Went to the game yesterday, was truly dire and was a dodgy drive home with gale force winds etc, anyway to the point, I thought that Andy Gray was unbelievely poor, i know he has family problems but he showed no passion, couldnt hold up anything and had an awful first touch. Didnt show any desire to close things down and on a few occasions when shelvey was busting in from midfield, rather then make a run for shelvey to slide him in he hid by the wing.
Sheffield wednesdays defense was one of the worst i have seen, as soon as dickson came on he had a shot 10 seconds into coming on, which i beleive was one of the first shots on target.
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But since scoring the winner at Doncaster on Sept 16, he's managed just two goals from open play. That's an average of one goal every two months.So we're due another one some time in March, by which time we will be relegated,anyway.
Meanwhile, Izale is off helping Millwall pass us in the opposite direction as they get promoted...
People can go on about him not getting the service, but the bloke doesn't even try. Hardly ever jumps, doesn't run about, has no pace, and generally offers us nothing. Struggling teams need players willing to run their arses off and he is never going to give us that.
He won't play 2 up front because he won't start Todorov or Dickson.
Also allows him to play Shelvey or Ambrose behind Gray or Burton.
Can't wait to see the back of this guy, he's cost us a fortune in wages and transfer fees and has offered nothing.
He's was having a good season when we signed him, but looking through his career that was a bit of an exception. He's an average player at best.
He hasn't trained regularly.
I find him intensely frustrating to watch but given his personal circumstances (of which I know nothing) I am loath to be too critical.
I blame the manager for selecting him.
He certainly is not the answer on his own and the game was crying out for a more quick footed forward like Dickson, but for christs sake venting all your pissed off ness on one bloke , who's getting marked out the game and getting zero service is a bit pointless.
I think it comes down to the coaching, something can't be right when we see Iwelumo/McCarthy etc go off and do well for the new clubs. Youga has turned into a complete walking disaster, yet at Scunthorpe was a revelation. Dickson goes off and scores goal but can't get a look in but we are more than happy to loan a few players in for the to get some match practice in. Something isn't right behind the scenes.
He was supposed to come back from injury in early january wasn't he?
Well the months almost up and where are you Mr Zizi?
This always gets trotted out. But rated by whom? And based on what criteria? Someone did mention this on here before - can't remember the details but I think it was one football magazine or website and was more of an opinion than a scientific survey...
Gray is clearly a player that splits fans right down the middle.
I'm very much of the opinion that we have not used him correctly. I for one was pleased when we signed him, I was hoping that we were going to get the player that gave our defence a real going over when Burnley turned us over 3-1. The reason that we haven't is largely because he has spent his entire Charlton career in a struggling side.
That day he played alongside Robbie Blake, a player who can pick a pass, cross a ball and most of all creates chances for his strike partner.
Gray has had next to no service this season. The guy is NOT a target man, he is a link player. His strength is not winning balls that are humped up to him, play the ball into his feet and he will usually bring someone else into the game.
How many times has he had the ball played into his feet in the oppositions penalty box this year?. Once?. Derby?. What happened?.
People that slag him off for struggling when he first joined us, should remember that a certain Mr Pardew chose to pay 1.5m for him when he was already on a no goal for 6,7 or 8 games run when we signed him.
He isn't mobile enough to play up on his own, he needs someone up with him. I don't think Dickson is the messiah but I do think him and Gray could work. How long have they been given together?.
As for those that choose to spend their afternoon slagging the bloke off then they should take a look in the mirror and consider what the bloke has been through this season.The whole work life, home life debate has been done already, but if what has happened to him happened to any one of us and it didn't affect you at work then something is wrong with that person. Gray has not hidden, he has made himself available for games that is a damn site more than many other pros with much lesser problems have done - Etherington? Oh dear I owe 2% of my annual income to a bookie, I need 3 months off etc etc.
Add to that that the majority of us don't spend 90mins of our working week infront of 15-20k people with a percentage giving us dogs abuse.
If doesn't look fit, is that a surprise if he hasn't been training?. We have also been told more than once that he is carrying a knock.
It is completely unfair to single him out, he is no better or worse than any of the other dross we are being served up week in week out at the moment.
Don't know if you ever read any of this Andy, but if you do you have my utmost respect for playing on after what you have been through.
Pretty sure it was 4-4-2, he was rated at 2nd I think. On all round ability he's not the best player, but if we use him like he should be we'd get more out of him. Good point about him not getting support, I'd imagine ZZ being in the team, and playing 2 up front would help that.
