Jordan Cropper Vs Michee Efete.

One thing is for certain, we need to take Maher off throw-ins.

It’s simply not long enough to be effective & we lose his aerial threat as a byproduct of him taking the throw, in the first place!

The alternative is the endlessly shít and, almost entirely, ineffective scenario of needing one or two players within 5/10 yards of the thrower and having to work a small triangle in that tiny channel down the side. You end up losing the ball 9 times out of 10, and you’ve then got at least 2 players, if not three, immediately out of the game.

Cropper he might not be, but you only need one decent flick on or one defender to misjudge a header and you’ve a good chance of scoring.

If, and it's a big if, we could sign Josh Emmanuel, I'd go back to a back four and keep Cropper as second choice. For all Michee's pace, his football brain isn't on a par with his peers. Saturday was a prime example - on three occasions he burst into space, didn't know what to do and then passed it to Walsall. On several other occasions, in his defensive role he has stood an ball watched. Salford is a game that springs to mind.

Quoted from Mariner_09

Michee is a much better full back than Cropper. Cropper doesn't have anything like the athleticism, the physical presence, the attacking threat, ability to get us up the pitch or the goal threat that Michee has.

They're probably similar on the ball, Cropper is less prone to lapses and that throw in, in and of itself, is a massive threat and can be the point of difference in marginal games, as we all know. We wouldn't have got promoted without him, and, if he'd been fit, Hursty would've picked Michee over Cropper in the playoffs.

No shade on Efete here but had he done that I'm quite sure we'd be sat today as a National League side.

The difference in those play-offs was the goals from the long throw and I think they are an unbelievable asset for us. Wrexham paid 250k for Tozer and a huge part of that was for his long throw. I think we'd score more goals with Croppers throw than we'd concede through him playing right-back. Efete is better, but not that much better IMO

My impression of Efete, and possibly Cropper as well (based on him watching Tozer head home against us at Wrexham), is that
neither has good "defensive instincts" in moments of pressure.

Have mentioned this before - I can imagine Efete being more effective in a defensive midfield role (which Green does well though).
His aerial strength, pace and running seems well-suited to the position - and he'll have Luke Waterfall behind him bellowing at him
to help keep him tuned in.

Cropper is only 22, and I feel sure we wouldn't have won promotion from the NL without him. Which is quite a testimony for a
young player who's made only 10 appearences for the club. His long throw is a fearsome weapon.
If El General doesn't see him as a starter (and it looks that way), then the only role I could imagine for him would be a
'Parslow-in-reverse' supersub, who's brought on for the last 15 minutes when we're chasing the game. Not a bad option to have.

Don't think we've seen enough of Cropper to fairly compare the two of them, but I'd be happy with both in next season's squad.
I'd be happier still if we signed a quality right-back though. (Easy to say, I know)

UTM

Guaranteed to be an unpopular opinion but I'd give Efete a chance up front tbh, pacy, tall-ish, physical enough, can beat a man, scores occasionally from RB so I imagine could score more if based up top.  We have a few games with no meaning at the back end of the season, would be interesting to watch. Any lapses won't result in a scrambled defence.  I love watching the guy because he s pure entertainment, the only massive minus point I have with him is that he's often stood a yard or two deeper than the rest of the defence and playing opposition strikers onside - having said all that i'd be happy for him to continue as our firs choice RB/RWB/RCB next season

I think Efete has looked pretty good in a back 3 as he is decent in the air, is quick enough to help cover and has the option of pushing forward as well. As a wing-back, the general lack of quality from his crosses is a problem and he doesn't often take the right option when in advance positions (same can be said for many of our players, however). I'm not convinced he's at his best at right-back so it depends what formation we end up with next season. If we continue to play with wing-backs, I'd be happier to see him as one of the back 3 with a 'specialist' wing-back playing instead.

Regarding the long throws, I think Maher's isn't at all bad. The problem is our relative lack of height. Waterfall is our most dangerous header of the ball, but he's giving away two or three inches against some of the massive defenders we face most weeks and we don't have many others who can make themselves as much of a nuisance. Smith, Efete (and Maher) are all around the 6 foot mark but we don't have anyone near Dieseruvwe's level of height (6'5", I seem to think).

Quoted from Maringer

I think Efete has looked pretty good in a back 3 as he is decent in the air, is quick enough to help cover and has the option of pushing forward as well. As a wing-back, the general lack of quality from his crosses is a problem and he doesn't often take the right option when in advance positions (same can be said for many of our players, however). I'm not convinced he's at his best at right-back so it depends what formation we end up with next season. If we continue to play with wing-backs, I'd be happier to see him as one of the back 3 with a 'specialist' wing-back playing instead.

Regarding the long throws, I think Maher's isn't at all bad. The problem is our relative lack of height. Waterfall is our most dangerous header of the ball, but he's giving away two or three inches against some of the massive defenders we face most weeks and we don't have many others who can make themselves as much of a nuisance. Smith, Efete (and Maher) are all around the 6 foot mark but we don't have anyone near Dieseruvwe's level of height (6'5", I seem to think).

Mahers barely gets 2-3 yards into the box and isn’t delivered at pace, it wouldn’t be threatening even if we had that freak that played for Solihull up top.

Croppers is low, flat and fizzes in, it’s an absolute weapon.

Until Cropper can solve his fitness issues, Michee is the man in possession and has done enough to deserve the patience of the coaching staff.

That said, he really is a 'box of chocolates' and can be a strong, dependable caramel in a back three or just as unreliable in a back four as biting into a Turkish delight when you thought it was going to be a subtle rum truffle.

If Emmanuel moves on we have to look for better if we are to challenge for League one.

If it had to be a choice right now then it would have to be Cropper, not sure he has played that many games to see exactly how good a defender is but for his long throw and the fact that Efete just hasn't got the concentration to be a good defender, countless times he goes missing leaving the man he is supposed to be marking.

Probably need a better full back than both of them.