Why Knight should start at RB

[sage]

26 minutes ago, David said:

You've just ruined my fact!

Just put some orange fake tan on and keep repeating it 

[Day]

5 minutes ago, sage said:

Just put some orange fake tan on and keep repeating it 

I won this topic! 

[RedSox]

1 hour ago, Orphanram said:

On another note it’s seems that it’s a given that Hourihane has an automatic starting berth. Whilst he scored the winner against Oxford and has produced a few lovely deliveries in to the box, I’ve been a bit disappointed in his overall performances. 

I understand the point you are making here @Orphanram, but aren't you forgetting he has had a major part in us getting 6 of the 7 points we have so far?  Goal vs Oxford and the delightful ball to Barks for the lay off to NM-L against Barnsley.   Fwiw, I'd be sticking with him - at least for the next 2/3 games before any thoughts of dropping him.  The guy is clearly a class act and we need that kind of inspiration to open up teams with limited ambitions of playing an open style of football this season. 

[Day]

 

[Gerry Daly]

2 hours ago, Orphanram said:

Taking a more straightforward view of how Knight has done in the games so far without all of the tactical machinations, I think Knights been OK but not out of this world. Defensively he hasn’t really been beaten much on the outside as his tenacity enables him to get tackles in. However, there have been quite a few occasions where he drops right off an shows the opposition wide player inside with a lot of distance between him and the man. What I’ve noticed in L1 is the wide man just send in crosses for the striker and they don’t cut inside and shoot as often as they do in the championship. Knight did this at Charlton in the 1st half which needed an excellent save from Wildsmith to prevent a goal and there have been examples of this in all the other games . Going forward he has done Ok again but nothing more than I’d expect from a RB in our team and the way we play. I agree with previous comments about him being an international midfielder and getting him back in the middle of the park. 
 

On another note it’s seems that it’s a given that Hourihane has an automatic starting berth. Whilst he scored the winner against Oxford and has produced a few lovely deliveries in to the box, I’ve been a bit disappointed in his overall performances. It’s early days but I would like to see a midfield trio of Bird, Knight and Sibley given a try. If we are struggling to break teams down (which is a reoccurring theme for us) we could bring on Hourihane as quarter back sub and go a bit more direct late on to try and mix it up a bit, which would definitely feel like a genuine plan B. 

I agree with your comments about Hourihane. My only thoughts on sticking with him are that it’s a fitness thing and he needs a run of games

[Crewton]

1 hour ago, David said:

You've just ruined my fact!

Whoops! ? 

I'm guessing that they don't see Odurah as quite ready to throw into L1 as a starter. They're bedding Roberts in at LB and don't want too much inexperience in the defence at one time. Knight is young but very experienced and can be trusted to do a good job in that position. 

Interesting to see if Odurah moves up the pecking order in time. 

[May Contain Nuts]

39 minutes ago, David said:

 

The way I'd interpret that, is that Barkhuizen is probably providing more defensive cover and taking more touches of the ball than NML (in both defending and attacking positions.)

 

[Ellafella]

Round pegs in round holes. Our midfield isn’t balanced and we are failing to score goals when we have total control of games.

Korey Smith has struggled in midfield - his fitness is questionable and he’s attracted the lowest average ratings in the entire squad after 4 games.

There’s an obvious solution - find/buy/borrow a full back and put Knight in his natural position.

Football is a simple game, made complex by chaps who want to justify having spent a lot of time getting their coaching badges. 
 

The team needs Knight in midfield. Simple as that. 

[Srg]

13 minutes ago, Ellafella said:

Round pegs in round holes. Our midfield isn’t balanced and we are failing to score goals when we have total control of games.

Korey Smith has struggled in midfield - his fitness is questionable and he’s attracted the lowest average ratings in the entire squad after 4 games.

There’s an obvious solution - find/buy/borrow a full back and put Knight in his natural position.

Football is a simple game, made complex by chaps who want to justify having spent a lot of time getting their coaching badges. 
 

The team needs Knight in midfield. Simple as that. 

Obviously we want Knight in midfield but that’s not the only solution. Sibley instead of Smith, or a slight shift in positioning with Didzy instead of Smith would both massively improve the pedestrian nature of our attacking. 

[EraniosSocks]

Knight instead of Smith in CM - swap Roberts to RB - Fozzy LB 

 

This managers lark is easy 

[sage]

1 hour ago, Ellafella said:

Round pegs in round holes. Our midfield isn’t balanced and we are failing to score goals when we have total control of games.

Korey Smith has struggled in midfield - his fitness is questionable and he’s attracted the lowest average ratings in the entire squad after 4 games.

There’s an obvious solution - find/buy/borrow a full back and put Knight in his natural position.

Football is a simple game, made complex by chaps who want to justify having spent a lot of time getting their coaching badges. 
 

