Matt Targett

[M_Afro]

1 minute ago, Teale's 'tache said:

I'm not Targett's biggest fan, but he does get a bit of a rough deal on here. I thought he looked pretty decent the back end of last season, and we've been in no rush to replace him.

I think the way we play leaves the fullbacks very exposed, particularly the on the left hand side as Jack is allowed a free role, and we ask them to tuck in close to their center back which means they are always going to struggle to block crosses. Matty Cash has started very well, but look who he's had in front of him, Trezeguet the work horse, I'm not saying Targett doesn't have his faults, I'm just saying the way we play really exposes them more than any other player on our team. I think he looks better as a wing back than a fullback and that is why we will likely replace him next summer, but for now he does a job defensively and gives us something going forward. 

I agree with much of this but he does not try anywhere near hard enough to stop crosses coming in. Compare that to Cash. I really feel that it’s partly to do with not having the energy to do it because of poor conditioning. He needs to close down more quickly and aggressively 

[rayk]

I agree. Whilst it would be great to have someone like Rico Henry we cant expect everything this summer’s transfer window. Hopefully he can stay injury free....

[KenjiOgiwara]

12 minutes ago, GENTLEMAN said:

Thought it was 11m

I thought it was £ 14 million rising to £ 17 million. 

[Bazmonkey]

Absolutely needs replacing.

He played the same post lock down.

Such poor positional sense...standing next to mings on the D...backing off.

I'm sorry...not buying the yellow card...that doesn't mean you do all that...you just don't lunge in.

Last night just another example of him not good enough.

The amount of time and space he gave the fulham winger was shocking. Technically he is good but offers nothing.

Everytime the ball gets played wide you can it happening....40 odd crosses..I bet 90% of them were from the right.

Real liability...liverpool will be all over him.

I hate to say it but I'd play Taylor...better defender and by all means still not good enough...but playing Liverpool we ain't going to get much of the ball anyway

[mole86]

8 minutes ago, M_Afro said:

I agree with much of this but he does not try anywhere near hard enough to stop crosses coming in. Compare that to Cash. I really feel that it’s partly to do with not having the energy to do it because of poor conditioning. He needs to close down more quickly and aggressively 

Completely agree with this, it’s clearly been a tactic since lockdown to have a narrower back four. Part of that is accepting more balls will come into the box but it really needs the full backs to get out to the winger quickly and Targett just looks like he’s not got the energy to do it.

The only caveat, which has been mentioned, is that he also doesn’t get anywhere near the same amount of assistance from Grealish as Cash will from the winger the other side. Not a criticism of Grealish, it seems to be how we set up.

[Kingman]

3 hours ago, supermon said:

Is it too controversial to suggest Targett should be dropped for the game against Liverpool, think Taylor would do a better defensive job than Targett. We're unlikely to have much of the ball.

Salah would absolutely destroy Targett on the left.

I would even consider Mings at LB and Elmo CB  for Liverpool,

You just know that Salah will tear Targett a brand new fart box. 

[Pez1974]

The fact that he's now looking like the weakest link in our team means we've progressed quite a lot - early on last season, he was one of the better players.

I think he gets some unfair criticism though - if his positioning was so 'wrong' in the eyes of management, they would be all over him during the game (you can hear them shouting now no fans are in the game), and they'd be correcting it on the training ground, or dropping him. They clearly see/know something I don't.

He needs to improve quite significantly this season though, or he'll possibly be the next Guilbert/AEG - at best squad players and a lot less involved, so as we improve further, they'll be gone.

[Tomaszk]

1 hour ago, Sulberto21 said:

Salah and Mane done a number on the Arsenal wing backs yesterday. I'd play trezeguet from the left on Sunday as he'll be able to help Targett. Fabinho is their main source. I'd put Jack directly on him. 

I agree.

Towards the end of last season Targett suddenly seemed to start winning s lot of headers. He'll need that on Sunday. They play so many long balls over to that side with Salah.

I'd be tempted to start Guilbert there to be honest.

[Lord Willard]

1 hour ago, Kingman said:

I would even consider Mings at LB and Elmo CB  for Liverpool,

You just know that Salah will tear Targett a brand new fart box. 

I think you're nuts to jeopardise Mings and Konsa partnership. 

 

[KenjiOgiwara]

1 hour ago, Kingman said:

I would even consider Mings at LB and Elmo CB  for Liverpool,

You just know that Salah will tear Targett a brand new fart box. 

