Pilchard Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 (edited) I don't think there was much he could have done in this specific situation though. Agreed - IMO the frequency of these injuries is more down to a style of defending that as a club we have employed over the past number of years which is the last minute lunge and throwing bodies at balls rather than perhaps a more tactical approach. Having said that, as a player with rather limited ability I don't think he or his defensive pals could manage a more tactical approach. Edited January 15, 2014 by Pilchard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electric Avenue Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Getting sick of reading the abuse this young lad gets from Villa fans. I think he's doing just fine, is brave as they come and if he gets a run with Vlaar we'll see just how much potential Nathan has. Give the kid a break. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foreveryoung Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Getting sick of reading the abuse this young lad gets from Villa fans. I think he's doing just fine, is brave as they come and if he gets a run with Vlaar we'll see just how much potential Nathan has. Give the kid a break. Exactly! Problem is the whole team are doing. "just fine". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobzy Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Getting sick of reading the abuse this young lad gets from Villa fans. I think he's doing just fine, is brave as they come and if he gets a run with Vlaar we'll see just how much potential Nathan has. Give the kid a break. Exactly! Problem is the whole team are doing. "just fine". fine1 fʌɪn/ adjective 1. of very high quality; very good of its kind. "this was a fine piece of film-making" synonyms: excellent, first-class, first-rate, great, exceptional, outstanding,admirable, quality, superior, splendid, magnificent, beautiful, exquisite,choice, select, prime, supreme, superb, wonderful, sublime,superlative, very good, of high quality, of a high standard, second to none, top, rare; More 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foreveryoung Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Getting sick of reading the abuse this young lad gets from Villa fans. I think he's doing just fine, is brave as they come and if he gets a run with Vlaar we'll see just how much potential Nathan has. Give the kid a break. Exactly! Problem is the whole team are doing. "just fine". fine1 fʌɪn/ adjective 1. of very high quality; very good of its kind. "this was a fine piece of film-making" synonyms: excellent, first-class, first-rate, great, exceptional, outstanding,admirable, quality, superior, splendid, magnificent, beautiful, exquisite,choice, select, prime, supreme, superb, wonderful, sublime,superlative, very good, of high quality, of a high standard, second to none, top, rare; More Maybe you used the incorrect word then. cause I very much doubt any of these words above describe Bakers ability as a football player!! Dont get me wrong I dont dislike the guy he grafts. But his graft shows a very average player who is not Premiership quality. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 He has been poor this season compared to what he was showing at the end of the last one. Mind you Clark looked a car crash at this stage last season and we've seen big improvement from him so you never know. CBs do develop at funny rates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kwan Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 I don't know. Clark's problems last year were that he tried to get too cute when he was on the ball, he didn't use his physicality well, and he got bullied by bigger forwards. He seems to be putting his foot about more and cut out his problems in possession. But he still read the game well, intercepted the ball and didn't let his man get behind him too much. Baker's strong and brave. Good in the air and at a last ditch tackle. But will he learn to be better on the ball? Can he improve more than Clark in reading the game and not letting his man get behind him (Long at WBA is a good example)? I don't know 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappy Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 I don't know. Clark's problems last year were that he tried to get too cute when he was on the ball, he didn't use his physicality well, and he got bullied by bigger forwards. He seems to be putting his foot about more and cut out his problems in possession. But he still read the game well, intercepted the ball and didn't let his man get behind him too much. Baker's strong and brave. Good in the air and at a last ditch tackle. But will he learn to be better on the ball? Can he improve more than Clark in reading the game and not letting his man get behind him (Long at WBA is a good example)? I don't know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 starting to grow a beard by looks of it, he knows the way to be a cult hero Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam_ Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 I think he played well when he came on last night, solid performance although I still worry every time he is near the ball haha. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVTuco Posted January 30, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted January 30, 2014 starting to grow a beard by looks of it, he knows the way to be a cult hero Haha, yes, he probably thinks this is a way to get more starts. Worked for Luna. