Tom Lawrence

[RamNut]

We are still dealing with the midfield problems created by growett.

sold ince, hughes, and russell, and binned bryson, which meant we had to rebuild both central and wide midfield at the same time.

He also blew a huge wedge on TL.

People expect lawrence to be a star because of how much we paid and because he is the replacement for ince.

but he's not a wide midfielder;  he's got no trick; no left foot; and no desire to track back.

it doesn't work and never will.

For me, the only solution is to play him central. Let jozefzoon and wilson try their trickery on the flanks. Try and get lawrence to become a championship lampard, rather than a poundland ronaldo (to quote @sage). For me he needs to be involved centrally.

Too easy to switch off out wide.

P.s. He was better today when we went into the middle imo. 

 

 

 

[sage]

2 minutes ago, RamNut said:

We are still dealing with the midfield problems created by growett.

sold ince, hughes, and russell, and binned bryson, which meant we had to rebuild both central and wide midfield at the same time.

He also blew a huge wedge on TL.

People expect lawrence to be a star because of how much we paid and because he is the replacement for ince.

but he's not a wide midfielder;  he's got no trick; no left foot; and no desire to track back.

it doesn't work and never will.

For me, the only solution is to play him central. Let jozefzoon and wilson try their trickery on the flanks. Try and get lawrence to become a championship lampard, rather than a poundland ronaldo (to quote @sage). For me he needs to be involved centrally.

Too easy to switch off out wide.

 

 

 

 

He plays best centrally as a number 10 in a 4231, but for me he doesn't work hard enough to play in a midfield 3. He frustrates me because he is a good player who thinks he is a great player, which means he gives inconsistent performances. Part of being a top footballer is knowing your strengths and weaknesses and pushing your games to the limits of your capabilities but not beyond it. 

[Gritstone Ram]

He comes across to me as a natural footballer without a footballing brain. If there is such a thing.

[goldstar]

Nope, I think he had a good game today, I was willing him and Mount to score

[YorkshireRam]

He was certainly more proactive today, didn't let his head drop and clearly wanted to drive the team forward whenever given the opportunity. That being said, basic errors and decision-making still hinder his overall game and especially when you compare him to Harry Wilson, whose end product is usually excellent, he can be a frustrating character, albeit a talented one.

More energetic performances like today however and he should only improve further, with his goal and assist tally likely reflecting that. 

[Bob The Badger]

1 hour ago, Millenniumram said:

Just me that thought he was very good today then?

Definitely one of his better games.

Mount is worrying me a tad. I'm wondering if he's hitting a wall. He's only 19 and whereas I know he'll have the energy, not sure if he was the mental fortitude, strength and stamina for a long season like this yet.

He played okay,  but he's not got back to that form of 5 or 6 weeks ago since his injury.

[Wolfie20]

1 hour ago, McLovin said:

Thought he was very frustrating again today. Was much better in the first half against Stoke but reverted back to type today. 

Totally disagree about today - played well, particularly second half

[Sexydadbod]

30 minutes ago, Wolfie20 said:

Totally disagree about today - played well, particularly second half

Hmm I’m not sure. He had a few good chances, his free kick was very good but his generally play wasn’t great, passing the ball in awkward areas for his teammates, being too safe, holding onto the ball too much on counter attacks before dribbling into an opponent, not running in behind when Malone or Hudd had the ball.

Like Sage said, I don’t think he’s a winger, he is a poor dribbler and doesn’t have great pace or creative awareness to be a winger, he would be better more centrally where he could at least use his powerful, dipping shots on more occasions.

He’s a very frustrating player because he does one outstanding thing then the next minute he breaks down a simple attack. In the first half, his volley was very bad from the corner and ended up back to the corner taker. Then in the second half, that free kick was amazing. If he was more of a player in between, he’d certainly have a lot less critics.

[clarkeram7]

See this is where opinions are divided because I also thought he was poor again today and also extremely ineffective up top after the change. 

