Today’s Performance | Page 2 | Vital Football

Today’s Performance

Eaves has probably signed a pre-contract agreement with another club, I believe it's allowed from January if a player is in his last 6 months of a contract.
 
Lark said:
I think it's a problem you can get at this stage of the season, when certain players know they probably won't be here next season. Eaves knows he's done enough to move to a club that can pay better wages, so perhaps his motivation and application has gone down a level.
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I get the impression with Eaves too. Presuming he hasn’t signed a contract with someone that we aren’t aware of (can he do that?), I’d have thought he’d want to have a barnstorminng last 6 games as surely teams are watching him? If he is outstanding for the last 6 games whilst scouts are there,surely he’d stand a chance of getting a Lower/Mid Championship move; if he plays like yesterday for the rest of the season, I can’t see any Champ team going after him and he’ll probably end up at an average but well funded League One team like Peterborough, which is only just above a sideways step in the scheme of things.
 
chris who said:
I am the only one to thinks the unthinkable of dropping Eaves who really was poor again today as he was at posh.Is now almost desirable.I would still like to see Hanlon given the responsibility of leading the attack in the next few games.
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If we could somehow win on Friday and the teams below continue their losing forms, I’d say we’d be pretty safe. I’d drop Eaves and Holy provided there is no chance of them being here next season and any of the loan players who are out of our reach or clearly not good enough (Burke is probably both for example) and have a look at players under contact, whose contract is up (but may re-sign) or loan players who are gettable (for example Holmes if he can sort himself out) in competitive games.
 
nitram77 said:
Eaves has probably signed a pre-contract agreement with another club, I believe it's allowed from January if a player is in his last 6 months of a contract.
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He can only sign a pre-contract with a foreign club. For an England based team he'll have to wait until the season ends in May.
 
SE1_Gills said:
He reminds me of a more slight Ade Akinbiyi (rolling back the years)- raw, not the best first touch but bags of pace and application.

I think he will go on to be an important player for us.

I think Eaves has mentally checked out.
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I agree that Hamlon was the only bright spark yesterday and has been recently. With Eaves going and dependent on who we get in, we should be looking at him being our main man next season. Lovell’s subs were bizarre - I rate List above some of those playing (Burke for example) but bringing him on for Bingham and playing him at WB was bizarre - surely DJ was the natural call and List for Burke? Instead he brought on Rees for Burke - I am not sure if Rees has something on SL, but can’t understand the game time he gets. He’s crap.
 
Eaves has scored 20 goals in 45 games or thereabouts, which by any standard is not a bad return. At home especially, he's playing in a shit team with very few chances made for him and yet he's pilloried for not making himself 'available'. Games are won and lost primarily in midfield and we have a midfield that barely functions.
 
Wayne.Kerr said:
Eaves has scored 20 goals in 45 games or thereabouts, which by any standard is not a bad return. At home especially, he's playing in a shit team with very few chances made for him and yet he's pilloried for not making himself 'available'. Games are won and lost primarily in midfield and we have a midfield that barely functions.
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That’s not entirely true. At one point yesterday Conor Ogilvie brought the ball forward really well into an advanced midfield position. Neither of the forwards made a move and he simply didn’t have a pass to make. In the end he played it to the wing but beyond our most advanced players who were just jogging around. We simply don’t work hard enough as a unit at home and players individually simply don’t work hard enough to make themselves available for a pass. Also I’d love to see the tackle count for Gillingham. At home it must be one of the lowest in the division.
 
You can tell what kind of game Eaves is going to have after the first ten minutes of any game. He'll start centrally up against the CB and if he sees he's not going have an easy afternoon he'll go wide (normally left) and pull onto the full back where he'll have an easier time physically.

He surpassed my expecting over his time here, but he's in beach mode (or my agents sorted me something) and has been since Xmas. His application attitude and work rate is nowhere near where he has been over most if his time here and where what has got him his goals and made him popular with fans.

Agree with others that at the moment on form, work rate, attitude application he doesn't warrant or justify a place in the team so I'd leave him out Friday.
 
