Brian Howard

[TBM]

Excellent first half against Watford. An assist, nearly scored, but for an inch or so.

I've not noticed him looking knackered.

Maguire noticed he was blowing out of his arse against Peterborough when he both won a free kick and scored from it and then created another goal for Church.

another one failing to read ALL of Maguires post

This doesn't mean I think his set piece delivery is shit or anything like that, he just doesn't looked physically up to it at the moment.

His goal came from a set piece, and he set up Churchs goal from.......guess what, a set piece

[Maguire]

Cheers TBMers. Obviously it takes a lot of fitness to deliver a dead ball

H+P has it spot on. He was FUCKED against Peterborough - looked very much like I do after 5 minutes of FFF. Against Watford he just couldn't get in the game. Hitting the post after a scramble does nothing to change that and I called his substitution at half-time.

Agree with Whore Jackie that his absence reduces our options from set-pieces as he does have good delivery, but that's secondary to actually being able to get in the game and compete physically.

Needs a rest, that's all I'm saying.

[TBM]

Cheers TBMers. Obviously it takes a lot of fitness to deliver a dead ball

H+P has it spot on. He was FUCKED against Peterborough - looked very much like I do after 5 minutes of FFF. Against Watford he just couldn't get in the game. Hitting the post after a scramble does nothing to change that and I called his substitution at half-time.

Agree with Whore Jackie that his absence reduces our options from set-pieces as he does have good delivery, but that's secondary to actually being able to get in the game and compete physically.

Needs a rest, that's all I'm saying.

I would say Howard can deliver a decent set piece

[Vision]

I'm not convinced Howard and Matejovsky can play in the same side. (in fact you could make a case for The Sig being in the same mould as well). I just think to play to their individual strengths they need to be given a bit of licence which in this division is a luxury with one player let alone two.
If after the Cardiff and Peterboro games Rodgers is of the same opinion then it's no surprise that he's decided (initially at least) to go with the bloke he bought in rather than the one he inherited.

Personally I think Matejovsky is the better player of the two but can see why Rodgers is reluctant.

The other point made by AP and a few others is also spot on. He's used 26 players in 9 league games. He may well claim (as he has today) that he's giving everyone a chance but in a lot of cases all he's done is give a lot of players not quite enough of a chance. He can't really complain about consistency of performance in his players given the inconsistency of his selection.

[Maguire]

Must admit that when I saw the team come out at Peterborough (with Howard, Gylfi, and Magic in it) I thought it was a bit like picking the same player three times.

[Royalee]

Must admit that when I saw the team come out at Peterborough (with Howard, Gylfi, and Magic in it) I thought it was a bit like picking the same player three times.

Agree - I don't think you can play two of those three or more in the same side...unless Howard is playing on the wing at the expense of Kebe.

[Vision]

Must admit that when I saw the team come out at Peterborough (with Howard, Gylfi, and Magic in it) I thought it was a bit like picking the same player three times.

The thing is much like the Cardiff game, there are periods in a game where it looks great. Some of the interplay between the three at the start of the 2nd half V Cardiff was as good as anything I've seen in a long while. The problem is that if we don't cash in on those periods then having all 3 becomes a liability when the opposition get on top.

I take your point about Gylfi's fitness but if I was to go with one of the 3 to start, he's the one I'd probably go with simply because (and not just from set-pieces) he's the one that actually has an end product and creates opportunities whereas the other two (so far) have flattered to deceive. He can always be changed if tiredness does creep in during the 2nd half.

[Sun Tzu]

Must admit that when I saw the team come out at Peterborough (with Howard, Gylfi, and Magic in it) I thought it was a bit like picking the same player three times.

The thing is much like the Cardiff game, there are periods in a game where it looks great. Some of the interplay between the three at the start of the 2nd half V Cardiff was as good as anything I've seen in a long while. The problem is that if we don't cash in on those periods then having all 3 becomes a liability when the opposition get on top.

I take your point about Gylfi's fitness but if I was to go with one of the 3 to start, he's the one I'd probably go with simply because (and not just from set-pieces) he's the one that actually has an end product and creates opportunities whereas the other two (so far) have flattered to deceive. He can always be changed if tiredness does creep in during the 2nd half.

