Naismith | Vital Football

Naismith

Made in Wigan

Vital Champions League
Not a question i thought I’d ever ask with genuine concern, however does anyone know why Naismith was subbed? I assume injury?
 
We reverted back to long ball after he went off. I can understand he makes a difference bringing the ball out but everyone has been trying to pass the ball out lately so I can't understand how everyone around him suddenly stopped doing what they were previously doing due to one player not being on. I thought Naismith was coping well with Jukewitz before he went off too which speaks volumes about how well he's adapting. I'd like to see him back in the side at centre back if fit for the next league game but i get the feeling Cooks been itching to get Dunkley back in so it wouldn't shock me if Naismith doesn't get back in unfortunately.
 
Could actually get clubs looking at him in this position , a team that plays out from the keeper he would fit write in and he brings the ball out very compliantly as well and his defending will only improve .
Imagine a 5/6 m bid in for him .. egg on some faces ..
 
We reverted back to long ball after he went off. I can understand he makes a difference bringing the ball out but everyone has been trying to pass the ball out lately so I can't understand how everyone around him suddenly stopped doing what they were previously doing due to one player not being on. I thought Naismith was coping well with Jukewitz before he went off too which speaks volumes about how well he's adapting. I'd like to see him back in the side at centre back if fit for the next league game but i get the feeling Cooks been itching to get Dunkley back in so it wouldn't shock me if Naismith doesn't get back in unfortunately.

Not to shit on Dunkley, the guy is a rock when balls are put into each box, he is good at what he does, but it's no shock we go long when he's in the team, he can't pass or is not comfortable on the ball to play that way. Naismith is a completely different player at centre back, and I hope he starts to see centre back as his primary position.
 
Could actually get clubs looking at him in this position , a team that plays out from the keeper he would fit write in and he brings the ball out very compliantly as well and his defending will only improve .
Imagine a 5/6 m bid in for him .. egg on some faces ..

As well as he's done I don't think multi million bids will be coming for quite a while yet! He might not even play CB again for us knowing Cooks approach.
 
Could actually get clubs looking at him in this position , a team that plays out from the keeper he would fit write in and he brings the ball out very compliantly as well and his defending will only improve .
Imagine a 5/6 m bid in for him .. egg on some faces ..
Is playing out from the keeper that passing backwards and sideways with the odd forward pass that so many sides try to play then get caught in possession and lose the ball whilst half the fans have fallen asleep? The Byrne to Kipre to Naismith to Robinson to Morsy to Evans then back to Kipre to Naismith to Morsy to Evans to Byrne three yards up field from where the move started.
God that is so dull and equally as shit as the big boot game.
 
Last edited:
The other thing that looked worrying to me was without Naismith alongside, Kipre seemed to regress into the uncertain ‘skewed heading‘ panic sliced clearances that he was committing prior to his initial omission from the team.

Aah...owd thripenny bit yed re-emerged zeb.
 
Is playing out from the keeper that passing backwards and sideways with the odd forward pass that so many sides try to play then get caught in possession and lose the ball whilst half the fans have fallen asleep? The Byrne to Kipre to Naismith to Robinson to Morsy to Evans then back to Kipre to Naismith to Morsy to Evans to Byrne three yards up field from where the move started.
God that is so dull and equally as shit as the big boot game.

Disagree Jeff...I do believe we play that out from the back game better than most and has coincided with our improved performances. And I do think Naismith is the axis around which this improvement has pivoted.
He is without doubt a lovely balanced footballer who has found a suitable slot to display his not inconsiderable talent.
 
Personally I think Naismith is proving to be an excellent CB.

First to admit that the first time I saw him at CB on the team sheet, it was a massive WTF moment but he's proved me wrong completely. He looks like the most competent CB we have (Mulgrew excluded maybe) and will only get better the more he plays in the position.

Not sure I buy multi million bids for him just yet, but to say I've been very impressed is an understatement. His composure on the ball has been one of the major contributing factors to our playing better football of late.

To be fair, I never had any sort of downer on him. I've always actually liked him as a player when he was played in his natural position as an out-and-out winger, since he's probably the best crosser of the ball we have, but at CB he looks even better. Not just his own game but he seems to be able to manage Cedric better than anyone else as a partner and Cedric's looked a much better player since Kal stepped into the defence as well.

I seriously hope that the injury is minor and Kal's back very soon.

Dunkley is a good old fashioned 'stopper' but I think he's guilty of a lot of hoofing, and maybe lacks the ball skills for this level of football. No issues with Dunkley... he is what he is and there's no question mark on his effort or commitment... But I'm not sure he's what we need at this level (goals aside, obviously).
 
Is playing out from the keeper that passing backwards and sideways with the odd forward pass that so many sides try to play then get caught in possession and lose the ball whilst half the fans have fallen asleep? The Byrne to Kipre to Naismith to Robinson to Morsy to Evans then back to Kipre to Naismith to Morsy to Evans to Byrne three yards up field from where the move started.
God that is so dull and equally as shit as the big boot game.

Playing out of the back has meant we have kept hold of possession a lot better, created a huge increase on chances and massively reduced the efforts against us. It's better to have the ball and make the opponent chase it, than the other way around. Even if you do have to pass it back because there's no clear forward pass visible.
 
Is playing out from the keeper that passing backwards and sideways with the odd forward pass that so many sides try to play then get caught in possession and lose the ball whilst half the fans have fallen asleep? The Byrne to Kipre to Naismith to Robinson to Morsy to Evans then back to Kipre to Naismith to Morsy to Evans to Byrne three yards up field from where the move started.
God that is so dull and equally as shit as the big boot game.

Since the West Brom game (until yesterday) we've been much better trying to keep the ball down in terms of performance, tempo, entertainment, chance creation, etc. I think it's undoubtedly better and more effective than the awful hoof ball we did in the previous 20 odd games.

Granted we have still got a lot of things wrong with the way we play and need to improve - especially with the attacking midfield getting involved more and linking play between back 6 and front man - but I think it's a foundation to build on while the long ball was so incoherent it was anti football.

I think the attacking mid trio are the ones messing things up at moment with the defensive part of the team doing their job well in terms of getting the ball out.
 
I've always liked Naismith. He's always been a committed player. I think he's a useful member of the squad and has shown himself to be an accomplished centre-back. There always seems to be a scapegoat at every club, which is unfortunate.
 
I've always liked Naismith. He's always been a committed player. I think he's a useful member of the squad and has shown himself to be an accomplished centre-back. There always seems to be a scapegoat at every club, which is unfortunate.
I think Lowe may take Kala crown but it may even go back to Massey.
 
I think Lowe may take Kala crown but it may even go back to Massey.

Naismith always had more critique than he deserved overall while others got away with much worse performances without the due critasism. Look at Grigg for example he offered very little at this level but people hated to be critical of him.

It's not scapegoating if a player is getting criticised for what they are actually doing / not doing. Massey has been our worst player this season so I don't think the criticism he gets is unfair as I don't think he's had a good game yet despite so many more chances than everyone else in attacking mid who's done more in less than him.