No way Jose. Mings is everything in how our defence is organised. He barks orders and directs players for 90 minutes. Moving him at left back would be a huge error. 

We need to find the balance between tweaking the tactic and keeping what's our style to maintain some sort of attacking intent, identity and solidity in what we're doing. 

Edited September 29, 2020 by KenjiOgiwara

[gilbertoAVFC]

He's been our weak link since early-mid last season, apart from striker.

He manages to block the cross fairly often but he needs to be 2-3 yards tighter to prevent the opposition even taking the cross. It is roulette whether they get it in when really he should be forcing a pass back to another opponent, and preventing the attempted cross altogether. Agree strongly conditioning is playing a part here. Looks a stone overweight and has done since lockdown.

I think during most of last season he was too far away from Mings, and the coaching staff spotted that and now he is over-compensating by being too narrow. In truth he is not good enough to understand positioning at this level and doesn't have the energy to compensate for it. Please bin him ASAP, won't happen though.

[OxfordVillan]

2 hours ago, KenjiOgiwara said:

I'm not so sure. My biggest issue with Targett is his turn of pace. Whenever an opponent knocks the ball past him, he looks like a walking osteoarthritis patient. While he obviously doesn't have a hip injury, his turning rate is slow at times. 

Against Mane and Salah he will be turn inside out and they will have attempts on goal before he even managed to turn around. 

I’d have to agree that Targett does seem slow, he still doesn’t look like a professional athlete to me. I still think he’s some way short of where he should be in terms of his fitness. Hopefully the club know this and are working to get him into a much improved physical state

[AV82]

I can't help but think he needs to get in the gym. Technically he's brilliant but if he's an inch out of position or a second behind the play he can't make up for it as his athleticism isn't up to scratch.

... Which is frustrating if that is the case. You're a professional athlete and anyone can get stronger/faster with the right backing and regimen.

[Zhan_Zhuang]

I thought Targett was alright post-lockdown.

Against Fulham though he was pretty rubbish which is worrying considering they are a relegation material.

[birdman]

Thought Targett had a decent enough game last night however he still makes me very nervous. He looks nervous himself! The worst thing is his ball watching and he seems to struggle with concentration. I hope it's something the coaching staff are helping him with. 

[Delphinho123]

Trezeguet, Hourihane and Targett are our weak links.
I fully expect Traore to come in for Trezeguet and us to sign a new CM. I don't think we'll replace Targett in this window unless we can do something exceptional in the final few days.

[Sam-AVFC]

32 minutes ago, birdman said:

Thought Targett had a decent enough game last night however he still makes me very nervous. He looks nervous himself! The worst thing is his ball watching and he seems to struggle with concentration. I hope it's something the coaching staff are helping him with. 

I do think a lot of it is mentality with Targett which is why I remain optimistic on him as he definitely has ability. Also he often looks knackered after 15 minutes. 

[rodders0223]

5 hours ago, M_Afro said:

I agree with much of this but he does not try anywhere near hard enough to stop crosses coming in. Compare that to Cash. I really feel that it’s partly to do with not having the energy to do it because of poor conditioning. He needs to close down more quickly and aggressively 

Be interesting to see where we concede from, I imagine we concede more from central areas and shots than headers. I also presume that Targett is being told to tuck in, and then fan out and Mings is more than happy to back himself and Konsa to clear house aerially.

Do people really think he just can't be arsed to block a cross?

[villalad21]

31 minutes ago, rodders0223 said:

Do people really think he just can't be arsed to block a cross?

It isn't happening on the other side.

Regardless what the hell kind of tactics would that be? To just let them cross? Mitrovic had 7-8 attempts yesterday. On another day he could have scored 1-2 goals from them.

Edited September 29, 2020 by villalad21

[WakefieldVillan]

Wasn't great last night by any stretch of the imagination but I don't think he played too badly after lockdown and he is still an upgrade on Taylor (I know, I know!) I can understand views that Taylor is better defensively but his limitations going forward outweighs any positives.

We look like we have a good team spirit right now and the players appear to be bonding very well, obviously the likes of Jack and John are very close, Mings is a key figure in the dressing room and I'm guessing Targett and Grealish know each other pretty well from the International set up (2016 Toulon tournament). Now I'm not suggesting he shouldn't ever be replaced, of course we should always be looking to improve, but I think building a good team spirit and a togetherness goes along way too, therefore I think he's one that we will have to persevere with until the start of the 21/22 season.