Max Ehmer | Vital Football

Max Ehmer

alex_farrells_left_peg

alex_farrells_left_peg

Vital Squad Member
I would just like to go on record as saying that I always had my doubts about Max and his actual footballing capacity. In spite of everything positive anyone else had to say about him, I just could not stop the alarm bells in my head, to my mind he was just a "hoof boy". This season has changed things and I have finally seen the light (after 350 odd games). I am not sure whether it is because the team is a lot better than anything we have had in the past 10 years but I have to say that this season, he has been magnificent and the Sutton game was proof of this. He was bloody "massive" in defense. He put his body on the line a few times, his distribution was mainly targeted and I am now glad that he was offered (and accepted) the new contract. Max, I apologise to you for doubting you and will be shouting your name (at the pc) for the duration of your stay at our club. You wear the shirt with pride and..... we are proud to have you in the team.
 
Always liked Max as a calm, professional, defender who does the simple stuff very well and is consistently in the right place to break up or block an attack. His torrid time in Bristol damaged him, of course, but thankfully he is now back and better than ever. Quickly became a target for criticism from some when we were struggling but, his attitude and commitment are undeniable and never drops. A great role model for our younger players to learn from.
 
I’ve always rated Max (from afar) and he was our CB for the 2 live games I saw back in 2016. Both games he seemed calm, assured and a rock.

But I rate him highly for the simple reason he’s clocked up that amount of games under multiple different managers. Every one of them has picked him ahead of any CB competition we’ve had. He’s virtually never been “dropped”. And that’s been mainly in L1.

The only manager who has not rated him and dropped him was Joey Barton. That puts Max even higher in my esteem.
 
alex_farrells_left_peg said:
I just could not stop the alarm bells in my head, to my mind he was just a "hoof boy". This season has changed things and I have finally seen the light (after 350 odd games). I am not sure whether it is because the team is a lot better than anything we have had in the past 10 years but I have to say that this season, he has been magnificent and the Sutton game was proof of this.
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Defensively, he's been excellent to start this season, and to his credit, he absolutely was one of our better players to finish last year too. It wasn't just the eye test - the statistics backed him up hugely.

With a decent CB partner next to him, in Masterson and now Ogie, he's an experienced defensive asset with a canny knack of intercepting passes. Nobody could fault him on that front with any credibility right now, which is what you want from your backline.

However, I've always had that concern about his distribution and ironically I thought the very opposite of you at at Sutton. For me, Max was guilty (especially in the first half) of long, aerial balls out from the back which were aimed centrally. That's Centre Back Soup for the opposition. His passing success % through 3 league two games this year is 57.9% (think about that in context and how many CB passes are often just side-to-side). Against Sutton, I looked it up - he hit 13 long balls of which only 2 retained possession. To be fair to Max, I didn't notice it as much as Stockport, but for me, he's a wise head who should be able to recognise the percentages and understand that in that kind of game, holding the ball is vital to managing the tempo of what comes back at you.

With Ethan Coleman (and Dieng on Tuesday) in front of him, I'd love to see him just get it down a bit more at times, and build. Several times he smacked it long, he actually had much more time. Coleman is a potentially very good link player with his mobility. Or if the ball does go long, strategically, at the very least keep them out wide, so it's more likely to be headed out for a throw in than just lumped on a CB's noggin back up the field - full backs won't be heading it back infield. Sutton kept bringing the ball back into our half quickly and directly. It needed a savvy head to lift some pressure and he's the guy that needs to do that for us.

I accept he's is never going to made out to be a ball playing CB. And - full disclosure - perhaps he's being coached to play out like that? (Ogie had roughly similar numbers of long balls that game - but to be fair, he completed 5 of 9). But it's literally the one thing if he addressed, as our veteran centre back, that would round off his game for me. It's something he could help Ogie with too, right?

But for clarity - I have absolutely no other quibbles - his defensive game throughout 2023 has been terrific. I'm glad he's part of the squad.
 
I've always felt with Max that his physical stature belies the fact that in essence he is a totally 'no-nonsense' defender. I don't mind a centre back putting his foot through the ball when he can to be honest - and though yes I think sometimes the better pass would be a ball into midfield and playing through the lines that way, how many of us have actually ever seen a Gills team play that way?

