Dael Fry

Jonny Ingbar said:
Agree with Tav, it's only now that many people see what a good player he was for us - one was always destined for the EPL.

But I'm not entirely in agreement with your view on Fry - I think he's a top player but I'm still not convinced that he's a "winner" as such and think this prevents him realising his full and absolute potential.

I think he has the abilities needed to play PL football, but competing in professional sport at the top level is as much about application as it is ability.

I think CW see Fry through this lens too.
Click to expand...
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by being a "winner" and why you think Fry isn't a winner? Is it because he's a bit of a home bird?
 
Caesium137 said:
Not bullied exactly, but he is nowhere near tough, aggressive or dominant enough to be a 'main man' centre back in the champo. He may have been one of those attitude over ability players Wilder mentioned after Preston?

He has the skills, the undoubted quality other than his passing under pressure maybe. He's a pretty big, strong lad with a good header on him. The fact he has 2 goals in 165 appearances is pretty poor, he's up for every set piece, he just doesn't seem to have that aggression or killer instinct to make a ball his.

I assume that is why Wilder felt the need to bring a Lenihan type centre half in, he is looking not just for a tidy defender, but a leader and organiser who will bust a gut to get on the end of things.

In an ideal world, if his contract is long enough and he is willing to stay and fight for his place then keep him, as he's more than good enough for us other than the aforementioned passing.

But if that isn't the case, he wants to be first choice or won't sign an extension say, then the recruitment team & Wilder need to decide that if they have identified someone who is a better fit that we can get, then is it better for MFC to sell him now.

He's not our captain and a beast at the back, he's nowhere as important to us as Tav was, he isn't our main striker. He's a nice tidy centre half, who has some potential and has acquitted himself well playing against PL teams. He lacks some of the physical and psychological toughness required to make it as really good defender for me.

If he stays great, if he is sold and we get an adequate replacement who can cover the central role in the back three as well as Fry and play on the left better than any of our other defenders then we are better off surely?
Click to expand...
Need to remember that Fry has played under a lot of managers for Boro in a relatively short space of time. Wilder is probably the first to ask him to play football and not just hoof it (maybe Woodgate did too tbf). Pulis and Warnock are probably the biggest influencers on his game, which may explain why he's not adapting to Wilder's style as easily as others.
 
Humpty said:
He constantly gets bullied by physical strikers? What nonsense. Someone said he lacked pace earlier, he's not Usain Bolt granted but for a big centre half he can shift. Soo many fallacies created online sometimes
Click to expand...

Berwickhillbilly said:
Prefer Fry.
3 games in, Boro 6 conceded, Blackburn 1.
Click to expand...
What's Blackburn's results got to do with ours, they play with a back 4, we play with a quite open back 3 with High wingbacks, for me Midfield is one of the major issues in the team, some games players appear to just run straight through us, I wouldn't necessary blame any of the defenders for this!

It appears some have written Lenihan off and on what basis, the back 3 as a whole no matter who has played has looked suspect to be honest and I would throw the keeper in there too.

For me all games are won and lost in the middle of the park
 
Humpty said:
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by being a "winner" and why you think Fry isn't a winner? Is it because he's a bit of a home bird?
Click to expand...
Partly I guess, he could have moved to the EPL but chose to stay, but mainly because of what I see watching him.

He seems a quiet lad and I'm not convinced that he has that 'shithousery' (or arrogant, win at all costs self belief for those who prefer) that would take him to the next level.

I said last week after seeing Lenihan for the first time that I was still to be convinced that he's an upgrade on Fry and I still remain so, because I'm not convinced he's more talented than Fry, but one thing that is evident is that he has that 'je ne sais quoi', that I feel Fry perhaps lacks.
 
uncle_rico said:
Need to remember that Fry has played under a lot of managers for Boro in a relatively short space of time. Wilder is probably the first to ask him to play football and not just hoof it (maybe Woodgate did too tbf). Pulis and Warnock are probably the biggest influencers on his game, which may explain why he's not adapting to Wilder's style as easily as others.
Click to expand...
Agree on that Rico, but he played well under Wilder last season, but as the team slumped late on his form did too, he was poor against Barnsley and was all at sea in the 45 minutes he got on Sunday. I do think he is good technically but there is something in his confidence, to play the ball, to stand up to players, to smash through a challenge to win a header to score off a set piece, that just seems lacking for some reason.

It is a criticism of the squad as a whole pretty much, we seem to lack the physicality, belief, shithousery/dark arts and sheer will to win.

I've mentioned it a few times, but I really doubt many opposition teams would think 'I don't fancy squaring up to him today' about anyone in our squad.

McGree and Howson looked like boys playing against men against Berge for a lot of the game on Sunday.

I don't really want Fry to go, but if it allows us to get in the often mention LCB who is a bigger physical unit, more aggressive/powerful/confident and scores more from set pieces I think it will benefit the squad.

I think the main reason we are all over at the minute is adapting to a left wing back who is a winger not a left back, Tav recovery runs/tracking not being there, and nobody having chance to form a partnership as Wilder keeps shuffling the pack looking for the balance he wants.

If we get Mowatt in and settled, the mythical Greaves and by the sounds of it Riis, so the ball sticks a bit better up top and we don't spurn the four chances I think Watmore should have buried already this season I think it will transform us.

