| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up 13:20 - Jan 29 with 5945 views | ParkRoyalR |
I think most would agree that Smyth, Armstrong or Willock are worthy of a starting position in the wide positions,
I think most would agree we struggle to transition the ball out of defence, either via the Full-Backs or the two CDM's,
I think most would agree Chair was our most effective player on Sunday with two superb early crosses, one on his left foot and one from wide right (showing the benefit of early balls before defenders have time to get their body-shape right Ilias!),
I think most would agree we saw the best of Chair & Willock when they play narrow and close to each other with their very effective quick interchange of short passes,
So, why, why, why is Chair not playing in the middle as the 10, behind Dykes (ignore that bit) with Smyth on the right, Willock on the Left and Armstrong coming on for last 30 (ignore that bit as this post is about Chair)
Northern maybe rightly thinks this is moving the last few chairs on the Titanic whereas I think there always time to keep looking for the last life-jacket. If we don't make this change, this team is relegated. | | | |  |
| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 13:22 - Jan 29 with 4609 views | Jimthehip |
Chair in the middle for me. Armstrong, Smyth and and maybe Frey in the centre? | | | |
| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 13:26 - Jan 29 with 4568 views | E15Hoop |
Whenever we've played Chair in the middle, he gets crowded out by the opposition, and searched in space mainly completely in vain.
I suspect he's been out on the flanks as much by his own choice as anyone else's. | | | |
| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 13:29 - Jan 29 with 4544 views | ParkRoyalR |
Disagree, he found space on the right yesterday and maybe saved our season. Too easily marked on the left flank when they doubled up on him, Chair has to be given a free role.
If your the oppositions Manager, would you fear Chair on the left flank (where you can double up on him) or have him roving across the front line looking for space in front of your Centre Backs and inside your Fullbacks? | | | |
| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 13:30 - Jan 29 with 4538 views | sprocket |
Every time Chair get the ball he is surrounded by 2-3 opposition players and more often then not he over-runs or is nullified. If we go back 18 months he had Willock/Wallace to support. Willock is a shadow of the player he was then and Paal is not as attacking as Wallace. | | | |
| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 13:32 - Jan 29 with 4513 views | DavieQPR |
See, I don't think Willock is 'worthy' of a starting position. One adequate performance every five or so games is not good enough and he is living of past glories. Agree though that Chair should be in the middle but Armstrong can't cross a ball so we are stuck a bit. | | | |
| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 13:42 - Jan 29 with 4448 views | traininvain |
It’s worth a spin but I’m more in the deckchairs on the titanic camp. Interesting to see us score yesterday from Chair being out on the right on his favoured foot so that we could get the ball in the box quickly without having to cut inside.
Willock (or Smyth) and Chair could be swapping wings at the very least to try and mix things up a bit and give the opposition something to think about. | | | |
| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 13:44 - Jan 29 with 4433 views | ParkRoyalR |
Chair & Willock were at their most effective when they play narrow, as neither have the pace of a Smyth and don't often beat their man on the outside with pace,
Both were most effective as narrow 10's with Dykes pinning back the Centre Backs and the Wing-backs giving the outside option and stretching the Full Backs, giving these two space to play,
We can rotate Willock / Smyth / Armstrong however we like but Chair has to be freed up to receive the ball from the two CDM's as Sunday's only tactic to attack was Cook launching it over the top for Armstrong and that's U12's stuff and getting us relegated. | | | |
| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 13:48 - Jan 29 with 4400 views | ParkRoyalR |
Agree with both your points, can deliver very quick ball from the right and if freed up can do as your 2nd point and rove and interchange with Willock.
Opposition teams say we are easy to defend against, maybe as we lack pace but also we are just too predictable. If I'm an opposition Manager facing this team right now, my Plan A is Stop Chair and we make this very easy for the opposition to do by playing him wide on the left flank. | | | |
| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 13:51 - Jan 29 with 4385 views | sdm1508 |
I think the biggest problem with Chair at the moment is he is trying to do too much. Yes he is our most creative outlet but he tries to do too much and is predictable. The game where he came on as sub, he was superb because he did many different things. Early crosses, early passes, down the line, cutting inside etc
So many times in recent games and yesterday where he thought he had to beat the man twice. He could go with the easy pass then run into space to receive the ball back. We have a new striker who looks useful (I know only YouTube clips) but how is he supposed to know when to make a run when Chair goes to cross and then cuts back in again or feints and goes the other way. It's one of the reasons Smyth made a such a difference in games when he has come on etc, get gets the ball, beats the man and gets the cross in | | | |
| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 14:02 - Jan 29 with 4278 views | stainrods_elbow |
I would hope Marti will play people in their best positions for the run-in. For me, that has to Frey up top, Armstrong a wide forward/left winger (as we saw him operate with devastating effect in the Cup against Bournemouth), Smyth wide right, and Chair in a free role/the hole. Willock doesn't deserve to start, and neither does Dykes. | |
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| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 14:03 - Jan 29 with 4282 views | ParkRoyalR |
Chairs has always played this way,
Gray & Austin used to kick-off with him about, Dykes is just too nice and does'nt have it in him to kick-off, but any Centre Forward is always going to struggle with this, but if Chair's in the middle feeding Smyth and Willock we're a harder team to defend against as we have different facets to our attack. | | | |
| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 14:11 - Jan 29 with 4243 views | Mole_Senior |
Agree 100% with the OP and for the life of me can't see why we're not playing Chair (in what I believe) in his best position.