That's another good point, and I think I said in another thread we'll see players like Hudson and Fortune leave and do well for other clubs, as will players like Bailey if they leave and find the right team to fit into.
So is that an admission that he is dross?
Because two goals in open play since mid-Sept is not good enough even for a striker who's not getting good service, isn't being used in the right way, isn't fit because he's not training (I thought he was, actually, but I may be wrong), is carrying a knock and has personal problems...
And given all these impediments, why not play a striker who is fit and in training, isn't carrying a knock and doesn't have personal problems? The names Dickson and the now departed McLeod come to mind...
As for the reason for his struggles being that ''he has spent his entire Charlton career in a struggling side'' - weren't we fifth and in a play-off place when he arrived ? Wasn't he bought to turbo-charge our promotion push ? Instead, he took 13 or 14 games to get off the mark as we slipped further and further down the table.
Before anyone shoots me down for that comment, I know they haven't played as many games. The supposed other option Burton, will not score more than 3 goals for us this season. I still think if we get the ball to Gray in the right areas then he will score. He isn't missing chances, he isn't getting any. Unlike Burton - Notts Forest?.
I have no issue with the bloke being left out for someone else, I personally think his off field problems have affected him. I never once said he was playing well or the best striker in the Championship, I simply believe the level of stick aimed at him is over the top.
However, as I have said, he has been big enough to make himself available for selection. You can't shoot him down for going on the pitch when picked.
We're certainly achieving that - in that we're heading down - but I'd agree that we haven't played to Gray's strengths.
His quote on the OS at the time of signing: "My main strengths are holding the ball up, bringing other people into play and nicking a goal. I'm just going to try and do my best and see where it takes me."
Even he wasn't painting himself as a great goalscorer, and I believe I'm right in thinking that he hadn't scored another goal for Burnley between getting two against us and then signing last January.
Overall he's been a disappointing signing, but no worse than Varney and McLeod et al.
Anyone watching us last season would surely agree that we were running out of steam when Gray came in. Reid was gone, we stopped creating chances and were relying on an increasing number of loan players.
IMHO our current run of form started around Jan/Feb 08.
In other words, when Gray became our lead striker. We could debate cause and effect all night on that one - but I suggest we don't !
Anyone watching us last season would surely agree that we were running out of steam when Gray came in. Reid was gone, we stopped creating chances and were relying on an increasing number of loan players.
IMHO our current run of form started around Jan/Feb 08.[/quote]
You just contradicted your own opinion in that post Clem - you say that we were already running out of steam when gray came in, but then conclude that our current run of form started around Jan/Feb 08 - i.e. it started as soon as gray arrived.
Regardless of any of the excuses being offered up for him, gray is a poor footballer that is the plain fact of the matter, and anybody who has watched us at all this season should be able to see that. What sort of a bloody excuse is the fact that hes playing in a struggling side - he is a major part of why we are struggling, im sure most of the players could look half decent if they were playing alongside 10 decent footballers. and as for not getting any chances to miss - he cost us 2 points away at forest when he practically missed an open goal near the end, and the fact is as a striker he should be able to create some for himself - dickson got a shot on target within THIRTY SECONDS of walking on the pitch yesterday.
he was the wrong side of 30 when we signed him, and parkinson and the board are crackers if they sell dickson and keep him given their respective ages/wage packets/abilities/ambitions ahead of our impending relegation. And whatever these family problems are (i dont know myself) there is no excuse for him to turn up, not make any effort and walk around sulking - if theres a serious problem then the bloke should be nowhere near the first 16.
I was there Shrew and I agree with that. Gray didn't have a good game by any stretch of the imagination but only Sam and Shelvey made any effort to get up and around him and he was very tightly marked. He did win a decent number of flicks, but NO ONE (not even Shelvey) anticipated any of them (que comments about him never winning any) so they consitently fell to no one.
Midfield was the real problem, only Sam turned upo with Spring at least being neat and tidy without ever looking like getting the game by the scruff of the neck. Bailey and Soares were very annonymous and Basey got shredded up by the winger, although he had zero protection. Moots should have been on for him during the first half though to add some pace.
I'll forgive Parky for getting his tactics wrong in the first instance, but he had options to change it on the bench and didn't do anything until it was far too late.
Dear god, just try something different. We can't possibly do any worse. Especially up front.