I'd be willing to sacrifice Fry for that (not literally), but it will mean we need another covering CB if he does go I think.
 
Jonny Ingbar said:
Partly I guess, he could have moved to the EPL but chose to stay, but mainly because of what I see watching him.

He seems a quiet lad and I'm not convinced that he has that 'shithousery' (or arrogant, win at all costs self belief for those who prefer) that would take him to the next level.

I said last week after seeing Lenihan for the first time that I was still to be convinced that he's an upgrade on Fry and I still remain so, because I'm not convinced he's more talented than Fry, but one thing that is evident is that he has that 'je ne sais quoi', that I feel Fry perhaps lacks.
Click to expand...
Snap.
 
Oh, and although not a huge concern, he seems to miss about ten or twelve games every season too. Some by selfishly getting his face where others want to put their studs.
 
Jonny Ingbar said:
Partly I guess, he could have moved to the EPL but chose to stay, but mainly because of what I see watching him.

He seems a quiet lad and I'm not convinced that he has that 'shithousery' (or arrogant, win at all costs self belief for those who prefer) that would take him to the next level.

I said last week after seeing Lenihan for the first time that I was still to be convinced that he's an upgrade on Fry and I still remain so, because I'm not convinced he's more talented than Fry, but one thing that is evident is that he has that 'je ne sais quoi', that I feel Fry perhaps lacks.
Click to expand...
Again not sure i agree but that's fine. Time will tell i suppose.
 
Humpty said:
Again not sure i agree but that's fine. Time will tell i suppose.
Click to expand...
I think CW may have a similar view, which could be the decisive factor in his Boro future, regardless of which of us is nearer the truth.

Let's hope the manager can get him playing to his absolute potential, because he'd be a shoe-in if he can.
 
Humpty said:
I respect your opinion but i completely disagree with pretty much every aspect of that post. Dael Fry is hugely undervalued by a large proportion of our fan base, much in the way Tav was until last season (and even then we still had dissenters). Another player that you don't realise how important he is until he's gone or missing from the team...as we've already seen this season.
Click to expand...
To me they could work well together in a back 4 probably better than a back 5 lenihan and fry like mowbray and pallister. Unfortunately we have a manager who is too intransigent to try 4 at the back.
 
Glover_elbow said:
To me they could work well together in a back 4 probably better than a back 5 lenihan and fry like mowbray and pallister. Unfortunately we have a manager who is too intransigent to try 4 at the back.
Click to expand...
I hop that is a bit of fishing?

I mean why on earth would you go to a back 4 when you've got the 2 best wing backs in the league 🤷‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️
 
I feel for all the defenders not signed by Wilder. He has criticised everyone apart from his signing. I don't get it. Lenihan cost nothing and has done nothing to justify his selection. Yet in recent games all the goals have been the fault of Dijksteel, Bola or Fry according to Wilder. Utter madness.

Would he be happy to sell them all and have Lenihan play on his own? They must be a bit miffed. Public shaming and preferencial treatment ended in most jobs decades ago. Modern managers don't go in for it in the main. Wilder seems to have adopted a siege mentality on his signings.
 
BoroMart said:
I hop that is a bit of fishing?

I mean why on earth would you go to a back 4 when you've got the 2 best wing backs in the league 🤷‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️
Click to expand...
I reckon those 2 could play as wingers in front of a back 4 of Bola Fry Lenihan and Dijksteel if Wilder switched to 4 at the back.
 
EI_Owen said:
I reckon those 2 could play as wingers in front of a back 4 of Bola Fry Lenihan and Dijksteel if Wilder switched to 4 at the back.
Click to expand...
Has he ever played that?

He's been 3-5-2 as long as I've taken any note of him.

Why would he change his formation and entire philosophy now, after it has brought him so much success?
 
edinboro said:
I feel for all the defenders not signed by Wilder. He has criticised everyone apart from his signing. I don't get it. Lenihan cost nothing and has done nothing to justify his selection. Yet in recent games all the goals have been the fault of Dijksteel, Bola or Fry according to Wilder. Utter madness.

Would he be happy to sell them all and have Lenihan play on his own? They must be a bit miffed. Public shaming and preferencial treatment ended in most jobs decades ago. Modern managers don't go in for it in the main. Wilder seems to have adopted a siege mentality on his signings.
Click to expand...
Wilder seems to publicly criticise some players and not others Arron Connolly is a good example of someone escaping the wrath maybe not his own signings. Also when the team have been poor collectively singling out individuals is bad form. Warnock was castigated on here for being publicly critical too often but wilder seems to be doing it more frequently than him
 
Jonny Ingbar said:
Partly I guess, he could have moved to the EPL but chose to stay, but mainly because of what I see watching him.

He seems a quiet lad and I'm not convinced that he has that 'shithousery' (or arrogant, win at all costs self belief for those who prefer) that would take him to the next level.

I said last week after seeing Lenihan for the first time that I was still to be convinced that he's an upgrade on Fry and I still remain so, because I'm not convinced he's more talented than Fry, but one thing that is evident is that he has that 'je ne sais quoi', that I feel Fry perhaps lacks.
Click to expand...
If 'je ne sais quoi ' is french for dirty b****d
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top