youngen Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 His performance on Saturday as captain was embarassing. I think the lad has got all the ability in the world to become a very good centre midfielder, but he just doesnt have any desire to get forward, which is a massive shame, as the only time he got forward on Saturday he pinged a great effort which caused the keeper all sorts of problems. With him and Wes in the middle, someone needs to make the decision to take a step into the opposition half, and him being the leader and captain, he should be the one driving forwards, rather than being the safety player. Dean Furman got a lot of stick for being a crab, but I dont see any difference between the 2 at the minute. He needs to up his game if LJ is to persist with what are our 2 best central midfield players. Otherwise LJ needs to make the big decision to drop one of them, and play Harkins or Philiskirk in there, who have the will to get forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4froale Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 the amount of times he has the ball in a shooting position and he decides to look form someone else is frustrating, we all know he can hit them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzlatic Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Not sure I agree that he doesn't get forward enough because he's regularly around the box instrumental in attacks. The problem might be that he's not doing a duxbury and getting on the end of crosses in the box. But we don't have that kind of midfielder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngen Posted March 10, 2014 Author Share Posted March 10, 2014 Not sure I agree that he doesn't get forward enough because he's regularly around the box instrumental in attacks. The problem might be that he's not doing a duxbury and getting on the end of crosses in the box. But we don't have that kind of midfielder. Hes not instrumental in attacks, Harkins is and occasionally Worrall are. If they dont do something, we dont do something. Smith is happy to pick up a cleared 2nd ball 45 yards away from goal and pass it to his full back, rather than getting it 45 yards from goal. He is probably one of our quicker players, yet slows the tempo of a game right down. Its not the style of play we saw early season where everything seemed energetic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudemedic Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 http://www.oldhamathletic.co.uk/stats/player-stats/ Click the drop down box for shots. Oh wait I've broken an the OWTB rule on posting stats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngen Posted March 10, 2014 Author Share Posted March 10, 2014 (edited) http://www.oldhamathletic.co.uk/stats/player-stats/ Click the drop down box for shots. Oh wait I've broken an the OWTB rule on posting stats. 11 shots in 42 appearances from our central midfielder is pretty diabolical to be honest Apologies 16 shots. Still poor. Edited March 10, 2014 by youngen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShakerT Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 We would be a poorer team without Korey Smith, Maybe LJ should be looking for a goalscoring midfielder in the loan market to work along side him. Smith IMO is a better footballer than Wes. I think we should be blaming the tactics rather than the player Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzlatic Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 11 shots in 42 appearances from our central midfielder is pretty diabolical to be honest Apologies 16 shots. Still poor. Genuine question as I don't know and can't be arsed finding out but what is a good number of shots to have had? And what midfielders in our league have achieved that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngen Posted March 10, 2014 Author Share Posted March 10, 2014 (edited) Genuine question as I don't know and can't be arsed finding out but what is a good number of shots to have had? And what midfielders in our league have achieved that? If you are looking at someone scoring goals from midfield, youve got to have a midfielder having a pop at least once every 2 games, right? Hes managing 1 shot in 3 games. Although lets be honest the stat that matters is 1 goal from 42 games. Not good enough. Its not the lack of shooting that concerns me, its his unwillingness to move into attacking space, hes happier dropping backwards off the shoulder to receive it, where hes not in a position to cause another team any danger, rather than playing in the opposition half. I agree Smith with the ball at his feet is a great player and rarely loses it, he could just be a bit more adventurous than ticking the ball sideways from full back to full back. It is poor tactics from the manager to have 2 like minded non-attacking threats in midfield, but Smith has the ability to adapt his game going forward. Edited March 10, 2014 by youngen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitey1980 Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 He is completely lacking in confidence, and that plainly showed in his choice and execution of pass on Saturday. However he remains our best player and captain and needs to shoulder responsibility more than he did within that game. However anybody considering dropping him against a strong and physical Rotherham side who press high up the pitch and will try and force us to drive the ball long into their strengths is crazy in my opinion - and cannot have watched the first game between the teams! