cheron85 Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 On 29/11/2020 at 10:29, Jimbo Ram said: We have Bielik, Shinnie and Bird already for that role. 23 hours ago, Abu Dhabi Ram said: We just need to play Bird, Knight and Sibley as our midfield three. 23 hours ago, Jimbo Ram said: Bielik with Bird as cover... Just checking whether you guys have seen Bird tackling more than I have - He definitely plays as a deep lying CM but I'm far from convinced he's a defensive midfielder - Since he doesn't seem to tackle or block or head the ball much - All the attributes you need to have to provide defensive cover and get the ball away from our back line We need a destroyer - I thought it might be Shinnie but I'm not sure he's big enough on his own - Him and Knight together seemed to work but then you lose an attacking option - Bielik could be the answer but when is he going to be fit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ambitious Posted December 2, 2020 Share Posted December 2, 2020 On 30/11/2020 at 13:26, cheron85 said: Just checking whether you guys have seen Bird tackling more than I have - He definitely plays as a deep lying CM but I'm far from convinced he's a defensive midfielder - Since he doesn't seem to tackle or block or head the ball much - All the attributes you need to have to provide defensive cover and get the ball away from our back line We need a destroyer - I thought it might be Shinnie but I'm not sure he's big enough on his own - Him and Knight together seemed to work but then you lose an attacking option - Bielik could be the answer but when is he going to be fit? Aside from Shinnie, no player in our team has made more tackles per game than Bird. I think he's relatively quite good at tackling, he's very clean and often comes away with the ball. He's not a destroyer, per se, but that's exactly what Bielik is meant to do. I saw promise from the Bird and Bielik midfield base. I would like to think that a defensive midfielder is last on our list of requirements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheron85 Posted December 2, 2020 Share Posted December 2, 2020 50 minutes ago, Ambitious said: Aside from Shinnie, no player in our team has made more tackles per game than Bird. I think he's relatively quite good at tackling, he's very clean and often comes away with the ball. He's not a destroyer, per se, but that's exactly what Bielik is meant to do. I saw promise from the Bird and Bielik midfield base. I would like to think that a defensive midfielder is last on our list of requirements. Interesting point - Maybe he's making more tackles than I've noticed then - Bit like Hughes was However, he gets beaten a LOT - There are very few CMs (never mind DMs) in the league being beaten by a dribble more often than Bird (from whoscored stats) - And his number of blocks and clearances are way way way down the list (in the league) A good DM is someone who gets his body on the line, stops shots coming in, protects the defence, does all the unglamorous work first (the Eustace stuff) and THEN works on the nice passing and link up play - Bird does the latter really very well but the former (for me) very poorly - And we don't have that luxury at the moment He reminds me a little of Omar Mascarell - Obviously a gifted ball player and an amazing asset - But not the destroyer and defence-protector that we needed at the time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ambitious Posted December 2, 2020 Share Posted December 2, 2020 6 minutes ago, cheron85 said: Interesting point - Maybe he's making more tackles than I've noticed then - Bit like Hughes was However, he gets beaten a LOT - There are very few CMs (never mind DMs) in the league being beaten by a dribble more often than Bird (from whoscored stats) - And his number of blocks and clearances are way way way down the list (in the league) A good DM is someone who gets his body on the line, stops shots coming in, protects the defence, does all the unglamorous work first (the Eustace stuff) and THEN works on the nice passing and link up play - Bird does the latter really very well but the former (for me) very poorly - And we don't have that luxury at the moment He reminds me a little of Omar Mascarell - Obviously a gifted ball player and an amazing asset - But not the destroyer and defence-protector that we needed at the time The comparison to Mascarell is one that holds weight with me. A very good comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost of Clough Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 21 hours ago, cheron85 said: Interesting point - Maybe he's making more tackles than I've noticed then - Bit like Hughes was However, he gets beaten a LOT - There are very few CMs (never mind DMs) in the league being beaten by a dribble more often than Bird (from whoscored stats) - From those who have started at least 5 games at DM/CM: Vaulks, O'Dowda, Sheaf, San Jose, Rea, Paterson, Holtby, Hamer, Ledson, Cook, Cameron, Bacuna, Crooks, Jensen In terms of tackle success, he ranks as mid table (38th from 79 to have started more than 5). He ranks quite highly for interceptions, with only 0.5 per 90 behind 2nd place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnram Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 On 30/11/2020 at 13:26, cheron85 said: Just checking whether you guys have seen Bird tackling more than I have - He definitely plays as a deep lying CM but I'm far from convinced he's a defensive midfielder - Since he doesn't seem to tackle or block or head the ball much - All the attributes you need to have to provide defensive cover and get the ball away from our back line We need a destroyer - I thought it might be Shinnie but I'm not sure he's big enough on his own - Him and Knight together seemed to work but then you lose an attacking option - Bielik could be the answer but when is he going to be fit? We don't need a destroyer, we need a DM who can read the game, get in the way of passes, send an opposing player in a direction that reduces the threat and use the ball intelligently. Despite his youth, Bird is fulfilling that role reasonably well. Bird and Bielik can form an effective partnership in front of the back 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OoooMarkWright Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 On 02/12/2020 at 14:06, cheron85 said: A good DM is someone who gets his body on the line, stops shots coming in, protects the defence, does all the unglamorous work first (the Eustace stuff) and THEN works on the nice passing and link up play - Bird does the latter really very well but the former (for me) very poorly - And we don't have that luxury at the moment He reminds me a little of Omar Mascarell - Obviously a gifted ball player and an amazing asset. Surely this shows that the Bird - Bielik partnership has some promise though. Bielik is more of a destroyer, as well as being decent on the ball. Bird as you say can thread and link the play. Has the makings of a decent duo methinks. Cue one of them getting dropped for Saturday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plymouthram Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 We don't need another DM player, we should be looking at strikers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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