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kwan Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Please no more Nathan. You're only young for so long Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srsmithusa Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Nathan, most here agree, is brave and tackles with authority, but I also agree that he seems to have a bit of trouble reading the match, anticipating, etc. I'm wondering if someone has stats to support this perception? Interceptions for example. I may be wrong, but he seems to read better when playing with 3 (or 5) in the back. Or does it just seem that way because of the difference in the formation, spacing? Those of you who coach, is there a way, besides playing time, to teach a defender to read the game better? Put him for hours in the middle of a 3 man keep away? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntrimBlack Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 He has a heart like a lion, but I really wonder if he is good enough for this level. Might be too soon to tell, but we certainly need to bring in another CB in the summer, as he is not, at this stage, good enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVTuco Posted February 10, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted February 10, 2014 He has a heart like a lion, but I really wonder if he is good enough for this level. Might be too soon to tell, but we certainly need to bring in another CB in the summer, as he is not, at this stage, good enough. I still don't think so. Had Okore not injured himself so badly, we would've been ok. Baker as 4th choice is good enough in my opinion. Obviously if we have money, then go for it. But I hear we're lacking in funds a bit, so we must use them efficiently. I would use our limited funds to buy two quality midfielders and sign Bertrand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntrimBlack Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 (edited) He has a heart like a lion, but I really wonder if he is good enough for this level. Might be too soon to tell, but we certainly need to bring in another CB in the summer, as he is not, at this stage, good enough. I still don't think so. Had Okore not injured himself so badly, we would've been ok. Baker as 4th choice is good enough in my opinion. Obviously if we have money, then go for it. But I hear we're lacking in funds a bit, so we must use them efficiently. I would use our limited funds to buy two quality midfielders and sign Bertrand. You are probably correct. My worry is that Okore, though I have high hopes for him, is as yet unproven, and Vlaar is so important his absences cause real problems in a vital area, and I do not feel confident with Baker coming in in those circumstances. In a perfect world - the 3 you have mentioned, a CB and a right full back of Bertrand's standard. One can dream. Edited February 10, 2014 by AntrimBlack 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliffy Biro Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 I wouldn't abuse the lad but hes very average/poor, hes a brute and you cant fault the commitment but sometimes that isn't good enough. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVTuco Posted February 11, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted February 11, 2014 He has a heart like a lion, but I really wonder if he is good enough for this level. Might be too soon to tell, but we certainly need to bring in another CB in the summer, as he is not, at this stage, good enough. I still don't think so. Had Okore not injured himself so badly, we would've been ok. Baker as 4th choice is good enough in my opinion. Obviously if we have money, then go for it. But I hear we're lacking in funds a bit, so we must use them efficiently. I would use our limited funds to buy two quality midfielders and sign Bertrand. You are probably correct. My worry is that Okore, though I have high hopes for him, is as yet unproven, and Vlaar is so important his absences cause real problems in a vital area, and I do not feel confident with Baker coming in in those circumstances. In a perfect world - the 3 you have mentioned, a CB and a right full back of Bertrand's standard. One can dream. Dream is all we have. It's true I rely on Okore to be as good as we think, or hope. If he isn't, then it changes my opinion. But I believe he is. Contrary to many others here, I like Bacuna at RB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted February 11, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted February 11, 2014 I wouldn't abuse the lad but hes very average/poor, hes a brute and you cant fault the commitment but sometimes that isn't good enough. I wouldn't necessarily disagree. But as others have said or alluded to, baker should really be 4th choice. And for where we are, he's not a bad defender to have as your 4th choice CB. Our problem is one of the guys in front of him got a horrible injury, and another is injury prone. Baker gets used more than he should, really. Can't fault the commitment though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Great at last ditch tackles/saves but his inadequacies put him in the situations where he needs to do this in the first place. Plus he's a walking free kick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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