Wayne.Kerr said:
Eaves has scored 20 goals in 45 games or thereabouts, which by any standard is not a bad return. At home especially, he's playing in a shit team with very few chances made for him and yet he's pilloried for not making himself 'available'. Games are won and lost primarily in midfield and we have a midfield that barely functions.
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In order for the midfield to create chances two things need to happen:

a) the strikers need to make a run behind the defense and
b) the midfield need to play the through ball.

The problem is that our most advanced player, Eaves, tends to run sideways and wide into non-dangerous areas and is rarely in a position to get on the end of any through balls. And then his strike partners like Hanlan and List tend to play slightly deeper so that although they have the pace to outrun the average defender, they are often giving them 5 meters head start on chasing any balls over the top. The sort of positions that Hanlan and List take up are such that upon receiving the ball, they need to dribble past a couple of players in order to be in a shooting position.

If you look at the highlights of Eaves's goals, he only receives the ball once he is in or around the edge of the penalty area. If Eaves is outside the area then he won't be in a position where the rest of the team can create for him.

Long story short, the midfield can't create chances if the strikers aren't running into positions where they can convert any chances made.

The problem is yesterday especially, Eaves played with all the attributes that you would accuse Wilkinson of with Eaves playing with a lack of energy, regularly being easily outmuscled (by defenders smaller than him) and regularly flapping his arms and whinging that he was fouled whenever a defender touched him. The chance he did get yesterday was a tame header on the edge of the 6 yard box straight at the keeper.
 
Baghdad_Rob said:
Long story short, the midfield can't create chances if the strikers aren't running into positions where they can convert any chances made.
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More of the usual bollocks - you clearly would not have seen Jimmy Greaves, Brian Gibbs or Brian Yeo in their heyday - barely broke into a sweat.
 
SE1_Gills said:
He reminds me of a more slight Ade Akinbiyi (rolling back the years)- raw, not the best first touch but bags of pace and application.

I think he will go on to be an important player for us.

I think Eaves has mentally checked out.
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Most of that I would agree with except that Hanlan's first touch is good to excellent and better than the third touch of some.
 
Wayne.Kerr said:
That won't make any difference performance-wise with the rest of the team
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It will when he couldn't hold the ball up, was willing to battle with th CB, make himself available to receive a pass, that affects the rest of the team. Compare Eaves work rate to Hanlons yesterday it was embarrassing. Granted the whole team were Shite yesterday, but Eaves' attitude has been toilet for weeks.

Are you saying Eaves is not trying because the rest of the team are Shite, Wayne?Just because the rest of the players or limited in ability doesn't excuse Eaves for being shit and lazy too. Where does Eaves think he's moving to in the summer, on his showing over the last few months, it won't be a first XI in any Championship team.
 
Wayne.Kerr said:
More of the usual bollocks - you clearly would not have seen Jimmy Greaves, Brian Gibbs or Brian Yeo in their heyday - barely broke into a sweat.
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From the highlights I have seen of those players, they might have had the work rate of Wilkinson, but at the right moments they would make the run and then convert the through ball or cross. Eaves is not making the runs so the midfield don't have the option of making a goal creating pass. If you actually went to the match rather than rely on Peter Lloyds's comments then you might appreciate what myself and others who have actually been to the match have said.

As I commented before, Eaves is showing the attributes you loved to criticise Wilkinson for.
 
Yesterday Eaves would stand and wait for the ball to hit him, if it was a couple of feet to the side he made no effort to adjust. If he lost the ball he would raise his arms and complain to the ref and linesman, instead of chasing down and winning the ball back.
I like Eaves but he just isn't putting in the effort at the moment.
 
Have to agree that Eaves is not worth his place in the team. He doesn't win any physical battles anymore and just moans. Time to drop him and see what the Campbell has to offer in the last few games. Strange loan signing if we aren't playing him.
 
Wayne.Kerr said:
I didn't listen to the commentary
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Well that was plainly obvious by the fact you give the same comments every match regardless of how well the team plays.

Everyone who went to the match have been said the same thing and yet it is the one person who didn't go to the match to see what actually happened who thinks he is correct.
 
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