villarule123 Posted August 3, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted August 3, 2019 Poor Marvelous. He doesn't really stand a chance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillanousOne Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 his goals and set pieces are superb, but i still don't think he is a defensive/deep midfielder or should be but i guess it depends on who we play against. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 Statement of intent today, deserves to start next week imo. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stockport_Villain Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 If that’s what bringing in better players does, all for it. Good performance. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVTuco Posted August 3, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted August 3, 2019 Maybe he'll start next week because of those goals, and I'd hate to miss them... but. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avfc1982am Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 I'm one of his biggest critics as I think he is slow and lightweight at times. He was very good today and his input this season will be invaluable like it was last season. He was our best player in the middle today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villalad21 Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 (edited) Although not a starter will be a very valuable player for us. Both Marvelous and Luiz will make our midfield more solid. Against teams we will dominate the possession Hourihane is great. Edited August 3, 2019 by villalad21 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 (edited) 5 minutes ago, avfc1982am said: I'm one of his biggest critics as I think he is slow and lightweight at times. He was very good today and his input this season will be invaluable like it was last season. He was our best player in the middle today. We are all guilty of looking too much at downsides of players......and not looking enough at the upsides. I haven't seen the goals before I write this, but his left peg is a wand....its such a weapon to the team. Edited August 3, 2019 by TRO 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVTuco Posted August 3, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted August 3, 2019 Just now, villalad21 said: Although not a starter will be a very valuable player for us. Both Marvelous and Luiz will make our midfield more solid. Against teams we will dominate the possession Hourihane is great. I would agree with you. Despite the excellent result, our midfield was invisible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praisedmambo Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 19 minutes ago, Zatman said: That is why he will play most weeks. Dean Smith wants to win games. Goals win games And conceding goals loses them. We need a proper DM. Presumably we've bought one. Therefore Conor is competing with Jack and McGinn. Against good championship teams he looked out of place at DM. Most teams in the Prem will run him ragged in that position. He's not quick enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praisedmambo Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 9 minutes ago, AVTuco said: Maybe he'll start next week because of those goals, and I'd hate to miss them... but. If he starts next week I bet he won't be playing DM by game 3. And we'll all have had a wake up call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KentVillan Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 Worth bearing in mind that the deep central midfield position doesn't always have to be a hard-tackling ball winner. Sometimes it's the more advanced midfielders who do more of the tackling, and the deeper midfielder can sit in the pocket picking out passes (like Carrick, Pirlo, etc). If we're playing a team who run everything through a central number 10 (e.g. Spurs , City) then I agree you want your deepest midfielder to be a busy tackler who can keep that playmaker quiet. But a lot of teams (e.g. Liverpool, Man Utd, a lot of the lower table sides) don't actually have a recognisable playmaker operating between the lines. So your deepest midfielder can be much more of a deep-lying playmaker. In those kinds of games, I see Hourihane as a realistic option, even when Luiz and Nakamba are available. It's not just about whether we're dominating possession or not, it's about the opposition's personnel and tactics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick76 Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 I love this, he's basically saying it's his spot in the team and making it hard for Dean to drop him. You just cant argue with his set pieces. Dean has a really hard job this season picking the team season.....it's a great problem with all the choices but Conor is definitely staking his claim for a first team spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyp102 Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 You have to give Conor a lot of praise. He has worked so hard and keeps on doing so to stay in the team. He won’t play every game, but you know he won’t be sulking about it, he’ll be out there fighting to regain his position 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villianusa Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 He's a Championship player to many, but didn't do too bad against a Champion's League team. His set pieces could be crucial this season, and I believe will get his fair share of playing time this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenjiOgiwara Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 I am trying to give him the chance and he is amazing on set pieces, but I just can't see it working out for him in the DMC role. We are better off using him in rotation with Jack. My biggest gripe with Hourihane at DMC position is that it looks like you can just walk past him with the ball. He doesn't have the urgency, tenacity, work rate or determination I want to see in that role. It would be better for us to utilize a proper DMC and just find a set piece specialist some where else. Maybe even we already got one in say Wesley? No idea. I just think it's weird to stick a player in a key position when he doesn't excel there just cause he maybe possibly can create from a situation we may not get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killeen30 Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 33 minutes ago, VillanousOne said: his goals and set pieces are superb, but i still don't think he is a defensive/deep midfielder or should be but i guess it depends on who we play against. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t see himself as a defensive midfielder either, it’s not his natural position. However if the manager asks him to play there he does to the best of his ability. Everyone knows he’s a more forward thinking midfielder. Great couple of goals today. Well done Conor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HalfTimePost Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 (edited) In a similar way to how I feel about Jack this guy does his best when he has something to prove but also has a tendency to go completely missing in games. Think he'd be a great option on 70 minutes or so if Jack is having a quiet game and hope he can ping a freekick in (I get they are completely different players but if Jack isn't working then I think Connor can bring something different but a slightly similar mentality) Edited August 3, 2019 by HalfTimePost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest av1 Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 Just now, mikeyp102 said: You have to give Conor a lot of praise. He has worked so hard and keeps on doing so to stay in the team. He won’t play every game, but you know he won’t be sulking about it, he’ll be out there fighting to regain his position Agreed. I wasn't a fan last season, my criticism was mainly that i thought he needed to grow a pair of niagras, but to be fair to the guy he stood up when it mattered in the playoffs which in itself showed balls. I can see both arguments with Conor. His supporters will point to his goals and assist stats and argue that those match winning qualities mean he certainly merits his place in the first 11. His detractors will argue that DM isn't his position, he neither offers out an out defensive qualities or the ability to control the tempo of a game from deep. I'm kind of in the middle, first 11? Maybe not (providing Nakamba and Luiz live up to the hype), but I've no doubt he will make a big contribution this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farlz Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 I wouldn't have him starting DM long term but that spot is his now for next week. What he lacks defensively you have to say he makes up for it with his set pieces. First goal was brilliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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