Yes, but sadly insufficient experience
Although, there's still time yet
Wasn't Sacko very much like that ? If so, we didn't learn from it. Sacko though cost 1.5m.Cjay wrote: ↑Sat Jan 22, 2022 9:46 pm I still can't believe we spent £25mil on effectively a hard working sprinter.
It's not his fault Bielsa plays him up front and people will say he will come good.
He won't, football is full of sprinters with little technical ability.
I said in the summer that my nightmare scenario was a last minute Dan James deal and it came true.
Players like Dan James cost you £10mil and you chuck them on for 15mins when trying to play on the counter and hold onto a lead.
You don't spend £25mil on them and make them mainstays.
He is a pet project for Bielsa, Phil Hay has said as much as well and because of that Bielsa will use him.
We have made so many recruitment mistakes but this may be the most frustrating because you could see this coming a mile off.
The lad works hard and tries his best but so would Usain Bolt on a football pitch.
You can't sign wingers because they run around ffs.
But there are some posters on here whom seem to think he is ' unquestionable ' he makes the decisions, so surely that's where the blame lies isn't it !!
Just off the top of my headCHAPELALLMAN wrote: ↑Sat Jan 22, 2022 11:02 pm Wasn't Sacko very much like that ? If so, we didn't learn from it. Sacko though cost 1.5m.
Funny how we very nearly signed him for 8m, he goes to Man U, fails there and then we suddenly value him at 25m...
Definitely ...YorkshireSquare wrote: ↑Sat Jan 22, 2022 11:58 pm Aaron Lennon never had a final ball, could have told you that after watching him at Belle Vue every week for the reserves.
Dan James is a better than Lennon imho
But was Aaron Lennon ever asked to play at CF when we had a talented young CF sitting on the bench?Cjay wrote: ↑Sat Jan 22, 2022 11:54 pm Just off the top of my head
David Bellion
Gabriel Obertan
Jermaine Pennant
Gabriel Agbonlahor
Aaron Lennon
Cameron Stewart
Michael Mifsud
Dennis Rommedahl
Theo Walcott
Jimmy Kebe
Aidy White
Darren Huckerby
Some of them went on to on the face of it have ok careers but dig deeper and attacking players like Walcott, Huckerby and Agbonlahor less than 7 goals a season (Huckerby was just over it was 7.1).
Aaron Lennon made his debut 19 years ago and hasn't managed 50 goals yet.
Football is full of players who only have pace and very limited technical ability.
Fortunately pace is a very useful attribute and in the right circumstances for example knock a few in as a youngster then you can coast on that for a while like Lennon or find a lower level like Rommedahl that is just enough to keep you on the international stage but not quite enough to find you out for your poor overall game.
But generally pace isn't enough at the top level, you need more especially as an attacking player.
It has its place as an impact sub or for games against top teams when you play on the counter.
But as a regular starter? Being able to run fast and often? Not for me.
That's groupthink for you...mentalcase wrote: ↑Sat Jan 22, 2022 11:47 pm But there are some posters on here whom seem to think he is ' unquestionable ' he makes the decisions, so surely that's where the blame lies isn't it !!
We're not supposed to uses phrases such as " square pegs in round holes or pet projects " only " in bielsa we trust "
Logical doesn't come into it at ER.White Riot wrote:From what I've observed Dan James is a speedy left winger who loves playing for us and works hard for the team.
He had his confidence knocked at Scum, and like Jack Harrison he seems susceptible to losing confidence fairly quickly.
We have one senior striker, whose been unavailable for over four months, and Bielsa has not placed his faith in our young talented Joffy during that period. Because of that Dan James has been forced into an unfamiliar position in the toughest league on the planet.
Being a striker is the most difficult role to master and succeed at. So I think this has been very unfair on Dan James.
But Bielsa's stubbornness dictates that he will keep ploughing on with the same approach that doesn't work every week.
No better example of this than yesterday. We had Harrison and Raphinha, putting decent crosses and passes into the box and nobody with a striker's instinct to get in the right position and put the chances away.
So we end up getting shithoused by a team that didn't deserve anything.
Bielsa is damaging the confidence of Dan James, as this is piling the pressure on him and then the fans unfairly blame James for not being in the right position, or missing chances.
He's not a striker.
Our only fit striker was sitting on the bench, watching this and then thrown on to save the match once we went behind.
Poor tactics from Bielsa, Bate and Joffy should have played from the start and then bring James on to replace Harrison after he's ran his guts out.
That would be a logical approach imo.
Interesting point Chapel, healthy organisations encourage constructive debate and analysis.CHAPELALLMAN wrote: ↑Sun Jan 23, 2022 9:44 am That's groupthink for you...
On that subject, given that for me anyway Bielsa is seemingly quite authoritarian in how he goes about his work, I do wonder whether his backroom staff are able to debate his team decisions with him ? With groupthink any critical or alternative thinking is stamped on immediately - usually with an accusation of a perceived lack of loyalty to the cause. Lots of bad military decisions throughout history were down to groupthink - Arnhem being a classic example, whereby the intelligence officer who had severe misgivings about the operation was asked to go off on sick leave for a couple of weeks as the senior commanders didn't like what they considered to be a dissenting and critical voice. Except he turned out to be right.
I wonder who in his backroom staff would have the nerve to suggest to him that his thinking with say Roberts or James is perhaps flawed, and maybe he should try a different approach? Clearly Bielsa is very stubborn and proud man, and I just wonder whether he encourages debate about team selections, tactics etc amongst his most senior backroom team ?