What type of midfielder is Peck?

[Slim Man]

I know there's a thread on him already but this is a bit of a wider discussion so I think it warrants its own.

Title is self explanatory. Because frankly I have no idea.

Let me preface this by saying he should be dropped immediately, but he won't be because he's Wilders project and he's too stubborn. Peck is 'one of the lads' and he'll want him to play through this patch of poor form rather than take him out the firing line.

Considering he has no (0) goals, and 2 (well actually after Saturday it's 3...) assists in his United career, it's absolutely nothing remotely attack minded, so that's that ruled out.

So does he want to be a 'take it from the defenders and dictate play' midfielder? If so, he's not good enough.
He always looks sidewards and backwards first before looking forwards. Hence the 2 assists and no goals.

Does he want to be a tough tackling defensive shield? I actually think this might be his best role. He loves getting stuck in, he's a decent enough tackler and not bad at sensing danger. Maybe he should focus on becoming a rat.

Box to box? Maybe and I think that's the role Wilder is having him doing at the moment. I'd rather my box to box midfielder had more than 0 goals and 2 assists though, and I'd rather they didn't play opposition strikers clean through and kill the game just after half time.

Does he want to be a 4, 6 or an 8? I don't think even he knows.

For those saying he has massive potential, I don't see it. I think he's ok, he'll play IN the premier league but he'll be a token Englishman for someone akin to West Ham, to have on their bench. He's not good enough at any one thing to make it as a regular at that level and I think he's as much to blame for that as anyone. He's not improved one jot since this time last year.

And to think some people were saying he's better than Arblaster on here. God hope he comes back the same player because we're not just getting desperate, we are desperate.

 

[CarlMcBlade]

I think Eric Cantona used describe players of Peck’s ilk as water carriers.

 

[Hunter91]

I think he’ll be a player who makes a career in league one. He positioning and awareness isn’t good enough for this level. For a central midfielder it’s so sort of things you have or don’t have. He could be a good player in a three man midfield in league one. If we can find a replacement in January, I’d be looking to loan him out with a view to selling him in the summer.

 

[SouthportBlade]

An average one.

 

[Ball_Sup (Phil)]

I'll answer a different question. As an armchair football coach, with no experience of actual coaching whatsoever, what would I say to Peck in the belief it would improve his game & effectiveness.

"You've played in and developed through, elite football academies, including Shirecliffe. You know one of the things you need to succeed is Radar. The ability to look around, before the ball comes to you, so you know where the space is, and who is tight on. You have a good Radar. We know that. You know that. We've seen it. What we're going to ask you to do is focus that Radar on what is happening IN FRONT of you. Not behind. Not to the side. In Front. Today, we're going to put metrics on it. We're going to count the number of times you receive the ball, and move it FORWARDS. Not launch it. Not hit and hope. But move it into space, or a man, in front of you. Into space that you've radared, that you know is there. Be prepared for setbacks. We are. But, we want you to be a key part of a fundamental shift from - just moving the ball on, just being a turntable, towards relentless and progressive forward momentum. You have the skill. You have the ticker. And crucially, you have the Radar. That is what we want. We're counting. And we'll discuss next week."

 

[CPB]

We really shouldn't be bashing Peck. Despite that horror of a backpass.

Still a young player, only in his 2nd season. And I do think he has potential to grow as a player too.

I would also say that yes he probably should be dropped. However for who, I think that is the issue?

It's not as if we have an abundance of midfielders who seem to be stepping up.
T.Davies still can't seem to get himself fit enough to last a 90.
Soumare seems to be a bit up and down with performances. I like the look of him but he has a tendency to be sloppy with passing.
Matos so far I'm not rating too much. Seems to struggle.
Reidewald may come to the fore more too but not played much as of yet.

Callum O'Hare is one of the few flourishing in his role anyway.
Hamer when back we tend to play on the left. Although I'd potentially try him in the middle at times again too.

Crying out for Arblaster to return but lets be fair here. He's been out for 12 months.

I did think the other day we tried Burrows in the middle for a few last season and it worked a little bit. But I'm not sure its a fantastic suggestion.

 

[Tarqs]

We really shouldn't be bashing Peck. Despite that horror of a backpass.

Still a young player, only in his 2nd season. And I do think he has potential to grow as a player too.

I would also say that yes he probably should be dropped. However for who, I think that is the issue?

It's not as if we have an abundance of midfielders who seem to be stepping up.
T.Davies still can't seem to get himself fit enough to last a 90.
Soumare seems to be a bit up and down with performances. I like the look of him but he has a tendency to be sloppy with passing.
Matos so far I'm not rating too much. Seems to struggle.
Reidewald may come to the fore more too but not played much as of yet.