I've also always felt Max was as good as his defensive partner, whoever that was at the time. He's been part of a shaky looking back line with some defensive rotters (the one that sticks in my mind is Chris Herd) and some seriously solid ones alongside some really good defenders (Egan, Masterson, Ogilvie, Tucker). He hasn't really changed his style of play with any of them, but simply looks better/more comfortable with a better unit around him. Not surprising maybe, but the way some talk about him is as though he's a weak link. He won't ever be a standout player, but it's very rare for him to be the worst either. He's made a few errors over the years, but show me a defensive player that hasn't underhit a backpass or lost a man at the back post in 300 games.

You don't play as many games for the club as he has without being a proper professional, and I wouldn't be stunned to see him see out his career at the club now. He's had a taste of another club and quite frankly it was rank.
 
Max has always been a perfectly good league one and two defender.
I’ve never understood why some had a downer on him.
A keeper’s job is to keep the ball out of the net, by any means.
A defender’s job is to defend.
Max has always been a good defender.
Sure his outball isn’t that brilliant but that’s often on the midfield not showing for the easy pass.
This season, the midfield is better quality and he’s not clearing long so much.
His days as an automatic starter may be numbered but that’s not on him, it’s because the youngsters are quicker.
 
All the while he wears the shirt, Max gets my total support - he played an effective physical game against a robust and physically strong Sutton.

Appears that, knowing the physical make up of Sutton, NH put out a team that maybe he challenged to battle it out with the opposition. We came good in that regard, a solid hard fought performance - none less so than Max.

Great that we now seem to have a far richer horses-for-courses stable, and can adapt better, dependent on the opposition.
 
madrid_gill said:
12th in the all-time appearances list for the club, and barring injury, will surely overtake Hessy, Southall and Yeo to move into the top 10 this season

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Another couple of seasons after this one and he'd be up around the 500 games mark for the club at around 34 years of age, which is doable. That'd be extraordinary in this day and age - I hope he gets there.

Paul Smith is the highest appearance maker in my time as a Gill, but quite amazing that 3 of the top 11 (Smith, Hess and Trigger) were all with the club for so long at more or less the same time! Barry Ashby not far behind either. What amazing consistency that squad had.
 
NWBluesFan said:
Defensively, he's been excellent to start this season, and to his credit, he absolutely was one of our better players to finish last year too. It wasn't just the eye test - the statistics backed him up hugely.

With a decent CB partner next to him, in Masterson and now Ogie, he's an experienced defensive asset with a canny knack of intercepting passes. Nobody could fault him on that front with any credibility right now, which is what you want from your backline.

However, I've always had that concern about his distribution and ironically I thought the very opposite of you at at Sutton. For me, Max was guilty (especially in the first half) of long, aerial balls out from the back which were aimed centrally. That's Centre Back Soup for the opposition. His passing success % through 3 league two games this year is 57.9% (think about that in context and how many CB passes are often just side-to-side). Against Sutton, I looked it up - he hit 13 long balls of which only 2 retained possession. To be fair to Max, I didn't notice it as much as Stockport, but for me, he's a wise head who should be able to recognise the percentages and understand that in that kind of game, holding the ball is vital to managing the tempo of what comes back at you.

With Ethan Coleman (and Dieng on Tuesday) in front of him, I'd love to see him just get it down a bit more at times, and build. Several times he smacked it long, he actually had much more time. Coleman is a potentially very good link player with his mobility. Or if the ball does go long, strategically, at the very least keep them out wide, so it's more likely to be headed out for a throw in than just lumped on a CB's noggin back up the field - full backs won't be heading it back infield. Sutton kept bringing the ball back into our half quickly and directly. It needed a savvy head to lift some pressure and he's the guy that needs to do that for us.

I accept he's is never going to made out to be a ball playing CB. And - full disclosure - perhaps he's being coached to play out like that? (Ogie had roughly similar numbers of long balls that game - but to be fair, he completed 5 of 9). But it's literally the one thing if he addressed, as our veteran centre back, that would round off his game for me. It's something he could help Ogie with too, right?