In my personal opinion, people get blinded by the fact he carries the ball a lot but his end product is generally quite poor and as is his decision making. Often he runs into a lot of dead ends and I'm noticing it more this season now Wilson and Mount are playing next to him. They are both light-years ahead. He hits one decent strike every 8/9 games, where as Mount and Wilson it's week in week out. 

[Ghost of Clough]

1 hour ago, Bob The Badger said:

Definitely one of his better games.

Mount is worrying me a tad. I'm wondering if he's hitting a wall. He's only 19 and whereas I know he'll have the energy, not sure if he was the mental fortitude, strength and stamina for a long season like this yet.

He played okay,  but he's not got back to that form of 5 or 6 weeks ago since his injury.

Frank said they rushed him back into the squad as he’s vital to how we play. It was always going to take him a few games to be fully fit and back up to speed 

[Derbyram1]

Thought TL was great today, breaking at speed and causing their defence trouble.

[The_Sheriff]

Strange mix of opinions. I thought he could have done better today.

[rynny]

I think Lawrence had a good game overall. There were some things that he did that was poor but then there were others that were good, and I think they were more often than the poor play. Thought he was linking up very nicely, certainly inside their box, with some lovely flicks, when we created some good chances second half, the free kick was a whisker over the top, that pull back for Mount (normally he shoots from there), and he carried the ball very well taking from defence to attack. Yes there were occasions where he held on to the ball a little too long, there was the wayward volley, and he never attempts to head the ball. I don't think that equates to having a bad game. 

[richinspain]

I think his awareness has improved since his suspension. Today he was looking much more for a team mate in a better position rather than just putting his head down and running into a crowd of defenders. Maybe he didn't always succeed with his final ball, but he was at least trying to do the right things.

[Anag Ram]

Thought he was disappointing first half, rather isolated on the left wing without rolling his sleeves up and helping his teammates.

Second half he made some good runs and some of his flicks and short passes were sublime. He can create chances that others can't.

As I've said before we have young players who are constantly trying things. Great when it works, dangerous when it doesn't because the loss of possession is often when we have committed players forward.

It makes for exciting football but can also create frustration. 

Lawrence seems to cop most of that frustration.

All of this would be alleviated if we had a better defence and I honestly think we will be top four if we strengthen in that department in January.

[Harrowram]

28 minutes ago, Anag Ram said:

Thought he was disappointing first half, rather isolated on the left wing without rolling his sleeves up and helping his teammates.

Second half he made some good runs and some of his flicks and short passes were sublime. He can create chances that others can't.

As I've said before we have young players who are constantly trying things. Great when it works, dangerous when it doesn't because the loss of possession is often when we have committed players forward.

It makes for exciting football but can also create frustration. 

Lawrence seems to cop most of that frustration.

All of this would be alleviated if we had a better defence and I honestly think we will be top four if we strengthen in that department in January.

Losing at Rotherham, Millwall, and Bolton has been costly. Five points out of these games could have been reasonably expected. In which case derby would be sitting pretty.

[JAT]

I think TL has had to adjust this season and at times he’s showing real maturity in a very young side. 

So far in his career he’s been hyped up to be the centre of all creative play. 

This season we’ve introduced two more creative players who are currently taking some of that shine. 

Rather than TL being negative about this, most of the time he’s making runs with and without the ball, working back and allowing MM and HW to get more time on the ball to make things happen. 

Like every player he makes mistakes but he is evolving his game and we should be happy to have him in such a promising team. 

[May Contain Nuts]

13 hours ago, McLovin said:

 his volley was very bad from the corner and ended up back to the corner taker. 

Could have sworn that was Mount. Controlled it well to set himself up.

[Ghost of Clough]

8 minutes ago, Matt H said:

Could have sworn that was Mount. Controlled it well to set himself up.

Nah, it was Lawrence. Mount’s was a half-volley effort which went out for a throw in

[May Contain Nuts]

Ah,  cheers, it was 2 incidents my brain has merged into one!