Wingers

Covered End

I and a lot of people having been moaning about our lightweight wingers/ widemen for years.

Off the top of my head Sam,Thomas, Ambrose, Rommedahl and loanees Sinclair, Cooke. I am sured there are more.

My point being that none of them have done enough on a regualar basis, meaning that we have effectively been playing with 9/10 men.

We have played no wingers in the last 2 games and haven't conceded a goal.

Coincidence or not ? Discuss.

nth_london_addick

you could be right CE but i think Soares plays very well as a winger

Exiled_Addick

I don't think it is, but we did sacrifice some width and attacking impertus today in order to maintain that solidity. Time will tell if that solidity will get us enough points.

March51

How many wingers can tackle effectively? Not many I feel: and that's the problem if the team is fighting for its life and needs every man to close the opposition down when they're in possession.By virtue of their position they are required to be in space, or to find it very quickly, and thus they are reluctant to chase or tackle back: it doesn't come naturally to them. I personally never understood why Rommerdahl was required to fall back for opposition corners, he couldn't tackle or head the ball and would have taken an attacker out of the box if he'd have stayed upfield with the chance of a breakaway from a long clearance. If the winger is good at his job i.e can collect the ball, beat defenders and cross accurately (and score when able) ,as per 'Paddy' Powell, other so-called failings may be forgiven, especially by the crowd, but if he can't produce all the expected goods there will be problems and that's what we've been experiencing (along with lots of other factors) in our decline.

nth_london_addick

mate our wingers cant even cross let alone tackle

Covered End

[cite]Posted By: nth london addick[/cite]you could be right CE but i think Soares plays very well as a winger

Agreed but I wouldn't call him a winger. More a right sided midfielder.

So I agree with all comments so far. Basically we appear more solid as we have 11 contributing.

StubleyAddick

Sam improved when Gillespie was here. Keith would often track back in the games i saw him.

Nelsenout

The kind of 'wingers' we need are like Newton and Robinson
both able to attack and defend.

Exiled_Addick

You can't have been at Blackpool Stubs! It was like watching Ambrose crossed with Marcus Bent!

I think one of Sam's strengths is his workrate, it's just defending doesn't come as naturally to him as someone like Bailey, but I don't think he's just totally disinterested in it like some wingers we've had in recent seasons.

I still think Sam can be a very good player for us, people compare the progress he's made vs JCR since he left but it's worth remebering JCR has had several seasons of regular starts in which to develop his game. Sam only really has the last season and a half and he's been in and out a bit even during that time, so although he's not a young player in age anymore he is still in terms of first team experience.

Athletico Charlton

The trouble is that the wingers we have had that you mention above are pretty much all 'luxury' players. They have some skill and something about them but not a lot of work rate. There are only a very few teams that can work effectively with 'luxury' players in the first 11. I prefer the look of the team now, much more solid. Some of the creativity will be lost but our wingers would set up 1 goal every 3 games and in the mean time it would be like playing with 10 players costing us plenty of goals.

Oggy Red

JCR spent a bit of time in tier 3 after leaving us - as a standout player at that level obviously contributed to his self-belief, and ability to express himself on the park. That has built him up in his own eyes to perform superbly at Chanpionship level.


Apart from a couple of token Prem appearances, Sam has played virtually all his football at CCC.

At the beginning of last season, he started off on fire - but lost it after being taken out by that Hull City thug, and sent off.
Apart from a handful of games here and there, he's never shown the same consistancy and effectiveness since.

Which points to the fact, that it's what's going on inside his head that counts.

I feel Sam has a huge amount to offer, but he's not often getting over that mental threshold - the difference between being a promising player or the first name on the teamsheet.

Over to you, Mr Sam.

Scoham

I think it has helped make us more solid. Could always do what Curbishley did at times, play one real winger on one side, and a wide midfielder/central midfielder out wide. He did it with Kishishev, Konchesky, Stuart, and occasionally others like Parker or Holland.

Also gives us a good option on the bench, we've seen Thomas and Rommedahl in the past come on and make more impact than they usually would, Sam can do the same.