The team needs Knight in midfield. Simple as that. 

Mo one is arguing with that, LR wants to do that, it's what we should do in the mean time. 

[Gerry Daly]

Leaving aside the Knight issue, why is switching Roberts to right back a good idea? As I said before, given that this is how he wants to play, the simple solution is play Smith at right back and Knight in midfield

[sage]

27 minutes ago, Gerry Daly said:

Leaving aside the Knight issue, why is switching Roberts to right back a good idea? As I said before, given that this is how he wants to play, the simple solution is play Smith at right back and Knight in midfield

It's the next best option IMO and maybe the best option when he is fit enough to play 90 minutes

[Ellafella]

45 minutes ago, sage said:

Mo one is arguing with that, LR wants to do that, it's what we should do in the mean time. 

But the title is "why Knight should start at RB".

The point is - he shouldn't. Did you ever see charlie george play Centre Half? 

[sage]

3 minutes ago, Ellafella said:

But the title is "why Knight should start at RB".

The point is - he shouldn't. Did you ever see charlie george play Centre Half? 

Who would you play there instead, based on the current squad

[OoooMarkWright]

Absolutely ridiculous to suggest putting Roberts at RB and Forsyth LB. Roberts is being converted to a LB. It would be very harsh to place him in his wrong side and would massively unbalance our team.

Although far from ideal, Knight has been one of our best players so far playing RB. The midfield balance isn’t quite right yet, and in an ideal world I’d have Knight in there. But for now, I’d keep it as it is. Hopefully utilising Sibley’s strengths to turn our possession dominance into attacking dominance. 

[Sussex Ram]

Not sure if it has been mentioned, but I believe it is the plan to add another right back to the squad. This is based on two post match interviews with Rosenior, in one or both of the first two league games (from memory).

The conversation went something like: Rosenior waxing lyrical about Knight’s energy and professionalism; RamsTV asked if Knight at right back is a long term thing; Rosenior said “we’re still actively in the market”. This implies Knight is filling in temporarily.

There are still 11 days until the window closes, but given how well we recruited early on I suspect that they’ve struggled to find a RB that fits the budget and profile (good on the ball, quick, more experienced than Oduroh).

Rosenior has mentioned about loan deals becoming available late in the window, as Prem teams only know who they can let go on loan once all first team business is done. In the absence of any other obvious targets, I wonder if this is one where we’re biding our time? The natural question is- what happens if we leave it too late, and nothing comes up that fits the bill?? Do we add an imperfect RB, or stick with what we’ve got?

My personal preference is to add an experienced, specialist full back, even if they’re not perfect. Knight does a great job there, but could be be even better in the middle of the park.

[roboto]

Scanned the thread and I think the last post is the first and only one to spell Oduroh’s name properly.

As for the thread topic, Knight is obviously the best current choice for what is a problem position for us. Ideally we can get someone in that is suited to the role, but it’s seemingly a tough job spec for league 1 level with our budget restraints.

[Addingham Ram]

2 hours ago, Coconut's Beard said:

The way I'd interpret that, is that Barkhuizen is probably providing more defensive cover and taking more touches of the ball than NML (in both defending and attacking positions.)

 

Football is so much about opinions and interpretation.

The facts, as shown on the diagram, simply show the opposition's dominance in our right back's area where we should be stronger.

It may or may not be down to Knight's ability as a right back.

It may or may not be down to NML not helping out.

It's Liam and the team's job to identify possible issues like this and find a solution.

Currently the diagram shows we have a weakness, which I'm sure the opposition will exploit.

[Leicester Ram]

I think Jason Knight impresses at any position, he's a talented all rounder and if we'd just signed him this summer as an unknown RB, we'd all be agreeing he's pretty decent.

However, suggesting he's better playing at RB is just what the OP said it is: playing devils advocate. It's a fun debate exercise and an interesting post as usual from @brady1993 but I strongly disagree.

Arguably our best player, who has played in midfield his entire professional career, unsurprisingly is best used in midfield.

For me, he's what we're missing in the midfield of Hourihane and Bird, someone with energy and bite who can make runs in behind as well as defend from the front. If he played at 10 or as an 8 he'd get a much better goal return too, his Derby goal tally is actually a bit  disappointing but we've never seen him play consistently in one position. If he's the furthest forward in this midfield, he will get goals.

A lot of people believe in Sibley but I'm a Knight believer. He's got Sibley's aggression without the bookings, the best way I can put it is Sibley is reckless whereas Knight is brave.

Playing Knight at RB to squeeze Sibley (or Smith) into the starting XI doesn't sit right with me, Sibley needs to break into that line up on his own merit. He's had a long time to break into this team and do what Knight has been doing for years; regularly starting games.

RB should be the priority transfer target because Knight's earned the right to start in midfield.