term we'll have a pairing of Fleck and Carruthers which I hope will be a bit more 'rounded'.

 

[blade too long]

why dont we try sharp in goal and moore in Duffys place
billy knows where strikers will try and score and Moore playing in green can hide on the desso

 

[BushBlade]

why dont we try sharp in goal and moore in Duffys place
billy knows where strikers will try and score and Moore playing in green can hide on the desso

Isn't O'Shea an attacking midfielder who can play wide or centrally? Kind of like Duffy is?
It's not a ridiculous suggestion.

 

[blade too long]

Isn't O'Shea an attacking midfielder who can play wide or centrally? Kind of like Duffy is?
It's not a ridiculous suggestion.

why not sit back and let CW pick the team, when no one could see it happening
he put us on top , deserves a break when we have a blip
Im fairly certain he will be making his own tweeks

 

[BushBlade]

why not sit back and let CW pick the team, when no one could see it happening
he put us on top , deserves a break when we have a blip
Im fairly certain he will be making his own tweeks

No one's stopping him. It's a message board to discuss Sheffield United. It's not unusual for people to discuss where a new signing might fit in. No one's calling the players twats, no one's calling Wilder an idiot, we're just discussing players in a balanced manner.

 

[Bladesthorpe]

Exactly, just stick a size 10 behind it n watch the net bulge!

Or watch it hit some poor bugger in the mush on row Z.

 

[Cerberus Blade]

Fair point, I guess the way I see it is that we don't struggle so much with getting the ball into the box or getting crosses in for players to attack, it's just that we don't have enough/the right players attacking them.

Hanson will be a huge threat in the box but if he starts I think he'll disrupt our style of play in a similar way that Clarke did. So I'd rather us still start with Lavery/Matty Done.

Whatever happens, if we're ever needing a goal in the last 20 minutes we need Hanson, Sharp and Jay O'Shea in the box.

Hanson won't disrupt anything. It's the other players who'd do that if they choose to lump it up to him. I don't think Wilder has bought him to play in the last 20minutes of games and I don't think Wilder will abandon the style of play to go route 1 just because Hanson is in the team.

I know what you mean about Duffy he can be frustrating at times but he's also a key player as Baying has said.

I don't think Done has a future here, I mean, where do you play him? He doesn't deserve one of the two striker positions because he can't read the game well enough to be alert to and convert chances in the box. And although I'm not a big fan of Lafferty I think he does produce more down the left than Done.

The only future I see for Done is if we install an electric Hare on a track around the perimeter of the pitch and get Done to chase after it as part of the half-time entertainment.

 

[blade too long]

No one's stopping him. It's a message board to discuss Sheffield United. It's not unusual for people to discuss where a new signing might fit in. No one's calling the players twats, no one's calling Wilder an idiot, we're just discussing players in a balanced manner.

just wondered why then theres threads wanting about 8 of the team changing asap

 

[BushBlade]

just wondered why then theres threads wanting about 8 of the team changing asap

Sorry, no idea. I didn't start any of them.

 

[blade too long]

Sorry, no idea. I didn't start any of them.

didnt say you did , but from Moore to oconnel to eel done mcnulty basham duffy and others are all being pilloried in different threads
reading some of them its a fucking wonder we arent certs for division 2

 

[BushBlade]

didnt say you difd , but from Moore to oconnel to eel done mcnulty basham duffy and others are all being pilloried in different threads
reading some of them its a fucking wonder we arent certs for division 2

Not on this thread though. No one is being pilloried. Duffy's a bit out of form and we've signed a player who could potentially fill in for him and give him a rest. No one has suggested we should get rid of him or that he's shit.

 

[BigBed]

Better than being in our area though

 

[GrayBlade]

I think Duffy is our most influential attacking player apart from Sharp, I really rate him and like the fact he usually tries to make things happen and doesn't often just take the easy pass. That said both O'Shea and Carruthers say that the their preferred position is number 10 playmaker and competition won't do him or anybody else any harm.