Missing Nicky Bailey...our fox in the box.

SoundAsa£

Anyone else noticing how we've been missing his goals recently....well I suppose we can all see it can't we.
He's obviously playing to instructions but with our strikers not firing on all cylinders his cunning forays into the penalty area(ala Paul Scholes), are being sorely missed.
Discuss.

Weegie Addick

I'd swap him and Racon - at least for part of the match. Racon was very tricky at Leeds out wide, causing them lots of problems - better at taking on his man than Bailey.

Miserableoldgit

[cite]Posted By: SoundAsa£[/cite]Anyone else noticing how we've been missing his goals recently....well I suppose we can all see it can't we.
He's obviously playing to instructions but with our strikers not firing on all cylinders his cunning forays into the penalty area(ala Paul Scholes), are being sorely missed.
Discuss.

What does his agent & Colin say ?
;-)

cafcdan18

I think it is since we are playing 4-4-2 with Bailey on the left, this gives him less freedom to get into the box and get into as many goalscoring positions. Not wanting to start another McLeod debate but in terms of who scores looks more like scoring, Mcleod in a 4-4-2 or Bailey in a 4-5-1, Bailey wins

Red_Pete_in_Dubai

The squad we have is clearly not suited to playing 4-4-2, despite what many people seem to think. 4-5-1 plays to all our strengths, but it does depend on Burton being fit enough to play that key role up front. I think his injury has forced us into the 4-4-2 formation and we are struggling as a result.

Scoham

[cite]Posted By: Weegie Addick[/cite]I'd swap him and Racon - at least for part of the match. Racon was very tricky at Leeds out wide, causing them lots of problems - better at taking on his man than Bailey.

I'd like to see that as well.

lancashire lad

Yes I also agree, it worked at Leeds

Kap10

[cite]Posted By: SoundAsa£[/cite]Anyone else noticing how we've been missing his goals recently....well I suppose we can all see it can't we.
He's obviously playing to instructions but with our strikers not firing on all cylinders his cunning forays into the penalty area(ala Paul Scholes), are being sorely missed.
Discuss.

Not sure our strikers are not firing on all cylinders, just don't think they have too many cylinders in the 1st place.

Valley_floyd_red

I've been saying for a while now that Nicky Bailey is wasted on the wing, he's a much better option down the middle. Our problem isn't our central midfield, we're spoilt for choice, but our left side we are lacking. If you move Bailey in the middle who are you going to put on the left?

I'm all in favour of moving Bailey back to his natural central position.

Scoham

[cite]Posted By: Valley_floyd_red[/cite]I've been saying for a while now that Nicky Bailey is wasted on the wing, he's a much better option down the middle. Our problem isn't our central midfield, we're spoilt for choice, but our left side we are lacking. If you move Bailey in the middle who are you going to put on the left?

I'm all in favour of moving Bailey back to his natural central position.

It can be argued he's more of a goal threat out wide, though perhaps moving him inside would mix things up a bit. With Semedo in the middle he could still get in and around the box. When he played there a the start of last season it was usually alongside Holland.

ken from bexley

Scoham... who do we put on the left side. Wagstaff........ as I said on the other thread , 451 with this squad which hopefully accomadates Bailey and Shelvey......
Pace on the wing and creative midfielder, with a ball winner!.

Fortune Costa Fish

[cite]Posted By: cafcdan18[/cite]I think it is since we are playing 4-4-2 with Bailey on the left, this gives him less freedom to get into the box and get into as many goalscoring positions. Not wanting to start another McLeod debate but in terms of who scores looks more like scoring, Mcleod in a 4-4-2 or Bailey in a 4-5-1, Bailey wins

This is very true; our 4-5-1 was much more flowing than our 4-4-2 and allowed runners from deep ( Bailey, Sam, Jonjo ) to do the damage. This worked.

The reason it stopped working so well was because Burton who played a pivitol role in holding the ball up lost form or fitness, and Jonjo needed resting.

Time to have Shelvey back now Parky, and time to start winning again.

