How to fix the Scully Conundrum? | Page 4 | Vital Football

How to fix the Scully Conundrum?

nlondonimp said:
unfortunately, to play the modern game, we don't have salah, or a left footer to play on the right wing.
re: rogers, when he gets to the left byline he can cross with his left - unlike the three others mentioned. it is an important difference.
maybe to improve on Liverpool, we could start developing two-footed players capable of playing in either wide attacking position. anyone know why pro footballers can't find the time to practice developing their 'weaker' foot?
Click to expand...
Whoah - some haven't mastered the art with their stronger foot.
 
nlondonimp said:
unfortunately, to play the modern game, we don't have salah, or a left footer to play on the right wing.
re: rogers, when he gets to the left byline he can cross with his left - unlike the three others mentioned. it is an important difference.
maybe to improve on Liverpool, we could start developing two-footed players capable of playing in either wide attacking position. anyone know why pro footballers can't find the time to practice developing their 'weaker' foot?
Click to expand...

I know we don't have those players, but that is the model that Appleton uses. No-one at this level has Salahs and Manes but then our players don't have to attack against Prem DMs or defenders as well. These things are scalable.

On the subject of 2 footed players. Salah and Mane and most "pro" footballers are 2 footed but it makes sense when talking about "every gain counting" to be using your better tools (i.e. stronger foot) more than the weaker one. And then you use those tools in a way that suits your system best. So if you are using these players as wingers you put them in on their traditional sides. If you are using them as wide forwards with the wing back being the width then you switch them to make room as they cut in.

How often do we cross in under Appleton? I mean old school looping crosses from the wing to the centre ? We tend to work angles with short passes and an old school cross is pretty rare.

There is a lot of focus on being 2 footed but at the end of the day it surely makes sense that you would prefer a player to shoot/pass/cross whenever possible with their strongest, more accurate and more consistent foot.

And you are right on the subject of not having a left footed forward in the Rogers/Johnson mould. Has this not always been the case? Good left footed players are much rarer than right footed ones.

I'm sure if Rogers or Johnson or Scully were to play on either side they would be fine on both feet. Just that they would have a tendency to play differently on the right as they would the left and I guess Appleton thinks Rogers is better on the left cutting in OR that Johnson is better on the right.

Johnson has played both sides for us though. From the left he tends to cut inside. From the right he tends to try and beat the full back on the outside.

Maybe that change came about after the Sunderland game where Johnson missed 2 chances at 0-0 from the left side cutting in? small margins and all that.

Rogers is much more disciplined and mostly maintains that left sided position whereas Johnson and Scully are much less rigid. Manager's instructions or player discipline/concentration? Hard to tell at the moment because I feel Johnson and Scully tend to move into areas where Grant would usually be.
 
GreenNeedle said:
I know we don't have those players, but that is the model that Appleton uses. No-one at this level has Salahs and Manes but then our players don't have to attack against Prem DMs or defenders as well. These things are scalable.

On the subject of 2 footed players. Salah and Mane and most "pro" footballers are 2 footed but it makes sense when talking about "every gain counting" to be using your better tools (i.e. stronger foot) more than the weaker one. And then you use those tools in a way that suits your system best. So if you are using these players as wingers you put them in on their traditional sides. If you are using them as wide forwards with the wing back being the width then you switch them to make room as they cut in.

How often do we cross in under Appleton? I mean old school looping crosses from the wing to the centre ? We tend to work angles with short passes and an old school cross is pretty rare.

There is a lot of focus on being 2 footed but at the end of the day it surely makes sense that you would prefer a player to shoot/pass/cross whenever possible with their strongest, more accurate and more consistent foot.

And you are right on the subject of not having a left footed forward in the Rogers/Johnson mould. Has this not always been the case? Good left footed players are much rarer than right footed ones.

I'm sure if Rogers or Johnson or Scully were to play on either side they would be fine on both feet. Just that they would have a tendency to play differently on the right as they would the left and I guess Appleton thinks Rogers is better on the left cutting in OR that Johnson is better on the right.

Johnson has played both sides for us though. From the left he tends to cut inside. From the right he tends to try and beat the full back on the outside.