But for clarity - I have absolutely no other quibbles - his defensive game throughout 2023 has been terrific. I'm glad he's part of the squad.
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Excellent analysis. Agree 100%
 
Remember when Peter Taylor took over the first time and played some interesting defensive combinations before recalling the old guard. Very few of us remembered that Butters had played much higher up the chain, fewer still realised That Ashby could play a bit when required. I think Max is a better footballer than some give credit for but he certainly did plenty of hoofing when we were dire because he needed too,

it's a difficult habit to break but I'd rather the hoof than the stumble. Early in his career with us Max sometimes appeared too laid back and got caught out dwelling on the ball or banking on it going out of play. He's sorted all that out and is pretty solid for me. His stand out ability is to hit a clearance on the turn, falling to the ground and over his head. He's more agile than his physique suggetsts.

I hope he gets a few chances on goal because his intincts are better than many strikers. I'd back him against a few, no names. He's not quick but he's strong, experienced and I'd back his judgement against those wanting short passes. I too hope he makes the 500
 
JoeScout said:
I've always felt with Max that his physical stature belies the fact that in essence he is a totally 'no-nonsense' defender. I don't mind a centre back putting his foot through the ball when he can to be honest - and though yes I think sometimes the better pass would be a ball into midfield and playing through the lines that way, how many of us have actually ever seen a Gills team play that way?
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I'm chewing on old fat here but those of us who are 30 + have seen a Gills team who played that way. I'm almost scared to put it down in words but (here goes) the team Mark Stimson put together played some of the sweetest football I had ever seen. It was fast, played mostly on the ground and this was being done
by a good few players who were much maligned for being plucked out of the semi-prof ranks. In spite of the he still managed to get us promoted. Okay, Stimson was not loved by the Gills fans had other personal traits that certainly did not work in his favour however, for that one season, the Gills were a delight to behold.
 
jogills said:
he's strong, experienced and I'd back his judgement against those wanting short passes.
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It's about contextual passing, not "short passes", carte blanche. If all he ever did was knock it sideways, teams would adapt to counter that too.

There should be no animosity amongst a fan base to look objectively at this. It's not 'for or against' Max. His long ball success rate was 15% at Sutton and frequently it came back quickly - it should be ok to consider mixing it up.
 
alex_farrells_left_peg said:
I'm chewing on old fat here but those of us who are 30 + have seen a Gills team who played that way. I'm almost scared to put it down in words but (here goes) the team Mark Stimson put together played some of the sweetest football I had ever seen. It was fast, played mostly on the ground and this was being done
by a good few players who were much maligned for being plucked out of the semi-prof ranks. In spite of the he still managed to get us promoted. Okay, Stimson was not loved by the Gills fans had other personal traits that certainly did not work in his favour however, for that one season, the Gills were a delight to behold.
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True, I'd erased the Stimson era mentally I must admit. We did still have Gary Richards as a part of that side though, who could best be described as agricultural! I don't recall us playing out from the back too much during those times if I'm honest, we just had a lot of pace and power up front and kept the ball well in the final third. The front three of Oli, Jackson and Barcham caused anyone a problem, a great side to watch as you say.
 
JoeScout said:
True, I'd erased the Stimson era mentally I must admit. We did still have Gary Richards as a part of that side though, who could best be described as agricultural! I don't recall us playing out from the back too much during those times if I'm honest, we just had a lot of pace and power up front and kept the ball well in the final third. The front three of Oli, Jackson and Barcham caused anyone a problem, a great side to watch as you say.
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I'll see your Gary Richards and raise you a Simon King..... that man playing alone could do a pretty decent job... just a shame he was crocked so early in his career. He's a posty now I believe. What an utter waste of a (then) terrific footballer.
 
I remember Harris talking about styles of leadership in captains last season, O'Keefe very vocal, Williams less so but leads by example etc. He then mentioned that Max is very level headed " never gets too carried away with a win but never gets too downbeat after a loss " was roughly the quote. Near the end of the Accrington game Ogie made an interception and we broke up the pitch, he looked at Max and got a nod of approval I bet Ogie and Masterson love playing alongside someone with Max's experience and learn plenty from him.
 
Billy_Bleach said:
I remember Harris talking about styles of leadership in captains last season, O'Keefe very vocal, Williams less so but leads by example etc. He then mentioned that Max is very level headed " never gets too carried away with a win but never gets too downbeat after a loss " was roughly the quote. Near the end of the Accrington game Ogie made an interception and we broke up the pitch, he looked at Max and got a nod of approval I bet Ogie and Masterson love playing alongside someone with Max's experience and learn plenty from him.
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That shines a light on him that some of us, including myself, have never really seen and surely gives food for thought.
 
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