Are we over reliant on Giles

I think the whole of our attacking play looks slightly worse with Crooks up top. We have been effective and the results have been good in the main, but we are less mobile, agile and pacey IMO.

Having Forss central up top closing, running and stretching gives Akpom more space & time to operate and make late arriving runs into the box. Jones hanging wide right gives us an option to go to either side to him or Giles.

For me Crooks lack of pace and mobility, along with his tendency to drop a bit deeper with his midfield roots affects the way our other attacking outlets play.

I wonder if Crooks could play where Akpom is as a ten linking play, and utilise Chuba further forward? But I don't think I'd want to move him to be honest though.

I don't understand paying loan fees for two forwards, (plus good wages I'm sure) and utilising a centre mid (predominantly for us) there.

If Carrick wants a target man up top, we should either recall Coburn (I would be against this as he's learning his trade well there), or sign a forward that suits that style.
 
Can only go on what I witnessed yesterday from you lot hoofball the stats will back up that observation I am sure
Btw do you go on to Luton’s and West Brom’s sites and talk crap days after a game or is it just us you know the side you lot don’t care about.
 
I think the whole of our attacking play looks slightly worse with Crooks up top. We have been effective and the results have been good in the main, but we are less mobile, agile and pacey IMO.

Having Forss central up top closing, running and stretching gives Akpom more space & time to operate and make late arriving runs into the box. Jones hanging wide right gives us an option to go to either side to him or Giles.

For me Crooks lack of pace and mobility, along with his tendency to drop a bit deeper with his midfield roots affects the way our other attacking outlets play.

I wonder if Crooks could play where Akpom is as a ten linking play, and utilise Chuba further forward? But I don't think I'd want to move him to be honest though.

I don't understand paying loan fees for two forwards, (plus good wages I'm sure) and utilising a centre mid (predominantly for us) there.

If Carrick wants a target man up top, we should either recall Coburn (I would be against this as he's learning his trade well there), or sign a forward that suits that style.
100% agree. I thought Crooks up top and Forss out wide was so bad that I said at half time against Blackburn that at least that'll be the last we see of that experiment and then nothing changed and they combined for a goal in the 1st minutes and Forss got an assist. Then I thought we were poor again against Birmingham but then Crooks got 2. I think it is similar to when we had Stuani playing out wide. As a team we were less effective but he was getting goals so was it justified? Hard to know because it's impossible ot be able to answer whether you'd have even scored more or been better with different personnel.

In my opinion Crooks is ok up top but because he isn't a striker he doesn't know when and where to make runs and I think he drops in and gets in the way of Akpom where Forss leaves the space for Akpom. Same with Forss out wide. He looks to go towards goal and makes runs a striker makes from out wide but we need the winger to be getting wide and creating space for midfield/fullback to move in to but he gets in the way.

I don't think it's terrible and it isn't working. We're getting results but I can't help but think it isn't optimal and it would be better to have a striker up top and a winger out wide. Maybe that's what Carrick wants but he doesn't have the players in the squad to do that and he's after recruitment.
 
Actually when you were down to 10 the option to play hoofball was drastically reduced as the big donkey up front went off, GOTCHA ❤️
I know you're just fishing, but if you're really bothered about a non-rival you can look at the stats, it's all out there.

Boro 3rd in league on short passes (S'land 9th)
Boro 21st in league on long passes (S'land 17th)

 
So you lot passed the ball on the floor under Wilder?
Is your point that we did more short passing under Wilder than Carrick? Well, the answer to that is no.

In which case the stats would contradict your "hoofball" comment even more.
 
Too early for a thread like this, he’s not going to assist every game. He’s playing as a left back.

He was unreal against Wigan and set up Akpom against Brighton and had a quieter game against Millwall but still solid defensively and got in good positions and was poor yesterday

He’s massive for us Giles, he really is.
 
I’ve edited the title as it was never my intent to criticise him
More looking at how we play through him.
 
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