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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2020 22:13:23 GMT
Very good performance tonight If Mikel is fit Saturday I would drop Clucas and play Cousins and JOM
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Post by cobhamstokey on Dec 2, 2020 22:13:30 GMT
He had a decent game. On the whole we were decent till the ball got to Vokes or Brown. With Fletcher and McLean starting we would have buried them. They were awful and will go down.
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Post by clarkeda on Dec 2, 2020 22:14:37 GMT
Thought he was better tonight. I'm not a great fan of clucas anyway. Don't get the criticism of the overall performance I'm reading to be honest. It could be under instruction, and it wouldn't surprise me if it was, but he doesn't seem to be getting forward as often as he was last season. He always seemed to be at the edge of the box etc waiting for a cut back but this season seems to be futher behind the play. I agree I don’t know if that’s the weight of the armband though. Feeling he need to ‘play more for the team’ which is actually detracting from his game.
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Post by foxysgloves on Dec 2, 2020 22:14:41 GMT
He had a decent game. On the whole we were decent till the ball got to Vokes or Brown. With Fletcher and McLean starting we would have buried them. They were awful and will go down. They’ve only lost one in seven before tonight though. A few promotion contenders have struggled against them.
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Post by mickstupp on Dec 2, 2020 22:15:15 GMT
Very good performance tonight If Mikel is fit Saturday I would drop Clucas and play Cousins and JOM It’s certainly getting to the stage where I can see Clucas and Powell competing for the same place in the team. We need that no frills reliable “sitter” to protect the defence.
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Post by GreaterGlasgowstokie on Dec 2, 2020 22:19:43 GMT
Maybe play Cousins alongside Mikkel while Fletcher is out, push Powell up top, push Clucas further forward.
At least then we wouldn't have to play Vokes
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Post by lordb on Dec 2, 2020 22:20:56 GMT
Maybe play Cousins alongside Mikkel while Fletcher is out, push Powell up top, push Clucas further forward. At least then we wouldn't have to play Vokes Seems like a plan
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Post by gingerninja on Dec 2, 2020 22:21:57 GMT
Powell would win more headers than Vokes and probably hold the ball up better as well.
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Post by mrcoke on Dec 2, 2020 22:26:42 GMT
Powell would win more headers than Vokes and probably hold the ball up better as well. I don't disagree with that, but I also think he would spend most of the match on his backside appealing to the ref.
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Post by staffordstokiemad1 on Dec 2, 2020 22:31:23 GMT
He was solid tonight, you need players like him in these scrappy games.
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Post by cobhamstokey on Dec 2, 2020 22:33:02 GMT
He had a decent game. On the whole we were decent till the ball got to Vokes or Brown. With Fletcher and McLean starting we would have buried them. They were awful and will go down. They’ve only lost one in seven before tonight though. A few promotion contenders have struggled against them. God knows how. I think I saw where they had 3 midfielders out. All they seemed to do was punt it forwards.
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Post by wearepremierleague on Dec 2, 2020 22:33:35 GMT
Powell would win more headers than Vokes and probably hold the ball up better as well. I think Powell would make a mustard false number 9. And you wouldn’t lose the physical presence we did with Bojan in the role
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Post by Ron on Dec 2, 2020 22:33:47 GMT
Cousins showed what he’d about, breaks up play, battles and wins headers. A no frills footballer who , once again, did his job. Decent game.
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Post by prestwichpotter on Dec 2, 2020 22:34:20 GMT
He was decent apart from a couple of sloppy passes and a rash challenge.
In games like that he's ideal, wouldn't surprise me if he beefs up the midfield and plays Cousins, Mikel and Clucas together if Mikel is fit.....
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Post by collo68 on Dec 2, 2020 22:38:27 GMT
He was decent apart from a couple of sloppy passes and a rash challenge. In games like that he's ideal, wouldn't surprise me if he beefs up the midfield and plays Cousins, Mikel and Clucas together if Mikel is fit..... Thought he was poor 1st half but got better as the game went on. It’s not easy playing so few games though I imagine
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Post by Gary Hackett on Dec 2, 2020 22:50:19 GMT
Did his job well tonight. I think cousins/mikel could be our best midfield combination. I prefer Cousins sitting on the basis Mikel is better further up the pitch.
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Post by bayernoatcake on Dec 2, 2020 23:34:45 GMT
It’s been obvious for a month now we needed to play Cousins.
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Post by CBUFAWKIPWH on Dec 2, 2020 23:38:19 GMT
Nice to see Cousins getting credit for doing an ugly job of an ugly job - it just took an ugly game for it to get noticed.
Mikel is a class above but I really feel for Cousins because had Mikel not come up as an unmissable opportunity I think he'd have been a first team regular. I think Mikel and Cousins would make us too defensive so Cousins is likely to be understudy this season but I really hope we hold on to him because one day he'll make a team tick.
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Post by bayernoatcake on Dec 2, 2020 23:42:33 GMT
Nice to see Cousins getting credit for doing an ugly job of an ugly job - it just took an ugly game for it to get noticed. Mikel is a class above but I really feel for Cousins because had Mikel not come up as an unmissable opportunity I think he'd have been a first team regular. I think Mikel and Cousins would make us too defensive so Cousins is likely to be understudy this season but I really hope we hold on to him because one day he'll make a team tick. Mikel can’t defend though.