Callum O'Hare is one of the few flourishing in his role anyway.
Hamer when back we tend to play on the left. Although I'd potentially try him in the middle at times again too.

Crying out for Arblaster to return but lets be fair here. He's been out for 12 months.

I did think the other day we tried Burrows in the middle for a few last season and it worked a little bit. But I'm not sure its a fantastic suggestion.

Soumare is sloppy, but in the same way hamer is. It's generally because he's looking to play forwards between the lines rather than backwards.

 

[dexter101]

I get the point, but I think its also more of a what midfielder is he being asked to be.

He clearly has some talent but in the same way Vini never really contributed assists or goals in his time with us either.

I get the feeling he wants to be a bit further forward than he currently is, seem to remember some lovely forward passes last season, which if not assists, were assists of assists!

 

[Lowen]

When he first came into the side last season he looked like an all action midfielder. It’s almost like his game being about everything has ended up with him contributing nothing. I still rate him, I just think he plays way too many games, he’s clearly a developing player and not someone who should have played 60 times for us in less than two seasons.

 

[ATL Recs]

We really shouldn't be bashing Peck. Despite that horror of a backpass.

Still a young player, only in his 2nd season. And I do think he has potential to grow as a player too.

I would also say that yes he probably should be dropped. However for who, I think that is the issue?

It's not as if we have an abundance of midfielders who seem to be stepping up.
T.Davies still can't seem to get himself fit enough to last a 90.
Soumare seems to be a bit up and down with performances. I like the look of him but he has a tendency to be sloppy with passing.
Matos so far I'm not rating too much. Seems to struggle.
Reidewald may come to the fore more too but not played much as of yet.

Callum O'Hare is one of the few flourishing in his role anyway.
Hamer when back we tend to play on the left. Although I'd potentially try him in the middle at times again too.

Crying out for Arblaster to return but lets be fair here. He's been out for 12 months.

I did think the other day we tried Burrows in the middle for a few last season and it worked a little bit. But I'm not sure its a fantastic suggestion.

Is Arblaster the solution really? 12 games in the Championship three of which he was poor and the previous season no pressure playing in a doomed team for a couple of months. Yes the kid has lots of potential but we are making too much of a kid whose played a few games before a terrible injury and those games in the Championship he had the most in form midfielder in the league player playing alongside him

 

[Bladeloyal]

Blasters level is far higher than us and peck can as shown last season play top end champ .

 

[ATL Recs]

Soumare is sloppy, but in the same way hamer is. It's generally because he's looking to play forwards between the lines rather than backwards.

Soumare is improving every game he covers ground looks to get forward and looks for a positive forward pass. I think by Christmas he could well be our midfield anchor... that's if he gets picked on a regular basis but who knows

 

[Kabba Kabba Doo]

When he first came into the side last season he looked like an all action midfielder. It’s almost like his game being about everything has ended up with him contributing nothing. I still rate him, I just think he plays way too many games, he’s clearly a developing player and not someone who should have played 60 times for us in less than two seasons.

I've said the same, he came in to the side last season full of energy, aggression and his enthusiasm was infectious.

That's all disappeared, and as he doesn't score or assist (other than for the other team this week) it's hard to justify how he's keeping his place, for his own good too!

Comparing them both last season I thought Peck had a higher ceiling than Arblaster, but Arblaster could impact a game more and could control the tempo brilliantly because he'd had a year of mens football in his locker, maybe the last 6 months since Wembley have really knocked Peck's confidence, but there's definitely a player in there still, just not sure what type of player at present!

 

[Tarqs]

I get the point, but I think its also more of a what midfielder is he being asked to be.

He clearly has some talent but in the same way Vini never really contributed assists or goals in his time with us either.

I get the feeling he wants to be a bit further forward than he currently is, seem to remember some lovely forward passes last season, which if not assists, were assists of assists!

Vini won the ball back and tried forward passes.

OP says peck loves a tackle - he does, but he only seems to tackle when he's coming on off the bench. Rarely see him make a tackle these days.

 

[dc_blade]

When he first came into the team he looked like a deep playmaker--take the ball off the defenders and get us moving forwards. He looked capable of receiving the ball under pressure/on the half turn, beating the man pressing him, and creating space that way.

Those things have gradually disappeared from his game. He now looks for the easy pass (backwards and to the side), rarely even tries to beat a man, and looks bereft of confidence once he gets in the final third.

Worth asking: is he the only player who seems to have adopted a more cautious and risk-averse style of play in the last 18 months? If the answer is no, why is that happening?