Ormiston_Addick

I'd like to see Basey used as a left-sided midfielder, he's got a great left-foot, and then bring Bailey in behind the main striker.

SantaClaus

[quote][cite]Posted By: Ormiston Addick[/cite]I'd like to see Basey used as a left-sided midfielder, he's got a great left-foot, and then bring Bailey in behind the main striker.[/quote]

Basey will look good for the odd game out wide but his lack of pace will get found out pretty quickly.

Scoham

[cite]Posted By: ken from bexley[/cite]Scoham... who do we put on the left side. Wagstaff........ as I said on the other thread , 451 with this squad which hopefully accomadates Bailey and Shelvey......
Pace on the wing and creative midfielder, with a ball winner!.

Like Weegie said I wouldn't mind seeing Racon and Bailey the other way around.

Though I'm not sure it would definitely be an improvement, but Racon is possibly closer to being a winger than Bailey is.

LargeAddick

my two penneth, for what it's worth, is that both Racon and Bailey have been shortchangung us of late. Time for them to step up to the plate and start influencing games again. At the moment they are coasting games and we can't afford that to happen. Racon especially, with Semedo covering his arse, should be getting forward more and both supporting the front two and creating chances for them. With the engine he's got he can certainly do it but isn't. Looks classy, fails to deliver.

Scoham

[cite]Posted By: LargeAddick[/cite]my two penneth, for what it's worth, is that both Racon and Bailey have been shortchangung us of late. Time for them to step up to the plate and start influencing games again. At the moment they are coasting games and we can't afford that to happen. Racon especially, with Semedo covering his arse, should be getting forward more and both supporting the front two and creating chances for them. With the engine he's got he can certainly do it but isn't. Looks classy, fails to deliver.

Completely agree with that. Racon has that laid back/casual style and while he's good, he's definitely got to push on and offer more. We know he can do it.

They both looked like decent if not good Championship players so I can't believe they're not as good as we thought they were. Just need them playing a lot closer to their best and like you say, influencing games rather than just doing enough to get by.

McLovin

I'd not say that either player has ever shortchanged us (or anyone).

It's amazing the difference being on the winning side makes. To my mind Parky didn't take the courageous step of freshening things up - and didn't want to make changes when we were winning (but not necessarily playing well), and now we're in a bit of a rut it's tough for players to pull themselves out of it.

One thing I'd say in Bailey's defence particularly is that he's not only playing out of position on the left, he's also doing a lot more defensive covering work as Youga has more licence to belt up the wings. I'd also say that people obsess about goals, particularly midfielders goals. I recall a great interview with none other than the great thinker Tim Sherwood. He'd hit a little purple patch one season and scored about 5 goals. The interviewer asked him how he felt about all the calls from various sections of the press for him to get into the England team. He answered very honestly and said that while it was nice it showed that they didn't really understand the game. He reckoned that he'd deserved to be in the squad the previous season (but hadn't scored much, other than with Britt Ekland), but that <in the year in question> he'd not being doing so well, despite getting the decisive touch on a few balls and scoring.

I'm not convinced Bailey's playing any worse than he was last season.

Scoham

I know what you mean, a goal for a midfielder can change opinions on their performance. I still want to see Racon and Bailey really push on and dominate the game more often than they do. If they do that the goals should come and we'll be winning games, won't matter who scores them.

ColinTat

I like the idea of Racon swapping out to the left. He likes his touches a little too much in the middle sometimes. Plus in a central midfield three Bailey's tenacity is something we miss. I'm not saying it's a starting option, but during the game it's a really good idea. Who knows if it'll work but it's something that should be worked on.

McLovin

[cite]Posted By: ColinTat[/cite]I like the idea of Racon swapping out to the left. He likes his touches a little too much in the middle sometimes. Plus in a central midfield three Bailey's tenacity is something we miss. I'm not saying it's a starting option, but during the game it's a really good idea. Who knows if it'll work but it's something that should be worked on.

After the second half at Leeds I'm really surprised that hasn't happen. He looked very at home there...