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al_bro Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 If you are looking at someone scoring goals from midfield, youve got to have a midfielder having a pop at least once every 2 games, right? Hes managing 1 shot in 3 games. Although lets be honest the stat that matters is 1 goal from 42 games. Not good enough. Its not the lack of shooting that concerns me, its his unwillingness to move into attacking space, hes happier dropping backwards off the shoulder to receive it, where hes not in a position to cause another team any danger, rather than playing in the opposition half. I agree Smith with the ball at his feet is a great player and rarely loses it, he could just be a bit more adventurous than ticking the ball sideways from full back to full back. It is poor tactics from the manager to have 2 like minded non-attacking threats in midfield, but Smith has the ability to adapt his game going forward. I would expect such a player to have 3 or 4 shots a game. His form dipped around the end of last year. Perhaps his agent was touting him around, hence the big offer we turned down. Maybe he was unsettled by it all, and isn't happy about us stopping him moving to the Championship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OAFC_Ryan Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 He is completely lacking in confidence, and that plainly showed in his choice and execution of pass on Saturday. However he remains our best player and captain and needs to shoulder responsibility more than he did within that game. However anybody considering dropping him against a strong and physical Rotherham side who press high up the pitch and will try and force us to drive the ball long into their strengths is crazy in my opinion - and cannot have watched the first game between the teams! We're a million miles away from that side.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Sinnott Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 . His form dipped around the end of last year. Perhaps his agent was touting him around, hence the big offer we turned down. Maybe he was unsettled by it all, and isn't happy about us stopping him moving to the Championship. We all know that if it was a "big offer", we'd have snapped their (rumoured to be Blackpool) hand off... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChaddySmoker Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Well, isn't it a glorious morning with a game tonight to really look forward to enjoying? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slystallone Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 We all know that if it was a "big offer", we'd have snapped their (rumoured to be Blackpool) hand off...I'd heard it was Holloway & Millwall? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BP1960 Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 (edited) I would expect such a player to have 3 or 4 shots a game. His form dipped around the end of last year. Perhaps his agent was touting him around, hence the big offer we turned down. Maybe he was unsettled by it all, and isn't happy about us stopping him moving to the Championship. He's the captain of the team, it's his job to get the best out of players on the pitch - including himself. If he's not capable of doing this leave him out - and give the captaincy to someone who can rally the team. Edited March 11, 2014 by BP1960 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorrro Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 it's his job to get the best out of players on the pitch I thought that was the manager's job? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaticsChris Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 (edited) For what it's worth, these are the football league's official statistics, which seem to conflict with the club website: http://www.football-league.co.uk/page/DivisionalShooting/0,,10794~201325,00.html According to the FL Smith has had 9 on target and 26 off. Edited March 11, 2014 by LaticsChris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BP1960 Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 I thought that was the manager's job? I would have thought on the pitch its the captains job to rally the team, otherwise whats his purpose ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaticsChris Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 I would have thought on the pitch its the captains job to rally the team, otherwise whats his purpose ? This fascination about the captaincy is strange. If you're playing in a team then it's your responsibility to rally your team mates, particularly if you're a senior player. It's a team sport, everyone relies on each other, not just the captain. Anyway I see a lot of encouraging from Smith, he might not bawl and scream but he's always speaking to his team mates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryBosch Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 He's the captain of the team, it's his job to get the best out of players on the pitch - including himself. If he's not capable of doing this leave him out - and give the captaincy to someone who can rally the team. Captain means nothing. We need several leaders out there to constantly be rallying & instructing - Lockwood does this, Tarkowski did, ...... but no-one else does and therein lies another one of our problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryBosch Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 I would have thought on the pitch its the captains job to rally the team, otherwise whats his purpose ? to speak to the referee on behalf of the team when summoned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorrro Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Coin toss and/or choose ends innit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryBosch Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 gets to be the only one wearing an armband with a "c" on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryBosch Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 gets to sit in the middle of the front row on the team photo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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