Maybe that change came about after the Sunderland game where Johnson missed 2 chances at 0-0 from the left side cutting in? small margins and all that.

Rogers is much more disciplined and mostly maintains that left sided position whereas Johnson and Scully are much less rigid. Manager's instructions or player discipline/concentration? Hard to tell at the moment because I feel Johnson and Scully tend to move into areas where Grant would usually be.
Click to expand...
Re: ‘looping’ crossing... we aren’t blessed with heading ability in attack. Hopper yes, mcgrandles yes, but not the rest. So the low 6 yard box cross or cut back is our best bet, and is v difficult to defend when done well, especially if the defence are not prepared for it. Unfortunately as our main option, I think we overplay it a bit, meaning defences are ready for it. A few chipped crosses would keep the opposition guessing.

also if you don’t sign natural wingers, but play strikers wide... they are not going to be as good at crossing. And if you rely on fullbacks to do your ‘looping’ crossing, you need a toffolo, or an eardley. Eyoma/Edun tend to play a pass from wide areas, rather than a cross. Bramall looks capable of the toffolo type cross, and maybe Poole will develop an eardley special in time. Maybe we will also sign a few more technically skilled headers of the ball in the summer - Appleton should get the recruitment team looking for a cross between Rhead and mick Harford in the Dutch 2nd division.
 
nlondonimp said:
Re: ‘looping’ crossing... we aren’t blessed with heading ability in attack. Hopper yes, mcgrandles yes, but not the rest. So the low 6 yard box cross or cut back is our best bet, and is v difficult to defend when done well, especially if the defence are not prepared for it. Unfortunately as our main option, I think we overplay it a bit, meaning defences are ready for it. A few chipped crosses would keep the opposition guessing.

also if you don’t sign natural wingers, but play strikers wide... they are not going to be as good at crossing. And if you rely on fullbacks to do your ‘looping’ crossing, you need a toffolo, or an eardley. Eyoma/Edun tend to play a pass from wide areas, rather than a cross. Bramall looks capable of the toffolo type cross, and maybe Poole will develop an eardley special in time. Maybe we will also sign a few more technically skilled headers of the ball in the summer - Appleton should get the recruitment team looking for a cross between Rhead and mick Harford in the Dutch 2nd division.
Click to expand...
To be fair, I think our heading has been poor throughout the whole team all season. Maybe I just got a little too used to Shackell being under everything, but it certainly feels like we are on the losing side when it comes to aerial battles. And we don't even have the midfield midgets to blame.
 
Anthony Scully is an enigma without a doubt. I love the guy and he clearly knows how to find the back of the net, but not sure the current team structure and style of play suits him. He is wasted out wide (as last night showed) and, IMO, is better as a ‘fox in the box’ type nuisance player nicking goals. Probably does better playing off Hopper than Morton and maybe as part of a front two in a 4-4-2, but we don’t have that structure ATM.
 
hulloutpost said:
He's got excellent character. It was epitomised by the Bramall free kick. He was very much sniffing around it until MA told him to bugger off, which he duly did.

When it went in, he laughed, clapped Bramall and acknowledged MA. Great stuff and attitude from the young man.
Click to expand...
His mental apparoach to the game is one of his biggest attributes to me. Sheer determination on the pitch, and positive attitude on and off the pitch (as far as we can see). He can hit a ball too, which helps.
 
It sounds from Apps interview that he continues to be a bit frustrated by young Scully. I can only think, he thinks there is much more untapped potential
 
I wonder if Scully is being groomed for sale this summer? I could see a bottom half Championship or big spending L1 club seeing a 22 year old with a good L1 scoring record this season as a good investment.

Alternatively, MA could be planning a plan B for next season and sees Scully playing a larger role. Or he thinks Scully can be converted into an out and out wide man?

Either way, I would be disappointed to see him go (especially to another L1 team), and I would be disappointed to see a player of his calibre warming the bench. It truly is a conundrum!
 
markhonesmagicstuds said:
I wonder if Scully is being groomed for sale this summer? I could see a bottom half Championship or big spending L1 club seeing a 22 year old with a good L1 scoring record this season as a good investment.

