MattVillaPortsmouth

1 minute ago, Zhan_Zhuang said:

No service today, what's the point in playing with a striker?

Wesley liked this post

Wisn he would put as much effort into tactics, team talks and motivation as he does moaning at officials (who by the way largely favoured us) - so far out of his depths it’s becoming funny

Just now, DCJonah said:

Worst half of the season so far for me. 

Disgraceful

Actually agree with you

Tbf we have prob been the better team without threatening - but that’s what you get for having a striker on pitch.  Need to play quicker and higher up, not out of this yet

4 hours ago, Adam2003 said:

Ridiculous story. Work permit rules are about their % placing in a club’s transfer history. Wesley or Luiz would have needed to be in our top 25% value of signings over recent seasons to count those points. So as long as their fee was, say, above £12m that would be absolutely locked in since we had only EVER paid above that fee once before this summer. 

If Wesley and Luiz were worth £5m each and we had paid £12.5m to sign them there could be some credit to the story. The idea it would have any influence above that is nonsense. You just have to read the work permit rules to see that.

That’s not the case, it’s 3 points for Top 25% of fee for All previous season transfers (Mitrovic was 20m), or 2 POints for top 50%. (You can also get 3pts for wages which again is top 25% - same rules).  Needs 4+ points, so we absolutely needed one of either fee or wages

There is a good reason why this clown never got many minutes at Burnley FFS

I keep saying to myself it cant get worse, but this is worse than last week - Brighton are shocking but we are making them look quality.  Hause, Drinkwater, Trez, Nakamba all useless. 

No fight, sorry but that down to manager.

Poor selection, that’s down to manager.

Individual errors he can’t d9 much about.

Seriously needs to up his game, but I also question Terry, surely if DS can’t inspire a team then JT should

Atleast he is trying, not like his midfield partners only one who gets up and down, yep has had a few dodgy touches/passes.

Just now, Dr_Pangloss said:

Don't really care for your cherry picking of the data. Two stats which carry far more weight than the ones you presented are (1) he scored a goal and (2) he made a key pass in the lead up to the second goal. Moreover the eyeball test demonstrated a much better performance. Not saying he was great by any stretch of the imagination however it was a clear improvement on his previous 13 appearances. Which is the point I was making. Your point, that he was essentially doing the same as he always has is borderline delusional.

Difference is back up my claims with facts, you just spout your hatred of all players, presume Trez will get all your attention this week. I have seen all the games with my mark 1 eyeball - he scored a goal not out of nothing but out of progressive build up play (something we have hardly done), and key passes in lead up is the same, can only make a key pass or score if you have decent ball in decent territory. Only a small percentage can on a regular basis make things out of nothing.

 

6 minutes ago, Dr_Pangloss said:

As the saying goes, "that's more like it". The new formation and shape helped, but as an individual he was far more up for it, played with more intensity, moved that bit better which firstly created his first chance, which he probably should have done better with and then his second chance, which he scored from. Very impressed with the one-two with Grealish for the first goal. Very impressed with the ball he played in the build up for the second goal.

The question is whether he can do this consistently, we still very clearly need another forward but this was much better today. I really hope the injury isn't serious and it's just a knock.

Don’t know why, but I will humour you.

His stats from today we’re below is average for passing, pass completion and shit touch (4 today, 2.4 is his average) - those are facts. He covered the same amount of ground as he normally does (factoring in less minutes).

The reason he looked better as we set up and played to his strengths, Jack close to him (but also Nakamba/Luiz further forward), we didn’t hit high balls up to him to control, we hit his feet and put stuff on the deck.  Our wide play was better, as we had options inside to move ball forward quicker.

17 minutes ago, DCJonah said:

Well we can replace 3 players or 1. 

And even with this midfield, put tammy in the team and we will be fine 

A better midfield will make little difference to a player who does nothing well at this level.

Well I only hope we find out one way or another, as I think we can agree (regardless of which way round) something needs to change.

Sometimes a good player just doesn’t fit in a club.

Happy new year and all that jazz, here’s to Wes banging in a few in 2020

1 minute ago, Tomaszk said:

It is easy to swing stats, that's why I prefer to watch games.

Wes is absolutely our biggest concern and we'll be getting relegated if he isn't replaced.

We'll then have many of the same issues building attacks in the Championship because he doesn't know what his job is. He doesn't know where to run, where to stand, how to challenge a long ball.

We could argue all day long, yes he is not great - but the midfield is the biggest issue, I watch enough football to know that

1 hour ago, DCJonah said:

Some other stats that show how he is part of a major problem. 

Only konza, mings and targett average less dribbles past players per game. Our main striker is one of the worst players at beating an opposition player. He can't create things for himself and his inability to beat a man limits what he can do once he gets the ball  

He has easily the highest average of losing the ball due to a bad touch than any other player in the squad. So not only is he limited with the ball, he loses it because of his terrible control more than anyone else. 

His passes per game and pass completion are some of the worst in the squad. 

We know his shots and especially shots on target are woeful.

So we have our lone striker, who isn't good at controlling the ball, passing the ball, dribbling with the ball and scoring goals. Yet some will have you believe it's the formation, the system or the rest of our players. 
 

 

 

Easy to swing stats though.