Surely we have to build a team around him and I feel that Willock is best from the left and Smyth from the right.
Sorry, but Dyke in behind Armstrong is not working. | | | |
| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 14:20 - Jan 29 with 4212 views | ParkRoyalR |
Obviously I agree and the decision is then do you play Armstrong with his pace in behind or play Dykes to tie up the two Centre Backs and create space for Chair & Willock to play on the edge of the area which was how Warburton played and would be my preference as Smyth gives you pace and Dykes offers more all-round than Armstrong and not un-importantly in defending set-pieces. | | | |
| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 14:22 - Jan 29 with 4200 views | Northernr |
We are not Ilias Chair playing in a slightly different position away from staying up. | | | |
| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 14:24 - Jan 29 with 4190 views | daveB |
When Chair does play in the middle he usually struggles for space and ends up drifting wide anyway, him on the left is not the problem | | | |
| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 14:26 - Jan 29 with 4174 views | Mole_Senior |
We always talk on here about small margins and I believe we're a small tweak away from getting it right!  | | | |
| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 14:26 - Jan 29 with 4163 views | Northernr |
We've won ten times in 62 games across nearly a year and a half.
This post has been edited by an administrator | | | |
| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 14:35 - Jan 29 with 4106 views | ParkRoyalR |
I think you'd accept that's an opinion rather than a statement of fact.
I'd counter Chair played in a different position yesterday late-on and instead of us now being 6 points behind and terminally cut-adrift we are only 3 points behind 4th bottom.
This is because Chair found space on the right, that defensive side was'nt pre-drilled all week into doubling up on him and he put in a very rare collectors items which he can do from the right, a 1st time cross!
Our tactics and substitutions at Millwall away didnt help us, our zonal marking at Cardiff at home didnt help us, our Manager is learning from these mistakes and has made changes for the better.
Luke Freeman carried our team to victory against a very good Leeds side, Ilias Chair can do this and needs more of the ball in a free role before I accept relegation. | | | |
| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 14:44 - Jan 29 with 4055 views | daveB |
He was on the right because we had a free kick that was cleared to him, he hadn't changed positions
You don't have to accept relegation but Chair swapping positions is not going to make much of a difference other than having to find someone else to play on the left | | | |
| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 14:45 - Jan 29 with 4046 views | TheChef |
Pffft yeah. And? | |
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| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 14:50 - Jan 29 with 4012 views | ParkRoyalR |
Smyth was very effective and player of the Season for the O's on the Left (albeit League 2)
Willock can play on the Left, some would argue Armstrong also can, but I disagree on that one,
Regardless as to why he was on the right in space, he was there, he found space, he put in a first time cross which he struggles to do on the Left and he arguably saved our season (or at least kept us alive to fight another day),
Small margins and key moments but it made a big difference yesterday, that's a fact and not an opinion,
And on that evidence I'd do whatever I could to get him in more space on the pitch and free from the shackles of two defenders on the left flank. | | | |
| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 14:54 - Jan 29 with 3991 views | daveB |
do you think he won't have 2 men on him if he plays in the middle?
Teams will be pressing him and forcing him into mistakes.
On the left yesterday he put in several good early crosses that as ever our team did nothing with | | | |
| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 14:54 - Jan 29 with 3990 views | robith |
Paal can be plenty attacking. My personla view, but i don't think he trusts Chair to track on him, or has been ordered to stay back by Marti | | | |
| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 14:57 - Jan 29 with 3973 views | traininvain |
If it quacks… | | | |
| Chair in the Middle - Last Hope of Staying Up on 15:01 - Jan 29 with 3942 views | BrianMcCarthy |
Fair point...and the only reason he had space was precisely that: because it was broken play after a free kick.
No matter where Chair goes he's going to be double marked in open play. Because he's our main threat by a distance. (nominated for another award today). Play him at 10 or coming deep through the centre and they'll double-mark him there.
Besides which, there is absolutely no way we can afford the luxury of a free player in this eleven. This is not Taarabt and Warnock's supporting cast of ten. | |
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