 

[Jimmy Fleck]

A very overrated one

 

[MayorOJC]

Not much of one. Said it before but I think he'll shift to right back later in his career.

 

[wak1889]

Is Arblaster the solution really? 12 games in the Championship three of which he was poor and the previous season no pressure playing in a doomed team for a couple of months. Yes the kid has lots of potential but we are making too much of a kid whose played a few games before a terrible injury and those games in the Championship he had the most in form midfielder in the league player playing alongside him

Did I write this? I can't remember doing so but wow it's exactly my thoughts haha, I did write similar on a different post although I used crap rather than poor

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

I'll answer a different question. As an armchair football coach, with no experience of actual coaching whatsoever, what would I say to Peck in the belief it would improve his game & effectiveness.

"You've played in and developed through, elite football academies, including Shirecliffe. You know one of the things you need to succeed is Radar. The ability to look around, before the ball comes to you, so you know where the space is, and who is tight on. You have a good Radar. We know that. You know that. We've seen it. What we're going to ask you to do is focus that Radar on what is happening IN FRONT of you. Not behind. Not to the side. In Front. Today, we're going to put metrics on it. We're going to count the number of times you receive the ball, and move it FORWARDS. Not launch it. Not hit and hope. But move it into space, or a man, in front of you. Into space that you've radared, that you know is there. Be prepared for setbacks. We are. But, we want you to be a key part of a fundamental shift from - just moving the ball on, just being a turntable, towards relentless and progressive forward momentum. You have the skill. You have the ticker. And crucially, you have the Radar. That is what we want. We're counting. And we'll discuss next week."

Probably the most intelligent and insightful posts I've read on here in a good long while.

What's makes it even more impressive is that's on a thread designed to satiate the inadequacies and attention seeking of a poster by bashing and scapegoating one of our own players.

You've managed to rescue it from the gutter and raise it. Well played Sir!

 

[Carlton Blade]

When he first started making cameos, he reminded me of a (poor mans) Berge. He almost always went right but he'd carry the ball forward and always be looking to progress the ball. He'd also be in constant motion, looking to make himself available.

He's been changed into a 'shuffler'. He shuffles the ball from side to side, looking to 'work it' to whoever is at left back to then dink the ball down the line towards Campbell. He's the embodiment of the caution that United have played with for 18 months. Don't take risks, don't play centrally

 

[nopigfansintown]

He's a box to box player. He carries the ball well,, is good in tight spaces and has good short to medium range passing technique. He's far better coming onto the ball than he is running back towards it or receiving it back to goal. If he's involved in attacking play it's generally the pass before the playmaker or the winger. He rarely plays the killer pass. He does have quite a lot of shots but invariably misses the goal. He's a bit nosebleed in the final third. He'll continue to play due to the chronic lack of other options even though he looks in need of a break.

Davies - Crock

Chong - see above

Matos - Extremely.limited stopper.

Soumare - good raw attributes but headless chicken. Wish we had him on a five year contract. If he's coachable could go a long way.

Hamer - doesn't have the basic fitness requirements to play central midfield for a Sunday League team. Also injured - probably as a result of the above

Riedewald - Short term gamble. Obviously not fully fit, but the juries still out.

 

[Nah den]

Not much of one. Said it before but I think he'll shift to right back later in his career.

Don't see this happening at all. Not agile or quick enough. That's not to knock Peck, he just isn't a full back.

 

[Working Class Hero]

He did a sterling job filling in for Arblaster last season, and it would be absolutely fine if he was still the back up, but he clearly isn't good enough (at the moment) to be playing central midfield every week for a club that should be at the top end of the Championship.

That's where the problem lies though, we're not currently a top end Championship club. We've got a group of midfielders that are below the standard or never fit, so Peck has to play most of the time. He's probably playing at about his level or even slightly above it, as are several others, which is why we are where we are.

 

[Nah den]

I'll answer a different question. As an armchair football coach, with no experience of actual coaching whatsoever, what would I say to Peck in the belief it would improve his game & effectiveness.

"You've played in and developed through, elite football academies, including Shirecliffe. You know one of the things you need to succeed is Radar. The ability to look around, before the ball comes to you, so you know where the space is, and who is tight on. You have a good Radar. We know that. You know that. We've seen it. What we're going to ask you to do is focus that Radar on what is happening IN FRONT of you. Not behind. Not to the side. In Front. Today, we're going to put metrics on it. We're going to count the number of times you receive the ball, and move it FORWARDS. Not launch it. Not hit and hope. But move it into space, or a man, in front of you. Into space that you've radared, that you know is there. Be prepared for setbacks. We are. But, we want you to be a key part of a fundamental shift from - just moving the ball on, just being a turntable, towards relentless and progressive forward momentum. You have the skill. You have the ticker. And crucially, you have the Radar. That is what we want. We're counting. And we'll discuss next week."