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Post by bayernoatcake on Dec 3, 2020 11:07:22 GMT
He won 14 aerial duels last night apparently, 1 below Batth.
Not what you necessarily want from your CM but in a game like that last night and in this league tbh, it can be a big help.
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Post by jimmygscfc1234 on Dec 3, 2020 11:24:52 GMT
You're seeing more in him than I am Bayern. Allen with Mikel and Clucas for me and then look at playing Campbell and Powell alongside each other more, as you've suggested, with McClean and a resurgent Verlinden fighting it out for the winger spot. Cousins is too slow to react to things and not blessed with the best of touches.
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Post by The Toxic Avenger on Dec 3, 2020 11:28:09 GMT
You're seeing more in him than I am Bayern. Allen with Mikel and Clucas for me and then look at playing Campbell and Powell alongside each other more, as you've suggested, with McClean and a resurgent Verlinden fighting it out for the winger spot. Cousins is too slow to react to things and not blessed with the best of touches. Allen, Clucas and Mikel as a trio though requires 1) Allen to not be completely shot by probably the worst injury in football 2) Allen or Mikel to be able to show the positional discipline that overall neither really has for long spells as a Stoke player. Both hail Mary shouts as it stands.
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Post by bayernoatcake on Dec 3, 2020 11:34:34 GMT
You're seeing more in him than I am Bayern. Allen with Mikel and Clucas for me and then look at playing Campbell and Powell alongside each other more, as you've suggested, with McClean and a resurgent Verlinden fighting it out for the winger spot. Cousins is too slow to react to things and not blessed with the best of touches. I think he's a League One player tbh but he was good last night and protect the defence well. That midfield 3 has no discipline, leaves the defence exposed and doesn't solve any of the CM issues we've had these last 3/4 years. We need a DM to play alonside Mikel/Clucas/Allen. Cousins has got a crap touch but he protects the back 4 way more than other central midfielder we own presently.
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Post by walrus on Dec 3, 2020 11:47:56 GMT
I like his attitude. Whenever we score when he’s on the pitch he sprints over to the goalscorer looking so genuinely delighted. I think he realises he’ll never be the star of the team and is just happy to do the best job he can whenever he’s called upon.
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Post by The Toxic Avenger on Dec 3, 2020 12:00:12 GMT
You're seeing more in him than I am Bayern. Allen with Mikel and Clucas for me and then look at playing Campbell and Powell alongside each other more, as you've suggested, with McClean and a resurgent Verlinden fighting it out for the winger spot. Cousins is too slow to react to things and not blessed with the best of touches. I think he's a League One player tbh but he was good last night and protect the defence well. That midfield 3 has no discipline, leaves the defence exposed and doesn't solve any of the CM issues we've had these last 3/4 years. We need a DM to play alonside Mikel/Clucas/Allen. Cousins has got a crap touch but he protects the back 4 way more than other central midfielder we own presently. Is there increasingly a question mark over Clucas? Seems daft as he gets a healthy number of goals, but what else is he really bringing to the table? He often seems all but invisible when we don't have the ball. Attacking-wise he offers less than Powell and defensively he offers less than arguably the rest.
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Post by bayernoatcake on Dec 3, 2020 12:05:55 GMT
I think he's a League One player tbh but he was good last night and protect the defence well. That midfield 3 has no discipline, leaves the defence exposed and doesn't solve any of the CM issues we've had these last 3/4 years. We need a DM to play alonside Mikel/Clucas/Allen. Cousins has got a crap touch but he protects the back 4 way more than other central midfielder we own presently. Is there increasingly a question mark over Clucas? Seems daft as he gets a healthy number of goals, but what else is he really bringing to the table? He often seems all but invisible when we don't have the ball. Attacking-wise he offers less than Powell and defensively he offers less than arguably the rest. Most definitely. He needs to up his games massively.
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Post by jimmygscfc1234 on Dec 3, 2020 12:26:11 GMT
If that DM role is so crucial, and I agree it is, then we need to look in January as Cousins will not improve our chances of getting into the Top 6. Clucas in the second half was nowhere to be seen so it's a problem that needs solving. I'd hope that Allen may be asked to play more defensively perhaps on his return, so that him and Mikel can sort it out together, but we're missing some creativity and dynamism in midfield which we also need.
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Post by LankyPotter on Dec 3, 2020 12:27:35 GMT
Is there increasingly a question mark over Clucas? Seems daft as he gets a healthy number of goals, but what else is he really bringing to the table? He often seems all but invisible when we don't have the ball. Attacking-wise he offers less than Powell and defensively he offers less than arguably the rest. Most definitely. He needs to up his games massively. I may be wrong but I believe that clucas is in the bracket for chances created in the division. He has popped up with a couple of goals and he is a proper box to box midfielder and he gets into some great areas. For me you make a place in the side for both Powell and Clucas.
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Post by bgreen13 on Dec 3, 2020 12:33:12 GMT
The day he plays Cousins and Mikel together, and we lose, the usual suspects will be in absolute uproar for Oneill being a defensive, footballing dinosaur.
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Post by bayernoatcake on Dec 3, 2020 13:12:26 GMT
The day he plays Cousins and Mikel together, and we lose, the usual suspects will be in absolute uproar for Oneill being a defensive, footballing dinosaur. Mikel isn't a defensive player.
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