Just Back

Quoted from HertsGTFC

The thing for me is that we can’t seem to get the midfield balance right Hunt & Morris can pass the ball, Clifton is getting better and Green can scrap and find a pass. We pick Holohan who’s a good lad but can’t pass water and isnt a 10,  Khan who can hurt sides out on the left seems to be asked to do a different job each times he starts.

Both Lloyd & Orsi have energy and are willing runners into space, Lloyd can also finish so just get the midfield right and we can free the two front lads up a bit without relying on someone being the hold up man.

I like Taylor a lot but I think his race may be run and McAtee sadly has become all about McAtee which is a shame as he’s been one of my personal favourites since he arrived.

We don’t have enough to be truly competitive but we have enough to make the hard earned admission fee feel like it’s a bit more like value for money.

Have to disagree with most of that.

Morris has had a couple of decent games recently but for most of his games he has given the ball away quite a bit. Hunt is no where near the player he was when he was first on loan here.

I think Clifton has gone backwards towards the season end. Khan the times he has played hasn't hurt that many teams.

I just don't think Lloyd and Orsi are the answer to our goal scoring problems up front.

Not sure I agree about Clifton but I do on Morris and Hunt. Both failed to produce good standards consistently. Not only them either. Several others.

Quoted from chaos33

Not sure I agree about Clifton but I do on Morris and Hunt. Both failed to produce good standards consistently. Not only them either. Several others.

I’m likely to be wrong but I can’t remember us ever picking the same midfield for a run of games all season. Holohan, Green and Clifton seem to have been picked ahead of Morris and Hunt in the main which seems to suggest graft over guile.

I know I’m repeating myself but creative midfielders need movement ahead of them and our attackers are a bit like Subbuteo players and need the ball to land at their feet.

That then leads on to our attacking options, the capable ones have been injured and the loanees, with the exception of Lloyd and possibly Richardson, have been generally dreadful.

Quoted from arryarryarry

Have to disagree with most of that.

Morris has had a couple of decent games recently but for most of his games he has given the ball away quite a bit. Hunt is no where near the player he was when he was first on loan here.

I think Clifton has gone backwards towards the season end. Khan the times he has played hasn't hurt that many teams.

I just don't think Lloyd and Orsi are the answer to our goal scoring problems up front.

Yeah, Morris has picked up over the previous couple of games but doesn't change my mind, nowhere near consistently good enough to be in a promotion challenging side. We need better.

Quoted from immariner

I don't really know how you can say Umerah wasn't particularly good. He did exactly what was asked/expected of him as a target man, showed a good touch and barely lost a header. Lloyd being naff in a role he is wholly unsuited to doesn't change that. Bagged himself a 12th goal of the season in a struggling side. Not as good as Cook was for Bradford but we'd kill for a player like Umerah for next season, without question

He was decent but not great in my view, better than what we have though.

Quoted from arryarryarry

Have to disagree with most of that.

Morris has had a couple of decent games recently but for most of his games he has given the ball away quite a bit. Hunt is no where near the player he was when he was first on loan here.

I think Clifton has gone backwards towards the season end. Khan the times he has played hasn't hurt that many teams.

I just don't think Lloyd and Orsi are the answer to our goal scoring problems up front.

I’d have to disagree on the assessment of Hunt. He’s a creative player but we have no outlet for him to put the ball. Last season he had Sousa wide right, Clifton left and McAtee in front, all giving him out balls. This season McAtee has either been injured or not played, we have played central midfielders and not natural wide men, and asked wing backs to provide width, but their starting positions have been behind rather than in front of him. In essence, we haven’t played to his strengths.

Quoted from blundellpork

I’d have to disagree on the assessment of Hunt. He’s a creative player but we have no outlet for him to put the ball. Last season he had Sousa wide right, Clifton left and McAtee in front, all giving him out balls. This season McAtee has either been injured or not played, we have played central midfielders and not natural wide men, and asked wing backs to provide width, but their starting positions have been behind rather than in front of him. In essence, we haven’t played to his strengths.

I wasn't having a go at Hunt particularly just saying he wasn't as effective and you basically agree🤔

I will argue until the day I day, give Lloyd service and support he will be a top player in this division.
We definitely need atleast 5 players in if we are to aim for the top 7.

*edit 5 players that'll improve and are better than we have in those positions.

Truth be told, I don't think Hunt was as effective last season as many think. He had a brief purple patch which coincided with McAtee and Bapaga playing well and looked a good player then, but dropped off badly towards the end of his loan spell and I wasn't overly bothered when he left. Given his complete lack of an impact at Oldham, I was surprised that we went back in for him and paid a fee and he's barely put in a decent performance since then.

I see many comments that he's our most creative player, but is he really? At his best, he moves the ball forward quickly and accurately but it isn't really incisive passing (though admittedly, our forwards aren't the most dynamic to get into good attacking positions often enough). I've not seen Hunt have a definitively good performance since his return, though I have missed several home games in 2023 for one reason or another and haven't been able to get to an away game this season.

If Hunt is going to have an impact next season, he needs to improve a lot. First thing to do, for me, would be hit the gym and put on a few pounds of muscle. He's always going to be slight due to his build but doesn't look strong enough to me at the moment. A little bit more upper body bulk could go a long way to help him hold his own physically which might help him find some consistency. If your main attribute is accurate passing, flipping well make sure you pass accurately. He was really poor in this regard against Southampton, though the same could be said for the rest of our passing during that game.

The Cup run disguised what a poor team we can be at times as the passing through midfield is often absolutely shocking as often as not. I like Holohan as he's had a positive impact with his ability to nick a goal here and there and put in a real shift, but his passing is often very poor. Green another who has looked useful when fit, but not one who exactly has a silky touch.

With those two in the middle alongside Hunt against Hartlepool, I can't really see how we could expect to hold possession well enough to do anything, especially without any sort of a focal point up front.

Lots of work for Hurst to do in the summer to try and get that midfield sorted out. I don't think we even have a basis in there for a strong team at the moment.

Quoted from arryarryarry

I wasn't having a go at Hunt particularly just saying he wasn't as effective and you basically agree🤔

For Hunt....two very recent examples of how and how not to use him..
Hartlepool - absolutely no width , no runners from midfield and one striker to aim at...result....he struggles.  

Crawley - three up top ahead of him,  width  runners and he was central to what I think was probably our best League 90 mins of the season.

He can be key but if the manager isn't picking players in front of him then what's the point in having the best picker  of a pass and passer of a ball if he is only going to be passing it to sideways targets.