Just back

Defensively, I'm pretty happy with Efete.

Sure, he makes errors, but recovers from more of them than not due to his athleticism. It's just a shame that he apparently isn't able to improve his crossing and decision-making when driving forward so he's not really cut out for being a wing-back or a full-back with a great attacking threat.

I think Cropper looked a pretty solid full-back during the run-in last season. Not nearly as athletic as Efete, but perhaps with slightly better positioning. A better crosser of the ball, but more of a defensive player with only the offensive threat of that massive throw-in!

The fact Cropper has only been fit to play for short spells of the past couple of seasons shows where his problem lies. It's a big gamble just hoping that a player with past injury problems will be able to stay fit throughout the course of a season.

If Cropper was to stay, we'd need to have an attacker with pace playing ahead of him, I think.

I do think that Efete has played performed pretty well in a back three where his athleticism helps but we're lacking the wing-back who can bomb forward in front of him.

A lot depends on what Hurst ends up planning for next season. Three at the back has worked out OK in many (mostly away) games but we've sort of fallen into it due to the injuries we had at the start of the year. I don't think any of our full-backs are really great wing-backs so setting up in a way which leaves us a bit light on attacking threat isn't the best idea for home games.

I have to say, I don't think that Maher's throw is all that bad. It obviously pales in comparison to Cropper's howitzers, but the biggest issue is that our main aerial threat is Waterfall who is about 6'2" (with barely any other six-footers in the box) and most teams we face have a couple of defenders who are at least a couple of inches taller than him. If we had a Dieseruvwe-type of figure to compete for the first flick-on, I think Maher's throw would appear a bit more effective.

You might think I am talking rubbish ( it has been known  )

BUT

I wonder if Efete has been tried as a striker, he has pace can head a ball , he is big and could or should be able to hold his own in the penalty box plus we know he has an eye for goal.

I am talking in training and if not why not there is nothing to lose.

If he has and been ok in that position maybe we do not have to pay big money to get that elusive No. 9 .

We might see him tried in a match before the season ends.

Just a thought .

Quoted from grimsby pete

You might think I am talking rubbish ( it has been known  )

BUT

I wonder if Efete has been tried as a striker, he has pace can head a ball , he is big and could or should be able to hold his own in the penalty box plus we know he has an eye for goal.

I am talking in training and if not why not there is nothing to lose.

If he has and been ok in that position maybe we do not have to pay big money to get that elusive No. 9 .

We might see him tried in a match before the season ends.

Just a thought .

Keep taking the tablets Pete I’m sure you will recover shortly 😀😀

Quoted from Maringer

I have to say, I don't think that Maher's throw is all that bad. It obviously pales in comparison to Cropper's howitzers, but the biggest issue is that our main aerial threat is Waterfall who is about 6'2" (with barely any other six-footers in the box) and most teams we face have a couple of defenders who are at least a couple of inches taller than him. If we had a Dieseruvwe-type of figure to compete for the first flick-on, I think Maher's throw would appear a bit more effective.

I completely agree with you that our options from a 'standard' long throw are limited.  But I think Maher's throw is actually quite poor.

It's not really long so your only option is to go for that very near post flick-on.  The pace and trajectory of it makes it fairly easy to defend against.  Be it Waterfall, Smith, Taylor, you could have anyone going for that flick-on and they're going to be faced with defenders hemming them in and the time to push/pull you so the man in front has a free header.

It's the sort of long throw that you could use to move up the pitch perhaps but I really don't see it as an attacking option.  That's not even looking at it in comparison to Cropper either, I just think it's totally ineffective.  

It's an attacking option when the team isn't great at crossing or passing!

Certainly an asset for getting the ball further up the field. I agree, it's not a massive threat, but then it's no different to most of the long throws we see from other teams week-in, week-out. It's better than nothing which is what we get from our other players.

Quoted from Maringer

It's an attacking option when the team isn't great at crossing or passing!

Certainly an asset for getting the ball further up the field. I agree, it's not a massive threat, but then it's no different to most of the long throws we see from other teams week-in, week-out. It's better than nothing which is what we get from our other players.

I don’t see enough benefit in Maher’s throw to justify him leaving his position to take it. Unlike Cropper.

I do. It's not brilliant, but it's not terrible.

As long as we aren't playing for throws and Maher only takes close to the box, it's worth using from time to time.

In the absence of being able to pass and cross the ball effectively, it offers the option to get the ball into dangerous areas.

If we could score more goals from open play, that would obviously be better, but the division as a whole seem to be pretty crap in this regard.

I agree with the posters saying that Maher's throw isn't worth persisting with.

It's not THAT long a throw. But the main difference, as others have probably said, to Croppers, is the trajectory.

The trajectory of the ball and the angle it arrives in the box at, gives defenders the edge in winning the header.

Croppers low flat trajectory means it's coming in almost horizontally, so if the defender is marking goal-side (which they will be obviously), our player is favourite to get a flick/glancing header on it before the defender behind him, because the defender would have to go through him to do so.

Whereas with Maher's throw, it is looped up in the air so comes down almost as if someone has thrown it up in the air from under the two players challenging for it. So it becomes more of a 50-50 as there's no advantage given by the trajectory of the ball. And with League 2 defenders generally being better in the air than strikers, they win the first ball from Maher's throw more often than not.