Average pass - He averages 30 passes per game at 84% completion, mcGinn 28 at 82, Grealish 40 @ 85,%, Luiz 30 @ 85% - hardly “some of the worst in squad”  - I read it wrong, it’s average of 17 @72 so yeah dog toffee

losing ball - on average 2.7 times per match,  Grealish 1.7, Abraham spookily 2.7 times per match (just for shits and giggles), AEG 1.7 - so agreed first touch could be a lot better, but some of the balls we have pinged up to him not many could control - but for context sterling 1.9, Abraham 2.7,  C Wilson 2.4, joelinton 3.8

Dribbles - He averages less than 1 a game (.6) but like you say if he doesn’t get the ball or has rubbish control this is expected. (Connor 0.2, AEG 0.9) and again for shots and giggles - Abraham 0.4 per game, Pukki 0.9, vardy 0.7

So Abraham/Vardy are part of their teams major problems? If we’re judging on those stats - like I said stats can be used however you want them (like I have).

he is an issue, but not our major one

2 minutes ago, DCJonah said:

Honestly can't get my head around these posts. 

We don't score goals. We have a striker that doesn't score. How do you think that isn't a real problem for us?

 

Don’t score goals - only 7 teams have scored more than us, take out top 5 (who always will) scoring is not our main problem! No wonder you can’t get your head around posts, you don’t seem to get your head around stats! 

Possession and Creativity is our issue, but that’s not for this thread.

Like I have said (and others have also) he is not and was never brought to be our main 9 and top scorer - so you judging him by not being is well pretty much pointless.  Judging by your posts I highly doubt you watch the full games and just see no goals scored (or Wes not on scoresheet) and use that as the basis of your posts.  Yes he is not the finished article but he is no way our biggest problem.

Thought I would come on here to see it was all Wesleys fault - never disappointed, wouldn’t surprise me if a few on here don’t even watch the game just post on auto pilot.

For the header - Held ball up well, played it out wide, got in box and got head on ball, put it back against the way the keeper came from - Big ticks for everything you all wanted from him.  Great reactions from foster, yes he could have directed it better or got a bit more power on - but **** me deeney scuffed his first!!

Was again not the real problem today, not by a long shot

Agreed, penalty aside at least he tried And was our best midfielder today, with penalty and Sar goal was busting a gut to get back.  Deeney  was just to clever for the pen, but that comes with experience.

4 minutes ago, PrimevalVillan said:

That goal honestly was luck but it all starts with the team not pushing forward. Elmo had a easy pass to Jota and instead wants to pass backwards to the championship.

Exactly this, the ball was back to Jota cuts out 2 of their players but Elmo doesn’t think that fast so he is left with aimless punt up or ball back.  
We need to be 10-20 yards further up, every other teams seems to be able to play balls forward to their players who can run on to it (either to space or first touch is forward) I can’t recall us doing that once out from back/mid

Jota off for Trez, Lansbury off for Kodja for me

9 minutes ago, useless said:

Lets not pretend that £140m isn't a reasonable amount of money, if Bruce was still here and he had spend that money on the same players and was doing the same job that Smith is doing now, people would be moaning about how he should be doing better with the money he's had.

That’s true, 140m is a fairly sizeable amount to spend in 1 summer, but I think we are a year ahead of where our ‘plans’ thought we would be. By that I mean I presume we expected to push for promotion this year and some of the players we brought were planned for a year in championship to bed in and settle down, others were brought at ‘risk’ to try and keep us up with a slightly increased budget.

was always going to be tough, I think we are there or there abouts on where we can reasonably expect to be, but there is a lot to be said for the way a manager sets out his team and gets best out of what he has, Smith IMO has still to do that.

I only hope ‘some’ in here don’t go watch their children play or even coach them (I say this with 10 years experience as a local club volunteer), I have seen first hand how that has an adverse effect.

just a little bit of time and realism go a long way

11 minutes ago, rodders0223 said:

Anyone who signed off this donkey over Maupay should be getting their P45 in May.

It was instead of, I believe they always wanted someone with Wes (could imagine them both together) and if I was Maupay I would have chosen brighton over us.

Heaton

Freddy      Mings      Konsa      Targett

Nakamba    
 

Luiz    McGinn   Hourihane

Jack

Wes

Subs - Nyland, Hause, Engels, AEG, Kodja, Trez, Elmo

Close between Konsa and Engels, for all good Engels does his pace kills him

midfield not width, but don’t think AEG and Trez are good enough so strongest it is but unbalanced

Morelos, Benrahma and a leader in midfield (happy with loan) gonna cost 45m ish but is minimum what we need.

Giroud, only on loan and as last resort, at 33 is not mobile enough (or has he ever been) for what we need although he is lethal in box (but we don’t cross enough) so yes but not as the one to save us!

3 minutes ago, Tomaszk said:

Grealish is on £70k+ a week.

Wes can't play football. Yes, he will improve, but so would I training with Smith every day. He's starting from a disastrously low level.

The worst signing we've ever made and it's likely going to cost us our Premier League spot. We should be much higher in the table going into these crunch games. With any old average Joe we would have been halfway up the league.

Maybe slightly over the top, I am sure 22m pounds of our owners money, DS and The Brazil Manager beg to differ on your expert opinion

yes he has not been great, but jeez a little bit of realism please

He is doing what he was when we brought him, he is not (and won’t) be a teams top scorer as to me he is more of a forward than a striker.  So needs to either play as a front 2 or have runners off him (playing further up the field, ahead of him). It’s too easy for people to sit back and go ohh look a forward who doesn’t score, he is rubbish it’s his fault we are dropping like a lead balloon - others have said he is by a long shot not our biggest problem.

His strike rate at Brugge was 1 in 3.4, here it is 1 in 3.8, so if he wasn’t scoring bucket loads in a weaker league was never going to do it in a new prem team.

I am by no means saying he is playing well or anything, but our tactics make him (and others) look bad,  smith must be telling him to be so deep (or if not why hasn’t he stopped him). Our players don’t play to his strengths, and that is tactics we are too 1 dimensional and only look for jack.