Alternatively, MA could be planning a plan B for next season and sees Scully playing a larger role. Or he thinks Scully can be converted into an out and out wide man?

Either way, I would be disappointed to see him go (especially to another L1 team), and I would be disappointed to see a player of his calibre warming the bench. It truly is a conundrum!
Click to expand...

The simple fact is that we shall probably lose our current front three, certainly if we are not promoted. Morgan Rogers will doubtless return to Manchester City, unless we do manage a promotion, in which case the powers that decide there might want him to start off on loan with us in the Championship and continue his development under MA; Brennan Johnson is more than likely to break into the Forest first team next season especially after his brilliant season so far with us and I also think that Calum Morton will return to WBA if a) they get relegated or b) they stay up but we get promoted in which case they might let him stay for a while longer under MA's fine tutelage.

My point being, there will be ample opportunites for Anthony Scully at the LNER next season.
 
I thought we might sign Morton permanently tbh. Not sure but can't imagine he'd be quick to get into their side even in a rebuild and with the injury and everything it might be a good opportunity to pick up another player with potential
 
Rasenimp said:
I thought we might sign Morton permanently tbh. Not sure but can't imagine he'd be quick to get into their side even in a rebuild and with the injury and everything it might be a good opportunity to pick up another player with potential
Click to expand...

I like your thinking, there.
 
Rasenimp said:
I thought we might sign Morton permanently tbh. Not sure but can't imagine he'd be quick to get into their side even in a rebuild and with the injury and everything it might be a good opportunity to pick up another player with potential
Click to expand...

He has only just signed a new contract with WBA prior to joining us, so I don't see it myself.
 
Pompeyimp2 said:
This may be controversial but I don't think he's good enough and listening to his interview this morning, not a very positive soul!
Click to expand...
He picked his words very carefully and made sure he said nothing wrong. Reading between the lines he is saying the system doesn't suit him personally as he is more of a goal scorer and would like to be running 'beyond', rather than a hold up player responsible for bringing other individuals into play.

I would imagine MA will be saying to Morton that this is a system that suits the team and the experience of playing within that will improve his all round game.

On that basis I would say it's a symbiotic outcome, but Morton will not be here next year as he will want to play in a side that he feels is better suited to his natural strengths.
 
i remember when morton signed, it was said that part of the development was to give him some experience of playing with his back to goal. wba probably wanted that to make his role more flexible, and we wanted that too. sounds like morton doesn't see it that way.
 
hulloutpost said:
He picked his words very carefully and made sure he said nothing wrong. Reading between the lines he is saying the system doesn't suit him personally as he is more of a goal scorer and would like to be running 'beyond', rather than a hold up player responsible for bringing other individuals into play.

I would imagine MA will be saying to Morton that this is a system that suits the team and the experience of playing within that will improve his all round game.

On that basis I would say it's a symbiotic outcome, but Morton will not be here next year as he will want to play in a side that he feels is better suited to his natural strengths.
Click to expand...

How many teams actually play with an out and out goal scoring forward nowadays who isn't important in linking the play up? I feel like you could get away with it when everyone was playing 4-4-2 but now you just get battered in midfield even in the third tier.

If he wants to go play as Pippo inzaghi I don't feel like it's going to be a long list of suitors looking at him in the summer... the forwards who don't want it back to goal are all playing wide from what I've seen.
 
Rasenimp said:
How many teams actually play with an out and out goal scoring forward nowadays who isn't important in linking the play up? I feel like you could get away with it when everyone was playing 4-4-2 but now you just get battered in midfield even in the third tier.

If he wants to go play as Pippo inzaghi I don't feel like it's going to be a long list of suitors looking at him in the summer... the forwards who don't want it back to goal are all playing wide from what I've seen.
Click to expand...
I was thinking along those lines and apart from Wycombe and Rotherham, both struggling in The Championship, I was struggling to come up with anybody else above our level.
 
Anthony Scully scored his 15th goal of the season at Bristol Rovers today, which is the 114th time a City player has reached 15 in a season. He is the 89th different player to do so, with Jorge Grant being the 88th earlier this season.

The last time City had two players reach 15 in the same season was 2006-07 when Jamie Forrester (18) and Mark Stallard (17) took us to the play-offs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.