The one key flaw in this is the 'be prepared for set backs. We are.' They might be, but the fans won't be. One missed/poorly executed pass or through ball and the fans will be on his back and another 5 threads on here created as to why he's shit at playing further forward.

 

[spikeachu]

I'm not going to get hung up on Saturday's pass to Morris. Every player is capable of a brain fart. I'm not even going to criticise him on a personal level for the way he plays. Wilder keeps picking him so he's likely playing as he's told to.

But for me, an arm chair critic, I just don't see what he brings to the team playing this way. I'd go as far as to say he's sometimes detrimental.

For example. When a team turns over the ball and finds their defence 20 yards too far up the pitch, they'd love to have that one player who could be in the right place to hold off the attack by 4 or 5 seconds to allow a defensive shape to be regained before a break away can take place.

Peck might as well be that player for every team we've played this year, such is his lack of forward passing. A few seconds is all that's required to turn a potential 2 v 1 to a 2 v 3 and after our backwards, sideways and back again routine the opponents are back in their two banks of four.

We're not scoring many and there's a lack of movement up front. If the forwards know the ball isn't coming, why make the sprint?

There's almost no attempts from outside the area. So I can only guess we're trying for the high percentage opportunities, but the pedestrian pace we go up the field means there's a low chance of getting into the high percentage positions.

I've digressed, but I'd like to say I can see some underlying reason why we're sticking with this method, but I just don't see anything improving while playing this way. I guess there's an explanation out there from someone with more coaching badges than me.

 

[Wards]

He generally wasn't like this for the age group teams. He was all action with an eye for a game changing pass and the odd goal. He's now become the embodiment of the Chris Wilder pragmatic approach, happy to shift it sideways and backwards. In some ways you need someone to keep the tempo ticking over and there's a time and place to do that. But it shouldn't be the default starting position. His job is to get on the ball and make things happen - he's got that in his locker too. The management needs to get in his ear but it seems they're happy to let him stagnate. I can't imagine he's too happy with how he's being asked to play either.

 

[Ball_Sup (Phil)]

I haven't got any stats. But I'm convinced that United are trying to get Sydie on the end of more set pieces, notably corners. I think they see him as someone the defence won't concentrate on, and will "miss" while they're focusing on Campbell, McGuinness, Mee, Tanganga.

 

[Sean Thornton]

When he first came into the team he looked like a deep playmaker--take the ball off the defenders and get us moving forwards. He looked capable of receiving the ball under pressure/on the half turn, beating the man pressing him, and creating space that way.

Those things have gradually disappeared from his game. He now looks for the easy pass (backwards and to the side), rarely even tries to beat a man, and looks bereft of confidence once he gets in the final third.

Worth asking: is he the only player who seems to have adopted a more cautious and risk-averse style of play in the last 18 months? If the answer is no, why is that happening?

His career is stalling because of the roll he is being asked to play.

 

[Zipwire]

He generally wasn't like this for the age group teams. He was all action with an eye for a game changing pass and the odd goal. He's now become the embodiment of the Chris Wilder pragmatic approach, happy to shift it sideways and backwards. In some ways you need someone to keep the tempo ticking over and there's a time and place to do that. But it shouldn't be the default starting position. His job is to get on the ball and make things happen - he's got that in his locker too. The management needs to get in his ear but it seems they're happy to let him stagnate. I can't imagine he's too happy with how he's being asked to play either.

He’s looked horribly exposed all season without Vinicius Souza alongside him.

He came in to the squad as a makeshift replacement for Arblaster after a handful of substitutions and did ok without being anything special

For me he seems too lightweight at the minute as he seems to get brushed off the ball all too easy, he seems frightened to get on the ball and try and drive forward with it, and doesn’t seem to have the confidence to find half a yard of space and play a ball with intent and always seems to want to take the easy option.

At the minute he looks like a player who is a bit of his depth, partially due to lack of experience and partially due to a lack of confidence. I don’t think he is a Championship midfielder of the standard that is required at the minute and is regressing. He needs taking out of the team as this run of form can only be detrimental to his development

 

[Zipwire]

His career is stalling because of the roll he is being asked to play.

I don’t even think it is that too be honest.

He seems to be weak in the tackle, doesn’t seem to know how to create half a yard of space to look up and pick a positive pass, or able to make a driving run from midfield

There is a footballer in there but I don’t know if it is a lack of confidence or experience that is holding in back so badly at the minute