Frankly he should be ashamed of himself if it is fitness letting him down - unless he is carrying an injury or an illness.

No pro, especially a young one, should have a fitness issue. It is in their control and if they have any pride they would be doing whatever it takes to ensure that it is never an issue. If he needs to do more work on the training ground or in the gym (or if he's over training and needs to rest) it needs addressing and it should not take much to remove this as an issue.

[Maguire]

Hmm, I dunno. Even if you're an athletic youngster, you're still not a "man" yet and oftentimes I don't think players peak physically until a few years later in their careers. It's that natural strength which only comes with age. Gylfi doesn't strike me as one of those players who has problems of his own making (eg. Ian Harte at Leeds - talented player but ate Macdonalds and struggled for fitness/pace due to lack of discipline). He'll be fine.

I think Marek is a super player personally, but is undeniably a passenger when we don't have the ball. As people note, you can't have too many players like that in the side. Howard is perhaps the most defensively adept of the three of them.

[brendywendy]

i thought marek did more than his fair share of defensive stuff in front of the back 4 last time i saw him, a looked better in the tackle, and less likely to get sent off

i still think gylfi has looked our best attacking midfielder so far

and dont remember howard deserving the slagging hes getting in the games i saw him play

but then ive not seen a few games recently

[Ian Royal]

Excellent first half against Watford. An assist, nearly scored, but for an inch or so.

I've not noticed him looking knackered.

Maguire noticed he was blowing out of his arse against Peterborough when he both won a free kick and scored from it and then created another goal for Church.

another one failing to read ALL of Maguires post

This doesn't mean I think his set piece delivery is shit or anything like that, he just doesn't looked physically up to it at the moment.

His goal came from a set piece, and he set up Churchs goal from.......guess what, a set piece

Who won the free kicks? It was definitley The Sig for one of them possibly the second as well. He won them because he was causing all sorts of havok and on the verge of getting through.

Any player that can get two assists and a goal in games he is apparently looking knackered (still disagree he did) is well worth keeping in the team. Especially seeing as we are yet to score without him playing.

[TBM]

I think the point is he couldn't re-produce the same form in the second half and went missing......if he was 100% then he could do it for 90mins, not just 45.

[brendywendy]

wasnt the whole team shit second half?

[Maguire]

Yeah i'm not suggesting he was shattered in the first minute

It's not really contentious anyway. Whether Ian Royal agrees or not, he was hands-on-knees shagged over on the left hand side in the second half. FACT.

brendy - I thought Howard did well to begin with but had a bit of a shocker at Peterborough and wasn't great against Watford.

[brendywendy]

Yeah i'm not suggesting he was shattered in the first minute

It's not really contentious anyway. Whether Ian Royal agrees or not, he was hands-on-knees shagged over on the left hand side in the second half. FACT.

brendy - I thought Howard did well to begin with but had a bit of a shocker at Peterborough and wasn't great against Watford.

admittedly, being well plastic, i didnt see either of those games

[facaldaqui]

I'm not generally impressed so far, but he clearly has a shot on him, and I think he will get some goals from midfield, which is something we've been lacking since Harper went into his shell.

i'm nervous for him a bit, because it looks like potentially being between him and Cummings for the role of HobNob hate figure, once Kebe's out of the team. I hope he turns out to be useful.

[FiNeRaIn]

Shame we bought him as he is pish.

[LoyalRoyal22]

Im sure im the only one that reckons hes a good signing. Did you see his 2 attemps at goal on sat? one was a great save, the other was just over the bar, also didnt he have a part to play in the goal, in the build up, sure he was involved in the build up when Sigurddson hit the post...A couple of lose passes i agree, but he usually gets the ball controls it well and passes and moves, something we never really get from our midfield.

[TBM]

I'm not generally impressed so far, but he clearly has a shot on him, and I think he will get some goals from midfield, which is something we've been lacking since Harper went into his shell.

i'm nervous for him a bit, because it looks like potentially being between him and Cummings for the role of HobNob hate figure, once Kebe's out of the team. I hope he turns out to be useful.

Are you talking about Howard or Sig now?

[facaldaqui]

Howard. Even the Hobnobbers wouldn't be so crass as to pick on Siggurdsson. But I think Siggurdsson is also capable of scoring some goals from midfield.